coobybook Chapter 519: The Imperial Concubine is Pure and Elegant (269)
Chapter 519: The Imperial Concubine is Pure and Elegant (269)
Chapter 519: The Imperial Concubine Is Pure and Elegant (Two Hundred and Sixty-nine)
Twelve years later, what was the truth? Liang Sheng was eager to know. But the truth wasn't so easy to find out, especially since Liang Sheng had already done the same thing.
He initially refused to believe that the deceased was his own Li'er, but the dead woman's face looked so much like Li'er's, and her belly, which indicated the impending birth, made him undeniable. He had even considered asking the Imperial Master to gather her souls, hoping to find a way to revive his lover and child, but the Imperial Master bluntly told her that the souls of Li'er and the fetus in the coffin had long since dissipated, likely having been reincarnated.
If it was Li'er who was killed by the arrow, perhaps they would have been reincarnated as teenagers. But what if it wasn't Li'er in the coffin at all? No! It definitely wasn't Li'er who died! It was a fake! Why was this fake there? The fact that Qi Xingsheng could use it to threaten Wu Meng meant that the fake was in cahoots with Qi Xingsheng.
The appearance of a woman so similar to Li'er made Qi Xingsheng think he was planning to use her to replace Li'er, letting this woman enter the palace and usurp her throne. Li'er and her son would likely suffer in the hands of the Qi people. If the fake's identity were ever exposed, Li'er and her son would serve as her talismans.
Liang Sheng speculated backwards, perhaps his Li'er had been rescued long before Wu Meng attacked! She must have instigated Shu Ka's rebellion, and the two of them had only temporarily collaborated, so they parted ways.
Shuka went back to save Qi Xingsheng because the prince of Qi had done him a favor. However, Wu Meng was cruel at that time and had no intention of sparing their lives. When Shuka went back, the fake had been shot to death, and Qi Xingsheng could not escape the pursuit.
Liang Sheng regretted it very much. When he saw Shuka escape to Ji State and secretly prepared to attack the Wu Clan, he thought that this man could still be of some use, so he spared his life. Unexpectedly, he missed the news of Li'er.
The secret guards' investigation progressed slowly, and it took a month to discover that the deceased was likely a concubine of Emperor Qi Ping. As for the whereabouts of Empress Cui Li, there is still no news. This was partly due to the passage of time, and partly due to the possibility of human intervention to erase any traces.
The secret guards even investigated everyone who had passed through the outskirts of the city when the incident occurred. They also found that Duke Yang's second daughter-in-law had appeared in Shuinan County and stayed in a dilapidated temple just across the mountain from the residence of the Prince of Qi. It rained heavily that night, and if they needed shelter, the dilapidated temple was undoubtedly a good place.
Liang Sheng still remembered the baby swap at the Duke of Yang's mansion. A servant and his daughter murdered a five-year-old baby girl, usurped her identity, and exchanged her for the Duke's daughter. This incident caused a sensation in the capital at the time. As he reviewed the events recorded in the dossier, he couldn't help but wonder if someone in the ruined temple had helped Yang Gao during her birth.
After Liang Sheng summoned Yang Gao, he learned that she had been awakened from a dream by a divine presence, and that she had learned of her daughters' swapping. Liang Sheng was skeptical. He knew that Li'er had studied under the Imperial Master, and if she had truly been hiding in the ruined temple, perhaps she could have intervened in the tragic incident of the two baby girls being swapped.
Liang Sheng didn't dare to think about how Li'er had lived these past few years. Had she had an accident that prevented her from returning to the capital? Were she and her child doing well? If she wasn't forced to return to the palace, was she actively staying away? Was she simply unwilling to return? Was she simply not interested in the position of empress?
Liang Sheng thought back to the past when Li'er had a very bad life in the palace. He was young and impulsive and ignorant, and he even doted on Xin Pangren in an attempt to force her to submit. But later he realized that doing so would only drive the two of them further apart.
After Li'er became pregnant, the harem was in turmoil. Whether it was assassination or poisoning, there were always invisible conspiracies and tricks behind the scenes.
Liang Sheng was in a complicated mood, happy and worried at the same time, but he ultimately hoped that Cui Li and her son would be safe. Even if she really blamed him, disliked the palace, and didn't want to come back, he would rather she go far away than be separated from her by death.
Of course, this was only because Liang Sheng had been disappointed for too long and his dead heart began to beat again, so he was willing to let go. If it were ten years ago, he would have forced Cui Li back to the palace and would have found her no matter where she was.
The secret guards also discovered that some of the queen's whereabouts seemed to have been deliberately erased, which indirectly proved that there was another party behind the disappearance of the queen.