14. Tattoo

◎Deliberately get rid of his secret guards?◎

Chapter 14

"Your Highness, his expression is so scary. The way he looked at me just now, it seemed like he wanted to kill me."

Ji Ci watched as his sleeve was grabbed by a small hand again. He looked back at her pale face, her peach blossom eyes were moist and clear, and she was trembling. Although he was puzzled, he still couldn't help but said, "Don't be afraid."

"Yes, as long as the prince protects me, I won't be afraid." Jiang Qiuye nodded with relief.

The nodding sweeper flashed through Ji Ci's mind.

The torture chamber was a bit stuffy due to the burning charcoal fire. He swallowed hard, suppressed his smile, turned his head and stared at A Yuan on the rack, and said, "According to investigation, you have stolen a lot of money, big and small, since you entered the Zhang Mansion three years ago."

A Yuan pouted and said, "My Lord, even if it's theft, theft, property, it won't be punishable by death, right?"

Ji Ci's voice was cold and chilling, "You are right, but you should know that among the treasures you stole on the Zhang family's wedding night, there was a small blue jade tablet bestowed by the late emperor. If it were an ordinary treasure, you would at most be imprisoned in this prison. But if you stole something bestowed by the late emperor, then the crime can be either serious or minor."

"Plus, everything in the Zhang Mansion is important evidence in the case. Since you stole the evidence, the Ministry of Justice has reason to suspect you of being related to the murderer, or in other words, you are the murderer."

"You've been in the General's Mansion for so many years, you might have heard about the methods of the Imperial Prison. Compared to the Ministry of Justice, if you are sent to the Imperial Prison, you can neither live nor die."

The words lingered around A Yuan like a ghost, and a chill rose from his tailbone to the top of his head, making him unable to move. His eyes scanned the torture instruments hanging on the wall, placed on the table, and thrown on the ground in the Ministry of Justice, including iron hooks, wooden clamps, and charcoal basins.

One could even feel that cold water had just been poured on the rack, as if to wash away some traces.

"Small, small, small blue jade plate." A pool of yellow liquid flowed to where A Yuan was standing, and the wooden frame creaked and shook. "Your Highness, I, I, I didn't know it was a gift from the late emperor."

Jiang Qiuye looked at the incontinent A Yuan with contempt.

This guy is too timid. Just this alone can scare him to death.

In comparison, her acting back then wasn't good enough, she was a little too calm.

"If you can provide any clues about the Zhang family tragedy, I can reduce your sentence based on the importance of that clue. I believe you don't want to be imprisoned."

"I, I, I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

Throwing in the towel so quickly? This is too easy.

No wonder her proposal to visit Yinxiang Tower at night was directly rejected by Ji Ci.

Ah Yuan spoke rapidly, "I don't know who the murderer is, but I saw a woman in black that night. She had a plum blossom tattoo on her arm. I also know that woman was Zhang Liang's mistress!"

"How do you know she is Zhang Liang's concubine?"

"I've never seen her face, but I saw her once on General Zhang's bed. Only one of her hands was exposed, and I was deeply impressed by the plum blossom tattoo. I'm familiar with all the general's concubines, and none of them had that tattoo on their arms."

…

Plum blossom tattoo, Zhang Liang's concubine.

Is the woman in black mentioned by A Yuan just one of the men in black? Or is she the leader of the group of men in black?

Jinhong stepped forward and said, "Miss, your sister has come to Guihong Hall to look for you again."

Come again?

Was the stimulation I gave her last time too little?

Jiang Qiuye nodded and quickly went downstairs. Seeing Qiu Ying at the porch, he waved at her with a smile, "Sister, here."

This cheap sister went through all those events, but was still able to face her with such joy and laughter. Her acting skills have really improved.

"Second sister, I miss you so much. It's been a long time since we last met." Jiang Qiuye stepped forward and grabbed Qiu Ying's hands with such force that Qiu Ying couldn't hold back her expression.

Seeing this, she let go at the right time and asked, "I wonder why Second Sister came to see me today?"

Qiu Ying secretly rubbed her wrists, then put on a gentle look again and said, "Sister, what happened last time at Jinpin Pavilion was all a misunderstanding. After I got home, my father and mother scolded me. I won't do that again."

"Now, my cousin and I have reconciled and have set a wedding date, which is in March." Qiu Ying looked shy when she said this.

"That's great. If you and your cousin had become estranged because of that incident, I would have been blamed for it." Jiang Qiuye rolled his eyes secretly.

"So I discussed with my father and mother that we could bring my sister to the palace for the Queen's Chrysanthemum Appreciation Banquet as an apology. This way, my sister can also meet many noble ladies and gentlemen."

The Queen's Chrysanthemum Appreciation Banquet? Could the Anguo family be so kind? She didn't believe it.

Her first priority now is to find a way to enter Prince Qi's Mansion, and she has no time to flatter these people.

"How can I be worthy of going to the Queen's Chrysanthemum Appreciation Banquet? I am a widow now and have no intention of remarrying, so there is no need for me to meet a noble lady or a young man."

Jiang Qiuye curled her lips and said, "Hey, I have too many things to do in Guihong Hall. I'll go get busy first. Second sister, please do as you please."

"Hey, sister!" Before Qiu Ying could react, Jiang Qiuye had already left.

She looked at the packed Guihong Hall and the enchanting figure, biting her lips tightly, leaving a row of pale teeth marks.

…

Qiu Ying's invitation to Jiang Qiuye to attend the Queen's Chrysanthemum Viewing Banquet was just a small episode and was quickly forgotten.

Just an insignificant cheap sister.

