human heart

As soon as he opened his eyes and saw Lao Xue's face, Su Zirui felt unhappy.

"Are you finally awake?"

"How long have I slept?" He turned over and found that he had changed into clean underwear and his wound had been re-bandaged.

"It's been a while. That girl Aruo asked them for medicine. When they found out you had a fever, they panicked and rushed me over. I finally managed to get you to rest." Old Xue tossed a peanut and ate it with a look of disdain. "If you're not feeling well, don't mess around. Don't waste my good medicine."

Su Zirui played with the peanuts without commenting. After he woke up from sleepiness, he missed her a little. Her rare fragile expression last night was endearing. If she were here at this moment, she would probably feel sorry for him. It was a pity to think about it.

"The wound was poisonous, but I have already cured it. Tsk tsk, it seems that man really wants to kill you. It's really strange, what is there on that girl that is worth him doing this for?" Old Xue asked with great interest.

"That's not important." What's important is that the person he was targeting was his man.

"Ha, I heard from Beili, tsk tsk, your father was really ruthless... If that girl knew about the injury on your back, she would probably—ugh!" Old Xue was almost suffocated by the peanuts that suddenly shot out and choked his throat. "Su Zirui!"

"It's so noisy." Su Zirui moved his arms and felt a burning pain in his back. He frowned, "The person she's looking for is Ruxian from Furong Tower. Did she know that Ruxian is Luo Ziran's person a long time ago?"

"Su Zirui, come out here!"

Before Old Xue could reply, Cai Xin, whose voice had already reached her before her, rushed in. Behind her were officials from the Ministry of Justice, Lin Ziyan, and others.

"Sir, this girl..." The official clasped his fists with a grim expression and wanted to report, but he didn't know how to describe it. Could it be that this girl rushed all the way in, and the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple helped to stop them?

Rubbing his eyebrows, Su Zirui gestured for people to leave.

"Su Zirui, explain to me clearly, why are you locking Ah Chu up in jail and not allowing visitors?" Cai Xin had been feeling uneasy since last night. She'd disappeared from Aruo and Lao Xue early in the morning, and then heard she'd been arrested. She'd been feeling anxious the entire day. Without a second thought, she'd taken out ten taels of silver and planned to ask Ah Chu about it. But the jailer, the one guarding the jail, said serious criminals weren't allowed visits. Xu Tian and the others weren't around, so Cai Xin rushed straight to the Ministry of Justice's logistics office to find someone.

"She is suspected of assassinating Zhou Huaijin..." Su Zirui's face was pale and his eyes were cold. He didn't want to say too much to her.

"You know it's impossible for her! She's only been in there for a short while, you bastard..." Cai Xin didn't care about that. She only knew that Aruo would definitely not kill anyone, and he, as her lover, did nothing.

"Ahem, Xiao Caixin, don't get excited." Lin Ziyan, who had seen enough of the show, was scratched several times by Lengyan Dao before he smiled and used his folding fan to block Caixin's hand.

"Mr. Lin, let me go. I'm going to beat this bastard to death. He sent Aruo to jail with his own hands!" Cai Xin's eyes were red with anger. At this moment, she thought of Aruo's misunderstanding of affection and how desolate it was... This man is really cold-hearted and heartless!

"Calm down... Lord Su, what do you think?" Seeing that she was about to cry, Lin Ziyan quickly stopped joking and put his arm around her to comfort her, but she slapped him away in annoyance.

"Zhou Huaijin is fine now. She can come out anytime... but it's safer for her to stay there now." Before confirming what Luo Ziran was planning to do, "at least until Chen Changsheng finds her."

"Why? What does this have to do with Chen Changsheng?" Cai Xin didn't understand. She couldn't understand the secret code between the two people at all.

Su Zirui closed his eyes and rested, too lazy to argue with her.

"That day, Chen Changsheng was at the Zhou residence." Su Zirui glanced coldly at the guilty Old Xue, "If you don't want me to interrogate you personally, just confess."

