The weak princess is super fierce

Chapter 980 Flipping Through Unofficial Histories

The water snake was ultimately no match for Chang'an's enraged violence.

It refused to leave the tank no matter what, but in the end, Chang'an reached out and grabbed it from the water, holding it in his hand as he walked away.

Meng Shisan heard the noise, as did Baozhu and Jinyin, but when they turned around and saw that it was Chang'an causing the trouble, the three of them silently turned back.

The treasures and gold and silver were one thing, but even Meng Shisan was treated this way. The water snake's heart, which had been yearning to ask the senior for help, immediately turned cold. He could only be forcibly taken away by Chang'an for questioning in a pitiful state.

After finishing my work enjoying the spring scenery and returning to the courtyard, I discovered that the water snake was gone. I assumed it had slipped out and wandered off on its own, so I quickly went to look for it.

Baozhu called out to Shangchun, explained the reason, and told her that Shangchun didn't need to look for him anymore.

Shang Chun wondered, "Why is Chang'an arresting Xiao Qing?"

Baozhu shook her head: "Then I don't know."

Shangchun then looked at Meng Shisan, and Baozhu followed suit. Shangchun then looked back at Baozhu, who understood Shangchun's meaning and nodded to her.

Shangchun realized that her mistress already knew, so there was no need to search. She walked closer to the stone table and said, "Miss, the old master has sent Shangxia and the others to deliver many official history books. He said that the old master specially borrowed them from the Hanlin Academy. Would you like to take a look now?"

Meng Shisan's mind was buzzing: "Hanlin Academy?"

"Yes."

"……look!"

If we could find the official history that records Meng Ying's name in the historical records, and thus find out Meng Shisi's background, then her troubles from the time she came down from Qingbei Mountain back to the city should be half resolved!

Without further ado, Meng Shisan asked Shangchun to move all the books to Mingxiaotang so she could read them one by one.

However, things did not go as planned.

Meng Shisan searched through all the official history books that Meng Tianguan had specially borrowed for her, but she couldn't find even a single mention of the name Meng Ying.

Seeing Meng Shisan's disappointment, Baozhu tried asking, "Miss, these are all official histories. Is it possible that what you are looking for is not in the official histories?"

Jin Yin nodded vigorously beside him: "Yes, yes, is that possible?"

Meng Shisan looked at the two of them, thought for a while, and finally shook his head: "Impossible. A lady who can live in the East Palace and act so lawlessly in front of the Crown Prince must have a legitimate title. It must be recorded in official history."

Ma Ji also confirmed that Meng Shisi Hu was indeed in love with Li Shize, who was then the Crown Prince. Although their time together was very short, she did become the Crown Princess of the First Emperor, who was still just the Crown Prince at the time.

As the Crown Princess and the mistress of the Eastern Palace, even though there are few records of her in official history, there must have been some traces left behind.

Now, she wants to uncover even these few remaining clues.

Shang Chun brewed a new pot of tea and poured in a fresh bowl of still-steaming tea, replacing the cold tea that Meng Shisan had been holding. She then joined the discussion: "We really can't find any official history, Miss. Why don't you try looking through unofficial histories?"

Meng Shisan looked up at her. She said, "Whether it's official history or unofficial history, it's still history. Throughout history, some people are not recorded much in official history, or even left their names at all, but they have a place in unofficial history. Who knows, the person you are looking for might be hard to find in official history with just a few words, but can be found easily in unofficial history with a lot of writing."

Meng Shisan frowned, she had to admit that there was some truth to what Shang Chun said: "If we also have to read unofficial histories, then there will be even more. How many years and months will it take to find them?"

Just thinking about it made her despair.

"Miss, tell us the name of the person you need, and we can help you find them." As Shangchun spoke, she mentally calculated how many people were in the entire Taichen Courtyard, and how many of them were literate. If all the literate people were gathered together to look through books, how many books could they turn in a day?

Baozhu and Jinyin chimed in, "Yes! We can all help find it!"

“A few clues, no progress at all…” Meng Shisan slumped over the table, groaning weakly.

Meng Renping had just stepped across the threshold of Mingxiao Hall when he heard and saw his eldest cousin in such a state. He walked in with a smile and asked, "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"

“A dead…person.” She originally meant to say a dead person, but then, remembering that Meng Shisi was a demon, Meng Shisan changed her words. She sat up straight. “Big brother just came back from the palace?”

He looked at the sky again: "It's only just past noon, has elder brother had lunch yet?"

Meng Renping often missed meals on time due to official duties, a fact known throughout the Meng household: "He only returned after having eaten with His Highness at the Eastern Palace."

"It's time to go to the yamen for duty now. Is there something urgent that you're back, brother?" Meng Shisan wondered to himself. She hadn't left the house since returning from Qingbei Mountain. Could it be related to her?
Meng Renping came to deliver a message: "Your Highness wishes to know what you have found out about Meng Ying?"

"Didn't Your Highness already send Young Master Cui to Qingbei Mountain to oversee the entire process of me digging and filling the grave? Why do you still need my elder brother to come back and ask me?" Meng Shisan's frustration was indescribable. Now, as things have developed to this point, not only has she failed to find out what she initially wanted to understand, but it's as if she's gotten herself into a tangled mess of threads, which is becoming more and more complicated the more she tries to untangle it, and the tangled mess is getting bigger and bigger.

"After returning to the city from Qingbei Mountain, Young Master Cui went to the palace to see His Highness and reported to him." Meng Renping was not in the Wenhua Hall at the time and did not know the specific details, but Li Shou had told him the general outline of the matter. "He was unable to provide much useful information. His Highness was puzzled and thought it would be better to come and ask you directly, perhaps you can answer His Highness's questions."

"Your Highness has also asked Young Master Cui to continue the investigation, right?" Meng Shisan asked.

Meng Renping nodded: "Let's take a two-pronged approach."

Meng Shisan truthfully replied, "What I know right now is no more useful than what Seventh Young Master Cui has."

"Tell me what you think," Meng Renping always had to give an answer.

“Hmm…” Meng Shisan considered for a moment, “So far, all I’ve found is that Meng Ying was from the time of the First Emperor, and that she gave birth to a princess for him. Later, Meng Ying was poisoned and died by the First Emperor’s favorite concubine, and the little princess was sent out of the palace by the First Emperor, and…”

"And what?" Meng Renping asked urgently. Cui Yu had not reported this information.

Facing her eldest cousin, Meng Shisan was still willing to share what she knew: "When the First Emperor was still the Crown Prince, Meng Ying had already married into the Eastern Palace and become the First Emperor's Crown Princess."

She spoke with such certainty that Meng Renping was astonished: "Where did you learn this from? From history books?"

“Of course not.” Meng Shisan shook his head and fiddled with the history books on the table. “I couldn’t find the information I wanted from the history books. What I told my elder brother about has my own channels.”

Meng Renping understood the unspoken meaning and realized that his eldest cousin did not want to reveal the source of the channel.