Chapter 142 Leaving the Capital (Twenty-Six) ​​It's all my uncle's fault. ...

It turns out that the reason he invited her out in the freezing cold to say all that was because he was afraid that she and Yu Qi would harbor resentment towards him because of Du Zhong's death, and that they would be biased in their investigation.

Jiuli looked at the slight smile on Xu Bai's profile and felt a chilling coldness creep in. Seeing that Yu Qi was smiling but not responding, she said, "Don't worry, my uncle and I will not settle personal scores."

Xu Bai smiled and glanced at her, then looked at Yu Qi sideways. "We were all talking just now, and from what I heard from you, sir, it seems you don't quite agree that Consort Chen was responsible for this case. Didn't you want to avenge Du Zhong? Du Zhong was killed by Chen Jia. As long as Consort Chen falls out of favor, the two Chens will also lose power, and perhaps Chen Jia's past actions will also be investigated."

Yu Qi crossed his arms, leaned back, and slowly stood up. "It's not that I can make Consort Chen the real culprit just because I want to; it still depends on the evidence. As for Zhong'er's revenge, I will definitely avenge him. How I do it is none of your business, Second Master Qi. Since Second Master Qi could stand by and watch Zhong'er die, he certainly doesn't have much affection for him. At this time, his concern for Zhong'er's affairs after his death inevitably makes people suspicious, thinking that Second Master Qi wants to use the Yu family's feud to eliminate the Chen faction."

After hearing this, Jiuli gradually understood and stared wide-eyed at Xu Bai, "You want us to treat the Imperial Concubine as the real culprit? It's not up to us to decide!"

Xu Bai's eyelids twitched, and he quickly explained, "I didn't mean that. I was just afraid that the matter of Du Zhong would influence your judgment, so—"

"Second Master Qi, there's no need to say more. How we decide is our business." Yu Qi smiled, turned around and walked up the path, calling Jiu Li to go back.

Jiuli patted her cloak and quickly ran up. After walking quite a distance, she looked back. The pond was covered with frosty moonlight, but Xu Bai's figure was nowhere to be seen. Only a lantern was floating away in the opposite direction. In the orange-red halo, she could vaguely see half of Xu Bai's arm and half of his leg, like a ghost with a broken limb in the night.

A gust of cold wind blew, and she shivered. She quickly pulled her cloak tighter around herself, picked up the lantern, and hurried to Yu Qi's side. She could also sense that his expression was not good, so she whispered, "I thought he just wanted to explain Du Zhong to me, that's why he came."

Yu Qi glanced down at him and said in a calm voice, "You want him to explain things clearly so that you can continue to interact without any grudges, right?"

"I didn't think that way."

"You didn't think that way? Then why did you come out in the freezing cold to listen to his explanation? What's there to explain? He didn't kill Zhong'er, so legally he can't be held responsible. But he stood by and watched someone die without helping. What is there for you to miss about such a person?" He stopped and turned to face her. "These past few days, you've been giving him attitude. Were you giving him attitude for his sake or for mine? You know the answer in your heart."

Jiuli stopped as well, looking up and glaring at him. "What do you mean by that? How could I not let him go? You're just making wild guesses!"

"My suspicions?" With a barely audible sigh, he took another step forward. "I know. You've been raised in the countryside by me all this time, and apart from Zhong'er, you've never dated a young man. Now that you're grown up and come to Nanjing, I'm still very strict with you. Humph, the more you try to control a child, the less you can control them. You met Qi Xubai and thought he was not only young but also very handsome. It's inevitable that a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl like you would be smitten when she sees him. I've told you countless times that he's unreliable, but you never listen. Isn't that why?"

He was right before, but now he still sees her like this. What does he take her for? Does he think she only cares about her love for her children and has abandoned her sibling relationship with Du Zhong?

She hurried after him, saying, "You don't need to tell me anymore. I understand now. Qi Xubai is a cold-hearted person by nature and can't make friends. He wasn't sad at all when his mother and older brother died! He only cares about his future!"

Yu Qi twisted his hands behind his back, a cold smile playing on his lips. "If he cared about you more than just his future, would you still think he's a good person?"

"I won't!"

"No? Then why did you go to the capital with him through wind and rain? Isn't it because you firmly believe that he would never harm you, that even if he is hypocritical to others, he is sincere to you? Your disappointment in him today is just that you have realized he doesn't take you seriously."

He glanced at her dismissively and shook his head, "I've figured it out too. No matter how much you discipline girls your age, you'll still fall for men's tricks to some extent. Your mother was so smart, but didn't she fall for the Emperor's tricks back then?"

As he was talking, there was no sound from his side. After taking a few steps, he realized that Jiu Li hadn't followed. When he turned around, he saw her standing behind him with a lantern, her face turned to the side, as if she was sulking.

