vrcanaries Chapter 260 Suspicion Arises (2)
Chapter 260 Suspicion Arises (2)
"It's you?" Jing Anle frowned, a hint of doubt in her eyes.
Xie Bailing raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly, then bowed and said, "This humble subject greets Your Highness the Princess!"
"What a coincidence to run into Young Master Xie at the General's Mansion." Jing Anle had no intention of saying more to him, her tone indifferent.
Coincidence? Not at all. Ever since Jing Anle was injured in the last hunting trip, Xie Bailing has gone mad. He sent people to rescue Jing Anle, but they were too late. By the time they arrived, she had already been rescued by Xiao Heng.
But he would never mention any of this to Jing Anle. He went to great lengths to see Jing Anle, just to see her with his own eyes.
"I am an old acquaintance of the second son of the Zhao family. I came to pay a visit today, only to find that the princess is also here."
At first, he had his hair down, but now it's neatly tied up, and he looks much more energetic.
Jing Anle nodded. "Since we're here, why don't we enjoy the snow together?"
"The snow scene is beautiful, but it would be even better if accompanied by a sword dance."
"Young Master Xie has quite the refined taste. I heard that Madam Zhao has fallen ill, yet you still have the interest to practice swordsmanship." Jing Anle's words were clearly sarcastic.
Xie Bailing ignored him, bowed slightly, and said, "It was your humble servant who was impolite."
"But I suddenly remembered that Young Master Zhao once told me that the assassin who fought against Miss Zhao at the autumn hunting grounds used the Pear Blossom Sword Technique."
"The Pear Blossom Sword Technique is the best sword dance, elegant yet powerful, but it has been used by these audacious assassins to commit wicked deeds. They deserve to die!"
"What Pear Blossom Sword Technique did you say?" Jing Anle asked, puzzled.
Xie Bailing raised an eyebrow and continued, "The Pear Blossom Sword Technique is beautiful and graceful when the sword strikes slowly, and it is also swift and agile when the sword strikes fast, capable of taking lives quickly."
A hint of doubt flashed in Jing Anle's eyes, "How did Young Master Xie know?"
"What Young Master Zhao just said? He said that Miss Zhao was being chased by assassins, and upon hearing their techniques, he remembered reading something about them in a miscellaneous book he had read before," Xie Bailing said calmly.
It was so deliberate, so incredibly deliberate. Jing Anle went to ask Zhao Yayi but couldn't get any information. Just as he was about to return to the palace, he got stuck in traffic and happened to run into Xie Bailing. He happened to know the sword technique used by the assassin, a technique that even Zhao Yayi herself didn't know.
"I didn't expect Young Master Xie to be so learned." Jing Anle didn't expose him.
Just then, a guard came running hurriedly from a distance.
"Princess, the road has been cleared, we can set off now."
Everything was just right. Jing Anle gave Xie Bailing a meaningful look, then flicked her sleeve and said, "Return to the palace."
Xie Bailing remained unfazed, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Your humble servant respectfully sees the princess off."
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and the sky grew increasingly heavy. Xie Bailing gazed at the drifting snow and murmured, "The north wind is chilly, the rain and snow are heavy."
……
Yongfu Palace.
"The princess is back."
Mu Ping heard the noise at the gate from afar and ran back to greet them.
Jing Anle casually took off his cloak and instructed Afang to close the door.
"Has the princess found out anything?" Mu Ping asked as she hung up her cloak.
Afang turned around and poured Jing Anle a cup of hot tea, saying, "Sister Muping doesn't know, but we met Young Master Xie at the Zhao residence today."
Young Master Xie? Mu Ping pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered that it was Xie Bailing, who was on good terms with Qin Xiuyuan.
"Isn't this Young Master Xie raised in the countryside since childhood? How could he know people from the Zhao family?"
Jing Anle was also puzzled. Xie Bailing had come to her today and said all this. Wasn't he deliberately exposing himself?
"Mu Ping, have you ever heard of the Pear Blossom Sword Technique?"
How could anyone who practices martial arts not have heard of the Pear Blossom Sword Technique?
"Why does the princess ask such a question? The Pear Blossom Sword Technique was created by the late emperor, and all the elite soldiers under his command are proficient in it. It is because the sword technique is exquisite and can be used for both offense and defense. On the battlefield, it was this sword technique that was used to defeat the enemy army."
"The late emperor?" Jing Anle was stunned.
"So, who's in charge of this elite force now?"
Mu Ping shook her head. "This army has disappeared since the late emperor ascended the throne."
Disappeared? Jing Anle felt that something was wrong.
"Mu Ping, who commanded the elite troops that day?"
The sudden reappearance of a vanished army is highly suspicious.
"Mu Ping doesn't know."
"But after the late emperor ascended the throne, the people he trusted most were Ji Kun and Xiang Mu."
Ji Kun goes without saying, but who is Xiang Mu?
"Xiang Mu and Ji Kun both followed the late emperor into battle and were great heroes in killing the enemy. However, Xiang Mu died of poisoning not long after Your Majesty ascended the throne," Mu Ping explained. This was all that Qin Xu had told her before.
"Today Xie Bailing told me that the people at the autumn hunting ranch could use the Pear Blossom Sword Technique. Since they were former subordinates of the late emperor, they must have been driven by someone."
Mu Ping immediately understood and exchanged a glance with Jing Anle, "Does the princess suspect that Prince Qing is the person behind this elite force?"
In other words, although Emperor Jing had stripped Prince Qing of his military power, he still maintained a group of elite troops behind him, and these troops were strong enough to fight against a hundred men.