Chapter 14: Paying the Debt of Love "Exploring people's hearts is much more effective than magic"...
The next morning.
The Taoist temple was packed with guests, all gathered in the main hall, all with sorrowful expressions. A few of them tiptoed over the crowd to take a look inside, then covered their faces and left, suddenly filled with sobs.
A layer of white cloth was spread on the floor of the main hall, and Du Yubai's body was placed on it without any obstruction, so it was in plain sight of all the visitors. An old Taoist priest was sitting beside him, chanting something to pray for the deceased.
Last night, the newly minted scholars received word from the Ministry of Personnel that they would be meeting at noon today to pay their respects to the deceased number one scholar, Du. After all, they were from the same batch and thus knew each other well. They all dressed in white and covered their heads with white cloth to rush to the Taoist temple to see the number one scholar one last time. The atmosphere inside was heavy, and sobs filled the air.
"Lord Deng is well." Several Jinshi scholars stepped into the room and saw Lord Deng, the Minister of Personnel, standing inside. They hurriedly saluted with their fists, then stepped aside, lowered their heads and said nothing.
"I heard the news of Du Zhuangyuan's death not long ago. I felt very sad. It is rare for a poor family to produce a champion in the court. Now he died on the day of the announcement of the results. What a pity..." Xu Sheng, the Dali Temple Minister, walked to the side of Lord Deng and whispered. The big mirror in front of the corpse made him nervous, and he couldn't help but get close to Lord Deng.
"Didn't Lord Xu say before that I looked down on your eldest son and insisted on having a top scholar from a poor family as my son-in-law? Why did you change your words now?" Lord Deng kept his distance and was too lazy to pay attention to this fake person.
Listen, he just said some polite words and was scolded by Lord Deng. Xu Sheng was furious. Everyone knew that Lord Deng, the Minister of Personnel, forced his daughter to marry for his own career. Now that Du Zhuangyuan was dead, Lord Deng had no place to vent his anger!
Xu Sheng didn't want to talk to this kind of people either. He looked at the scholars standing next to the corpse in front of him. They were holding white flowers in their hands and bowing to the corpse one by one.
The two men who ranked second and third in the imperial examination stood side by side at Du Yubai's feet, their eyes red and faces full of sadness. They placed the white flowers on the ground, bowed solemnly to the deceased, and then turned and left.
No one noticed that there was a screen on the left side of the main hall. All the white candles in the room were lit on the wooden platform on the right. The entire left side of the room was almost dark. For some reason, not a single ray of light from outside could come in.
Behind the screen.
Luo Qingling sat upright in her chair, leaning slightly forward, observing the crowd through the crack in the screen. Her eyes remained unblinking, her expression as if she were facing a formidable enemy.
Someone beside her chuckled, and she hurriedly turned around to look at that person, her face full of reproach. The latter, however, had a playful smile on his face, which made her curl her lips and roll her eyes before continuing to bend over and observe.
On another chair, Qin Yanheng leaned against the back of the chair, playing with the jade pendant on his waist. He raised his eyes slightly to look at Luo Qingling who was looking serious in front of him, then lowered his head and smiled silently. The loose hair on his temples fell, barely covering his raised thin lips.
The saint clearly assigned him to solve the case, so why is Luo Qingling more nervous than him?
Yesterday, Luo Qingling suggested that they gather all the newly-minted scholars and those who had connections with Du Yubai here, under the pretext of paying tribute to Du Yubai, but in fact it was to observe the reactions of the crowd - to speculate whether there was the real murderer among the crowd. After all, after the death of the top scholar, the actual beneficiaries were these newly-minted scholars, especially the runner-up and third place winners.
Qin Yanheng had thought of this trick of hers, but he felt that it was too blatant and would easily arouse the suspicion of the real murderer. If this trick failed, it would be extremely difficult to catch the real murderer in the future.
Unexpectedly, Luo Qingling's tone was nonchalant. He shrugged and replied, "Your Highness, there's no need to worry about this being inappropriate. The current sage venerates Taoism, and there are many Taoist temples in the capital. It's common for the families of the deceased to pay their respects within these temples. So how could offering prayers and condolences for the deceased champion here arouse suspicion?"
She was right.
Qin Yanheng glanced again at Luo Qingling, who was carefully observing everyone's reactions. The latter was clinging to the gap between the screens, his eyes glued to the screen without blinking. If he moved any further, he would probably slide off the chair...
As expected, Luo Qingling slipped and fell forward. Qin Yanheng hurriedly leaned over and grabbed her arm to pull her back. His hand felt smooth and soft, like holding a piece of warm jade.
He quickly let go, clenched his fist and put it to his mouth, coughed lightly to cover up his rudeness, and after tidying his expression, he calmly said, "Be careful."
Luo Qingling did not look back. She casually waved her hand to signal Qin Yanheng not to disturb her. Now that everyone was gathered in the room, it was the best time to observe the real murderer. She could not miss any clues.
Unfortunately, no one behaved abnormally during the entire mourning ceremony. Luo Qingling looked for a long time but couldn't find a single suspicious person. She rubbed her neck and looked a little unhappy.
Could it be that the real murderer is not inside?
Aside from the newly minted Jinshi, she couldn't imagine anyone else harboring a deep grudge against this newly arrived top scholar. Could it be that Du Zhuangyuan had offended someone in private due to his poor character? Or perhaps it was a demon? But the "magic mirror" in the hall didn't react at all, clearly indicating there were no demons among the crowd.
