Zheng Xiao Mistake: The Mistake of Rebirth Provoked the Cold Master

When Zhu Zheng learned that the two brothers of the Fang family were also in Sihai Academy, she was not actually very shocked.

She thought about it for a moment and realized that the young men from noble families who were of the same age as Zhu Qing should be her sister's classmates. It was just that she had not been thinking about this recently and did not even think of asking Fang Xichen.

Without Zhu Zheng's urging, Fang Xichen brewed a pot of Longjing tea and started talking, which he was so proud of.

Many people were mentioned in the fragmented daily life of the academy. Zhu Zheng pricked up her ears and caught the names of two people, uncovering a past that had been buried by the years.

Qingshan and Qiyin.

According to Fang Xichen, Qingshan was thin but hardworking, often preparing for class before dawn. Qiyin was the opposite, extremely talented and arrogant, always coming late.

These two people lived in the same dormitory. Qi Yin always teased Qing Shan. It was a harmless joke, but Qing Shan was not angry and was submissive. Someone else saw this and wanted to tease the little guy, but he was beaten up by Qi Yin.

Fang Xichen paused while holding the teacup and asked Zhu Zheng: "What do you think of the relationship between Qi Yin and Qing Shan?"

Zhu Zheng had already heard that Qingshan was the elder sister, so she could only pretend to be confused and said, "Sounds like she's not bad?"

Fang Xichen was shocked, "How did you hear that?"

"Intuition, intuition." Zhu Zheng laughed dryly, "Young Master Fang, please continue."

"My intuition is not as good as yours. I couldn't tell at the beginning whether they had a good relationship or not." Fang Xichen said with a sigh, "At first, the two of them were just like ordinary classmates, and there was nothing unusual. Gradually, Qi Yin stopped causing trouble for others and always protected Qing Shan. Later, I saw that the two of them were inseparable and did everything together."

Fang Xichen hesitated for a while, "Now, what do you think their relationship is?"

Zhu Zheng saw that Fang Xichen had something else in mind, so she changed the subject, "Young Master Fang, have you discovered something?"

"I wanted to keep this to myself, but I was really feeling suffocated..." Fang Xichen's face was heavy but also slightly excited. "One time I went to the dormitory to borrow something and saw Qingshan sleeping on the desk, while Qiyin was fanning herself beside him... and they were fanning..."

Fang Xichen hesitated again, and Zhu Zheng encouraged him at the right time, "What's wrong with him?"

"He...he suddenly kissed Qingshan!"

Zhu Zheng's face darkened.

"I've said before that Sihai Academy is locking up a bunch of hot-blooded young men together, and sooner or later something bad will happen! Anyone can get into trouble, but Qi Yin must not!" Fang Xichen saw that Zhu Zheng was shocked, and his expression became more solemn. "So I guess that the Grand Tutor was so anxious to choose a concubine for the eldest prince, probably because he knew something."

Zhu Zheng paused and continued, "So, Qi Yin is the eldest prince."

Fang Xichen was startled, and immediately covered his mouth and said, "I didn't say that!"

Zhu Zheng really didn't want to expose him, but she didn't expect him to let it slip so smoothly. She didn't want to scare Fang Xichen so much that he wouldn't dare to continue, so she comforted him, "It's not what Master Fang said. I heard it from others a long time ago. The eldest prince's alias is Qi Yin, and the second prince's alias is Chang Sheng. Is that right?"

Fang Xichen breathed a sigh of relief and asked in surprise, "You know everything?"

Zhu Zheng nodded, "Yeah."

Although she had just confirmed it, she did know it and it couldn't be considered as a lie to Fang Xichen.

Compared with Nie Ruke, Fang Xichen was on guard, but it was almost non-existent, with only a slight sense of conscience at work. If everyone knew what Zhu Zheng was doing, it would be much easier to trick her into believing in him.

"Young Master Fang, don't be too nervous. Since we all know the truth, we should just verify and discuss the truth of the few words. Heaven and earth know everything, and it will go with the wind and will not float out of this room."

