He has a spatial ability and saves three children on his escape route.

Chapter 154 The Eldest Princess Commits Suicide

The dowry and the emperor's rewards weren't kept in the private treasury, so where else could they be? Perhaps they were hidden in a secret room? Thinking back to the letters found in Xie Kun's secret room in the private treasury…

Wen Yuxia said somewhat uncertainly, "There should be a secret room here too. Let's search carefully again."

Xia Yichen nodded slightly: "The eldest princess is a cautious person. It's something she would do to hide her valuable dowry and the emperor's rewards in a secret room."

The two carefully searched the storeroom, but to their great disappointment, there was no secret room there. Xia Yichen wanted to find out where the eldest princess's dowry had gone.

He said solemnly, "Mu Hua, take me to the eldest princess's courtyard and come back to pick me up tonight. You stay in the study and listen to Xie Kun and the others' conversation."

Worried about Xia Yichen's safety, Wen Yuxia considered for a moment and then said, "Go back first, and bring An Yi, An Er, and Hong'er back with you."

With An Yi and An Er accompanying Xia Yichen, she felt comfortable leaving him in the eldest princess's courtyard. She brought Wen Yunhong along so he could record the conversation in the study.

Xia Yichen followed Wen Yuxia's advice and returned to the inn, bringing An Yi, An Er, and Wen Yunhong with him to the Xie residence again. Wen Yuxia went directly to the eldest princess's courtyard.

"Brother, I've checked, this room is unoccupied. You all stay here for now, I'll go to the study," Wen Yuxia said hastily after giving a few instructions before preparing to leave, as dawn was breaking and servants were everywhere in the Xie household.

Xia Yichen tugged at Wen Yuxia's sleeve and said, "Safety first." Wen Yuxia nodded, "You should also be careful."

Wen Yuxia overheard Xie Kun's conversation with Xia Yanheng in the study, as well as Xie Kun's dialogue with Koda, the envoy of the grassland tribe.

What?! The eldest princess is the daughter of the grassland overlord? Where is the real eldest princess? Wen Yuxia was shocked by what Ke Da said.

She said earnestly to Wen Yunhong, "Hong'er, it's very important to regularly check whether the people around you are genuine or counterfeit. You must keep this in mind."

Wen Yunhong chuckled foolishly: "Sister, you're overthinking it. I'm just an ordinary person; no one would plant a spy next to me."

"I don't care, regular checkups are a must," Wen Yuxia said firmly.

That evening, Wen Yuxia went to the eldest princess's courtyard to pick up Xia Yichen. Seeing that Xia Yichen looked very unwell, Wen Yuxia asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"My aunt... she's gone," Xia Yichen said sadly. He found a secret room in the eldest princess's bedroom. There was no dowry in the secret room, but a shameless woman was locked up inside...

Wen Yuxia comforted her, saying, "Now is not the time to be sad; we should think about how to avenge the eldest princess."

The eldest princess was disgraced and imprisoned in a dark room for five years, enduring hardship in order to expose Lina's impersonation of her. Xie Kun learned of her imprisonment and betrayed the Great Xia Dynasty.

After telling Xia Yichen these things, the eldest princess also mentioned that she had been locked in the dark room for so many years, surviving on cornbread every day, and that Xie Kang had helped her obtain the cornbread to sustain her.

She implored Xia Yichen to petition the Emperor to spare Xie Kang and his family of three, explaining that after she was imprisoned in the dark room, Xie Kang and his family of three were also confined to their quarters.

Xie Kang was the eldest princess's only son, and she hoped he could live a peaceful and prosperous life. The eldest princess even asked Xia Yichen to erect a cenotaph for her in the royal cemetery.

After that, he bit his tongue and committed suicide without any warning.

Xia Yichen didn't know if Wen Yuxia would find it unlucky to have a corpse in the space, but he still expressed his wish: "Mu Hua, I want to bring my aunt's body back to the capital."

"Go to the mass grave and find a female corpse that has recently died... bring her to the burial chamber, dress her in the eldest princess's clothes, and then take the eldest princess's body away," Wen Yuxia calmly stated her plan.

