Chapter 212: The Fish Bites

Chapter 212: The Fish Bites

Looking at his stunned cousin, King Qing suppressed his anger. "Cousin, I know Uncle's death has been a great blow to you. That's precisely why you need to stay rational and not allow yourself to be misled by deceptive words."

Dai Ze's lips trembled. "Cousin, don't you trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't trust the nonsense of a young girl." Seeing Dai Ze was about to argue, King Qing's eyes turned cold. "People tend to jump to conclusions and spread rumors without evidence. If people start saying Uncle's death is related to me, do you think it would be good for me or for the Gu estate?"

"Miss Kou wouldn't talk nonsense," Dai Ze muttered.

King Qing's expression turned even colder. "Cousin, now that Uncle is gone, you need to grow up as well."

Dai Ze was visibly shaken, and after a while, he hung his head dejectedly. "I understand."

King Qing patted his shoulder. "Good. Let's go to the Gu estate."

The two went to Count Gu Chang's estate. When Countess Gu Chang saw her son returning with King Qing, she didn't ask any more questions.

The sudden blow had left the woman like a flower deprived of water, withered and pale.

It was not until dark that King Qing left the Gu estate. On the way back to his own mansion, he lifted the carriage window curtain and gazed in a certain direction.

That was the direction of Qingsong Bookstore.

Unlike his cold demeanor in front of Dai Ze, how could he not be stirred after hearing those words?

At one moment during the carriage ride, he was tempted to order the coachman to go to Qingsong Bookstore to meet Miss Kou.

To see if she was telling the truth or just a figment of his imagination.

However, he suppressed the thought and decided to enter the palace the next day.

The following day, King Qing went to the palace to request an audience with Emperor Xingyuan.

Emperor Xingyuan had been attending court and handling government affairs as usual these past few days, but both the imperial court and the inner palace were tense, unsure of what to expect.

As long as the true reason for Count Gu Chang's fall from favor remained unclear, no one could feel at ease.

When he heard that King Qing had requested another audience, Emperor Xingyuan once again refused.

Although King Qing had been mentally prepared for this, the rejection still weighed heavier on his heart. He then turned to go to Hanhua Palace.

His true purpose for entering the palace today was to see Consort Shu.

As soon as he saw Consort Shu, King Qing was shocked. "Mother, why have you lost so much weight?"

In just a few days, her cheeks had hollowed, and even makeup couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes.

"How could I possibly be at peace after your uncle's sudden passing?" After dismissing the palace servants, Consort Shu let her tears fall in front of her son.

In truth, it wasn't just the sorrow of losing her brother that kept her awake at night; she also feared that something might be exposed.

"Mother," King Qing said gravely, "why was Uncle really killed?"

Consort Shu's eyes flickered, and she said with a bitter tone, "Your uncle was never one to mind the small details, and after drinking, even more so. Perhaps he said something inappropriate that day. I had warned him before—these are not the times for wars of expansion anymore—"

"Mother!" King Qing interrupted. "Do you really think I'm still a child? Ask the court officials—would anyone believe this reason?"

Consort Shu was left speechless by his sharp words, her lips trembling as she struggled to respond.

King Qing half-knelt down, just as he did when he was younger, and grabbed Consort Shu's sleeve, asking the question slowly and deliberately: "Mother, is Uncle's death related to me?"

He saw the shock and panic in his mother's eyes, which left him speechless.

It seemed his cousin's words were indeed true!

"Mother, say something!"

Consort Shu snapped back to her senses and pulled her sleeve out of King Qing's grasp, forcing herself to stay calm: "Yier, don't let your imagination run wild. You've always been diligent in your studies and filial to your father. Not long ago, you returned after achieving meritorious service and are the most valued by your imperial father among all the princes. How could your uncle's death have anything to do with you?"

The more King Qing pressed, the more evasive Consort Shu became.

He understood that he wouldn't get anything out of his mother and had to leave: "Mother, please take care of yourself and don't let grief wear you down."

"You too. Stay calm and don't let rumors get to you. Also, remind your cousin not to act recklessly like before."

"I will."

Watching King Qing leave, Consort Shu returned to the inner chamber and sat back on the bed, her hand gripping the bedpost tightly.

Could Yier have heard something? What rumors are circulating outside the palace now?

What Consort Shu feared most was the exposure of the incident where her brother sent someone to kill Empress Xin.

She didn't blame her brother for taking the liberty.

With her in the palace and him outside, it was fortunate that she could use her convenience in managing the rear palace to pass messages. Opportunities to actually meet were few and far between.

Once the whereabouts of that woman were discovered, she had to be eliminated immediately. If they had to meet and discuss before taking action, who knows what changes might occur.

A palace maid quietly entered and reported in a low voice: "Your Highness, it is Consort Xian who has been managing the palace affairs these days."

Consort Xian, the mother of the third prince.

Consort Shu had been consumed by grief over her brother's death and had neglected other matters. Now that she had somewhat recovered, she ordered people to inquire about the palace's situation.

The power to manage the rear palace, which she valued the most, had fallen into Consort Xian's hands.

At least it wasn't Consort An, she thought to herself.

Consort An was the mother of the first prince, Prince Xiu. Even though the emperor didn't favor Prince Xiu, as the eldest son, he remained the greatest threat to her own son.

But soon, she curved her lips and a look of smugness appeared in her eyes.

She certainly had reason to be smug.

Back then, the emperor visited Consort An more frequently, and she became pregnant before Consort Shu did. The empress couldn't bear children, and whoever gave birth to the first prince would change everything.

Who knew that not long after they became pregnant, the empress also conceived.

As the emperor, he couldn't let the empress know about his concubines and had to place them in the Garden of Ease. If the empress gave birth to a crown prince, there would be no future for any of them.

Fortunately, Consort An was foolish enough to expose herself to the empress, just as she had planned. The empress, even more foolish, actually left the palace in anger.

From that day forward, the palace had no empress, only a first prince who was all but forgotten.

Consort Shu's eyelids twitched slightly as she pulled herself out of the distant memories.

In the years since that woman disappeared, everything had gone smoothly for her. Now, faced with her second major challenge, would she be able to navigate it as smoothly as before?

Thinking of Emperor Xingyuan, whom she had yet to meet, Consort Shu suddenly lost confidence.

King Qing left the imperial palace and first returned to his mansion.

Noticing that there were more Jinlin Guards on the streets these days, he changed into a plain, unmarked outfit and took a simple carriage to Qingsong Bookstore.

It was close to noon, but the students from the Imperial Academy weren’t out yet, and most people didn’t visit bookstores during lunchtime, so Qingsong Bookstore was pretty quiet.

King Qing stepped out of the carriage and headed towards the bookstore, followed closely by two bodyguards, while his secret guards quietly surrounded the bookstore.

Inside the main hall, Hu Boss was sitting behind the counter, eyes closed, taking a moment to rest. Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes, quickly stood up, and bowed respectfully.

King Qing gestured for him to keep it low and asked calmly, “Where’s Miss Kou?”

Hu Boss instinctively glanced toward the bookshelves and started to say, ‘Our boss—’

King Qing then spotted Miss Kou, dressed in a white blouse and blue skirt, emerging from between the bookshelves with a book in hand.