Chapter 47 Which Gift List is Miss Shen?
After everyone else had left, Qi Jingxuan asked anxiously, "What did you find out?"
Xu Jinyu's face showed a smug look. She sat down at the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and said unhurriedly, "Guess."
"Stop with the nonsense, just tell me!"
Qi Jingxuan sat down next to him: "I've also found some clues on my end, let's compare them."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jinyu immediately perked up and recounted how she had gone through so much trouble to find Cui Ling's body. She concluded by saying, "I followed this lead all the way, and guess who I found in the end?"
He didn't keep him in suspense; after speaking, he slammed his hand on the table and answered his own question: "Lin Si, the one who runs the gambling den in the west of the city!"
He thought this was an important clue, and that Qi Jingxuan would be happy to hear it, and that they would join him in cursing Lin Si and then discuss how to find out who was behind Lin Si.
Unexpectedly, Qi Jingxuan's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this, and he remained silent for a long while.
"You don't believe me?" Xu Jinyu said, "It's definitely him, I've investigated thoroughly!"
"The man who accompanied Cuiling to the capital scratched the murderer's face before he died. I led people to investigate in the vicinity for several days and found five people who had facial injuries during that period, three of whom had scratches or cuts from knives or swords."
"Two of these three people are locals who have never left their villages or towns, so that leaves only one suspicious person."
“I had someone draw a portrait of that person based on the description, hoping the magistrate of Deqing County could help me find him. But as soon as the portrait was finished, my servant said he seemed to have seen him before.”
“I asked him to think back carefully, and then I showed it to others. Someone recognized at a glance that the person in the painting was a henchman who often followed Lin Si.”
"Lin Si has lived in the capital for a long time, and his family business is mostly located there. How could the person he usually brings with him suddenly appear in Deqing County, especially with an injury on his face?"
"I immediately suspected he was involved, but to be on the safe side, I investigated further. And guess what happened?"
He slammed his hand on the table again and said, "Someone witnessed that the person in the painting appeared with Sister Cuiling and the dead middle-aged man, accompanied by a tall, thin man."
"All the clues match up. Who else but Lin Si could have sent someone to kill Cuiling's sister?"
“Cui Ling is a maid in our household. Her younger sister returned to her hometown many years ago. Lin Si could not possibly have any personal grudges against them.”
"If that's the case, then he must have been instructed to do this! As long as we arrest him and torture him severely, we'll definitely find out who's behind it all!"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, wishing he could arrest Lin Si right now.
In fact, he has already had someone do it, but he is just waiting for news.
Qi Jingxuan listened silently, his expression initially stiff, but by the end his shoulders slumped, and he sighed, asking, "Besides these, did you find anything else?"
"Others"
Xu Jinyu immediately became displeased: "What else do you want? It's already quite an achievement that I was able to find Lin Si's clue during my month-long absence! Do you know how much I've suffered these past few days?"
He complained for a moment, then realized something was wrong: "Could it be... you found out about Lin Si too?"
Otherwise, why would he seem completely unsurprised by the result?
Qi Jingxuan nodded helplessly and recounted what happened on the Dragon Boat Festival, naturally mentioning A Qing as well, but without discussing the past and present lives of the three of them.
After hearing this, Xu Jinyu sighed and leaned against the table in frustration: "Then what have I been doing running around for the past month? All that running around for nothing."
“That’s not entirely true,” Qi Jingxuan said. “My discovery of Lin Si was purely accidental, a lucky break. If it weren’t for A Qing’s appearance, the clue you found would have been the only one.”
He even wondered if, in his previous lives, after he was banished from the capital, it was only after Xu Jinyu or someone else followed the trail of Cui Ling's death and traced Lin Si that things began to take shape.
If he hadn't broken the deadlock by defaming himself, he would probably be dead by now. And it wasn't until after his death that Lin Si was exposed.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He wished he could tear Lin Si to pieces right now, but the man, despite enduring torture, still refused to reveal who was behind him. So, he couldn't kill him for the time being.
