AWB Chapter 328 The Cannon Fodder Who Suffered the Massacre of His Family (35)
Chapter 328 The Cannon Fodder Who Suffered the Massacre of His Family (35)
Unfortunately, there were no bronze mirrors on the cruise ship, so Gao Yan could not see the expression on his own face at that moment.
Otherwise, he would have noticed that, at some point, the way he looked at Qi Ning had changed, and was no longer as open and honest as before.
"Something happened."
Qi Ning waved to Gao Yan, gesturing for him to sit down in front of her: "Why are you standing? Sit down."
Gao Yan sat down on the other side of the small couch, with a small table between them.
Qi Ning then said, "I will be returning to the palace in a couple of days."
"Ah."
Gao Yan was of course aware of the matter of returning to the palace.
"If you mean to talk about meeting after returning to the palace, then don't worry. I will enter the palace every now and then under the pretext of paying my respects to my mother, and I will naturally find an opportunity to meet you. If you want to find me, just have Yingliu send a message."
"No, the main reason I called you here tonight is not about this."
"What is the reason for that?" Gao Yan asked.
Qi Ning frowned slightly and said, "Last night, I had a dream. I dreamed that His Majesty was assassinated on our way back to the palace."
"Assassination?"
Upon hearing these two words, Gao Yan's expression turned serious.
Qi Ning nodded: "That's right, I dreamt that His Majesty was assassinated, and the Fourth Prince saved him, so His Majesty softened his attitude towards him."
"Do you know who the mastermind behind the assassination was?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Ning rolled her eyes at Gao Yan without any hesitation: "Isn't that obvious? I already said it was a dream, how could it be so detailed?"
She did know, but she couldn't say it. If she did, she would be exposed, and in Gao Yan's eyes, she would become a monster who could predict the future.
Seeing Qi Ning's reaction, Gao Yan couldn't help but smile: "I thought you even dreamed about this."
Qi Ning glared at him irritably: "All you need to know is that if there really is an assassination attempt, you must rescue the emperor before Gao Yun does and steal his credit for saving the emperor."
If Qi Ning could save the emperor himself, why would he bother talking nonsense with Gao Yan?
However, since the original owner of this body was just a weak woman who didn't know martial arts, Qi Ning couldn't possibly take action herself.
Secondly, even if Qi Ning didn't take action herself but successfully rescued the emperor using other reasonable methods, she was still nominally the adopted daughter of the Jiang family and a member of Gao Yun's faction.
Even if Qi Ning did save the emperor, it would only benefit Gao Yun's faction and the Jiang family, which is not much different from Gao Yun saving the emperor himself.
That's why Qi Ning wanted to use Gao Yan, but Gao Yan could benefit from it, so he would never suffer a loss.
Gao Yan pondered for a moment and said, "This is just a dream. Are you so eager for revenge that you dream about it during the day and that's why you dreamed that Gao Yun has performed meritorious service again?"
"You do not believe?"
Of course, Qi Ning knew that a dream alone was not very convincing.
Gao Yan didn't say he didn't believe her, but seriously analyzed with Qi Ning: "When Father Emperor returns to the palace, there are quite a few soldiers guarding it. It's not so easy to assassinate him. Ordinary people wouldn't be so foolish; that would be courting death."
"It is indeed difficult to assassinate someone on the way back to the palace, but is it easy to assassinate someone once your father is back in the palace? It would be much more difficult. Those people can't even get into the palace gates. Compared to that, the chances of being assassinated on the way are much higher."
"Moreover, I've heard Ji Mei read storybooks to me, and I've also heard folk tales about emperors being assassinated on their journeys. There are quite a few stories about this," Qi Ning said seriously.
Gao Yan found some truth in Qi Ning's words.
Seeing that Gao Yan remained silent, Qi Ning slammed his hand on the table and said, "Just tell me whether you believe it or not. If you don't believe it, then pretend I didn't say anything."
“I believe you,” Gao Yan replied immediately. “When did I say I didn’t believe you?”
Gao Yan still remembered that Qi Ning had accurately predicted the unrest among the disaster victims.
Even though she had predicted unrest based on her experience living among ordinary people, and this time it was just a dream, Gao Yan still inexplicably chose to believe her.
Moreover, regardless of whether Qi Ning's dream was real or not, whether there would actually be an assassination attempt or not, it's always good to be prepared.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Gao Yan said.
Qi Ning was finally satisfied.
Before they knew it, the day to return to the palace arrived.
At the palace gate, Qi Ning, accompanied by Ji Mei and Ying Liu, walked towards her carriage.
Gao Yan and the other princes did not ride in carriages, but instead rode on tall horses.
As Qi Ning passed by, her gaze subtly drifted toward Gao Yan.
Gao Yan had naturally seen Qi Ning long ago.
He knew what Qi Ning's look meant; she was asking him if the arrangements for rescuing the emperor were in place.
Gao Yan nodded slightly to Qi Ning, indicating that he had arranged everything.
Qi Ning then calmly withdrew his gaze, walked to the carriage, and was helped up by Ji Mei and Ying Liu.
Not long after, the imperial entourage began its journey back to the palace.
Qi Ning estimated the distance in her mind. The assassin would not appear until she was halfway there. Since it was still early, she decided to rest and closed her eyes to doze off.
However, the procession suddenly stopped shortly after the imperial carriage had set off.
Qi Ning opened her eyes: "What happened?"
Ji Mei and Ying Liu both looked completely bewildered: "This servant doesn't know either."
As soon as he finished speaking, a series of footsteps approached from outside, and stopped right outside Qi Ning's carriage.
A young eunuch outside the carriage said, "This servant greets Consort Qi. His Majesty has decreed that Consort Qi should accompany him in the imperial carriage."
Qi Ning: "..."
This old emperor, he suddenly did this.
Ji Mei was quite pleased and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, His Majesty invites you to ride in the imperial carriage with him."
She didn't know what Qi Ning was thinking. In Ji Mei's opinion, this was a good thing. His Majesty invited their concubine to ride in the imperial carriage together, which showed that their concubine was favored.
Yingliu, however, was different. She knew about Qi Ning and Gao Yan's arrangements for today. Gao Yan had specifically instructed her that if anything happened today, she must protect Qi Ning's safety.
"His Majesty has actually come to invite the Empress over. Isn't that dangerous?" Yingliu looked at Qi Ning with some worry.
Qi Ning certainly didn't want to ride in the imperial carriage with the emperor.
She wasn't worried about her own safety. In the original story, the band of thieves were heading straight for the emperor, and besides, Qi Ning was capable of protecting herself.
She can't fight in front of others, but avoiding harm and protecting herself is perfectly fine.
What she was worried about was whether the sudden change would affect her and Gao Yan's plans.
Qi Ning did not respond immediately, which puzzled the eunuch outside the carriage.
He called out again, "Consort Qi?"
Qi Ning rubbed her temples and frowned slightly, saying, "This carriage is really bumpy. I feel dizzy and unwell, so I won't go to the imperial carriage. Please go and inform His Majesty and explain the situation to him. Please ask another lady to accompany him."
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