Chapter 218: Opening the Coffin to Examine the Corpse

Opening the Coffin to Examine the Corpse

In truth, Nie Jinxuan had been with Yin Fengzhan for such a long time that she had once felt suspicious; after all, the two of them had not taken any contraceptive measures, yet her belly had remained completely silent, which was indeed somewhat unusual.

But Nie Jinxuan had never imagined that the situation would turn out like this!

Of course, given Yin Fengzhan's temperament, if he did not want children, he truly would not show it. But Nie Jinxuan believed he would not do such a thing. Moreover, this was not the time for petty temper or jokes, so naturally, Nie Jinxuan did not want to make Yin Fengzhan suspicious of her.

Yet at this moment, before Nie Jinxuan could finish her sentence, Yin Fengzhan spoke up and interrupted her directly.

"I know."

There were no flowery words, but those three simple words made Nie Jinxuan feel a wave of emotion in her heart. Immediately, Nie Jinxuan raised her hand to prop herself up on the edge of the bed to sit up, and while pulling her clothes together, she frowned and said with a solemn expression:

"But Fengzhan, this matter is truly strange. How could someone do such a thing?"

Nie Jinxuan was very puzzled. At the same time, however, her mind could not help but think of the matter regarding Chen Yan'er, but she immediately dismissed it!

Indeed, back then, someone had not wanted Chen Yan'er to conceive, which was why they had sent her a Blood Bodhi bracelet. But judging from her own hints to Chen Yan'er and Chen Yan'er's reaction, Chen Yan'er knew who the other party was! Furthermore, tampering with an object so blatantly was not a sophisticated method. Therefore, it could be certain that the person who had tripped Chen Yan'er up back then, while possessing a bit of petty cleverness, lacked any great wisdom!

But her own situation now was different. After all, Nie Jinxuan did not consider herself exceptionally brilliant, but ever since the several poisoning incidents that had occurred previously, she had begun to pay attention to her own diet and daily life. Yet for this period of time, Nie Jinxuan had never discovered a single abnormality, and judging from Yin Fengzhan's reaction, he likely had not discovered anything either! Therefore, based on this point alone, the person who drugged her, Nie Jinxuan, was certainly no simple character. At the very least, they were definitely not just using petty tricks!

But what was the purpose of drugging her? And who would benefit from her, Nie Jinxuan, having no children?!

For a moment, Nie Jinxuan could not figure it out at all. And at this time, not only Nie Jinxuan, but even Yin Fengzhan frowned in silence, clearly having not grasped the reasons behind this either!

The room fell into silence once again. But not long after, Yin Fengzhan turned to sit beside Nie Jinxuan and reached out to pull her into his embrace.

"Don't think about it anymore, I will handle it!"

Yin Fengzhan had broken out of the Celestial Prison on his own, and Emperor Shuncheng had not pursued the matter afterward. Not long after, however, Gao Caiyong came to deliver a message, saying that there was an Imperial Decree for Yin Fengzhan to stay temporarily at Ningxin Pavilion.

Although Ningxin Pavilion was located in the back mountains of the Imperial Palace, it was still considered to be within the palace. Therefore, such an arrangement by Emperor Shuncheng was clearly a concession to Yin Fengzhan.

But Nie Jinxuan knew clearly in her heart that for Emperor Shuncheng to make such an arrangement, rather than calling it a concession, it was, in another sense, a way to monitor Yin Fengzhan! After all, once Yin Fengzhan was released, no one would know what he might do outside the palace. But at Ningxin Pavilion, surrounded by Emperor Shuncheng's people, it would not be so easy for Yin Fengzhan to contact his own people outside.

But regardless of how one put it, whether it was out of care and concession or soft detention and monitoring, such an arrangement could be considered appropriate. Therefore, Yin Fengzhan did not waste words and went to Ningxin Pavilion that very day. Of course, he also brought along Nie Jinxuan, who had been staying temporarily at Yongxin Palace.

It was just that now, Nie Jinxuan and Yin Fengzhan had no name or status, so living together like this was indeed somewhat improper. But Yin Fengzhan did not care about such things, and naturally, others dared not say a word more in front of him.

Time passed day by day, and Nie Jinxuan also recovered day by day, immediately thinking of getting to the bottom of the matter quickly. But Yin Fengzhan kept her under strict watch, clearly with the attitude that until she recovered her health, she was not going anywhere!

Nie Jinxuan could not win against him, so she had no choice but to recuperate. And with this recuperation, half a month passed in the blink of an eye. So, this morning, taking advantage of Yin Fengzhan's absence, Nie Jinxuan hurriedly had the palace maid serve her to dress, thinking of sneaking out. But she did not expect that just as Nie Jinxuan had finished tidying up, Yin Fengzhan walked in directly from outside.

Today, Yin Fengzhan wore a crescent-colored Confucian robe, his ink-black hair tied loosely behind his head. It stripped away some of his usual coldness and severity, adding a touch of elegance and ease. Even the young palace maids in the room who looked up at the sound couldn't help but blush. Yet at this moment, Yin Fengzhan didn't even glance at them, his gaze falling directly onto Nie Jinxuan.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing Nie Jinxuan's intention to go out, Yin Fengzhan asked in a low voice. Hearing this, Nie Jinxuan could not help but purse her lips and said directly:

"Just walking around."

