Chapter 16 The dust finally settles 3
"Marquis Huainan, is what she said true?"
Song Youan kowtowed, his body straight and his eyes fearless: "I have never done such a thing. I don't know why this girl would casually attack me."
Zhou Zhenzhen grabbed Fei Xin's arm and rolled up her sleeve. Fei Xin's right arm was wrapped in gauze, and blood had already seeped out, showing how deep the wound was: "Feixin originally had a red plum-shaped tattoo on her right forearm, which was the symbol of the spies trained by Huainan Hou. After Huainan Hou's plan was achieved, Fei Xin was afraid that she would be silenced, so she pretended to be injured while cooking in the kitchen and destroyed the tattoo to reassure Huainan Hou. But who knew that Huainan Hou would not let her go even so. Drugs were put into the bodies of every spy, and Huainan Hou no longer gave her the antidote, causing her to become listless and weak, and she fell into the pond unconsciously."
"Feixin, is what Lord Zhou said true?"
Fei Xin supported herself on the ground with her left hand to prevent herself from sliding down, and nodded with difficulty: "Everything is exactly as Lord Zhou said."
"I heard that Lord Zhou is good at using hypnosis to interrogate people. Is the so-called truth that Miss Fei Xin said the result of Lord Zhou's hypnosis?"
"good."
Song Youan fixed his eyes and said, "There are often wandering sorcerers from the Western Regions coming to Gaizhou City. Although I am not proficient in the art of hypnosis, I know a thing or two. This art is to confuse the mind of a person and ask questions according to the hypnotist's thoughts. The person's mind is already confused, so how can the questions be trusted? The Dali Temple is handling cases like this, aren't they afraid of taking human lives?"
Song Youan easily negated the conclusion that Zhou Zhenzhen had worked so hard to reach with just a few words, and even dragged the entire Dali Temple into the water, saying that there might be something wrong with the case that was investigated before. Zhou Zhenzhen really wanted to solve the case, but she was not as eager to maintain Cheng Jue's reputation. She immediately stood up and wanted to find Song Youan to argue with him.
But as soon as she took a step, her arm was grabbed by someone. Cheng Jue's big hand was strong, and the temperature of his palm was as hot as his heart.
"Marquis Huainan has come to Chang'an City, and Gaizhou City's affairs have probably piled up a lot."
Song Youan was puzzled by Cheng Jue's abrupt words. Cheng Jue calmly pulled Zhou Zhenzhen behind him, which was a very natural protective action.
"I got married a few days ago. When I wrote to my mother to tell her the news, I couldn't help but mention my wife's background. My wife is from Yangliu Village in Gaizhou City. The only relative in her family died in the 26th year of Yuanqing. That year, the Qingzhou case happened, and Gaizhou City was actually not peaceful. Your Majesty also knows that my mother likes to watch the fun, and she knows something about Gaizhou's affairs."
Cheng Jue took out a letter from his sleeve, and Liang Duoshi took the letter and presented it to the emperor for reading.
"The general defending Gaizhou City, Yuan Zheng, was once a lieutenant general under Duke You Hu of Qing. This general and the Marquis of Huainan have always been at odds. However, this general, who disliked the Marquis of Huainan, actually frequently went in and out of the room of the Marquis of Huainan's concubine, Liang Ji. Also, the young wife that Duke You Hu of Qing married and was buried with him was said to have a Qingzhou City accent."
Song Youan's eyes became increasingly darker, and his expression remained calm.
Cheng Jue's words were disjointed and seemed unrelated to each other, but as long as you connect the things that happened in them, you will be able to figure out the key points.
The Marquis of Huainan recruited Yuanzheng with the charm of Liang Ji, and secretly communicated with You Hu, the Duke of Qing, who was eager to get rid of the Qingzhou case after the incident, through Yuanzheng, in order to plan for future events. The young wife of the Duke of Qing was also the Marquis of Huainan, who was good at seducing people with her beauty, but she was from Qingzhou and had a close connection with the Qingzhou case of that year.
As for this connection...
