Xiao Yixuan never expected that the news that reached her ears at this moment would be like this!
The Prince of Mu had ascended the throne!
But how could the Prince of Mu ascend the throne?!
His broken body was in such a bad condition that it was even doubtful whether he could make it back to the capital safely. Couldn't the imperial guards in the palace even deal with a sickly man!
The guard said, "It's absolutely true, my lady. I didn't hear it wrong! The man who came to seek refuge claimed to be a eunuch in the noble consort's palace. He came here to deliver a message on the order of the noble consort."
Xiao Yixuan looked again at the back galloping in the rain curtain in the distance and gritted her teeth tightly.
If the Prince of Mu had already ascended the throne, then she would be a threat to him. Now that she herself was in a difficult situation, why should she care about Xiao Jingcheng?
Pulling on the reins, Xiao Yixuan made a prompt decision. "Let's go back to Dongli Town. I want to see the man who came from the capital to deliver the news with my own eyes and ask him personally what exactly happened in the capital!"
Xiao Yixuan gave up the chase and immediately turned back to Dongli Town with the guards beside her.
After she left, a horse galloped out of the rain curtain in the distance and stopped at the place where Xiao Yixuan had just stood.
The dark clouds in the sky hung low, as if about to crush the earth. Thunder flashed in the clouds, illuminating his face.
The rain had completely drenched him, and his clothes clung tightly to his body. The yellow amulet that Ye Wanmian had hung around his neck had completely lost its effectiveness the moment it got wet.
The skin dyed yellow with the juice of Tianli vine had lost its effect, revealing his true appearance.
On his angular, extremely handsome face, as cold as frost and snow, there was nothing but solemnity at the moment.
Because the thunder and rain were so loud, when the guard caught up with Xiao Yixuan just now, he almost shouted. And since Xiao Jingcheng's hearing was far better than ordinary people's, he heard every word the guard said clearly.
The fingers tightly clutching the reins unconsciously tightened, and the joints turned an unusual white.
At this moment, the shock in his heart was no less than that of Xiao Yixuan.
His uncle... had launched a rebellion, attacked the capital, and even ascended the throne!
Moreover, the military governors of Hexi, Lingyang, and Luozhou had all obeyed his orders and raised troops to help him seize the throne. The fact that the military governors of these three places could respond so quickly showed that the rebellion must not have been a sudden decision, which indirectly indicated that his uncle and the military governors of these three places had long been in conspiracy.
Could it be that his uncle's long - term sickliness had all been a disguise?
Was his trip south to investigate the assassination case also within his uncle's calculations?
Xiao Jingcheng recalled all of Xiao Tianchi's behaviors in Dongli Town in his mind.
When seeing the body on the beach, Xiao Tianchi didn't seem to have any doubts at all. He naturally believed that the body was his. Even when Xiao Wuchen and Xiao Yixuan found Taoist Yuanqi and staged a "possession by a ghost" in the mourning hall, Xiao Tianchi didn't suspect anything!
At that time, he had already felt that Xiao Tianchi's attitude was a bit strange.
Now it seemed that Xiao Tianchi must have long known that the body was not his and that Taoist Yuanqi was acting to deceive him.
But he had remained silent and smoothly taken the body away from Dongli Town. It could be said that the body had covered up Xiao Tianchi's real purpose of coming south and had become the best shield for his rebellion...
The rain dripped into his eyes along his skin, and a stinging pain instantly came from his eye sockets, making the blood - streaks in his eyes even more prominent.
It was clearly summer, but he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and the cold seeped into his bones.
Now, the imperial palace had been breached by the rebel army. The emperor and the noble consort were missing. He didn't know whether they had escaped from the capital under the protection of the secret guards or had fallen into the hands of the Prince of Mu.
And what about his mother?
What was the situation of his mother, who had been banished to the cold palace by the emperor?
Xiao Jingcheng looked around. The rain curtain connected the sky and the earth, and everything was white. He couldn't see the scenery in the distance clearly, just like his heart at the moment.
The sudden news not only greatly disturbed his mind but also disrupted his plans.
He knew very clearly that with such a major event happening in the capital, if he revealed his identity and returned to the capital at this time, it would be like throwing himself into a net.
If his mother could escape from the cold palace under the protection of the Shen family, that would be the best.
But what if...
What if his mother fell into the hands of the Prince of Mu?
So, even for the sake of his mother, he had to go back!
The dogs followed beside him and also stayed there in the rain with him. But after all, dogs were not as resilient as humans. Even though it was summer, after being in the rain for so long, the dogs were all shivering.
Xiao Jingcheng pulled on the reins and lowered his head to see the dogs gathered around him.
A warm feeling flashed through his heart. He didn't expect these dogs to be so loyal that they could chase him all the way here.
"Take them back. The road I'm going to take next will be extremely dangerous. I may not even be able to protect my own life, so I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of you anymore."
He dismounted from the horse, squatted down, and stroked the wet head of Sangbiao, then touched Juanmao.
This was the first time he had stroked these dogs in Dongli Town.
"Thank you for taking care of me in Dongli Town these days. If I can survive in the capital, I will definitely return to Dongli Town and take you back to the capital so that you can all have a stable home in the future."
"During the time I'm away, you must take the other dogs and protect Huichuntang and Jiang Mian for me."
Sangbiao seemed to understand his meaning. Knowing that it couldn't follow him anymore, it was extremely sad. It rubbed its head against his palm and whined, very reluctant to part.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Jingcheng stood up and was about to climb onto the horse to continue traveling in the direction of the capital. At this moment, a series of urgent barks came from the rain curtain.
A dog rushed straight towards Xiao Jingcheng from the direction of Dongli Town through the heavy rain.
Sangbiao jumped up and rushed towards the dog. The other dogs also surrounded it. The dogs touched noses and exchanged information.
[Woof woof, bully, the bad woman who bullied the fairy sister went to the east of the town. The woman locked up in the east of the town is in danger.]
The brown - yellow dog ran desperately and was out of breath. The words it said were all jumbled up. Sangbiao couldn't understand at all, but Xiao Jingcheng's eyes narrowed.
Could the woman locked up in the east of the town be the crazy woman that Ye Wanmian had once visited?
He knew that these dogs called Ye Wanmian the fairy sister. The bad woman who had bullied her these days...
It was the young lady of the Ye family, Ye Wanxing, who had come to Dongli Town from the capital with Xiao Yixuan.
If his previous guess was correct, the woman in the locked courtyard in the east of the town should be Ye Wanmian's biological mother.
Why would the young lady of the Ye family go there?
Suddenly, he remembered what Ye Wanmian had once said to Li Zhao in his mind -
[When Ye Wanxing was first taken back home, she told Lord Ye and Lady Ye personally that her foster parents were dead and there were no relatives left in her family. But when I came to Dongli Town, I found out that they had lied to me!]
Xiao Jingcheng's face suddenly changed.
Bad! That woman might be in mortal danger!