Chapter 37
There was only a line of words on the handkerchief - Xie Heng is the murderer.
Lu Ling felt her mind go blank. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked carefully at the line of words.
Su Yun, who is this? Is this what she is thinking?
Is Xie Heng the murderer? Is he the one who killed the Lu family? How did Su Yun know?
Lu Ling suddenly regretted not asking Xie Yuwang about the cause of Su Yun's death. She now had a hunch that Su Yun's death was also related to Xie Heng.
Lu Ling was just thinking when Jiang Yun and Lin Yao came over.
"Miss, I found someone."
Yesterday, Lu Ling received news that all the guards who were in charge of the weapons were dead, but one of them survived the chase, but his whereabouts were unknown.
Jiang Yun and Lin Yao went to look for someone today. Lu Ling originally thought that they would not find him so quickly, but he did not expect that they would find him so quickly.
"Why is it so fast?" Lu Ling asked the question in his mind.
"Someone gave us a clue along the way, which is why Ayao and I were able to find the person so quickly."
Lu Ling didn't ask any more questions. She knew who helped her, but she couldn't understand why he helped her.
With both witnesses and evidence in hand, the Dali Temple quickly began to try the case. It was originally thought that the case would be quickly concluded and the Lu family would be cleared of all charges. However, at the critical moment, the witnesses were gone.
By the time Lu Ling went to the cell to meet the people, the bodies of the witnesses brought back by Jiang Yun and Lin Yao were already cold.
The lips of the corpse were black, and it was obvious that he died of poisoning. But regardless of whether he was dead or not, it was a foregone conclusion that Xie Heng had harmed the Lu family.
Because the prince had come to the prison in person two days ago and saw this man, and that man told the prince what happened, but because it was a private punishment, not many people knew about it.
Now that the person is gone, the fact that the prince resorted to lynching has to be brought to light.
However, the emperor's tolerance for the prince was beyond the imagination of the ministers. When the prince admitted his fault to the emperor in court, the emperor did not show any displeasure, but just frowned and finally said:
"The Crown Prince is indeed foresighted, otherwise I would have failed my beloved Lord Lu."
Soon, Xie Heng was arrested, and the Lu family was cleared of all charges, and everything was getting better.
The Lu Mansion was sold long ago after the Lu family was imprisoned. Although Lu Ling was no longer a criminal, he had lost all the gold he had in order to bribe the officials of the Dali Temple, so he naturally had to buy a house with more money.
However, although Lu Ling could not afford a house as big as the Lu residence, he could still afford a smaller one.
On the day we moved into the new house, the Crown Prince came.
When the prince arrived, he glanced around, taking in everything in the house. He stopped when he saw Lu Ling and asked, "Miss Lu, are you feeling comfortable living here?"
The prince was well aware of how picky Lu Ling had been in the past.
Lu Ling bowed and replied to the prince, "After going through so much, I'm naturally used to it."
Moreover, Lu Ling felt that although this place was not as good as the original Lu Mansion and was a little smaller, it was much better than when he was in Ningzhou.
The prince paused, as if he felt that Lu Ling's tone was a little cold. Although he had indeed had less contact with Lu Ling after she and Shen Wangyou got engaged, and he was not able to help much when something happened in the Lu Mansion.
The prince lowered his head and laughed at himself, thinking that it was just as he deserved.
"Miss Lu, won't you take me for a walk?" The prince put away his emotions and asked Lu Ling.
Lu Ling nodded and took the prince for a walk.
She actually didn't know why the prince came. She didn't mean to distance herself from him. It was just that the prince kept calling her "Miss Lu" which made her feel uncomfortable. She remembered that the prince used to call her "A Ling".
Perhaps the prince could see that Lu Ling was in a bad mood, so after walking with Lu Ling for a while, he found an excuse and went into the house with Lu Ling to drink tea.
Lu Ling's family is not large, there are only four people, she, Shen Wangyou, Jiang Yun and Lin Yao, and there are not even servants. Jiang Yun and Lin Yao went out shopping early today, so Shen Wangyou became the person who poured tea.
"Is the prince here to taste tea today?" Shen Wangyou asked sarcastically.
The prince laughed when he heard Shen Wangyou’s tone, and then said: “It’s not just about drinking tea, there is naturally something to say.”
The prince continued, "My father asked me to tell you something. The incident at the Lu Mansion was his fault. What is your wish? My father is willing to fulfill it."
Lu Ling was stunned. She didn't expect the emperor to be so kind. She had seen him from afar when she attended a palace banquet.
The emperor was wearing a dragon robe and had a stern expression on his face. He looked majestic without even being angry, and anyone who saw him would break out in a cold sweat.
Lu Ling originally thought that the Lu family's affairs were over and nothing would happen in the future. He didn't expect that the emperor would feel sorry for the Lu family and fulfill Lu Ling's wish.
Lu Ling thought about it and finally said to the prince: "I want to go to the military camp."
Lu Ling's request to go to the military camp wasn't about hard labor like last time, but rather about leading troops in battle. However, since the Lu family's case had just been overturned, the emperor naturally couldn't immediately send her to lead troops. Furthermore, since the founding of Daliang, women had never led troops in battle. Lu Ling didn't think the emperor would station her outside the capital.
Lu Ling's suspicions were correct. After the Crown Prince left that day, he reported the matter to the Emperor, but there was no further news. Lu Ling thought the matter was over, but within five days, the Emperor's decree arrived.
