Rong Xuan and Ji Fan tied the beggar to the woodshed. It was late at night and everyone else had gone to sleep. The woodshed was the most remote place, so even if there was any noise, it would not be heard.
Rong Xuan was very curious about the beggar's origins. He squatted down, stared at the man tied up like a dumpling on the ground for a while, frowned and asked, "What was your intention in giving me the things in the brocade bag that day?"
The beggar was unwilling to be captured at first and was still struggling. In the end, he was exhausted and finally lay on the ground motionless. His messy hair was draped over his face, and his true features could not be seen. Only his eyes were filled with coldness. Hearing this, he stared straight at Rong Xuan and asked in a hoarse voice, "Where is the letter?"
He only said four words, as if he was very concerned about the whereabouts of the letter. Seeing that Rong Xuan did not answer, he asked again with emphasis: "Where is the letter?"
Ji Fan stopped Rong Xuan's movements, stared at the beggar and said, "Since you care so much about Zhen Yuanzhong's blood letter, you should explain the reason in detail. Otherwise, the letter will not play its role and will not go to where it should go. It will be no different from waste paper."
The beggar raised his head with difficulty and looked at Ji Fan. He saw that the other party's eyebrows and eyes were in the shadows, and there was a conspicuous cinnabar mole on his forehead. It was Mingqingzi: "Who are you?"
Ji Fan smiled upon hearing this. Unlike Rong Xuan's cunningness, he looked innocent and kind under the moonlight: "It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that I can do what you want to do but can't do..."
He held the real blood letter between his slender fingers and shook it gently in front of the beggar's eyes: "Zhen Yuanzhong died of poisoning, and when Donglin Hou sent people to silence him, he accidentally released a servant. Are you the one who slipped through the net?"
Ji Fan obviously knew too much. The beggar was caught red-handed, so he couldn't deny it. Hearing this, his face turned pale, his whole body tensed up, and he couldn't speak for a long time. Finally, he closed his eyes in vain and uttered two words: "It's me—"
He squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "I am Master Zhen's personal bodyguard, Zhen He. Young Master Rong, it has been several months since we briefly met in Jingzhou. I'm afraid you have forgotten me."
Of course Rong Xuan didn't remember. Although he inherited the original owner's memory, many things were still vague. He didn't even recognize his own father at the time, so how could he remember a stranger he had only met once? "It's been a long time, I really don't remember. I didn't expect that after just a few months, when we met again, everything had changed."
This sentence touched Zhen He's heart, and his eyes were red and tearful. He said with a smile and tears in his eyes: "Yes, things are different, things are different... The sixteen officials who met us in Jingzhou were all beheaded, and even Master Zhen's family members were not spared. They were all killed on the way back to their hometown for the funeral. Only I... Only I..."
Veins bulged on his forehead and tears fell to the ground, showing how heartbroken he was.
Rong Xuan was sensitive to the words that even Zhen Yuanzhong's family was not spared. He looked at Ji Fan without leaving a trace and asked, "But I heard that after Lord Zhen died suddenly, his family moved away from the capital and returned to their hometown. How could they be killed?"
"it is true!"
Zhen He lowered his head in pain, his fingertips digging into the flesh of his palms. "After Lord Zhen arrived in Jingzhou, he opened the seals to check the silver, and found that only a few boxes of silver were real, and the rest were full of mud and sand. He realized something was wrong and suspected that there was a traitor among his fellow officials. He wrote a letter overnight and asked me to deliver it secretly to the capital, but he didn't expect to be intercepted by an assassin halfway, and he had to fight hard to escape."
It turned out that the blood on the letter was Zhen He's.
"I wanted to tell the Zhen family the truth, but I found out that all 24 members of their family were killed by assassins on their way home. I had no choice but to disguise myself as a beggar and go to the capital, but I didn't expect to hear about Lord Rong's escape from prison. That day, during the martial arts competition outside the Juxian Pavilion, I recognized you and followed you secretly, and finally found your residence."
