Chapter 111 Case (Sorry, it’s finished, I rushed to finish the plot) …

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In front of us is a small courtyard on the edge of the village. It is clean and secluded. Someone has lived there for a long time and has taken care of it. It is ordinary and there is nothing suspicious about it.

Fuling brought her to this residence.

It was pitch dark. Most families in the village couldn't even afford candles. Even if they could, it was time to go to bed at night and no one was willing to light a candle to work.

So there was silence.

Only the bright moonlight can still provide illumination.

After Yan Siqing Jinwu, he saw that the window facing the lake was slightly open. With the moonlight reflected by the mirror-like surface of the lake, the room was still quite bright.

She didn't even need a candle, as she could roughly see the details of the room and also saw Fu Ling's caution - she was trying to trick someone.

"Is this where you lived in the past? Or did you set up a compound here and assume a different identity in order to imitate the previous murder case and target Luo Xuan?"

Fuling answered every question. "The original residents here were a young couple. They usually worked in the county town and occasionally came back to stay."

Yan Siqing found a random place to sit down and said casually, "Thank you for your hard work."

Fuling was in the process of disguising himself, and did not turn back when he heard the words. However, through the bronze mirror, the moonlight could only illuminate Yan Siqing's position, and the details of his expression could not be seen clearly. It was possible that the place where he casually sat was the bed.

Fu Ling was stunned for a moment, then said meaningfully, "Your Highness the Princess doesn't seem wary of me. You think I won't harm you, and you don't care what I'm thinking. Are you always this defenseless around women?"

Yan Siqing looked slightly confused. "It can't be changed, and it seems to be in my favor right now. What's the point of pursuing it?"

It seems strange that she would ask this.

Fuling: "You don't seem to have asked why it had to be Luo Xuan. It's strange. If you had predicted that this case was a plot by His Highness Liaochen, and wanted to risk your life to end it, you should have made a backup plan long ago. At least you would have sent another group of people to the wild forest to promptly respond to any changes at the scene. But no one has rescued you in time, which means you didn't make any arrangements in advance. If you were simply investigating this case, how could you not care about Luo Xuan's life or death? You should have spoken up for the deceased as before and asked me why I hurt innocent people."

"No matter how tolerant and understanding you are towards me or women like me, your principles will never be compromised for anyone."

"This is you."

Yan Siqing sat in the silvery moonlight, leaning against the side of the bed, watching the other person quickly transform into a young man. In thought, she also replied: "You two are one. Even if I am tolerant of you, you should understand that the source of these things is Chen. I didn't question him, so why should I embarrass you? Besides, you have saved me now, and I don't have the habit of pushing things too far."

"But if you really have the free time, you can also take the initiative to let me know."

"Otherwise, if you don't say anything and are always quiet, you'll be nervous, so you have to keep finding something to talk about."

Fu Ling paused, unable to hide his unusual expression.

She was indeed nervous.

From the moment she rescued the person until now, she was aware of her own nervousness.

Yan Siqing smiled bitterly: "Are you afraid that your master will be angry, or are you afraid that Luchen will blame you?"

Fu Ling: "No, I just feel that I harmed you."

Yan Siqing was stunned.

Fu Ling began to finish, watching himself transform into another person under the moonlight. "After embarking on this line of work, this life has only one ending. My loyalty has leaned towards betrayal, and I will not look back."

"I'm just a little upset. I was so indecisive before, and now I regret it. I feel bad for both sides."

"This is what I used to think was the behavior of a vulgar and cowardly person."

“I never thought that I would be like this.”

"Your Highness Liaochen is right to mock. He is a coward."

Yan Siqing suddenly became very quiet.

Fuling finished her work and turned around. Human eyes can see things more clearly than a bronze mirror. She could clearly see the girl who was as white as jade and had delicate features but a faint, wandering trance.

It seemed as if the "cowardly" words just now did not shake the ruthless life of a warrior like him, but the life plan of a wise man like her with such a keen mind and unmatched will.

"Your Highness?"

Yan Siqing looked up, and there seemed to be a light in his eyes that was like the light in the pool, glimmering in the moonlight.

"You didn't harm me. Who dares to say that they can live their life according to their predetermined plan?"

Fu Ling: "So, you still want to hear about Luo Xuan?"