Emperor Xuanhe looked at Cheng Jue deeply, and Cheng Jue said, "After the Marquis of Huainan entered Chang'an City, I sent Huo Chi from the Dali Temple to follow him secretly. Huo Chi was good at using a machine gun, so he was never discovered. The Marquis of Huainan once went to a mass grave on the outskirts of the city. After the Marquis of Huainan left, Huo Chi followed him and found a place where the soil was quite fresh and had signs of being turned over. Huo Chi dug up the soil and found the newly buried ashes. And I remember that location very clearly. It was the burial place of Zhao Ji, who was executed for killing Ruan Wenqing."
"Before he died, Zheng Xiangrui said that there was a woman among them whom the master liked very much. This woman was the only one who was not given the amnesia powder. Her name was Zhao Ying. At that time, when I was investigating the case of Zhao Ji poisoning Ruan Wenqing, I read Zhao Ji's files. His sister, who had been dead for many years, was named Zhao Ying, and she happened to be from Qingzhou. The Marquis of Huainan killed Zhao Ying to silence her, but he felt sorry for her and specially collected her ashes and buried them next to her brother. Marquis of Huainan, do you admit it?"
Song Youan's left hand gently grasped the wrist of his right hand, still denying it flatly: "It is said that Master Cheng is a man of few words. In my opinion, Master Cheng's ability to make up lies is really rare in the world. You have said so much with certainty, but where is the evidence?"
Zhou Zhenzhen stood up from behind Cheng Jue, her eyes already red. "In the 26th year of Yuanqing, the Marquis of Huainan used the name of a beauty pageant to plunder beautiful women, fed them heart-destroying pills and locked them up in a dungeon. These people have since become your spies for gathering information and monitoring court officials. I accidentally discovered this secret, so you sent people to hunt me down. From the moment I learned that you were going back to Chang'an City, I made preparations. You want evidence, but you don't know that the evidence is on you. I know you are obsessed with Zhao Ying, and the area where Zhao Ji's body was buried was sprinkled with green lotus powder. The smell is so faint that it is almost unnoticeable, but once it is touched, it will last for a long time. If you don't believe me, smell it."
Song Youan's expression was stunned, and he almost subconsciously raised his arm and put it under his nose to smell it carefully. As soon as his nostrils moved, he quickly came to his senses.
His subconscious action completely betrayed all his disguises.
It was just as Zhou Zhenzhen said, he had been to the mass grave, but there was no green lotus powder there, and Zheng Xiangrui had never told her about Zhao Ying, these were all made up by Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen to confuse him. The two of them had learned his methods 100%, and even surpassed him, making his impeccable schemes and rhetoric fall apart in an instant.
Song Youan slowly put down his hand, finally taking off the hypocritical mask and exposing his true nature to others.
"Hahahaha... Chengjue, you really didn't disappoint me. This is really amazing. Yes, I did everything you said, but I just want to take back what should belong to me. Your Majesty, my honorable Majesty, you should know better than me how you got the throne. The late emperor clearly wanted my father, but in the end, the late emperor's will changed it to you. After that, my father went to Gaizhou City to be a prince, and then he was suppressed and repressed. My father died of resentment. If I hadn't been indulging in sensual pleasures, I'm afraid I would have been killed by you. Since your majesty is unkind, why should I still be righteous? Your majesty's good son, Prince Xin, followed me early on, and was willing to persuade Princess Changping to recommend me as the crown prince for me. Princess Jintai, who your majesty had high hopes for, also died under the miasma and poisonous smoke that I passed on to her. You have long been a lonely man, deserted by everyone, and I will take advantage of the situation to set everything right and return to the right path. What's wrong with that?"
"You...kakaka..." Emperor Xuanhe was so angry that he vomited a large pool of blood.
Song Youan laughed until tears welled up in his eyes. "What a pity! I have been planning for so long and am still just one step away. What a pity! However, it is worth my long journey to see such a wonderful scene before leaving Chang'an City."
Suddenly, a strong wind blew up, and with a "bang", black smoke billowed into the hall.
"Come here, protect His Majesty!"
The guards filed in, and only the clanging sound of swords clashing could be heard, but no one could be seen fighting with the guards.
Zhou Zhenzhen panicked, Cheng Jue grabbed her shoulders, then held his breath and closed his eyes, hearing the wind-like figure flashing back and forth, but the landing point was always the same. He pulled a guard over and took the sword, and pushed it out horizontally with all his strength. With a "puff", the long sword entered the flesh, and the black fog in the hall dissipated. Lying on the ground, in addition to the guards, there was also a killer covered in black.