Lu Ling received the order and was stunned for a long time.
"A Ling." Shen Wangyou waved his hand in front of Lu Ling and said, "Don't stay here. Xie Heng will be executed tomorrow. Do you want to go see him? And Shen Wangyou."
Lu Ling finally came to his senses. He had been so busy settling into the new house these days that he almost forgot about this matter.
"When will the execution be tomorrow?"
"Noon."
Lu Ling thought about it and finally said, "Then let's go meet him today."
Shen Wangyou accompanied Lu Ling into the sky prison. There were many rats walking from left to right and from right to left in the aisle. Not only that, a musty smell emanated from it.
In the past, Lu Ling would panic and run away when she saw these things, but now Lu Ling feels that this cage is both strange and familiar, and she will not panic because of the dirtiness.
Lu Ling walked in and went to Xie Yuwang's cell first, not Xie Heng's.
Xie Heng will be executed the next day, and Xie Yuwang will be exiled to Shuzhou.
Fate always seems to like playing jokes. Xie Yuwang used to be a major general in Shuzhou, but now he has become a slave.
Xie Yuwang seemed to have not expected Lu Ling to come. When he saw Lu Ling coming, there was a hint of surprise on his face.
"Ah, sister." Xie Yuwang's voice was hoarse.
"Yuwang." Lu Ling called out, "Is that you?"
Did you write the words on Su Yun’s handkerchief?
Xie Yuwang nodded: "He has done too many wrong things. I can't bear to see him make more mistakes."
This is the only thing I can do.
Lu Ling looked at Xie Yuwang and felt that Xie Yuwang had really changed, completely changed. If Lu Ling only felt that he had become mature when they met again, then Xie Yuwang had now become a completely different person, someone Lu Ling had never known before.
Xie Yuwang used to protect his father, but now he can expose his own father's behavior.
"Xie Yuwang, can you tell me about what happened that year?" Shen Wangyou asked.
As for what it was, both of them knew it well. Shen Wangyou was asking about the situation when Xie Yuwang was tied up when he ran back to the military camp to find Lu Ling.
"That day, Liu Yong drugged the wine, and when he woke up, he was already tied up."
Lu Ling and Shen Wangyou had actually heard all of this from Wu Gang, but thinking of Xie Heng's matter, Shen Wangyou still had some doubts.
"Liu Yong actually had contact with Bai Pu a long time ago. I don't know what Bai Pu gave him to make him dare to betray Daliang!" Xie Yuwang felt a little relieved as he said this. "But luckily, my father found out and arrested him, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."
Lu Ling thought of what Wu Gang said. She remembered that Wu Gang did not say that Liu Yong was collaborating with the enemy and selling out his country. Why didn't Xie Heng report the collusion between Liu Yong and Bai Pu to the court?
As if he knew what Lu Ling was thinking, Xie Yuwang continued, "My father didn't have direct evidence of him collaborating with the enemy and betraying his country, so he couldn't report the matter. So he had to send him to the frontier on the pretext that someone disliked my father."
Xie Yuwang looked up at Lu Ling, his eyes clear and piercing. "So, he probably won't be able to contact the Baipu people anymore, right?"
Lu Ling didn't say anything. She hadn't recovered from the news yet.
The Baipu Kingdom was so despicable that it bribed people into the imperial court.
Thinking of this, Lu Ling couldn't help but worry about the danger to Daliang.
Lu Ling looked at Xie Yuwang and said, "The journey to Shuzhou will be difficult. Take good care of yourself."
After saying that, Lu Ling and Shen Wangyou left Xie Yuwang's cell.
What Lu Ling didn't see was that after the two men left, Xie Yuwang took out a dagger from his prison uniform. He had asked the jailer to get it for him.
He has used this dagger for many years. It was a birthday gift from Su Yun to him. Now he wants to use the gift from his beloved to end his life.
Xie Yu looked at the small window of the cell and murmured, "Ayun, wait for me, I'm coming."
*
When they arrived at Xie Heng's cell, Xie Heng was sleeping, as if he would not be the one to be executed the next day.
The jailer opened the door, and Shen Wangyou and Lu Ling walked in.
Xie Heng's hair was messy and there were no scars on his body. It seemed that his life in prison was not bad.
As soon as he walked in, Xie Heng woke up.
Lu Ling looked at Xie Heng, his eyes unclear: "Uncle Xie."
Lu Ling thought that this might be the last time she would call him uncle.
Xie Heng sat down and waved his hand, saying, "Don't be so hypocritical. I don't believe that after all I've done, you can still willingly call me uncle."
Lu Ling didn't say anything. After a while, he said, "Xie Heng, my father has been very kind to you. Why are you doing this?"
"Not too harsh?" Xie Heng sneered. "What's not too harsh? Is it not too harsh to kill my wife or to hold Xie Yuwang hostage in your house?"
As soon as Xie Heng said this, Lu Ling froze in place. Didn't Xie Heng's wife, Xie Yuwang's mother, die of illness years ago? How could he say that her father had killed her?
"Xie Heng, stop slandering me. My father wouldn't do such a thing. And your mother, Xie Yuwang, died of illness. How could it be my father's fault?"
"No." Xie Heng shook his head. "She didn't die of illness. She was poisoned by your father!" Xie Heng's voice trembled as he spoke the last words.
Lu Ling's heart was shocked.
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