Chapter 1: Wild Forest “Just wait to collect her body.”

Chapter 1

Jiangnan is a prosperous and water-rich area. In the spring, the official road stretches along the river bank, with carriages and horses passing by. Merchants or farmers carrying loads can see the silver scales and colorful streams beside the river, the brilliant light in the day, and the green mountains.

A gentle breeze was blowing, and the business of Li's Tea House on the eastern outskirts of Yancheng was as good as ever. Mr. Li owned more than ten acres of tea fields, and the green tea produced was easy to make, cheap and good quality regardless of the quality of the mountain soil, and was highly praised by merchants and farmers.

There are also many scholars who are pedantic and picky.

The words were just earsplit. Tea Master Li was honest and sincere. When serving tea, he listened to the instructions of these young men waving fans without getting angry. He responded with a smile and asked more about the temperature of brewing tea, and measured and compared the difference in salt. He was easy to talk to during the interaction, but not dragging his feet. He turned around with the teapot in his hand and served tea to a table of guests who had just sat down next to him. However, when he saw people up close, he was secretly shocked.

Where did this noble person come from?

In fact, there were three people at the table. The young men on the north and south sides were bright and indifferent. They seemed to be talents who could start working independently early. Compared with the scholar who was full of advice at the other table, he seemed much more silent and steady.

But Master Li Cha didn't look at the two young men carefully, and was involuntarily attracted by the young man in the east position.

The crane-shaped figure is introverted and cold.

No matter how modest her dress is, she still stands out among the guests at these tables.

As if being noticed and watched, he suddenly raised his eyes, his pupils were dark and chaotic, with a look as deep as a wolf's.

Tea Master Li, who was distracted, was startled and his hands couldn't help shaking. The tea flowing out of the long spout of the teapot deflected the teacup and was about to splash onto the table and clothes. The two young men at the same table looked at him sideways, but they didn't have time to move.

The arm that was casually resting on the table moved, and the back of his slender knuckles pressed against the edge of the tea bowl, silently pushing the tea bowl to move under the deviated tea.

Receive it steadily.

The young man said nothing, as if he thought it was a trivial matter not worth mentioning. He didn't even look at Master Li, but instead looked at the desolate forest on the other side of the teahouse, as if he was thinking about something.

There were some white things hanging in the woods. In the bright daylight, people with good eyesight could see some of them.

Locals may not be surprised by this, but outsiders may be somewhat suspicious.

Of course, few people have such good eyesight.

Master Li Cha was unaware that others had been distracted. He was surprised and was about to apologize, but the young man who looked like an attendant or guard had already taken the teapot and poured tea for his own son who usually didn't like to talk to others, while sending Master Li Cha away.

"Excuse me, my lord. Please call me if you have any errands."

Master Li Cha didn't dare to disturb them and was about to leave.

Fingers tapped on the table, and the young man suddenly spoke: "Master, what's going on in the woods across the way? Is there a funeral or something?"

Most people in the community don't pay much attention to burial practices, as they adapt to local conditions. Even more tragic burials are often seen elsewhere, so he wasn't shocked. It's just that Yancheng is rich, people's lives are good, and the local area is relatively peaceful. How could this happen?

Upon hearing the voice, Master Li Cha also looked towards the other side. He was surprised that this young man, who looked noble and aloof, could actually be gentle and polite when talking about things.

"Your Excellency has good eyesight. There was indeed something going on over there, but it was quite far away and the feng shui wasn't a problem, so I didn't pay much attention to it. But am I sorry for offending you?"

He didn't answer directly, but was a little evasive, wanting to get over it.

"Not really. I'm just curious. After all, Yancheng is rich. I'm new here running a business, so it's better for me to know more about your place than to mess around like a headless fly. I'm actually afraid of causing trouble for you."

When this young man smiled, his originally lonely and arrogant nature was much alleviated by his outstanding smile, and he looked inexplicably youthful, as elegant as a poplar.

When Tea Master Li heard that this was a wealthy young man who was running the business at a young age and was so polite and honest, he felt guilty. He sat down and whispered, "It's actually nothing serious. It's just a dispute over the rent of some land over there... A lot of our land here belongs to the Shen family. You must know about the Shen family."

