Qi Ning saw the extremely complicated expression on Wei Shutong's face and knew very well that this person was in extreme conflict and hesitation, and even in extreme fear.
Qining was greatly surprised that the dignified governor of Xichuan had become so weak.
Being able to guard one side in Xichuan, he was arranged by the late emperor to monitor Li Hongxin, the king of Shu. Before meeting Wei Shutong, Qining had always thought that this man was naturally an extremely cunning and shrewd person. But looking at him now, it was obviously not what he had imagined. Among them, the governor of Nishikawa is quite different.
Qi Ning knew that the former emperor would not have hired the wrong person. Wei Shutong must have suffered a great change to become what he is now.
Seeing Wei Shutong's complicated expression, Qi Ning frowned slightly, and his voice was not as cold as before. He said softly: "Master Wei, you have been guarding Xichuan these years, and Xichuan has been peaceful. Even the current emperor, in my case, In front of me, I also have a lot of praise for you. The emperor has just ascended the throne, and it is the time to employ people. As long as you, Mr. Wei, are loyal to the emperor, even if you make mistakes, they are not irreversible."
"Master Marquis, the official has no second thoughts about the emperor and the court." Wei Shutong said immediately: "Otherwise, the official would not have put all his efforts into writing that memorial."
"The memorial did not make it clear and was deliberately vague. The emperor knew that there must be something fishy in it, and even thought that you, Mr. Wei, might be in trouble." Qining said softly: "The emperor sent me here to do something. You know what is going on here, so you can rest assured. As long as you are loyal to the court, I will not sit idly by and ignore it. Mr. Wei, you can tell me what is going on in this. There are only you and me here, no. A third person will hear it."
Wei Shutong heard that Qining's voice was relatively gentle, and finally said: "Master Hou, actually... my wife was... killed by me!"
Qi Ning was shocked, his expression suddenly changed, and he lost his voice: "You... you killed my lady?"
Wei Shutong was trembling all over and said anxiously: "Master Hou... Master Hou, don't be anxious. I didn't... I didn't mean it. I... I was harmed by someone."
Qi Ning had known before that the death of the governor's wife was very strange, but when he heard Wei Shutong confessed to killing his wife, he was horrified. He couldn't help but clenched his fists and said with a cold expression: "Being harmed by others? Mr. Wei, I hope you have a For good reason."
"Master Marquis, I don't dare to deceive you." Wei Shutong said with a bitter smile: "That night, I and my wife were having a drink in the elegant hall, with Hua Xiangrong waiting beside me. Everything was fine, but... but After a few glasses of wine, Xiaguan suddenly felt in a trance and his vision turned black...!"
Qi Ning's heart trembled, thinking that he had been in this situation just now.
Only to hear Wei Shutong continue: "When the official came back to his senses, he discovered... He found that he was holding a long sword in his hand. Madam... Madam had fallen into a pool of blood...!" His face was pale and his pupils shrank, "Xia Guan. The officer only felt that he lost consciousness for just the blink of an eye, but he never expected...!"
Qi Ning frowned and said, "You mean you killed my lady without consciousness?"
Wei Shutong nodded and said: "That's right. Madam and I have had a deep relationship for decades... She is kind and virtuous...!" When he said this, he burst into tears.
Qi Ning did not speak. Wei Shutong raised his hand to wipe away his tears with his sleeves and said, "At that time, my mind was blank and I didn't know what to do. At that time, Li Hongxin suddenly appeared."
"Li Hongxin?"
Wei Shutong nodded and said: "Exactly. Li Hongxin has donated and built many temples over the years and is very enthusiastic about Buddhism. However, to build temples, he needs approval from the lower officials. The area where he is building the temple has farmers' land, and the lower officials dare not rush into it. In order to avoid arousing the resentment of the people, he often came to the governor's office during that time."
"You mean, he just happened to catch you killing someone?" Qining frowned.
Wei Shutong nodded and said, "That's right. Hua Xiangrong was nearby at that time. The official came to his senses and was about to collect the body when Li Hongxin came in unexpectedly and saw his wife's body and the official's hand. Holding the sword." He smiled bitterly and said, "The official killed his wife unintentionally, but he was seen by the person who should least have seen it."
Qi Ning thought this was really unbelievable and asked, "Doesn't Li Hongxin need a public notice to enter the governor's office?"
"Xiaguan has been in Xichuan for many years. When he had something to do in the past, he always went to the Prince of Shu's Mansion. At first, he had to pass the news. Later, Li Hongxin directly ordered that the official can enter and leave the Prince of Shu's Mansion at any time." Wei Shutong said: "So later on, Xiaguan also I just ordered that Li Hongxin does not need to pass the news when entering or leaving the governor's office."
Qi Ning nodded slightly: "That's it."
"When Li Hongxin saw the situation, he did not hesitate and personally helped Xiaguan clean up his wife's body." Wei Shutong said: "Xiaguan was confused and grieved at the time. He saw him again and was so panicked that he had no choice but to let him help. He He warned Hua Xiangrong not to leak the matter, and assured Hua Xiangrong on behalf of the official that as long as Hua Xiangrong kept her mouth shut, the official would be able to straighten her out in a year."
The more Qi Ning listened, the more mysterious he felt. He thought that this matter was really bizarre, and asked: "Except for the three of you, no one else knows about this matter?"
