Chapter 7: Origins
The veiled woman's expression was indifferent, showing no emotional fluctuation due to Li Musheng's words.
"I'm from the Great Li Hidden Intelligence Bureau."
The woman gazed at Li Musheng, her eyes deep and cold.
She gently raised her hand and tossed a token toward Li Musheng, saying, "I've come on this journey because of your origins. I presume you should be interested in this."
Li Musheng reached out to catch the entirely silver-colored token. After glancing at it, his brows immediately furrowed as he showed a skeptical expression.
After transmigrating here, he only knew that the original owner was an orphaned refugee.
Before joining the martial arts school, he had indeed been adopted by an old beggar for a period of time, but that memory was extremely vague.
As for who the original owner's parents were and whether he was actually from Shun'an City, Li Musheng knew nothing about any of this.
Of course, he actually didn't care about his origins.
After all, he was a transmigrator, and moreover an orphan. He didn't need family members for whom he had no emotional attachment. At this time, seeing Li Musheng suddenly fall silent without speaking, Cang Yinyue added another statement, "You very likely are the Seventh Prince of Great Li who has been lost among the common people."
Hearing this, Li Musheng leaped down from the city wall and landed beside Cang Yinyue.
"Young lady, are you joking? A prince was lost for twenty years and you only now thought to look for him?"
Cang Yinyue gracefully retreated a step, maintaining a certain distance from Li Musheng. Her voice remained cold as she said, "The reasons behind this are somewhat complex. If you want to confirm your origins, you can follow me to the imperial capital, Shangyang City."
"So my prince identity isn't even confirmed yet." Li Musheng rubbed his chin. "I was wondering, with my poor bone structure and aptitude, how could I possibly be some prince?"
However, Cang Yinyue shook her head and frowned, saying, "Don't belittle yourself. Although many forces in the imperial capital are currently searching everywhere, in my view, you're most likely that lost prince."
"Why?" Li Musheng was somewhat curious.
"Because I am the first Silver-Marked Secret Agent of the Great Li Hidden Intelligence Bureau. Any mission I take on has never failed, and I've never made any mistakes or oversights."
Cang Yinyue's eyes revealed immense confidence. Combined with her aloof attitude, for a moment, she radiated an aura of lofty pride and coldness.
At a glance, she was a proud young lady!
Li Musheng raised his eyebrows. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Actually, going with you isn't impossible. I was preparing to wander the world anyway, so going anywhere is the same."
"However, I can't follow you without understanding things clearly. At the very least, you need to let me know the ins and outs of this whole matter. I'm not particularly fond of riddle-speakers!"
Cang Yinyue stared at Li Musheng for a while, then nodded lightly, "As long as it doesn't involve Hidden Intelligence Bureau secrets, I will truthfully answer any questions you want to know."
Li Musheng clapped his hands lightly and said very straightforwardly, "In that case, let's set out. We can talk while we walk along the way."
However, at this time, Cang Yinyue's figure suddenly retreated backward. In the blink of an eye, she appeared several zhang away, "Wait for me for half an incense stick's time. I still have some matters to handle. After I finish, I will definitely come find you!"
Seeing this, Li Musheng didn't mind. Waving his hand, he said, "Then you go ahead with your business. I'll wait for you a while."
Then he simply sat down in the shade of the trees to cool off.
Half an incense stick's time later, Cang Yinyue was very punctual, appearing in Li Musheng's line of sight leading two black-maned yellow horses.
Walking closer, she handed the reins of one of the horses to Li Musheng. Her voice was still ice-cold, "Let's go."
"A wealthy person indeed. This horse must cost several dozen taels per horse, right?"
Li Musheng casually tossed Cang Yinyue's token back to her, then took the reins and lightly leaped onto the horse's back.
"Once your prince identity is verified, mere gold and silver won't mean anything to you."
Cang Yinyue spoke indifferently. She put away the token and was about to mount her horse when she discovered that Li Musheng had slapped the horse's rear. Amid the urgent neighing, he shot out of the city like an arrow leaving the bow.
"Could he be trying to escape?"
Cang Yinyue furrowed her delicate brows. Immediately stamping her foot down, she quickly mounted her horse and immediately followed in the direction Li Musheng had gone, calling out at the same time, "You're going the wrong direction!"
...
Near sunset, the two riders approached a remote small town amid the continuous "clop clop" of horse hooves.
"We'll rest here tonight and continue our journey tomorrow morning."
Cang Yinyue didn't enter the town but chose to stop at a slope outside the town.
Li Musheng looked left and right without saying much. He casually let the horse loose to the side to find grass to eat on its own.
He then gathered some dry firewood and started a campfire in a sheltered spot.
"Miss Cang, come sit. Let's chat."
Li Musheng beckoned with his hand.
Today along the way, Cang Yinyue had already roughly explained everything related to his origins once.
He discovered that this whole matter was indeed quite melodramatic, what with switching cats for princes, true and false princes, palace struggles...
It had to be said, these imperial nobles really knew how to play!
"No need. I'm accustomed to being alone. If you have questions, you can ask directly."
Cang Yinyue leaned against an old tree with no intention of moving.
Li Musheng didn't insist. While poking at the firewood, he calmed his mind and thought about matters concerning himself...
Four months ago, the Tianjin Guards in the imperial capital received a secret letter directly addressed to the commander.
The secret letter stated that the current Seventh Prince was not the emperor's biological son but had been conspiratorially replaced twenty years ago.
The real Seventh Prince had been abandoned outside Shangyang City at the Damian River, his current fate unknown.
Soon, this matter was presented to Emperor Yuanwu, who summoned Seventh Prince Li Zhi overnight.
No one knew what happened in Tianqian Palace that night. They only knew that before dawn, several secret edicts were issued from within the palace.
Seventh Prince Li Zhi was imprisoned in the heavenly prison. The Tianjin Guards, Six Doors, and Hidden Intelligence Bureau all received secret orders to thoroughly investigate the prince replacement matter from twenty years ago.
Clearly, the palace originally intended to conceal this imperial scandal, but somehow, the matter eventually spread without being announced.
The next day, it spread throughout the entire imperial capital of Shangyang City. Even the common people in the streets and alleys knew about it.
From that time on, various forces in the imperial capital became restless, not only confirming the prince replacement from twenty years ago but also beginning to search everywhere using their own methods for that true Seventh Prince lost among the common people.
According to what Cang Yinyue said, she had mobilized all the open and hidden agents of the entire Hidden Intelligence Bureau, and after countless overt and covert investigations, combining all relevant clues from the past twenty years, she had finally found Li Musheng.
Of course, the Tianjin Guards and Six Doors who received the secret orders were also searching for the whereabouts of the "Seventh Prince." However, since each side held different information, the people they ultimately found would likely differ as well.
"Miss Cang, are you really so certain that I'm that Seventh Prince? If by chance I'm not, what will you do?"
Li Musheng collected his thoughts and suddenly asked.