Unable to understand
Sui Zhixu: "He found evidence of Mingyi being poisoned?"
"Hmm." Ning Yan's expression was not good. "Madam Liu, be careful. Apart from Qiu Guo, no one else saw their transaction."
Last night, Lady Liu denied poisoning Lady Xu, and her maid took full responsibility for the crime.
The matter of poisoning was left unresolved.
“Liu Xi is the most suspicious. Perhaps we can understand him from Cheng Zhijie’s perspective, since they are childhood sweethearts.” Sui Zhixu thought of the strange Liu Xi.
Whose dagger was found in Xu Mingyi's chest? It's best for Liu Xi to have already poisoned Xu Mingyi and quietly wait for him to die.
"What did you suspect yesterday? That Madam Xu wanted to escape on the third day of the third lunar month, deliberately quarreled with Madam Liu, left the banquet heartbroken, faked her death to escape? Or fell off a cliff? There are corpses in the mortuary that can be faked. Xia Rong has a contract of indenture and is free. If Madam Xu has a fake travel permit, escaping would be no problem." Ning Yan talked on and on.
As expected of someone who has seen a lot in the world, Xu Xiang provided very comprehensive supplementary information.
"Pretty much, but she was stabbed halfway there. The wound wasn't deep, and that incompetent assassin was so lenient. I still suspect Madam Liu, but it doesn't make sense logically unless Madam Xu drove her crazy."
"You suspect that Liu Xi lied and misled us at the beginning? That's a possibility, but it's a pity we can't take her back to torture her. They were found unconscious at the crime scene, and the Eldest Princess confirmed this. If Cheng Zhijie hadn't come to our door with his sword, based on past entanglements, even if Liu Niangzi was highly suspicious, it wouldn't have been enough to constitute evidence. When the Dali Temple came to our door, Liu Gong would have been beaten out on the spot."
Ning Yan thought about it and realized that Liu Gong might actually do it, since he was the first duke to be granted a fief of 1,300 households.
The current emperor has no sons, only one daughter, who was adopted from the daughter of his deceased elder brother.
Naturally, some of the power fell into the hands of the powerful families.
Cheng Zhijie rushed towards the Liu family with his sword in the middle of the night, alarming the Imperial Guards. The Emperor, seeing that he had just been promoted to Grand Master of the Silver Seal, gave him a verbal reprimand and then remained silent.
Sui Zhixu lowered his eyes. To put it mildly, it was a domestic dispute between the ladies. If the families could coordinate it, the matter would be over in less than a night. No one in Chang'an would say anything. After all, aristocratic families always put profit first.
The case of Mingyi being poisoned is exactly like this.
All they can do now is find out who the dagger is.
"Let's continue the investigation." The atmosphere became heavy after talking for a while, and Sui Zhixu came back to her senses. "Now that we have the case, we have to find out the truth. Isn't he Cheng Langjun's political enemy? Asking Liu Niangzi is also a good idea. Let's go."
The two approached him, and he suppressed the bitterness churning in his heart. "I have found evidence of Liu Xi's collusion with Qiu Guo. There is no one else who poisoned my wife."
"Liu Xi mentioned that she saw a man in black kill Madam Xu on the day of the incident, right where the dagger in Mingyi's chest came from. That man claimed to have been sent by your political enemy." Ning Yan quickly finished speaking when she saw Cheng Zhijie was about to speak.
Cheng Zhijie wanted to speak, but hesitated, then shut his mouth, his expression not very pleasant.
Just as the two had guessed, Cheng Zhijie did not believe that Liu Xi had gone to great lengths to secretly poison Xu Mingyi and then go mad and kill her on the spot at the Princess's banquet on the third day of the third month.
It's not impossible that Cheng Zhijie had political enemies. They had just gotten married last autumn, causing quite a stir in Chang'an. A story based on the three of them suddenly appeared and spread throughout Chang'an.
Political enemies believed that Cheng Zhijie's denial of his marriage agreement with Liu Xi and his insistence on marrying Xu Mingyi despite the opposition of the Marquis of Wu'an's wife must be very important to Cheng Zhijie.
Their wives and children relished doing things that embarrassed Xu Mingyi. Madam Cheng didn't care about Xu Mingyi at all, let alone protect her.
