lcionline Chapter 294 Wei Qiming is back
Chapter 294 Wei Qiming is back
The street ahead was in chaos, with several guards from the Duke of Wei's mansion roughly grabbing a storyteller.
The onlookers were dispersed.
"Watch your mouth! If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll cut your tongue out!" the head guard shouted sternly.
The storyteller was so frightened that he trembled and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.
"My lord, spare my life! I only heard it from others, I will never dare to do it again!"
"You heard it from someone else? Who? Tell me!"
Chu Ruohan's gaze fell on the person in the lead.
Although he deliberately concealed his face, his familiar figure and distinctive tone of voice sent a jolt through Chu Ruohan's heart.
It's Wei Qiming!
In my previous life, it was him... He deserved to die.
A chill ran down her spine, and Chu Ruohan's fingertips involuntarily tightened around the car window curtain.
In her previous life, she was forcibly sent to Wei Qiming's bed, and from then on, she was plunged into an endless hell.
Every moment was filled with pain and despair... and he died in humiliation and suffering, filled with resentment.
He was supposed to be a eunuch doing hard labor in the mines.
"Young Madam, should we take a detour?" Qin Fang asked in a low voice.
Chu Ruohan shook her head silently, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
"No need. Tell the driver to stop; I want to take a look."
Although Qin Fang had reservations, he dared not disobey.
The carriage came to a steady stop by the roadside, and Chu Ruohan observed the situation ahead through the gap in the carriage curtain.
Wei Qiming grabbed the storyteller by the collar, "Who's been telling you to spread rumors about the Crown Prince's true parentage lately? Tell me..."
The storyteller turned ashen-faced with fright: "Your Honor, please understand! I was merely repeating hearsay!"
"Recently, there's been a rumor circulating that the Crown Prince isn't of royal blood, and that the Empress switched the Crown Prince with a cat back then..."
Wei Qiming slapped the storyteller hard across the face: "Insolence! Stop slandering the royal family!"
He turned to the surrounding crowd and shouted sternly, "Anyone who dares to speak nonsense and slander the Crown Prince will suffer this fate!"
At this moment, an ordinary citizen couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "If it's really fake, why are they in such a hurry to silence people?"
Wei Qiming turned his head fiercely, like a hawk that had caught its prey.
"Who? Who's speaking? Arrest them!"
The guards immediately rushed into the crowd, and the people scattered in terror.
In the chaos, Chu Ruohan clearly saw Wei Qiming's profile, and his eyes revealed a crazy obsession.
Seeing that Chu Ruohan's expression was off, Qin Fang asked with concern, "Young Madam?"
Chu Ruohan took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"Do you recognize who's the leader?"
Qin Fang observed carefully for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly: "I can't see very clearly, but judging from his appearance, he should be someone of high status."
Chu Ruohan sneered: "That's Wei Qiming."
"Wei Qiming?" Qin Fang exclaimed in astonishment, "The Empress's brother? Wasn't he exiled to the mines for committing a crime?"
"It seems he escaped." A cold glint flashed in Chu Ruohan's eyes. "Moreover, the timing of his return is something to ponder."
As they were talking, the situation ahead changed.
A troop of imperial guards suddenly appeared, shouting from afar, "Who dares to make such a disturbance? Those who disturb the peace, seize them!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Qiming's expression changed. He quickly pulled up his mask and whispered to his men, "Retreat!"
They scattered like birds and beasts, disappearing into the alley in the blink of an eye.
When the Imperial Guards arrived, only a few civilians and storytellers, their faces bruised and swollen, remained.
Chu Ruohan looked in the direction Wei Qiming had fled, a cold glint in her eyes.
"Qin Fang, send someone to follow him. I need to know Wei Qiming's every move."
"Yes."
Back at Jing'an Residence, Chu Ruohan asked Yuling to bring her a cup of hot tea. As she savored it, her thoughts remained on the scene on the street.
Wei Qiming has actually returned to the capital. The Duke of Wei should not have been so bold as to openly bring him back.
Why flaunt it like this in public?
There must be something hidden behind this.
"Young Madam, Doctor Qian has arrived," Yu Ling announced softly.
Chu Ruohan put down her teacup, gestured for Doctor Qian to sit down, and slowly said, "I asked about some things from Aunt Liu."
She recounted her conversation with Liu's mother in detail, without omitting a single detail.
Upon hearing this, Dr. Qian's expression turned solemn, and his brows furrowed.
"Therefore, the Crown Prince is indeed not the Empress's biological son, but was brought into the palace by Biyu, a maidservant of the Empress," Chu Ruohan concluded.
"But no one knows where this child came from."
Doctor Qian tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said in a low voice, "So, what Consort Jing said is true."
“Not only that,” a hint of coldness flashed in Chu Ruohan’s eyes, “I also saw Wei Qiming on the street today.”
"What?" Dr. Qian looked up abruptly, unable to hide his surprise. "Shouldn't he be serving in the mines?"
"He escaped and even organized people in the capital to threaten those who were spreading rumors about the crown prince's true identity."
Chu Ruohan sneered, "It's ridiculous. The more you do this, the more suspicious people will become."
Dr. Qian sighed: "The Wei family's actions are tantamount to trying to hide something obvious."
"exactly."
Chu Ruohan picked up her teacup and took a sip. "What Consort Jing said is right. The Wei family is probably the culprit behind this."
Dr. Qian's hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly with anger, and tea spilled onto the table.
"The Wei family... those beasts!"
Recalling that nightmarish day, Dr. Qian's eyes reddened.
That night, a group of men in black broke into the house like wolves, killing anyone they saw.
The entire Qian family, from the elderly parents to the infants, perished.
"My poor nephew, even in death he was still clutching his most beloved rattle drum..."
Dr. Qian choked up, his face filled with pain and hatred.
“My Tian family has been practicing medicine for generations, dedicated to saving lives, and we have never done anything immoral or heinous. How could they be so cruel!”
He suddenly stood up, his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white: "Over the years, I've changed my name and identity so that one day I can avenge my family."
"Now that the Wei family has come forward, I will never let them get away with this! I will make them pay for their crimes in blood..."
Chu Ruohan's gaze deepened, "It will be soon..."
She put down her teacup, stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the green bamboo swaying in the wind outside.
"The crimes of the Wei family are too numerous to count. Over the years, they have acted recklessly and arbitrarily, thinking they could cover up the truth with one hand."
"But they forgot that karma is a cycle, and retribution is inevitable."
Hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Qin Fang strode in, bowed, and said, "Young Madam, I sent someone to follow Wei Qiming."
"What did you find out?" Chu Ruohan turned around and looked at Qin Fang.
"My men followed him to an inconspicuous inn in the south of the city," Qin Fang reported in a deep voice. "Strangely, he did not return to the Duke of Wei's mansion, but stayed at the inn."
A hint of doubt flashed in Chu Ruohan's eyes, and her brows furrowed even deeper.
Something's not right, something's really not right...