Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 284 Thoughts
Yan Ciwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She was seventeen years old this year, and she hadn't even been born twenty-five years ago, which meant that she definitely couldn't be the daughter of the current sage.

She looked puzzled: "If they were in love, why didn't they get married in the end?"

"Because later the Fifth Prince got engaged to Qiao Lingyi, the daughter of the Minister of Rites."

Qiao Lingyi is the current Empress, and also the birth mother of the Crown Prince and Prince Ning.

Yan Ciwan frowned deeply: "Because my mother's background was not as noble as Qiao Lingyi's, the Fifth Prince abandoned my mother and chose Qiao Lingyi instead, right?"

Si Buping did not answer the question. He glanced at the end of the palace road and saw that someone else was walking this way.

He urged in a low voice, "I've told you everything you wanted to know. You should go back now!"

Yan Ciwan: "One last question, after my mother married and moved to Xizhou, did she ever return to Chang'an?"

"No." Si Buping shoved her. "Let's go!"

Yan Ciwan had already spotted the Imperial Guards approaching from afar. Without thinking too much, she turned around and strode away from the palace road.

She returned to the west wing of the Xianju Palace as quickly and silently as possible.

She closed the window, took off her coat, and lay down on the bed, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did, because her mind was full of thoughts about her mother.

According to Si Buping, although Ning Qingyang had a relationship with the current sage Li Baizhou, it was more than 20 years ago. Later, Li Baizhou married someone else, and Ning Qingyang married someone else, so there should be no further connection between the two.

However, Li Baizhou still remembered Ning Qingyang's preferences, which shows that he had not completely forgotten Ning Qingyang.

The next morning, Song Qing brought hot water and breakfast. She was startled to see two large dark circles under Yan Ciwan's eyes.

"Madam Ning, did you not sleep well last night?"

Yan Ciwan didn't just not sleep well; she didn't sleep at all!
She yawned and said weakly, "I had a nightmare last night."

Song Qing handed her a wrung-out handkerchief and said softly, "Dreams and reality are opposites, so don't take them seriously. After you finish breakfast, you can get some sleep."

After wiping her face and rinsing her mouth, Yan Ciwan sat down at the table to eat and casually asked a question.

"Have the Emperor and Consort Jin eaten yet?"

"The Emperor went to court early this morning. Consort Jin has just finished eating and is copying scriptures right now."

Yan Ciwan asked, "Does Consort Jin believe in Buddhism?"

Song Qing sighed: "The Imperial Concubine did not believe at first, but later, because she had something on her mind that she could not let go of, she began to believe in Buddhism and copy scriptures, hoping to pray for blessings for the people she cared about."

Even without being told explicitly, Yan Ciwan knew that the person Consort Jin couldn't let go of was Li Chengge, who had been adopted out.

While eating, Yan Ciwan pondered that Li Chengge was eighteen years old this year, which meant that Consort Jin must have entered the palace nineteen years ago. At that time, Li Baizhou had just ascended the throne and needed to enrich the harem. The palace must have selected many new people.

She continued, "How many years did Aunt Songqing stay in the palace?"

Song Qing answered truthfully, "Nineteen years."

"Wow, it's been so long!" Yan Ciwan thought to herself, "Just as I thought, Song Qing and Consort Jin both entered the palace nineteen years ago."

Song Qing smiled and said, "Time flies so fast; nineteen years have passed in the blink of an eye."

Yan Ciwan joined her in lamenting how quickly time had passed, then feigned curiosity and asked, "I heard that Princess Leyou and the Crown Prince will be getting married in three days. Will Consort Jin also be attending the ceremony?" "Of course. Such a grand event requires all the concubines in the harem to accompany the Empress to attend and offer their congratulations."

Yan Ciwan tilted her head slightly and sighed with longing, "I wonder what Princess Leyou looks like? She must be very beautiful."

"That's inevitable."

"Has Aunt Songqing met her?"

Song Qing first shook his head to indicate that he had never seen them, and then said, "But I have seen the King and Queen of Xizhou. The couple are both outstanding in appearance and demeanor, and they are both outstanding individuals. I suppose their daughter has inherited their looks and must be very beautiful."

Yan Ci blinked: "When did you meet them?"

“That was eighteen years ago. The King of Xizhou came to Chang’an to marry the Queen. The two of them went to the palace together to bid farewell to the Emperor. That night, a very grand banquet was held in the Linde Hall. I served wine to the guests at the banquet. I saw the King of Xizhou and the Queen at that time. They were a perfect match, a handsome couple.”

Yan Ciwan asked with great interest, "And then what happens after the banquet?"

Because so much time had passed, Song Qing thought for a while before she remembered. She said, "That night, both the Sage and the King of Xizhou had drunk a bit too much. The Sage decided to let the King and Queen of Xizhou stay overnight in the palace."

Upon hearing the words "staying overnight in the palace," Yan Ciwan's heart clenched.

She still wore an innocent and curious expression as she asked, "When officials and noblewomen stay overnight in the palace, they should stay in the Prince's Residence and the Noblewomen's Residence, right?"

"That's the rule, but the Sage and the King of Xizhou were classmates and close friends. So that night, the Sage made an exception and allowed the couple to stay in the Penglai Palace."

Yan Ciwan was unfamiliar with the palace and did not know the exact location of Penglai Palace. She planned to secretly search for Penglai Palace when it was late at night.

Knock, knock, knock—there was a knock on the door.

Song Qing walked quickly to the door, whispered a few words to the palace maid outside, and then returned to speak to Yan Ciwan.

"The Imperial Concubine requests your presence."

Just then, Yan Ciwan finished eating, so she put down her chopsticks, got up, and walked out with Song Qing.

They arrived at the main hall and saw Consort Jin washing her hands.

After Consort Jin finished copying the scriptures, she wiped her hands clean and then applied some fragrant ointment to them.

When she walked up to Yan Ciwan, Yan Ciwan smelled a faint fragrance of peach blossoms.

Consort Jin asked Yan Ciwan to sit down, and then said, "Just now, Father brought Liu Lang to the palace to see the Emperor. He said that there had been progress in the case. According to the coroner's examination, Fu Hui had suffered a severe blow to the back of his head, leaving a hematoma in his brain. Later, he collided with the horse you were riding, fell to the ground, and hit his head on the steps, which aggravated his injuries and caused his death. In addition, Fu Hui had taken a large amount of Datura stramonium before his death, but we don't know where that Datura stramonium came from?"

When Yan Ciwan heard the name "Yang Jin Hua," she immediately thought of the Five Gods Sect.

Could the Five Gods Cult be behind this case?
Consort Jin continued, "Based on the clues we have so far, Fu Hui's death is indeed suspicious, but to prove that you have nothing to do with it, we still need to continue the investigation."

Yan Ciwan nodded to indicate that he understood.

Consort Jin took out a sachet from her sleeve and said, "This was entrusted to me by the Sixth Prince to be given to you. Now that you are in a difficult situation, he was afraid that you would not be able to sleep well at night due to worry, so he specially prepared this sachet. The spices inside can calm the mind and help you sleep. You can take it."

Yan Ciwan accepted the sachet: "Please ask Your Majesty to convey my thanks to Xiao Liu."

Consort Jin smiled and said, "You should talk to him yourself after this matter is settled."

Although Xiao Wang didn't say it explicitly, as someone who had been through it all, how could she not understand Xiao Wang's intentions?