Chapter 222 Beauty's Schemes (25) - Close the Case Quickly

Unlike the front garden where the birthday banquet was previously held, this one is much prettier.

The pavilions and towers are arranged in a pleasing and orderly manner, and there is also a lotus pond.

The artificial hills in the pond are cleverly stacked, each with a different shape, and the flowing water meanders around the rocks.

The lotus flowers in the pond stand tall and graceful, swaying beautifully in the wind.

Prince Rui was in a small pavilion in the center of the lotus pond, seemingly in a good mood, drinking alone at the stone table inside.

Is he drinking so early in the morning?

Ning Shu glanced at the sky to make sure he hadn't gotten the time wrong. He really couldn't understand the thoughts of these people in power.

When Prince Rui saw her arrive, he beckoned to her: "Come here."

Hearing his voice, Ning Shu seemed quite lucid. She walked over and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, you wanted to see me?"

Prince Rui pointed to the seat opposite him: "Sit."

Ning Shu only wanted to leave the mansion to find Cui Zeyu, but when she heard that she had to sit down, she was immediately displeased. It was as if they wouldn't let her go for half an hour.

She sat down quietly, waiting to see what the other person wanted to say, just in case they only asked a couple of questions.

Prince Rui raised his chin: "There's food prepared for you on the table, including pastries from Cuifenglou."

Huh, what's going on here?

Ning Shu was puzzled, but she had already eaten in the servants' kitchen and wasn't hungry.

"Your Highness, I'm not hungry. What do you need me for?"

Prince Rui originally wanted to say, "Do I have to have something to ask you to come to me?" but the words that came out were, "I heard that you went to a victim's house with Cui Licheng yesterday. Why?"

Ning Shu perked up immediately upon hearing about this matter; she really wanted to vent her frustrations.

However, considering that the other party was an NPC and wouldn't empathize with him, I kept it short: "I'm just helping Lord Cui find some clues."

Prince Rui: "Although Cui Licheng explained it before, he was vague about how you got involved."

"Tell me today how you got involved."

Oh no, this is terrible.

She thought that the matter was over after Cui Zeyu explained it, but she never expected him to ask it again on a whim.

However, Cui Zeyu hadn't explained how she got involved before, since the other party didn't know either. She couldn't blame him; she could only blame herself.

Ning Shu began to argue: "That's right, I happened to be out of the manor on business and had a brief encounter with Miss Yin, who had just arrived in the capital."

She helped me before, but then she had an accident that very day. I'm just doing what I can to repay her kindness.

That's a perfect reason!

Even if Yin Xinyue says she doesn't know her, she can just say the other person doesn't remember her, hmph.

Prince Rui glanced at her, unsure whether he believed her or not, but he didn't dwell on the matter any further.

He emphasized again: "Sit down and have a cup of milk soup, and dine with me."

This was already an order that was not polite at all, leaving Ning Shu no room to refuse.

Ning Shu thought about it and realized that she could actually eat a little bit of dessert.

After all, a woman's stomach is a bit mysterious; she may not be able to eat a meal, but there's always room for dessert.

She obediently sat down, picked up the bowl of milky white soup, and began to eat.

I must say, it's actually quite delicious, a bit like porridge.

She finished her drink in a few gulps and then waited for Prince Rui to tell her to leave.

But she waited and waited, and he never spoke. He didn't eat anything and just kept drinking.

She didn't dare ask when he would let her leave, and could only feign concern: "Your Highness, drinking too much is bad for your health."

Upon hearing this, Prince Rui looked at her with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

After finishing his drink, he said, "You may leave now. From now on, you must return to the manor before sunset whenever you leave."

Why are you starting to meddle with her?

She might not be able to finish her business before sunset, should we explain?

She immediately dismissed the idea; there was no need for it.

A prince actually had a say in her affairs, keeping an eye on whether she returned to the manor every day.

That's unrealistic.

Besides, even if she did intervene, she could act first and report later, since this instance only lasts a few days anyway.

If all else fails, and if there's a prison break later, she can stay with Cui Zeyu and Yin Xinyue; it's fine if they don't go back to the Prince's Mansion.

Once she understood, Ning Shu immediately replied, "Yes."

After saying that, she immediately retreated, running faster than a rabbit.

After Prince Rui and his entourage disappeared, he summoned his capable subordinates and instructed them: "Instruct the Dali Temple to close the case of Yin Xinyue's murder of her uncle as soon as possible."

He couldn't stand Ruyi leaving the mansion every day to stay with Cui Zeyu. Regardless of whether Yin Xinyue was wronged, he just wanted to close the case as soon as possible.

This capable subordinate quickly went to do it.

He was Prince Rui's public representative; he made many decisions on behalf of the prince, and everyone knew it was Prince Rui's will.

Ning Shu has been leaving home later and later each time lately, and Tuya waited for a long time before she finally arrived.

Ning Shu handed Tuya both his translated version and the original letter:

"I've punctuated the text myself; please check if it's correct against the original."

Let me know if there are any errors, but I don't think it should affect the general meaning.

Graffiti is a hopeless case; he gets a headache just looking at words, let alone classical Chinese.

He didn't want to read a letter that had no punctuation and was written in traditional Chinese characters.

The direct compliment to Ning Shu's translation reads: "My sister Ning is amazing; this translation is incredibly accurate."

Ning Shu was speechless when she saw him start spouting lies without even glancing at the original letter.

He and Wu Yi are exactly the same kind of people; there's a reason they became friends.

"Alright, take a look at the contents and combine them with what you heard to see if it helps with the investigation."

If it's not helpful, she won't waste her time here.

Tuya carefully recalled last night's conversation, which didn't seem to be directly related to the case: "Why don't we go and hear what Cui Zeyu has to say? Maybe it's related, maybe it's not."

Ning Shu thought it was a good idea.

As she turned to leave, Tuya returned the letter and the translated version to her, saying, "Sister Ning, you should keep these; it's safer."

Ning Shu felt that if it wasn't useful, she wouldn't want to take it, but seeing that the graffiti had already been handed over, she accepted it.

Upon seeing Cui Zeyu, she couldn't wait to ask, "Sir, have you found anything?"

Cui Zeyu's expression turned somewhat grim: "Yes, there is arsenic in the salt, but not much."

The coroner had previously detected arsenic in the leftover soup in a pot, but no poison was found in the food.

So salt was only added to the soup? Does the Wu family never add salt to their cooking? Then why buy salt?

Ning Shu didn't understand.

Tuya paid special attention to Cui Zeyu's expression and felt that he probably had something left unsaid.

For the first time, he took the initiative to speak: "Sir, are you feeling unwell? You look so pale."

Ning Shu then noticed Cui Zeyu's expression, which was indeed not good, and she waited for his reply.

Cui Zeyu remained silent for a moment, then spoke again:

"I just received orders from my superiors that Yin Xinyue's case must be closed as soon as possible."

They only gave me two days; I had to submit the review results on the third day.

What?! We're doomed! We're doomed!

Ning Shu groaned inwardly.