Chapter 82 Fu Yunting killed someone...

Fu Yunxiu recognized the visitor; he was one of Shen Yan's guards, and they had met a few times before.

Because he rushed in, the man tripped over the threshold, but luckily the steamed bun caught him and he didn't fall.

Fu Yunxiu frowned and asked, "What did you say? What do you mean my brother was arrested?"

“My general said that your brother has been accused of murder and has been arrested by the Kyoto Prefecture. The Left Prime Minister went to the palace to appeal to His Majesty, and my general has also been summoned by His Majesty. He asked me to come and inform you so that you can think of a solution quickly.”

"Impossible. With Fu Yunting's guts, how could he possibly kill someone?" Fu Yunxiu subconsciously denied it, but then noticed a problem in his words, "What does this have to do with the Left Prime Minister?"

The man in black looked terrified. "The dead person... was the Left Prime Minister's son, Young Master Gao Zhao."

"What? The dead person was Gao Zhao!" Fu Yunxiu exclaimed in shock, standing up abruptly.

If he had previously thought there was some misunderstanding, now he had no choice but to believe it.

This is a very important matter; Shen Yan would never joke about it.

"Did your general tell you how Gao Zhao died?" Fu Yunxiu asked.

"They only said he was stabbed to death at the academy. Before the general could inquire further, His Majesty summoned him to the palace."

In the imperial study, the Left Prime Minister slumped to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. “Your Majesty, my son died unjustly. I beg Your Majesty to investigate and seek justice for my son.”

At this point, the Left Chancellor had long lost the sharp edge he displayed in his debates with the scholars in court; all that remained was the grief of losing his son. He had only one son, and he had died so suddenly and inexplicably.

“Your Majesty, although my son is unruly, he is not a bad person. How could the son of the Marquis of Cheng’an’s mansion be so ruthless as to kill someone? Your Majesty’s wise investigation has failed to bring the murderer to justice.”

The Left Chancellor's croaking, sounding like a duck's, gave the Emperor a headache. He sighed and asked Shen Yan, who was standing beside him, for his opinion, "What is your opinion on this matter, Minister Shen?"

"Your Majesty, I am deeply saddened by the death of the Left Chancellor's son. However, there are many suspicious circumstances surrounding this matter, and we must wait for the Kyoto Prefecture to investigate before making a decision."

Shen Yan's words were completely contrary to the Left Prime Minister's idea of ​​immediately punishing Fu Yunting. Seeing that the emperor seemed to be thinking about the truth of the matter, he immediately retorted: "General Shen means that I deliberately framed Fu Yunting. Everyone in the academy saw that at that time, only Fu Yunting was in the classroom, and he was holding a weapon."

“Even so, we can’t just decide to sentence someone to death so easily,” Shen Yan said. “At the very least, we should wait for the Kyoto Prefecture to release the results of the interrogation before making any decisions.”

“I can tell you’re up to no good. Don’t think I don’t know you have some connections with the heir of the Marquis of Cheng’an. You’re abusing your power for personal gain,” the Left Chancellor said.

“Nonsense,” Shen Yan said, lifting his robes and kneeling down. “Your Majesty, please see the truth. Although I have a friendship with the heir of the Marquis of Cheng’an, I always stick to the facts. The Gao Zhao case is full of coincidences. Although Fu Yunting was indeed at the crime scene, it is said that he was unconscious when people found him. If he really did commit the murder, why didn’t he flee after the crime, but instead stayed at the crime scene?”

“You’re just making excuses,” the Left Prime Minister said anxiously as Shen Yan’s argument was about to gain traction. “Everyone knows that the two of them had a quarrel the day before, and Fu Yunting drank with several students that night. It’s possible that he was drunk after committing the crime and passed out.”

"But……"

"Enough!" Seeing that the two were about to fight in front of him, Xie Chen finally couldn't hold back and shouted to stop them. "This matter involves both the Prime Minister's residence and the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence. It is a matter of great importance and cannot be concluded hastily. Shen Yan, I order you to assist the Prefect of the Capital in solving this case as soon as possible and giving the Prime Minister justice."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey."