It was two days ago that he realized that he was being followed by someone other than Ji Ci's secret guards.

Jiang Qiuye quickly guessed who arranged it from the awkward technique of the person who was following him.

In Shengjing, who else could have a grudge against her?

The sky was overcast today, and a light rain had just fallen, bringing some coolness. The few red leaves left on the trees were knocked to the ground.

As usual, Jiang Qiuye went to the pharmacy to purchase goods, and then went to Jinpin Pavilion.

When Manager Wang saw Jiang Qiuye coming, he smiled and introduced her to a lot of jewelry that she could not afford.

"Sister Head, I tasted the tea you gave me last time. It's fresh and elegant, and I really like it. Today, I'm bringing you a medicinal diet recipe. I've improved it, and it's even more effective for treating headaches."

"Oh, thank you for troubling me, Sister Qiu. I will accept your kindness."

After delivering the things, Jiang Qiuye glanced back secretly and saw that the people who followed her also entered the Jinpin Pavilion at the same time. The first floor of the pavilion was crowded with people, and there were women gathered around to choose discounted pearl hairpins.

As she was calmly scanning her surroundings, a servant from the pavilion came over and called out, "Master Wang, the young lady from the Lin family is here and specifically wants to see you."

She was startled when she heard that and looked at Manager Wang, who gave her an apologetic smile and said, "Oh, then, Miss Qiu, would you like to take a look around this floor first? I'll come find you as soon as I'm done over there. There are a lot of things on sale at Jinpin Pavilion today. If you like anything, I'll give it to you."

Jiang Qiuye came back to his senses, nodded in agreement, and let Manager Wang leave first.

On the other side, the three men who had been following Jiang Qiuye all the way were looking at the jewels that they were not interested in while staring at Jiang Qiuye.

The pockmarked man suddenly said, "Hey, that woman went to the back door."

"Go, go, keep up."

The three of them had been following for several days, but in the bustling city of Shengjing, with so many people around, it was difficult to find an opportunity to attack.

Seeing Jiang Qiuye charmingly opening the back door of Jinpin Pavilion and leaving, the three of them quickly followed.

They watched the woman walking towards the deserted place at a fast pace, and they were confused.

But she is just a delicate and weak woman, and they are three grown men.

The three of them followed him to an uninhabited grove, only to find that Jiang Qiuye had disappeared.

The trees have no leaves anymore and stand there with their fangs and claws bared, looking very strange.

The pockmarked face asked curiously, "Strange, where's that woman? Why is she gone?"

Just as they were scratching their heads, a soft and sweet voice sounded from behind the three of them, stimulating their spines, "Here it is, brothers."

The three of them turned around immediately and saw Jiang Qiuye, who had changed his position at some point.

When did this woman discover them?

Why did you lead them here? Isn't this courting death?

Jiang Qiuye smiled and looked at the three people. One had a pockmarked face, one had straight eyebrows, and one...

Hmm...nothing special, bro.

The unremarkable older brother was furious and spoke first: "Little girl, you are so brave. You discovered us and dared to come to this wilderness alone."

Jiang Qiuye still maintained a gentle smile on his face: "Brothers, why are you following me?"

The pockmarked man smiled and pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, saying, "My little beauty, someone wants to buy your life. Are you afraid?"

"Who wants to buy my life?"

Yizimei stammered, "You, you, you, don't, need, know."

Jiang Qiuye just found it funny and asked, "Is it the Duke of Anguo?"

The three of them were shocked. They never thought that Jiang Qiuye could guess it so easily. They exchanged glances.

Straight eyebrows: There is something wrong with this woman.

The unremarkable brother: This woman is so weird.

Pockmarked Face: But she is just a woman, and they are three grown men.

Seeing this, the pockmarked face stepped forward and said proudly: "It's good that you know it. Let the three brothers have some fun and give you a good time."

Jiang Qiuye put his hands behind his back and said lazily, "What if I don't?"

"Oh, if you don't, then don't blame us for not being gentle with women."

As he said that, he pulled out the dagger in his arms and stabbed at Jiang Qiuye, while the other two ugly guys also rushed forward with daggers.

…

Meanwhile, Ji Ci had just finished his morning court session and was about to board his carriage when Tian Qu stepped forward to report to him, "Your Highness, there's something going on. The secret guards are reporting that Qiu Ziye has disappeared since entering the Jinpin Pavilion today."

Ji Ci stopped getting on the carriage, put his hands on the side of the carriage, and a cold light flashed in his eyes, "Missing?"

Tian Qu felt a chill in his heart when he was looked at by him. "Yes, the secret guards said that Qiu Ziye seemed to have gone to Jinpin Pavilion on purpose to get rid of them. Jinpin Pavilion has a few more guests today than usual, so it's not easy to be noticed."

Ji Ci rubbed his fingers, deliberately shaking off his secret guard?

The secret guards trained in the palace are all picked out of hundreds. Let alone getting rid of them, even detecting the existence of these secret guards is not easy.

He had a hunch that the young widow was no ordinary person from the first time he saw her, but his daily interactions gradually dispelled his doubts.

Tian Qu suddenly thought of something else and said, "Oh right, the secret guards also reported back that three other people have been following Qiu Ziye these days, but their tracking methods were too clumsy, so they didn't report it in time. This time at Jinpin Pavilion, those three people are also missing."

He looked at Ji Ci's increasingly cold eyes, his heart trembling, and made a guess: "I wonder... Is Qiu Ziye's disappearance related to these three people?"

Ji Ci frowned and immediately got on the carriage, saying, "Take a few armored guards and go to Jinpin Pavilion immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The author has something to say:

Are you scared, little widow?

There is another chapter at noon～～