Chapter 85 Let Me See You Off

A tall, slender figure entered from outside the door, backlit by the light. Tears welled in Wang Yuru's eyes, and her hoarse voice, strained by the white silk ribbon, cried out, "Zheng'er, you must avenge your mother!"

＊

The people around her were dismissed, and Wang Yuru lay on the couch, looking lovingly at her most beloved son.

Jiang Ningzheng was tall and slender, and had lost weight since leaving the Jiang residence. His youthful air had faded, and his eyes were brighter, as if he had been reborn.

After the New Year, he went on a trip with the academy teacher and has not returned home for half a year.

Now that the Master is ill and has returned to the capital for treatment, he has come back with him.

"You've lost so much weight. It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Wang Yuru said, stroking his cheek as she cried.

Jiang Ningzheng frowned. "Mother, how did you get yourself into this state? If I had arrived any later, I would never have seen you again."

"It's all because of that bitch Jiang Zhi." Wang Yuru said bitterly, telling him all the suffering she had endured at Jiang Zhi's hands over the past few days.

The more Jiang Ningzheng listened, the more somber his expression became. "How dare they take advantage of their son's absence to humiliate their mother and second sister! It's utterly despicable."

Wang Yuru looked worried. "Zheng'er, you must be careful too. She seems very mysterious, and she has the heir of the Marquis of Wuyi protecting her. Don't fall into her trap."

Jiang Ningzheng sneered, not taking her seriously at all.

“Mother is confused. What ability does she have to compete with us? I am Father’s only legitimate son, and the Jiang family will eventually be handed over to me. If she wants the support of her maternal family, she certainly wouldn’t dare to offend me easily. As for Mother—”

He smiled dismissively, "As her stepmother, you hold the power over her marriage. Why bother arguing with her over these pointless things and ending up in this predicament?"

Wang Yuru was in a dilemma. "But your father said that I am not allowed to interfere in Jiang Zhi's marriage. A few days ago, she went to the palace to participate in the selection of the Crown Princess. Your father wants to keep her so that she can climb the social ladder in the future."

“Father, I will persuade him,” Jiang Ningzheng patted Wang Yuru’s hand reassuringly. “I already have a very good candidate. Mother, rest assured and recover from your injury. Wait for your son’s good news.”

Wang Yuru smiled with relief, "My Zheng'er has really grown up and can now share his mother's burdens."

*

Jiang Zhi had Qingxing go to the government office to reissue the house and land deeds, which she then carefully stored in her ebony box.

A member of the Imperial Guard came to her door to ask her to come over and identify the person who pushed her into the water.

Lu Yuan has been busy with this case these days.

Unfortunately, all the clues went cold when they reached Yu Rong.

Just like the assassination of the crown prince, it seems that the murderer was just angry and wanted to kill someone, and the mastermind behind it could not be found. This shows that the person behind it was very cunning and scheming.

Jiang Zhi instructed Qingxing to take good care of the courtyard, and then went to the Northern Garrison with the Imperial Guards.

When I saw Lu Yuan, he seemed to have just finished torturing a suspect, and he still smelled strongly of blood. Even the fierce and gloomy expression on his face hadn't faded yet.

Upon seeing Jiang Zhi, he simply took the damp cloth handed to him by his subordinate and casually wiped his hands. "Come and take a look."

In the innermost cell, there was a prisoner dressed as a palace maid. Her limbs were tied to the wall, and her body was covered in wounds and blood. Her once pretty face was now as white as paper.

"This is..." Jiang Zhi was a little uncomfortable when she saw such a bloody scene, and she managed to calm herself down.

Lu Yuan had the cell door opened, went in, and brushed the disheveled hair from the female prisoner's face. "Miss Jiang, please identify whether this palace maid was beside you when you fell into the water that day?"

Despite her discomfort, Jiang Zhi stepped forward to check and indeed found the palace maid to be somewhat familiar.

The scene was chaotic that day. She only felt someone push her from behind, but she didn't know who it was.

However, she remembered the palace maid's face; she was indeed behind her at that time.

Hearing her say that, Lu Yuan confirmed it. "Then that's right. She also carried a small packet of poison with her, probably intending to frame you when you were rescued from the pool. However, she didn't get to the shore before she could deliver the poison."

This palace maid is incredibly stubborn; even after being severely tortured, she still refuses to speak.

Jiang Zhi asked, "May I take a look at that packet of poison?"

Lu Yuan had someone bring it up for her to see.

Jiang Zhi took it and brought it to her nose to sniff lightly.

Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he immediately grabbed her wrist. "Careful!"

Jiang Zhi simply looked up and smiled at him, "Don't worry, Lord Lu, the evidence won't be destroyed."

Lu Yuan withdrew his hand, not letting her notice the fleeting worry in his eyes.

"The fragrance on this..." Jiang Zhi hesitated and didn't finish her sentence.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Miss Jiang, have you noticed anything amiss?"

Jiang Zhi simply shook her head. "I guess I smelled it wrong."

She didn't say it aloud, but she felt like she'd smelled it somewhere before.

But fearing that he might have misremembered, he dared not tell Lu Yuanming.

Let's wait until we have another chance to meet.

Lu Yuan then carefully collected the evidence and led Jiang Zhi out of the prison cell.

When they came out, they ran into Yu Jun, who had just returned from a mission.

Seeing the two of them come out, he was stunned for a moment, and asked Lu Yuan, "Boss, you just took Miss Jiang to see the prisoners like that?"

Lu Yuan was puzzled. "What?"

Yu Jun looked him up and down, a complicated expression on her face. "Why don't you wash up first, or let the prisoner tidy up, before letting Miss Jiang go in and identify people?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Lu Yuan didn't have much patience for his subordinates.

"Boss, Miss Jiang is a lady from a respectable family, not some rough people like us who deal with prisoners every day. Haven't you noticed that Miss Jiang's face has turned pale?"

Lu Yuan then lowered his head to take a closer look.

In the dim light of the cell, he was so focused on the case that he didn't notice Jiang Zhi's discomfort.

"I'm sorry, I was being careless," he softened his tone, then said to Yu Jun, "Why don't you go and pour a cup of tea?"

Yu Jun reluctantly agreed.

After Jiang Zhi sat down and took a sip of tea, her complexion improved somewhat.

Having lived two lives, even in the Earl of Loyalty's mansion, she had never witnessed such a bloody scene.

That made him a laughing stock among others.

Just as she was about to get up and take her leave, Lu Yuan followed her out, saying, "Since Miss Jiang is not feeling well, let me see you off."

Not far after the two walked out of the gate of the Northern Garrison, Jiang Zhi saw a familiar carriage approaching in the distance.

She had ridden in this carriage a few days ago; it was Yan Wenhong's vehicle.

Her heart tightened, and she immediately closed the already somewhat distant distance between herself and Lu Yuan.

"Lord Lu, it seems like I have sand in my eye. Could you please take a look?"