Chapter 503: The Secret Weapon

Chapter 503: Secret Weapon

"She knows full well that my mother was a woman of propriety and strong character, yet she has a fake prince buried with her—it's clearly meant to humiliate her and slap the face of the Xishu Kingdom's royal family."

Not to mention, there has never been a precedent in the Xishu dynasty of a son being buried together with his mother after death.

Usually, parents are buried together, and children are buried separately.

If Empress Dowager Yuan did this without ulterior motives, Hua Feixue would never believe it.

But Ji Yuntang's focus was somewhat different from theirs.

She suddenly floated a theory, "What do you think—is there a possibility that the body of this False Crown Prince was deliberately fabricated by Empress Dowager Yuan's people?"

Xie Liuzheng was taken aback, but he had to admit the theory had merit.

It wasn't that they were being paranoid—surely a grand empress dowager of a nation couldn't mistake a fake crown prince for the real one, right?

If the real crown prince were dead, that would be one thing, but Chu Yi was still alive. Her doing this seemed way too deliberate!

But he couldn't wrap his head around why.

"So if she knows the crown prince is still alive, why would she do this?"

Hua Feixue clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "The Old Witch has been scheming in the palace for years. On top of seizing the throne, she wants the treasure map hidden in the forbidden grounds."

"She killed so many of my family members and forced my father to keep having kids with other women—all just to use the blood of a pure-yang legitimate son to open the forbidden grounds' gate."

"She knows my mother treated me well, so there's no way I'd just stand by. She's doing this because she's desperate and wants to force me out into the open."

Xie Liuzheng frowned, totally confused.

"What's the deal with this treasure map in your royal forbidden grounds? Why's the Old Witch been so obsessed with it for all these years?"

Hua Feixue said, "According to legend, the founding emperor of Xishu was a big explorer in his day. He sent people to gather rare treasures from all over the four nations, buried them in four separate spots, and had someone draw a treasure map."

"One of them is a sword called Longyuan. Legend says whoever gets it can become invincible—slaying gods and Buddhas alike—and unite the world to become an eternal emperor."

"That's exactly why so many people have hunted for the founding emperor's treasure map, and Empress Dowager Yuan is one of them."

"Whoa! No way!" Xie Liuzheng blurted out. "Just get the Longyuan Sword and you can rule the world?"

Ji Yuntang's lips twitched. Longyuan Sword? It wasn't even as powerful as one of her grenades.

She didn't buy it.

Besides, it was just a cold weapon—even if it were super powerful, it only helped so much. What really mattered was who was wielding it.

If the person holding it had mediocre martial arts skills and nothing but ambition, how could they possibly unite the world?

Ji Yuntang looked at Hua Feixue and said, "Rumors aside, this Princess thinks you've only got half the picture. Empress Dowager Yuan searched for you for two years, then suddenly announced you were dead—her motives might be way more complicated than that."

"But we're in a town now, still far from the capital, so we can only get so much info here. We'll have to wait until tomorrow to dig up more in the capital."

Hua Feixue looked troubled. "That's all we can do then."

The three of them rested for a day, and early the next morning, they hit the road to the capital.

To keep Hua Feixue from being recognized, Ji Yuntang did her makeup beautifully and also gave her a secret weapon.

Hua Feixue held it up, her face dark with annoyance. "What is this thing you've given this Crown Prince? Why does it look so scandalous?"

Ji Yuntang raised an eyebrow and smirked. "It's underwear. Wear it and your chest looks bigger. Whether you're flat as a board or have little buns, I guarantee you'll have curves in all the right places."

Hua Feixue: "..."

Hua Feixue: "!!!"

She'd never seen anything like it, but she somehow understood exactly what Ji Yuntang meant.

Her face flushed bright red. "Y-you're actually making this Crown Prince wear women's stuff?"

Ji Yuntang rolled her eyes, exasperated. "You're already disguised as a woman—what's wrong with wearing women's stuff?"

"Besides, your clothes, jewelry, and earrings—which one of those isn't a woman's thing?"

"You don't want to keep stuffing two peaches in there, do you? If we get into a fight with the Old Witch's people and they fall out and get stomped on, how awkward would that be!"

Hua Feixue: "..."

Hua Feixue: "!!!"

She couldn't help but think back to the barbecue place, when Ji Yuntang had stomped on her peaches and burst them.

Hua Feixue's face darkened even more!

Ji Yuntang pushed her toward the room. "Alright, stop being so dramatic. We've got bigger things to do, so let's not waste time!"

"Just try it on and see if it works!"

Hua Feixue still ended up getting pushed back into the room by Ji Yuntang.

Staring at the pink lace underwear in her hand, her expression shifted between green and white, but weirdly, she kind of wanted to try it on.

She told herself it wasn't that she wanted to wear it—it was just that the two peaches were really uncomfortable.

Plus, she was scared they'd fall out in front of people—that would be way too embarrassing!

Hua Feixue was sharp. She studied the underwear for a moment and quickly figured out how to put it on.

After putting it on and covering it with her outer clothes, she opened the door and walked out, looking a bit awkward.

To be fair, it was actually comfortable, and it looked pretty natural.

Ji Yuntang teased her as she came out, "See? Did this Princess lie to you?"

"The Crown Prince really does have fair skin, a pretty face, and long legs. If you were a woman, you'd have men falling all over you."

Hua Feixue said with a dark look, "Aren't we in a hurry? Why aren't we leaving?"

With that, she walked out ahead.

Ji Yuntang pouted and followed.

Outside the tavern, Xie Liuzheng had already gotten a carriage.

This time, they'd adjusted their roles a bit.

Xie Liuzheng and Hua Feixue were playing husband and wife, so they could touch each other and act intimate without raising suspicion.

Ji Yuntang played the younger sister, and the three of them were still heading to the capital for a wedding banquet.

She called out sweetly, "Big brother, sister-in-law, let's go!"

Hua Feixue didn't react, but Xie Liuzheng got uncomfortable.

He pulled Ji Yuntang aside and whispered, "Sister Yuntang, when you get back, please don't tell Qingge about this. If she finds out this Heir is playing husband with a man out here, she'll skin me alive."

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