Fu Zhen remained silent for a mont, then took out the jade he obtained from Xu Yin, gazing at it intently.
Pei Zhan glanced at it but said nothing.
Fu Zhen held the jade and spoke, "Do you know? Lian Rong also has a piece of jade like this."
"Lian Rong?" Pei Zhan’s brow twitched slightly.
"Do you rember Tie Ying ntioned that Duan Mian’s wife had a mother-child jade pendant?" Fu Zhen looked at him, "It was based on that mother jade from Duan Mian’s wife that the King of Dayue suspected and ultimately confird they had another child, which led to finding Xu Yin. I’ve seen the jade on Lian Rong; it’s very similar to Xu Yin’s jade.
"At the ti, I was puzzled why both master and servant would wear the sa jade. But if Xu Yin’s jade is the child jade, then could Lian Rong’s be the mother jade?"
Pei Zhan paused, "How could his mother’s jade be on Lian Rong?"
"It’s quite strange," Fu Zhen said. "If I could see that jade, then certainly Xu Yin could too. Logically, Xu Yin wouldn’t allow him to wear it. If Xu Yin allowed it, given Xu Yin’s character, it must an he considered Lian Rong extrely trustworthy. But if he were truly trustworthy, why did Lian Rong betray him?"
Pei Zhan pondered for a mont and said, "Go on."
Fu Zhen continued, "You were outside before; you must have heard. The incident happened at night, and Xu Yin was able to make swift decisions because Lian Rong inford him of the deceased’s identity. This Lian Rong seems to know quite a lot."
Pei Zhan instinctively leaned forward, touching his chin, said, "I rember Tie Ying saying that the King of Dayue secretly hid a prince in the Lian Family."
"But Tie Ying also said he’d never heard of Lian Rong," Fu Zhen looked at the jade, "If Lian Rong is truly from Prince Yi Mansion and he could be entrusted with such a significant responsibility, staying by Xu Yin’s side for so long, Tie Ying and the others should know about him, right?
"There’s no reason for Tie Ying to lie about such a trivial matter.
"Xu Yin’s escape with Consort Li wasn’t preditated; it was a spontaneous decision. Lian Rong couldn’t have known in advance. Overall, I think the fact that Lian Rong could make the quick decision to flee with Consort Li during such a critical mont suggests he’s not a simple person."
Pei Zhan nodded, "With what you’ve said, this Lian Rong is indeed worth investigating. We weren’t initially guarded against him. After we captured that guard, Lian Rong had already left the city. According to the guard, there are still Xu Yin’s people waiting outside the city to assist. Once Lian Rong left, he would surely use these forces to escape discreetly. Capturing him won’t be an easy task."
"We can’t just do nothing. We may ignore the Dayue matter, but we must clarify how they were able to confirm the deceased as the first prince."
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhan hissed softly, sat up straight, and said, "When you ntion this, it reminds , the Empress said the first prince trained in martial arts as a child and was quite brave. Yet the first prince who was killed in the alley witnessed by the mother-in-law corresponds with the account given by Prince Rong and his son about the prince’s death, but seems to deviate from the Empress’s description of him."
"The first prince trained in martial arts from a young age?"
Pei Zhan nodded, "Not only did he train, but he also left with two guards. His disappearance could naturally be related to these two guards. However, if the guards weren’t trustworthy, given the first prince’s age of ten at the ti, he couldn’t have escaped from under their noses. If these two guards were unquestionably loyal, his martial skills should only have improved over ti, with no reason to decline.
"How could he have had several disputes with Yang Zhan and even be killed by him?"
Fu Zhen listened, astonished, "There’s more to it?!"
Pei Zhan casually recounted the Empress’s earlier account of the first prince’s childhood experiences. Then he said, "For the son of a prince who’s constantly facing war, even after years of exile, shouldn’t he behave differently?"
Fu Zhen asked, "Did you tell these to the imperial concubine?"
"How could I have had the chance? The Crown Prince was sentenced to death, and I left the palace right away."
Fu Zhen mused and nodded, "After this incident, the Emperor is deeply shaken emotionally. It is ti to promptly conclude the case and stabilize the court. These speculative matters are best discussed later."
The doubts surrounding the first prince cannot be ignored, but the Empress and Emperor have just accepted the reality of the Crown Prince’s fratricide, stirring them up again would only tornt them further.
With that, Fu Zhen set the matter aside and put away the jade. Lifting the teapot, she poured them each a cup of tea and said, "Let off at the corner ahead; I need to see my mother. She must be really worried about ."
Having said that, she lifted her neck, drank the tea, and then asked the guard to stop the vehicle and got off by herself.
Watching her back, Pei Zhan wanted to say sothing. He lifted his hand halfway out the window but then let it drop back down.
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