Cai Xin and Lin Ziyan looked at Lao Xue, only to see him awkwardly step back from the doorway, his eyes rolling around. "Ahem, no, I passed out at that time... Let me tell you, when Ruoya and I went in that day, we did see that kid named Chen Changsheng."

He wanted to fool people, but when they stared at him with those cold eyes that contained ice chips, Lao Xue cooperated very well and spit out everything.

That day, as soon as they opened Master Zhou's door, Aruo quickly shut it, blocking out the maidservants and others who had followed him. He frantically explained, only to turn around and discover another young man in the room. Aruo angrily grabbed the man's ear, while he, holding a dagger, was about to plunge it into Master Zhou's chest.

There was no time left. He knew at a glance that Master Zhou was poisoned and quickly detoxified him. The boy escaped through the window while they were busy. In their panic, they could only create a scene of attempted murder and use the maid outside the door to attract more attention.

"Anyway, that's what happened. The kid ran away too fast, and there was nothing we could do... In that situation, if he was caught, there would be no explanation at all." This was the first time that Old Xue experienced such a thrilling thing, and he was still scared when he talked about it.

"Changsheng...did he really want to kill that Master Zhou? Why didn't Aruo tell us?" Cai Xin was stunned. She always remembered Chen Changsheng as a well-behaved child. "What about the prison with Aruo? We can just go find Changsheng. Why is Aruo staying in jail?"

"Silly Caixin, Lord Zhou is a member of Dingbei Marquis Luo Ziran's army. While the power of Dingbei Marquis may not be overwhelming, he also has a deep network of connections within the court. It would be easy for him to deal with a poor boy. However, he probably didn't expect Aruo to cause such a scene, disrupting Lord Zhou's plan and putting himself in the safest position."

Lin Ziyan didn't quite understand why Aruo would provoke Luo Ziran. Wasn't she just his wife's sister? Now it looked like... Her beautiful peach blossom eyes glanced at the pale man leaning against the bed without leaving a trace.

"How can it be safe? This is the most terrifying prison in the entire Qi Kingdom." Cai Xin still remembered that Aruo had caught a cold after spending a night there. Back then, she had scolded Su Zirui for being a lunatic, but now she was actually falling in love with a lunatic.

"This is his place. If he can't even protect his own woman, the Ministry of Justice should change its owner." Lin Ziyan smiled meaningfully. As expected, the man raised his eyes and gave him a cold look, but he didn't say anything.

Tsk, when Sizhou was talking about protecting the silver, he said something was wrong!

After pacifying Cai Xin, Lin Ziyan, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, was asked to leave the Ministry of Justice. Lord Lin did not feel embarrassed even though no one tried to keep him. He looked at the door of the Ministry of Justice and waved his folding fan.

"Young Master, I tell you not to go to the Ministry of Justice so often. Our Dali Temple is your root, okay?" Colleagues are jealous of each other, and his subordinates who have followed him for many years do not like the Ministry of Justice, or it can be said that people in the Dali Temple have some opinions about the Ministry of Justice.

"You don't understand," Lin Ziyan opened his folding fan with a smile that was profound. "Su Zirui has been acting strangely since returning from Sizhou. He's been going to Niujiazhuang Village to spy on people lately... There must be something interesting going on there."

However, the village had been thoroughly searched when the previous case was solved. Could there be anything left out?

"That's also the Ministry of Justice's business, right? It wouldn't be a good idea for us to intervene rashly." He and Lin Ziyan are cousins, so he didn't care about rank when speaking.

"Ministry of Justice matters?" Lin Ziyan recalled the man's cold eyes and smiled, "That's not necessarily true."

The look in a man's eyes, rather than a desire to win or lose the situation, is more about a desire to monopolize the person. This kind of playful chaos often contains surprises.

With a loud bang, Ruxian fell heavily on the edge of the bed, and her forehead hit the carved pattern on the bed, causing blood to flow out immediately.