The young man lowered his eyes, held the teacup with his fingers, took a sip, and smiled slightly: "I have heard that this is a kind family. Their ancestors were once famous, but later fell into decline. Then they produced a heroic young man who served in the army and made great achievements. It's a pity that he died for his country. It's a great pity."

"It seems to be called Shenzangyu?"

That’s right, what a pity.

Tea Master Li couldn't help but agree and said that he knew the man, after all, he ran a teahouse in the suburbs.

Gentle as jade, promising at a young age, supporting the family and treating others with kindness, and a loving couple.

The young man glanced at him, and the young man beside him immediately asked, "Are you married? You're already married? You're so young..."

"Young Master Shen was already married when he was seventeen, which isn't considered young in our area. Most of you are probably from big cities and aren't used to it... But I heard that he and Young Master Shen's wives were family friends, and the elders considered them a perfect match. They were childhood sweethearts, a story well told. The young master, fearing changes, proposed marriage early... and when they were old enough, it became a marriage, and they were deeply in love."

“What a pity…”

This was a pity again. The young man interrupted him and asked about what happened later and the white flags in the wild forest on the other side.

What does it have to do with the Shen family?

Young Master Shen has been dead for five years. The Shen family was short of people back then and had a lack of successors. It all depended on the two generations of mistresses to take over and take charge of the affairs. So the affairs of the tenants are related to the head of the family, right?

That is to say, it is related to that young lady.

Li Chazhu hesitated for a moment before continuing in a low voice, "Actually, those village heads were so bold for some reason that they actually wanted to bully Madam Shen, a woman, and they lied about the disaster and falsified the accounts. I heard they also bullied the tenants and did evil. Madam Shen found out about it, and now it seems she's going to punish them."

"But the village heads have complicated connections behind them, and there are bound to be some relatives and old friends of the Shen family involved, so it's difficult to deal with them for a while... The situation has been stalemate for a while, but unexpectedly, several tenants suddenly died under strange circumstances. The bodies were disposed of overnight and thrown into the wild woods. The tenants' relatives also inexplicably took the money to settle the accounts and left. There is no evidence to prove their wrongdoing, and even the government can't file a case..."

"We all guessed that something must have happened to the Shen family, or that something went wrong with Madam Shen's maternal family, the Xu family. After all, they are also government-owned... Otherwise, how could these people dare to act so recklessly? In the early years, they also wanted to seize the Shen family's property. After being punished, they stayed quiet for many years, and now they are doing it again."

“Could it be that there is another evil villain coveting Madam Shen?”

"That's really abominable."

He had been hiding it before, but once he started talking, he couldn't hide it anymore and started to talk and burst out.

The two young men frowned as they listened and subconsciously looked at Lang Jun.

The young man remained silent, his hand holding the teacup paused, and suddenly he heard a few scholars' voices getting noisier. He turned his head and saw that they were people coming from the other side. These young men who had never seen the world were whispering to each other.

There were indeed carriages and horses parked by the wild forest.

With a few guards.

It was obvious that they were not an ordinary family, but a wealthy one with a good foundation. However, they did not bring many people with them. Two maids got out of the carriage.

The young man raised his hand, supported his chin with his wrist, and calmly sipped the low-grade green tea. He was not as restless as those scholars, whose eyes were raised and their pride was scattered.

However, she accidentally saw another figure in a long skirt coming down from the carriage. She was much taller than the maid, and was standing sideways with her back to her.

The wind blew, her sleeves fluttered, and her black hair fell like a waterfall... The woman raised one hand slightly, used her fingers to hold a strand of black hair, and turned her head to speak to the guard beside her.

Even from a long distance, one can see his shadow without seeing him, which makes people imagine his elegance and splendor.

Just when she thought she was about to see his face clearly, she walked away and was obscured by the tall horse beside her.

She went into the horrible wild wood.

Can't see it.

Everyone in the teahouse was saying that Mrs. Shen had no intention of letting the matter go and was seeking justice, so she wanted to check the body.

I heard that all the famous local coroners were invited by him.

The corpses in the forest must have been collected...

"Is it the young lady of the Shen family?"

"This is going to be a big deal."

