Ye Ying had already said so much, if Jun Ning still felt that they shouldn’t sacrifice so much for her, then it would be just being pretentious and courting disaster.
Jun Ning didn’t say anything more, she silently kept this sentint in her heart.
"Ah Ning, there’s one more thing..." Ye Ying was sowhat fatigued, but he still maintained his vigor and spoke to Jun Ning, "The letters the Crown Prince gave that day, I put them in the secret compartnt in your room."
"Rember to check them..." Fearing Jun Ning might feel he read the confidential content, Ye Ying added, "Don’t worry, I didn’t read the contents of the letters, no one has. They are in the sa state as when I received them."
"Ye Ying, we’ve been through so many life-and-death situations together, we are already life-and-death friends who can trust each other with our backs, so even if you had read them, it wouldn’t matter."
Jun Ning didn’t mind Ye Ying’s concerns too much.
Ye Ying just smiled slightly, "Ah Ning, you are the most favored princess of Dong Chu, you are not an ordinary person, you shouldn’t think like that..."
Ye Ying teased with a smile, "In case, I’m just saying in case, if one day I betray you, and you still trust , it would bring disaster to you..."
"You wouldn’t."
Jun Ning said resolutely, and proceeded to head back to her room to read those letters.
Ye Ying’s words were purely seen by her as Ye Ying’s boredom, speaking nonsense to her, and she didn’t think much of it at all.
Ye Ying knew she hadn’t thought much of it either. He lay on the bed, turned his head, watched Jun Ning leave, and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
On the way back to her room, Jun Ning’s face was filled with worry.
Now that her Crown Prince brother was dead, her dozen or so brothers, especially the ones with ulterior motives backed by many military generals like the Eldest Prince, started to stir again, coveting the position of Crown Prince.
Currently, the only thing temporarily suppressing the Eldest Prince is the letters that the Crown Prince exchanged his life for.
It was said that the Eldest Prince had been looking for Ye Ying’s whereabouts recently, eager to retrieve those lost letters. For this, he even promised many favorable conditions.
As long as Ye Ying could hand over the letters, he would promise anything.
But Jun Ning knew that Ye Ying wasn’t the kind of person who would betray her for a little petty gain.
After returning to her room, Jun Ning took out the letters that Ye Ying had placed in the secret compartnt.
The letters that her Crown Prince brother had risked his life to obtain, they must not be just ordinary evidence.
Looking at this evidence, Jun Ning’s nose twitched as she rembered bits and pieces of her ti with the Crown Prince, and she almost couldn’t hold back her tears.
She looked up at the ceiling, and after her tears returned to her eyes, she began to carefully examine the letters.
These letters were all correspondences between the Eldest Prince and Bei Xia.
They contained many confidential matters.
The granaries of Dong Chu, the weapons store, the number of soldiers, warhorses... etc., were all roughly outlined here.
Although sowhat vague and not too clear, they weren’t too far off from Dong Chu’s actual reserves at present.
Moreover, the real condition of Emperor Yongning’s health, as well as the situation of each of Dong Chu’s seventeen Princes, were all detailedly described.
Especially the ten or so Princes, several pages were written about them.
Describing each one’s specialties and official positions in detail, down to their characteristics and personalities, and whether they are easy to handle, all were written ticulously.
The letters in Jun Ning’s hand seed like just a thin pile, without much weight. However, the crucial secrets of Dong Chu were all here.
And judging by the letters, they weren’t written recently, clearly it’s been so ti. Presumably, they were circulated out and returned.
It should be that the Eldest Prince feared these letters falling into the hands of his opponents, which would cause him troubles, so he had them sent out and retrieved after being viewed by the other party.
Moreover, the letters bore the exclusive seal of the people of Bei Xia.
Previously, Jun Ning had seen similar sealed letters in Emperor Yongning’s study.
Generally, when exchanging letters between the two countries, having the other country’s seal would signify a matter of state communication.
But these letters of the Eldest Prince had nothing to do with state communication at all.
He divulged all these secrets of Dong Chu.
To say he was treacherous and sought glory through betrayal, was not an exaggeration.
However—
This was just part of the content of the letters. There were two other letters that looked quite special, with unique plum blossom markings, which Jun Ning had not yet opened.
Jun Ning had a faint feeling that these two letters were related to Qi Qin’s death.
The truth was close, within reach.
Jun Ning was getting nervous.
She took a deep breath, ntally prepared herself fully, and with trembling hands, opened the pale yellow letter paper.
Sure enough, the truth was just as Jun Ning and the Crown Prince had suspected. The Eldest Prince had been replaced long ago and was no longer the real Eldest Prince. The real Eldest Prince had been swapped at birth.
The current Eldest Prince was actually Prince Bei Xia.
He had been indoctrinated with loyalty to Bei Xia since childhood. As a result, even though he grew up in Dong Chu, nourished by its land, he had grown astray.
He was in Dong Chu, but his heart was in Bei Xia.
Silently using poison to kill Qi Qin was the top-level mission he took on after growing up.
He accomplished this task excellently.
The old Emperor of Bei Xia, therefore, promised him the position of Crown Prince of Bei Xia, to return and reclaim his roots, and be granted the title of Crown Prince.
But he never returned; instead, he stubbornly held on, enduring until today.
With the Crown Prince dead, he, being the most powerful Prince, again set his sights on the Crown Prince position of Dong Chu.
Here’s the question.
Since he was close to becoming Bei Xia’s Crown Prince, why would he still be fixated on Dong Chu’s Crown Prince position?
This seed sowhat contradictory.
Actually, his ambitions were vast.
His fixation on Dong Chu’s Crown Prince position was none other than to take over the entire Dong Chu effortlessly.
Big brother... oh no, now it should be Prince Bei Xia, he really had so brilliant plans!
Jun Ning recalled how Emperor Yongning often said that the Eldest Prince acted recklessly, was too impatient, and wore everything on his face, making him unsuitable to be a ruler.
Now it seems, not entirely.
This Prince Bei Xia indeed knew well how to play the fool to catch the tiger, creating a smokescreen!
Confusing everyone who couldn’t see his true face, all believing him to be a reckless, irritable, impatient straight shooter with dim prospects...
Little did they know, he was born with the making of an Emperor.
The craft of rulers, nothing more than this.
It’s a pity he used it in the wrong place.
Jun Ning couldn’t allow the country that raised her to be quietly overtaken by Bei Xia just like that. She couldn’t allow the land she loved to inexplicably beco Bei Xia’s, nor her people to bow to Bei Xia’s rulers and suddenly beco Bei Xia’s citizens.
She needed to enter the palace and see the Emperor imdiately.
When Ye Ying woke up, he heard Jun Ning in the large courtyard calling people.
There were people everywhere watching Jun Ning, and it was indeed inconvenient for her to go out without protection.
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