Rebirth of the Phoenix Princess novel Chapter 189

When Yun Shang and Wang Jinyan arrived in his yard, they saw Wang Jinhuan grieving over a pile of portraits. The women in these portraits were extremely adorable which made reaching a decision challenging for Wang Jinhuan. "Whom should I choose? Lady Qin seems gentle and kind. But Lady Zhao is prettier. Lady Qian is more outgoing while Lady Qi is considerate. And then there's Lady Su, Lady Wang, Lady Sun..."

Seeing Wang Jinhuan's misery, Yun Shang tried to suppress her laughter and almost choked. She coughed to relieve her discomfort.

Wang Jinhuan turned around curiously. "Your Highness? What brings Your Highness here? Have you heard from Prince Jing?"

Wang Jinyan had also heard that Prince Jing was missing, but she had forgotten to ask Yun Shang about it. So she asked with concern, "Is Prince Jing alright, Your Highness?"

Yun Shang shook her head. "I'm not sure yet. Actually, I came here today for another matter. But it is quite related to Prince Jing's whereabouts." Yun Shang looked at Wang Jinhuan solemnly. "Mister Wang, I want to know whether Prince Jing asked you to investigate Ning Ye or not. And I want to know what you found during your investigation."

Wang Jinhuan looked away. He couldn't meet Yun Shang's gaze and avoided answering her directly, "You mean Ning Ye has something to do with Prince Jing's disappearance?" "I'm not certain but I think he does. If you feel uncomfortable, I can tell you what I found first. Someone is posing as Ning Ye." Yun Shang said flatly.

Yun Shang's casual tone left Wang Jinhuan slightly embarrassed. He forced a smile and said, "That's pretty much what we have found as well, Your Highness. But is he really related to the disappearance of His Highness?"

"I can't say for sure, but I certainly have my suspicions." Yun Shang sighed. "Uncle trusts you, so I don't want to hide anything from you. My grandfather came to the Palace today. He told me that a foreign army had camped on Mount Kirin..."

Wang Jinhuan's expression changed abruptly. "It's exactly as Prince Jing speculated."

As he speculated? Yun Shang noticed his choice of words and turned to Wang Jinhuan. She was puzzled. Wang Jinhuan continued, "His Highness encountered several assassinations before, and the force behind them seems to be growing. Last year, during an assassination, His Highness encountered a squad. Their weapons and accent indicated that they were not from the State of Ning. Although some enemy squads exist in the State of Ning and we send similar troops to other states as well, His Highness sensed something amiss. After that, we sent people to investigate them, but little information was found. However, there were some unexpected findings, which include that Ning Ye had someone erase the arrival record of some foreign citizens."

"So His Highness asked me to look into it, and I found that Ning Ye was different from his public image. The undercover agents we sent into Shun Qing Mansion reported that it was impossible to investigate Ning Ye's real life. As those who have served in the mansion for a long time told the agents, Ning Ye had a significant change in personality..." "Now that his change is so obvious to everyone, why is that the Prince Shun Qing and Lady Shun Qing have not doubted his identity?" Yun Shang frowned.

Wang Jinhuan smiled bitterly. "They did doubt him once. But they didn't find any difference between the real Ning Ye and the imposter. He even has the same birthmark as the real one..."

Yun Shang understood right away and nodded. "I see. The priority now is to look for Prince Jing. I'm going back to the Imperial Palace and if you have any news, send Jinyan to me."

Wang Jinghuan nodded. "No problem. I'm on His Highness's side, so it's my duty to work for him."

Back at the Palace, Yun Shang had a long rest on the bed before she said, "You have been with me the whole today and you must have heard everything. Don't you think it's time for you to tell me where Prince Jing is now? If that army takes action, it would drag the whole state into an abyss of misery."

No response was heard in the quiet room. Yun Shang was tired. She closed her eyes and called for Qian Yin loudly, "Tell Ning Qian to assemble as many people as she can. I have a task for them tonight."