Chapter 74 The Marquis's arrival is an honor; I have failed to greet you properly.
Ming Wang glanced at Bai Xiuming with some surprise and laughed, "You still remember Mo Ling. It seems that those books you stole from my study when you were a kid weren't for nothing."
Bai Xiuming looked slightly helpless: "Father, let's get down to business."
The Ming King ignored him completely and, in front of Bai Xiuming, began to tell Wen Zhong about his childhood: "When he was studying with the princes, he really wanted a Mo Ling. He would save up his money to buy inkstones, always hoping that one day he would open his eyes and raise one that could do his homework for him."
Wen Zhong couldn't help but chuckle, never expecting Bai Xiuming to have such a childish side. Bai Xiuming, however, looked up at the sky, pretending not to hear.
"The Emperor told me the other day, 'You took another of his antique inkstones?'"
“That was a gift from His Majesty,” Bai Xiuming replied confidently.
"Oh, it seems His Majesty hasn't changed his habit of hitting people with inkstones." Ming Wang clearly knew the emperor and his son very well.
He added, "If you ask me, instead of collecting ancient inkstones and piling them up in your mansion, you might as well send them to Wen Zhong's mansion. Maybe they can really be nurtured."
Wen Zhong was somewhat surprised upon hearing this: "What exactly is this Ink Spirit, and how do you raise it?"
How did he manage to raise it?
The wise king explained to him, "To be honest, it can be considered a kind of spiritual object. People of great talent are easily inspired by spiritual objects, and these spiritual objects possess wisdom and can be spoken to."
Wen Zhong became somewhat interested in Mo Ling: "That's interesting. It can even conjure up intelligent spirits out of thin air?"
"The world is full of wonders. It is likely that Mo Ling's innate intelligence is related to the person who can enlighten her spirit. It is just a pity that there are too few people who can enlighten spirits, and the description of Mo Ling is only a few words."
Then the King of Light added, “According to existing records, ink spirits are all born from inkstones, but their true form is ink. However, although ink spirits are exceptionally intelligent, I have never heard of them possessing great power.”
Bai Xiuming said, "This is indeed the biggest point of doubt, but I am more inclined to believe that Mo Ling may have received help from external forces and possessed power that does not belong to it."
If other spirits were to approach Song Xi, they would find it difficult to remain undetected, let alone be swallowed. Only Mo Ling, unless she deliberately exposes herself, would likely go unnoticed.
King Ming nodded: "It seems you have a lead?"
“It’s not exactly a clue. On the day of the Duke of Song’s birthday, his brother-in-law sent him a painting of an old pine tree. The painting was imbued with some residual power, which was quite different from any power I knew.” Bai Xiuming thought for a moment before saying, “It feels somewhat similar to the power of incense and sacrificial offerings commonly found in folk religion.”
"Incense offerings and sacrifices..." King Ming seemed to be lost in thought, as if he had just thought of something.
"Father, do you know about this power?" Bai Xiu asked.
"I've only heard that this practice flourished when the witch clan was at its peak. However, they only worship their ancestors, and if they encounter a crisis, they can ask their ancestors for protection. I don't know if they really have ancestors, but they are indeed very powerful."
Some spirits once tried to imitate this method, tricking humans into offering them incense and sacrifices, but the power they gained was limited. Later, folk incense and sacrificial rites originated from this practice.
"But wasn't the Witch Clan wiped out? How can someone still use this method?" Bai Xiuming still remembered what the Supervisor had said about the Witch Clan.
"Did the supervisor tell you that?"
Bai Xiuming retorted, "Is the Supervisor wrong?"
"That's true, but he's never even left the Great Xia, so all he knows is the news that's been sent back."
"So, the witch clan still exists?"
“Yes, there should be bloodlines remaining.” Ming Wang said with certainty, “If Mo Ling happens to have received help from the Wu Clan, your guess may not be wrong. We can follow this clue to investigate further.”
Bai Xiuming nodded: "It seems that the person who sold the painting is quite suspicious, but unfortunately Sun Bo'an does not know the person's name or address."
He paused, then added, "I'm afraid even if we find the person, it won't be of any use."
The Ming King understood his meaning and sighed, "Borrowed power will dissipate. It was able to kill Song Xi, but a large amount of ink remained. If it is truly an ink spirit, it is very likely that it perished together with Song Xi. It is hard to say whether the person selling the painting was completely unaware or was being manipulated by it."