"I'll also help you change your appearance. Only after that can I take you away from Chang'an."

Since she has chosen this path, she will not waver and will not fail miserably.

Yan Siqing went over, sat down, and watched Fuling take out the other things he had prepared.

She saw that these things had been prepared long ago.

Although this person was wavering and acted on impulse, she had made preparations long ago - at least before she took on the Luo Xuan case, she started planning this place and had made such preparations.

But she might feel pain and confusion after being betrayed.

The words are like those of you, but I don’t say them out loud.

Fuling: "Luo Xuan is actually also shaken."

Yan Siqing: "Were they the wine merchants in Ku County who forced him, or were they the generals of the garrison?"

Fuling: "Your Highness is very clever. He did notice it after all. He did agree. It wasn't forced. He just had higher ambitions. People change, Your Highness."

The words seem to be silent.

Fuling: "Originally, wine could be used for socializing and bribing garrison commanders, but Prince Yan has noticed and has secretly begun investigating. In order to prevent the truth from being revealed, we have to find another way. Since the original wine merchants can no longer use it, the clean way with Luo Xuan is the best. Luo Xuan also wants to obtain some privileges to prepare for the transformation of merchant status, so he agreed long ago."

Yan Siqing seemed to be lost in thought. "So, in his subsequent plans, he also knew that if necessary, such as during the Conglong War, when Lechen and Prince Yan were about to fight their final battle, Prince Yan would always have the advantage in terms of military strength, and even His Majesty was wary of him. He would have no chance of winning. So, if he drugged the wine that he had already sent to the Ministry of War, he could directly capture many of the Chang'an defenders who sided with Prince Yan."

"If Luo Xuan pays for this, he believes he can be granted an official title in the future?"

What Fuling mentioned earlier was something that Prince Yan’s Mansion was already investigating, but she didn’t expect that Yan Siqing had already thought of the subsequent steps.

The person in front of me seems to be very good at official games and political tactics.

She was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Actually, I've thought about this. If His Highness Liaochen had just focused on Prince Yan and his son, things wouldn't have been as difficult as they are now. He shouldn't have used you as a pawn in the first place, repeatedly offending you and forcing you to intervene. You're more difficult to deal with than anyone else, and it would be hard for him to win."

Yan Siqing remained silent, "I was a prisoner before, Miss Fuling."

Fu Ling avoided the topic and continued with the previous topic: "So, before, when Your Highness visited the Luo family, you thought Luo Xuan was a simple and cautious person, a good man. Was he forced to get involved in some dirty business during his trip to Ku County and suffered the consequences?"

"What if he's a repeat offender?"

"Because he was a habitual criminal, His Highness Liaochen was able to use him to leave a trace, and then lure Jiang Hui and his son to investigate the garrison at Donglingwei City and lead them out of Chang'an."

"This is a far-reaching plan. He is just a pawn that has been exploited and exploited."

"I was at the banquet, deliberately approaching him, and I was ill. He thought I was the garrison commander's concubine, so he took the initiative to flatter me and offered me a ride to Chang'an. Then, I pretended to be dead, and he was afraid of getting into trouble, so he stopped in the wild forest and prepared to abandon my body and escape."

"That's human nature."

People who were originally hardworking and indifferent to luxury may become hateful and take risks and commit crimes.

Also because she was among them, Fuling had seen the ugly side of Luo Xuan, those generals and wine merchants, but she didn't want to mention those shameful things in front of Yan Siqing. Of course, she also knew that this person had much broader knowledge than herself and was familiar with all kinds of situations.

But I just don’t want to mention it.

Because Luo Xuan was as cunning and cautious as those officials, he had prepared a back-up plan for this incredible achievement of following the emperor. For example, he had another woman and child hidden outside, far more than one child. If he failed and his entire family was wiped out, he would still have descendants left. If he succeeded, he would make a huge profit.

The reason why she didn't mention it was because she knew that Yan Siqing's ex-husband was like that...it would make her feel sick just by hearing about it.

This also involved the power struggle on Chen's side, but Yan Siqing was not moved at all, and even had no interest. Instead, she was more curious about the source of this case.

"Why did you choose this old case? What if that shopkeeper Xu really died at the hands of a wild beast? You seem certain this is a homicide, knowing I'd be interested."

