56 - Rong Shaoying

Chapter 56 – Rong Shaoying

“Alright. I guarantee it will be done!” Gong Changxiao promised.

Everyone laughed. Hua Qianqian and Bai Yuxiao said jokingly. “When the time comes, don’t break your promise. That Four Great Constables are difficult to handle and remember not to let the information leak out.”

After everyone had talked and laughed for a while, they soon returned to the matter in hand and began to draw up their next plan and assignment of tasks.

First, Yeqing was given the task to draw more portraits of Rong Shaoying and then let Gong Changxiao hand over them to the Gang Masters in charge of the different branches of the Cao Gang to carry out the search in secret.

The others also used their contacts to inquire about news. After all, the Emperor had said to find that person and it was to be done in secret which indicated that the Emperor did not want too many people to know about this. Therefore, they also had to be cautious not to disclose the secret, and even when they verified the identity of the corpses, it was also carried out in private.

When Bai Yuxio told Ling Wang about their plans, he was very surprised.

“Do you all already know who to look for?”

“Yes, perhaps that person the Emperor is looking for is Rong Shaoying. We are thinking that since the villa was burnt down, it must have something to do with Rong Shaoying.”

Ling Wang thought for a while then shook his head and said. “Rong Shaoying…….I have never heard of this name.”

“Really? That’s weird. If that person the Emperor is looking for is someone not related to the royal family, then can he be one of the remnant criminals of the Jiangnan Salt Administration case? Is the Emperor thinking of capturing all of them in one swoop? But that’s not right. If it is related to the Salt Administration case, why didn’t the Emperor announce it to the whole world? Furthermore, the Emperor doesn’t seem to know the name and appearance of that person.”

Bai Yuxiao tried her best to rack her brains. Every one of them had their own tasks and she was given the responsibility for gathering news from the imperial court. Therefore, she came back to discuss with her Wangye but he had never heard of the person, Rong Shaoying……..which is strange.

Her Second Senior Sister had clearly said that when she confronted Rong Shaoying, that man had hinted his identity through his words that he was related to the powerful nobles in the imperial court………

Suddenly, Bai Yuxiao remembered something and slapped her head. “Look at my memory! I forgot to show you the portrait!” She hurriedly opened the box and took out the portrait inside to show her husband.

“Here, take a look. This is the portrait of Rong Shaoying.”

When Ling Wang saw the portrait, he was startled and stared at the person in the painting.

Bai Yuxiao immediately noticed something amiss with him. “What’s the matter?”

Ling Wang stared at the portrait with his eyebrows knotted and showed a solemn expression. Bai Yuxiao felt even more anxious when she saw that he did not speak. She knew that her husband must have noticed something from the painting.

“Hurry, say something!” She is dying of anxiety!

Ling Wang pondered for a while before he spoke to his wife and his tone was very serious.

“This man looks very much like someone.”

“Who?”

“When I was young, there was a palace lady by my Royal Father’s side. If I remember correctly, the palace lady had the surname Rong……..”

Ling Wang told her about the past.

At that time, although he was only five years old, he remembered very clearly that the Palace Lady Rong was very beautiful. The Emperor loved her very much and always kept her by his side but one day, it was not known what happened, the palace lady fell into the water and drowned.

This kind of secret would only be known to the princes who grew up in the palace. Logically speaking, it was not uncommon for a palace lady to die in the palace but the Emperor was very angry over the matter. He ordered someone to investigate but could not find the reason.

The facial features of this Rong Shaoying are very similar to that of Palace Lady Rong as if she had given birth to him. Taking another closer look, his eyebrows and nose were somewhat similar to those of the Emperor. Ling Wang thought back to the time when that Palace Lady Rong served by his royal father’s side, his royal father used to secretly look for Rong Shaoying……with such deductions, it was inevitable for people not to think of a possibility.

Can that Rong Shaoying be his Royal Father’s child? In other words, that man might be his, Ling Wang’s younger brother!