She would only glance at the disheveled Xu Mingyi, saying that she had disgraced the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion, and then gracefully turn and leave.
The men's and women's seats at the banquet were far apart, and Cheng Zhijie could not predict what would happen to Xu Mingyi every time. The people he arranged would always encounter various accidents and could not protect Xu Mingyi every time.
They framed Xu Mingyi for theft, belittling her by saying she grew up on the estate, was ill-mannered, and behaved rudely.
Even more so, when he "accidentally" pushed her into the water, Xu Mingyi gently pulled her into the water with him, thus fulfilling the meaning of "accidentally".
Even more ridiculous, some young men believed they were attractive enough to seduce Xu Mingyi, hoping that Xu Mingyi would have an affair and cuckold Cheng Zhijie.
Cheng Zhijie found it laughable; the arrogant and ignorant fellow was someone he had raised for so long. He couldn't possibly be so blind as to look at such a grotesque person.
The results were predictable: they were dealt with in various ways. Some had fathered a child out of wedlock, some got drunk in a lake while visiting brothels, some were chased by debt collectors after losing money at casinos, some were having affairs with multiple noblewomen, some were having an affair with their aunt who was about the same age as them, and some were fighting with their brothers over the top courtesan at Nanfeng Pavilion...
Truth and falsehood intertwined, Xu Mingyi and Cheng Zhijie reported back one by one.
To kill Xu Mingyi, Cheng Zhijie gritted his teeth, calculating which of his political enemies had the ability to raise secret guards and hire assassins at great expense. Since they had such ability, why not just kill him directly? Wouldn't killing him be more satisfying?
"Why didn't you kill me?" Cheng Zhijie asked earnestly, completely baffled.
Sui Zhixu: "..."
That's outrageous, absolutely outrageous.
They also wanted to know why Cheng Zhijie's political enemies didn't kill Madam Cheng and Marquis Wu'an. The two of them were alive and well, and they hadn't heard anything about them.
To make Cheng Zhijie heartbroken? Sui Zhixu then recalled the nonsense Fan Lingzhang had told Sima Xian.
“Perhaps they…” Sui Zhixu couldn’t explain it, and couldn’t think of anything, so he could only say, “I believe that your feelings for Mingyi are as clear as heaven and earth, as clear as the sun and moon.”
The words, spoken without any apparent reason, carried a hint of sarcasm, and Cheng Zhijie began to ponder again.
She quickly changed the subject, "Why don't you tell me about the matter between the Cheng family and Liu Xi?"
"……good."
—
An unusual guest arrived at Liu Xi's courtyard.
"Brother, what brings you here?"
Liu Xi opened the door to the setting sun. The sky was ablaze with fiery clouds, a deep red, with the golden sunlight shining brightly at the edges. Under the layers of light, Liu Xi was completely surrounded by flames, which seemed to engulf him.
Liu Zhengshan shuddered and hurriedly pushed Liu Xi inside.
"You haven't been able to leave the house for several days, and your brother hasn't come to see you? I didn't expect Cheng Zhijie to be so ruthless. She's just a poor girl from a poor family, but he's like he's bewitched her. A year ago, he denied his engagement to you and insisted on marrying her. Now he's even falsely accusing you of killing her. Such a trivial matter has caused such a fuss. I think you shouldn't marry him, sister. You'll never have peace in the future."
"Your mother will punish you if she hears what you said." Liu Xi brewed tea for him, placed the teacup in front of him, and closed his eyes to rest.
"I've always known Brother Yuezhi. He just had some misunderstandings. Doesn't he know whether I laid a hand on him or not?" Liu Xi slowly picked up his teacup, covered his face with one hand, and drank the tea with graceful posture.
"Of course, I even got the poison for you from the West Market."
Liu Xi: "Brother is talking nonsense again. There's no such thing as poison or medicine."
"I was talking nonsense. Brother, punish yourself with three cups." Liu Zhengshan said with a grin, not flustered at all.
“I admire him, so I will marry him,” Liu Xi said casually.
Liu Zhengshan frowned and said, "Why are you pretending in front of me? It makes us seem distant. Cheng Zhijie comes from a good family and is good-looking. There are plenty of other good-looking men in Chang'an. Pei Sanlang is quite good, but unfortunately, he has Ning San Niangzi on his mind. He's a cold person, but he knows what liking someone is."
