The Haoyue Palace where Princess Huaicheng lived before she got married is close to the Imperial Garden. There is a path between it and the Jinwu River that flows around the imperial city, leading to a covered bridge on the river. After crossing the Fengqi Gate, you can reach the Royal Garden - — Wutong Xiaoting.
This is much easier than sneaking out of the palace. However, there are soldiers guarding the covered bridge, so you cannot pass it head-on. The only way is to dive and swim in the river.
Xiao Yuehuai led Qin E to hide in the woods by the river, and whispered: "Niao Niao, swim all the way to the northwest from under the Jinwu River covered bridge. There is a dog hole hidden at the base of the south wall. From there, you can Then you can enter the Wutong Garden smoothly. The night guard outside the Royal Villa is not as tight as in the palace. You have to find an opportunity to sneak out before dawn, and you must not stay."
"Remember, go find my uncle immediately after leaving the Villa. He was once your grandfather's favorite disciple, and he will definitely keep you safe."
Qin E stared at her and said worriedly: "What about you? From your tone...you don't plan to leave with me?"
"Today, many people know that I am returning to the palace with my husband to pay homage to my father, the emperor and my mother. If I disappear suddenly, it will arouse suspicion. I must stay. I asked Alu to accompany you...she can also ask me for you. Uncle, explain the cause and effect."
After saying that, Xiao Yuehuai pushed A Lu to Qin E's side and took a step back.
"Princess! You stay alone in the palace...I'm not worried."
A Lu stood back in a panic, holding Xiao Yuehui's arm and refusing to leave.
Qin E also said: "What Alu said is that once the palace is searched, your secret sneaking into the inner prison in the middle of the night will be exposed. How will you deal with it alone?"
"I am enough alone. If someone asks me, Alu can't help me. Stop talking nonsense. You should leave as soon as possible. If it is later, you won't even be able to leave the garden."
Xiao Yuehuai urged, pushing the two little girls towards the river.
With no choice, Alu had no choice but to obey the princess's order and cross the river with Qin E to leave.
Xiao Yuehuai stood behind the banyan tree, watching the two black figures disappear into the water, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to return the same way, the river rippled again.
She was shocked and immediately returned to the shore.
I thought something had happened to Qin E and A Lu, but unexpectedly, a person appeared vaguely in the sparkling water, floating like a floating board, as if dead, with his robe wrapped in catkins in the river, Qingping and some debris hit the dam with a "dong" and bounced another meter away.
How could there be a corpse in the Jinwu River?
At this moment, she saw the "floating corpse" struggling slightly in the water with her own eyes, and she was suddenly frightened.
Is this person not dead?
By the moonlight, Xiao Yuehuai found a longer bamboo fork and stretched it out towards the river, hooked the "floating corpse"'s robe, and pulled it over with force.
She spent all her efforts to drag the "floating corpse" to the shore. As soon as she got close, she smelled a strong fishy smell, mixed with blood, which was pungent and unpleasant.
Xiao Yuehuai took a closer look and determined that he was a man and that he was seriously injured. She turned the man over and was surprised to see a silver mask with plum patterns covering his face.
She reached out to untie the mask, but was gently blocked by a thin and pale hand. Her heart beat slowly, a cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and she quickly moved away from him.
Immediately afterwards, I heard the man groan a few words: "Save me...save, save me."
Xiao Yuehuai leaned closer, and the man had completely fainted. She carefully poked him twice, and when she saw that he was motionless, she thought of saving him, and when she pulled his arm and dragged him back, a carved wooden box fell out with a clang from his body.
Xiao Yuehuai picked up the box, opened it and took a look. At this glance, I got an unexpected surprise.
The carved wooden box actually contained a small, square account book, which contained records of Kang Rongqi, the minister of household affairs, collecting money from various governments for his own use.
In her previous life, she had seen the account book in which Mr. Qin Ge had accepted bribes, and it was almost the same as this one.
The Lu family's father and son had been running the business for five years. In order to thoroughly prove Mr. Qin's crime of corruption, every amount of money was recorded very clearly. Even how Qin used the stolen money was perfectly fabricated.
Many people in the government and the public had received favor from Mr. Qin Ge, and they all wanted to find an opportunity to rescue him. Unexpectedly, the evidence chain was too complete. Every time they checked, they became more convinced of Qin's crime.
Come to think of it...everything was fabricated based on the account book in her hand.
In addition, there is actually a confession in the wooden box. Although it is a little damp, the writing is shocking.
This is the confession of the accountant who came forward to accuse Mr. Qin Ge of corruption and bending the law. However, the testimony refers not to Qin Tiancong, the left servant, but to Kang Rongqi, the minister of household affairs...
Xiao Yuehuai's face was full of surprise, and she stared at the half-dead man on the ground with sadness, and her thoughts of saving people gradually subsided.
She remembered that the accountant who first accused Qin Tiancong in his previous life hanged himself in prison the day after he was imprisoned. It was the third day since she helped Qin E escape from prison.
...This confession should have been written by the accountant before he died, otherwise it would never have appeared at this time.
In the previous life, the Qin family did not know who was behind the frame-up until their death. The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple finally discovered the clues after investigating, but they did not have enough evidence and could not find the mastermind to overturn the case for the Qin family.
The officials in both the government and the public were helpless, so the injured man could never be the one who saved the Qin family, so the person who had this account book and the confession must be the killer sent by Lu Pingsheng to destroy the evidence.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yuehuai felt strange again: since he was here to destroy evidence, why did he get injured and fall into the Jinwu River?
Did the accountant actually hide the account books and confessions in the Royal Villa in order to save his life?
In this case... isn't the Wutong Courtyard filled with Lu Pingsheng's people at this moment?
Qin E and A Lu...will they be in danger?
She needs to find a way to leave the palace quickly!
Xiao Yuehuai was anxious, looked around, hurriedly put away the account books and testimonies in his hands, closed the wooden box and stuffed it in his arms to hide it.
Before leaving, he lowered his head and glanced at the man at his feet. When he thought that he was the killer sent by Lu Pingsheng, he suddenly felt annoyed. So, she dragged him back to the shore, kicked him into the river without any hesitation, clapped his hands and turned around to leave.
At this time, she did not know that the man who fell into the water and was dying was the general Su Ying, Lu Pingsheng's mortal enemy. The wooden box containing the account books and testimonies was something he desperately snatched from the hands of the dead men of the Lu family.
Su Ying, a living Yama who fought on the battlefield and killed many people, did not expect that one day he would fall into the hands of his bride and almost lose his life.
The palace was very quiet in the second half of the night. Surprisingly, Qin E's escape from prison was not revealed, as if it was deliberately concealed, and there was no news.
Xiao Yuehuai was very puzzled by this. Logically speaking, Lu Pingsheng's men failed to silence Qin E, and there should have been trouble in the inner prison after midnight, so he sent people to check on her early. But until now, no one has come to question her about her whereabouts last night.
Did something really happen to Qin E when she went to the Royal Villa?
When she thought of this, she felt anxious and suffocated.