Although disfiguring the female corpse was somewhat cruel, Wen Yuxia had no choice but to resort to this drastic measure in order to prevent Xie Kun and the others from finding out that the eldest princess's body had been taken away.

After leaving the Xie residence, Wen Yuxia found a secluded spot to move Xia Yichen and the others out of the spatial dimension. Wen Yunhong returned to the inn to reunite with the Wen Yunhai brothers, while Wen Yuxia and the others went to the mass grave outside the city to search for the female corpse.

In order to switch the body before the servants who were to deliver food to the eldest princess in the afternoon entered the secret room, Wen Yuxia risked entering the Xie mansion in broad daylight, sneaked into the secret room, changed the eldest princess's clothes onto the female corpse, took out a basin of water and a towel, and dressed the eldest princess in her burial clothes.

Inside the space, Xia Yichen stood anxiously beside the coffin, waiting until he finally saw Wen Yuxia return carrying the eldest princess's body. He quickly opened the coffin lid and gestured for Wen Yuxia to put the body into the coffin.

After lighting the incense and candles, Xia Yichen squatted on the ground to burn paper money, muttering, "Auntie, Chen'er is taking you home."

Wen Yuxia lit an incense stick for the eldest princess, kowtowed three times, and whispered, "Brother, please accept my condolences." Taking advantage of the cover of the space, Wen Yuxia quickly left the Xie residence along the route she had come from.

Xia Yichen had no intention of continuing with the lecturer group. He only wanted to send the eldest princess's body back to the capital, then get rid of Xie Kun, the traitor, and deal with Xia Yanheng, the trash.

"Mu Hua, I...I...I want to send my aunt back to the capital," Xia Yichen said, somewhat hesitantly. Escorting the coffin back to the capital would arouse Xie Kun's suspicion; the best solution was to have Wen Yuxia accompany her.

Wen Yuxia looked troubled. If she went back to Beijing with Xia Yichen, she was worried about the three Wen brothers, Wen Yunhong and Wen Yichen, who were going to continue teaching the new algorithm. If she didn't go with Xia Yichen, she was afraid that he would be hunted down if he carried a coffin on the road.

Just as she was caught in a dilemma, Zhang Jinxuan arrived looking exhausted. "Yichen, this is what the Emperor asked me to give you."

Zhang Jinxuan pulled out the dragon talisman and handed it to Xia Yichen, then collapsed onto Xia Yichen's bed without any regard for appearances, muttering, "Traveling a thousand miles a day, I'm exhausted. Let's talk later."

To avoid attracting attention, Zhang Jinxuan came to Jinji Pass alone to find Xia Yichen, riding Xia Yichen's prized horse that could travel a thousand miles a day.

Zhang Jinxuan fell asleep, so Xia Yichen left An Yi at the inn to keep watch over him and took the others to the surrounding towns to teach them the new algorithm.

To speed things up, Xia Yichen required the four Wen siblings to teach in four different towns simultaneously. An Er, An San, and An Si would follow the three Wen brothers, while Xia Yichen would team up with Wen Yuxia.

"His Majesty has granted the princes and the generals guarding the borders a three-month leave, allowing them to return to the capital to enjoy family life. He has also instructed you to take the imperial tally and assume command of the military at Jinji Pass," Zhang Jinxuan truthfully informed Xia Yichen of the Emperor's decision.

Xia Yichen said sadly, "The eldest princess bit her tongue and committed suicide." At this moment, Xia Yichen's only relief was that the emperor favored the eldest princess and granted the heir Xie Kang and his family of three permission to stay at Jinji Pass with the eldest princess and her husband.

As far as Zhang Jinxuan knew, the eldest princess had injured her body during the birth of Xie Kang and could no longer conceive. She took the initiative to arrange for Xie Kun to take two concubines, but Xie Kun only regarded the concubines as tools to bear his children, and continued to dote on the eldest princess as always.

Zhang Jinxuan said with a look of surprise, "How could the eldest princess commit suicide?"