After the favored concubine remarried, the aloof and powerful minister forcibly took her away.

Chapter 192 Treasure Map

Hearing Xiang Ning's words, Lu Jiang turned to look at her: "Does Xiang Ning know her?"

"Are you one of Qin Rui's men?"

Xiang Ning nodded slightly, which was taken as an admission.

I wouldn't say I know him, but I'm very familiar with him; he works for Qin Rui.

It seems that the man in black from last time was also sent by Qin Rui.

"Is Qin Rui in Ling'an?"

Xiang Ning asked a question, but the man in black remained silent, giving off a sense of resignation to his fate.

Seeing this, Xiang Ning sneered, walked forward, and then grasped the end of the arrow.

Lu Jiang thought Xiang Ning was going to pull it out, but to his surprise, she twisted her wrist and made the tip of the arrow circle inside the assassin's shoulder.

The assassin cried out in pain, and Xiang Ning said coldly, "Gag him."

"I said……"

"Unfortunately, I don't want to hear it now."

Just as the assassin was about to speak and give a full account, he heard Xiang Ning's words.

He opened his eyes slightly, and then he couldn't even cry out in pain anymore.

Indeed, the most poisonous heart is that of a woman; this woman is truly ruthless.

"Lock him in the woodshed first, don't let him die."

After giving instructions to the guards, Xiang Ning looked at Lu Jiang, who was standing to the side.

Lu Jiang didn't say much from beginning to end.

"Does my older brother also think I'm too heartless?"

"All I want to know right now is, who is this Qin Rui you're talking about?"

Lu Jiang asked a question in confusion.

After all, he hadn't found anything when he went to investigate the men in black last time.

But Xiang Ning's words just now told Lu Jiang that she knew her.

"Qin Rui is Qin Bijun's cousin. He tried to kill me when I left the Pei residence."

"He said that what I have cannot be taken by anyone, including the very first person who chased me..."

Xiang Ning really couldn't understand what she could have that would make Qin Rui go to such lengths.

"But I don't have any treasures on me... except for a sachet that my mother left me."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiang also looked puzzled.

"It's a treasure map."

Lu Weimin's voice came from afar, and Xiang Ning and Lu Jiang both looked up at him.

"When Hua Lan left, she told me that the Lu family had a treasure map, which she split in two. One half was in her hands, and the other half was in the sachet in Jiang'er's hands."

Xiang Ning and Lu Jiang were both shocked upon hearing this.

Lu Weimin slowly approached, his expression solemn, and continued, "Hua Lan originally intended to take out the treasure map after the situation stabilized, but unexpectedly, she encountered a change of events and lost contact with everyone."

Upon hearing Lu Weimin's words, Lu Jiang took the sachet out of his pocket.

"I originally thought this sachet was just a keepsake left to us by my aunt, but I never expected that it contained something so important."

Xiang Ning looked at Xiang Ning in Lu Jiang's hand and said softly, "So, Qin Rui has been chasing me all this time because of this half of the treasure map? But how did he find out about it?"

The sachet contained a treasure map. Logically speaking, her mother would not have spoken carelessly about something so important.

Lu Jiang frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "It seems that Qin Rui must have someone guiding him. Father, do you know what treasure is hidden on this treasure map?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Weimin chuckled: "Why don't you open it and see for yourself?"

Lu Jiang was stunned: "Such a valuable item..."

"Even if it's something incredibly valuable, I'd be willing to exchange it for Hua Lan's life," Lu Weimin said with great sorrow. Unfortunately, the treasure map couldn't save Hua Lan's life.

Lu Jiang reached out and unwrapped the sachet, and sure enough, there was a folded paper ball inside.

He took out the crumpled paper, unfolded it, and looked at what was on it. He frowned slightly.

"This thing looks like an embroidery pattern."

Xiang Ning leaned closer and carefully examined the so-called "embroidery picture." She saw that the intricate lines on it seemed to be random, yet they subtly revealed something different.

"Is this really a treasure map? It doesn't look like a map we usually see at all."

Lu Weimin also stepped forward, stared at the blueprints for a long time, and then slowly spoke.

"This is indeed the treasure map passed down in the Lu family, but the way it was drawn is extremely special and requires a specific method to decipher. Hua Lan left in a hurry back then and did not tell me the method of deciphering in detail."

“This treasure map was left by your grandmother, and she only told Hualan about it.”

As the three were deep in thought, a commotion suddenly came from the woodshed.

Lu Jiang's expression hardened: "This is bad, something must have happened to the assassin!"

After saying that, he and Xiang Ning quickly ran towards the woodshed.

When they arrived at the woodshed, they found the guards lying scattered on the ground, while the assassin had vanished without a trace.

"This assassin must have gone back to inform Qin Rui."

Lu Jiang nodded slightly when he heard Xiang Ning say this: "Strengthen the defenses of the manor."

Upon hearing this, the guard agreed and went to make arrangements.

"Brother, my sachet is still at the Pei residence."

Xiang Ning said this with a troubled expression, and Lu Jiang was somewhat surprised: "Pei Yanzhi stole it?"

"This is a long story. I'm just worried that this treasure map is of great importance, but now in the capital..."

Lu Jiang naturally understood the second half of Xiang Ning's unfinished sentence.

The capital city is in complete chaos right now, and even if the items are in the Pei residence, they can't get them.

"It's alright, we'll go to the capital once things have calmed down."

Seeing that Xiang Ning was in a bad mood, Lu Jiang quickly offered a word of comfort.

Xiang Ning nodded and said nothing more.

At this time, in Tingzhou, which was two cities away from the capital, the people who were supposed to pick up Lu Jiamin failed to do so.

Instead, I received a call from someone I never expected.

"Pei, Pei Yanzhi?"

As the longsword pressed against the man's neck, he watched as the newcomer raised his hand and removed his mask, revealing an extremely familiar face.

"Lord Ren, what are you doing here instead of in the capital?"

Ren Hui's face turned ashen, and he said in a trembling voice, "Lord Pei, this... this is all Prince Qing's order! I was ordered to come to Tingzhou to meet an important person, but I never expected it to be you."

Pei Yanzhi's gaze was piercing as he coldly said, "Prince Qing is acting perversely and attempting to usurp the throne. Are you sure you want to continue being a traitorous minister?"

Ren Hui knelt down with a thud and begged for mercy, "Lord Pei, I had no choice but to do this! I beg you to spare my life."

Pei Yanzhi pondered in his heart that Ren Hui might be the breakthrough point for him to obtain information about Prince Qing.

He sheathed his sword and said, "I can give you a chance to redeem yourself."

Upon hearing Pei Yanzhi's words, Ren Hui nodded hastily: "I wonder what Lord Pei would like me to do?"

"Prince Qing's deployment in Tingzhou."

Pei Yanzhi sheathed his sword and uttered those words in a cold voice. Ren Hui's eyes widened immediately upon hearing Pei Yanzhi's question.

"I also wanted to tell Lord Pei, but I really didn't know that Prince Qing had never mentioned these plans to me."

(End of this chapter)