Luo Qingling sat back in his chair dejectedly, turned his head to look at Qin Yanheng beside him, and said, "Your Highness... why don't you cast a spell to summon Du Yubai's spirit and ask him?"
After trying every trick but still unable to find the real culprit, they can only rely on "folk remedies".
"Read less storybooks. If this kind of magic really existed, there would be no unjust cases in the world." Qin Yanheng found it a little funny, but it was not easy to show it in front of her, so he had to extend his index finger and place it on his cheek, secretly suppressing the corners of his mouth that were about to curl up.
"Besides, sometimes exploring people's hearts is much more useful than magic." Qin Yanheng said to himself as he watched the people gradually disperse outside the screen.
As he spoke, Qin Yanheng's expression gradually turned cold. He hadn't told Luo Qingling that he had used Taoist magic to examine Du Yubai's body from the beginning and found that Du Yubai's soul had long since dissipated. Even if a Taoist immortal came, he wouldn't be able to summon his spirit.
The murderer was not only cruel, but also used magic to prevent Du Yubai from reincarnating into the next life.
Who is the real murderer? How could he use the soul-scattering technique that has been banned for many years? Qin Yanheng narrowed his eyes, his eyes full of coldness.
After the ceremony, Qin Yanheng could only watch everyone leave quietly behind the screen. Even though he was a prince, he could not simply arrest everyone for interrogation and trial. After all, those people were newly-minted Jinshi, and doing so would damage the reputation of the court.
Across the corpse, the candle on the right side of the room flickered, its flames dancing softly. The light reflected on the faces of the people, making it difficult to discern their expressions. Just as everyone was gradually crossing the threshold, the third place winner, who had been paying his respects alongside the second place winner, turned back to look at the corpse, then followed the second place winner out of the room.
Seeing this, Qin Yanheng raised his chin slightly with a calm expression. He waved his hand to signal the follower standing beside him to follow him. The latter immediately mixed in the crowd and followed Tanhualang out the door.
The most common things are the most extraordinary.
Jinbao Inn.
"Make way, make way—" The waiter came down from upstairs carrying a tea tray and met Zhao Zhicai at the corner of the stairs, almost bumping into each other. The waiter hurriedly lifted the tea tray to his side to prevent it from spilling on anyone. He looked up at Zhao Zhicai, dressed in white, and said with a smile, "Is the third place winner back from paying his respects?"
Zhao Zhicai nodded perfunctorily, then walked past the waiter and went upstairs. His mind was in a turmoil, and he couldn't think of anything else. Zhao Zhicai looked back in the corridor on the second floor. Seeing no one following him, he breathed a sigh of relief, took out the key from his sleeve, opened the wooden door of the wing room, and went in. He didn't go out for the whole day.
The next day, Ministry of Personnel.
The ceremony of conferring official titles on the newly-crowned Jinshi was supposed to be held a few days ago, but who would have thought that two major events would happen in succession in the capital. One was the attack of a monster on the night of the Qujiang Banquet, and the other was the death of the newly-crowned top scorer on the day of the results announcement, which is why the ceremony has been delayed until now.
Zhao Zhicai washed up early in the morning and went to the Ministry of Personnel to receive the title. Several familiar Jinshi who had passed the same imperial examination saw him and surrounded him to congratulate each other. He forced himself to cheer up and greet everyone, but he did not expect that those Jinshi were so talkative. He wanted to say goodbye several times but was interrupted by others, and his toes that were about to go out moved back.
"Brother Zhao, come with us to that place to have a drink tonight!" The leading scholar smiled and put his arm around Zhao Zhicai's shoulders, and patted his chest with his other hand, scaring Zhao Zhicai so much that he stepped back repeatedly.
"Brother Zhao, why are you still so shy? Someone who's become an official can't be like that anymore, hahaha..." Another joked, and the others around him laughed and chimed in. "You're the most taciturn of us. You're not going anywhere tonight! You must come with us to the Red Mansion and spend the night relaxing."
Hearing this, Zhao Zhicai's feet softened even further. He was a quiet man, and when had he ever been to a place like this? In the past, he only knew how to study and had rarely even met a woman. How could he possibly hang out with these "veterans"? Besides, he was currently burdened with things, so no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't have fun.
"Let's go, just take him there, why are you still talking so much——"
Someone pushed him from behind, and Zhao Zhicai was half-pushed and half-driven toward the street.
Red Mansion.
The strong scent of powder could be smelled before entering the door. Zhao Zhicai followed several Jinshi scholars across the threshold. There were not many people in the lobby, so they must be in the side rooms. An old woman in a skirt saw everyone and hurried over to greet them.
"Oh, you all look like newly minted scholars, right?" Mother Huang waved her sleeve across Zhao Zhicai's hand, her face as bright as a flower. "I understand. On ordinary days, you officials all have to go to the upper rooms. So... the same as usual?"
Hearing this, everyone became more excited. They thought that the seniors in the court had already figured out a set of rules in the Red Mansion, so they might as well follow their seniors. Maybe they would have more fun than if they chose their own rules!
The scholar who led the group pretended to be mature, nodded to Mother Huang, and then pulled Zhao Zhicai upstairs.
A group of people entered the wing room in a mighty procession. No one noticed that at the end of the corridor, the dark shadow disappeared into the darkness and then disappeared into the red building.
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