Chapter 481
Chapter 275 - 255: Visit (One more)
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10 min read
Xie Lin did not expect his father to take on such a big case, and he also involved him indirectly by providing him with an opportunity to practice under His Majesty’s edification. After a busy night following this event, Xie Lin took a short nap when his father left for the palace in the morning. When he woke up, he went to Duke Residence to visit Zhou Gu.
Zhou Gu was sitting on the bed, examining the information collected about the residences of the major families in Nanchu.
Since he had decided to travel to Nanchu, it was necessary for him to understand Nanchu thoroughly in advance. With Su Rong in the Capital City and the list not yet announced, he was not in a rush to leave. He planned to use this time of recovery to investigate the major royal families in Nanchu, especially the Nangong family, Ye family, and Nanchu royal family.
Upon hearing that Xie Lin had arrived, Zhou Gu immediately instructed his attendants to hide these items. Then, he half-reclined on the bed and waited for Xie Lin to enter the room.
Xie Lin, who had not been close to Zhou Gu in the past and seldom visited his Frost Forest Courtyard, entered the courtyard with empty grapevines. He smacked his lips when he saw this, regretting that he had missed this year’s harvest. He was determined to enjoy the grapes in this courtyard next year.
Entering the room, Xie Lin saw Zhou Gu lying on the bed, his face pale and devoid of any color, and he looked extremely weak. He sighed and said, "I heard that you almost lost your life yesterday due to overworking. How are you now? Didn’t your brain get burnt? Can you still think clearly?"
Zhou Gu retorted bluntly, "It’s certainly better than your brain."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lin immediately realized that his brain probably hadn’t been affected. He sat down and looked at Zhou Gu, "Who would have thought that investigating a case early in the morning returning from the Big Buddha Temple could be so dangerous? You were just unfortunate to encounter that."
Seeing that Zhou Gu didn’t respond, he asked again, "Who was it, really? How could they be so fearsome? I heard they specifically targeted you? They did nor even kill those two monks, but a large number of death soldiers tried to kill you, did you offend someone? Or did you do something that made them want to kill you?"
"All I did was punish Jiang Sheng in Jiangning County and offend the Crown Prince." Zhou Gu saw Xie Lin’s genuine concern and didn’t mind opening up more, "As for the others, I have no idea. If they succeeded in killing me, the Duke’s Residence would plunge into sorrow, which might cause some unforeseen, disrupting consequences."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lin was taken aback, "You are right. If something happened to you, the Duke and Sheng An, the eldest Princess, wouldn’t be able to bear it. If they fall, the pillars of the Duke’s Residence would be gone, leaving only your elder brother. Not to belittle him, but while he is adept at maintaining, he lacks the skill and resolve to take action. In comparison, you are more competent. If something happens to you, wouldn’t it be like the sky falling for the Duke’s Residence?"
He was immensely relieved, "I heard it was Su Rong who saved you."
He looked at Zhou Gu, "She is really amazing."
Being able to predict the trouble, instruct someone to rescue Zhou Gu, and reach Duke’s Residence all-night through a hundred miles, she timely provided a cure for the fever. Even the highly ranked Imperial Doctor Xu and other doctors in the capital couldn’t treat the fever, but she did. How was she so competent?
In the past, he really couldn’t see it. It truly was a case of ’reality doesn’t reveal itself.’
Zhou Gu nodded.
Xie Lin looked at Zhou Gu, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "I heard that Su Rong went to the Big Buddha Temple with Ye Guixue to offer prayers. She happened to meet you and He Zheng who were investigating the case. She and Ye Guixue..."
Zhou Gu remained silent.
Xie Lin understood and scratched his head, "Ye Guixue, the second young master of the Ye Xiang Residence, and Su Rong, the princess of Nanchu, they...",
Zhou Gu interrupted him, "What did you come to see me for today?"
Xie Lin immediately stopped the conversation, "I came to see you."
"Well, now you’ve seen me. You can leave." Zhou Gu was trying to get rid of him.
Xie Lin: "..."
He had only sat for a while before Zhou Gu tried to send him away. Did he just say something that Zhou Gu didn’t want to hear? Immediately he said, "Apart from coming to see you, I also wanted to understand the case. As you know, my father was conscripted by His Majesty to investigate the case, and I was also dragged into it."
He pointed to his dark circles under his eyes, "I didn’t sleep all night last night."
Zhou Gu, seeing that he had tactfully started talking about the investigation again, did not continue to drive him away. Instead, he started discussing the case with him.