Shen Yan kowtowed and accepted the decree. After leaving the palace, the Left Prime Minister glared at him fiercely. "General Shen, parents spend their lives thinking of their children. If the real culprit is not found in my son's death, I will not let it go."

Shen Yan pretended not to understand his words, "Please rest assured, Your Excellency, I will investigate thoroughly and give your son justice."

The two were on the verge of a major battle.

At the emperor's command, Shen Yan first went to the capital city, only to find that the investigation in the capital city was being obstructed by the prime minister's office.

When the people in the academy discovered that someone had died in the classroom, some went to report it to the authorities, while others went to notify the Prime Minister's office.

When the people of the Prime Minister's residence learned that their young master had been injured, they hurriedly brought the family physician over. After examining him, the physician said that the man was already dead, and then took Gao Zhao's body back to the Prime Minister's residence.

Immediately, the steward of the Prime Minister's residence reported the matter to the authorities.

Upon learning that the Prime Minister's son had died, the Kyoto Prefecture immediately dispatched troops to capture Fu Yunting, who was still somewhat disoriented.

Fu Yunting came from a noble family, so they couldn't just settle the case casually. They had to know the real cause of Gao Zhao's death before they could sentence Fu Yunting.

Unexpectedly, when the yamen runners took the coroner to the Prime Minister's residence to examine the body, they were beaten and driven out.

"So, you didn't see Gao Zhao's body at all?" Shen Yan frowned.

"Let alone seeing the body, we didn't even get inside the Prime Minister's residence. The Prime Minister's wife insisted that Gao Zhao was killed by Fu Yunting and just told us to bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible."

At this moment, the Prime Minister's residence was also in complete chaos.

When the two elderly people learned that their beloved grandson was gone, they both fainted from exhaustion, and the family doctors were busy trying to save them.

In the main hall, the Prime Minister's wife looked at her son's body and cried uncontrollably.

"Zhao'er, how could you be so heartless? You just left like this. How can your mother live?" The Prime Minister's wife threw herself on Gao Zhao's body, pounding her fists against his body.

If she had known he would end up like this, she would have tried to persuade him to stay away from places like that.

When the Left Prime Minister returned to his residence and saw this chaotic scene, his grief deepened, and he felt his legs go weak.

“Master,” thankfully the butler helped him up, “Master, you must take care of your health.”

The Left Prime Minister waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care, and asked, "During my absence, has anyone come by?"

"People from Kyoto Prefecture came, saying they wanted to perform an autopsy, but they were driven away by the servants," the steward said.

"Yes," the Left Prime Minister nodded and instructed, "No matter what, the people from the capital city must not be allowed to get close to Zhao'er."

The son of a prime minister died of madness while riding a horse. If this gets out, where will the face of the prime minister's mansion be? Where will Zhao'er's face be?

Although it is unknown who moved Zhao'er to the academy, or why they framed Fu Yunting.

But since the deed had already been done, they might as well go with the flow. His son, Zhao'er, died at the hands of the second son of the Marquis of Cheng'an.

If it weren't for Chen Yan's interference, this matter would have been settled long ago, and there would have been no need for him to put in any more effort.

After hearing the prefect's reply, Shen Yan was at a loss for what to do.

"In that case, things become difficult," Shen Yan said thoughtfully.

Just then, a yamen runner rushed in and whispered a few words in the ear of the prefect of the capital.

"The heir of the Marquis of Cheng'an?"

"Yes, he used his connections to try and see Fu Yunting." Normally, they would have released him, but today the person who died was the son of the Left Prime Minister. This is a serious matter, and they dared not release him casually. They had no choice but to come and inquire.

The Prefect of Kyoto frowned, and seeing Shen Yan looking over, explained, "The prison guards say that the Marquis's heir wishes to see Fu Yunting. What does the General think?"

"The matter is still unresolved, and Fu Yunting is not a serious criminal. You can decide what to do, sir."

“Yes,” the prefect of Kyoto understood his meaning, nodded slightly to the jailer, who understood and withdrew with the order.

After many twists and turns, Fu Yunxiu finally met Fu Yunting.

Since the incident, Fu Yunting has been in jail for more than half a day, but he is still completely bewildered and has no idea what happened.

He only remembered that he went to a restaurant with some friends yesterday and ran into Gao Zhao.