He snorted coldly and hissed, "You still have the nerve to be angry? Get out of here!"

She glanced over, then turned her head away, remaining rooted to the spot. Yu Qi stood in front of her, locked in a stalemate. After a moment, she suddenly sneezed. He sighed heavily, then had no choice but to go back, grab her arm, and half-drag, half-pull her along.

Back in the east room of the guest house, he threw her inside, turned around, closed the door, and came in, saying, "You still have the nerve to throw a tantrum at a time like this!"

Jiuli rubbed her left arm, glared at him with a wronged expression, and kept panting.

"You still feel wronged? You still have the nerve to be angry? If you hadn't fallen for Qi Xubai's trick and run away to the capital with him, how could Zhong'er have left home with you and encountered such a thing?! Now that Zhong'er's body is barely cold, you run out here in the middle of the night to see Qi Xubai. Do you think you're being fair to the friendship you had with him since childhood?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the air seemed to freeze, and the sound of the wind outside stopped. He regretted saying those words in anger, but he avoided Jiu Li's incredulous gaze, turned his body to the side, and tied his hands behind his back.

Jiuli's eyelids gradually relaxed, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She turned and walked into the screen, walked to the long table under the wall, wiped her tears with her arm across her body, and whispered with her back to him, "I know you've been blaming me all along, but today you're just using this as an excuse to vent."

He heard the tremor in her voice, his heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his hands to walk towards her. "That's not what I meant—"

“So it is you.” She turned around and gave a bitter smile. “I’ve already said it, I just want to know how he explains Du Zhong’s death. You had to spout all this nonsense about me caring whether he had me in his heart or not. How do you take the bond between Du Zhong and me, who grew up together, for granted?! Even if I’m heartless, don’t I know the difference between close and distant relationships? What kind of person do you think I am? In your eyes, I have no morals and only care about romantic relationships?”

When Yu Qi saw her smile, his heart ached even more. This was the first time in so many years that he had to put aside his elder's airs and admit his mistake to her. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have said those things to you. I was just angry."

Seeing him with his head down, her heart ached even more, and tears streamed down her face. "Even if you said it in anger, there's some truth to it. If it weren't for me, Du Zhong would still be in Nanjing looking after the shop! From childhood to adulthood, most of the punishments he's received have been because of me. I'm the one who's wronged him!"

After speaking, he was already in tears, feeling so heavy that he couldn't lift his head. He lowered his neck, and his tears fell onto the cold, gray floor tiles.

Yu Qi's breathing became labored. He lifted her face with one hand and hurriedly wiped away her tears with the other. "It's my fault. I thought you were going to fall for Qi Xubai's tricks again. I was so confused that I said these unreasonable things."

Jiuli wasn't angry at the moment, but she couldn't stop crying when she talked about Du Zhong. It was almost the end of the year, and she remembered how lively it was at home before the New Year. Now she was in this strange place with wind and snow. She said she came to find her biological father, but even if she found him, she couldn't acknowledge him. All these reasons came to mind at once, and she felt a mix of emotions. She cried so hard that her shoulders trembled.

He tried to comfort her for a while, but when that didn't work, he lifted her chin and kissed her. "It's all my fault. I've never apologized to anyone in my life. I'm apologizing to you, won't you forgive me?"

"I'm not angry with you—" She nestled into his arms, letting out a few sobs.

The sound of her crying was made all the more poignant by the wind outside. Yu Qi felt a lump in his throat, so he hugged her and patted her back. "I know you're crying for Du Zhong. Don't cry anymore. Didn't we promise to avenge Du Zhong? How can we take revenge if we cry and lose our spirit?"

Hearing this, she stopped sobbing, lifted her face from his chest, her eyes still brimming with tears, and asked, "Didn't you think the real culprit wasn't Consort Chen?"

"I didn't say it wasn't her, it's just that the existing evidence is insufficient to prove that it is her."

"If it weren't for her, even if this case is solved, the Chen family will still be able to stand firm in the court. How will we avenge Du Zhong?" She straightened up anxiously and wiped away her tears. "Or should I go and talk to Eunuch Shen? Ask him to pass on a message to the Emperor?"

He gently wiped away the tears clinging to her eyes, sighed, and explained that the Emperor had sent her those things under the guise of Eunuch Shen, simply because he feared that recognizing her would inevitably bring up the events of the past. Therefore, he naturally wouldn't offend high-ranking officials for a daughter with whom he had never raised her. But fearing she would be disappointed again, he couldn't bear to explain this to her. He could only release her shoulder, turn away, and consider another way.

"What do you think?" Jiuli walked over and observed his expression.

