diskusbooks Chapter 361 Qilin Jade
Chapter 361 Qilin Jade
The night was dark, and the cold wind was like a knife, cutting people's faces painfully. Murong Ling'er stood quietly in front of the ruins of the Li family's old house, her clothes fluttering in the wind, her expression as calm as water.
In sharp contrast, Li Yunyi was very emotional, waving his hands as if he wanted to vent all the anger and unwillingness in his heart.
"Humph! You think you can trick me by making up an identity?"
Li Yunyi's eyes widened in anger, his face wrinkled with rage. "I've been wandering in this world for decades, and I'm no longer the Li family member who was at the mercy of others! Don't think I don't know that you all are here just for the Li family's 'Qilin Jade'!"
His voice was particularly harsh in the silent night, full of vigilance and hostility.
In his mind, Murong Ling'er, who claimed to be his niece, must have been sent by the forces behind the persecution of the Li family. Although he had been crazy over the past few decades, he had never relaxed his vigilance against danger.
When Murong Ling'er heard the word "Qilin Jade Pearl", her heart moved, but she still maintained a faint smile, and her eyes showed the calmness of seeing through everything.
"Some things are not as simple as they seem." Her voice was soft, but with unquestionable firmness.
"Shut up!" Li Yunyi interrupted her abruptly. "That jade pendant is the lifeblood of the Li family, and it's also the source of all the disasters we've encountered. I destroyed it long ago. The Li family is gone, so what's the point of keeping it? You've miscalculated!"
He held his head high, looking determined to make the other party show his true colors.
However, Murong Ling'er was not as angry or panicked as he expected.
She just sighed slightly, looked at Li Yunyi calmly, and said softly: "I'm not here for Yujue, I'm here to clear the Li family's grievances and find the truth." Her tone was sincere and her eyes were clear, as if she was telling a fact that was true.
Li Yunyi was stunned. He thought the other party would be furious and even attack him.
But Murong Ling'er's calmness made him a little at a loss, and a trace of doubt arose in his heart. He looked Murong Ling'er up and down, trying to find a flaw in her face, but all he saw was calmness and sincerity.
Li Yunyi slowly squatted down and glanced at the broken walls and ruins around him. The burnt wood emitted a pungent smell.
This was where he once lived, but now it has become a ruin.
Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar scene, his eyes gradually turned red, and those painful memories flooded into his heart like a tide.
Where there once were laughter and joy, now there is only endless desolation.
Murong Ling'er stood aside, looking at him quietly, without disturbing his thoughts.
She knew that Li Yunyi needed time to digest all this at the moment.
Taking advantage of this gap, Murong Ling'er closed her eyes, and her spiritual consciousness spread out like an invisible force, covering the entire Li family's old house.
She searched carefully, not missing any corner. Every brick and every blade of grass was within her perception.
However, as she expected, this place had been searched countless times, and all the places that might have hidden secrets were empty, with no valuable clues left.
Murong Ling'er was not discouraged. She knew that Li Yunyi was the only breakthrough at the moment. As long as she could gain his trust, there would be no worries about follow-up news.
At this time, it was late at night and a few dog barks could be heard in the distance.
Murong Ling'er looked at the sky and thought secretly in her heart.
The one-year appointment was getting closer and closer, and she still had a lot to do. She sighed softly and turned to leave.
After leaving the Li family's old house, Murong Ling'er hired a carriage and drove towards Longmen City.
The wheels rolled, raising dust along the way.
Murong Ling'er sat in the carriage with her eyes closed, but Li Yunyi's face and the ruins of the Li family's old house kept appearing in her mind.
She knew that the road ahead was still long and the truth might be hidden in some unknown corner, and she had to find it before the one-year deadline.
……
In Kyoto, inside the East Palace, the atmosphere was as solemn as the eve of a storm. Red candles flickered, and light and shadows danced restlessly among the carved beams and painted buildings.
