Chapter 426: Birthday
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yu Niaoniao and Xiao Juan caused a huge commotion, attracting many Eagle Guards.
They did not dare to enter and could only gather outside the door and peer into the house.
Initially, they were worried that Duke Lang would attack the princess in a fit of anger.
They were even prepared to risk their lives to rush in and stop the fight.
In the end, he only saw the Princess Consort slapping the table and shouting at Duke Lang. Not to mention attacking, he did not even dare to breathe loudly from the beginning to the end.
The entire time, they only saw him sitting there and being reprimanded. He was so honest that their heart ached.
It was not until the Princess Consort suggested a divorce that Duke Lang became agitated.
He pressed Yu Niaoniao’s hand tightly, refusing to let her write the divorce letter.
Meng Xizhou, who was hiding in the crowd watching the commotion, could not help but persuade her.
“Princess Consort, calm down. Divorce is not a joke.”
The other Eagle Guards agreed.
They quite liked watching the commotion, but they did not want Duke Lang and the Princess Consort to really divorce.
Yu Niaoniao was furious.
She turned and roared at the group outside the door.
“What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen a couple fight?” Xiao Juan scolded in a low voice, “Get lost!”
The Eagle Guards were frightened and immediately scattered.
In the blink of an eye, the door of Mirror House was empty.
Xiao Juan pried open her fingers and pulled the brush out of her hand. Then, he threw the brush far away.
After making sure that she could not get the pen, he felt slightly relieved.
He looked at Yu Niaoniao’s red eyes and his heart ached.
“I’m sorry. I never thought of you as a burden. You mean a lot to me. It’s because you’re too important that I don’t want to take you to Liangzhou.”
Yu Niaoniao did not understand. “Why are you going to Liangzhou? Why can’t you take me?”
“It’s a long story. Do you remember Ye Yin?”
How could Yu Niaoniao not remember?
She hurriedly explained, “I have nothing to do with him. I don’t know him at all. Don’t listen to the nonsense outside!”
Xiao Juan was slightly stunned. “You don’t know him?”
Yu Niaoniao nodded vigorously.
“That’s right! I’ve never even met him. How can I know him? It was all that bastard Wei Liao’s fault. He had deliberately made up some wild lies to make fun of me. Don’t fall for his trap!”
Xiao Juan did not expect the truth to be like this.
So she hadn’t fallen for another man. It had all been a misunderstanding.
The dark clouds that had accumulated in his heart for the past few days dissipated.
It didn’t matter even if she didn’t like him.
As long as she didn’t like anyone else, she wouldn’t leave him for the time being.
Xiao Juan could not help but blurt out, “That’s the best.”
Yu Niaoniao said, “What?”
Xiao Juan forcefully changed the topic.
“Previously, the Eagle Guards captured Ye Yin and learned from him where the suspect in the bribery case was.”
“Based on the clues he had provided, the Eagle Guards captured the fugitive at Assistant Minister Wei’s house.”
“That suspect could not bear it. Torture was useless.”
Yu Niaoniao listened attentively. “And?”
“Then, we shifted the interrogation target to Assistant Minister Wei. Compared to the lone suspect, Assistant Minister Wei, who had a family and a job, was clearly easier to break through. That proved to be the case. Assistant Minister
Wei quickly confessed everything he knew.”
“But he wasn’t at the center of the bribery case. He didn’t know where the stolen money had gone. He said that he had been coerced into asking a tiger for its skin.”
“He hid all the letters the man had threatened him in a secret compartment in the study. The Eagle Guards brought back those letters and handed them to me.”
At this point, Xiao Juan opened the desk drawer and took out a few thin pieces of paper. He placed them in front of Yu Niaoniao.
Yu Niaoniao immediately picked up the letter and read it carefully.
The contents of the letter were very simple, almost the same as what Assistant Minister Wei had said.
Because he had been bribed before, someone had something on him and forced him to work for them.
Yu Niaoniao flipped through the letters several times.
The letters were neither signed nor had any trace of personal information.
Even the handwriting was different.
It had clearly been deliberately disguised.
The letter itself was the most ordinary kind of rice paper on the market. It was neither too expensive nor incredibly cheap.
Yu Niaoniao looked up and asked in confusion.
“What’s the use of these letters?”
Xiao Juan reached out his well-defined fingers and gently tapped the words on the paper.
“Do you smell it?”
Yu Niaoniao leaned closer to the letter and sniffed it carefully.
“There’s a faint fragrance of ink, but that’s nothing, right? As long as it’s high-quality ink, it will have a hint of fragrance.”
Xiao Juan said, “This is not an ordinary ink fragrance. This is the unique smell of Qingyun Mo. Qingyun MO is produced in Qingyun County, and Qingyun
County is under the jurisdiction of Liangzhou.”
That faint ink fragrance was nothing special to ordinary people.
However, Xiao Juan’s senses were naturally sharper than those of ordinary people. Even a little fragrance could not escape his nose.
He was born in Liangzhou and lived there for a long time.
He knew that Qingyun MO was the most common ink used by people in Liangzhou and had long memorized that smell.
Almost as soon as he touched the letter, he thought of Qingyun Mo.
Yu Niaoniao asked, “Is that why you’re going to Liangzhou?”
Xiao Juan said, “This is only one of the reasons. The other reason is that Princess Ni Yang’s birthday is coming soon. The emperor ordered me to go back and celebrate Princess Ni Yang’s birthday.”
“Princess Ni Yang’s fief is in Liangzhou, so I have to return to Liangzhou.”
Yu Niaoniao had once heard Xiao Juan mention Princess Ni Yang. She was a woman who liked delicious food and luxurious clothes and was obsessed with enjoyment. She could even ignore the life and death of her biological son.
How could Yu Niaoniao be at ease with Xiao Juan going back to face such a
mother?
She grabbed Xiao Juan’s sleeve and said go back with you.”
Xiao Juan was not surprised by this outcome.
He pulled his sleeve out of Niaoniao’s hand.
“On the surface, I’m returning to Liangzhou to celebrate Princess Ni Yang’s birthday. In fact, I’m there to investigate the relationship between the bribery case and Liangzhou.”
“This is not a joke. It might be very dangerous. It’s safer for you to stay in the Imperial Capital.”
Yu Niaoniao refused to stop and asked.
“Didn’t I encounter many dangers when I went to Liaodong County previously? Not only did I not implicate you, but I also helped you. Why can’t I do it this time if it’s Liangzhou?”
Xiao Juan was silent.
Yu Niaoniao looked into his eyes and asked word by word.
“Is it because of Princess Ni Yang?”
Xiao Juan subconsciously avoided her gaze.
“I just don’t want you to be in danger again.”
Seeing that he refused to tell the truth, Yu Niaoniao did not ask further. She just emphasized her attitude again.
“No matter what you’re worried about, I’m going to Liangzhou with you. Unless you divorce me, don’t even think about getting rid of me!” It was impossible to divorce. Not in this life.
Xiao Juan could only reply, “Let me think about it again..”
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