Princess Consort once joked that she would leave this set of jewelry as a family heirloom to her daughter-in-law in the Holy King's Mansion. Dongfang Heng had also thought of giving it to Shen Lixue, but since one of the Huasheng pieces was missing, the jewelry was not perfect. So he kept it, intending to make another Huasheng piece to complete the set for her.
Unexpectedly, Ye Qianmei took out the long-lost Huasheng gun.
Shen Lixue carefully examined the pattern on the jewelry, which was exactly the same as the one on Ye Qianmei's Huasheng. She exclaimed in shock, "That Huasheng really belongs to my mother. How could this be?" How could the Huasheng belonging to Dongfang Heng's mother have fallen into the hands of Ye Qianmei's mother?
Dongfang Heng gazed at the bright sun outside the window, his eyes misty: "Five years ago today, Father and Mother went to the temple to offer incense. Mother really liked that Huasheng amulet, so she wore it. At that time, it had just rained, and the road was slippery. They accidentally fell off the cliff..."
Shen Lixue looked at Dongfang Heng in surprise. She had imagined many possible causes of death for the Holy King and Holy Queen, but she never expected that they would die from falling off a cliff. Five years ago, Dongfang Heng was only thirteen years old and still a child.
Dongfang Heng paused, then continued in a low voice, "The guards found my mother's body in the ravine two days later. At that time, her hair was disheveled, and she wasn't wearing her hair ornaments. Falling from such a high mountain, it's inevitable that she would lose her jewelry. Nobody noticed. My elder brother and I were both grieving the loss of our mother and didn't even think about looking for her hair ornaments..."
Shen Lixue nodded. When one's closest relative passes away, any normal person would grieve and be sad. Who would care about material possessions? "Is there anything missing from Father's body?"
Dongfang Heng's body stiffened, his slightly open hand clenched tightly, and he said in a deep voice, "We did not find Father's body!"
"What?" Shen Lixue was utterly shocked: "If you haven't found Father's body, then how can you say he's dead?"
"The guards only found my father's outer garment, which had been torn by wild beasts and was covered in blood!" Dongfang Heng's voice gradually lowered; he really didn't want to bring up such a tragic matter again.
"So you concluded that Father has also passed away!" Shen Lixue gripped Dongfang Heng's cold hand tightly, silently conveying warmth to him. At thirteen, losing both her mother and father, she became utterly alone and helpless—a nightmare for any child.
"Yes!" Dongfang Heng nodded, a hint of sadness deep in his eyes: "In that joint burial tomb, there is only my mother's body and my father's clothes!" Five years have passed, and my father has not returned. He must have perished in the jaws of wild beasts. Otherwise, why wouldn't he come back to see his brothers and mother?
The deaths of the Holy King and Holy Queen were too tragic, and the masters of the royal mansion had always been unwilling to mention them. If it weren't for Ye Qianmei's overly familiar Hua Sheng, Dongfang Heng would not have brought up that painful past again.
"I also suspected my father that my mother's death was not normal. I investigated carefully for a long time but found no suspicious points!" Over the past five years, he had slowly accepted that his parents died from falling off a cliff. However, he did not expect that Hua Sheng would suddenly appear in front of him, and his suspicions surged back into his heart.
"Your Highness, I have been following and monitoring Ye Qianmei all the way here. I have confirmed that the Huasheng jewelry was given to her by her mother. From what Ye Qianmei said, she doesn't know where the Huasheng came from. She is angry that her mother only gave her the Huasheng and not the whole set of jewelry!" The guard's report came from outside the door.
Dongfang Heng nodded, waved the guards away, looked down at the exquisite jewelry in the beautiful box with a gentle gaze, and gently stroked it with his jade-like fingers. Then, he closed the lid and handed it to Shen Lixue: "Lixue, please keep these pieces of jewelry for me for now."
"What are you going to do?" Dongfang Heng's gaze was deep and resolute, and Shen Lixue felt a bad premonition rising in her heart.
"I'm going to Xiliang to find out the truth about Huasheng!" Dongfang Heng's deep eyes shone with an unprecedented determination. For five years, the cause of his parents' deaths had remained a mystery. Now, with a clue, he was determined to find out the truth.
"I'll go with you!" Shen Lixue put down her jewelry and tightly grabbed Dongfang Heng's arm. If the Holy King and Holy Queen were indeed murdered, and the murderer destroyed all the evidence, leaving no trace, then the culprit must be extremely powerful. Dongfang Heng's journey would be fraught with danger, and she didn't want him to risk it alone.
"The journey to Xiliang is long and bumpy; your body can't handle it!" The trip to Xiliang is extremely dangerous, and Dongfang Heng doesn't want Shen Lixue to take any risks.
"I am a martial artist, and I also have your internal strength. Traveling thousands of miles by carriage is nothing to me." Shen Lixue had walked out of piles of corpses in the modern world and had traveled almost all over the world. These thousands of miles were no challenge for her.
She gripped Dongfang Heng's large hand tightly with her slender fingers, glaring at him as she said, "It's decided then. I'll go to Xiliang with you to find the real culprit who harmed Father and Mother!"