Xu Jinyu, unaware that Lin Si had already been arrested, nudged Qi Jingxuan with her elbow and asked, "So what's the situation now? Are you going to arrest him directly, or keep him around to catch a bigger fish?"
Speaking of this, Qi Jingxuan felt frustrated again: "I was hoping to keep him around to fish, but I didn't get to."
After discovering Lin Si that day, A Yuan didn't want to alert him. She wanted to keep him around to follow the clues and see if she could find the real mastermind.
On the very day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Lin Si suddenly killed several of his close confidants, clearly knowing that he was being watched.
If things continued like this, the clues would only be wiped out more and more thoroughly. Left with no other option, A Yuan had to arrest the person directly and send him to the palace for severe interrogation.
But Lin Si is very tight-lipped, and so far he has only given some trivial information.
"We later learned that Lin Si's only son went missing in April."
"He was over forty years old and had only one son, whom he cherished dearly. After the child went missing, he didn't make a fuss but searched for him secretly. This shows that he knew his child wasn't really lost, but had been taken away by someone he knew and couldn't afford to offend."
"We suspect that the mastermind behind this was worried that he would leak the information, so he kidnapped his son in advance to use him as a hostage."
The person behind the scenes had been preparing for Lin Si's mishaps from the start. Not only did they quietly take his son away, but they also sent people to secretly watch him. If there was anything suspicious about him, they would use his son to blackmail him into killing all the people who knew the truth.
Perhaps that person even asked Lin Si to commit suicide, but Lin Si was afraid that the other party would kill his son instead if he had no other considerations, so he did not agree.
Xu Jinyu frowned as she listened to Qi Jingxuan's story, then gritted her teeth and said, "I hate this kind of person the most! Hiding and cowering, he's got the look of a petty person!"
He would rather fight to the death with those who are obviously evil than deal with this kind of person.
These people are like venomous snakes hiding in the grass, ready to pounce and bite at any moment, then disappear back into the grass. They are not only difficult to catch, but you might not even be able to see them.
After saying that, he stood up and said angrily, "I'll personally interrogate Lin Si! I'll use all the instruments of torture, and I don't believe he won't talk!"
Qi Jingxuan curled his lip and pulled the person back: "The people from the Censorate are no better at torture than you. They couldn't get anything out of them, but you can?"
Xu Jinyu thought about it and agreed. She sat back down. She wanted to complain a bit, but seeing her friend who was getting married in a few days looking so dejected, she swallowed her words and patted his shoulder to comfort him, "Don't be discouraged. Although we haven't found out anything yet, the fact that the person behind it kidnapped Lin Si's son to blackmail him means that Lin Si must know some important clues, and may even know who he is."
"Now that the person is in our hands, it's only a matter of time before he talks. Don't rush it."
Qi Jingxuan had thought the same thing before, but as half a month passed and almost all the torture methods available in the prison had been used, Lin Si still refused to budge. He couldn't help but feel anxious, fearing that Lin Si might suddenly die like Cui Ling.
Although he didn't know who was behind it all, he knew that the other party would not let them interrogate Lin Si indefinitely and would definitely try every means to get rid of him before Lin Si could speak.
Therefore, even though Lin Si had been imprisoned in the palace, he was still not entirely at ease.
Just like Aci asked before, what if the other party is from the palace, or someone closely related to the palace?
Xu Jinyu knew what he was worried about, but there was really no better way at the moment, so she could only advise him: "Don't think about these things for now. You're getting married in three days. It's not a good look to have a long face on such a joyous day. People who don't know better will think you don't want to marry Miss Shen."
"How is that possible!"
When the topic of marriage came up, Qi Jingxuan's dejection vanished instantly, replaced by a radiant and energetic appearance.
"Aci is my lucky star, I finally managed to get her! I want to stay with her for life, and never be separated from her!"
He then grinned and said, "Only three days left! We can get married in three days!"
When Aci moves in with him, they can spend all their time together. Even if Aci goes back to her parents' home, he can go with her and won't be locked out anymore. Just thinking about it makes him happy.
