The weak princess is super fierce

Chapter 971 Returning to the Palace

Could it be Meng Ying's husband?

If he was indeed her husband, why is there no male corpse's name on the tombstone?

Li Shou glanced towards the women's quarters. Meng Shisan and his servant had already entered through the moon gate of the women's quarters and should be returning to their rooms by now: "It's not convenient to talk here. Let's go to your room to talk."

Cui Yu said, "Alright. Did Your Highness not arrange a guest room?"

"Yes," Li Shou said, "but I have to rush back to the palace tonight."

Cui Yu hesitated, then said, "Then..."

What exactly are you here for?

Li Shou ignored Cui Yu and led the way toward the moon gate of the men's quarters: "I just came to see Yao Yao."

“Then…” Cui Yu turned around and glanced in the direction of the women’s quarters behind him, then hesitated again.

“I’ve seen it.” Li Shou didn’t want Meng Shisan to know he had been there. “She doesn’t know I’ve come, so don’t let it slip.”

Cui Yu agreed.

Cui Yu's room was arranged in the third room on the right side of the corridor leading into the men's quarters, which was easy to find.

Upon entering the guest room, Chang Qing closed the door last. Li Shou sat down in the seat of honor, while Cui Yu sat down in the seat of honor. After closing the door, Chang Qing walked to stand behind Li Shou.

"You don't need to investigate the matter of the male corpse. Even if you wanted to, you probably wouldn't be able to." Li Shou had thought about this matter before. "As for Meng Ying's matter, the fact that Yao Yao and Ma Ji came up the mountain one after the other must mean it's no small matter. Something must have happened to Meng Ying's body. Tomorrow, you should inquire further about this and see what exactly happened at Meng Ying's tomb."

“Miss Meng and Old Master Ma had already excavated Meng Ying’s grave. I arrived late and couldn’t get close enough, but I could see signs of digging from about ten steps away. The two of them were sitting on the ground talking in front of Meng Ying’s tombstone. After I arrived, they stopped talking,” Cui Yu reported truthfully.

Li Shou said, "There are things you cannot know."

"Yes." Cui Yu thought so too.

“If that’s the case, it will probably be difficult for you to find out what happened at Meng Ying’s tomb tomorrow,” Li Shou said thoughtfully. “Try your best to investigate, find out as much as you can, and as for the rest, I will ask Yao Yao myself when she returns to the city from the mountain.”

Cui Yu immediately felt much more relaxed: "Alright. As for the magic array at Meng Ying's tomb, does Your Highness know what kind of array it is?"

"I only know that it is a protective formation for the burial mound, or a self-protective formation set up when Meng Ying was buried. I don't know anything else." Li Shou had asked before, but Meng Shisan at the time didn't know much and couldn't tell him much either.

We'll have to ask them all at once later.

Cui Yu said, "That burial mound looks very old. The person who set up the array on the burial mound and kept it for so many years must have been a master."

"Either a Celestial Master or a Taoist Priest, but who exactly is he..." They've come full circle. Li Shou sighed, "We still need to find out Meng Ying's background. How did Yao Yao tell you last time how to investigate?"

"When Miss Meng asked me to investigate Meng Ying's background, what she knew was almost the same as what I knew. It was only because Old Ma took the initiative to say that to investigate Meng Ying's background, we had to go back a long, long time." Cui Yu recalled the scene when she first saw Meng Ying Danqing. "At that time, because Meng Ying's appearance was almost exactly the same as... Thirteen's, I was stunned for a moment, and my heart was also stirred. I subconsciously felt that since they shared the same surname and looked almost identical, Meng Ying might be Thirteen's ancestor. If I could find out Meng Ying's background, then by following the clues, I might also be able to find out Thirteen's ancestors, and then I would be able to better understand why Thirteen... left me back then."

Unexpectedly, despite deploying a large number of people and expending considerable resources, his investigation yielded nothing. This wasn't the first time Li Shou had heard about Cui Yu's sweetheart, but it was the first time Cui Yu had brought it up on her own initiative, without him asking. Thinking of Meng Shisan, whom Cui Yu admired, who had been missing for twenty years, he felt that his current troubles with his cousin were quite a minor obstacle for Cui Yu.

He couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Cui Yu.

Cui Yu noticed a hint of pity in Li Shou's gaze and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Your Highness need not look at me like that. Twenty years have passed, and I've actually gotten used to it. I will definitely continue searching, and I will definitely go to Jinling every year. Whether I can see Thirteen again... it all depends on fate."

"Can't Yao Yao help?" Li Shou asked.

“Miss Meng helped me by sending a letter to Thirteen…” When mentioning this, Cui Yu’s voice suddenly became much weaker, low and hoarse, “…Thirteen also replied, saying that she would not see me and that I did not need to wait for her anymore.”

“You…” Li Shou wanted to continue, since Meng Shisan had so clearly rejected him, Cui Yu should let it go. But seeing Cui Yu with his head down, looking so dejected that he was about to cry, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“I’m not reconciled.” Cui Yu’s mouth was full of bitterness. “Your Highness, I’m not reconciled.” “She won’t see you. No matter how reconciled you are, what can you do?” Li Shou pointed out the crux of the matter.

Cui Yu revealed his plan: "Miss Meng is in the capital. She also told me that her thirteenth aunt mentioned in a letter that perhaps in the future, her thirteenth aunt will come to the capital."

Li Shou understood: "You want to take a gamble?"

“Yes.” Cui Yu admitted, “I want to take a gamble. I’m betting that Thirteen will come to the capital someday, and since I’ve always been in contact with Miss Meng, I’ll definitely get the news from her first. As long as I get the news, I will definitely meet Thirteen.”

"Even if we meet then, what do you plan to do?" Li Shou continued to ask.

Cui Yu had thought about this question: "I want to get an answer in person."

Li Shou didn't ask for the answer.

Even Chang Qing could tell what question Cui Yu wanted to ask, but the answer was probably not the answer Cui Yu wanted.

“You…” Li Shou wanted to offer some advice, but then he remembered what Ma Ji had said to Cui Yu before returning to his room, “Take care.”

Cui Yu immediately thought of the four words Ma Ji had just said to him—"Deep affection is short-lived."

He pursed his lips, feeling a growing bitterness that was a mixture of stubbornness and helplessness.

After leaving Cui Yu's guest room, Li Shou walked towards the women's guest quarters. He stood in front of the women's guest quarters' gate for half an incense stick's time before slowly walking out.

After leaving the Zhishang Taoist Temple, Tongchen Tongguang appeared, flanking Li Shou on both sides and keeping a close watch on both sides of the mountain path.

Chang Qing followed behind, noticing how strong the wind was tonight: "Your Highness, it looks like it's going to snow."

Li Shou looked up at the starry, moonlit night sky, wondering where Chang Qing had gotten the idea that it was going to snow. So he asked, "Did you consult the Imperial Observatory before you came?"

He remembered that Chang Qing had left for a short while at that time.

"Yes," Chang Qing replied with a smile.