Wen Zhong listened to the father and son talking for a long time before asking the question that had been bothering him: "If Mo Ling is considered a spiritual being, why did they kill the Duke of Song and his son?"
“Good question. I also want to know why you suspect Mo Ling is the culprit?” Ming Wang and Wen Zhong looked at Bai Xiuming together.
Bai Xiuming said, "I sent someone to find Tang Ming, that classmate and friend who beat the Dengwen Drum for the eldest son of the Duke of Song. I got Song Yu's articles and poems from him, and also asked several officials from the Hanlin Academy to help me review them."
"Well written?" King Ming asked curiously.
“It’s more than just good,” Bai Xiuming said. “The evaluations of those officials were unanimous: his writing is excellent and his words are substantial. With this level of skill, he is more than qualified to take the imperial examination. Tang Ming said that was just an article that Song Yu wrote four years ago. Tang Ming is quite talented, and whenever he mentions Song Yu, he speaks of him with great admiration.”
"You think that with Song Yu's talent, he can identify Mo Ling? And that Mo Ling is there to avenge Song Yu?"
Bai Xiuming nodded: "First, the story of the Song State Duke's family switching children was brought up, and then the Marquis of Zhenbei sent people to investigate the matter, taking the opportunity to kick Song Xi when he was down and make him return to the capital from Xiling. I think the deaths of the Song State Duke and his son are inextricably linked to these previous events."
"Wait, you went to the Marquis of Zhenbei's residence?" Ming Wang suddenly grasped the key point. Given the Marquis of Zhenbei's temper, if Bai Xiuming dared to come to his door to ask questions, he would probably find it hard to resist the urge to fight him.
"No, we only arrested Lei Tong, a personal guard of the Marquis of Zhenbei. He was quite sensible." Bai Xiuming said calmly, not feeling that there was anything wrong with his actions.
"What's the reason for arresting him?" Ming Wang was genuinely afraid that if he arrested him today, tomorrow the emperor's desk would be filled with memorials impeaching Bai Xiuming.
His son was good in every way, except that he was too careless in his actions. King Ming always felt that Bai Xiuming was going to cause a big trouble one day.
Seeing that Ming Wang's eyebrows were about to stand up, Bai Xiuming had no choice but to patiently explain: "He bribed Zhang Qian, the commander of the Mingjing Division, with the intention of spying on the secrets of the Mingjing Division."
"Is there evidence?"
"Yes." When Chen Hui's information was leaked, Bai Xiuming had already found Lei Tong. However, after that, the Marquis of Zhenbei was forced to reflect on his mistakes in his residence by His Majesty. There was no need for him to pursue the Marquis of Zhenbei's personal guards and gain a reputation for being ruthless.
Now that three months have almost passed, the timing is perfect.
King Ming was relieved: "Then please continue."
Bai Xiuming continued, "Lei Tong said that the news about Song Yu was specially delivered to the Zhenbei Marquis's residence, but they couldn't find the person who delivered the message. The other party must have arranged everything in advance, but they didn't expect that someone from the Song State Duke's residence would take the blame in the end."
"When dignified methods proved useless, killing became the only option, which is quite reasonable." King Ming looked at Wen Zhong. "What are your thoughts?"
Wen Zhongdao said, "Lord Bai's speculation is reasonable and well-founded, but since even the Duke of Song was killed, why let Song Chengliang, who was involved in the child swap, go free?"
“I do know that,” Ming Wang said, recalling the memorial he had seen with the emperor. “Today, His Majesty just read the memorial that the Duke of Song submitted before his death. In it, he admitted that he was the one who switched the babies, and that Song Chengliang was just a scapegoat. I suspect that the memorial was probably not written by the Duke of Song himself, but was only intended to provoke His Majesty in order to implicate the Duke of Song’s family.”
“It’s more likely that the truth is not what the person wrote. If Mo Ling is truly as intelligent as the Prince says, she wouldn’t kill innocent people indiscriminately. In that case, it’s highly probable that she possessed the Duke of Song. Ordinary spirits probably couldn’t write a memorial.” Wen Zhong’s analysis was different from theirs, but it made a lot of sense.
“It really is true.” King Ming sighed and shook his head. “If it was really Mo Ling who killed them, then their deaths were not unjust. It’s just a pity for Song Yu, with such talent, yet he had no chance to use it.”
Wen Zhong fell silent upon hearing this.