These words really hit the nail on the head for Fang Xichen. After all, people should say whatever they want to say, and say it with a thirst for knowledge. It doesn't count as gossiping.

At this moment, Zhu Zheng looked like she had found a soulmate, so she asked tentatively, "So, you also know about the eldest prince's strange illness?"

"I know. In the twelfth year of the Qingli reign, His Highness's eye disease recurred and no medicine could cure it." Zhu Zheng mixed up the news she had heard, "The following year, His Majesty announced the dethronement of the eldest son and the enthronement of the youngest son, and the whole court was in an uproar."

The twelfth year of the Qingli period was also the time when "Ayin" in my sister's story disappeared.

It seems that my sister and the eldest prince did have a vague relationship. Because of his eye disease and being deposed as the crown prince, he is no longer young and ambitious, so it is not unreasonable for him to refuse to see my sister again.

However, his eye disease was indeed strange, just as Young Master Fang had said. The timing and symptoms were full of doubts.

Zhu Zheng frowned and asked, "I heard before that the Second Prince also suffered from eye disease and was treated by the Grand Tutor. Is that a rumor?"

Fang Xichen shook his head, "That's not the case."

Zhu Zheng was puzzled, "They both fell ill at the same time. The second prince's was cured, so why couldn't the eldest prince's be cured?"

"I have heard many speculations about this matter. One is that this is a blood disease of the Gongyi royal family. The Second Prince's symptoms are slightly mild and can still be cured." Fang Xichen took a sip of tea. "The other is that the Second Prince is not sick, but because of his brother's illness, he cried and damaged his eyes."

"One" could still be considered barely reasonable, but "two" really made Zhu Zheng sneer.

Gong Yixiu was cruel by nature, but he loved to show affection, and he treated brothers, fathers and sons, teachers and students, and monarchs and ministers in a sanctimonious manner. Some people could really be fooled by him, but in Zhu Zheng's eyes, there was always a kind of weird and creepy evil ghost imitating a human.

Zhu Zheng's expression turned cold, and she raised another suspicious point, asking knowingly, "Just now you mentioned that you changed your dormitory once in the academy. It seems that the eldest prince and the second prince are not very close?"

Fang Xichen was silent for a while, and then said profoundly, "No matter how close brothers are, there will be estrangement between them."

"Halfway brother?"

Fang Xichen paused, "Your Highness and the Second Highness are not brothers from the same mother. You should know that, right?"

It is well known that Gong Yihao was born to Empress Xiaoling, and Gong Yixiu's birth mother is a mystery. Zhu Zheng nodded, "I know, they have the same father but different mothers."

"No, no, no," Fang Xichen shook his head and waved his hands, lowering his voice and saying, "Yes... half father and half mother."

"What?" Zhu Zheng was stunned.

"The following are all rumors. I'm just saying it as a joke." Fang Xichen put down his teacup, moved closer to Zhu Zheng, and spoke in a lower voice.

"Some people say that the current emperor's Empress Xiaoling and the Empress Youxian who was buried with the late emperor are actually the same empress."

Zhu Zheng was completely stunned.

The late emperor's name was Gongyi Fuguang. According to seniority, he was the uncle of the current emperor Gongyi Helu.

He and Empress Youxian were a young couple. They were in perfect harmony and had a deep love for each other. They had a son named Gongyiqi.

The late emperor was diligent in government affairs throughout his life and suffered from illness due to overwork. He died suddenly in his prime. Empress Youxian and Prince Gongyi kept vigil for seven days, but a candle accidentally ignited the coffin tent and they were buried in the fire together.

There was chaos in the court for a while. Fortunately, King Zhaoxian, Gongyi Helu, the nephew of the previous emperor, took charge of the situation and buried the three together in the Tianzi Mountain Imperial Mausoleum. He succeeded to the throne as expected by the people, stabilized the court, and turned the tide smoothly. It was a beautiful story of God blessing Dayong.

This is the story Zhu Zheng has heard.

But Fang Xichen's brief "the same queen" was like a bolt of thunder, implying not only the secret of treason and usurpation of power, but also the secret of seizing wives and children.

