Chapter 232 A Dangerous Situation, A Dangerous Conversation

Saving Jin Shu's life and restoring her to her original position is easier said than done.

Li Jin glanced at everyone's faces, and after a long while, said in a deep voice, "It is no longer important to investigate where Lord Yan went or what he did in the past two weeks."

The best evidence for this charge of deceiving the emperor is actually Jin Shu himself.

Yan Zhao didn't actually need to do anything; he only needed to submit a memorial and wait for the physical examination.

Even if Li Jin had suspicions about his whereabouts over the past two weeks, she couldn't afford to investigate given the current situation.

“We will split into three groups,” he said. “Shen Wen and Bai Yu, set off immediately towards Dingzhou. Find out what has happened in the past two weeks and bring back the case files that the Master usually solves in Dingzhou.”

Li Jin took a deep breath: "Lord Zhang and Lord Su, I would like to trouble you two to use your power and position to spread the word about what Mr. Jin has done in the past six months." He paused, "The more people in the capital who know about it, the better."

At this point, he glanced back at Yun Fei and said, "I will definitely not be in the sect these few days. I will trouble Lord Yun to take charge. All matters concerning the Six Doors will be handled by Lord Yun."

After a moment of silence, Li Jin stood with his hands behind his back, looked up at the golden ginkgo tree beside him: "...I want to enter the palace to buy time for Jin Shu."

A woman entering officialdom was unheard of in the previous dynasty's three hundred years of history. It was also unprecedented in the two hundred years of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Before Li Jin was a dark and gloomy abyss, and his hands, which were behind his back, gradually clenched into fists.

After everyone had left to carry out their orders, leaving only him and Zhou Zheng in the courtyard, Li Jincai said in a deep voice, "This matter is tainted by personal motives." His voice was extremely heavy, but his gaze remained unwavering. "Zhou Zheng, if you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Zheng took a half step back, knelt on one knee, and cupped his hands, saying, "Zhou Zheng is willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness without hesitation."

Li Jin stared at his face, remaining silent for a long time.

But Zhou Zheng became anxious: "Your Highness, I have followed you for so long, isn't it all for this day?!"

To replace Li Jin and do what others cannot do.

Seeing his willing and loyal appearance, Li Jin took a deep breath and took out Consort Xiao's letter from inside the house.

"Don't let anyone find out. Set off under cover of night and deliver the letter to the General's Mansion in Fengzhou. Tell my grandfather to wait for my secret letter."

Zhou Zheng paused. After thinking for a long time, he didn't ask anything and simply replied, "Yes."

After getting up and taking a few steps toward the courtyard gate, Zhou Zheng glanced back at Li Jin's back, then quickly stepped forward and placed a gilded short dagger from his waistband beside Li Jin: "Your Highness, please go and return quickly. We have been away for some time, so please take good care of yourself."

After saying that, he watched Li Jin's retreating figure and left.

As the sun sets, the sky turns a fiery crimson.

The six doors, with their gray walls and black tiles, were bathed in this thin red curtain, as if performing a silent prelude to the impending bloodshed.

Li Jin glanced at the gilded dagger, thought for a long time, and then placed it on his antique shelf.

He cannot take that step until the very end, until the very last moment.

After a long while, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The world behind him, along with that long sigh, faded into darkness.

Under the cover of night, the Crown Prince placed all of Jin Shu's belongings in the Qixian Pavilion of the East Palace. Four or five boxes of various sizes were neatly stacked.

Dressed in white, he toyed with the jade flute in his hand: "This jade flute is inlaid with a golden dragon. Back then, when I asked Song Zhen for it, he treasured it as a precious gem and wouldn't give me any amount of silver." The Crown Prince raised his eyes, his gaze unwavering, "yet he was able to hand it over to you so calmly, which means you must have a deep friendship with him."

Jin Shu glanced at his face, and after a long while, shook her head: "Just a casual acquaintance."

After drinking a bowl of Meng Po soup diluted with water, and retaining memories of her past life, Jin Shu's combined age across her two lifetimes was still several decades older than that of the Crown Prince Li Jing before her.

His words and his probing intentions did not escape Jin Shu's ears.

Since arriving in the Great Wei, she has disliked crowds and didn't want to be the center of attention. She seemed aloof and not good at talking, but in reality, she had seen through the true nature of so-called human relationships and was unwilling to compromise herself by being hypocritical.

From beginning to end, all she wanted was to live a peaceful life, travel the world, and be a person she could be proud of.

But Li Jin was an exception.

Unlike her, he didn't mince words; he showered her with real money, which she found hard to handle.

Compared to the Crown Prince standing here now, probing and threatening at the same time, he is infinitely more sincere.

If she had answered that they were close friends, then if Song Zhen hadn't immediately told the Crown Prince that she was a woman, Song Zhen would probably have been dragged into this mess as well.

They met by chance and used each other, which is why the Crown Prince couldn't find any fault with Song Zhen.

The man in front of him stopped what he was doing, calmly stepped forward, and handed the jade flute to Jin Shu: "Just a casual acquaintance?" He sneered, "Then you really have made a bad choice of friends, sir."

Li Jing, who had delivered the items, did not intend to leave.

He poured himself two cups of tea in the main hall of Qixian Pavilion and sat down. "Sir, please stay here for the time being." As he spoke, he gestured for Jin Shu to sit down as well. "As long as you don't step out of this courtyard, your head won't fall off."

His directness left Jin Shu with no other choice.

"Sir, you've been in the capital for half a year, and you don't have any questions you'd like to ask me?"

Crown Prince Li Jing treated Jin Shu as no outsider at all, taking off the outer robe embroidered with golden dragons and throwing it aside.

He sat languidly at the table, holding a small cup between two fingers, and gently blew on the foam.

"Don't you want to know what kind of relationship I have with Li Jin, Lord Yan, and Song Zhen?" His voice was extremely cold as he glanced at Jin Shu's face.

But then she sat down at the table and shook her head: "I don't want to know."

The prince raised an eyebrow.

"More than these things, Jin Shu wants to know..." She took a deep breath, "I want to know how the arsenic poison entered the bodies of those who wanted to escape from your side."

The moonlight was thin and the night wind was chilly; the candlelight on the table flickered slightly.

The crown prince stared intently at Jin Shu's face, his gaze filled with intense killing intent.

Jin Shu suppressed her fear and stared at him with a serious expression.

She knew that discussing the relationship between the three would inevitably touch upon the case from six years ago.

If she listened, the crown prince would have a reason to kill her.

She had to change the subject and choose a pretext that didn't seem strange.

"As a coroner, there are some cases that I can't solve. It's like having a stone weighing on my heart. Even if I die, I won't be at peace."

Jin Shu glanced at the Crown Prince's face, deliberately avoiding Lin Zhongyi, and put the latter part of the case of the corpse hidden in the wooden box, which Li Jin could no longer investigate, on the table.

"Regarding the wooden box case, Lord Liu and his wife had been hiding for many years, living a secluded life," she said, "but they still died of arsenic poisoning. Jin Shu is completely baffled and hopes Your Highness can enlighten her."

At this point, she added, "It's also to let Jin Shu know how she will die silently in the future."