Fu Ling: "Because it wasn't an accident—Manager Xu's body was found in the wild woods, his belongings were lost, but the cakes he brought were scattered around."

“Not many people care about this detail.”

"But Your Highness is the best at perceiving subtleties. If you heard about the case and knew these details, you would definitely be suspicious."

Yan Siqing: "Indeed, Fuling Cake, Wild Beast Forest. That shopkeeper Xu was carrying dry food and died in the wild forest. But ten years ago, the wild forest was not that far from Gutong Village. Although there were very few people coming and going, there were already settlements. If people were farming in it, they would definitely leave behind the smell of people. How could wild animals not smell it? In fact, the most terrifying creatures in the world are humans. Most wild animals are most afraid of humans. If they really invaded human territory to find food, they must be extremely hungry. How could they ignore the cakes that fell on the ground? Of course, many carnivorous beasts do not eat ordinary cakes, but shopkeeper Xu is the big shopkeeper, and he also... He was a wealthy man, and the cakes he brought for his own consumption were not cheap. He was also a man of prime age, a pastry chef himself, and the cities he traveled to were not far away, usually a few days. The cakes he brought included meat-filled snacks like Chongyang Cake, which was mixed with meat chunks, and even some diced bacon mixed into the Poria cocos paste. Why wouldn't a hungry beast eat them? Moreover, records at the time indicate that his entire body was almost completely devoured, and it is suspected that many wild beasts attacked him. This caused a great deal of unrest in Chang'an, and the people were frightened. The government even sent people to exterminate the wild beasts, but nothing happened afterwards, so the matter was dropped.

"Because of the suspense of this case, you are using it to lure me?"

Fu Ling: "His Highness Liaochen said that except for not seeking the truth in the Yan family case, you are very curious about other cases, like a rabbit seeing carrots and vegetables."

Yan Siqing smiled bitterly.

really.

"I just don't want to embarrass myself with established facts that cannot be changed or fought against."

Fu Ling: “….”

Empress Yuan is dead, and Yan Siqing has no intention of pursuing the matter against Prince Yan and his son?

Because Prince Yan and Queen Yuan were on different sides, did he still rush to rescue people in the end?

Or is it because of something else?

Fuling didn't understand that the grievances caused by the struggle for power among these emperors' clans were not something a commoner like her could intervene in.

"It's a pity that Your Highness can't investigate this case anymore, otherwise he would definitely give the Xu family justice."

Yan Siqing: "Are you Shopkeeper Xu's child?"

Ten years, then Fuling was only about ten years old, still a little girl, but also an awkward age among ordinary people, an age that could be plotted against. Would she end up being reduced to the mortal world and falling into the hands of Empress Xie's party?

Fu Ling, who was about to take out the gun, paused and stared at Yan Siqing.

Yan Siqing always says shocking things.

She probably herself rarely admits that she and the Crown Prince are actually very similar sometimes.

Yan Siqing didn't know what she was thinking, and said to himself, "The formula of this mask is not human skin, otherwise it would be disgusting. You are very skillful. You use a pulp of herbs and wood to make a mold on the human face, and then cut and make it with animal skin. It's amazing. You have this memory, but you use a shell mask like your master. It shows that this is a skill that you have kept to yourself. This may also be related to your background. So you were not adopted as a confidant by them since childhood, but later became a drifter. You didn't want them to know about this skill. Liaochen may not know that this case is your family matter, so he took advantage of it and used it at your suggestion."

".... Shopkeeper Xu's ancestors weren't pastry chefs—in times of constant chaos, when ordinary people couldn't even afford tree roots, how could a folk pastry chef inherit the family business? I've read the family records and know that they started out as traveling pharmacists in small towns, and also had hunters. Their mountain craftsmanship, passed down through the years, was very poor by the time Shopkeeper Xu's generation came around. But with the founding of a new nation and abundant resources, he was incredibly intelligent and created his own unique pastry creations. The mold for his Poria cocos pastry was particularly unique. The shop also sold special carved pastries, where he could carve lifelike figures of people and animals from the finished pastries. These were usually used for sacrifices or birthdays, and were his own creations, beloved by the powerful and influential."

"The small tweezers you just used are tools used by pastry chefs."

"Are you deliberately putting yourself out there for me to discover your identity and background?"

"Miss Fuling."

