Chapter 14 Lend Me Seven Years 3
Shen Shizhi remembered this face. At the Hanxiang Party for selecting beauties held by Huainan Hou a few days ago, this beautiful sister danced so beautifully and gracefully that she was extremely charming. She remembered it very clearly.
Once, twice, and again and again.
Shen Shizhi had been smart and alert since she was young. Although she was still a girl at that time, she had already figured out that something was wrong. Ten days later, when she had another chance to enter the Huainan Marquis's mansion, she took advantage of the time when the housekeeper hadn't arrived yet and dived into the pond. After swimming for a while, she saw a huge water prison.
In the name of Hanxiang Society, Marquis Huainan selected beautiful women and imprisoned them here. Each of them was in a coma, and it was obvious that there was a secret.
Shen Shi knew that it was impossible for her to rescue so many people by herself, so she thought of Yuan Zheng, the general who defended Gaizhou City. Huainan Hou was addicted to entertainment, so he could not be entrusted with all the affairs in the city, so Yuan Zheng was in charge.
Especially the troops in Gaizhou City were all in Yuanzheng's hands.
Yuan Zheng has always been disgusted with the mischievous behavior of Huainan Hou, and the two of them have clashed in public over this. Shen Shizhi thinks that if anyone can take care of this matter and rescue those poor sisters, that person can only be Yuan Zheng.
Shen Shizhi went to great lengths to meet Yuan Zheng and told him everything. As she had expected, Yuan Zheng took the matter very seriously. He first found a few skilled people to go into the water with her to rescue the girls and ensure their safety. A large number of troops surrounded the mansion of the Marquis of Huainan and captured the Marquis of Huainan and his men for careful interrogation.
Shen Shizhi agreed without hesitation.
The moon was very big that night, so big that it allowed the teenage Shen Shizhi to see for the first time the filthiness of people’s hearts.
The moment she entered the water and reached the dungeon, the hand that came from behind her did not open the door, but instead held a dagger that stabbed into her waist and abdomen.
Blood splattered out in an instant, and a tearing pain followed.
Shen Shizhi held the wound on her lower back, turned around with difficulty, and looked at the soldiers who had been so upright just now in disbelief. She didn't know how things turned out like this, the only thing she knew was that she was going to die.
The dagger was going to move forward. Shen Shizhi closed her eyes in despair and stepped back, hitting the mechanism in front of the prison door. Countless arrows flew out and shot in the direction of the soldiers. Shen Shizhi endured the pain and swam back in the chaos. This pond was full of running water, leading to the river outside the city. She managed to escape, wrapped her wounds simply, and rushed back home to find her grandmother.
But she was still too slow, and before she reached home, she saw the flames rising into the sky from afar. She saw two burly men coming out of the house, still cursing: "This old woman, she's not in any trouble, but when she heard that her granddaughter was injured and ran away, she got so anxious that she died, and she didn't even ask anything."
"You are the one who talks too much. What are you so anxious to say?!"
"Alas, it's useless to say this now. I still have to think about how to explain it to the Marquis and the general..."
The two walked away, and Shen Shizhi slid down the wall helplessly. She didn't expect that she was just trying to save people with good intentions, but it caused her family to be destroyed, her only grandmother died of anger, and she herself would hardly escape.
The Marquis of Huainan and General Yuan, who seemed to be incompatible with each other to outsiders, were actually on the same boat. Gaizhou City was their world. She had walked headfirst into a trap and no one could save her.
Shen Shizhi fainted from the pain. In her daze, she seemed to feel her grandmother holding her in her arms, gently touching her head, and comforting her like she did when she made mistakes countless times as a child: "When grandma sees you, it's like seeing your father. He has always been righteous since he was a child and wanted to be a chivalrous man who helps the weak and fights against the strong. Now that he is gone, grandma has never blamed him. Grandma is proud of him. And you, my dear Zhizhi, you are also grandma's pride. You have done nothing wrong, grandma doesn't blame you, and you can't blame yourself. Promise grandma to live well, and live well for what you want and what you want to fight for."
In the dream, Shen Shizhi sobbed and stammered: "Grandma..."
Huainan Hou and Yuan Zheng had no intention of letting Shen Shizhi go, so she had no choice but to leave. On the day she had been escaping for several days, a heavy rain came down, her wounds became infected, she was exhausted, and she felt hot all over because of the rain. After she forced herself into a dilapidated temple, she no longer had the energy to take another step. This heavy rain cut off all her ways to survive.
It’s not that she didn’t try hard to live, it’s that God was blind and refused to let her live any longer.
She waited for Huainan Hou and Yuan Zheng's men to find her and send her to see her grandmother. But in the stormy night, someone else walked into the dilapidated temple.
He found her, rescued her, fed her, and sent away the soldiers who came after her.