Fang Xichen leaned back against the chair, looked up at the sky and said, "Now you know why I always say that the prince's illness is strange, right?"

It took Zhu Zheng a long time to recover from her shock. Whether it was true or not is another matter, but she admired Fang Xichen's reputation as "Eight-sided Wind" even more.

But something is not right...

According to what Fang Xichen said, "half father and half mother", it should be implied that Gongyi Hao is the only son of the late emperor, Gongyi Qi. However, it doesn't make sense. If in the drama, Gongyi Helu used some tricks to seize the throne and the queen, then why did he keep Gongyi Hao and even make him the crown prince in his early years?

Also...Gongyi Helu's harem was vacant and he never had a concubine. So where did Gongyi Xiu come from?

Zhu Zheng had a lot of questions in her mind, so she could only ask them in order, "Did the late emperor really die of illness due to overwork?"

If the power seizure was true, there must be hidden stories of assassination and poisoning.

Fang Xichen showed an uncertain expression, sighed and said, "The late emperor worked hard for the country all his life. Before he was crowned king, he was stationed in the northern border. With his great military exploits, he may have some unhealed old injuries..."

Zhu Zheng paused and suddenly forgot what she wanted to ask next.

She heard a word, Northern Xinjiang.

She had also found it strange before. Gongyi Helu had always been in poor health, so why did he travel back and forth to Chengxu Mountain in the northern border all year round, which was not conducive to his health?

In a flash, Zhu Zheng caught a fleeting thought. Master Chong Hongzi never came down the mountain for many years, and he didn't know if the imperial power had just been replaced. Could the "Son of Heaven" he was talking about be the deceased emperor Gongyi Fuguang?

If this is true....the prince that Master Chongmingzi promised to assist in that letter...

I'm afraid it's not Gong Yixiu... but Gong Yiqi.

That is the current eldest prince, Gong Yihao.

Zhu Zheng's thoughts were like a broken bamboo, connecting thousands of things. Everything she had seen and heard in the past year was like unraveling a thread or stringing jade beads on a thread. Suddenly, everything became so clear and open that she couldn't react.

The sunlight outside the door was as bright as gold, illuminating Zhu Zheng who was sitting quietly. Her face looked normal, but her heart was surging with excitement that she almost forgot to breathe.

In this way, many things made sense... the rarely mentioned royal family past, the two strange and difficult-to-speak princes, the secretive Grand Tutor...

Yes, it’s a secret.

All along, Zhu Zheng could not see through Rong Yan, could not understand him, and did not dare to advance, nor was willing to retreat. She went back and forth between testing and retreating. In fact, it was all because of Gong Yixiu's existence.

But it seems... this knot in my heart is not a dead knot.

If it was really as she thought, and the one who took Rong Yan down the mountain was the late Emperor Gongyi Fuguang, then all of the Grand Tutor's inconsistency and hesitation to speak suddenly had the same answer.

He made careful plans and created confusions, then hid completely in the confusion, carefully walking through the thorns alone, hoping that one day he would be able to fulfill his old promise.

If it were someone else, keeping the promise until the late emperor passed away would probably be the most they could do. However, Rong Yan was so stubborn and old-fashioned that he would never give up until the very last moment.

But it is not easy to talk about it, nor is it difficult to do it. Rong Yan is not only burdened with a huge debt of gratitude, but also with the deep hatred of his family...

Zhu Zheng suddenly stood up and walked out without saying anything.

Fang Xichen was halfway through his words when he called out from behind, "A Zheng?"

Zhu Zheng didn't even have time to say goodbye. She suddenly broke into a run, running all the way out of Fang's house and back to the bridge. She didn't stop walking, and her heartbeat was so loud that it hurt her ears.

An Fengxue was standing beside the carriage. Seeing Zhu Zheng's hurried appearance, she stepped forward to greet her, "Fourth Miss?"

Zhu Zheng grabbed her hand and climbed into the car swiftly, saying breathlessly, "Take me to find your master. I have something urgent to do and must meet him right away."