Chu Yun finally arrived with Wei Qinglou's men. When he saw Tao Yao with her eyes closed in Zhu Jiayu's arms, he stood there stunned.
Zhu Jiayu gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace.
Wei Qinglou went over and helped her up. Just as he was about to speak, Zhu Jiayu stopped him.
She said, "Let's go back. I want to bury her by the Spring Shade River."
“She didn’t have many happy days in her life. If we choose a burial place in the mountains and forests, it would be too lonely. It would be better to let her be by the Spring Shade River, to see the bustling world. That way, I can visit her often.”
Wei Qinglou said in a deep voice, "Okay."
Zhu Jiayu then summoned Chu Yun: "I have someone select a house in the city. Afterwards, I will have people try their best to find your family, but times have changed, and the outcome is uncertain. If you cannot find them, you can settle down in that house. As for what happens after that, we'll talk about it later."
"She has always wanted to leave this place with you. You... come with me and see her off."
Zhu Jiayu held Tao Yao, whose body was gradually growing cold, and said in a hoarse voice.
...
Back in Yujing City, Zhu Jiayu carried Taoyao up and down the carriage, then helped her change into a brand new dress and took her from the mountains to the banks of the Chunyin River.
As dawn broke, she closed her eyes and silently vowed before Tao Yao's grave, "I will avenge you."
"Let's go," she said softly.
Wei Qinglou escorted her back to the Zhu residence, and then went to the Song residence to pick up Lüzheng and take her back.
He already knew Zhu Jiayu's original plan, and he didn't blame Lüzheng for not reporting it. He only told her to take good care of her young lady, and most importantly, to make sure she got a good rest and didn't let her be depressed or worry too much.
Lu Zheng returned to the Zhu residence with trepidation, only to find Zhu Jiayu already fast asleep in the room.
She looked very tired; even in her sleep, her beautiful eyebrows were furrowed restlessly.
Green Kite didn't know what she had been doing during her disappearance, but she had been very uneasy. Even now, seeing her mistress lying peacefully in bed, her unease had not subsided.
She always felt that her mistress had encountered something terrible. But she was powerless to help, and to her mistress, she was probably nothing more than a burden; otherwise, why wouldn't her mistress take her along?
She cried silently for a while, and eventually cried herself to sleep. She lay down in front of Zhu Jiayu's bed and slept for a whole day.
It wasn't until almost evening, when the dim yellow light of the setting sun fell on the window screen and the shadows of the plum tree's strong branches were projected onto the courtyard wall, that Zhu Jiayu groggily opened her eyes.
She turned over, waking Green Kite.
"Miss, you're awake?" Green Kite wiped her face. "I'll fetch you some water and help you wash up."
Zhu Jiayu hummed in agreement, then thought of Rong Heng again.
As she held Tao Yao, she heard Rong Heng's low voice telling her to leave, but she had no heart to care about him at that point.
Looking back now, she plunged that knife deep into his abdomen; it would have been difficult for him to survive.
But that's not necessarily true; he's always been lucky.
But if she could kill him once or twice, she could kill him a third time.
And his bodyguards.
She won't let them get away with it.
...
Three days later.
A huge uproar suddenly broke out in Yujing City.
While investigating the case of the missing young master of the Sheng'an Marquis's mansion, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review actually raided the bandits' hideout!
In the elegantly furnished study, a middle-aged man, dressed in a gray-blue robe, was holding a writing brush and writing with his wrist suspended.
He had a thin and handsome face, with long, flowing hair.
Just a few days ago, he was full of energy and high spirits, but now he looks old.
This kind of aging is not like a withered vine or a candle about to burn out, which had been foreshadowed and gradually appeared. If one had to describe it, in the eyes of the visitor, it was more like a long-parched field. Although it was dry and cracked with deep fissures, it was covered by tangled weeds. After a long period of time, the weeds died, and only then did the cracked earth appear before people.
Yes.
The man in front of me, writing furiously, should have been, or rather, was already old.
"What did you find out?"
The man continued writing as he asked the visitor a question.
The visitor seemed to come to his senses, lowered his head, and said respectfully, "He committed suicide."
"Although Wei Qinglou solved the case, Hu Yanwang, who was the one who played the decisive role in the case, committed suicide."
"I think he probably doesn't want to reveal who's behind it all."
"Is that so?" The man put down his pen and smiled wryly. "According to you, he could be considered... loyal and righteous?"
The visitor did not understand the meaning behind his words, so he lowered his head even further and dared not speak easily.
"Go and deliver this calligraphy to our Lord Wei. Tell him that I congratulate him on solving a major case. With him in Da Ye, peace and prosperity are just around the corner."
To kill someone is to destroy their spirit.
These words are truly devastating, striking at the heart of the matter.
If Wei Qinglou alone could guarantee peace and harmony in Da Ye, then what would be the point of having an emperor? What would be the point of having all the civil and military officials?
The man boldly looked at the table and saw two lines of poetry written on the clear white Xuan paper: "Please, my new sword in its sheath, try it to kill this snow-covered sky."
He didn't understand its meaning; he could only decipher that each stroke of the word was sharp and incomparably deadly, concealing a hidden murderous intent.
"Go ahead." The man blew the ink off the paper, rolled it up, and handed it to him.
Not long after, Wei Qinglou, who was at the Dali Temple, received the calligraphy.
Under his stern yet authoritative gaze, the person who delivered the message trembled as he recited the words backwards.
Wei Qinglou sneered.
Verbal skills are the lowest of the low; he's heard all sorts of nasty things, a few more won't make a difference. But his words…
"Please, sir, take this new sword from its sheath and try it to slay this snow-covered sky? Young master, what does this mean?" Shujian asked in confusion.
Wei Qinglou sneered, rolled up the calligraphy again, placed it aside, and said, "It's meaningless."
After saying this, he picked up his brush and wrote on the Xuan paper: "The new eagle is full of meat and only hunts idly; the old sword is covered with clothes and I am too lazy to sharpen it. I have fought a hundred battles without success and I am getting old. I envy those who cross the Yellow River in their youth."
Since Chang Beiqiu called him a new swordsman, fresh out of school and not yet fully developed, he would retaliate with an old sword, calling him old and useless, which would be a fair exchange.
He said to Shujian, "Go and send this calligraphy to Grand Tutor Chang. Tell him it is a humble gift from a junior scholar, and I hope he will accept it with a smile."
After speaking, he turned and headed towards the imperial prison.
The narrow passageway was dimly lit, and the stench of decay and rot had permeated every corner for decades.
At the end of the long road stood a scholar-like man, his hands and feet bound by shackles.
Wei Qinglou slightly raised his hand, and someone picked up a cup of cold water and poured it over the man's head.
This person was none other than King Yama Hu.
"I...cough cough...I'm not dead?" After a brief moment of confusion, he quickly realized where he was and looked at Wei Qinglou's eyes, which were so red they seemed to be bleeding.
“But everyone thinks you’re dead.” Wei Qinglou sat down leisurely in his armchair. “Including that one. Do you understand what I mean?”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com