The two of them spent some time discussing the case, referring to the two monks. Guang Zhen had bitten his tongue and committed suicide, and could not be saved. However, before his death, it was confirmed that he had killed Ding Man. Wang Su was also implicated.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Xie Lin asked, "Could you accompany me to your secret dungeon to interrogate Wang Su again?"
"You go on your own! I need to recuperate." Zhou Gu waved his hand, "I’ll have someone take you."
Xie Lin saw his pale face indicating that he was unfit to work, nodded, and stood up, "Alright, I’ll interrogate him myself."
Zhou Gu called someone over to lead Xie Lin there.
Xie Lin took a couple of steps before asking, "Where’s Ziye on your side?"
"He’s in bed injury recuperation. His injury is quite severe." Zhou Gu replied.
Xie Lin nodded, mumbled, "No wonder I didn’t see him." and then walked away.
After Xie Lin left, Zhou Gu pulled out the thing he was half done reading earlier and continued.
Xie Lin was led to the secret dungeon in the Duke Residence. Wang Su was tied to a column. The burly monk had never suffered as he had delicate skin. Now that he had, he was obviously declining.
Seeing someone arrive, Wang Su looked up. When he saw it was Xie Lin, he recognized him and said, "Amitabha, Lord Xie."
Xie Lin nodded and replied, "Master Wang Su."
He is the successor of the Rui’an King’s Residence. He’s not that frivolous and he’s not a worthless dim sum. He’s been carefully nurtured by Rui’an King since childhood. Naturally, he has his set of skills.
He stood in front of Wang Su, stared at him, and then, asked suddenly, "Master Wang Su, don’t you feel the slightest guilt for causing Master Guang Zhen’s death?"
Wang Su was taken aback.
Before he could answer, Xie Lin continued, "Let me guess, who would have the ability to bribe the chief disciple under the Buddha Temple? Even a prince or a queen would likely fail because, as a wise man, you know getting involved in disputes for the throne is dangerous. It may lead to an unnatural death, which Buddhists are against of. The only reason must be your missing sister that made you do so. And your sister, unlike what you said, should be in the capital city, not at the Marquis Nanping Residence."
Wang Su’s face didn’t change, and he chanted, "Amitabha".
He said helplessly, "Lord Xie, you’ve pronounced me guilty based on mere conjecture. Regardless of what I say, none of you believe me, Duke included, and now it seems you don’t either. So, what else can I say?"
Xie Lin shook his head, "No, Master Wang Su, there’s still something you can tell."
He leaned in close to Master Wang Su and whispered in his ear, "You know how my mother loves Buddhism. She visits the Buddha Temple every year and always brings me along. I do not fancy sitting and praying with her, so I always sneak out and play around the temple. More often than not, I’d make my way to Wangyue Peak located behind the temple. From the peak, the entire Buddha Temple can be seen. I would stay there until my mother found out I was missing and sent others to find me. At that point, I’d rush back to our room and pretend that I was ill."
He continued in a reminiscing tone, "About three years ago, while I was at Wangyue Peak, I saw Master Wang Su embracing a woman. Both wept for a long time. This woman was dressed in palace attire..."
Instantly, Wang Su froze as if his blood had reversed its flow.
Xie Lin seemed to disregard his reaction and continued, "It was too far to hear the conversation or see the woman’s features distinctly. But her royal attire piqued my curiosity. As I returned to the temple, I began to observe carefully. And guess what? I quickly found her because she was with my mother. The vermilion hairpin on her head and the waist ornaments she wore were all unique, crafted by the imperial court."
Wang Su went extremely pale and was, for the moment, speechless.
Xie Lin stepped back a bit and look at Wang Su," I may not have many good qualities, but I do know that curiosity killed the cat. Even I, as the prince of Rui’an King’s Residence, shouldn’t pry into things I should not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know how I’d die. With my mediocre kung fu skills, I can’t protect myself. So, I decided to keep this incident to myself, not even telling my mother."
He looked at Wang Su, "Master Wang Su, this case has been handed over to my father by the emperor, and I, have been dragged by my father and the emperor to investigate this case. Naturally, I would like to make a contribution. After all, I have to show the emperor my ability so that after my civil service exam results are published and I enter the court, he can use me more, right?"
He twiddled his fingers, "So, are you going to confess, or should I trace it back, starting with the lady in the palace? If I start investigating, even if that person isn’t involved, they could be implicated. By then, you may not be able to protect her even when you want to."
— End of Chapter 481 —