Gao Zhao and he have always been at odds and are constantly fighting. Yesterday, when they met at the restaurant, Gao Zhao was still being sarcastic, criticizing him and saying that his father died young and his mother was lonely and miserable.

He was furious and started fighting with him. In his rage, he even said he would kill him, but that was just an angry outburst. Later, feeling depressed, he drank a few more cups of wine, and afterward, they all went home to sleep.

He had no idea what had happened. When he woke up, a group of people were surrounding him, saying that he had killed Gao Zhao.

But he had no recollection of it at all; he didn't remember ever going to the classroom, let alone seeing Gao Zhao.

A doctor came to see him earlier and said he had been drugged and was delirious.

But when was he drugged?

Fu Yunting was in a state of confusion, but one thing he was certain of was that he had absolutely not killed Gao Zhao.

"Brother, do you believe me?" Fu Yunting asked.

Fu Yunxiu did not reply, but asked, "Does Gao Zhao usually live at the academy?"

“His home is not far from the academy, and he usually goes home.”

"Okay, I understand." Fu Yunxiu nodded.

He said there was something fishy about the matter. Fu Yunting had previously said that Gao Zhao would not go to the academy for ten days or half a month at a time. Yet, such a person appeared in the academy's classroom late at night and happened to be killed by Fu Yunting.

Moreover, Fu Yunting happened to be drugged and couldn't remember anything.

This whole thing looks like a trap tailor-made for Fu Yunting.

"Have you offended anyone recently?" Fu Yunxiu asked.

“No, I’ve usually been studying at the academy lately. It was only yesterday that Xiao Lin celebrated his birthday and invited us to dinner, so I went to the restaurant with him,” Fu Yunting said.

"What is your relationship with Xiao Lin?" Fu Yunxiu asked.

“That’s good. Brother, you don’t suspect…” Fu Yunting realized what was happening and hurriedly shook his head, “Impossible, Xiao Lin and I are like brothers, he would never harm me.”

Realizing he had overreacted, Fu Yunting calmed down, looked at Fu Yunxiu, and asked, "Brother, do you believe me?"

Fu Yunxiu glanced at him, then stood up. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have come to you. Take care of yourself, and I'll think of something else."

After leaving the prison, Fu Yunxiu immediately went to the General's Mansion to see Shen Yan.

Shen Yan revealed everything he knew, including his suspicions about the Left Prime Minister.

"The Left Chancellor is adamant that your brother is the murderer, and has even taken it to His Majesty's door, as if he wants to settle the matter as soon as possible. His Majesty has only asked me to assist in the investigation, but judging from his tone, he doesn't seem to want to cause any more trouble. Moreover, the Left Chancellor is the head of the civil officials and has considerable prestige in the court. If I don't handle this properly, the memorials impeaching me could overwhelm His Majesty."

In other words, he couldn't be of much help either.

Gao Zhao was stabbed in the chest, and everyone in the academy, from the teachers to the students, witnessed it. If the Prime Minister's residence refuses to conduct an autopsy, things will really get complicated.

Fu Yunxiu walked out of the Marquis's residence listlessly, looking like a wilted eggplant. He had used almost all his connections to see Fu Yunting today.

Upon hearing that it was Fu Yunting, the uncles and elders all closed their doors to visitors, as no one wanted to offend the Left Prime Minister again.

Once again, Fu Yunxiu craved power.

If the Marquis's mansion were at its peak, perhaps he wouldn't feel so incompetent.

If he, like Fu Changze before him, had a powerful maternal family behind him.

Just then, Fu Yunxiu was suddenly drawn by a burst of laughter. Not far away, Shen Jiao and a group of maids were chasing butterflies among the flowers. The woman held a butterfly net in her hand, her round eyes wide open, staring intently at the butterflies fluttering on the petals. She was charming, cute, and lively.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, the woman looked over. When her eyes met his, she was clearly taken aback for a moment, then blushed, nodded to him, and walked away, lifting her skirt.

For some reason, Fu Yunxiu suddenly remembered Shen Yan's joke earlier, asking him to marry his sister.

If he were to marry her, would Shen Yan, out of consideration for their kinship, do her best to help him rescue Fu Yunting?