Chapter 119: Qin Jiao’s Jealousy

Chapter 119: Qin Jiao Gets Jealous

"No way, Brother Xie, I'm gonna call you that." Xiaojiu wasn't having any of Xie Nai's objections. He reached out to grab Xie Nai, but Xie Nai dodged to the side, avoiding him.

"I... I feel like I might be kinda in the way here."

At that moment, Qin Jiao was stuck between the two of them, feeling super awkward.

Xie Nai was gripping him and wouldn't let go, while Xiaojiu kept ignoring Qin Jiao entirely, trying to lean into Xie Nai. Qin Jiao stood there stiff as a board, like some big tree blocking the way. On top of that, the way Xie Nai was treating Xiaojiu so specially stirred up a weird, suffocating feeling in his chest.

So Qin Jiao, trying to be considerate, said, "Maybe I should just step out for a bit? Your Highness, you two can chat."

Xie Nai didn't loosen his grip on Qin Jiao's hand. "We can still talk with you here."

Qin Jiao: "..."

Your Highness, you sure about that?

This young master Xiaojiu here doesn't seem to want me around...

Xiaojiu kept trying to ignore Qin Jiao, but Xie Nai's firm tone—and the fact that he never once let go of Qin Jiao's hand—made it impossible for Xiaojiu not to notice this young master who seemed to be around his own age.

Xiaojiu looked at Qin Jiao: "I'm Xiaojiu. And who might this young master be?"

Before Qin Jiao or Xie Nai could answer, Li Nanli—who'd been enjoying the "show" from the sidelines—spoke up first: "This is the apple of His Highness, the Prince of Lingnan's, eye. You haven't noticed what's on his wrist?"

The moment Li Nanli finished, Xiaojiu's eyes immediately went to where Qin Jiao and Xie Nai's hands were clasped together.

The young man's hand was lean and strong, while the youth's wrist was pale and delicate. Beneath the delicate embroidered sleeve, the deep blue Fengxue Bracelet on the youth's wrist gleamed, red light flowing within it and making his delicate features and snow-white wrist even more striking.

"How come you've got the Fengxue Bracelet?"

Xiaojiu got all worked up the moment he saw the bracelet on Qin Jiao's wrist. Qin Jiao was also somewhat surprised. He was about to speak when Xie Nai explained first: "I gave it to Little Master Qin."

Hearing that, Xiaojiu got even more worked up: "No way! That belonged to Uncle Crown Prince. Brother Xie, you wouldn't just give that away to anyone!"

Uncle Crown Prince?

Qin Jiao's mind was racing. The current emperor was still young and not even married, so of course there was no crown prince. Xiaojiu must be talking about the Late Crown Prince, Xie Shu, who died three years ago. And since Xiaojiu called Xie Shu his uncle, he must be related through the late Crown Princess.

"And even if you were gonna give it away, it should go to Lord Shen of the Grand Court!" Xiaojiu pouted, looking annoyed. "I remember Lord Shen respected Uncle Crown Prince more than anyone. He used to call him 'Master' all the time."

"Lord Shen?" Qin Jiao was caught off guard. "Which Lord Shen? Shen Fuqing of the Grand Court?"

"Yes, that's him." Xiaojiu lifted his chin. "He was Uncle Crown Prince's favorite disciple."

Li Nanli chimed in from the sidelines: "That's right. I remember the Late Crown Prince was really good at painting and gave Lord Shen a bunch of his works."

As the two finished talking, a sudden realization hit Qin Jiao. All the scattered pieces from before clicked together in his mind, nearly stirring up a storm in his head!

Xie Nai had once mentioned he was investigating a murder case with huge implications, and the painting found at Huoji Mountain was one of the clues. Plus, a few days ago at the forest farm on the northern outskirts, Qin Jiao had overheard Shen Fuqing and Xie Nai talking, and they'd said something about "not the master's painting" and "catch him"... Putting it all together, Qin Jiao immediately figured out that Xie Nai and Shen Fuqing had been investigating the "Late Crown Prince's death" all along.

No wonder Xie Nai had been so tight-lipped with him before, refusing to reveal anything no matter how much he asked. It turned out this involved the secrets of the imperial family.

Qin Jiao's expression shifted as he recalled all that had happened before. Xie Nai noticed his change and, after quickly dismissing Xiaojiu and Li Nanli with a few words, led Qin Jiao to a stone table nearby to sit down.

Qin Jiao sat for a while, and only after calming down did he confirm his speculation with Xie Nai. This time, Xie Nai didn't hide anything and laid out the full mystery of the "Late Crown Prince's death case" to Qin Jiao.

It turned out that although the Late Crown Prince Xie Shu's death was publicly attributed to "old ailments," compounded by the grief of the Crown Prince after Emperor Chengyuan's passing that rendered medicine ineffective, in reality, two months earlier, Military Doctor Hou had discovered that Xie Shu had been poisoned with a strange toxin. While the Crown Prince was indeed sorrowful over the late emperor's death, the true death knell was that bizarre poison.

According to Xie Nai, the moment he discovered Xie Shu had been poisoned, he immediately sent people to Xinglin Manor to find Xiao Qisheng and Xiao Baiyu. Unfortunately, the two had both gone out traveling to practice medicine. By the time Xie Nai went through great trouble to locate them, Xie Shu was already beyond saving.

After Xie Shu's death, Xie Nai had wanted to stay in the capital to investigate his elder brother's death, but at that time the Jing Pass was in turmoil, and he had no choice but to lead troops there. Fortunately, Shen Fuqing remained in the capital. Although Shen Fuqing's temperament had changed drastically after Xie Shu's passing—becoming erratic and obsessive—he was still reliable. Thus, over the years, the two worked in tandem, secretly investigating Xie Shu's death.

"Doesn't the Emperor know about the Crown Prince's poisoning?"

After listening to Xie Nai's lengthy explanation, Qin Jiao seized on a crucial point: Xie Nai hadn't mentioned Xie Xuanran at all throughout. So he didn't know about this?

"Mingjia is not aware of this matter." Xie Nai paused. "My brother asked to keep it from him. At that time, the late emperor had just passed, and Tianyuan was already facing internal strife and external threats. If news of the Crown Prince being poisoned were to spread, my brother feared it would shake the foundation of the state and disturb the people."

Xie Nai remembered that his brother, as Crown Prince bearing the weight of the nation, had always been burdened with countless concerns. But all his careful deliberation ultimately couldn't withstand the insidious poison.

"Then, Your Highness, after all this time investigating, do you have any suspects?"

Given Xie Nai and Shen Fuqing's capabilities, three years should have yielded at least some findings.

"There were some scattered clues before, but they always broke off halfway. This time, following that forged painting, Shen Fuqing managed to trace it to Xie Chengyi," Xie Nai said.

Qin Jiao: "Was it the Second Prince who harmed the Late Crown Prince?"

"There's no definitive evidence, but the day before yesterday, when Shen Fuqing was ordered to search the Second Prince's residence, he found another forged painting there."

"Another one?"

Qin Jiao looked at Xie Nai in shock, and then Xie Nai began to recount in detail the discovery of the second imitation painting at the Second Prince's residence.

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