He lied from the beginning, and now he has to hide this secret. Xie Xuanji could only grit his teeth and said, “I have no idea.”
The emperor was very angry, but although he did scold him, he really didn’t think that Xie Xuanji would lie to him. The emperor actually knew that he was bringing his anger onto him. Although Xie Xuanji lived in the neighboring residence of Xie Xuanchen, the two manors weren’t connected. Xie Xuanchen was locked in the bedroom by himself. If he woke up halfway through, he could easily hide if he wanted to. Of course it would be hard to spot, so how could Xie Xuanji have known?
The emperor didn’t expect that his son really knew, and had long lied to him.
After the emperor vented his anger, his sanity slowly returned. He felt that something was wrong: “No, even if he did wake up, he can’t break free from the chains by himself. When he had just gone mad and had the best physical strength, he never managed to break free from the dark iron chain. How could he have gotten rid of the chains with his weak body now? “
No one knew about this, and Xie Xuanji couldn’t figure out why either. Xie Xuanchen pondered for a moment, then went on and asked: “Father, is the key still with you?”
The emperor nodded, the key was kept together with the Imperial Seal. If Xie Xuanchen’s key was lost, it was as serious as losing the Imperial Seal.
That’s weird. Xie Xuanji frowned and said, “My key is also still with me. Ever since I got the key, I would always check three times a day and it has never left my side. Besides, even if I wasn’t careful enough, and the key was secretly switched, your key is still locked in the Forbidden Palace. Both keys have to be used together. How did he unlock the lock?”
At this time, the imperial judge, who had been silent for a long time, said: “Your Majesty, Prince Jin, the two keys have to be used together in order to open the lock, but you don’t necessarily need a key to open the lock.”
The emperor frowned, raised his hand and said, “Explain further.”
The imperial judge arched his hand and said with a lowered gaze: “There are talented individuals among the people, who can open locks by just calculating the position of the marbles. There are many thieves in prison, some of whom are masters in the art of picking locks.”
Xie Xuanji said: “However, the common copper locks are simple in structure, and they can be broken easily. The locks that were specially made by the imperial court for punishment purposes had never failed us.
The imperial judge didn’t speak another word as he had his arms folded, and when Xie Xuanji had finished speaking, he understood why. They were already imprisoned, they would be seeking upon death to unlock the locks in the imperial prison.
So, they have to thank the talented individuals for being merciful? Just as Xie Xuanji felt helpless, a bright light flashed through his mind.
Among the common folks, talented individuals…… Right, Mu Mingtang. Mu Mingtang came from there, and her family ran an antique business, she has also met many people during her journey to the north. Who else would know such techniques better than her?
Also, when he raided Qiyang Manor that day, Mu Mingtang did behave rather strangely. He was blinded at the time, but now that he thought about it, Mu Mingtang’s behavior was quite suspicious. She was standing behind the screen and based on Xie Xuanji’s observation during his two prior visits. Mu Mingtang didn’t stay in that room. Then why was she changing in Xie Xuanchen’s bedroom?
This didn’t make sense at all. In the entire Qiyang Manor, only Mu Mingtang would come in contact with Xie Xuanchen, and she had enough time……and objective to do so.
Xie Xuanji fell into silence. Everyone present was smart. Upon looking at Xie Xuanji’s expression, they knew something was wrong. The emperor’s gaze changed slightly, his tone was low as he asked: “Prince Jin, did you think of anything?”
Xie Xuanji was silent for a moment, and then he slowly said: “The person who helped to free Prince Qiyang, I have a wild guess on who it is.”