Rong Xuan felt a chill on his back when he heard this. He felt that they were careless at the beginning. They didn't even notice that they were being followed for so many days. Ji Fan lowered his eyes for a moment, and it was unknown what he was thinking. Finally, he asked without any emotion: "Where did you get that ingot of official silver?"
His questions were always so sharp.
Zhen He did not hide it, and said with a gloomy face: "I was originally a thief, and because of my skill in stealing, I was caught and thrown into prison. Lord Zhen did not abandon me and took me in as a guard. During the days in the capital, I have been secretly investigating this matter, and finally found that the assassin who silenced the witnesses was related to the Marquis of Donglin, so I sneaked into his house and found several boxes of silver in an empty wine cellar, and stole an ingot."
"I wanted to report the case, but I was afraid that they would protect each other. Not only would I not be able to redress Lord Zhen's injustice, but I would hand the evidence to the evildoers. I knew Lord Rong was upright and honest in Jingzhou, and I also saw that Young Master Rong was arbitrary in making decisions, so I deliberately abandoned the brocade bag."
Zhen He was a weak person, and he obviously couldn't overturn the case by himself. It would be the smartest thing to do to hand over the evidence to Rong Xuan. It was a pity that he didn't want to show up, which led to such a misunderstanding today.
When Rong Xuan heard this, he was about to say something, but Ji Fan suddenly attacked with lightning speed, knocking Zhen He unconscious with one palm strike. The latter immediately fell to the ground, closed his eyes and passed out.
Rong Xuan was startled: "What are you doing?"
Ji Fan calmly withdrew his hand: "Don't do anything, just let him stay here quietly. Before the matter is investigated, we must not let him leave, otherwise it will be difficult to catch him back."
Zhen He's words may not be false, but there are too many things involved, and we need to find out more before we can make a decision. He has martial arts skills and is good at tracking and stealing. A rope alone cannot tie him up, so it is better to knock him out.
Rong Xuan still felt bad, after all, Zhen He should be considered a friendly force: "Then how do we explain it after he wakes up?"
Ji Fan glanced at him and said, "Aren't you the best at making up lies? Why don't you just put the blame on me?"
Rong Xuan: “…”
Donglin Marquis is not a fool. Since he embezzled the disaster silver, he must have recast the silver and destroyed the official seal on it. Three hundred thousand taels is not a small amount. He can't melt so much silver at one time, so there must be some left. Rong Xuan and Ji Fan changed into night clothes and prepared to visit Donglin Marquis's mansion at night.
The Liu family had made great military achievements, and many of their ancestors had served as officials for three generations, reaching a peak of prosperity. However, the mansion of such a wealthy family was extremely simple, without any gold or jade decorations. If one had to praise it, one could only reluctantly say that it was heavy and simple.
There is an ancestral hall in the middle of the Donglin Marquis's mansion, which houses the tablets of the Liu family's ancestors, as well as the tablet of Liu Jianxin, the only son of the Donglin Marquis who died young. On weekdays, when there is nothing to do, the Donglin Marquis will always sit quietly in the ancestral hall for a long time, not allowing anyone to disturb him, but today is an exception.
Liu Jianlai knelt tremblingly on the cobblestone road outside the ancestral hall. He really didn't understand why the Duke of Donglin would make him kneel here for no reason. He was a spoiled child, and he couldn't hold on for less than half an hour. He looked up at the middle-aged man with his back to him in the ancestral hall, and shouted in fear: "Dad..."
The ancestral hall was filled with incense and the candlelight flickered, making the atmosphere inexplicably solemn. Donglin Hou closed his eyes and said nothing. After a long time, he finally opened his eyes slowly, and his gaze fell on the black tablet in the front.
He saw incense ash on it and wiped it off skillfully. His rough fingertips stroked the clear handwriting on it, and he remembered some old things, and his face suddenly looked much older.
Dong Lin Hou did not even turn his head, but said two words in a deep voice: "Kneel down."