Wei Shutong shook his head and said: "There were only three people present at the time. Li Hongxin disposed of the wife's body on the spot and told the official what to do...!" His hands were shaking and his voice was trembling: "The official seemed to have been hit. Like evil, everything turns with him."
Qi Ning said: "He asked you to publicize that your wife died of illness?"
Wei Shutong nodded and said: "Exactly. Xichuan has many serious diseases. It is barely reasonable to say that the wife died suddenly from a serious disease."
"As far as I know, you buried my lady soon." Qining looked into Wei Shutong's eyes and asked, "Are you worried that the long nights and dreams will expose your flaws?"
Wei Shutong said: "Yes, after being caught by Li Hongxin, Xiaguan...Xiaguan could only listen to his arrangements at that time. He seemed to be very enthusiastic and asked him to bury his wife as soon as possible. Xiaguan was afraid and could only... We can only bury my wife in a hurry, and I just hope it will end as soon as possible."
Qi Ning took a deep breath, thinking that if he hadn't heard Wei Shutong's confession with his own ears, it would be unimaginable that such bizarre things had happened in the Governor's Mansion.
After a period of silence, Qi Ning finally asked: "Master Wei, you said that you accidentally killed Madam when you were in a daze that night. Do you understand the reason afterwards?"
Wei Shutong clenched his fists, showing a serious look of resentment, and said: "I wasn't sure at first, but... But tonight, I am sure."
"Oh?" Qi Ning said, "How do you say this?"
Wei Shutong said: "Hua Xiangrong, it must be the temptress who caused the trouble. The temptress... has a heart of snakes and scorpions. There were only three of us present that day, so she must have caused the trouble."
Qi Ning immediately thought of his reaction just now. He vaguely remembered that when he was looking at the flowers and thinking about Rong, he suddenly felt dizzy and even became trance-like. He asked in a low voice: "Let me ask you, are you still not aware of it until now?" Knowing Hua Xiangrong’s true origin, do you still think she is just an actress?”
Wei Shutong nodded and said: "Yes. In fact... In fact, Xiaguan secretly sent someone to investigate her and found the original troupe. According to the people in the troupe, Hua Xiangrong took the initiative to join their troupe and danced gracefully. She also has a very good voice. Such a beauty who can sing and dance took the initiative to join the team, so she stayed."
"Then when will she join the troupe?" Qining asked.
Wei Shutong said: "For Xiaguan's birthday, preparations started more than a month in advance, and the theater troupe was found more than half a month in advance. Later, Xiaguan learned that Hua Xiangrong joined the theater troupe at that time."
"In this way, she is here for you." Qining sneered: "Master Wei, since you have a good relationship with Madam, why would you take an actor as your concubine on a temporary basis?"
Wei Shutong looked ugly, clenched his fists and said: "Master Hou, to be honest, when... when I saw her, I just...!" He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "That temptress is just a vixen. I can't read the books of sages if I ask myself." Even a person with bad morals has never been fond of women, but... But that time I only glanced at her twice, and I was fascinated by her, and I just wanted to keep her in the house."
Qi Ning thought thoughtfully and said: "Although Hua Xiangrong's appearance is not bad, she is not a young girl, and... she is not beautiful. If her beauty is ten points, she is only seven points. Mr. Wei has also seen People in this world, what kind of woman has never seen them, how can they be shaken just by looking at her? Lord Wei, you won’t have anything to hide from me, right?"
Wei Shutong smiled bitterly and said: "Master Hou, up to now, I have told you everything honestly, there is nothing I can hide."
"That is to say, you are not sure whether the coincidence that night was really a coincidence or a carefully planned trap?" Qi Ning's eyes were cold, "Have you ever doubted whether Hua Xiangrong might be Li Hongxin's person?" ?”
Wei Shutong said: "To be honest, when I thought about it later, I couldn't understand why everything happened so coincidentally. I also doubted whether this was Li Hongxin's conspiracy, but...!" After a pause, Cai Dao said: "At that time, after Hua Xiangrong entered the mansion, she had never left the governor's mansion, let alone had any contact with Li Hongxin. How could Li Hongxin know that something would happen that night, so although the official was suspicious, he did not dare to Convinced.”
"You believe it now?"
"Hua Xiangrong's martial arts is so good, if she secretly leaves the house in the middle of the night, no one will find out." Wei Shutong's face turned pale, "The official now suspects that what happened that night was planned by Li Hongxin, and Hua Xiangrong... They should be the eyes and ears that Li Hongxin sent to Xiaguan, who are bent on scheming against Xiaguan."
Qi Ning thought for a while and then said: "Then you suspect that the reason why you lost your mind that day was also because of Hua Xiangrong?"
"Xiaguan... Xiaguan suspects that she has poisoned the food and wine." Wei Shutong's mood has recovered a lot at this time, and his hands are not trembling as before. "There are all kinds of poisons in the world, and maybe there is something for everyone." Poison for losing one’s mind.”
"What you said makes sense." Qining said, "But now that Hua Xiangrong has escaped, you don't know her origins, so naturally you can't find her."
Wei Shutong's voice was fierce, "Even if this temptress escapes to the ends of the earth, my subordinates will catch her and cut her into pieces."