“Let’s investigate this case first. Maybe it turns out to be the work of the Chen family, and we won’t have to worry about it.” He smiled at her. “Here’s what we’ll do: tomorrow, Qi Xubai and I will go to Prince Zhao’s residence, and you and Zhang Da will go to Eunuch Shen’s residence and ask him for a list of people who attended the palace banquet on the day the incident occurred. Let’s see who else, besides Prince Zhao, might be a suspect or have close ties with the Chen family.”

"Yes, it's unlikely to be a guard. There must have been other men among the people who entered the palace that night!"

The next day, the four of them had breakfast early and then split into two groups. Jiu Li and Zhang Da went to Shen Quan's residence, which was not far away, only about half an hour away. The two walked along the main street and saw that much of the snow had melted overnight, and the streets were bustling with people and carriages, with many new performances and acrobatics. Seeing this scene, Zhang Da hurried into a herbal medicine shop and, with Jiu Li's advice, prepared a gift, saying that it would be impolite to visit empty-handed.

Jiuli couldn't help but tease, "Brother Zhang, you used to come to our house empty-handed, but now you've learned all this flattery."

"Hey, do I need to be so polite with you? Besides, whatever I give you won't please Mr. Yu, so it's better not to give anything at all. Mr. Yu isn't the kind of person who values ​​these empty formalities. Eunuch Shen is different. Although he's an official in the palace, he's no less powerful than those high-ranking officials in the court. If I don't learn to flatter him, how will I survive in the future? Speaking of which, it's all thanks to you that I've been able to see the world. If I could go to the palace with you to meet the Emperor someday, that would be a great honor for my ancestors."

"What's so great about meeting the Emperor? Let me tell you, the Emperor is terrifying. In my entire life, I've only ever seen two people who are scary: my uncle and the Emperor. He never smiles, he always has a stern face and is only good at scaring people!"

As they chatted and laughed, they arrived at the Shen residence. Upon hearing the report, Shen Quan immediately ordered a maid to invite the person to his room and then instructed that a sumptuous breakfast be laid out, warmly inviting Jiu Li to eat. Jiu Li could not refuse, so he pulled Zhang Da to sit down and eat with him. After explaining their purpose at the table, Shen Quan, without saying a word, sent a eunuch to the palace to retrieve the list of people who had attended the banquet that day.

The young eunuch was quick on his feet; he returned with the gall bladder after finishing breakfast and having tea, and first handed it to Chen Quan for inspection.

Shen Quan looked through them one by one and then handed them to Jiu Li. “That’s right, these are the people. There was an old prince from the late emperor’s generation who is still alive, but he is too old to come. Only his son, the heir apparent, and the prince came. They are the emperor’s cousins. In the next generation, besides Prince Zhao, there are the three sons of the heir apparent and the prince, as well as some female relatives.”

Jiuli followed the list, questioning each member one by one. These members of the royal family held no real power in court, did not concern themselves with politics, and had little contact with the Chen family. Even the female members of the royal family had very little personal relationship with Consort Chen; they merely paid their respects and sent gifts on holidays and festivals, without any real intimacy. As for Shuqiang, she was a palace maid, and these men of the royal family should not recognize her. The only possibility was that she, like Prince Zhao, had acted recklessly while drunk.

"Eunuch Shen, let me ask you, among these people, who has the audacity to get drunk and cause trouble in the palace?" She closed the list and leaned her head against the middle table.

Shen Quan put down her teacup and laughed, "Who would have such audacity? To wreak havoc in the palace is a capital offense!"

Zhang Da and Jiu Li exchanged a glance, and then nodded repeatedly as they stood to the side. "Yes, yes, no one in the palace is allowed to touch a single blade of grass or tree. Even members of the royal family wouldn't dare to do that. Could it be that someone gets drunk and becomes fearless? Eunuch Shen, was it really only Prince Zhao who left the banquet midway through that night?"

Speaking of this, the young eunuch who often served the Emperor with Shen Quan seemed to remember something and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "That night, Prince Consort Chu got drunk, and Princess Yuan accompanied him with her maid to the back hall of Qingniao Pavilion to rest for a while. He returned to his seat not long after sobering up."

Shen Quan frowned and asked, "Is that so?"

The eunuch nodded, clutching his stomach. "You were busy serving the Emperor at the time, and it was the princess who summoned me to return to Consort Chen."

Shen Quan chuckled softly, "I'm really getting old. I'm so busy serving the Emperor that I haven't paid attention to anything else."

"It's not your fault, old man. The princess and the prince consort were sitting at the very last table. Your eyes were only focused on the emperor, how could you possibly see that far away?"

"Have you reported this matter to Lord Qin and Lord Zou?"

"I told Lord Qin when he came to the palace the day after the incident. Lord Zou was appointed by the Emperor later, so I think Lord Qin must have told him as well."

However, upon closer reflection, Jiu Li realized that Qin Ji had not mentioned a single word about it at the Ministry of Justice yesterday.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.