i thought for a moment, a thoughtful expression on her face, "Dugu Cheng, how did you come to know his name""Who knows, this time I asked him and he just said 'Your Majesty'."Duke Gucheng looked at Fe..."Where does Zhao Laodai's house live, can you take me to see it"

Chen Chan readily agreed, "Of course. The Fourth Princess Consort and I shall come."

Feng Lingxi followed Zhao Laoda out, walking to the back street of the county government office. Crossing the arch bridge, they arrived at Zhao Laoda's house.

"This Zhao Lao Da lives here."

Feng Lingxi looked at the Zhao Mansion before her. Though old and worn, it still bore traces of past grandeur, hinting at a time when its owner had enjoyed considerable prosperity.

"This house is pretty good. Why didn't Zhao the eldest settle his gambling debts by selling this house"

"They said it was left behind by the Zhao family's ancestors, and they couldn't sell the house no matter what. Although it was old and dilapidated, it was still worth a few dollars, but they just refused to sell it."

Chen Chan explained everything, Feng Lingxi nodded, "This Zhao Lao Da is actually still filial to his ancestors."

Though this house is dilapidated, the land it sits on is still worth some silver.

They all failed to sell their houses, yet sold their wives and children instead. To tell it aloud would be chilling enough.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Princess, please."

Chen Can led the way, he often came to Zhao Mansion, it was familiar.

"Ever since Old Master Zhao died, this house has been abandoned. He owed the gambling den a large sum of money. We went to the county office, and now this house belongs to the gambling den, but it hasn't been cleared out yet. Fourth Princess can feel free to look around."

Once Feng Lingxi stepped inside, she realized it was surprisingly spacious. Although the furnishings were old-fashioned, they hinted at a certain level of refinement. It seemed like the Zhao family ancestors must have been scholars and from a respectable background. It was a mystery why they had fallen into such disrepair.

"Chen Can, when did Zhao Lao Da adopt Qing He Do you know"

"This, the little one truly doesn't know."

Feng Lingxi instructed Xiao Li to check inside and outside the room while she held Wan'er. Zhao Can and Feng Lingxi stayed together, looking at Wan'er who was looking at him. He felt embarrassed and scratched his head awkwardly, appearing rather silly.

"Chen Can, today I must thank you for accompanying me everywhere."

Chen Chan hurriedly said, "It's my good fortune to be able to help the Fourth Princess. If there's anything the Fourth Princess needs, just tell me. No need to thank me, no need to thank me."

Feng Lingxi nodded at him and looked around. This Qing He chose this family to be an adopted daughter, and now, she died before anything was done. There were no other fatal wounds on her body. Could it really be that she was overthinking things

"Your Majesty, there's nothing suspicious."

Xiao Li came out and shook her head at her.

"Let's go back."

Feng Lingxi was holding Wan'er and had just reached the door when she saw a man leading a little girl standing at the entrance. Seeing Feng Lingxi and the others, he hurriedly asked, "Who are you and why are you here"

"Presumptuous, this is the Fourth Princess!"

Chen Chan announced Feng Ling's given name. The person immediately pulled the girl down to her knees and said, "The commoner didn't know it was the Fourth Royal Princess, please forgive the Fourth Royal Princess."

"Speak up."

Feng Lingxi looked at the man in front of her, "Are you here to find Zhao Da Ge"

"To the Fourth Princess, I'm here to find Qing He."

"Qing He"

Feng Ling Xi heard his words and looked at Xiao Li beside her.

"The man is Qinghe's husband, and this is the daughter of the man and Qinghe. We have been married for three years."

"Thirteen-year-old Qing He already gave birth to a child"

"Of course not, Qing He married me, she's actually eighteen. It's just that her face looks like a child's, and she likes to say she's fifteen, so people think she's only fifteen."

