Chapter 326 Obtaining Evidence, Splashing Ink and Flowing Clouds

Ji Qingwu focused intently, knocking on all three walls until his knuckles were worn red, but to no avail.

She stood there, sighed, and thought, "That old man is really cunning."

But now that this thing has fallen into her hands, and the system has clearly told her that it is related to the fate of the Northern Li Kingdom, she is certain that it must be related to Su Fengyue's crimes.

Ji Qingwu walked toward the corner while pondering.

Sihai, who was behind her, reminded her, "Miss Ji, if you go any further, you'll bump into the wall."

Ji Qingwu slowly stopped and casually draped his arm over a bronze statue in the corner.

The thing made a clanging sound.

Ji Qingwu looked up and saw that it was a bronze horse with painted ears and nose, looking like a work of art.

But when she placed her hand on it, she noticed something was wrong.

The material is so thin that even a light tap of a fingernail against it produces a continuous echo.

Moreover, there were strange protrusions on the horse's back, covered with a piece of red silk.

Ji Qingwu and Sihai exchanged a glance. Sihai had searched the place before and knew that it wasn't covered with a silk cloth.

His ears turned red as he turned his face away.

Ji Qingwu prepared herself mentally, reached out and pulled it open. When she saw the whole thing, she wasn't shocked.

Based on his previous understanding of Su Fengyue's collection, the items before him were not much different from what Ji Qingwu had imagined.

It was a form of punishment used to punish female criminals, known as horse torture.

Ji Qingwu threw the silk cloth on the ground and looked closely. He found that the bronze horse had no patterns on it and was different from the previous items.

Why doesn't it have a crescent moon totem?

After a long silence, Sihai turned to see what Ji Qingwu was doing, and saw her reach out and touch the horse's body. He gasped.

He stammered, "You, why did you reach out and touch me?"

Ji Qingwu said, "Or you can touch it for me?"

Sihai's face paled several shades. He was truly disgusted by these things and didn't want to touch them, so he simply turned away, completely avoiding their gaze.

Ji Qingwu's fingers carefully explored the areas not illuminated by the candlelight, and before long, her delicate eyebrows arched high.

Her hand stopped on the horse's belly.

The pattern here is exactly crescent-shaped, not a regular relief pattern, but a recessed one.

Ji Qingwu twitched the corner of his mouth. So that's where it was.

She quietly took the key out of her sleeve, held it in her palm, and pressed it upwards against the horse's belly.

The crescent-shaped key fit perfectly, making a crisp click.

Si Hai turned around upon hearing the sound and saw the bronze horse tilting up to the side. The sound of hinges rang out, and the bronze pieces gradually unfolded. It turned out that this horse had a mechanism!

When the horse's belly was opened, a scroll wrapped in white cloth, along with a small stack of letters and seals, was revealed inside.

Ji Qingwu picked up the letter. Inside, there were not only letters exchanged between Su Fengyue and Xi Jin, but also other things that looked like family letters, but the letter was unsigned.

But Su Fengyue's entire family lived in Lin'an. To whom were these letters of greeting addressed?

Ji Qingwu opened the scroll and saw the foreign woman in the painting, as well as the crescent-shaped signature stamp.

Looking into those blue-gray eyes, she understood everything.

*

The lobby has returned to quiet.

Just fifteen minutes ago, this place was in complete chaos.

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Zhao Minghong arrived at the Su residence, originally intending to facilitate the emperor's nighttime visit and to delay Su Fengyue.

As planned, Prince Yong should have invited Su Fengyue to his residence, but this cunning old fox invited him to his own residence instead.

It's all about stalling for time, there's no real difference.

After Zhao Minghong sat down, the two exchanged a cup of tea in a perfunctory manner. Seeing that Su Fengyue showed no signs of grief over losing his daughter, they didn't say anything more about expressing their condolences.

He set down his teacup and said, "Prime Minister Su, what are your thoughts on what I have told you?"

Su Fengyue said calmly, "What Your Highness says makes sense. But since I have fulfilled Your Highness's wishes, wouldn't Your Highness also do me a small favor?"

Zhao Minghong said, "Prime Minister Su, you are too kind. If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know. I will do my best to do it."

Seeing that he readily agreed without even asking what he wanted, Su Fengyue said, "What I want is much simpler than the throne that Your Highness desires."

Zhao Minghong said, "Prime Minister Su, please speak plainly."

Su Fengyue said, "Your Highness desires the throne, but what I desire is a confidante by my side."

Prince Yong hadn't expected that this seemingly upright old man would still have such interests at his age.

But this wasn't unusual for high-ranking officials in the capital; some chased power, while others were happy to die under the peony blossoms.

But since she was mentioned to him, she must not be a lowly woman from a brothel; she must be of extraordinary status.

He asked, "The woman from the He family?"

Zhao Minghong was still wondering which family was so unlucky to be targeted by this old man's fantasies.

Su Fengyue said with a smile, "Your Highness recognizes him and is very familiar with him."

Zhao Minghong frowned and said, "This is familiar to me..."

Su Fengyue showed no remorse and said, "She's the prince's cousin, the one who married into the Wei family recently."

Zhao Minghong suddenly stood up and flatly refused, "Absolutely not!"

Even if it's just a perfunctory response, he wouldn't bother with it.

If this conversation were to reach Emperor Wusu's ears, Prince Yong himself would be in serious trouble.

Su Fengyue's face immediately darkened, and he said, "I thought Your Highness was somewhat sincere, but now it seems you're just fooling me."

He sneered, "Or is it that the prince still has feelings for your cousin and plans to take her into his harem after he ascends the throne?"

Zhao Minghong was so angry at these words that he felt like his head was about to explode.

"I cannot agree to what Prime Minister Su said. My wife and I are deeply in love, and I have no lingering feelings for any other woman."

Su Fengyue was repeatedly rejected by Prince Yong, and anger showed on his face.

Upon hearing him mention Princess Yong, Su Fengyue took out a jade bead tied with a silk ribbon from his pocket. It didn't look like a complete piece of jewelry; it looked more like it had been taken off a necklace.

"Your Highness, why don't you take a look? Do you recognize this?"

At first, Zhao Minghong did not recognize what the bead was, but his gaze moved upward and landed on the silk ribbon wrapped around his loose, wrinkled fingers.

The flowers and birds embroidered on it are not the kind that ordinary girls like.

Instead, it is a landscape of mountains and rivers like ink splashes and flowing clouds.

Su Fengyue said, "Does Your Highness also think this item is quite elegant? I also thought it was very beautiful at the time, especially the way it swayed when it was hanging on my chest, so I have kept it until now."

Zhao Minghong suddenly laughed.

The laughter was initially hollow, but soon it became like a blade piercing the night.

However, the blade stabbed itself first, and then it was aimed at others.

Zhao Minghong grabbed the solid wood armchair next to him and smashed it over there.

A loud bang exploded in the silent night.