The conclusion shocked both of them. Assuming that Rong Shaoying was really born by the palace lady for his royal father, but Rong Shaoying was not listed in the Jade Records*, so it can be deduced that he was born in secret.

(Jade Records is the book of records that lists the members of the royal family stating their names, titles, date of birth and death, marriage, posthumous titles, and burial details.)

Supposing that Palace Lady Rong had found a way to take the child out of the palace but somehow she was found out by someone who knew about her secret and then she was thrown into the water to drown.

For so many years the Emperor did not look for him but only searched for him now, so it must be because the Emperor only learned of the secret in recent years. And that Rong Shaoyng had connections with the imperial concubine, Consort Yu, in the Salt Administration case…….

Can it be that the Emperor got hold of some clues when he investigated Consort Yu?

The Salt Administration corruption case caused many people to be beheaded and the Emperor had even ordered Consort Yu to be put to death. As for this Rong Shaoying, the Emperor did not know his name or his appearance and only knew that this person existed. Thus, the Emperor only instructed them to ‘search for someone’ and not to ‘capture someone’ and also told them to carry it out in secret. All these signs indicated that the Emperor attached great importance to this person.

All this while, the Emperor must have secretly sent the Four Great Constables to investigate this case and it was only recently, after finding out about the burnt down villa, that he came out of the palace to search for Lord Di.

Ling Wang and Bai Yuxiao were secretly shocked by this hypothesis. If it was not for the portrait painted by Yeqing that bore such a close resemblance to Palace Lady Rong, Ling Wang would not have thought about her. Even more so, he would not have pondered over Rong Shaoying’s identity and guessed that this man might be the Emperor’s son that was left to wander and live outside the palace.

Although he was born by a palace lady, he was still of royal blood and as a prince who was related to the Salt Administration corruption case, it is no wonder that the Emperor wanted to search for him in secret……..

Ling Wang resumed his solemn expression and exhorted his Wangfei . “This matter must not be spread out. Inform the rest of your senior sisters and tell them that Rong Shaoying must be captured alive and must not be hurt.”

Bai Yuxiao also understood the seriousness of the matter and nodded. “I understand. I will notify my senior sisters.”

Throughout this night, the husband and wife discussed the matter in private and decided that the fewer people knew about it, the better it would be.

Besides, it was not suitable for them, husband and wife, to investigate further and it was also a sort of guarantee for them.

***☆☆☆***

“How much is this painting?”

A girl was standing in front of a painting stall holding a drawing of a lady and admiring it. The painting was drawn with meticulous brush strokes and the expression of the lady in the painting was especially vivid. It was very different from the paintings of other artists. It was painted very beautifully and it attracted people to like it at first sight.

“A tael of silver.”

“Yi? So cheap? I’ll buy it!” The little girl was very happy and hurriedly kept the painting. After handing over the piece of silver to the artist, she left with the painting.

The man disguised as an artist was none other than Yeqing himself. He stared at the silver tael in his hand and was in a daze for a long time, oblivious to the changes in the surroundings around him.

Hua Qianqian, who was dressed up as an ordinary woman, looked at the dazed Yeqing and could not help but smile. She shook him gently.

“Hey, why are you in a trance? Put away the silver.”

Yeqing came back to his senses, turned his head to look at her, and said in a daze. “The painting…….is sold?”

“That’s right. You painted it so well, it will be strange if you can’t sell it.”

Yeqing shook his head and looked a little excited. “This is the first time I have earned money without killing people.”

He has been killing people his whole life and his rewards of silver were all earned in exchange for the lives of others. What he learned was how to take people’s lives in the shortest time possible and had never thought that he could do something else in his life.

Although it was only just a painting, this painting was sold and it was the first time he earned money the proper way. The money was not stained with blood and it was the first genuine silver that he earned by using his ability.

At this time, he need not voice out what was in his mind but Hua Qianqian understood immediately. She hugged him gently and said with a slight smile. “I understand. This is the first time that you are doing something for yourself and not for others. The value of it is that you are really living for yourself this time and this piece of silver proves the significance of you being alive.”