Qing He's husband introduced himself. His name is Zhang You, and he is from the neighboring village. Qing He has been married to him for over three years, and their daughter is also over two years old. A while ago, Qing He suddenly disappeared. He inquired everywhere and found out that Qing He had come here, so he followed her here.

"Unexpectedly, Qinghe is married."

Xiao Li looked at the princess, if she hadn't heard it with her own ears, she wouldn't have believed it.

Feng Lingxi stared at Zhang Yu, her eyes full of confusion.

"How did you know she was here"

Zhang You's face was slightly pale, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "I'm afraid the princess will laugh at me. Qing He has always been proud and arrogant, always thinking that marrying me ruined her future. Since she married into our family, she has never been at ease and has been looking for ways to find a better man."

"What does this have to do with Zhao Laoda"

Feng Lingxi frowned, Zhao Laoda, the man who sold his wife and daughters, how could he say that raising his adopted daughter was okay.

“This little person is truly clueless. This little person knows she became the adopted daughter of Zhao Lao Da and wanted to bring her daughter to find her, hoping she would take pity on her daughter's sake and go back with me.”

"Did you just find out that she's Zhao Laodai's daughter, or did you know before"

Zhang You looked at Feng Lingxi, “To be honest with the princess, I came to find her before, she said someone could make her a wealthy woman’s wife and told me not to bother her. After that, Zhao Lao Da kicked me out. For two days, I waited for Qing He but didn't see her come out. Then I heard someone say that Zhao Lao Da was going to sell her to the Qinglou. Knowing this, I came back with my daughter. However, I heard they say Zhao Lao Da had died suddenly, so I came to his house to see if Qing He might go back with me.”

"Qing He ran away when she was being sold to the Qing Lou a few days ago. I saved her, but yesterday she committed suicide by biting her tongue in the palace."

Feng Lingxi looked at Zhang You, seeing his astonishment, she took out a silver ingot from her bosom and gave it to him.

Here you go.

Zhang You didn't take the silver, but looked at Feng Lingxi, his body trembling slightly, his eyes pleading.

"Your Majesty, could you tell your servant why Qing He would bite her tongue and commit suicide"

"She framed me, when I had her taken down and imprisoned, she committed suicide by biting her tongue in the garden."

Zhang You clenched his fists, “Looks like she wants to marry a rich man, the King.”

Feng Lingxi frowned, "A few days ago, I heard that Shutai was going to give the King a concubine, but none of the girls from Linxi County participated. She must have come to the market and heard about it, and then had evil intentions."

"That's how it is."

Feng Lingxi finally figured it out. This Qing He craved wealth and glory, wanting to enter the mansion as a concubine or side consort. The whole "being Zhao Laoda's adopted daughter" thing probably wasn't true; she likely designed this entire scheme herself. Taking advantage of their return to the city, she put on this performance to get rescued and brought into the mansion, all to get close to Du Gu Cheng, curry favor with Shu Taifei, and fulfill her ambitions.

Feng Lingxi, after sorting out this relationship, couldn't help but shake her head.

The actions of the Imperial Noble Consort are truly harmful.

"My queen, do you know what happened"

Xiaoli was curious, as were the others.

"Qing He and Zhao Lao Da made a deal. If I'm not mistaken, Qing He approached Zhao Lao Da, intentionally letting him take her in as his adopted daughter. Then she deliberately designed the situation to have her used as collateral for a debt. And on our way back, she deliberately had us rescue her, bringing her into our household."

When Feng Lingxi got to this point, Zhang You's face had already turned as pale as it could be.

Zhang You wasn't illiterate, despite being a poor student. Having heard this, he naturally understood.

Moreover, such a plot is not unheard of.

"I apologize for the trouble caused to the Fourth Royal Princess. I humbly request that the Fourth Royal Princess return Qing He's body so that I can properly bury her."ieftain"Feng Lingxi curiously asked, "This maid before us has light steps and sharp eyes. She's a skilled fighter. Does the Yao clan intend to have someone keep an eye on her""This subordinate doesn't...