After a period of silence, Fu Ling finally smiled slightly, "Did you realize that I had ulterior motives and wanted you, Your Highness, to find out the truth about my father's death, so I saved you?"

Yan Siqing: "Not really, it's too obvious. You're only going to make things worse by doing this. You want me to think you have other intentions and that I don't need to worry about your rescue. Once you send me out of Chang'an, you'll go back and die."

Fuling remained silent, then continued to use the tweezers to manipulate the precious and delicate mask, preparing to place it on Yan Siqing's face. He then said, "Master and his gang, who were lucky enough to escape back then, are now hiding their old friends. Few are willing to marry and have children, lest they bring disaster to their descendants. After all, with life in peril, how could newborns be born? Master did indeed accidentally rescue me ten years ago. If it weren't for him, I would have ended up in a brothel or died somewhere else."

Yan Siqing paused and asked silently, "It seems that Shopkeeper Xu's family business has also been taken over by his brothers."

Fu Ling smiled: "There are also my brothers. They fought fiercely, but they still divided it up. Maybe I was also part of the division - they sold me out."

"Same father, but different mother. What a sad blood relationship."

"The homes of ordinary people are sometimes almost as good as those of the emperor."

Yan Siqing smiled bitterly upon hearing this, "That's hard to refute."

"But you still miss your father."

Fu Ling: "Yes, he was very kind to me back then, impeccable, and he even passed on his skills to me. Perhaps he saw how stupid those people were. After he died, I was like a cake that had already been formed, either to be eaten or to rot."

Then she still...

Fuling: "Your Highness, would you think that I am a despicable and immoral person for abandoning the master who saved me like this for you?"

Yan Siqing: "I just feel that I don't deserve such treatment. The attack on you is not your real danger."

"At the post station, you were the hunter and I was the prey."

"Even if it was a planned plot, you followed the trend and got close to me. That's not a favor."

"But the current situation doesn't seem like they're going to use me to find out the truth about your father—there's no time for that."

Fuling laughed, then said, "My mother was there when I was sold."

The words are as quiet as yours.

Fuling: "Although she is a concubine, she has a little son. In order to ensure that this little son can rely on the Xu family for a living, and to ensure that she, who is the most vulnerable to being sold, can stay in the Xu family, she pretends to be deaf and dumb."

"I knocked on the door for a long time, but she didn't respond. She even covered my little brother's mouth to prevent me from making any sound."

"I clung to the door frame, was gagged, and was carried out of the Xu family's house in a black bag."

"Fanxianglou."

"I've been there, too."

"Your Highness, Prince Lie controls it, and His Highness Liaochen and Master are using it. Everyone has their own agenda. Only you are the one who can truly help me destroy it."

Fu Ling looked at Yan Siqing's expression in the bronze mirror and said, "Your Highness, I can repay my master's kindness with my life, but it is not as great as your kindness to me. It is enough for me to sacrifice my virtue."

"So... you need to get some sleep. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll soften your heart again and give in for Jiang Hui or something else, making it difficult for you to leave Chang'an."

"I hope you can see your daughter."

She placed her fingers against Yan Siqing's neck, ready to acupuncture her blood to make her pass out, and then she would disguise herself and lead her out of Chang'an.

Everything is ready. She has her own plan. She even follows Lechen's plan and uses his hand to help Yan Siqing get out of Chang'an.

Suddenly, she was startled and her wrist was grabbed.

Her fingers are slender and soft, and her words are gentle.

"Before you knock me out, you can finish another thing first, such as solving your father's case for you."

Fuling was shocked.

Yan Siqing: "I will repay you for this move."

Fu Ling: "Do you really know who the murderer is?"

Do you know now?

She had been investigating for many years but still couldn't find the real murderer, so she had selfish motives when she started with this case. But now the situation was urgent, and she realized that Chen seemed to have other plans that she didn't know about, so she had to change her plan and rescue Yan Siqing directly.

Ke Yan Si Qing has only been around for one day, and you found out again?

"No, I don't know. How could that be possible?" Yan Siqing thought she was fanciful, but...

"There are some clues."

"For example, I asked Luo Xuan's wife, Tang Miaoxin. When the crime occurred, everyone knew that your father had died in the wild forest. Many people, like Luo Xuan, even knew the exact location. The people of Gutong Village naturally knew it better, especially Chen Gai, who later bought the forest."