Liu Zhengshan shook his head, enjoying himself, unaware that Liu Xi's hand trembled as he held the teacup. "You're right. Go find me someone better. Mother chose so many families before finally settling on the Cheng family, whom she knows well. If you say that, she'll blame you for ruining her plans."
"She wouldn't be willing to do that, at most she'd scold me a couple of times. But she'll think about it soon enough. Marquis Anyuan, no, he's not anymore, that old bastard Xu Zhituo was illegally lending money at exorbitant interest rates, his title was stripped at noon, and Cheng Zhijie got involved, disregarding his father-in-law's reputation or just sabotaging things. Isn't that ridiculous? Don't worry, sister, you'll get everything you want."
“Everything will be there? He’s like an apple that’s within reach, but if it’s out of season, it won’t fall into my arms.” Liu Xi’s voice was weak, and Liu Zhengshan didn’t hear it.
Liu Zhengshan drank another cup, finished chatting, and left, leaving Liu Xi alone sitting by the window watching the fiery clouds in the sky.
March 7
The outcome was decided. Cheng Zhijie secretly reported to the Emperor that the final trial of the Liu family was imminent. Corruption and bribery were matters of national importance, and the Emperor could not possibly consider his personal feelings for Liu.
Whether the sentence was lenient or severe, the Liu family's former glory was gone.
Cheng Zhijie achieved his goal of avenging his wife.
Ning Yan was concerned about one thing she had overlooked!
Analyzing every clue meticulously, we came full circle. The mastermind behind the dagger remains elusive.
Cheng Zhijie and Liu Xi had no personal feelings for each other; their relationship was purely based on a conflict of interest. Liu Xi's claims of affection did not match up.
By portraying himself as weak, he lowered their guard and focused all their attention on Cheng Zhijie's political enemies, since the dagger in Xu Mingyi's chest was too obvious.
Liu Xi probably didn't expect that Cheng Zhijie would suspect her first, and would first find the imperial physician to examine Xu Mingyi's body.
Everything was disrupted.
"No rush, think about it again." Sui Zhixu calmed down and recalled everything that had happened since the third day of the third month.
The murder occurred on the third day of the third month. That night, Cheng Zhijie came to Liu Xi's door with a sword, but Liu Xi refused to see him.
On the fourth day of the third lunar month, Liu Niangzi, who was investigating the case, claimed that Cheng Zhijie was assassinated by his political enemies in an attempt to clear herself of suspicion.
On the fifth day of the third month, I went to the Cheng family to investigate the missing Xia Rong. Cheng Zhijie performed another autopsy and found that Xu Mingyi had been poisoned. Later, Cheng Zhijie found out about the poisoning. That afternoon, Ning Yan actually arranged for people from the Dali Temple to investigate suspicious people who had left the city to look for Xia Rong, but there is still no trace of her.
On the night of the fifth day of the third month, Cheng Zhijie swiftly discovered the truth about Xu Mingyi's poisoning, and Liu Xi then pushed a maid to take the blame.
On the sixth day of the third lunar month, yesterday, the scheme arranged by Xu Mingyi took place, and the Earl of Anyuan was stripped of his title.
Was this a scheme orchestrated by Mingyi?
As soon as Xu Zhixu felt his heart leap into his throat, a sudden inspiration struck him.
"Lady Liu didn't mention what Lady Xu did during the assassination attempt, right?"
Ning Yan thought for a moment, "No."
"The assassin was the one arranged by Mingyi of Tianque Tower. We were too sure before that the person Mingyi hired wouldn't harm her. You said yesterday that Mingyi faked her death and escaped. I suspect that Mingyi is still alive, and the person in the morgue might be a fake."
"I've heard of the art of disguise in the martial arts world. Perhaps Mingyi used it on the corpse. Xia Rong may have left with Mingyi, or they may have separated, but the fact that she left so decisively proves that Mingyi is still alive."
There is a kind of disguise technique in Miao territory, which Xu knows about. She really hopes that Mingyi is still alive.
