Chapter 426

Hong Ling hurried forward and said worriedly, “Miss?” There was obviously a hidden meaning in Bu Yonghan’s words. Moreover, every sentence contained poisonous thorns. If it was heard by others, who knew how many filthy thoughts would be aroused by her words? At that time, what would happen to Miss’ reputation?

Shen Ninghua’s expression was a little gloomy. She did not care about her reputation, but she did not want others to slander her to reach their own goal. “Hong Ling, investigate what exactly happened between Bu Yonghan and Baili Jinchuan these past two days. If you can’t find out, then start with that Nurse Wu. With her intelligence, she should know that Bu Yonghan is not a good master!”

“Yes, Miss.”

After instructing Hong Ling on what she needed to investigate, Shen Ninghua directly stood up and returned to the tent.

At this time, Bu Yonghan, whose heart was full of anger, could not stay any longer. She directly asked someone to bring the horse over. She grabbed the reins and ruthlessly gave the horse a whip. She quickly disappeared into the forest. She needed to vent her anger right away. If she did not vent the anger in her heart, she did not know what dangerous things she would do.

When she arrived at an empty spot with no one else around, Bu Yonghan pulled out the long whip and fiercely whipped the surrounding vegetation. It was as if the whip was hitting Shen Ninghua. Bu Yonghan exerted all her strength on every whip, and it was forceful enough to beat people until their skin and flesh were torn open.

“Shen Ninghua, you sl*t! B*tch! If I can’t ruin your reputation, then I will be useless as Princess Yonghan!” Bu Yonghan cursed inwardly.

Just as her long whip hit a bush, a cry of surprise suddenly came out, “Ah, it hurts!”

Bu Yonghan suddenly stopped, and a trace of killing intent flashed through her eyes. She shouted coldly, “Who is it? Come out here!”

A figure stumbled out. Seeing that it was Bu Yonghan, the person could not help but exclaim, “Princess Yonghan…”

Bu Yonghan took a closer look and was shocked. “You are… Madam Xia! Why are you here?”

The person who came out was Xia Jingqiu. At this time, she looked particularly miserable. There were many wounds on her body. When she saw Bu Yonghan, her frightened expression immediately turned into sadness and despair. “Princess Yonghan, save me!”

Bu Yonghan was stunned. “Madam Xia, what’s wrong? Tell me slowly. If I can help you, I will definitely help you.”

“Your Highness, only you can help me now. Back then, after I heard what Second Prince His Highness said, I knew that I could not get justice for Yingxue, so I decided to go back to Jiangnan. I didn’t expect that I would be hunted down as soon as I left the city. In the chaos, the horse was shocked and ran all the way to the mountain forest with the carriage, which allowed me to avoid the assassination. I have been hiding in the mountain forest for the past few days, and I didn’t dare to go out at all. I just wanted to keep my life so that can expose the true colors of Shen Ninghua!”

“What… you said Shen Ninghua?” Bu Yonghan’s heart was moved, and her eyes lit up slightly.

“Yes, it’s her!” Xia Jingqiu gnashed her teeth in hatred. “What a good niece she is to me! I am her only aunt, but she wants to kill me. If I hadn’t been so determined to expose her to the point that I risked my life, how could I have survived until today?”

Bu Yonghan frowned, but her lips could not help but curve into a strange smile. “Madam Xia, how do you know that the persons who hunted you down were sent by Shen Ninghua?”

“Of course, I know! At that time, I also brought a few servants with me. When a servant was killed, he pulled a piece of cloth from the assassin. The cloth was embroidered with the shape of an azalea. The azalea was Xia Jingyan’s favorite flower. In Xia Jingyan’s dowry, many things had the shape of an azalea! I will never get this wrong!”

Bu Yonghan’s eyes flashed, and the smile on her face turned into misgiving. “Madam Xia, don’t worry. I will definitely help you get justice. Come, follow me back to the tent first. This matter still needs to be discussed slowly. After all, it is hard to determine that those people were sent by Shen Ninghua just by the azalea symbol. Most importantly, you are injured now. It is better for you to recuperate first.”

Xia Jingqiu looked at Bu Yonghan gratefully. “Thank you, Princess Yonghan.”

Not long after Bu Yonghan brought Xia Jingqiu back, the people sent by Nurse Wu came over. When they saw Xia Jingqiu’s dirty and bloody appearance, they almost killed her. Fortunately, Bu Yonghan stopped them in time. She and Baili Jinchuan stayed in the same tent and could not take Xia Jingqiu back. With Xia Jingqiu’s current appearance, she could only testify to Shen Ninghua after recovering from her injuries. Bu Yonghan could only arrange for Xia Jingqiu to stay in Nurse Wu’s tent.

“Madam Xia, although this arrangement is a bit below the standard to you, it is still not suitable to alert the enemy. So, please bear with it.”

Xia Jingqiu only wanted to take revenge and did not care where was she staying. Moreover, the tent of a servant was better than hiding in the mountains. “It doesn’t matter. I am very grateful to you, Princess Yonghan.”

Hong Ling investigated the things that happened in the past two days, but she could not find any clue. Nurse Wu helped clean up all the traces left behind by Bu Yonghan, so Hong Ling could not find any clue at all.

“Miss, it’s all my fault for being incompetent.”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “This matter cannot be blamed on you. It is extremely secretive to begin with, so it is normal that you can’t find any clue. Go and keep an eye on Nurse Wu. If you find anything, report to me immediately.”

