Chapter 379

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After Xiao Juan sent Yu Niaoniao back to Langjun Imperial Mansion, he immediately rushed to the Justice Department.

The officials sent by the Honglu Temple had already arrived at the Justice Department. When Xiao Juan appeared, they immediately began to interrogate the two Chen Nation officials.

The trial lasted until the evening.

When Xiao Juan returned to the Langjun Imperial Palace, it was already midnight.

Yu Niaoniao had just finished drawing the portraits of the princess and the little mute. When she saw that Xiao Juan had returned, she asked. “Are you hungry? I’ll get some supper.”

Seeing that she was so tired that she could not open her eyes, Xiao Juan whispered.

“Not hungry. Go to sleep.”

“Oh.”

They washed up briefly and went to bed.

At this moment, Yu Niaoniao was already very sleepy. Her upper eyelids kept pressing down, but she still forced herself to ask. “Have the two Chen officials confessed?”

Xiao Juan hugged her and whispered.

“Yes, they told us everything they know. They can testify that Shen Rui secretly met Han Chengxi in the middle of the night. Although they didn’t hear the contents of their conversation, they heard from Han Chengxi’s attendant that Han Chengxi and Shen Rui made a deal and exchanged tokens for it.”

Yu Niaoniao perked up. “What token?”

If they could find the token, they would have all the witnesses and evidence. At that time, there was no way Shen Rui could deny it.

Xiao Juan said, “I don’t know what token those two officials of the Chen Nation were referring to. According to my guess, they should be something that can represent their identities. Tomorrow, I’ll report this matter to the emperor and ask him to order a search of the Sixth Prince’s residence.”

Yu Niaoniao was filled with anticipation for tomorrow.

As long as the Sixth Prince was convicted, the case of Imperial Concubine Yue’s murder should be solved.

It seemed that everything could come to an end.

In order to seize the initiative, the first thing Shen Rui did after returning to the Imperial Capital was to enter the palace to complain to his father. He said that Xiao Juan had used his position to take revenge for his personal grudge and plotted to murder the Chen Nation’s diplomatic mission on the way to escort the bride. Not only did he cause the relationship between the two countries to worsen, but he also lost Princess Tao Ran.

He spoke with conviction, and the emperor believed him a little. However, after returning to the Sixth Prince’s residence, Shen Rui was still uneasy.

He had a bad feeling.

After knowing that Duke Lang and the others had returned, Shen Rui immediately ordered someone to investigate. In the end, he was told that Duke Lang had brought back many assassin corpses this time and two officials from the Chen Nation.

Moreover, the emperor sent the officials of the Honglu Temple to the Justice Department that afternoon. It was obvious that he wanted to help Duke Lang interrogate the two Chen officials.

Shen Rui’s uneasiness grew.

It was late at night outside, but Shen Rui was not sleepy at all. He placed his hands behind his back and paced the house. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face was filled with worry.

What should he do? What should he do next?

At this moment, the butler walked in and spoke respectfully.

“Your Highness, Noble Consort Shu sent someone over. She said that she has something to tell you.”

Shen Rui immediately said, “Bring him over.”

After a while, the butler brought back a young eunuch.

When the young eunuch looked up, Shen Rui saw the other party’s face and realized that it was actually Liu Zhi!

Liu Zhi could see the surprise and confusion in Shen Rui’s heart and took the initiative to explain.

“It’s not easy for a palace maid to leave the palace, but Her Highness is worried about leaving this matter to others, so she can only let me change into the clothes of a eunuch and leave the palace.”

Realization dawned on Shen Rui. For his mother to go through so much trouble, she must have something very important to tell him.

He glanced at the butler.

The butler understood and retreated with his head lowered, but he did not go far. Instead, he guarded the door to prevent anyone from approaching the room.

In the room, Shen Rui asked impatiently.

“What did Mother want to tell me? Did she think of a way to deal with it?” As Liu Zhi sighed, her tone was filled with profound resignation.

“Her Highness said that the situation has gotten out of hand. There’s nothing she can do.”

Shen Rui’s eyes widened in disbelief.

How could this be? Even his mother was helpless.

Wouldn’t he be dead?

Liu Zhi continued, “Her Highness asked you to leave the Imperial Capital at dawn tomorrow and hide in Hexi County first. Hexi County is the Shu family’s territory. With the Shu family’s protection, your safety is not a problem.”

Shen Rui was indignant. “But I can’t hide forever, right?”

Liu Zhi advised painstakingly.

“What Her Highness means is for you to lie low in Hexi County for a while.

When the matter has blown over, perhaps the emperor’s anger would subside.”

“After all, you’re biological father and son. Even a vicious tiger won’t eat its children. The emperor probably won’t kill you heartlessly.”

“At that time, you just have to admit your mistake and you should be fine.” Shen Rui was still worried.

“What if Father refuses to forgive me? What if he insists on killing me?” Liu Zhi lowered her voice again.

“If the emperor is really so heartless, you can only leave Dayan and hide in the

Chen Nation. Don’t you still have the token of the Ninth Prince of the Chen

Nation?”

“Take that token to the Chen Nation to look for him. I believe he will take you in. ”

Shen Rui was very unwilling.

“But if that’s the case, won’t I have to rely on others in the future?”

Liu Zhi sighed again. “It’s very difficult to live under someone’s nose, but at least you can keep your life. As long as there’s life, there would be a way out in the future.”

Seeing that Shen Rui was still very hesitant, she could not help but feel disappointed.

The Sixth Prince had ambitions, but he did not have enough decisiveness. He always hesitated when he encountered problems, so many of his decisions were made by Noble Consort Shu.

If the Sixth Prince had been smarter and more decisive, perhaps he and Noble Consort Shu would not have fallen to this state today.

Unfortunately, these were just theoretical suppositions.

At this point, there was no turning back.

Liu Zhi took out a letter.

“Your Highness knows it’s difficult for you to make up your mind. This is a personal letter from her to you. Take a look for yourself.”

She handed over the letter with both hands and finally left the Sixth Prince’s residence quietly under the cover of the night.

Shen Rui opened the letter and pulled out a thin piece of paper.

The paper was covered in writing.

It was filled with Noble Consort Shuts instructions to Shen Rui. That strong reluctance was almost overflowing from the paper.

At the end of the letter, Noble Consort Shu said that she would take responsibility for everything. In this way, she might never see Shen Rui again. If there was a next life, she hoped they could still be mother and son.

This was actually a farewell letter.

Shen Rui completely broke down. He pressed the letter to his heart and cried uncontrollably.

The next day, before dawn, Xiao Juan left the Langjun Imperial Palace.

He entered the palace to meet the emperor and presented the confessions of the two Chen officials.

At this point, the emperor had no choice but to place Shen Rui under suspicion.

He immediately issued a decree to search the Sixth Prince’s residence and ordered Shen Rui and Noble Consort Shu to see him.

Unexpectedly, when the Eagle Guards rushed into the Sixth Prince’s residence aggressively, they realized that the Sixth Prince had long disappeared..