“Let him in.” Ning Wang said lightly.
“Yes, Your Highness, this subordinate obeys!”
The eunuch then withdrew.
After a moment, the eunuch led Lin Zhenfan to Ning Wang’s study.
“Your subordinate pays his respects to Ning Wang!”
Upon seeing Ning Wang Jun Moxiao, Lin Zhenfan performed a customary salute between a minister and a prince.
“Rise. May I inquire why the Zhennan General visits so late at night?” Ning Wang asked deliberately.
Lin Zhenfan raised his eyes and carefully observed Jun Moxiao. Jun Moxiao bore an eight-tenths resemblance to Ming Yulan. His posture was upright, and his chiseled face was framed by a pair of deep, dark eyes that revealed nothing.
“Ning Wang, your subordinate has come tonight to borrow something from Your Highness,” Lin Zhenfan stated his purpose directly.
“General Zhennan, what is it you wish to borrow from this King?” Ning Wang asked deliberately.
In fact, when Ning Wang’s hidden guards discovered Lin Zhenfan entering the palace to see his mother, he had already guessed what Lin Zhenfan intended to ask his mother for.
“Your subordinate wishes to borrow the Warm Jade from Ning Wang’s hands for a few days,” Lin Zhenfan said.
“How did General Zhennan know that this King possessed the Warm Jade?” Ning Wang asked with a calm expression.
“Consort Jing,” Lin Zhenfan replied concisely.
“May I ask what sort of relationship General Zhennan has with my mother?” Ning Wang furrowed his brow, his fists clenching in his sleeves for a moment before relaxing.
“We were friends before your mother came of age,” Lin Zhenfan said with a smile.
“Oh, is that so? It is a pity that the Warm Jade is no longer in my possession,” Ning Wang refused him.
Lin Zhenfan had anticipated Ning Wang’s refusal when he arrived at Ning Wang’s manor, but he still wanted to try his luck. As expected, he was refused by Ning Wang, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
“Your Highness Ning Wang, do you then know who currently possesses the Warm Jade?”
“I am truly sorry, General Zhennan, but this matter is inconvenient for me to disclose.”
Ning Wang’s cold, handsome face twitched at the corners of his thin lips as he replied indifferently.
“Then I shall not disturb Your Highness Ning Wang any further tonight. Your subordinate bids farewell!” Lin Zhenfan spoke without any expression on his face, his eyes glinting with a sinister aura.
After speaking, he turned and left Ning Wang’s study, hurrying away from Ning Wang’s manor.
After Lin Zhenfan left, Ning Wang’s expression gradually turned grim.
…
Meanwhile, the Cold King and his consort, after dealing with the black-clad figures outside Li Jinshao’s shop, immediately returned to the Cold King’s manor.
As Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan stepped into the Cold King’s manor, they heard the butler announce that Chu Mingxuan and Chu Miaoling were looking for them.
Thus, the Cold King and his consort went to Chu Mingxuan’s courtyard to find the Chu siblings. As they entered the courtyard, they saw the Chu siblings talking in the pavilion.
Upon seeing the Cold King and his consort arrive, the Chu siblings immediately rose to greet them.
“Chu Miaoling and Chu Ming pay their respects to the Cold King and Cold King’s Consort!”
“Please rise. We are the only ones here, so you need not be so formal.”
After speaking, Leng Ruoli’s red lips curved into a beautiful arc.
“Thank you, Consort!” Chu Mingxuan said gratefully.
“Please, Your Highness and Consort, come inside and sit. Miaoling has something important to tell you.” At this moment, Chu Miaoling suddenly said with a solemn expression.
Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan glanced at Chu Miaoling’s serious expression.
Subsequently, they were led into the house by the Chu siblings. Then, Chu Miaoling said mournfully, “Cold King’s Consort, your mother is still alive.”
Chu Miaoling’s words were startling.
Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan were both slightly taken aback by her words.
“Miaoling, are you telling the truth when you say my mother is still alive?”
Leng Ruoli asked with some doubt. Although she had previously speculated that the original owner’s mother might be alive, she was not entirely certain.
“It’s true, Consort. Years ago, when my Chu family suffered a devastating attack, and I almost perished in the fire, it was your mother, Xia Wan’er, who saved my life.”
As Chu Miaoling spoke of the events of that year, her expression turned sorrowful, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan were once again stunned.
“Miaoling, what exactly happened that year?” Leng Ruoli quickly regained her usual composure.
“Consort, our Chu family was a renowned medical family in Jiangcheng, a prominent clan. We were benevolent and kind, always willing to help others regardless of their status. We never expected that one night, our Chu family would suffer a catastrophic massacre. A group of black-clad individuals, seeking to obtain our Chu family’s ancestral thousand-year-old Warm Jade, stormed into our home, killing all two hundred-plus members of our family. I was hidden by my mother and managed to escape, but my parents tragically met their demise…”
As Chu Miaoling spoke, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest, her face filled with grief, and tears lingering in her eyes.
“Because they could not obtain our family’s thousand-year-old Warm Jade, they set fire to our manor, attempting to destroy all evidence… I desperately called for help in the inferno… Just as I was about to collapse, a figure descended from the sky and rushed into the flames, carrying me out. I clearly saw her face; she bore an eight-tenths resemblance to you, but she had a pair of blood-red eyes.” Chu Miaoling recounted, recalling the events.
Chu Miaoling’s words astonished Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan.
“Miaoling, you say the person who saved you bore an eight-tenths resemblance to me? In what year did your family incident occur?” Leng Ruoli asked, her voice filled with excitement.
“Consort, our Chu family incident happened in the eighth year of Tianjing,” Chu Mingxuan interjected at this point.
“Jun Mohan, in the eighth year of Tianjing, how old was I?” Leng Ruoli asked.
“Two or three years old,” Jun Mohan replied directly.
“Jun Mohan, then my mother might really still be alive.”
Upon hearing this news, Leng Ruoli was so excited she nearly jumped for joy.
However, after a moment, she regained her composure.
“Miaoling, you also mentioned earlier that the person who saved you had a pair of blood-red eyes?” Leng Ruoli asked after a moment of thought.
“Yes, I remember very clearly. My benefactor’s blood-red eyes were particularly striking,” Chu Miaoling confirmed.
“Consort, I, Chu Mingxuan, have heard many legends about your mother before, but I’ve never heard anyone mention her having blood-red eyes. Something unfortunate must have happened to her,” Chu Mingxuan guessed.
Leng Ruoli nodded in agreement with Chu Mingxuan’s words.
“Miaoling, on that night, besides my mother, did you see anyone else with her?” Leng Ruoli asked again.
“Anyone else? No. Oh, wait, before I lost consciousness, I think I heard a woman calling your mother ‘Young Lady’,” Chu Miaoling recalled carefully.
“Calling my mother ‘Young Lady’?” Leng Ruoli murmured to herself.
Could that person be Granny Hua?
To ascertain whether Granny Hua had left her side when the original owner was two or three years old, Leng Ruoli would need to inquire with the steward of the General Leng’s manor and Leng Jinyu.