"I've heard a little about Madam Shen from other places in Yancheng. She's young and a woman. Can she really handle this matter?"

"What do you know, young lady..."

When Mr. Li Cha was chatting with some old customers, he mentioned the name of the person involved.

The words sound like yours.

"My dear, look, that is the young lady of the Shen family in Yancheng..."

As Master Li Cha was speaking, he turned around and found that the young men at the previous table had disappeared.

There was some small change left on the table for tea money.

In the secluded bamboo forest not far away, the horses' reins were untied. Guard Ruozhao bowed humbly and asked in a low voice, "My Lord, Yan Siqing has left the city. According to your original plan, it would have been best not to take action in the city to avoid leaving any trouble and giving those imperial censors more leverage to attack and slander the prince. So, should Ruozhao and I take action today?"

The bag on the horse's belly was opened with his fingers, and he saw a sharp blade that was not only equipped by ordinary people, but also had a branded emblem on it.

Another guard beside him, Ruoqin, had already drawn his sword, his eyes scorching.

It seems that he is a brave and fierce person.

Under the shade of the bamboos, Crown Prince Jiang Hui no longer had the gentle and easy-going nature of a young man. Standing in the bamboo forest, his stature was extremely tall, and he looked even more ruthless than before.

His father, Prince Yan, was impeached by the censor for forcibly taking someone else's wife, which was against the law. Although his other uncles took great pains to murder him, his actions at the time were still somewhat worthy of criticism. If the king cared about it, he would have to deal with it.

The details of what happened back then were not clear, and Prince Yan had no intention of handing over the victim, so he only allowed his eldest son to take away his only daughter.

But Jiang Hui had his own ideas about this matter.

"The words are like yours."

"If this woman is left outside, she will sooner or later fall into the hands of Uncle Wang and his men. She will be a hidden danger and disaster."

That is indeed something that cannot be kept.

Ruo Zhao and the others also knew about it, and were even aware that their own prince was dissatisfied with this matter.

Since he was dissatisfied with Prince Yan for being obsessed with women, ignoring hidden dangers and disregarding etiquette, he insisted on keeping her.

He was also dissatisfied with the current situation and refused to let the woman come forward to investigate for the Dali Temple, preferring to keep the stigma.

Obviously, the prince was unwilling to kill someone else's daughter.

All three steps he took were different from Prince Yan's usual style.

I can neither be a good person nor a bad person.

Isn't this the most unacceptable behavior that our father taught us when we were young?

If you only look ahead and behind, you will accomplish nothing.

Jiang Huishen thought that his brave and heroic father was so contradictory, most likely because he was concerned about the woman's mood.

How can a real man, especially a royal noble, be so obsessed with beauty and love?

Father is confused!

As subordinates, Ruo Zhao and the others were not clear about their prince's intentions - to keep... or to kill him.

So I asked specifically.

After all, now is the best time to take action.

He mounted his horse, his robe ripped with a sharp sound, and pulled the reins. Jiang Hui's voice faded with the bamboo wind.

"There's no need for me to kill him."

"Those village chiefs will be desperate to see her act like this today. We won't let her stay today."

"She was careless and didn't bring enough people with her."

"Just wait to collect her body."

The bamboo leaves are thin and cold, and when they rustle, they cut your hands and draw blood.

He couldn't let one or two bamboo leaves hurt his father and son's hands.

However, when the three horses were galloping on the road, Jiang Hui suddenly stopped his horse.

"Your Highness?"

Ruo Zhao and the other man were puzzled, but they saw Jiang Hui sitting on the horse, looking down at the ground, and then he pulled the reins to steer the horse along the ruts on the ground to check for a section of the road.

Then he got off the horse and squatted.

Jiang Hui carefully examined the wheel tracks, comparing their width and color with his palm, looking thoughtful.

This pattern and specification are not suitable for ordinary carriages.

A tall and strong horse is very expensive to maintain.

"strangeness."

"Two identical tire tracks? The tracks are just as fresh, meaning they must have passed through here simultaneously."

He pondered for a while, raised his eyebrows, suddenly stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds are rolling in.

"I thought it would be sunny and bright."

"It's about to rain."

To the weather, to the people.

He seemed to have made all the wrong judgments.

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