Hong Ling kept watch of Nurse Wu for two days and gradually found that something was wrong. “Miss, I found that Nurse Wu has been bringing things back to her tent these two days, and the amount of food she took was much more than usual like they were servings for two people. Moreover, in the past two days, Princess Yonghan has been especially rewarding a lot of things to Nurse Wu. Most importantly, I found that someone has taken advantage of the chaos in the afternoon to carry a bucket of water out from Nurse Wu’s tent. There was blood in the water, a lot of blood. But no one was injured in the past two days.”

Shen Ninghua frowned, and her eyes gradually became cold. “Go up and investigate later at night. Be careful.”

“Yes, Miss.”

At night, Nurse Wu helped Bu Yonghan remove the jewelry on her head and said worriedly, “Your Highness, I have asked Madam Xia clearly. She only said that the symbol of the azalea flower must mean that it’s done by Princess Zhaohua’s people, but I feel that the matter is a bit far-fetched. After all, it involves a princess. If we are not completely sure, it is better not to take any action.”

Bu Yonghan, who was originally smiling, suddenly pulled a long face when she heard this. She slammed the golden hairpin in her hand on the table. “Nurse Wu, you don’t have to say anything more. Just tell me, will you help me with this matter or not?”

“I will naturally help you. It’s just that I feel that it is better to think twice. Princess Zhaohua is not like the others. She is exceptionally intelligent. Moreover, there is the Fifth Prince by her side. Even His Majesty dotes on her…”

In her opinion, Shen Ninghua’s experience could be said to be legendary. For a foster daughter to sever ties with her family and occupy a place in the palace, the cautiousness and painstaking efforts must be essential. If they could not kill someone like her in one blow, then it was best to not do anything. Otherwise, the consequences would be unclear. Weren’t Yang Yingxue and Noble Consort Li from previous events the best examples?

Hearing Nurse Wu’s words, Bu Yonghan became even angrier. “Are you saying that I can’t compare with her? Shen Ninghua has Baili Junyi by her side, and I don’t have anyone by my side; she has His Majesty’s favor, but I don’t, is that what you mean?”

Nurse Wu quickly knelt and apologized, “I didn’t mean that.”

Bu Yonghan suddenly clenched the golden hairpin in her hand, and the sharp end of the hairpin left a deep mark on the table. “Nurse Wu, you kneel here for a while and think about who your Master is.”

Nurse Wu felt heartbroken. She had been by Her Majesty’s side for many years, and she had been serving Bu Yonghan with great care. Because Bu Yonghan was young, Nurse Wu even treated her as a junior wholeheartedly. Who knew that she would not listen to any advice?

Nurse Wu knelt for two hours before a maid came over. “Nurse Wu, get up quickly. Her Highness is not angry anymore.”

Nurse Wu nodded expressionlessly. She got up and walked to her tent with difficulty. She naturally understood that it was not that Her Highness was not angry more, but that the Second Prince His Highness was coming back. Her Highness would not let His Highness see her punish the servants. Before marrying the Second Prince, Her Highness had thought about it very clearly. Why did she become more and more unreasonable after the marriage? It was as if she was soaked in a jar of jealousy. Could it be…

Thinking of that possibility, Nurse Wu turned pale. Could it be that Her Highness actually fell in love with the Second Prince?

Nurse Wu was uncertain. When she returned to her tent and saw that Xia Jingqiu had already fallen asleep, she quietly went to bed. She lay awake all night until dawn.

When Shen Ninghua woke up, Baili Junyi was supporting his head with one hand and looking at her face. When he saw her eyelashes trembling, he could not help but reach out to touch them. “Ninghua, you’re awake?”

Shen Ninghua tilted her head and squinted at him. “You didn’t go to see Father Emperor?”

“I’ll accompany you for breakfast before going.” In the past two days, he had been constantly reporting on the matter of the canal. He had also carefully dispelled Father Emperor’s doubts. He was truly exhausted both physically and mentally. It wasn’t easy for him to have some time, so he naturally had to accompany his sweetheart.

Baili Junyi passionately accompanied Shen Ninghua to finish her breakfast before being summoned away by a eunuch. In her boredom, Shen Ninghua picked up a scroll and leaned against the side to read it.

Hong Ling walked in quickly. “Miss, I have investigated it clearly.”

“Speak slowly. Look at you. You are all sweaty.”

Hong Ling raised her sleeve and wiped her sweat. “Did you know who is it I found that’s in Nurse Wu’s tent? It’s Madam Xia!”

Shen Ninghua suddenly raised her head. “What did you say? Madam Xia, Xia Jingqiu?”

“Yes!”

“How did they end up together?”

“That day, after Princess Yonghan and you finished talking at the viewing platform, Princess Yonghan rode into the forest to hunt. I heard that she returned in less than an hour. I did not pay attention at that time. Now that I think about it, I’m afraid that was when she met Madam Xia.”

Shen Ninghua’s eyes trembled slightly, and things quickly ran through her mind. “After Xia Jingqiu went missing for many days, she suddenly appeared on the royal hunting ground and happened to be met by Bu Yonghan… This timing is such a coincidence because right now, Bu Yonghan is full of hostility towards me… I will never believe this is a coincidence!”

“Miss, what should we do now? Bu Yonghan will definitely make use of Madam Xia to deal with you!”

“Make use of Xia Jingqiu…” Shen Ninghua murmured and suddenly laughed. “Okay, then I will wait. If Bu Yonghan is in such a hurry to deal with me, I don’t even need to deal with her myself. It will depend on whether she can keep her calm or not!”