"I'm the only one here. If you don't believe what I say, you can ask Marquis Huainan to come and ask me in person. But I'm going to Qingzhou to do some business. If you delay me and His Majesty blames you, how many lives do you have to pay for it?" He was cold and imposing, with the Dali Temple badge at his side. Everyone knew that Dali Temple Chengjue was a new noble in the court, so there was no need to offend him for such a little girl.
After the pursuers withdrew, Shen Shizhi walked out from behind the dilapidated statue, curled up cautiously to one side, and secretly looked at the man named Cheng Jue.
He looked very cold, but under the light of the fire, there was a moment of tenderness in his eyes. His eyes illuminated her dark and boundless world.
"Why are they chasing you?"
She had already deeply realized the price she would pay for easily trusting someone, and after a long while she hesitated and spoke: "I... I am a little maid in the Marquis' Mansion. I did something wrong and made the Marquis angry. I was afraid that he would punish me, so I ran away... Thank you, sir, otherwise I would not be alive today."
Cheng Jue threw a branch into the fire, glanced at her, and chuckled, "It's quite unusual that a little maidservant who did something wrong could be arrested by the deputy general stationed in Gaizhou City."
He didn't point it out, but it made her feel more ashamed than directly exposing her lies. She didn't know what to say, and then she heard Cheng Jue ask again: "Do you regret it?"
Do you regret it?
She regretted getting her grandmother into trouble, but if she were given another chance, she would make the same choice.
Some things are ingrained in us and can never be changed.
"This world is not just about black and white, there is also gray in between. Solving cases and finding out the truth is to make black fade to white, and gray gradually turn to white. Justice does not lie in the world, but in people's hearts." Cheng Jue's voice was cold, and each word floated into her ears, "If you have no regrets, what you did is right. I came here to make myself not regret it. I hope you and I have both taken the path we should take."
From then on, she would always remember this rainy night.
Remember the man who cleared the fog and saved her. His name was Cheng Jue. He was her benefactor, her guide, and someone she would never forget in her life.
…
Talking about the past was not as difficult as Zhou Zhenzhen had imagined.
Perhaps it was because of Cheng Jue and the sugar he gave her that she no longer felt the past was so bitter.
Cheng Jue vaguely remembered what happened in the dilapidated temple, but he couldn't remember it clearly. He unconsciously held her hand tightly and leaned over to kiss her lightly on the top of her head. Fortunately, even if he didn't remember, he didn't miss her.
"September 23 is Concubine Qing's birthday. Concubine Qing has taken care of Your Majesty for a while, and Your Majesty treats her very well. Every year, he will make great efforts to celebrate Concubine Qing's birthday. The Marquis of Huainan is Concubine Qing's cousin, and he will also return to Chang'an this time."
Zhou Zhenzhen's breath was choked. Cheng Jue patted her thin back and promised softly, "I won't let him leave easily this time he comes back. I will help you with whatever you want. When things are settled, I will accompany you back to Gaizhou City to visit grandma!"
Zhou Zhenzhen's eyes were sore. She buried her head in his arms, choked with sobs and uttered "hmm".
The case in the city was completely settled. The next day, Zheng Xiangrui's body was brought back to the Dali Temple and an autopsy was performed by Yan An.
Zhou Zhenzhen insisted on staying by her side, and Cheng Jue couldn't persuade her, so he had to put down his work and accompany her. However, within a day and a night, Zheng Xiangrui's body had begun to rot and emit an unpleasant smell.
"When did you guess that she was the murderer?"
"How did you guess she was the murderer?"
The two spoke almost at the same time, and then paused at the same time. Zhou Zhenzhen pursed her lips and said, "It was Meng Fan who reminded me. That day when Meng Fan went to deliver the file to the adults, he accidentally bumped into the inkstone, and the ink spilled and rubbed his little finger. If it weren't for ordinary people, it would be difficult to get ink on their little fingers. But Qiu'er's posture when writing is very unusual. After being beaten by the teacher several times, she corrected it with difficulty. But when she goes home to write, no one is watching her, and she still writes like that. When I went to the Ministry of Justice that day and saw Zheng Xiangru writing, her posture was not different from that of ordinary people. Different, but the place where her fingers were stained with ink was exactly the same as Qiu'er's habit. I think she changed her posture because she heard someone coming. Although she has lost her memory, some habits cannot be changed. The murderer captured the sister to test her brother, and Qiu'er also happened to have a brother. Under these circumstances, I dare to be 80% sure that Zheng Xiangru is Qin Qiu... Since she is not the real Zheng Xiangru, she must have a purpose for entering the Zheng'an Palace. If Zheng Yan is not the real murderer, then Zheng Xiangru is the only one in the world who can make him willingly take the blame. "
Cheng Jue showed admiration in his eyes and said, "You are very observant. With a good teacher like me around, you have made great progress."