Liu Jianlai knew immediately that the Duke of Donglin was commemorating his deceased brother again. He covered his numb knees with his hands, and raised his head in dissatisfaction, saying, "Father, if you want to punish me, you should give me a reason. Did you ask me to come here in the middle of the night just to kneel down and pay tribute to my brother?"
Seeing a dead person every day is enough.
Donglin Hou turned around and looked at Liu Jianlai, striding out of the ancestral hall and standing on the steps. His sturdy figure cast a shadow from above, which made people inexplicably frightened: "Why, are you not convinced?!"
Liu Jianlai stiffened his neck and said, "I just don't accept it! We are both sons, why do you love and care for my eldest brother but treat me coldly? Is it just because I am adopted?"
"Snapped!"
This sentence hit Donglin Hou sore. He raised his hand and slapped Liu Jianlai in the face. His eyes widened. He grabbed his collar and asked him sternly, "You want to compete with your elder brother?! What right do you have to compete with your elder brother?! The matter of you grabbing land in the suburbs has been reported to the emperor by the prince. You deserve to die ten times for all these things! I always tell you this! I told you to behave yourself, to be careful with your words and deeds, to not leave any handle for others, and to hide your tail even if you did something wrong. But what about you? What about you?"
Dong Linhou's chest was heaving with anger, and he kicked him to the ground after he finished speaking: "How do you look like someone from my Liu family?!"
Liu Jianlai was stunned by the slap. When he came to his senses, he covered his face, feeling scared and angry. He actually cried out: "You don't treat me as your son at all! You don't treat me as your son at all! You only have Liu Jianxin in your heart. In your heart, he is the only one who is your son!"
Donglin Hou was stunned when he heard this, and then he became furious. He raised his hand high to hit him, but facing Liu Jianlai's hateful eyes, he couldn't bring his hand down.
Dong Lin Hou took a step back, his staggering steps betraying his old age. After being stunned for a long time, he suddenly laughed with red eyes, "Yes, yes! You are not my son, you are not my son! My son Jian Xin has been dead for seven years! Seven years!"
"He was a brave and brave young man with natural talent. He was a third-rank swordsman at the age of twenty. Later, he wore armor and went into battle, conquered the barbarians in the south, and pacified the Donghu in the north. No one in the Liu family could match him. Even the emperor issued an edict to praise him. This is my son! This is my son!"
Donglin Hou thought of Liu Jianxin's death in the battle with Yan State, and couldn't help but burst into tears when he thought of his most beloved son. He pounded his chest hard, questioned Liu Jianlai with red eyes: "And you! You indulge in fireworks, linger in sensual pleasures, are neither good at literature nor martial arts, how can you compare with him?! What right do you have to compare with him?! Haven't you caused enough trouble?!"
"Since you have no wisdom, then just be a fool who lives in peace. But if you want to stir up trouble but don't have the ability to clean up the mess, then you'd better not do it!"
Liu Jianlai felt ashamed, embarrassed, annoyed and angry when he heard this. He covered his chest and stood up from the ground, crying and shouting: "I am not worthy of being your son, let someone else be your son!"
After he finished speaking, he pushed away the servant's support and ran out of the yard.
Rong Xuan didn't expect to see such a big drama as soon as he entered the mansion. He and Ji Fan hid in the tree together, and couldn't help but sigh and shake his head, feeling that Donglin Marquis's obsession was hard to get rid of: "War is always dead, if you don't want to die, the best way is not to fight."
This is his modern thinking. However, Ji Fan, who was standing beside him, hummed without any emotion when he heard this, and said quietly in the dark: "I don't like fighting either..."
Rong Xuan looked at him with some surprise, then smiled and said, "If you become an emperor in the future, you will definitely be a good emperor like Zhao Su."
Ji Fan: "Are you so sure that Zhao Su will become the emperor?"
Rong Xuan: "Among all the princes, she is the only one with outstanding talent. If she doesn't take the throne, who else can take the throne?"
