Chapter 40 You're a mute too...
The soldiers, disguised as passersby, saw that the man was standing still with his hands outstretched and did not make any unusual movements. They stepped forward, tied his hands behind his back, and searched him from head to toe. They found a kitchen knife at his waist and a cylindrical iron object in his arms. There were no other suspicious items.
The soldier handed two items to a "scholar" who had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a round head. At first glance, he seemed kind and honest, but at this moment, his gaze was sharp and his eyes revealed a chilling killing intent.
This person was none other than A Yuan, whom Qi Jingxuan had previously sent to investigate the "assassin".
A Yuan casually tossed the kitchen knife in her hand, then looked at the cylindrical iron object and raised an eyebrow.
This is actually a clairvoyant!
The telescope is expensive and not commonly seen among ordinary people. Apart from a few enthusiasts who buy it for collection, only military scouts usually carry it, and only the best scouts are qualified to use it.
The telescope found on the man was simple and rough in appearance, clearly a practical military item rather than one intended for nobles to admire and play with.
Why would this man possess such a thing? Could he really be a military scout?
Qi Jingxuan had already helped Shen Yan to her feet, glancing nervously over every now and then. Seeing that the man had been subdued, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said in a trembling voice, "Quickly, quickly send him to the Dali Temple! No...no, no, send him...send him to the palace! Yes, send him to the palace so that Father Emperor can personally send someone to interrogate him!"
He still remembered his experiences in his previous lives. It was obvious that the mastermind had planted people in the Dali Temple. If he sent this assassin in, wouldn't they be interrogating themselves? What could they possibly find out? Most likely, before they could even get any results, the man would die quietly in prison.
Qi Jingxuan's mind flashed back to the Ministry of Justice and even the Censorate, but who could guarantee that these two places were truly safe, without any spies planted by the mastermind behind them?
After much deliberation, it was deemed the best course of action to send the child to the palace and hand him over to the emperor for disposal.
A Yuan was directly assigned to Qi Jingxuan by the emperor after the incident, and she didn't think there was anything wrong with sending the person to the palace by bypassing the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. She said, "Your Highness, rest assured, now that this person is in our hands, we can make him talk."
He spoke lightly, but he was actually quite agitated inside.
The prince had asked him to investigate this assassin for some time. He had searched the capital and surrounding military camps and aristocratic families, but to no avail. Unexpectedly, he encountered him on the street today, and this person even dared to appear near Sibaozhai.
At first, A Yuan wasn't sure if this was the person she was looking for, fearing that the dark blue mark on his forehead was just a coincidence.
But this person had been following the prince ever since he left the Four Treasures Restaurant. Although he was well disguised and did not give the impression of wanting to assassinate him, the fact that he had the mark and had been following the prince all the way meant that he was undoubtedly the "assassin".
The streets were crowded today, so there were many people secretly protecting the prince, and archers were also hidden in the shadows, making it not a good time to assassinate him.
A-Yuan realized the assassin had no intention of attacking and planned to remain still, sending someone to secretly follow him after he left to try and uncover more people. However, the prince's shout ruined his plan.
Let alone whether there are any accomplices of this assassin nearby, even if there are, they have definitely run far away by now.
A Yuan sighed and ordered her men to tie the man up and take him away.
The man struggled a few times, but showed no intention of resisting physically. He only made some indistinct sounds, glancing in the direction of Qi Jingxuan and Shen Yan, as if he wanted to say something.
Shen Yan had just been tackled to the ground by Qi Jingxuan. Although she had stood up, her clothes were disheveled and her hairpins were crooked and about to fall off.
She dusted herself off and, while tidying her hair, glanced subconsciously in the direction of the assassin. What she saw there made her freeze.
It's you.
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingxuan, A Yuan, and the others were all stunned.
"Aci, you...you know him?"
Qi Jingxuan asked incredulously.
Shen Yan nodded: "He... is from my hometown."
He frowned as he spoke, his mind filled with doubt, and asked the man, "What are you doing here?"
She clearly remembered that this person was still in Yingzhou when the earthquake occurred in her previous life, so why was he now in the capital?
Could it be... that he had visited the capital before, and then returned home, but because they weren't familiar with each other, she didn't know?
The man's hands, which were tied behind his back, twitched a few times, and the person holding him down immediately shouted, "Don't move!"
The man still twisted and turned a few times, his mouth opening and closing, looking helpless and frustrated.
Shen Yan quickly said, "He is mute and cannot speak."
mute
These words once again stunned Qi Jingxuan and the others.
A Yuan had found it rather strange that an assassin would carry a kitchen knife as his weapon; it was rather comical.
But unless you're an assassin, who would carry a kitchen knife around while shopping during a holiday?
Now that I hear this "assassin" is also mute, it seems even more unbelievable.
After regaining his senses, he understood why the man was struggling. After thinking for a moment and confirming that he was no longer a threat, he waved to the man who had his arms tied behind his back, signaling him to let him go.
Sure enough, after breaking free of his restraints, the man didn't retaliate or try to escape. Instead, he started making a series of incoherent gestures with both hands. Unfortunately, after a while, no one present could understand his gesturing.