Zhou Zhenzhen forced herself to curl her lips, but she couldn't smile. Not wanting to make Cheng Jue worry, she asked, "When did Master Cheng guess it?"
She was sure it must have happened before her, otherwise he would not have allowed her to plot to lure Zheng Xiangrui to the Dali Temple.
Cheng Jue narrowed his eyes and said, "When we were at Muer Building, you said that the murderer must be a strong man to bring Liu Fang to the rooftop. But in fact, there is another way."
"what way?"
"Rope." Cheng Jue said indifferently, "On the fence of Mu'er Building, the mechanism is tied with a rope. The crisscross marks on it are the result of Liu Fang hanging and swinging below. But in fact, there are fine marks under the extremely thick marks, which are almost invisible. They are somewhat similar to the marks on the rockery in Kuailv Villa. The murderer did this to cover up his method of committing the crime. Liu Fang was pulled to the top of Mu'er Building through the mechanism with a very thin rope. After Liu Fang went up, the murderer took back the rope. Such a method must be easy for the murderer to do right below Mu'er Building, closest to the roof. In Kuailv Villa, the murderer pulled up Du Ruyue's body, and when we went over, the rope had disappeared. The method was the same as that of Mu'er Building. However, Du Ruyue's body was pulled from flat to straight, and the angle must be slanted. The only person at the bottom of the rockery closest to the rockery was Zheng Xiangrui, who was sitting on the stone bench at the time."
Cheng Jue's unconsciously moving hand was quietly pulled by Zhou Zhenzhen. He came back to his senses, stared at her pale face, and said softly: "It's just that I have never been able to figure out the motive. The truth of this case can be revealed, and Mr. Zhou can take the first credit."
If it was another case, Zhou Zhenzhen would be overjoyed to get such a sure decision. But this time, she would rather not see clearly from beginning to end.
Yan An took off Zheng Xiangru's shirt, and a dot of red on her right arm suddenly caught Zhou Zhenzhen's eye. The plum blossom-shaped tattoo was as red as blood. Fragmented scenes flashed before Zhou Zhenzhen's eyes.
The "red plum" that Gu Qing was talking about before committing suicide in the Yuechu case, and the so-called handle that he was controlled by Yuechu, the maid Hui'er who drowned and hid poisonous smoke in the Princess Jintai case, and the last clue in the princess's mansion, the piece of paper with the red plum painted on it...
Zhou Zhenzhen left Gaizhou City and wandered around for several years, and had some understanding of Huainan Hou's preferences.
Marquis Huainan liked plum blossoms, especially red plum blossoms. He also liked painting and writing poems, and he would sign his works with a seal in the shape of a plum blossom.
"The master planted drugs in the bodies of every spy sent to Chang'an City. Every month someone would send us the antidote, but there was no antidote this month. I know he doesn't want to keep us any longer."
The words Zheng Xiangrui said before his death rang in Zhou Zhenzhen's ears. Her mind went blank for a moment, and then was filled with a deep red color.
"It's the Marquis of Huainan..." She said hesitantly, and then said "Hmm?"
She repeated, "It's the Marquis of Huainan."
The person who saved Qiu'er was Marquis Huainan.
Yuechu, who had the leverage over Gu Qing, Huier, who provided poison to Princess Jintai, and Qin Qiu, who sneaked into Prince Zheng'an's mansion and pretended to be Zheng Xiangru, they were all the Marquis of Huainan's men.
They were all people he controlled with drugs and sent to Chang'an City to act as spies.
But what is his purpose?
"It would be great if Gu Qing was not dead. We can also know what means the Marquis of Huainan used to capture him."
"Gu Qing's family runs a bank, and the handle is nothing more than money." Cheng Jue said indifferently: "Some time ago, the Gu family's bank was taken over by a merchant named Liu. The Gu family has been in Chang'an City for many years. There is only one reason why they sold it so easily-"
Zhou Zhenzhen was speechless: "All his house deeds and land deeds have been handed over to other people!"
"Gu Qing was in a trance before he died, but it wasn't all fear and surprise, there were also drugs involved. Some hallucinogens can make people feel high, and they are often used for pleasure. There are a lot of these things in Chang'an City, they are expensive, and people are addicted to them. Gu Qing probably bought these through Yuechu, and in the end, she emptied the Gu family and moved the house deeds. Yuechu held his life and wealth in her hands, so naturally he would listen to her."
Zhou Zhenzhen stared at him blankly, and Cheng Jue raised an eyebrow: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I was thinking that Mr. Cheng is really amazing, knowing everything and being able to do everything."
His smile relaxed, and he rubbed her earlobe with his hand: "If I wasn't powerful, how could I have made Zhenzhen fall in love with me for so many years?"