Xu Jinyu originally just wanted to comfort him, but now she was really jealous of his bright smile. She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Your face changes so quickly."
"What"
Qi Jingxuan didn't hear clearly and asked a question.
“It’s nothing,” Xu Jinyu said. “I’m saying, now that you’ve married Miss Shen, whom you’ve been longing for, you probably don’t want anything else. So I won’t prepare a wedding gift for you.”
After saying that, she stood up and ran out laughing before Qi Jingxuan could object.
Qi Jingxuan snapped out of his daze and shouted to the figures that had already run far away, "One thing at a time, the gift still needs to be given!"
………………
Is this gift being given because someone is having a happy occasion?
As Gao Zheng entered, he saw a servant handing a gift list to his father and asking if there was anything inappropriate. He then casually asked with a smile.
Gao Pei looked up and saw that it was his son. His face was initially filled with a joyful smile, but after hearing his question, his expression stiffened, and he looked at the servant who had come in with Gao Zheng.
The servant wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced a smile through his pain: "Young Master... Young Master said he has a surprise for you."
The steward had originally instructed him to come and inform the master immediately, but the eldest son stopped him.
He dared not disobey, so he had no choice but to come with the eldest son.
"Father, don't blame him. I told them not to tell you beforehand."
Gao Zheng smiled and waved for the servants to leave, then sat down to the left of Gao Pei.
Gao Pei dismissed the servants who were discussing the gift list with him, and then said, "A-Zheng, why did you suddenly come to the capital without telling your father? This... this is not even a little bit of preparation."
Gao Zheng chuckled: "Dad, what are you saying? I'm just going back to my own home, why would I need to prepare anything?"
After saying that, he explained, "Sir, you have found me a position at the Dali Temple. I came to the capital to take up my post, but I was afraid you would be unhappy if you knew, so I didn't dare to tell you in advance."
Gao Pei's face darkened upon hearing this, and he said sternly, "You...you brat! I told you not to go to the Ministry of Justice, and you went to the Dali Temple. You didn't keep quiet because you were afraid I'd be unhappy; you were afraid I'd talk to the Dali Temple and prevent you from coming, weren't you?"
Gao Zheng awkwardly touched his nose: "I've always liked criminal investigation, Father, you know that."
"Over the years, I have investigated many cases in various local government offices, and I really want to come to the capital to see what it's like. After all, major cases that can't be solved in various places are all collected in the capital, and I can learn a lot more here than in local government offices."
"Besides... Father, you can do whatever you want by editing books at the Hanlin Academy, so why can't I take a position in the Ministry of Justice..."
These words left Gao Pei speechless, unable to utter a reprimand, and in the end, he could only sigh helplessly.
Gao Zheng didn't want to argue with his father, so he changed the subject.
"Dad, who were you preparing a gift for just now? It's so generous!"
He noticed that the items on the gift list were all quite valuable.
Gao Pei's face stiffened again upon hearing this. He had intended to brush it off, but considering that his son was going to take up a post at the Dali Temple and would inevitably be staying in the capital for the foreseeable future, he decided to just say, "It's for Prince Ping. He's getting married."
Prince Ping
Gao Zheng didn't immediately realize who it was.
"It was the former Prince of Jin, who got into trouble and was demoted to a county prince."
Upon hearing this, Gao Zheng exclaimed "Oh!" and then looked enlightened: "It's not surprising that he was demoted to a prince."
After saying that, he asked again, "Whose daughter is so unlucky as to marry him?"
He couldn't get married when he was the Prince of Jin, but he was forced to get married after he was demoted to a county prince. How unlucky!
Gao Pei glanced at him, then looked away, her voice lower: "...Miss Chen."
"Miss Shen, it seems there aren't any prominent families with the surname Shen in the capital. Are you from a prestigious family from out of town?"
Gao Zheng murmured to himself, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of tea.
Gao Pei turned her head, her face showing reluctance: "It's... that Miss Shen you know."
With a "pfft," Gao Zheng spat out a mouthful of tea. Without bothering to wipe it away, he looked at his father in disbelief: "...Who are you talking about?"
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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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