Seeing that everyone looked puzzled, and Shen Yan also looked confused, he had to change his approach. First, he put his hands together to make the shape of a roof, then leaned to the side as if he were falling down. Finally, he pointed at Shen Yan, then at himself, and then stopped, waiting for Shen Yan's reaction to see if she could understand.
Qi Jingxuan watched from the side, completely baffled. A Yuan, on the other hand, frowned deeply, her mind filled with questions.
Miss Chen sleeping in the house... and him
What the hell is this?!
A Yuan's already round eyes widened even more, her gaze shifting back and forth between Shen Yan and the "assassin".
This...this shouldn't be happening, right? Could it be that Miss Shen was previously engaged to this man?
That's impossible. If that were true, given Lord Shen's personality, how could he possibly allow Miss Shen to marry Prince Ping?
Besides, this young man doesn't look like a rich family's son. He's mute, and although his features are good, he has such a large mark on his face. Even if the Shen family is poor, they shouldn't marry their only daughter to such a person.
He found it absurd and subconsciously tried to dismiss the idea, but then he saw that Shen Yan's face was tense for some reason, her eyes were full of surprise and doubt, and she looked very nervous.
He was wondering when he heard Shen Yan speak, her voice trembling slightly: "You...you also..."
Shen Yan wanted to ask, "Have you ever had a dream like that?" Was it really not a dream, but something that actually happened?
But these words cannot be spoken in public. No one will understand. Apart from the man in front of her, everyone will just think she is crazy, or even think that there is some secret affair between them.
She didn't know how to continue, so she stopped.
When the man saw that she seemed to understand his meaning and even said "also," his eyes lit up. He nodded vigorously, made a horse-riding gesture, pointed at Qi Jingxuan, and made several hand gestures.
Shen Yan clearly didn't understand these gestures. After thinking for a moment, the man simply reached up and made a throat-slitting motion.
Qi Jingxuan didn't understand what was happening next to him, but this action was crystal clear; it was impossible not to understand it.
He immediately jumped up, pointed at him, and said to Shen Yan, "Aci, did you see that? He's here to kill me! He's here to kill me!"
He then told A Yuan to take the person away immediately and interrogate him thoroughly.
Although A Yuan didn't know what the relationship was between this person and Shen Yan, the meaning conveyed by that throat-slitting gesture was all too clear.
Even if this person wasn't an assassin, he certainly didn't have any good intentions towards the prince. To avoid any accidents, he still had him tied up.
Shen Yan was in a state of great turmoil. She had many questions she wanted to ask this person, but she couldn't ask them at the moment.
If this person were taken into the palace, she would probably never have the chance to ask about the "dream" again.
"Your Highness!"
She grabbed Qi Jingxuan and pleaded, "Could you... could you please not send him to the palace? He shouldn't be an assassin."
Qi Jingxuan was alarmed when he saw that she actually believed the man: "Aci, he really is an assassin, you have to believe me!"
"He...he can shoot arrows, he can kill! He's a crack shot, he can hit any target he wants, and he's incredibly ruthless!"
Thinking of his past lives and seeing the man before him, he began to feel pain all over his body again, as if there were many holes in his body, letting in drafts everywhere, and even the midday sun could not bring him any warmth.
Seeing his confident assertion, Shen Yan recalled the bow and arrow she had seen beside this man before, and was momentarily speechless.
But the gestures the man had just made, and the meaning he conveyed, made it impossible for her to simply ignore them.
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, I have some questions for him. Since he's already been captured and can't hurt anyone, could... could you please not send him to the palace yet, so I can ask him what's going on?"
Qi Jingxuan said, "Just tell A Yuan what you want to ask, and they will definitely help you find out."
Shen Yan shook her head and said in a low voice, "It's a private matter that's not convenient to discuss with outsiders. Please, Your Highness, it's really... extremely important."
Qi Jingxuan felt that this man was very dangerous, so he was unwilling and instinctively wanted to refuse.
But seeing that Shen Yan's face was pale and her forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat, and that she looked very anxious, he couldn't bring himself to say the words of refusal.
After a fierce internal struggle, he hesitated for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and saying to A Yuan, "Take the person back to the palace."
A Yuan frowned, feeling that it was not quite right, but thinking that the person was already tied up and there was no threat as long as he was tied up, she did not stop him and nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Shen Yan breathed a sigh of relief and lost all interest in shopping and sightseeing. She stood on the side of the street with Qi Jingxuan, waiting for the servants to bring the carriage so they could go back to the mansion.
As she boarded the bus, she was still thinking about what the man had "said" and recalling the "dream" that she didn't know if it was real or not.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, she stopped in her tracks, and turned sharply to look at Qi Jingxuan, who was supporting her from behind.
"Why……"
Qi Jingxuan was confused: "What? Why? Aci, what's wrong with you?"
Shen Yan's lips trembled slightly, and her hand, which had been supporting him lightly, gripped his arm tightly.
"Your Highness...how do you know him? How do you know...he can shoot arrows?"
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A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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