“That’s right. Everyone thought Mingyi was weak and never imagined she would be so ruthless to herself.” Ning Yan rested her chin on her hand. “She may not be unaware that Qiuguo poisoned her and used her as a tool to kill.”
In front of Liu Xi, he had his men stab "himself" and then knock her unconscious, leaving behind just the right evidence.
Ning Yan: "But where did the poison in the corpse come from?"
Sui Zhixu didn't know, and shook his head. It was such a coincidence that the corpse was poisoned by the Thirteen Territories.
Could it be someone Xu Mingyi knows?
He hurt her, just like Liu Xi tried to poison Xu Mingyi.
Sui Zhixu whispered, "How can one distinguish between disguise techniques?"
Disguise exists in the martial arts world, but it's not common. Martial arts practitioners are used to settling scores quickly and decisively; those who have made a name for themselves don't take their enemies seriously.
Ning Yan pondered, "Uncle Chen, who used to be by my father's side, used to be a wanderer and knows a lot. He might know. I'll send someone to ask him."
Ning Yan sent someone to Dali Temple to find Uncle Chen.
Uncle Chen was working on a case with Lord Ning. When Ning Yan's people arrived at the Dali Temple, he was organizing the case files. Upon hearing Ning Yan's inquiry, he decided to go to the morgue to check the body himself.
Uncle Chen traveled all over the country for many years when he was young. He learned about the art of disguise by chance and learned it out of curiosity. He never expected it to come in handy years later.
Uncle Chen first took out a glass bottle from the hidden compartment. It was a Western Region style bottle with intricate patterns on the mouth, and even the wooden stopper had special patterns.
He took some to the morgue, used a wooden board to apply it to Xu Mingyi's face, and then placed the ice chest in the morgue. He couldn't take Xu Mingyi home now, so he could only use this method to protect Xu Mingyi's body.
Fifteen minutes later, he shook his head at the person Ning Yan had sent.
Why did Yueling specifically mention it? She clearly knew that even if she didn't say it, Yueling would still investigate Mingyi's matter. A thought flashed through her mind, and then she scratched her head. No, none of this is right.
The following day, a grand spectacle unfolded in front of the Liu residence. After the changing dynasties and the trust of two emperors, the once-proud mansion crumbled.
In Chang'an, as always, painted boats were filled with singing and dancing, and people were composing poems. The streets and alleys were filled with the sounds of vendors calling out their wares. The West Market was bustling and the East Market was prosperous.
On the other side.
The Imperial Guards, with long swords at their waists, quickly surrounded the Liu residence, their blades flashing white light, carrying a chilling aura of killing intent.
According to later records, on the eighth day of the third month of the twenty-seventh year of Jianwu, Liu Gong was found guilty of embezzlement and bribery. After investigation by the emperor, the evidence was conclusive. Considering Liu Gong's advanced age and his many years of hard work and meritorious service, he was demoted and exiled, and his property was confiscated. His family members were not implicated.
"Report! Prince Liu has committed suicide by swallowing gold, and Lady Liu has disappeared without a trace."
"check!"
About fifteen minutes later
"Report! Some people have seen Lady Liu drown herself in the lake outside the city."
The Imperial Guards proceeded methodically, carrying out chests filled with gold and silver treasures one by one. The plaque of the Duke's Mansion fell to the ground. The Liu family was no longer as glorious as it once was; the place was in disarray, with precious potted plants leaning to one side and the door curtains torn.
In March, apricot blossoms bloom, their petals falling with the wind. In the past, when Liu Gong passed the imperial examination, apricot blossoms covered the branches, a reminder of the impermanence of life today.
The servants had long since fled to who-knows-where. Madam Liu held Liu Zhengshan's body and wailed, her cries echoing throughout the vast mansion.
In the main hall, all the ministers witnessed the Emperor, with eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, proclaiming Liu Gong's final sentence. After the court session, they left the hall one by one, their hearts heavy.
Three years later, the court was in turmoil, the Pei family was imprisoned, and later Liu Gong was found guilty of embezzlement and bribery, which brought down many people.
Liu Gong's verdict was the best possible outcome, considering the Emperor's pleas for leniency and the current situation; the court needed stability.
Sui Zhixu felt something was still wrong; there were some things she hadn't considered.
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