Chapter 59 Lin Si is dead
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingxuan immediately perked up his ears.
"Having rushed to the capital in the dead of night, is that old bastard He Taifu dead?"
Xu Jinyu, who had just poured herself a cup of tea and was about to gulp it down, spat it out: "Are you serious?"
If Grand Tutor He died, the He family could simply hold a funeral; why make it so mysterious? If Qi Jingxuan really thought that way, then he would be incredibly stupid.
Qi Jingxuan waved his hand: "I was just cursing him offhand."
Xu Jinyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiping her mouth with her hand: "I knew it, you're not that stupid. So what do you think happened? Why did all the elders of his family suddenly come to the capital overnight?"
"How would I know?" Qi Jingxuan said. "Why don't we just go and see? What can we possibly guess here?"
He got up and started to walk out, and Xu Jinyu quickly followed, saying as she went, "Hey, hey, there's no point in us going over now, right? I heard his house is locked up tight, only allowing people in, not out. What can we possibly find out?"
Qi Jingxuan, however, was quick to act than to think. Regardless of whether he could find out anything, he went first.
As Xu Jinyu had predicted, the He family's gates were tightly shut, and they had nowhere to inquire. The locals only knew that many people had indeed entered the house early that morning; nothing else was known.
The two were at a loss, but unwilling to leave just like that, they decided to find a place nearby to stake out the area. There was still plenty of time before the city gates closed, and who knew if someone from the He family would still be coming or going today? They could find someone to knock them unconscious, hand them over to He Yuan for interrogation, and maybe they could get some information out of them.
As a playboy who spent his days loitering outside, Qi Jingxuan was very familiar with the layout of the capital. After looking around, he found the most suitable spot to stake out the place – a restaurant across the street from the He family's residence.
Although the restaurant wasn't exactly close to the He family's house, it was in a good location. Sitting on the second floor by the window, you could see the street where the He family lived, and anyone passing by could see it.
If they see anyone from the He family coming in or out, they can have He Yuan send someone to scale the wall directly. It's quick, and there's no need to worry about missing them.
Qi Jingxuan immediately led Xu Jinyu to the restaurant, went up to the second floor, and chose a private room with a window facing the He family. As they were walking over, a waiter was delivering tea to the private room next door. When Qi Jingxuan opened the door, he caught a glimpse of the person inside and stopped in his tracks.
Gao Zheng, who was inside, looked over at the sound of the door opening. The two met face to face, and after a brief moment of surprise, they both showed disgust.
Qi Jingxuan snorted and was about to walk further inside. Xu Jinyu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and, after the waiter left, ignored Qi Jingxuan's objections and went inside.
"Brother Gao, what a coincidence, you're here too."
He was the first to bow to Gao Zheng and greet him politely.
Gao Zheng had a good impression of Xu Jinyu, but he later refused to associate with her simply because Xu Jinyu was on good terms with Qi Jingxuan, whom he disliked.
Now that Xu Jinyu had taken the initiative to greet him, he couldn't very well ignore her, so he stood up, bowed, and said, "Yes, what a coincidence."
After saying that, he fell silent, clearly indicating that he didn't want to deal with the two of them.
Xu Jinyu glanced at the simple tea and snacks on the table and asked, "It's neither early nor late, Brother Gao, why are you here alone for tea?"
Gao Zheng is investigating the He family's affairs, which are related to Consort Hui and very likely to Lin Si. Lin Si is currently the only suspect in the Cheng'an Marquis's Spring Banquet incident.
There were two victims at the spring banquet that day: Shen Yan and Qi Jingxuan.
Therefore, what Gao Zheng is investigating is actually closely related to Qi Jingxuan, perhaps even more so. After all, if it weren't for harming Qi Jingxuan, the person behind it wouldn't have needed to drag Chen Yan into it.
Even so, Gao Zheng was unwilling to have any dealings with Qi Jingxuan, and simply replied coldly, "Just sitting here casually since I have nothing else to do."
He glanced at Qi Jingxuan, who was still standing at the door and unwilling to come in, and said, "Since Prince Xu has come with Prince Ping, I suppose there is something you need. I will not disturb you any longer."
This is a clear order to leave; hopefully he'll be more conscious and leave quickly.
Xu Jinyu not only did not leave, but became even more certain of her guess and said with a smile, "We did come here because we had something to discuss, but we don't know if it's the same thing that Brother Gao is planning."
As he spoke, he glanced in the direction of the He family's residence, his gaze carrying a pointed meaning.
Gao Zheng's gaze sharpened. He looked at him, then at Qi Jingxuan, before turning his gaze away again, tentatively uttering only one word: "He".
Xu Jinyu clapped her hands and, disregarding Qi Jingxuan's wishes, forcibly pulled him in and pressed him into a chair.
"Since we're all talking about the same thing, why sit in two different places? Let's talk together and exchange information."
"He's only been in Beijing for a few days, what could he possibly know? What information could I possibly have about him?"
Qi Jingxuan said indignantly.
Gao Zheng was also quite unwilling, and sneered: "Since the incident in March, Your Highness has accomplished nothing. The only suspect, Lin Si, was caught because of A Qing, who is always by Sister Shen's side. With Your Highness being so incompetent, it seems that you really can't communicate with me."
Qi Jingxuan was furious, opening his mouth to retort but finding himself unable to refute anything. A lump formed in his throat, and he could only point at him and then at Xu Jinyu: "Look at him! Look at him! Is this how you exchange favors?"