Fuling: "I've also investigated. This person is indeed arranging the planting. Orange trees have already been planted in the south... I've investigated him for a long time. He has no disputes with my father, and he wasn't short of money ten years ago. He wasn't even in Chang'an at the time of the crime. He was doing business in other places. He was originally a businessman who resold fruit farmers and earned shipping fees. Now that he's older, he plans to return to his hometown, Gutong Village, to plant fruit trees and let his sons and nephews do the business on his behalf. He can make money on both sides, and he did so."

In short, there is no suspicion, and she does not kill innocent people indiscriminately - unless it is a death order from her master or Lechen.

Or if it was a traitorous and greedy person like Luo Xuan, she would just kill him without frowning.

Yan Siqing: "Then did you see any funeral offerings or prayers left at the place where your father died?"

Fu Ling was stunned.

"Yes, there are also some funeral items that I have seen, but they have been accumulated in the dust for ten years and have decayed a lot. Some of them are buried in the grass and trees and are no longer very obvious."

Yan Siqing: "I went in and took a look too."

"It's certainly not obvious, but it's there, and that's normal."

"But, you know those people from the Xu family... they just divided up the wealth and left it there. They were afraid there were really wild beasts here, so they didn't even come to offer sacrifices."

Fuling was stunned. When she was supposed to come to offer sacrifices, she had already been sold. It was only in the past two years that she came here to investigate and prepare to introduce Yan Siqing into the case. She didn't know much about those years. It was an old matter. Without the extensive investigation records of a national department like the Dali Temple, it would be difficult for her to know the inside story no matter how powerful she was.

I probably didn't expect those people to be so shameless.

"So, is it that the people of Chengai or Gutong Village are afraid of this bad luck and are offering sacrifices on our behalf? Or did the murderer come here to offer sacrifices on purpose?"

Fuling was afraid of wasting Yan Siqing's time, so he hurried to ask.

Yan Siqing: "When we were looking for the traces of the carriage, we actually asked the farmer if he had ever held a funeral or sacrifice in the forest. The farmer said that after Chen Gai contracted the forest, he was afraid of taboos and insisted on holding a sacrifice. Outsiders didn't know about it, but most people in his village knew about it."

This is not surprising, and it is reasonable for Chen Gai to do this.

Yan Siqing: "But there are some old camphor trees in that forest that are old enough to be cut down and sold for money, but Chen Gai didn't cut them down."

"Such a hardworking and business-savvy seafarer suddenly becomes so disinterested in money, yet braves taboos and insists on contracting a forest where someone has died and where there are rumored to be man-eating beasts. He even insists on offering sacrifices to comfort the dead. Isn't this contradictory and strange?"

Fuling was shocked.

"Is it him?"

She actually thought Chen Gai was innocent? But he was not in Chang'an at the time, but was far away on the sea, a fact she had thoroughly investigated.

How do you say this?

Yan Siqing continued, "Because you brought up the Luo Xuan case, the two cases were investigated simultaneously. The Xu family had already issued an order. Jian Wuliang was always quick to act, and he had already arranged to have your father's grave dug up. His remains are already in the Dali Temple."

"I've seen it. Although many years have passed and only white bones remain, there are bite marks on the bones. Did you find the stray dogs that bit Luo Xuan's body?"

Fuling: "Yes."

Yan Siqing: "What's left on your father's bones are small rodent teeth, rats."

Fuling was extremely quiet.

Yan Siqing said, "It's impossible for mice not to eat cakes, so the forest wasn't the first place where the crime occurred, and the mice ate the corpse somewhere else. But moving a bloody corpse is no easy task. The person is probably from Gutong Village or Lijia Village. He has his own house and land, so he can do his evil deeds quietly without being noticed. But this person is so perverted, and yet he still performs sacrifices?"

The one being sacrificed was Chen Gai, there is no doubt about that. Chen Gai did not have the time to commit the crime, there is no doubt about that either. However, he could not escape suspicion because he contracted the forest.

There was only one answer left - he knew the truth and who the murderer was, but he protected this person and was even so worried about it that he had to offer sacrifices to the dead to comfort himself.

The murderer was his relative.

And this person is probably still in Gutong Village, right nearby?