They, however, did not know that the Mr. He who had just left was their guardian, Prince Ding.
Qingzhou, located in the central part of the Great Jin, was not far from Zhongzhou, Qianzhou, and Shuzhou.
This place had no particular economy. It was not by mountains, nor by the sea, so most of the time it became a forgotten place.
If it weren't for the fact that the focus of several incidents had been directed at Qingzhou this time, even Prince Ding would have overlooked it.
On the way, they perfectly avoided the Sixth Prince, who was transporting supplies.
Heard that his arm was also burned in that great fire. If it weren't for the need to deliver the goods to Shuzhou as soon as possible, he would have needed more rest.
Feng Jinyao and her entourage, without stopping, rushed day and night. In just a few days, they entered the territory of Qingzhou.
With Xu Lin, a master of disguise, their identities were naturally difficult to discern.
They were just ordinary people from out of town visiting for a few days, so they did not attract the attention of those around them.
They chose an inn not far from the post station to stay. Looking out the second-floor window at the scorched post station, Feng Jinyao almost lost her footing.
Xiao Tingyi stepped forward to support her, while Yun Xu quickly brought a cup of hot water to help her calm down.
"Don't worry, I'm not that fragile."
"Okay."
What she cared about more at the moment was catching the mastermind and bringing him to justice, so that she could avenge her elder brother and resolve many troubles for the Feng family.
Therefore, grief had to be suppressed, and reason had to prevail.
The incident of the post station fire could easily be investigated. It was said that due to the dry weather, it had ignited accidentally.
Although the rooms of the post station were made of wood, they were all painted with fire-retardant paint.
How could it have burned so fiercely!
This was the first doubt.
Her elder brother was vigilant, and would wake up at the slightest stir. She had heard this habit from her sister-in-law before.
How could he have been sleeping so soundly that he was burned to a crisp?
This was the second doubt.
Furthermore, what role did Fu Yi, who was burned into a charred corpse, play in this?
In her previous life, he had sided with the Wen family. However, the Wen family had been overthrown early in this life. If he had sided with someone else, who else would have wanted to harm her elder brother through him?
This was the third doubt.
The two of them meticulously unraveled the matter, and after staying in the room for a full hour, they arrived at different conclusions.
"You mean, Elder Brother might not be dead?"
"Mm."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Not entirely sure, but with the skill of the secret guards of Prince Ding's mansion, even if he was drugged unconscious, they would have rescued him before the fire. Since Xu Lin arrived, we tried to contact them, but we couldn't reach any of them. That's why I suspect something is amiss."
Prince Ding's mind was exceptionally meticulous.
If even he thought that her elder brother might still be alive, then perhaps he truly was.
For a moment, the initial grief subsided considerably.
"If Elder Brother is not dead, and the secret guards of Prince Ding's mansion cannot be contacted, is it possible that Elder Brother accidentally discovered something, and needed to feign death to accomplish it, and the secret guards are also protecting him while investigating?"
Prince Ding nodded. This was the most plausible explanation at the moment.
But what kind of matter would make Elder Brother so cautious?
To the point of feigning death to investigate thoroughly!
Perhaps it was not a matter, but a person?
Feng Jinyao tried to infer why her elder brother would make such a decision based on his usual conduct. Undoubtedly, it was to make the other party relax their vigilance.
No one would guard against a "dead person," nor would anyone use the method of feigning death to deceive strangers.
The only possibility was that the person her elder brother was investigating was someone he was familiar with.
Even more so, they were also very familiar with each other.
For some reason, a person came to Feng Jinyao's mind.
Then, seeing the thoughtful look in Prince Ding's eyes, they both spoke in unison.
"The Sixth Prince."
Prince Ding had this suspicion because he had long suspected the Sixth Prince.
Qingzhou was very inconspicuous.
Just like Consort Liu Xian and her son, the Sixth Prince.
But the more inconspicuous people were, the easier it was for them to scheme against others.
Another piece of evidence was that Consort Liu Xian was from Qingzhou.
Although this was a matter from twenty to thirty years ago, if it were not mentioned, even the Emperor might not know that she came from here.
However, Prince Ding had thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of the imperial family members long ago.
That was why the Sixth Prince had blurted out.
As for Feng Jinyao, she was completely guessing based on her memories and intuition from her previous life.
There were rarely strangers around her elder brother, and his personality made it difficult for him to confide in others.
Therefore, it was difficult to gain his trust, or the trust of his guard Fu Yi. It must have been someone they could interact with on a daily basis.
The death of Hehuan was the main reason for Fu Yi's blackening.
In her previous life, Hehuan was inexplicably caught in the fire and burned to death due to matters in her elder brother's inner chambers.
In this life, Hehuan died saving her.
No matter how she died, the ultimate result was the same.
From Fu Yi's perspective, she could understand that he had lost his beloved sister, so he wanted to make her taste the pain of losing a sibling.
Her second brother was thousands of miles away from him, and his martial arts were not weak.
Therefore, it was not easy to make a move.
He could only target her elder brother.
Perhaps, the fire at the post station was set by him.
First, he drugged her elder brother, and then set the fire. This could not only destroy the evidence but also possibly help the Sixth Prince.
Who didn't know that the fire was so fierce, and most of the supplies they brought were destroyed.
But what if these supplies were not destroyed at all, but were hidden in advance, and under the guise of the post station fire, this unexpected windfall was openly taken for oneself.
It was truly undetectable.
The two of them didn't even need to speak; they quickly understood everything from each other's eyes.
The suspicion towards the Sixth Prince became increasingly obvious.
"If that's the case, then he must need a capable assistant to handle this matter for him in Qingzhou. This person must be deeply trusted, or perhaps someone we both know."
As Xiao Tingyi said this, he already had a suspect in mind.
Feng Jinyao, however, could not figure this out.
For her, she often acted based on her memories of her previous life. Among the people she knew, she had screened them all, but found no suitable person.
Therefore, she could not answer.
Seeing this, Xiao Tingyi did not hide anything and said to her.
"Do you know that the Duke of Wei also has a biological grandson who left the Eastern Capital city with an enlightened immortal many years ago? He hasn't appeared in the Eastern Capital city much for so long."
Feng Jinyao was a little surprised when she heard this.
"So, Wei Lanxuan also has a brother!"
She did not know about this!