Chapter 118: Origins, Emptied Clean

Listening to Lanxi's explanation, Chi Nan Yi nodded: "In that case, this Situ General's residence has provoked someone that even the Chi Family must fear."

"That seems to be the case. Otherwise, the Chi Family wouldn't have left their homeland and traveled thousands of miles to come here."

Lanxi looked at Chi Nan Yi, and the more she looked, the more she felt she resembled the Chi Family's head, Chi Xianshi. She couldn't help asking, "Miss, do you have some connection to the Chi Family of Nanpu?"

"I don't know either." Chi Nan Yi shook her head. It seemed there was only one way to verify her conjecture. She opened her palm—inside lay several strands of silver hair.

That night, Chi Nan Yi entered her space and picked up the completed personal report to read through it.

Today, when she saw the Chi Family's old master, a strange feeling had surged in her heart. Seeing the strands of hair scattered by the pillow, she had stored them in her space.

She flipped to the last page, and upon seeing the conclusion, the light in her eyes flickered ceaselessly.

Blood relation.

They did indeed have a blood relation.

So was she a child of the Chi Family who had been lost outside, or... the child born to the Chi Family's daughter?

It seemed the only way to find the answer was to ask her father and mother clearly.

She stepped out of her space, looked at the pitch-black night outside, and with a flash of her figure, leaped out the window.

During the day, she had walked around the town and spotted guards wearing Yuqin Guo robes outside a post house.

Presumably, the Yuqin Guo diplomatic mission was staying at that post house.

Following her memory, Chi Nan Yi arrived outside the post house. At this hour, only one room in the entire post house had a lamp lit, and outside that room stood a dozen or so guards.

Chi Nan Yi flicked her arm, and medicinal powder drifted out. Those guards' consciousness gradually grew hazy; though they still stood there, apart from normal breathing, they had no other response.

Chi Nan Yi came to the door, and the conversation inside clearly reached her ears.

"The Princess's disappearance was truly not our intention. Our Emperor has already sent another Princess, who will arrive at Nanpu in a few days. We can enter Jingcheng then."

"Hmph—if she's not your legitimate Princess, and you send someone else instead, will she still want to marry into the Duke Defending the Nation's household?"

"Our Emperor has already instructed that she must marry into the Duke Defending the Nation's household."

"Is she willing?"

"Rest assured. If she is unwilling, it will be her family who suffers. No matter how bold she is, she wouldn't dare push the entire Qin family—several hundred people—into desperation. Our Emperor said that if she refuses, the entire Qin family will be slaughtered. Please report this to the Crown Prince: once we reach Jingcheng, we will still need your assistance."

The Crown Prince's people...

Chi Nan Yi's heart tightened.

In an instant, the many conjectures in her mind all became clear at this moment.

It really was him!

From the very beginning, Mo Junheng never intended to truly marry the Princess of Yuqin Guo. His original target was the Duke Defending the Nation's household!

The Duke Defending the Nation's household was the Emperor's right-hand man. The young heir was on good terms with Prince Li. The Duke Defending the Nation held military power and was a tremendous asset to Mo Junyan. He was also an upright man who had made great contributions to Daqi. Dealing with the Duke Defending the Nation's household legitimately was utterly impossible, and covert schemes wouldn't be easy either—after all, the Duke Defending the Nation's household, like Prince Li's residence, was impregnable. Even an assassination attempt would likely see the assassins killed clean before they ever got through the door.

But if he married the Princess of Yuqin Guo, the situation would be entirely different. If a direct assault failed, working from inside and out would add several points of certainty.

Of the servants who had entered the Duke Defending the Nation's household alongside A er na, more than half were probably Yuqin Guo spies.

Living in the same household, avoiding infiltration was simply impossible.

In her previous life, the Duke Defending the Nation's household had also been massacred, and the ruler of Yuqin Guo had seized the opportunity to launch a war. Everything fit together now.

The one who had truly colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country was the Crown Prince.

For the sake of the throne, he had actually conspired with Yuqin Guo!

That dog of a man—last time, she'd still gone too easy on him.

Just then, footsteps came from inside the room. Chi Nan Yi hurriedly hid in her space. The door opened, and a masked man in black walked out, looked around, and strode quickly toward the outside of the post house.

Only after that person's back disappeared did Chi Nan Yi step out of her space.

Since they had come for a marriage alliance, Yuqin Guo had likely brought quite a few good things this time. At the very least, the Princess's dowry should be fully prepared.

Chi Nan Yi's lips curved slightly. In that case, she would graciously accept what was offered. How could she refuse good things delivered right to her door?

She searched through the post house with light steps. Finally, in one room, she found dozens of enormous chests. She opened the foremost chest—inside, neatly stacked, were gold bars.

"A fortune." Chi Nan Yi's eyes reflected the glittering gold. With a sweep of her arm, she stored those chests—taller than she was—into her space.

In an instant, the room became completely empty. Chi Nan Yi clapped her hands: "Much better to look at now."

She left the post house without a sound and returned to the inn, disturbing no one. The guards who had been drugged regained consciousness shortly after she left, but they didn't realize they had been drugged—they thought they had accidentally fallen asleep. Afraid of being punished if they spoke up, they all kept silent.

The Yuqin Guo envoys didn't discover the missing goods either, until the routine inspection the following evening, when they found the room empty.

"What did you say? Empty? What's empty?" Mou Hanqin grabbed the guard by the collar: "Speak clearly!"

"R-Reporting to Your Excellency, this subordinate only just discovered it. The treasures we prepared to bring to Daqi are all gone—even the chests are missing."

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense! Each chest takes two or three people to carry. How could so many things vanish clean without anyone noticing?"

"Your Excellency, if you don't believe it, go and see for yourself!"

Mou Hanqin flung the guard aside and strode quickly toward the room where the treasures were stored.

Reaching the door, he was dumbfounded.

In the enormous room, apart from the cobwebs on the rafters, everything else was gone.

Mou Hanqin's face was deathly pale. He slumped to the ground, his lips trembling, the light gone from his eyes.

"What happened? How could this be? Who! Who was it! Who did this!" He turned and glared viciously at the guards beside him: "Speak! What exactly happened?"

"Your Excellency, we never left this place. No one else infiltrated the post house. We don't know how the things in this room disappeared either."

"That's right, Your Excellency. This room doesn't even have a window, and there are no secret tunnels or hidden compartments. The only way to take things out is through this door. Moreover, this is the second floor—to move things out, they would have to be carried down from the second floor. You were also in the post house, with so many eyes watching. The things inside really did vanish into thin air."

Mou Hanqin breathed heavily. He knew the guards were right. He had also been in the post house these past two days. If someone had stolen the goods, how could there not have been a single sound?

What on earth was going on?

"Search! Even if you have to turn all of Nanpu upside down, find those things!"