16. The Past

Through a brief conversation, Ming Liao discovered that the Jiang residence in the capital city had become uninhabited. The Jiang family members who lived there had been brutally murdered by unknown assailants.

The residence was now being renovated by the king's order for Ming Liao to live there.

This property originally belonged to her mother, and the deeds had been held by the King after the Jiang Lian Hua's marriage. These deeds were now returned to Ming Liao, the legitimate heir.

Unfortunately, the properties were merely empty shells as all valuables had been looted, making renovation necessary for habitation.

After leaving the Queen's residence, Ming Liao returned to her home, continuously reflecting on what the Queen had said.

Her mother, Jiang Lian Hua, was the youngest daughter of the main branch of the Jiang family, with two elder brothers.

The brothers were brought up in the Jiang residence in the capital.

But Jiang Lian Hua had been raised in her ancestral home at the border of the Jing Kingdom until she was brought to the capital at age ten.

The Queen, Dong Meixiang, was the second daughter of the Dong family.

Both families held high status in the Jing Kingdom. Because of family connection between the two families, after Lian Hua came to the capital, Meixiang and Lian Hua became the best friends.

The current King, Jing Zhaoyang, was the crown prince at that time.

Jiang Lian Hua and Dong Meixiang were top candidates for the title of crown princess due to their strong family backgrounds and beauty.

It was rumored that there would be fight between the two families for the position of the crown princess.

But the truth was from from that. Jiang Lian Hua was already in love with someone whom she had met at the market in the Ming Kingdom. She was not interested in the crown prince at all.

It was said that in order to choose a compatible crown princess, the examination would take place in the palace when certain rumors started to circulate in the capital city.

Rumors were about a powerful treasure in the Jiang residence that protected the family from danger.

This treasure was said to have been kept in the Jiang family's ancestral house and brought to the capital with Jiang Lian Hua. Another rumor claimed that Jiang Lian Hua, the youngest Jiang daughter, owned the treasure and had been raised outside the capital because of it. But they were only the rumours that queen had heard at that time and she didn't know the detail.

If not for the massacre of the Jiang family, if tests for selecting the crown princess had undergone, Jiang Lian Hua might have become the crown princess.

But things didn't go as planned.

One night, an eerie silence fell over the typically lively Jiang family home.

Curious neighbors who jumped over the wall found dead bodies of members scattered across the courtyard.

The patrolling guards were summoned, and the palace was alerted. The entire capital of Jing was in upheaval trying to understand what had happened.

Strangely, even close neighbors hadn't heard any noises or screams at night that would suggest a massacre.

The incident occurred under the previous king's reign, with the crown prince tasked with finding the killer. Despite his efforts, no witnesses or evidence were found.

Notably, Jiang Lian Hua's body was not among the dead.

The Jiang family were known for their kindness and lack of enemies. The patriach of the Jiang family was the minister in the court who was wise enough to not make enemy out of someone powerful. The crown prince couldn't continue without the clue.

On top of that, the dead bodies gathered for the autopsy were burned before the sutopsy could be conducted.

The whole house where the bodies were kept had turned into ashes along with those bodies.

The case left a terrifying mystery after the murderer was not found.

The crown prince's failure to solve the case led to doubts about his capability to rule, with ministers turning their support to other princes and even talk of rebellion.

The unrest subsided only after Jiang Lian Hua was found at her ancestral home.

Ming Liao had wanted to know more, but the Queen couldn't share stories of past all day.

She asked her to come back next day and she was going to be patient.