The grand wedding of the Second Prince and Princess Fan Xueer of Min'an Kingdom had just concluded, and the entire capital was still immersed in joy and bustle, but within the East Palace, a completely different atmosphere permeated the air.
Crown Prince Zhao Hao, who had previously been declared to be in a coma, miraculously woke up.
During the long time that the crown prince was in a coma, undercurrents had already been surging in the court, and the voices calling for the crown prince to be deposed were rampant. Among them, the majority of court officials supported the eldest prince. They made impassioned speeches in the court, trying to push for the dethronement of the crown prince on the grounds that the crown prince had been ill for a long time and might be unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country.
The situation was once extremely favorable for the eldest prince, as if the position of crown prince was already in his pocket.
However, the sudden awakening of Crown Prince Zhao Hao was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, causing thousands of waves and catching everyone off guard.
At this moment, Zhao Hao, who had just woken up, was half leaning against the head of the bed, wearing a brocade robe embroidered with a golden dragon. The dragon pattern seemed to be tumbling in the candlelight.
He listened quietly to Zhao Wei's report with a calm expression, but there was an elusive sharpness in his eyes.
"Your Highness, the madman in the General Protector's Mansion has disappeared." Zhao Wei knelt on one knee and spoke in a low voice, breaking the silence in the room.
When Zhao Hao heard this, his eyes, which were originally slightly closed, opened instantly, his brows furrowed tightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Missing? How did the people you sent to keep an eye on him do?" Although his voice was not loud, it carried an unquestionable majesty.
Zhao Wei lowered his head slightly, a trace of annoyance on his face: "Your Highness, that person never left the General's Mansion. It's like he evaporated from the face of the earth, vanishing into thin air."
There was a hint of disbelief in his tone. After all, the people he sent were all masters with extraordinary skills, but they didn't even notice how the other party disappeared.
Zhao Hao fell into deep thought. After a moment, Zhao Wei couldn't help but guess, "Your Highness, could it be that he was discovered by the people on that side and then killed secretly?" He raised his head with a questioning look in his eyes.
Zhao Hao shook his head slightly, a cold look flashing in his eyes. "They couldn't possibly know of his existence. If they did, they wouldn't have allowed him to walk all the way from Hangzhou to here."
Thinking of Li Yunyi, Zhao Hao felt a complicated emotion in his heart.
The man who had been crazy for many years was able to go through untold hardships and cross mountains and rivers to come to Kyoto. His perseverance is truly admirable.
"Send more people and search for him at all costs. We must find him and never let him fall into those people's hands." Zhao Hao's voice was firm and resolute, as if he had issued a life and death order.
"Yes, Your Highness." Zhao Wei responded respectfully, but did not get up and leave immediately. Instead, he continued to kneel on the ground, looking hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.
Zhao Hao keenly noticed his strangeness, looked at him with a sharp gaze, and asked directly: "What else? Feel free to tell me."
Zhao Wei raised his head and glanced at Zhao Hao who was sitting above him. He gritted his teeth and said hesitantly, "Your Highness, I heard recently that... the Emperor... is in poor health." He lowered his voice very low, as if he was afraid of being heard by others.
Hearing this, Zhao Hao's expression tensed instantly, and a trace of panic flashed across his originally calm face.
The fact that Zhao Wei was so cautious and solemn showed that his father's illness was definitely not an ordinary one. The emperor's health had always been the most secretive matter in the world, and ordinary people had no way of knowing anything about it.
Zhao Hao took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and asked solemnly, "Where did you get this news?"
"It was revealed by Eunuch Li, the emperor's close attendant." Zhao Wei replied.
"Eunuch Li?" Zhao Hao was stunned when he heard that.
Eunuch Li is the most trusted eunuch close to my father. He would never reveal such important and confidential information without my father's permission.
What is the hidden meaning behind this? What is the condition of my father's health?
A series of questions swirled in Zhao Hao's mind, causing him to fall into deep thought...