Tianliangyuan

Chapter 70: Who was plotting against whom?

In Xu Zhaozhao's eyes, neither the Prince of Zhong nor the Second Prince were good people.

Actually, she was quite curious about Jiang Ning. Since she had a chance to start over, why didn't she think about how to become stronger, but instead always thought about finding another man to rely on?

To put it bluntly, as long as Jiang Ning herself is rich and powerful, even if she marries a poor but successful scholar, her future will not be bad.

Why insist on being stuck with a backcourt position?

If her past life was all for naught, why is she so certain that she will become empress in this life?

Isn't that a bit too much confidence?

The second prince was drunk and was helped to a guest room to rest.

Even if the Second Prince had relations with several beautiful maids here, it would be a perfectly normal thing. No one would think that such romantic affairs of men were a big mistake, as long as they were not daughters of noble families or other men's wives, then there would be no problem.

Moreover, if Xu Zhaozhao remembered correctly, the Duke of Su's mansion kept quite a few singing girls.

These singers and dancers were actually what ordinary people called "domestic prostitutes."

They were usually used to serve the guest ministers or distinguished guests in the household.

Of course, they are occasionally summoned by their owner to play.

In short, these people are not even as good as ordinary servants.

Xu Zhaozhao took a sip of tea. Jiang Ning wanted to ruin the Second Prince's reputation, so there were only a few methods she could use.

For example, he might have some unknown quirks. If this were to be exposed, it would damage his image as a gentleman and cause many powerful and influential families to distance themselves from him.

For example, would a dignified second prince accidentally kill someone because of a beautiful woman?

……

Xu Zhaozhao gestured for Dingxiang to come over, whispered a few words to her, and then Dingxiang withdrew.

Before long, Dingxiang returned with a small bottle in her hand. She poured out a few pills and gave them to Xu Zhaozhao.

When asked, Xu Zhaozhao only said that she might have accidentally eaten something that she was allergic to, so she took a few pills just in case.

In this way, it will naturally not attract attention.

Jiang Ning on the other side was very excited, and her fingers even trembled slightly when she picked up her wine glass several times.

She's so excited; how confident is she in her own plans?

Xu Zhaozhao didn't wait long before she noticed that servants were frequently coming and going from the main seat to report and relay messages. Before long, several officials left their seats looking anxious.

Jiang Ning couldn't sit still any longer.

She wanted to go and see for herself the predicament of that unfaithful man!

But she was, after all, just a woman, and an unmarried one at that, so it was clearly not a place she could go to casually.

A moment later, the Duchess of Su looked unwell and sent her sister-in-law to entertain the guests, claiming that she was feeling unwell and would be right back.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ning was so excited that he stood up, almost saying, "Madam, please take me with you to see this!"

On such an occasion, the Duchess of Su did not entrust all the reception of guests to Jiang Fu alone, which shows that Jiang Fu's status in the Duke's mansion was not high.

The women's side still couldn't get any more information until the Duchess of Su hurriedly returned, exchanged a few polite words, and then ordered the guests to be seen off.

Jiang Ning didn't leave; she stayed by Jiang Fu's side under the pretext of accompanying her sister.

Xu Zhaozhao just thought this person was really stupid!

Is she afraid others won't know how curious she is, or does she really think others can't find anything out?

After Xu Zhaozhao returned to the carriage, Wang Ruolan held her hand tightly, patted her chest with one hand, and then put her arm around Wang Wenxiu's shoulder.

"Thank goodness nothing serious happened! I was sitting at the main table earlier, and I heard that the Second Prince had an accident at the Duke's mansion and was almost stabbed. That was terrible!"

Xu Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow; it seemed the message she sent out was quite timely.

"Mother, did you hear that clearly? Is someone really trying to assassinate the Second Prince?"

Wang Ruolan nodded solemnly: "Of course it's true! I heard that the Second Prince couldn't hold his liquor and was helped to a guest room. Since it was daytime and he is a prince, no other people were arranged to serve him. A little eunuch who was with the Second Prince was waiting at the door."

Unexpectedly, two dancers barged in, claiming to be from the Duke's mansion. What happened next is unclear, but it's said their deaths were gruesome, with blood reportedly covering the room. The young eunuch was also knocked unconscious.

Xu Zhaozhao smiled; it seemed her guess was correct.

This is the trap that Jiang Ning set for the Second Prince.

Her original intention was probably to make everyone despise the Second Prince's despicable behavior.

First of all, engaging in lewd behavior in broad daylight is a grave offense!

Secondly, it resulted in the loss of life, and this happened in the residence of a courtier, which is simply unacceptable.

In this way, the Second Prince's reputation will surely plummet, and the Loyal Prince and other officials from the other princes' faction will inevitably rise up against him and then quickly erode some of his influence.

It was just wishful thinking, but Xu Zhaozhao was one step ahead and found the Second Prince's personal bodyguard.

Intentionally injuring the young eunuch was a tactic to confuse the situation.

Wang Ruolan didn't actually know the full story until Xu Han returned that evening and explained it to her more clearly.

"The Second Prince was stabbed in the arm by one of the dancers. Fortunately, although he was drunk, he reacted quickly and was protected by guards, so he was not seriously injured."

Xu Junan asked with a puzzled look, "Father, has His Majesty given any explicit instructions?"

"The Duke of Su went to the palace first to plead guilty, and then took the initiative to ask the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to conduct a thorough investigation. However, the two assassins were already dead, and the clues were probably lost. Fortunately, the Second Prince came out to speak for the Duke of Su, saying that a fight had taken place inside the house, and the servants of the Duke's mansion immediately came in to help after hearing the noise. One servant even lost his life in the fight with the assassins, which can be considered as indirectly proving the innocence of the Duke of Su's mansion."

Xu Junan still felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Jiang Ning was completely dumbfounded.

She never expected things to turn out this way!

She had everything planned out. She had deliberately left many marks of abuse on the two dancers' bodies, just waiting for them to shout when they committed suicide, and then the matter would be considered settled.

But how could this happen?

How did he become an assassin?

And is the claim that the Second Prince was injured true or false?

Jiang Ning couldn't understand it, but what she was most worried about now was whether this matter would lead to her being implicated.

Because it was to deal with the Second Prince, she arranged this herself, and Jiang Fu was unaware of it.

Jiang Ning was filled with anxiety and repeatedly tried to convince herself that the two people were dead and there was no evidence to prove that they had ever been in contact with her.

Correct!

That's it!

After constant self-suggestion, Jiang Ning finally stopped being so afraid.

But what she didn't expect was that the fire would eventually reach her...