"The Marquis of Huainan is missing."
"After the city gates are sealed, if he is in the city, it will be easy to find him. The only thing to worry about is that he has also used a machine gun to escape. However, the city gates...are places where you can jump out of the city directly..."
Zhou Zhenzhen's expression changed: "Muerlou!"
The imperial guards cleared the way, and Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen rode their horses and galloped towards the direction of Muer Tower.
The Mulberry Building is so tall that the midday sun seems to be hanging directly above it. From a distance, a person can be seen sliding towards the top of the Mulberry Building, as if running towards the scorching sun.
The accident happened in an instant. The beams on the roof of the Muer Building suddenly broke, and the entire roof collapsed, and the person who was sliding towards the sun also fell down.
Cheng Jue stretched out his hand and pulled Zhou Zhenzhen in front of him, then raised the whip and the horse suddenly flew out. After a while, the horse stopped and dust flew under its hooves.
Song Youan was lying on the ground in front of him, his face covered in blood, thick and bright red, turning his world into hell.
Zheng Xiangrui's words to Liu Yan that there was a mechanism on the roof of the Murer Building that would cause the entire roof to collapse were not just empty words to scare him. It was just that at the last moment, her hidden pity got in the way and she took the mechanism's wire off the beam.
Today, Song Youan shot the mechanism of the hidden blade to the roof, where it entangled the beams and accidentally triggered the mechanism.
In the end, he had to blame himself for all this.
Song Youan had a red string tied around his wrist, with a small jade earring wrapped underneath. Under the light and shadow, there was a piece of emerald green water inside the earring. Floating and swinging, the invisible green turned into a visible human face.
He no longer remembered why he kept Zhao Ying's earrings with him after killing her. Perhaps, it was because of the compassion he had for not letting her take the amnesia drug that made him feel vaguely that he was also a normal person.
But he ended up killing her.
His compassion for others is only temporary. Most of the time, he is a demon in the abyss swamp, wrapping and burying people.
The case of the Marquis of Huainan was solved, and Emperor Xuanhe ordered the closure of the Marquis of Huainan's Mansion in Gaizhou City and the arrest of the general Yuan Zheng who defended the city. Prince Xin Song Ji was deposed and demoted to a commoner.
A month later, Emperor Xuanhe officially announced to the world that the third prince, Prince Min Song Huaishi, was appointed as the crown prince and moved into the Eastern Palace.
After the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince, Emperor Xuanhe summoned Cheng Jue to meet him alone: "This time, I saw through the trick of the Marquis of Huainan, thanks to you. I think the usual rewards are not enough. Just tell me what you want, and I will grant it to you."
Cheng Jue knelt on the ground and said, "I would like to leave the Dali Temple temporarily. I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission."
"What did you say? You want to resign? Weiqing, stop messing around!"
"I have been in the Dali Temple for several years and have handled countless cases. I have seen too many joys and sorrows of others and realized that I have little experience. I am still not good at handling cases and being a person. I want to leave the Dali Temple for a while and look around. I will come back when I have improved myself. I hope Your Majesty will not despise me by then."
Emperor Xuanhe's expression softened, and he shook his head helplessly: "I want to keep you, but you are like your father and your mother, stubborn and bold. Well, I will grant your request. But I will only give you two years. After two years, you will return to the Dali Temple by yourself, otherwise you will see how I punish you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."
Cheng Jue walked all the way to the palace gate, and Zhou Zhenzhen was waiting for him outside. She went home early to change out of her official uniform and put on casual clothes. Her hair was tied up high, like a woman.
Last night, Cheng Jue discussed with her and wanted to resign from his post and leave the Dali Temple and Chang'an City with her.
Yangliu Village in Gaizhou City, a small town on the southwestern border, a dilapidated temple that he fell in love with at first sight... He wanted to accompany her through all the mountains and rivers where she had walked alone.
She smiled and asked, "Husband, where shall we go first?"
Cheng Jue took her hand and walked forward with her side by side, "As long as you accompany me, anywhere is fine."
Walking on the wind and the snow, I once admired you among the mountains and rivers.
Those mountains are you, and those waters are also you.
The one who stayed with me in the end was you.
