Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1497: Legend of the Hidden Sea 17

Zang Hai didn't expect that he would only see Shen Mudan today. Fortunately, he finally walked into the gate of Qinghe Palace and was not stopped and rejected at the gate.

After returning to his home, Zang Hai finally calmed down and thought about various issues.

First of all, he didn't think he was strong enough to be noticed by Prince Qinghe and be willing to marry him. It was obvious that this marriage idea was the will of Emperor Zhenshun.

So the reason why Emperor Zhenshun chose a fifth-rank official who was not a member of the imperial examination system as a husband for his beloved daughter is worth studying in detail. So was there something in him that Emperor Zhenshun needed?

Secondly, the masked man was even happy to see it happen. After Gao Ming came back, he brought back the news conveyed by the masked man that Queen Dongxia might have been deliberately retaliated against by Zhuang Luyin.

Gao Ming's original words were that the masked man thought that Queen Dongxia might not be the third murderer of Kuai Duo's family, but Zhuang Luyin was able to name her, obviously because everything made sense. So the whereabouts of Guixi is very likely related to Queen Dongxia, or she is very likely to have a way to find the location of Guixi.

In this way, Zang Hai felt that the masked man, the benefactor of him, Master Xingdou, and Master Gaoming, was more likely the third murderer who killed his entire family.

Such speculation made Zang Hai a little unbearable. If it weren't for the fact that the news of being rejected by Qinghe Palace today could at least be concealed, Zang Hai felt that he would not be able to pretend in front of Gao Ming.

So, who is the identity of the masked man?

The first person Zang Hai thought of was Gao Ming. He didn't seem to be a healthy man. Zang Hai still remembered seeing Gao Ming putting on a beard many times in those ten years. When he was young, he saw it directly when he was helping Gao Ming to wash and dress. When he was older and had reached the age when he should be sensible, he saw it by accident.

Gao Ming is not too old now, just in his early thirties, so how could such a young eunuch be recruited by the masked man?

So the masked man must be an important official in the court!

The first figure that emerged in Zang Hai's mind was the current Prime Minister Shi Yiping. The other party had entered the central government ten years ago and served in front of the emperor. It was natural for it to save Gao Ming.

Zang Hai kept a close eye on the Prime Minister Shi Yiping, while the Qinghe Palace's investigation into the Second Prime Minister Zhao Bingwen was placed on Xiao Jinyue's desk.

This time, the investigation of Zhao Bingwen was very detailed, covering his preferences in food, clothing, housing and transportation, and even his two former wives, concubines and maids, as well as his children and even grandchildren.

So when Zhao Bingwen was admitted to Dayong Academy from a small town in the northwest and then dropped out, everything that happened during that time was investigated thoroughly.

Therefore, the friendship between Zhao Bingwen, Cao Jingxian, or Lu Min and Zhuang Luyin, which was formed at Dayong Academy, has now surfaced.

When Zhao Bingwen came to the capital from a border town and was admitted to the Dayong Academy, his intelligence and talent were certainly obvious to all. However, in a prime city like the capital, intelligence and talent alone were far from enough to make a living, so he was naturally isolated by the powerful or the students who came from generations of officials.

Even though Zhao Bingwen was quite intelligent at that time, he was not so smart as to completely ignore his situation. So after a period of observation, he took the initiative to make friends with Zhuang Luyin, who came from a military family.

Because Zhuang Luyin was isolated and excluded by the children of civil officials, and his peers who also came from military families found it difficult to confide in him because of his outstanding academic performance, Zhuang Luyin accepted Zhao Bingwen and also found Lu Min, another child of minor official family, as his companion.

Originally, the three of them were like-minded and would have studied and progressed together, but unfortunately, misfortunes may come to people at any time. Sometimes they don't cause trouble to others, and even take the initiative to avoid trouble, but they can't stop some nosy second-generation rich from taking the initiative to cause trouble to them.

In short, after a storm, the beloved young son of a fourth-rank official drowned in the academy. Lu Min was injured underwater and could not be moved, and because there were obvious scars on his face, the family of the deceased believed that their child's death was related to Lu Min.

Zhuang Luyin's family was a hereditary marquis after all, and even though the dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, his father still had a certain amount of power. When no one's guilt could be confirmed, Zhuang Luyin, Lu Min and Zhao Bingwen dropped out of the academy.

When they met again later, they had already entered the officialdom separately. Lu Min entered the palace to become a eunuch due to his physical disability, while Zhao Bingwen successfully passed the imperial examination and became an official.

Xiao Jinyue looked through Zhao Bingwen's information and had a bad feeling in her heart. When she heard the news brought by Prince Yongrong, her heart sank to the bottom.

Prince Yongrong was rarely relaxed. Instead, he showed up with a serious look on his face and asked Xiao Jinyue to clear the area.

Knowing that the situation might be serious, Shen Mudan personally took charge of clearing the area and led everyone out of the small garden.

Prince Yongrong saw Zhao Bingwen's information on the table at a glance. He started talking and said, "There's news from Prince Linzi's mansion. Prince Linzi got the news about longevity from somewhere, and he seems to believe it. I heard he's already asked someone to test it."

Xiao Jinyue was a little dazed when she suddenly heard the word "immortality". It seemed that people who pursued immortality did exist in her memory, and they seemed to be modern people.

The trance lasted only a moment, and Xiao Jinyue asked, "Are you sure?"

Prince Yongrong explained, "You killed two successive princes of Linzi, but you were unscathed, not even your reputation was really damaged. Naturally, the biological mothers of the two princes hated you and wanted to instigate the Prince of Linzi to take revenge on you."

"But the Prince of Linzi is cautious to put it nicely, and cowardly to put it bluntly. If he is not completely sure, he will not attack you, and he will never allow his men to attack you, lest the action fails and we retaliate, and he will only feel that the gain is not worth the loss."

"People are simple, but also complicated. To the people in the Linzi Prince's Mansion, you are far away in the capital, while the Linzi Prince, the biological father who could not avenge his child, is right in front of him. So my people provoked a few words, and some people wanted to send the Linzi Prince down to reunite the father and son."

After talking for a long time without getting to the point, Xiao Jinyue became anxious, "So this news came from the inner house of Linzi Prince's Mansion?"

Prince Yongrong certainly knew what Xiao Jinyue was thinking, and reluctantly emphasized: "I was also very surprised to receive the news, so I spent some time to verify it. Otherwise, why didn't I even ask about your marriage?"

Xiao Jinyue could only suppress her anxious heart and listen to what King Yongrong continued to say.

King Yongrong had an inexplicable look on his face, which made Xiao Jinyue unable to help but start preparing for the worst.

King Yongrong instead talked about Dongxia's origins: "Dongxia is located in a remote area and was born in a small tribe, but no one would have thought that in such a barren place with snow and wind for half a year, there would be descendants of the Holy Mother of Xiling!"