On the day the emperor personally questioned the case in court, he didn't actually pay much attention to it.
He had heard countless scandals and sordid stories about noble families. If it weren't for someone beating the petition drum and the fact that it involved exchanging a son of a concubine for a son of the legitimate wife, this matter wouldn't have been considered particularly interesting.
But listening to it now evokes different feelings.
Wen Zhong sighed, "If the Duke of Song had given Song Yu even the slightest chance to take the imperial examination, he would have known about his talent and wouldn't have ended up like this today."
Ming Wang scoffed, "The Duke of Song wanted to learn from his father, but he only learned his father's ruthless methods of killing enemies, and then used them all on his own son. No wonder there was fratricide in their household. It's not surprising at all that a man like the Duke of Song could raise a son like Song Xi."
Others envied the Duke of Song for having a son who had reached the third realm at a young age, but in the eyes of the King of Ming, it was nothing special.
Moral character is more important than spiritual cultivation.
The two were talking, and Bai Xiuming listened from the side without interrupting.
After he finished speaking, Ming Wang said to Bai Xiuming, "Your Majesty is eager to know the cause of their deaths. We need to find some useful evidence as soon as possible and report back to Your Majesty."
Wen Zhong was still alive, and although Ming Wang didn't speak too bluntly, Bai Xiuming understood what he meant.
The emperor was not interested in who killed the Duke of Song, but he needed to know whether the deaths of the Duke of Song and Song Xi were related to a deeper conspiracy.
"yes."
Wen Zhong stayed at the Prince Ming's residence until evening before taking the prince's carriage back to his own residence.
Outside the mansion gate, the tall and imposing steward had been waiting for a long time. Seeing him get off the carriage, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Young Master, didn't you say you were going to come back early? Why are you so late?"
The steward in the mansion was brought from Wen Zhong's hometown. He took care of him since he was a child. Now that Wen Zhong has become a third-rank official, he still calls him young master.
Wen Zhong patiently explained, "I lost track of time chatting with the prince."
He entered the mansion with the steward, who noticed the scroll he was carrying and asked, "Is this a painting that the Prince gave to the young master?"
Wen Zhong glanced at the scroll in his hand and shook his head, saying, "It's a gift from a young friend of mine."
The butler's eyes lit up. His young master had mentioned that he had recently met an interesting young friend. He immediately guessed who had sent the painting and hurriedly asked, "Is it the young friend who often plays chess with the young master?"
"Um."
“If you truly want to befriend someone, you can invite them to your residence for a visit,” the steward began to ramble on. “Anyone you take a liking to must be of good character. Even if they know your identity, so what? Since you came to the capital, you haven’t liked socializing with anyone. How can you manage with just one Prince Ming?”
After listening to the steward finish speaking, Wen Zhong said, "I'm afraid there's no chance anymore. He... is no longer in the capital."
"Not in the capital anymore? Did he go back to his hometown?" The steward understood as he saw the wistful look on Wen Chong's face.
But she couldn't help but advise, "That young friend didn't forget to give you a gift before leaving, so he must be thinking of you. You might even meet again in the future."
Wen Zhong remained silent and did not answer.
I'm afraid that's not possible.
If he hadn't run into Song Yan, who didn't recognize him at all, and hadn't overheard the conversation between Ming Wang and Bai Xiuming, he might have believed Miss Ji's words, just like Boss Xu, and thought that Song Yan didn't want to stay in the capital and had secretly returned to his hometown.
When I think of Song Yan in the future, I will probably only feel a little regretful that I was unable to see him off in person.
But now, with all these doubts weighing on his mind, how can he possibly believe it?
Song Yu, who died with a talent that had nowhere to be used, and Mo Ling, who tried every means to avenge Song Yu.
Song Yan, who shares the same surname as Song Yu, is named after the inkstone.
Bai Xiuming had not found any evidence and dared not draw any conclusions.
Ke Wenzhong was almost certain that their guess was the truth.
His talented young friend was Mo Ling, whom Song Yu had singled out.
There aren't that many truly talented people in the world; he should have suspected it long ago.
Thinking of what Ming Wang said, that Mo Ling was very likely to perish together with Song Xi, Wen Zhong felt only deep regret.
He also regretted not pursuing the matter thoroughly in court that day regarding Song Yu's case.
As for the truth... let's just say it was his personal motive. Mo Ling is dead, and Song Yan has simply returned to his hometown.