Xu Jinyu reassured him, "The fact that Brother Gao was able to sit here before us shows that he has his own unique insights. Why don't you be patient and listen carefully?"
Then he looked at Gao Zheng again: "Brother Gao, do you know what happened to the He family? Why did their elders suddenly come to the capital today? Did you see anyone from the He family coming or going before we arrived?"
Although Gao Zheng disliked Qi Jingxuan, he was still polite to Xu Jinyu and suppressed his anger, saying, "I don't know either. I only know that Grand Tutor He was suddenly summoned to the palace in the middle of the night yesterday. After returning, he claimed to be ill and did not attend court today. But he said he was sick, yet he did not call the imperial physician and instead kept the doors closed. It's very strange."
"After I arrived at the He family's place, I learned that as soon as the city gates opened this morning, many members of the He family entered the city and went straight to the He family. They haven't come out yet. Most of these people are elders of the He family. They can't be bothered by trivial matters, let alone be asked to rush to the capital."
"I wanted to find someone to inquire about the inside story, but the He family is currently only allowed to enter and not leave, so I really couldn't find out anything. That's why I could only sit in this restaurant and see if I could wait for the He family to open their doors."
Xu Jinyu suddenly realized, then turned to Qi Jingxuan and asked, "Did Grand Tutor He go to the palace last night?"
The palace gates are locked every day, and they are not opened in the middle of the night unless it is an urgent military matter or an urgent summons from within the palace. For Grand Tutor He to be urgently summoned to the palace in the middle of the night, something important must have happened that concerns him, but... none of them had heard of it.
Yesterday was Qi Jingxuan's wedding day. The two of them, one the groom and the other the best man, were so busy with the wedding preparations that they didn't have time to think about anything else.
Qi Jingxuan also looked puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Could it be that something happened to Consort Hui?"
In the palace, only the Sixth Prince and Consort Hui are related to the He family. However, the Sixth Prince has already left the palace to establish his own residence. If something happens to him in the middle of the night, the He family doesn't need to go to the palace; they can go directly to the Prince's residence. Therefore, the only family member who needs to come to the palace is Consort Hui.
"But I haven't heard anything about Consort Hui's situation."
Xu Jinyu said.
Although Consort Hui was merely a concubine in the harem, if something truly serious happened, it couldn't be kept secret. Besides, what could possibly happen to a concubine in the harem, and why would she need to hide it? Given Consort Hui's status and power, surely she wouldn't cause a palace coup or a struggle for the throne.
"Brother Gao, do you know something else?"
Xu Jinyu asked.
Gao Zheng glanced at the two of them, intending to scoff, but before he could speak, he remembered that he hadn't noticed anything yesterday either, and it was only his father who told him that he knew. So he swallowed his sarcasm and simply said, "At the Wangfu wedding banquet yesterday, Minister Zhuang of the Dali Temple was summoned away."
He then went on to say that Gao Pei had guessed that Lin Si might be dead, and that Consort Hui was responsible, etc.
"Of course, these are all just guesses. I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Jingxuan suddenly stood up from his chair: "Lin Si is dead!"
"No, I meant guess... Hey, where are you going?"
Seeing Qi Jingxuan about to leave, he quickly stood up to stop him: "Things haven't been finalized yet, don't go around telling everyone."
"If you're sure, just ask and you'll know."
Qi Jingxuan shook off his hand, determined to go to the palace and find out the truth.
Gao Zheng tried to stop him, but Xu Jinyu shook her head and let him leave.
"Let him go," he said to Gao Zheng after the man left. "It's better to find out sooner rather than later, so we don't keep waiting for news from the palace."
"But if he goes like this, won't he alert the enemy?"
Gao Zheng said.
Xu Jinyu smiled wryly: "If Lord Gao's guess is true, then how can there be any talk of 'tipping off the enemy'? They have already succeeded and are probably just waiting to see us make a fool of ourselves."
A bunch of idiots searched like headless flies for more than two months, only to find Lin Si. Before they could get any useful clues out of him, he was eliminated.
If he were the person behind it all, he'd be laughing his head off.
Gao Zheng thought about it carefully and agreed, so he sat back down: "There's no need to be so distressed. Even if Lin Si is dead, this matter is not without clues. If it was really Consort Hui who did it, it at least proves that the other party is very capable and must be of high status, otherwise she would not be able to coerce a palace concubine to do such a thing for her."
Having a grudge against Prince Ping, being able to act in the Marquis of Cheng'an's residence, and threatening the concubines in the palace, he is practically all-powerful in the capital. Such a person is truly rare, which greatly narrows down the range of speculation.
Xu Jinyu nodded: "Yes, we can only think positively now. Let Ah Xuan go and ask around in the palace. We'll keep an eye on the He family and see if we can find anything out from them."
After saying that, he remembered that this matter had nothing to do with Gao Zheng and that he was just helping out, so he cupped his hands and bowed again: "Thank you for your help, Brother Gao. I'm grateful for your help."
Gao Zheng pursed his lips and said truthfully, "No need to thank me, I didn't do this for you."
He did it for Aci. If it weren't related to Aci, he wouldn't have bothered with it.
Xu Jinyu laughed and said, "No matter what the reason, we've benefited from it all, so we should still thank you."
He then offered Gao Zheng a cup of tea instead of wine.
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