Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Let this Xie Sizhi disappear forever. ...
To Yuan Wangshu's surprise, Xie Tingyu led the green-eyed Xianbei male slave directly to the deserted house on the outskirts of the city.
"No, Xie Tingyu, you..."
Yuan Wangshu looked at Xie Tingyu on his horse, then at the male slave riding a donkey, his brows furrowed slightly. "Are you taking him with you to claim a dead body?"
"Why not? It's definitely effective."
Yuan Wangshu was about to persuade him again when Xie Tingyu suddenly turned around and started talking to the Xianbei man. The fluent Xianbei language surprised Yuan Wangshu, and he glanced sideways. "You actually speak Xianbei? You... have you ever been to the northern border during your training abroad?"
"Yes. I have been there." Xie Tingyu answered casually.
Yuan Wangshu was speechless. Shangqing Monastery was clearly far to the south, and the northern border was not only far away but also plagued by bandits. She simply couldn't understand. Why had Xie Tingyu gone to such a dangerous place all alone?
By the time the three men arrived, the abandoned house was already surrounded by officers from the Imperial Court. Xie Tingyu walked in with a normal expression, but Yuan Wangshu, upon entering, unconsciously glanced up at the shabby, cobweb-covered plaque, then surveyed the desolate courtyard before quickly following.
"Xie Sizhi is well."
The clerk who had been waiting for a long time immediately stepped forward, bowed and saluted, "Xie Sizhi, please follow me."
Xie Tingyu and his companions followed the clerk through the weed-covered courtyard and arrived at a dry well in the backyard. Several bodies had been recovered and neatly arranged on straw mats, covered with plain white linen. The Chief Justice and others were already waiting nearby, their faces solemn.
After the greetings, the coroner stepped forward and lifted the white cloth, revealing several hideous faces.
The deceased's forehead was bruised, his nose broken, and blood clotted in his sunken eye sockets, leaving the corners of his eyes an unnatural bluish-gray hue. Dried blood snaked from the corners of his mouth to his neck, where purple-black strangulation marks were imprinted. His body was covered in whip marks and burns, and a foreign object had been cruelly stuffed into his groin, leaving a bloody mess of flesh and blood.
This is clearly a tragic scene of someone being wantonly abused and humiliated, and dying from the torture.
When the Xianbei male slave saw the corpse's face, he trembled violently and tears welled up in his eyes. He turned abruptly to Xie Tingyu and spoke something rapidly in Xianbei language, his voice choked and broken.
The people surrounding them did not understand the Xianbei language, so they could only stand aside and stare at each other.
Xie Tingyu listened attentively, gently patted the male slave's trembling shoulder, and turned to the Chief Justice and said, "He recognized that these people are indeed from the same hometown, Xianbei people who were sold to Jiankang together."
"He said his family was poor and struggling to make ends meet, and a businessman promised to buy a young boy for a large sum of money, so his mother sold him."
After saying this, he bowed solemnly to the Chief Justice and said, "These people are helpless and cannot speak Chinese. They are definitely not spies. I hope you can properly bury these poor people."
The Chief Justice quickly returned the greeting, "Thank you, sir, for your peace of mind. The Supreme Court will handle the matter appropriately." She lowered her voice and gestured for permission, "This is a case involving a Xianbei spy. Please step aside and discuss it in detail."
The two men moved to the foot of a tree. In the dappled shadows, the Imperial Court Supervisor pulled a secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to Xie Tingyu. "Thanks to Your Excellency Xie accompanying the imperial court that day, a catastrophe was averted. Those Xianbei spies who infiltrated the musicians have now been sentenced to death."
"How did you get in?"
"Xie Sizhi doesn't know this. Since last year, someone has been specializing in the trafficking of Xianbei male slaves. Because their appearance differs from that of men from the Central Plains, they are quite popular with noble ladies. Someone took advantage of this opportunity to cultivate a few handsome male slaves and infiltrate Jiankang City. A while ago, they were noticed by several masters, who secretly learned about the young prince and the emperor's travels. They then colluded with the horse slaves who had been lurking in the palace for a long time, which led to the horse-scarred incident that day."
Xie Tingyu paused as he read the secret letter, half smiling, "Is there someone who specializes in trafficking Xianbei male slaves? Who is so bold?"
"We don't know yet. This matter was done in secret, passing through many people, and we haven't yet found the ultimate mastermind behind it."
