Pin Shanhe

These past few days, Jun Qiyuan has been thinking about one thing.

That was the death of Jun Anning!

His seventh sister has always been in good health and has never suffered from any serious illness.

When I saw her on ordinary days, she always had a rosy complexion and spoke with a strong voice. She didn't seem like someone who would suddenly die from a serious illness.

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed, and he felt that something was amiss.

Murong Xiao was also furious about the return of the Xuan King.

His purpose in coming to Yongchao was to ascertain the true situation and provide the most accurate intelligence to the Northern Dynasty army at the front.

At this moment, the army was ready to march south at his command.

Who would have thought that at this critical juncture, the Xuan King would actually return!

Then everything he had planned would be ruined.

No, he had to find a way to turn the situation around.

Just then, Jun Qiyuan sent someone to deliver a message, which immediately alerted him.

"You mean, the Seventh Princess faked her death?"

That's impossible!

He had already had the Northern Dynasty's imperial physician examine his pulse, and it was a sign that his illness had reached a critical stage.

Later, the person stopped breathing, and the imperial physician examined him again, confirming that he was dead.

How could this be faked?

Jun Qiyuan's face was gloomy. "What wouldn't they do to get away? I heard that the Holy Physician once developed a drug to fake death. After taking it, even the most skilled imperial physicians wouldn't be able to detect it, enough to deceive everyone."

Murong Xiao had never heard of such a miraculous medicine in the world, but he did find the matter rather strange.

He could have gotten sick anytime soon, but he just happened to get sick right away!

He had no choice but to die, saying he wanted to hold his wedding before he died, and then he just died.

All of this seemed like a pre-ordained script, a coincidence that seemed impossible to stumble upon.

"If she truly faked her death, does the Yongchao Emperor know about it?"

"Impossible! I know Father's temperament. He hates it when people try to deceive him. He'll be furious and punish them for the crime of deceiving the emperor!"

This is why he always confesses immediately when he gets caught doing something wrong.

But they are unlikely to be as "sensible" as I am; they will certainly refuse to confess their crimes, thus thoroughly enraging my father.

"If the Seventh Princess hadn't died, where would she be now?"

Jun Qiyuan pondered for a moment, recalling that after Jun Anning's death, Shen Fu and the Second Prince's faction not only did not sever ties, but their relationship became even closer.

Not only did the Second Prince frequent the Xuan Prince's residence, but even the Imperial Concubine visited twice.

Isn't the truth already quite obvious?

Murong Xiao clenched his fist, his tone filled with malice, "So this is the Great Yong War God! How dare you harbor my fiancée! I'd like to see how the old emperor explains this!"

After saying this, he was about to go to the palace to report the matter to Emperor Yong, but Jun Qiyuan stopped him.

"No!"

"What, are you trying to stop me?"

"I just want to tell you that if you go and say it now, Father Emperor will likely deny it outright for fear of offending the Northern Dynasty, and besides, we haven't found any evidence."

"What should we do then?"

"Unless we can expose this in public, in front of everyone, catching them completely off guard!"

Morning next day.

Murong Xiao brought the envoys from the Northern Kingdom into the palace to meet Emperor Yong under the pretext of discussing a marriage alliance.

His journey to Yongchao was to marry the Seventh Princess, Jun Anning, but she suddenly died, disrupting his original plans.

Later, he set his sights on Shen Fu, and just as he was about to succeed in his scheme, the Xuan King miraculously "came back to life," disrupting his plans once again.

In order to stay in the capital and investigate the truth, he could only randomly choose a noblewoman from the concubine selection banquet.

Today, everyone has gathered in the imperial court, firstly to finalize the wedding date, and secondly to discuss the future diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Murong Xiao and Jun Qiyuan exchanged glances secretly.

They had already planned it all out, and were about to expose the truth about Jun Anning's faked death in public.

If the crowd doesn't believe it, then suggest searching the Xuanwang Mansion!

If the Xuan King has a clear conscience, he will naturally not refuse; but if he has a guilty conscience, it will only confirm his crime of deceiving the emperor.

Even the God of War of the Great Yong Dynasty cannot disregard the law.

If the emperor shows favoritism and bias in public, how can he govern the country and enforce the law in the future? How can he stand firm in the court and win the hearts of the people?

Murong Xiao had just stepped forward when Emperor Yong spoke first.

"Today I have two pieces of good news to announce. The first is naturally the marriage alliance with the Northern Dynasty. The candidate has been chosen, and I wish for our two countries to be forever united in marriage. As for the second piece of good news..."

Upon hearing this, Murong Xiao couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

What joyous occasion could it be?

"My eighth princess has returned."

What, the Eighth Princess?

Everyone present was stunned.

A hint of confusion also appeared in Jun Qiyuan's eyes.

He remembered that the Eighth Princess had died of smallpox at the age of three.

Even though he wasn't in the capital at the time and hadn't officially recognized his ancestors, it's a well-known fact!

At that moment, a bright and beautiful figure stepped into the hall.

The moment the person's face was seen, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

The faces of the crowd were filled with horror.

How... is this possible?

Previously, when the Xuan King was resurrected, everyone was still able to feel a sense of relief because they had not personally witnessed his death.

However, the death of the Seventh Princess Jun Anning was witnessed by everyone.

Now, seeing someone who looks exactly like her walk in, whether it's her eyebrows and eyes, her appearance, or her demeanor and aura, they are exactly the same!

Someone couldn't help but scream, "A ghost!"

Murong Xiao and Jun Qiyuan had grim expressions, having already anticipated this.

They had already guessed the truth behind Jun Anning's faked death to escape, but they never expected her to dare to appear in front of everyone so brazenly.

She went from being the seventh princess to the eighth princess who died young!

Murong Xiao could no longer contain his rage and roared, "Fine! I, the prince, traveled thousands of miles to Dayong for a political marriage, intending to marry the Seventh Princess, Jun Anning. Yet you allowed her to fake her death and escape, deliberately deceiving me. This is utterly outrageous!"

Emperor Yong quickly explained, "Your Highness has misunderstood. The Seventh Princess has indeed passed away. She was my Eighth Princess, Jun Ning'an."

"..."

They even have almost the same name, how can they say it's not a lie?

Murong Xiao immediately let out a cold laugh, his tone full of sarcasm: "Does Emperor Yong think I'm a fool?"

At this moment, the ministers in the hall were also whispering among themselves.

"Why does this eighth princess look exactly like the seventh princess? Could there really be something wrong with her?"

"The Crown Prince of the Northern Dynasty claims she faked her death. Could it be that she deliberately tricked him because she didn't want a marriage alliance? This is a capital offense of deceiving the emperor!"

"Impossible! The Seventh Princess Yan has always been kind-hearted and would never dare to commit such a heinous crime. There must be some hidden reason!"

Everyone turned to look at Emperor Yong, staring at him as he offered an explanation.

Emperor Yong quickly gave his answer.

It turns out that Consort Ning gave birth to twin daughters.

However, due to the rumor that twins were unlucky in the Dayong Dynasty, the Eighth Princess was sent to be raised outside the palace immediately after birth.