Her soft, watery eyes were devoid of emotion. Her delicate hair was undone, and her emerald-encrusted hairpin teetered precariously. She stared absentmindedly at the precious silk curtains fluttering above the bed. Before she could recover, a bony hand grasped her chin, forcing her to turn and look directly into those cold, furious eyes.

"I didn't know that you had such a good relationship with her... You even dared to betray me." Even though he was extremely angry, Luo Ziran still looked as gentle as jade. Only his eyes were filled with cruelty. His whispers sounded like the whispers of a lover.

"My Lord... Ruxian wouldn't dare. I honestly didn't know Aruo was planning this. My introduction to her... was simply to get her into the family. If Lord Zhou hadn't been away, she would have walked right into the Zhou family's trap..." Ruxian's charming expression faded, revealing a delicate face that was even more pitiful. Her sparkling eyes shone with affection, and her choked voice was heartbreaking. "My Lord, know that Ruxian would never disobey you..."

Those eyes made Luo Ziran's heart skip a beat. He vaguely saw the person who was indifferent but had locked all his affections. His fingertips stroked her face along her graceful jawline, and he gently wiped away her tears with the back of his hand.

Ruxian's eyes became softer, and the next moment, the back of his hand swung fiercely, and she was thrown unexpectedly onto the edge of the bed.

"If you keep acting like this, these eyes won't be necessary anymore." How could such a lowly woman have that man's shadow? Luo Ziran was filled with disgust. This kind of woman, who would obey like a dog at the slightest gesture, how could she compare to his Nan'er?

Ruxian struggled to stand up and watched him leave without any reluctance, even his clothes showed his determination. Her eyes were instantly filled with tears and she fell weakly into the bed.

Huan Niang respectfully saw them off at the door before sighing and entering, gently stroking her trembling back. "Why did you do this? You knew the Marquis was doing this just to get her to admit defeat and come to you for help, yet you still assisted that girl... No wonder the Marquis was angry."

Ruxian looked up at her stubbornly, "Why is the Marquis angry? He wants me to get close to Aruo, treat her like Chen Nan, and let her get close to me... Chen Nan has always been responsive to her requests, so what have I done wrong now? Why, if Chen Nan can do it, I can't?"

Hearing her call that person's name directly, Huan Niang quickly covered her with her hands, "Are you crazy? You know very well that the Marquis doesn't like us mentioning the Madam's name!"

"So what if he mentioned her... doesn't he just despise us for being prostitutes and unworthy of mentioning her?" Ruxian burst into tears, deeply indignant. "For all these years, he's never even looked at me straight in the eye... If it weren't for those eyes, he wouldn't even remember who I am..."

"Then why are you so foolish as to be so deeply in love with him?" Huan Niang couldn't help but scold, "How can a prostitute hope for true love? If the Marquis could truly forget the Madam, why would he be so obsessed with getting that girl Aruo?"

Ruxian cried in her arms, "Why... I'm obviously more suitable, why did it have to be Aruo..."

She had admired him for many years, and was even glad that her eyebrows and eyes were a bit like the one in his heart, but why did he never consider her? He would rather choose Shen Nan's favorite sister, knowing that Shen Nan would not approve but still insisted on doing so.

"Don't help that girl anymore. This matter...has to be handled by her." Huan Niang sighed, patted her, and said in a cold tone, "It can only be said that she is unlucky."

Ruxian bit her red lips, unable to stop crying. If she could, she would rather be herself...

Having lived in the dust for so many years, what kind of looks had she not seen? Even Luo Ziran often did not hide the contempt in his eyes.

Only Aruo, only she... like Shen Nan, had never looked at her with the eyes she was accustomed to. In their eyes, she was a living woman, without humility, disdain, or false pity. So when Luo Ziran wanted to place someone next to Aruo, whom he had finally found, when he entered the capital last year, Ruxian grabbed the position without a second thought.

She wanted to be looked at like that, like Shen Nan, and be looked at as a good woman.

They were the only ones who treated her as a human being.