"What about the male slave in the well?" Xie Tingyu glanced back and forth between the dry well and the flowerbed. "Have you investigated the remaining flowers in the backyard?" The Chief Justice shook his head. "The cause of the body in the well remains unknown. But..." she wondered, "Why is Xie Sizhi investigating these petals?"
"Ah... don't you think it's strange? In such a deserted house, there's someone who takes care of these flowers?"
Before the Imperial Court Supervisor could react, Xie Tingyu had already turned and walked towards the flowerbed. She bent over the weeds, searching carefully for a long time before finally finding a few scattered petals, which she carefully wrapped in a silk handkerchief.
Just as she was about to leave, Xie Tingyu suddenly paused. The soil in the flower garden was an unusual color, a dark brown almost black, completely different from the surrounding soil. Removing the jade hairpin from her hair, she gently brushed aside the surface soil, scooping up a little and placing it in her palm.
A strange, fishy odor wafted towards her. Puzzled, Xie Tingyu leaned in closer to sniff. It was like dried blood. Her expression froze, and she immediately wrapped the soil sample in a silk handkerchief.
"Xie Sizhi."
The Chief Justice, who was not far away, waved to Xie Tingyu and called out softly, "Xie Sizhi, I haven't finished what I was saying yet."
When Xie Tingyu approached, she handed him a portrait. The right side of the woman's face was covered with hideous burn scars.
"This is?"
"Those Xianbei male slaves, unable to bear the torture, confessed to meeting this woman in a dark alley south of the city. We captured them last night. According to their confession, a new batch of male slaves will be delivered to her at midnight three days from now, and there are fears of spies among them. To prevent leaks, they are acting with extreme caution. They must verify their identities before revealing the final delivery location. Furthermore, the location changes each time, making tracking extremely difficult."
"So what are you going to do?"
"We plan to send her out as bait, and then send our men to lure her outside. Once she leads the other party to the delivery location, we'll capture them all."
Xie Tingyu asked doubtfully, "Have you captured the family of this scarred woman?"
The Chief Justice was stunned. "Not yet."
Xie Tingyu frowned, "Then what are you waiting for? If you let the tiger go back to the mountain, aren't you afraid that she will sell you all out?"
"We haven't considered what Xie Sizhi said." The Chief Justice was speechless. "Then according to Xie Sizhi's opinion, what should we do?"
"Well, now that you've captured her, and she knows she's going to die, how do you know it wasn't a trap set by the enemy, waiting to ensnare you? Lord Chief Justice, if it was a trap, wouldn't the people we sent be caught in it and be wiped out?"
"Then according to Xie Sizhi's opinion, what should we do?"
"If you ask me, I'd better find someone to disguise himself as Scarface and go to the appointment."
"Ah... this... how is this any different from letting her go?"
"Master Tingweijian, have you ever heard the saying, 'The most skillful hunters often appear as prey.' For this matter, we only need to find a reliable person with great martial arts skills, astuteness, and intelligence."
Xie Tingyu patted his chest and volunteered, "Why don't you take a look at me? I think I'm very suitable for this. If there is anything unusual, I'll make a gesture and we'll retreat together."
The Chief Justice looked troubled. "It would be great if Xie Sizhi was willing to personally take action, but what should we say to Grand Tutor Xie?"
"I will tell my mother about this myself."
Upon hearing this, the Chief Justice straightened his attire and bowed deeply to Xie Tingyu. "Thank you, Sizhi, for your righteousness! I will arrange for elite troops to secretly protect you and will not let you suffer any mishaps."
Yuan Wangshu folded his arms across his chest. Seeing Xie Tingyu approaching, he asked, "Why have we been talking for so long? Any new breakthroughs?"
Xie Tingyu leaned over and whispered something in Yuan Wangshu's ear. Yuan Wangshu immediately frowned, "As the legitimate daughter of the Chenjun Xie family, why would you take such a risk?" Suddenly, he realized, "You are such a good Xie, are you trying to show off in front of the emperor again?"
"...Do you think I have such a great reputation? Since I am the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, isn't it normal for me to do my job within my position?"
Yuan Wangshu still shook his head in disapproval. "Since you insist on taking the risk, how can I, Yuan Wangshu, fall behind? I will definitely support you from behind and will never let you take the lead."
As she left, Yuan Wangshu suddenly turned back to look at the deserted house, and a strange sense of familiarity came over her. It was not until she returned to Yuan Garden that she suddenly realized it.
