Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 342 Something bad happened
After listening to the old woman's description, Yan Ciwan fell into deep thought.

The timing of Ji Songluo's appearance was too coincidental. The night before last, Ning Qingyang and Yan Hengyu stayed overnight in the palace. Ning Qingyang was suspected of having an unspeakable affair with the emperor. As a result, the next day, the emperor issued an edict to bestow Ji Songluo upon Yan Hengyu.

Could it be that the emperor felt guilty and wanted to make amends to Yan Hengyu, which is why he specially bestowed a beautiful woman upon him?

This explanation seems a bit far-fetched.

Yan Ciwan really wanted to find Ji Songluo in person and ask her about the truth of what happened back then, but Ji Songluo was far away in Xizhou, and Yan Ciwan couldn't see her at all. This matter could only be investigated in detail later.

She asked, "Has Mother done anything strange since she returned from the palace?"

Nie Xiayun recalled carefully: "When I took Yan Hengyu's guarantee to find A Yang, I saw that A Yang was burning something. As soon as she saw me enter, her expression immediately became flustered. I went over and asked her what she was burning. She said it was just a tattered old piece of clothing. I looked at the brazier and there was indeed a piece of clothing inside."

Yan Ciwan hurriedly asked, "What kind of clothes are they?"

"The clothes were burned beyond recognition; you could only barely make out that they were made of a light red fabric."

Yan Ciwan's heart tightened. Si Buping had mentioned that when Ning Qingyang entered the palace to express her gratitude, she wore a light red dress, but the next day when she left the palace, she was wearing light blue clothes. The emperor had even asked Ning Qingyang why she had changed her clothes. She explained that her light red dress had gotten dirty and she needed to take it back to wash.

In fact, Ning Qingyang burned the water-red dress as soon as she got back.

If there wasn't a special reason, why would she lie?
Seeing her furrowed brows, Nie Xiayun couldn't help but ask, "Why are you asking these questions? Is there something wrong with that burned dress?"

"Nothing much. Besides burning clothes, has Mother done anything else strange?"

“I showed her Yan Hengyu’s guarantee, but she didn’t seem to care much about it. She just told me not to make things difficult for Ji Songluo. I found that very strange. Ji Songluo had interfered in her relationship with Yan Hengyu, so she should hate Ji Songluo, but she didn’t show any hostility towards Ji Songluo. Not only that, she was also in a hurry, urging us to pack our bags and leave Chang’an that afternoon, riding back to Xizhou at top speed.”

Yan Ciwan murmured thoughtfully, "Could Mother be hiding from someone?"

"Who?"

The face of the current sage flashed through Yan Ciwan's mind. She said, "This is just my guess. How did things go after you returned to Xizhou?"

"A-Yang and Consort Ji were found to be pregnant, but Consort Ji was further along and gave birth to Yan Tingyu first. A few days later, A-Yang gave birth to you. Because A-Yang injured her body during childbirth, the doctor said she could never get pregnant again. I was a little worried that Yan Hengyu would bring women back from outside to cause trouble for A-Yang. Fortunately, that guy still has a conscience. He didn't do anything to betray A-Yang again and he loves you very much."

Yan Ciwan didn't want to recall her past with Yan Hengyu; those once beautiful memories had now all turned into knives stabbing into her heart.

The closer the father-daughter relationship was back then, the more pain she felt when she was stabbed through the chest.

She tried to appear nonchalant and asked, "Did He Yinuo never show up again after that?"

“He Yinuo never appeared, but his nephew He Chunzhuo came to Xizhou. He Chunzhuo even sent a visiting card, wanting to pay a visit, but I tore it up and threw it away. Later I heard that he also went to see you and Ayang, and Ayang was so upset that her old illness relapsed, and she was bedridden for several days.” Yan Ciwan pressed on, “Was Mother’s death related to He Yinuo and the others?”

"Probably not. The Xizhou Prince's Mansion is heavily guarded, and it's impossible for He Yinuo to get in. Moreover, He Yinuo and his group's goal is to capture A Yang and you alive because they want to use your status as former royals to legitimize their rebellion. Killing A Yang would be detrimental to them."

Yan Ciwan fell into deep thought again. What the old woman said made sense. The Five Gods Sect only wanted to control them and make them important pawns in their rebellion. They had no reason to kill her mother.

Could it be that my mother really died of illness, and that no outsiders interfered?
Was she just overthinking everything?
As Yan Ciwan was pondering, Mo Daodao suddenly called out.

"This is bad! This is really bad!"

Yan Ciwan and Nie Xiayun turned to look at him at the same time.

Nie Xiayun, being an impatient person, asked first, "What's wrong? What did you calculate?"

Master Mo's face was extremely ugly at this moment. He ran up to Yan Ciwan and Nie Xiayun and spoke quickly with spittle flying everywhere.

"I just put myself in the shaman's shoes and reviewed the whole process according to his style. I found that it was probably all a setup! He knew you were anxious to find your grandmother, so he agreed to Danxiazi's plan. Danxiazi wanted to use your grandmother to lure you into a trap, but that was just a facade. The shaman is not only cunning but also very suspicious. He doesn't trust anyone, including his own apprentice whom he raised. He spent a lot of effort and manpower to lure you here, so he won't let you have a chance to escape. He won't entrust such an important matter to someone else. He must have another plan."

Nie Xiayun said with some doubt, "These are just your speculations, they may not be true, right?"

When Master Mo saw that she didn't believe his deductions, he stomped his feet in anger.

"This is my livelihood. I've calculated it many times and never miscalculated!"

Nie Xiayun asked, "Then why didn't you foresee that you would be trapped here? If you had, wouldn't you have been able to avoid this calamity?"

Master Mo immediately replied, "I did indeed cast a divination for myself before leaving Chang'an. The divination indicated an ominous sign, suggesting I might fall into a predicament, but not a hopeless one. I still had a sliver of hope to escape unscathed. As it turns out, I was right. And now, isn't my chance here?!"

Nie Xiayun didn't understand: "Since you've already divined an ominous sign, why do you still want to leave Chang'an? Can't you just stay home quietly?"

Master Mo sighed deeply: "There's no other way. I have to find a life-saving antidote for my disciple who is suffering from severe poison. Even though I know this journey is dangerous, I have no choice but to take the risk."

Nie Xiayun herself is a mother, so she can understand Master Mo's feelings quite well.

Yan Ciwan looked at the tightly closed iron gate in front of her. This iron gate could be opened from the inside, but it could not be opened from the outside no matter what.

She didn't know whether opening this iron gate would allow her to take her grandmother and Mo Wendao far away and achieve complete freedom, or whether she would have to face the inescapable trap set by the sorcerer.
She thought to herself, it's better to be safe than sorry, and it's always good to be cautious.