Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 198 Old Friend
Rong Junye lowered his head and smiled slightly, explaining, "This is Yu Nishang, Miss Yu, not Rui'er."

"So similar!" Rong Wanyin exclaimed.

"Huh? How are they similar? They're completely different!" Yan Mingzhang was puzzled; the two looked completely different no matter how he looked at them.

Rong Wanyin was speechless: "Even if I gave you two blank sheets of paper, you would probably say they are different!"

Yan Mingzhang looked somewhat innocent: "Isn't that... the case?"

Rong Wanyin rolled her eyes at him and stopped talking.

Yan Mingzhang glanced at the words on the ebony carriage and was somewhat surprised. This was the Sixth Prince's carriage! How could this woman be in the Sixth Prince's carriage? Who exactly was she?

Yu Nishang clearly wanted to say a few more words to Rong Junye, but Rong Junye was only focused on talking to Rong Wanyin. Yu Nishang's gaze, however, was fixed on Rong Junye, her eyes revealing a hint of admiration and longing, and she seemed lost in thought as she stared at his figure.

Suddenly, everyone heard a guard announce loudly, "This humble servant respectfully sees off the Sixth Prince..."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw the Sixth Prince walking in with his hands behind his back. He was extraordinary and full of vigor. He was no longer the timid boy he used to be!

Yu Nishang quickly lowered the curtain to cover her face.

"Greetings, Sixth Prince..." the crowd bowed.

"Hey, Lord Yan, General Rong, we've been through thick and thin together, there's no need for such formalities..." The Sixth Prince deliberately spoke loudly, seemingly cheerful and unpretentious. But everyone knew perfectly well that he was merely using this method to force them to take sides and to let others see the situation.

"The proper etiquette cannot be omitted." Rong Junye insisted, appearing selfless. "This humble servant still has duties to perform, so I will take my leave now."

"General Rong, you're just too rigid and boring." The Sixth Prince smiled amiably, but there was a hint of coldness in his eyes. "Go on, thank you for your hard work."

"Then, Lord Yan, I will also return first. After this matter is settled, I will personally host a banquet to welcome you back." The Sixth Prince patted Yan Mingzhang on the shoulder, and then got into the carriage where Yu Nishang was.

The ebony carriage swayed forward, and a corner of the curtain in the carriage window was lifted, allowing the girl inside to glance at the imposing palace gates.

This scene was witnessed by Rong Wanyin, who secretly wondered: Was this girl just looking at...her older brother?
After dinner, Rong Wanyin pulled Rong Junheng aside and whispered to him, "Third Brother, I want to find out about someone for you. Do you know anything about them?"

Rong Junheng thumped his chest loudly: "If I were to talk about knowledge, your third brother can't compare to your second brother, but if you want to ask me about all the big and small matters in the capital, you can't go wrong with me. After all, I am the 'know-it-all' of the martial arts world."

Rong Wanyin playfully punched Rong Junheng, saying, "Third Brother, I'm being serious, I'm not joking."

Rong Junheng also said with a serious expression, "I'm not joking!"

Rong Wanyin rolled her eyes at Rong Junheng and said, "I saw a young girl today named Yu Nishang. Do you know her?" Rong Junheng looked around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "What? You also noticed that this girl is interested in Big Brother?"

"Huh?" Rong Wanyin asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Rong Junheng's leap in thinking was quite large, and Rong Wanyin didn't react for a moment.

Rong Junheng began to ramble on, "To be honest, Miss Yu is a pitiful person. Her father was originally a former official of the Sixth Prince, and his family was of noble birth. However, he offended the Second Prince, who, taking advantage of the Sixth Prince's absence at Medicine King Valley, framed the former official's family, causing them to fall into misfortune. Miss Yu was sold to a brothel. Fortunately, my elder brother arrived in time and rescued her, but her entire family died, leaving her all alone! Oh, and she even stayed at our Rong family's house for a few days! At first, the Sixth Prince didn't..." I took it to heart, but who knew that after the Sixth Prince met Miss Yu at our house, he immediately brought her back to the Prince's residence. Coincidentally, my elder brother was on duty that day. You could say that it's understandable for the Sixth Prince to bring Miss Yu back; outsiders say he's loyal and takes good care of the families of former officials. But the timing of that is too strange. If he truly takes good care of the families of former officials, why didn't he bring Miss Yu back on her first day? I think it's because the Sixth Prince was lustful at first sight!

Upon hearing this, Rong Wanyin seemed lost in thought and remained silent.

Rong Junheng paused, then continued rambling, "When we were at our house, I noticed that Miss Yu had a bit of a crush on my brother. After all, she's his savior, so it's normal for her to repay him with her body. I even thought we'd have another sister-in-law! Unfortunately, my brother is oblivious; he probably never noticed anything from beginning to end..."

Rong Wanyin nodded, suddenly realizing, "No wonder, so that's how it is."

Rong Wanyin thought to herself: No wonder, when I saw this girl today, she treated my elder brother very differently.

Rong Junheng continued, "You know, the Sixth Prince must have seen his fair share of beautiful women, so it's a bit strange that he's so interested in this Miss Yu. Don't you think so?"

Rong Wanyin explained, "Because she looks so much like an old friend, and this person must be very important to the Sixth Prince."

Rong Wanyin recalled the cold-faced girl and felt a pang of emotion, murmuring to herself, "It's a pity that she is not herself. She was happy, but she was not."

They may look alike, but how could their expressions, temperament, and the light in their eyes be the same?

Rong Junheng looked completely bewildered: "Huh? What did you say? What do you mean she's not her?"

Rong Wanyin came to her senses and said with a wry smile, "It's nothing, just talking nonsense."
-
The next morning, when Rong Wanyin stepped into the Imperial Study, Yan Mingzhang had already been there for some time.

Yan Mingzhang lowered his eyes and stared at the empty box on the imperial desk. The sandalwood box lid was closed, and there were no signs of prying on the lock. He stood there motionless, like a statue.

Rong Wanyin didn't dare to disturb him; Yan Mingzhang must have his reasons for acting this way.

Rong Wanyin searched the study herself, hoping to find some useful clues.

The Imperial Study remained exactly as it had been during the incident, untouched. The guards at the entrance worked in three shifts, four guards at a time. Rong Wanyin carefully examined each window; the doors and windows were securely sealed, showing no signs of forced entry. The previous night, only the Sixth Prince and the Emperor were in the study. The Emperor had used the jade seal as usual. The next morning, the jade seal was gone. The doors, windows, and the sandalwood box containing the seal showed no signs of being pried open, yet now only half a brick remained inside. Furthermore, no one had entered the Imperial Study during that time, and the guards hadn't heard any disturbance all night.

"Could it be that someone colluded with someone inside to steal the imperial seal? Surely the imperial seal couldn't have grown wings and flown away?" Rong Wanyin was completely baffled.