That house was the former residence of Yuan's aunt Yuan Tianluan, who fled in a hurry because she angered the previous emperor.
She had never met this aunt who was older than her, but she had visited this place several times when she was young. Later, when she occasionally asked the elders about it, she always received vague responses, saying only that Yuan Tianluan had traveled all over the world and was now wandering around. If she were still alive today, she would probably be almost sixty years old.
In the main garden of the Yuan family, which was just across the street from Yuan Garden where Yuan Wangshu lived, Yuan Zhaoyun was kneeling opposite someone.
The sound of cool tea boiling rang out in the quiet room, and wisps of white mist rose between the two people.
The person was dressed in a gray nun's robe, her hair tied up in a plain hat, and she slowly twirled a pair of Nanhai Buddhist beads in her hand. This person was the head of the Yingchuan Yu family, named Yu Rong.
Yuan Zhaoyun sipped the tea, turning the cup half a circle between her fingertips. "Haven't you already severed your worldly ties? Why did you break your vows and leave the temple today?"
Yu Rong clasped her hands together and chanted the Buddha's name softly, "I, a humble nun, have indeed vowed never to be involved in human trafficking again. I have been practicing in the temple with my hair uncut for these years to atone for my sins, and I have also strictly instructed the younger generation not to repeat the same mistakes. But..."
However, the Yu family of Yingchuan had been in decline since the third generation and gradually fell into decline in Jiankang City. In order to survive, their descendants even turned to human trafficking.
Amidst the mist of tea, Yu Rong's voice grew increasingly low: "It's just that, in this matter, I don't know why a spy infiltrated the Xianbei. If the Supreme Court investigates this matter thoroughly, my past deeds will be implicated. I beg the Minister of Agriculture to remember our past friendship and save Yu this time." After saying this, she bowed her head in salute.
"Even if you don't say anything about this, I can't just sit back and watch."
Yuan Zhaoyun slowly raised her eyes. "Back then, Nun Tai found that exotic flower from the Xianbei for me. She said that the petals and juice of the flower could be used to make a fragrance that could intoxicate the mind and soul, stirring emotions. It was indeed thanks to this fragrance that I gained the favor of the late emperor. However, this flower is difficult to cultivate and requires human blood to nourish it. The few Xianbei male slaves I had my granddaughter send me this time will be of great use."
"Who knew that the abandoned house where I grew flowers would be designated as royal land, and that Xie Sizhi would stumble upon it by accident? This incident really caught me off guard."
She sneered, "Even if we let Xie Sizhi continue his investigation, he won't find anything. His subordinates didn't do their job well, so what if they left a few bodies behind? Anyway, there's no evidence."
Yuan Zhaoyun suddenly fell silent, thinking of the prophecy made many years ago.
The Yuan family had earned the late emperor's trust for three reasons: first, their specially crafted warming incense; second, their frequent offerings of beautiful women; and third, Yuan Tianluan's mastery of physiognomy and astrology, who often read fortunes for the late emperor and had recommended several alchemists who claimed to be able to develop elixirs that would prolong life.
The fingers holding the teacup tightened unconsciously.
The night before Yuan Tianluan left Jiankang City, he told her that judging from the fortunes of the Yuan family in the next few decades, or even a hundred years, it would be impossible for them to become the head of an aristocratic family. He advised her not to force herself and make reckless advances in the future, but to stop in time to avoid bringing trouble to the entire Yuan family.
Ridiculous, really ridiculous.
A fierce glint flashed in Yuan Zhaoyun's eyes as he thought to himself, "I've worked so hard since the time of the previous emperor, finally bringing down the Wang Clan of Langya. How can I allow Xie Qingyan to lead the Xie Clan up?"
She looked at Yu Rong and said coldly, "Let this Xie Sizhi disappear forever."
"Strike quickly and ruthlessly, leaving no room for maneuver."
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The author has something to say: It fills the gap in the first chapter, the warm fragrance mentioned in the sixth chapter, and the foreshadowing of the emperor eating the elixir of immortality in the thirteenth chapter.
I was thinking about it while taking a shower, wondering if there was something wrong with it, and it turned out to be a bug. I made some minor revisions, but those who have read it don't need to read it, as it may be a bug due to age.
Yuan Tianluan and Yuan Zhaoyun were not of the same generation, and Yuan Zhaoyun was considered Yuan Tianyuan's junior. Therefore, Yuan Wangshu probably had never met Yuan Tianyuan.
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