novelden Chapter 408: Incite Him to Rebellion
Chapter 408: Incite Him to Rebellion
"Fool……"
Miao Miao put her hands on her hips and looked at Zhou Mu with her chin raised.
The reason my second brother said so much was that he couldn't bear to see his former classmate like this and wanted him to cheer up.
But this fool, with his severely love-struck mind, doesn't appreciate it at all.
"You're so love-struck, my brother is only doing this for your own good. He doesn't want you to waste your precious time."
Zhou Mu was stunned for a moment, then tried to shoo them away: "Go away, leave this place, Miss Zijing doesn't want to see you."
Fool? Love-struck?
I never expected that even a child would laugh at him.
He looked at the fierce little girl in front of him and remembered what Zijing had told him.
She has a fifth younger sister who was born of the principal wife.
Spoiled since childhood by her stepmother, she is quick-witted, sharp-tongued, and extremely willful and capricious.
Although both are daughters of the Jiang family, this fifth girl has a loving older brother, a kind mother, and even the support of the Lu family.
They live such a free and unrestrained life.
But her daughter, Zijing, is also a member of the Jiang family and excels in everything.
But they have to live cautiously.
As a concubine's daughter, life was already difficult, but she also suffered a family tragedy and lost her only loving mother.
Now he has ended up in such a miserable state.
How could one not feel sorry for them?
Especially when he saw the body of his beloved, his heart ached even more, a piercing pain.
What did Miss Zijing do wrong to deserve such a death?
Seeing that Zhou Mu was in a bad mood, Jiang Ziyan quickly pulled his sister behind him.
She was afraid that the smell of alcohol on him would offend Miaomiao, and that he would act crazy towards Miaomiao while drunk.
Looking at his hopeless classmate, he pondered for a long time before speaking: "Brother Zhou, since you were deeply in love with Jiang Zijin, and now that she is dead, I can't say anything more. But don't you want to know the truth about her violent death?"
Zhou Mu, who had been lost in thought, looked up abruptly upon hearing the word "truth": "What truth?"
All he knew was that Zijing's remains were carried out from Prince Chen's villa, but as for the cause of her death...
The officials didn't like him, and the Jiang family didn't tell him either.
He could only find out from passersby.
I heard that the Emperor bestowed that house upon the Lu family, and it was Jiang Ziyan who discovered Zijing's body.
Jiang Ziyan surely knows the truth.
He placed his hands on Jiang Ziyan's shoulders and asked urgently, "Tell me, was it Prince Chen who did it?"
Jiang Ziyan neither admitted nor denied it.
He said, "Jiang Zijin's body was found in a secret room in Prince Chen's villa. She had been dead for three days when she was found, and she committed suicide. A maid named Ya'er also entered the secret room with her. She was on the verge of death when she was found. According to her, Jiang Zijin was the real concubine of Prince Chen... Consort Lan. They entered the secret room on the day Prince Chen entered the palace. So, they have been trapped in the secret room for more than half a month."
"Consort Lan of Prince Chen?" Zhou Mu trembled slightly and murmured, "How is that possible? Doesn't Prince Chen's residence already have a Consort Lan?"
He considered all sorts of possibilities.
He also considered the difficulties faced by Miss Zijing, and realized that she must have had no choice but to rely on Prince Chen.
But I never thought of it.
The famous concubine of Prince Chen, who only ever appeared in public wearing a mask, was actually Miss Zijing.
He didn't know whether he should believe Jiang Ziyan's words.
"That Consort Lan is a fake. Her real name is Ruyue. She is a relative of an official implicated in the Prince Su's rebellion. If you don't believe me, you can check it yourself."
Jiang Ziyan didn't expect Zhou Mu to believe him completely.
After all, the truth told by others is never as credible as the truth you find out yourself.
He was just throwing out clues.
If Zhou Mu truly cannot let go of Jiang Zijin, he will investigate and verify it.
Zhou Mu was skeptical: "If she was the Prince of Chen's favorite concubine, why would she die in a secret chamber like that? Is it possible that one can only enter a secret chamber and never leave?"
"Of course not. Only the tomb chamber is a one-way passage. If someone deliberately damages the mechanism after they enter the secret chamber, sealing it off from the outside, the people inside will be trapped and starve to death..."
"It's...him..."
Zhou Mu froze on the spot, staring wide-eyed for a long time without uttering a word.
I already have the answer in my heart.
His thin body suddenly gained strength, and he clenched his fists: "Why? If Prince Chen likes her, why did he treat her that way?"
"What else could it be? Power, self-preservation, of course. Otherwise, do you think Prince Chen would defy the Emperor and ruin his promising future for a concubine who is guilty of a crime?" Jiang Ziyan sighed and looked at him coldly.
Jiang Zijin was trying to negotiate with a tiger, and ended up being devoured by it.
Actually, no one is to blame.
But Zhou Mu didn't think so.
In his eyes, Jiang Zijin was pure and refined, a spotless white flower that everyone loved.
King Chen...
It must have been that beast, Prince Chen, who forced her.
“Beast…” Zhou Mu spat out the two words through gritted teeth.
His eyes were bloodshot, his body trembled with rage, and his fists were clenched tightly.
He looked like he was about to explode, with smoke billowing from his head.
If he had a knife in his hand right now, he probably would have rushed out and been killed by Prince Chen.
His mind is now filled with images of Zijing.
Locked up in that dark and gloomy place, Miss Zijing must have been in despair and terrified before she died, which is why she lost the will to live and chose to take her own life.
That Prince Chen is a heartless bastard.
I wish I could tear him to pieces right now.
He looked at Jiang Ziyan: "Are you telling the truth?"
Seeing Zhou Mu's resentful expression, Jiang Ziyan knew that Zhou Mu had believed him.
I'm at least 70% convinced.
He hadn't originally intended to use Zhou Mu, but seeing his half-dead appearance...
Very speechless.
Since that's the case, rather than being a useless person, it's better to let him use me.
Let's make use of waste.
Even if it's just to avenge Jiang Zijin, Zhou Mu will still get busy.
Having been classmates, Jiang Ziyan had some understanding of Zhou Mu's personality.
They are quite persistent when they identify with a person or thing.
He's also a bit stubborn.
It seems that the feud with Prince Chen is destined to end in war.
Jiang Ziyan said earnestly, "Brother Zhou, what good would it do me to lie to you? If you don't believe me, the maid named Ya'er who was by Jiang Zijin's side was her confidante when she was alive. She is currently in the Dali Temple prison. You can go and ask her yourself."
The maid knew most of the story between Prince Chen and Jiang Zijin, and hated Prince Chen to the core.
After being rescued, she kept shouting that Prince Chen was heartless and cruel, and that he had killed her mistress.
King Chen probably didn't expect that someone would be left alive.
Aside from Jiang Zijing, Zhou Mu was also cautious about other matters. "Why is it that Miss Zijing is gone, but the maid is still alive?"
Servants who betray their masters and plot against them in times of life and death have existed since ancient times.
Only the two of them were in the secret room, and what happened inside can only be known from the maid's words.
Who knows if it's true or false.
Jiang Ziyan didn't think so. He had seen the maid, and she didn't seem to be acting.
"What do you think the Dali Temple is? It doesn't allow her to lie. Besides, do you even know how that maid survived?"
"what?"
"The rat in the locked room..."
They all knew in their hearts that Jiang Zijin was arrogant and proud, even in such a lifeless situation.
She would rather die than eat that stuff to stave off hunger.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have chosen to commit suicide after eating all the dry rations.
She seems to have no fear of death, choosing to court disaster instead of living a good life.
I don't know what she's after.
……