Chapter 344: The Jade Pendant May Hide Clues
帝欽 said, “But now Third Brother has told us that the jade pendant was found in a pool inside a cave.”
“Yes,” Huang Quan nodded. “There might have been someone watching Father at that time, and the jade pendant might have been deliberately thrown into the water.”
“Why throw the jade pendant?” 帝欽 asked. “Wasn’t there other things on Uncle at that time?”
Huang Quan thought for a moment and said, “We’ve seen that jade pendant since we were little. Father might have thrown it because it’s the one we are most familiar with. But…”
Huang Quan continued, “It’s also possible that the jade pendant hides some clue!”
“You’re right, Quan Quan. That is indeed a possibility.”
“But since Third Brother got the jade pendant, he would have examined it carefully,” Huang Quan said. “If there were any clues, Third Brother wouldn’t have missed them.”
After hearing Huang Quan, 帝欽 smiled and then said, “But Third Brother isn’t the person who knows the jade pendant the best.”
Huang Quan was initially taken aback by this statement and then responded, “The ancestor from the Nangong family!”
“The jade pendant was given to Father by our great-grandfather,” Huang Quan said. “Since Father and Mother left together, and our great-grandfather forbade anyone from the Nangong family from pursuing them, it shows how much our great-grandfather loved Father.”
“He wouldn’t have given Father an ordinary jade pendant. That jade pendant must have something special.”
“Exactly,” 帝欽 said. “To find out what’s wrong with the jade pendant, we should ask the old family head.”
“I’ll go get Third Brother,” Huang Quan said, and ran out.
帝欽 looked at Huang Quan’s departing figure with a fond smile.
Soon, Huang Quan returned with 南宮衍.
On the way back, 南宮衍 had already been briefed by Huang Quan. Upon seeing 帝欽, 南宮衍 said, “Prince 帝欽, thank you. You’ve been a great help to us.”
帝欽 replied, “It’s not certain if it will help, Third Brother, so don’t hold too much hope.”
“No problem,” Nan Gong Yan said, “It’s not just a wasted trip; I’m used to it and won’t be too disappointed.”
Emperor Qin nodded in acknowledgment and did not say more.
Huang Quan said, “If we leave suddenly, it will be troublesome if Jing Chen and Feng Jiu Yuan can’t find us later.”
“I’ll go tell them.”
Emperor Qin and Nan Gong Yan did not try to stop him, though they had already anticipated the outcome.
Emperor Qin chose not to speak further.
Though Nan Gong Yan had only interacted with the two of them for a short time, he knew that they were much more difficult to handle than they appeared from the outside.
Huang Quan’s departure would bring both of them along.
As expected, Huang Quan returned with the two people: Feng Jiu Yuan and Jing Chen.
One big and one small followed Huang Quan over, with the big one seemingly saying something that made Huang Quan smile faintly, while the small one was very quiet.
“Alright.”
Huang Quan turned to Emperor Qin and Nan Gong Yan: “Let’s go.”
“Mm.” Emperor Qin responded, and the group walked out.
With Yong Zhou absent, Yong Ye drove the carriage over.
The group boarded the carriage, and Yong Ye drove it towards the Nan Gong residence.
Soon, the carriage stopped outside the Nan Gong residence.
Everyone in the capital knew whose carriage the Flying Snow Lion was, especially when they saw Emperor Qin disembark from the carriage. The gatekeepers all saluted: “Greetings, His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Emperor Qin replied coldly, “No need for formalities.”
The gatekeepers stood up.
Emperor Qin led Huang Quan and the others directly into the residence.
As they entered, they were greeted continuously.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to go far before they saw Nan Gong Yi and Nan Gong Qiu.
Chapter 345
Nan Gong Yi and Nan Gong Qiu were initially confused when they received the news from the servants.
Why would the Crown Prince come to visit them for no apparent reason?
Now that they saw Huang Quan was also there, their confusion dissipated.
Huang Quan’s visit to the Nan Gong family was a good thing.
However…
Nan Gong Yi and Nan Gong Qiu’s gazes fell on Nan Gong Yan, and they were momentarily at a loss for words.
Nan Gong Yan resembled Nan Gong Qi in appearance, but his facial features were more sharp-edged.
The one who looked most like Nan Gong Qi was Nan Gong Mian, not Nan Gong Yun or Nan Gong Yan.
Although the twins shared some resemblance with Nan Gong Qi, they also bore some similarity to Ling Ran, who was an exceptionally striking and formidable woman.
Nan Gong Yan’s appearance reflected some traits of both, but his own demeanor made him seem colder than both Nan Gong Qi and Ling Ran.
“What is this?” Nan Gong Qiu asked after observing for a while.
He knew that this person must be one of the twins but didn’t know which one.
After all, they had never been involved in the upbringing of the four children.
“This is my second brother,” Huang Quan said. “Nan Gong Yan.”
“Ah Yan.” Even though Nan Gong Yan gave the impression of being difficult to get along with, Nan Gong Qiu didn’t feel awkward; instead, he was very familiar: “I’m your third uncle, and this is your eldest uncle.”
Huang Quan looked at the three with a slightly subtle expression.
The Nan Gong family members were much more familiar with her second brother, so there was no need for further introduction.
“Head of the Nan Gong family, Third Young Master.” Nan Gong Yan’s voice was calm: “We have come this time to request the return of the jade pendant.”
“Ah Qi’s jade pendant?”
“Indeed, it is my father’s jade pendant.”
“It’s with Father,” Nan Gong Qiu frowned and said: “It’s not easy to retrieve.”
Huang Quan said, “The jade pendant might contain clues about Father’s disappearance. Please, Third Uncle, help us retrieve it. If it’s truly impossible to get it back, could we ask Great-grandfather to assist us?”
“That jade pendant was given to Father by Great-grandfather. He understands it better than anyone. If there are hidden messages within the pendant, only Great-grandfather might know how to read them.”
After hearing this, Nan Gong Qiu said, “I’ll go right away.”
“Wait a moment.” Nan Gong Yi stopped Nan Gong Qiu and looked at Huang Quan, saying, “If you meet Great-grandfather, your identities will be exposed.”
“It’s alright,” Huang Quan said.
Nan Gong Yi frowned, “Aren’t you worried about alerting the enemy?”
Nan Gong Yan said, “Nan Gong Qing Le is no longer useful.”
Initially, they kept Nan Gong Qing Le to attract the person behind him. Now that the person behind Nan Gong Qing Le is right here, it’s clear that he is no longer useful.
Nan Gong Yi asked, “Have you captured that person?”
Huang Quan replied, “That’s a long story. Let’s first discuss the matter of the jade pendant, shall we?”
The issue regarding Nan Gong Yan was something they could clarify, but it was not something they could explain to Nan Gong Yi and the others.
For instance, they could not disclose that Nan Gong Yan’s body was occupied by someone from the Spirit Clan. But if they didn’t explain this, how could they account for Nan Gong Yan’s abilities as a Saint Spirit Master and his ability to move freely among the Spirit Clan?
It was too complicated to explain.
The more they explained, the more troublesome it became. It was better to avoid explanations altogether.
Seeing that Huang Quan didn’t want to elaborate, Nan Gong Yi didn’t press further. He said, “Since you’re not worried about your identities being exposed, I’ll send someone to ask Great-grandfather to come out.”
With that, Nan Gong Yi turned to Nan Gong Qiu: “Go ask Father to come over. Tell him that Great-grandfather wants to see Ah Qi’s jade pendant and make sure he brings it with him.”
Nan Gong Qiu nodded happily, “I’ll go right away.”
End of chapter!