Three or four days after the case at the Duke of Song's mansion, Achan was worried that the imperial court might investigate Song Yan. If they did, they would inevitably investigate those of them who knew Song Yan.
She wasn't worried about others investigating her, but she was afraid of attracting Bai Xiuming's attention.
As a result, the Ministry of Justice and the Jingzhao Prefecture conducted a thorough investigation in the first two days, but they couldn't find anything on them, and then nothing happened.
Achan even spent two days at home racking her brains about how to deal with Bai Xiuming, but all her efforts were in vain.
Logically, since the Duke of Song had died, the Emperor shouldn't have reacted so coldly, yet the case of the Duke of Song's mansion simply faded into obscurity.
A few days later, as the month drew to a close, she no longer heard anyone mention the case.
Rumors circulated in the city that the young masters of the Song State Duke's mansion were vying for the title. Originally, the most likely candidate for the title was the second son of the Song State Duke, but now his mother was still in prison, his father and brothers were dead, and he was still young, so he couldn't compete with his adult half-brothers.
The question of which of the three sons of the Duke of Song by illegitimate children was most likely to win became a popular topic of discussion, with some even acting as bookmakers to bet on which son would successfully inherit the title.
Achan had done some research on this and felt that the eldest son of a concubine was more likely to be the one. This man had some cultivation, but his literary talent was average. However, he had studied at the Imperial Academy, so he was neither the best nor the worst.
Just a few days later, news suddenly spread that the heir of the Duke of Song's mansion had murdered his brother, and that the Duke of Song had protected his son and sent someone to take the blame.
The emperor, mindful that the Duke of Song had shown remorse before his death and had revealed the truth to him, decided not to pursue the crime of deceiving the emperor against the Duke of Song's family. However, although the death penalty could be waived, he could not escape punishment. The title of Duke of Song would be inherited by the Duke of Song's family.
In other words, the title of Duke of Song was completely gone.
The common people were all surprised by the turn of events, but Achan knew that Song Yan was probably behind it.
Although it is unknown how he did it, he ultimately succeeded in revealing the truth about Song Yu's death to the public, not letting the two culprits get away with it, nor making things easy for the Duke of Song's mansion.
They sacrificed Song Yu for the Duke's Mansion, so Song Yan made the Duke's Mansion disappear completely, which is fair.
The rumors about the Duke of Song's mansion gradually disappeared. Only when Achan chatted with Boss Xu would she hear him mention the young master of Song, who had already left the capital.
August has arrived in the blink of an eye. It's still very hot during the day, but the temperature is just right in the evening.
Achan stayed in the shop to tidy up and prepare to close, while Huiniang went to the carpenter's shop to pick up the mooncake molds they had ordered.
While she was busy, she suddenly saw a carriage stop in front of the shop, and two people got out.
When Achan looked up and saw the face of the Marquis of Jinyang, she wondered why he was here.
She walked to the door and said rather unenthusiastically, "Your Excellency, it is an honor to have you here. I am sorry for not welcoming you properly."
While exchanging pleasantries, the person stood in the doorway, sizing up the newcomer.
She thought that after Xue Zhao's death, the Xue family would definitely regard her as the culprit and would not let her go, but unexpectedly the other party suddenly went silent until today, when the Marquis of Jinyang finally showed up.
Marquis Jinyang walked up to Achan and saw her standing at the door, seemingly not intending to invite him in. A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he still said, "I have something to say to you."
"Please speak, my lord."
"Right here, back in your residence, didn't anyone teach you the proper etiquette for entertaining guests?" Marquis Jinyang couldn't help but rebuke him.
Ah Chan chuckled lightly: "Your Excellency has come uninvited, so you can hardly be considered a guest. I suppose what Your Excellency wants to say to me is not some important military or national matter. If you are not afraid of being overheard, then please speak here. If you do not wish to speak, then please leave."
Marquis Jinyang was very dissatisfied with Achan's attitude, but considering that he had made things difficult for her before and had offended the evil god Bai Xiuming, he finally gave in.
“Your mother has been gone for some time now, and her coffin is not suitable for burial in my Ji family cemetery, lest it disrupt the feng shui.”
Achan blinked, then suddenly understood what he meant: "Does the Marquis mean that I should move the grave?"
"What, you don't want to?"
Marquis Jinyang thought Achan's reaction would be intense, but to his surprise, she seemed quite indifferent: "I'm willing, when?"
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