The dark days are really hard to endure. It is hard to understand why Mr. Chen likes to live here.

In the dark and damp cell, the walls were mottled and covered with moss, and the air was filled with a musty smell. Even though he was given bedding as a courtesy, Aruo still felt cold.

"Beili, is Lord Su's injury serious?" Aruo asked as he took the food brought by Beili and tilted his head.

Kitazato was shocked and quickly denied it, "No!"

Suspicion flashed in his black eyes. Bei Li, who was good at observing people's expressions, immediately realized that he had answered too quickly and hurriedly explained, "My lord was injured when he was secretly investigating in Niujiazhuang Village. Although it was poisonous, Doctor Xue has already treated it. It's okay, don't worry."

Aruo grabbed the iron bars with both hands and narrowed his eyes, "You lied to me!"

If he wasn't seriously injured, it's impossible that he would have left her here all day without even checking on her, knowing how worried she was. Ah Ruo was worried about his injury, and her expression turned cold. "Bei Li, he's seriously injured, isn't he?"

"No!" Beili said seriously, "Aruo, don't let your imagination run wild. The Lord is just busy. You know we have a lot of official business. Besides, Mr. Zhou's business is not over yet, and we haven't found Chen Changsheng yet."

Aruo pursed her lips, her big, bright eyes instantly filled with tears, her eye sockets turned red, as if she was about to cry at the next moment.

"You, don't cry... I, our adult is really fine, he is just..." Beili didn't expect her sudden change of expression, and it was not easy to be tough for a while.

"It's all my fault. I've gotten into so much trouble..." Aruo sniffed and shook Beili's sleeve, "Beili, please let me out. As long as I go out, maybe a lot of things can be solved."

"Don't talk nonsense, sir, he is really fine. He just has a wound on his back..." Beili suddenly stopped talking and took two steps back stiffly.

The mist in his eyes disappeared instantly, and Aruo reached out anxiously to grab his collar. "He has a wound on his back? When did he get injured? Forget it, don't say anything. Open the door, I want to go out!"

Bei Li hesitated for a moment, but still opened the door of the cell. He watched her lift up her skirt and run out without hesitation. He also considerately offered her the bedroom where his master was currently resting in the inner courtyard of the Ministry of Justice.

"Tsk tsk, Beili boy, are you so knowledgeable and interesting today?" In the cell next door, a thin old man sat in a corner with a smile and put down the brush in his hand.

"It can't be helped. Our master has gone through this ordeal. It has to be worth it for others to feel sorry for him." Beili raised an eyebrow. He was the one who helped three couples get married. How could he not see through his master's thoughts? When he woke up that day and looked at him with that dull look, Beili felt that if he didn't do something, the files in his hands would double. "Mr. Chen, you're here again."

How bad is the Chen Mansion? Shangshu Chen would rather stay in jail than go home.

"Just spend some time with the child." Minister Chen coughed a few times before slowly complaining, "Prime Minister Su is the same. The child finally found his true love, yet he still did something like this to forcibly break them up... He didn't even think about his son's personality and how difficult it would be for someone to accept it. When he missed the opportunity, he didn't even have time to cry."

Beili didn't dare to respond, but nodded honestly.

Alas, a relationship only warms up after a few twists and turns. Back then, his third sister fell in love with a candidate from a merchant family. His father was so angry that he sent the man to be imprisoned in a villa. In the end, he was afraid that his third sister would cry and go blind, so he had to admit it. Fortunately, after his test, his third brother-in-law was a reliable person, passed the imperial examination, and returned to Yangzhou to seek a minor official position. Now the couple has been loving each other for many years.

Although Aruo's background was a bit troublesome, her master was already concerned and was willing to help her fight against the Marquis of Dingbei. Why did Su Xiang not help him deal with him and do all this? When his master got tired of this father-son drama, Su Xiang would definitely regret it.

Beili shook his head and moved the dishes that Aruo hadn't touched to Minister Chen's side. "Mr. Chen, I've added more dishes for you."