Ji Fan raised his eyebrows lightly: "Remember it too."
They had seen enough of the excitement, and waited for the Marquis of Donglin to leave before they climbed down from the courtyard wall. Most of the ancient marquis' mansions were built according to the rules, and the furnishings and layouts were similar. After a search, they soon found the abandoned wine cellar that Zhen He mentioned near the back kitchen.
Ji Fan was afraid that there might be danger inside, so he held Rong Xuan down and said, "I'll go down and check the situation first, you stay here and don't move."
Before Rong Xuan could say anything after hearing this, he saw Ji Fan sliding down the ladder at the entrance of the cave. His figure disappeared into the darkness and soon he was out of sight.
Rong Xuan was inexplicably worried, but he couldn't shout loudly, so he could only knock on the board above the entrance to the wine cellar with his fingers: "What's going on?"
It was quiet down there, without any movement. After a while, a faint fire suddenly lit up. It turned out that Ji Fan had lit a tinderbox down there. He stood down there and silently waved to Rong Xuan, signaling that he could come down.
Rong Xuan breathed a sigh of relief without leaving any trace. He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to this place, so he went down through the cave entrance and gently closed the cover of the wine cellar to avoid being discovered.
The temperature in the wine cellar was extremely low, and there was a lack of oxygen, so the fire was always half-extinguished. Ji Fan could only block the candle flame with his hands, and said to Rong Xuan: "Hurry up and find out if there is a silver box nearby. If the Duke of Donglin really destroyed the body and brought the case to the emperor without any evidence, I'm afraid he won't be convicted."
Rong Xuan searched around and found that the outer room was filled with ordinary wine jars, which was really nothing suspicious. He fumbled around the wall and found a crack in the brick wall. He pushed it tentatively and heard a muffled bang. The wall actually flipped over, revealing the dark room inside.
"Huh..."
The tinder was blown out by the cold wind. This place is too damp, and it will take a while to light it again.
Rong Xuan held Ji Fan's hand in the dark and led him inside: "Be careful, don't fall."
Ji Fan held a fire stick in his other hand and blew it tentatively, and a few sparks of fire appeared. He glanced at Rong Xuan through the hazy light and laughed in a hoarse voice, "If you are so afraid that I will fall, why don't you carry me on your back?"
Rong Xuan thought that was quite a high request and raised his eyebrows: "Then just hold her in your arms. Carrying her on your back will make you closer than holding her in your arms. Your Highness, don't you agree?"
Ji Fan glanced at him and opened her red lips slightly: "Then why don't you hug me?"
Rong Xuan: "Do you think I don't dare?"
Ji Fan leaned close to his ear and smiled seductively: "If you dare, then just hug me..."
The tail sound gradually disappeared into the air.
In the darkness, the two of them got closer and closer, and finally, somehow, they hugged each other and kissed passionately against the wall.
Rong Xuan only tasted it briefly and soon stopped panting.
Seeing this, Ji Fan tapped his lower lip with his fingertips and narrowed his eyes: "Rong Xuan, you only have this much courage."
Rong Xuan was about to say something when he heard a burst of hurried footsteps with echoes behind him. He turned around subconsciously and saw two black figures stumbling in from the other side of the dark room. They were Xuanyuan Qing and Zhao Su.
They were both wearing night clothes, and they looked like they had just been through a fierce fight, with bruises all over their bodies. Especially Zhao Su, who was hit in the chest by a feather arrow, bleeding profusely, and looked pale, and couldn't even walk steadily, relying entirely on Xuanyuan Qing to support him.
Rong Xuan was stunned for a moment, and then he separated from Ji Fan as if he had been electrocuted. The noise he made was extremely clear. Xuanyuan Qing and Zhao Su were startled, thinking that they were pursuers, and immediately looked over alertly, but they didn't expect that the person opposite them was Rong Xuan and Ji Fan.
Zhao Su's pupils shrank slightly: "Why are you here?!"
Rong Xuan: “…”
Ji Fan: “…”