"You cannot leave the palace!"

"You..."

Clearly, Yin Fengzhan had already seen through Nie Jinxuan's thoughts. Being told this by him, Nie Jinxuan suddenly felt a fire rising in her heart. At this time, Yin Fengzhan did not pay her any mind and directly spun around to sit on a nearby chair.

"Leave!"

Yin Fengzhan said this to the palace servants in the room. Hearing this, the servants hurriedly bowed respectfully and then quietly walked out.

In the blink of an eye, only Yin Fengzhan and Nie Jinxuan were left in the room. At this time, Yin Fengzhan reached into his robe, took out a small booklet, and handed it to Nie Jinxuan.

Seeing this, Nie Jinxuan, who had been somewhat unhappy, was stunned. She then reached out to take the booklet, opened it, and was stunned.

"This... this is Prince Xiang..."

It turned out that what was written in this booklet was the entire life story of Prince Xiang, Yin Yanduo, whom Nie Jinxuan had wanted to investigate!

So for a moment, Nie Jinxuan was first surprised, then raised her eyes to look at Yin Fengzhan. At this moment, Yin Fengzhan slightly raised his sword-like eyebrows and nodded directly.

No fawning, no seeking credit—this was Yin Fengzhan. At this moment, meeting his deep and calm face, Nie Jinxuan felt the stuffiness of these past days vanish instantly, and a trace of sweetness spread across the corners of her mouth, though she still kept a straight face and snorted coldly.

"Hmph! Since you had someone do it all along, why didn't you say anything? You made me worry for so long!"

Her complaint was tinged with a charming naivety. Immediately, Nie Jinxuan sat down beside Yin Fengzhan and began to quietly flip through the booklet in her hand...

Nie Jinxuan read with focus, and the room fell into silence. The morning sunlight shone in through the window lattice, casting a patch of brightness, and the air was filled with an indescribable sense of peace.

Yin Fengzhan, sitting to the side, just quietly lowered his eyes, looking at Nie Jinxuan beside him from time to time, his deep eyes filled with a warmth that was hard to detect...

Afterward, who knows how much time passed, Nie Jinxuan finally closed the booklet in her hand and let out a slight sigh.

"So, what Noble Consort Zhang said before was truly not wrong at all. Prince Xiang's character and conduct were truly one in a hundred; he really does not seem like someone who would do anything despicable..."

"En! He truly does not seem like it."

"En, if that's the case, when Noble Consort Zhang saw Noble Consort Ning crying back then, there must have been some hidden reason, which is why she said that to Prince Xiang... Could it be that the Emperor misunderstood something at the time?! But judging from the investigation results, Prince Xiang did not do anything inappropriate!"

Although Yin Fengzhan's investigation results clearly stated that Prince Xiang, Yin Yanduo, liked Noble Consort Ning, it was a case of feelings arising but stopping at propriety. Furthermore, after Noble Consort Ning entered the palace, he had severed contact with her. Even if there were records of them meeting afterward, there were no problems. How could this have caused Emperor Shuncheng's misunderstanding?!

Nie Jinxuan could not quite understand. But hearing this, Yin Fengzhan slightly raised his gaze and said slowly:

"I actually think that it is precisely because Prince Xiang did nothing that this result was caused!"

"... What does that mean?"

Yin Fengzhan spoke plainly, but hearing this, Nie Jinxuan was stunned. But then, she suddenly realized.

"I understand. You mean that it is precisely because Prince Xiang's character and personality were one in a hundred that it made the Emperor feel even more of a sense of crisis?!"

Yes, it was precisely because the other party was too good that it made Emperor Shuncheng feel that Noble Consort Ning truly liked Prince Xiang, not him... A man's sense of inferiority is sometimes hidden in his bones. Even someone as proud as Emperor Shuncheng was, in the end, still a man, a man deeply trapped in the web of love, and Emperor Shuncheng himself was very suspicious, so it was no surprise that such a result was caused!

Therefore, in Emperor Shuncheng's view, Noble Consort Ning had betrayed him, which was why he felt both love and hate for her! But this was also not right; even if Emperor Shuncheng suspected Noble Consort Ning, how could he suspect that Yin Fengzhan was not his own son? Could there be other matters involved in this?!

Furthermore, besides this matter, there was another thing that made her feel somewhat strange... So, thinking of this, Nie Jinxuan's expression tightened again.

"It's just that there is one thing I find very strange, which is that according to this booklet, more than twenty years ago, shortly after Noble Consort Ning died, Prince Xiang also died. Although it was announced to the outside world as a sudden death, in reality, he died of poisoning, but the person who administered the poison has never been found... Fengzhan, the more I look at this, the more awkward I feel. After all, given Prince Xiang's character and conduct, who would poison him?"

"Are you trying to say that the Emperor killed Prince Xiang?"

Interrupting Nie Jinxuan's words, Yin Fengzhan stated directly what was in the bottom of Nie Jinxuan's heart. Hearing this, Nie Jinxuan also nodded.

"Otherwise what? The Emperor's feelings for Noble Consort Ning were extraordinary; if he suspected Prince Xiang, it would not be impossible for him to take action in private!"

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Open the coffin and examine the corpse!"

First update uploaded, there will be another update later! ===== CHAPTER 219 =====