---Aside---
(*^__^*) Hehe... It's almost the end of the month. Tomorrow, the Prince and Li Xue are going to Xiliang. If you have any votes, don't hide them! Remember to throw them out! They'll expire if they're not used! Ahhh!
Chapter 169: Upon first entering Xiliang, the horse was startled.
After the autumn rain, the air was fresh, and the ground was a little muddy. A sandalwood carriage traveled discreetly on the empty road. The driver was a young man with a dark glint in his eyes. His ordinary clothes could not hide his coldness and sharpness.
"Clatter, clatter!" Another rapid sound of hooves approached from afar, and a magnificent carriage rushed from the side road. Surprisingly, there was no coachman on this carriage; instead, several male servants, maids, and nannies ran behind it, anxiously calling out, "Madam, Madam..."
"Bang!" The wheels of the galloping carriage crashed hard into a rock, the carriage stopped abruptly, and a light gray figure was thrown out of the carriage, tracing a graceful arc in the air before falling straight to the hard ground.
"Madam!" The servants stared in shock at the rapidly falling gray figure, their cries filled with heart-wrenching anguish.
The curtain of the sandalwood carriage was suddenly lifted, and a slender white figure darted out. Just as the gray figure landed, she reached out and caught her, her clear voice ringing in the air: "Grandma, are you alright?"
The gray figure was an elderly woman in her fifties or sixties, with gray hair and a kind face. After regaining her balance, her dizzy mind gradually cleared, and her vision slowly returned to normal.
A young man in white appeared before her eyes. His features were exquisite, and his face was handsome. His eyes, in particular, were clear as a spring and cold as the snow on the Tianshan Mountains. One look at them and one could not take one's eyes off them. She smiled kindly and said, "I am fine. Thank you for saving my life, young master!"
"It was nothing, Madam, you flatter me!" The man in white, or more precisely, Shen Lixue disguised as a man, smiled slightly and bowed slightly to the old lady. Every move she made was indescribably elegant and noble.
"Madam, Madam!" The maids and nannies, still shaken, all rushed over. Seeing that the old lady was safe and sound, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, thank goodness, the old lady was alright.
Seeing that her clothes were a bit wrinkled, they hurriedly tidied them up.
"Madam, Madam!" A middle-aged man, covered in mud, limped over quickly, knelt down before the old lady with a thud, and kept confessing his sins: "I deserve to die. I didn't drive the carriage properly and almost caused an accident for you..."
"The road was slippery and the horse was startled, but it's not your fault. Get up!" The old lady said wearily, rubbing her forehead.
"Thank you, Madam!" The coachman stood up and limped to the side of the carriage to check on the horses.
The old lady's grateful gaze fell on Shen Lixue: "May I ask your honorable name, young master? I will definitely pay you a visit another day to thank you for saving my life!"
Shen Lixue smiled politely: "It's nothing, Madam, you don't need to take it to heart!"
"It's a small matter for you, young master, but for me, the debt of saving my life is greater than heaven!" The old lady looked at Shen Lixue and spoke sincerely.
“My home is far away. I just happened to be passing by when I rescued the old lady. She is now out of danger. I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay any longer. Farewell!” With that, Shen Lixue gave a farewell bow, turned around, and strode toward the sandalwood carriage.
"Young Master!" The old lady's voice rang out from behind, but Shen Lixue ignored it. With a light step, she leaped onto the carriage, lifted the curtain, and entered the carriage. Zi Mo flicked the reins, and the horse neighed loudly, galloping forward at full speed.
Inside the carriage, it was warm and cozy. Dongfang Heng sat by the window, sipping his tea. He looked at Shen Lixue beside him, dressed in his clothes, her hair tied up high, looking every bit the handsome man. He frowned and said, "Are you addicted to wearing men's clothes?"
After entering the Western Liang Kingdom, Shen Lixue changed into men's clothing and stopped using cosmetics. She had just gone out to save someone while still dressed in men's clothing.
“It’s more convenient to do things in men’s clothing!” Shen Lixue picked up a cup of lukewarm tea, drank it in one gulp, and moistened her throat: “That old lady’s horse got spooked and was thrown out of the carriage. If I rescued her while dressed as a woman, she would definitely be dumbfounded.”
After entering Xiliang, Shen Lixue discovered that the people of Xiliang also had a very feudal mindset. In their eyes, women should be gentle and quiet, staying in the inner courtyard to support their husbands and raise their children. If they practiced martial arts like men and flew around in the courtyard, it would be considered shocking. Criticism and condemnation articles would fall into the courtyard like snowflakes, filled with all sorts of condemnations.
"Your Highness, Your Highness's Consort, we have arrived in the capital of Xiliang!" Zi Mo's voice rang out from outside the carriage.
Shen Lixue lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. The blue city wall was three or four meters high and stretched as far as the eye could see. Every so often, there was a small hut that looked like a watchtower. Above the majestic city gate, a plaque was hung with two characters written in a flamboyant style: "Capital City"!
"Dongfang Heng, where should we stay?"