Chapter 52: Eating the Fruit of Evil "A person who was kept in the mansion...
"A concubine who has been kept in the mansion for many years can't be the real murderer, right?"
Luo Qingling murmured softly. Wei Fuxian had appeared frail and sickly both times they'd met. Besides, as Madam Hongmei's lover, how could Wei Fuxian be acquainted with the wife and children of Lord Liu of the Jinwu Guard?
"Wei Fuxian is definitely not the murderer. The one we should suspect is Wei Er, the warehouse manager," Qin Yanheng shook his head slightly. He glanced at Luo Qingling and had a clue in his mind. "Where did Madam Luo meet Wei Fuxian?"
"Riverside Restaurant."
Luo Qingling looked back at Qin Yanheng, and saw a hint of inquiry in his eyes. She immediately understood what Qin Yanheng meant and said hastily, "I have a veil in my carriage. If the young prince wants to go to the restaurant to investigate, I will wear it and will never..."
Before she could finish her words, Qin Yanheng suddenly interrupted her with a chuckle. Luo Qingling was a little puzzled.
Whenever they had traveled together before, Qin Yanheng had always made her wear a veil to conceal her identity. Luo Qingling had initially suspected that Qin Yanheng had a crush on a young woman and, fearing others would misunderstand their relationship, had always covered her up.
"No need for that. Right now, the capital is full of stories about you and me. What difference does it make whether I wear this veil or not?" Qin Yanheng smiled, and without giving Luo Qingling a chance to refute, he turned around and left the room first.
At this moment, inside the restaurant.
Madam Hongmei half-reclined on the couch, propped up on her elbows. Her other hand lazily held the teacup, sipping tea intermittently. Before her lay a table full of pastries, all of Wei Fuxian's favorites, yet none of them had been touched. Madam Hongmei was alone in the room, and Wei Fuxian, who had been embracing her only moments before, was nowhere to be seen.
The tea was completely cold. Madam Hongmei tilted her head back and poured the last drop of tea into her mouth. Then she threw the teacup to the ground with all her might, shattering porcelain shards all over the floor. When she looked up, Madam Hongmei couldn't hold back the tears.
"Madam, Young Master Wei is gone." The servant stepped forward to sweep away the debris on the ground and reported in a low voice.
"I don't need your reminder." Madam Hongmei glanced at the servant with a cold tone. She had let Wei Fuxian go on purpose.
Madam Hongmei did not pursue the matter of Wei Er reselling the cloth from Caiyifang for the sake of Wei Fuxian. Now Wei Er is even involved in the case of the wife and children of Lord Liu of the Jinwu Guard. No matter how much she dotes on Wei Fuxian, she cannot allow the two Wei brothers to do whatever they want.
She couldn't shield the murderer, but she didn't want to see Wei Fuxian worrying about his brother Wei Er all day long, so she simply let him go. From now on, she was her, and Wei Fuxian was Wei Fuxian. Whatever he did had nothing to do with her.
"Prepare the horses, I want to go back to Caiyifang..." Mrs. Hongmei stood up and was about to leave.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard on the stairs. There was more than one person. Madam Hongmei smiled and sat back on the couch, assuming a leisurely posture, waiting for someone to come in.
"Madam Hongmei, would Qingling be able to come in?"
It was the young lady from the Luo Mansion. Young Prince Qin must be outside the door, too; these two had been inseparable since they met. Madam Hongmei glanced at the servant and motioned for him to open the door. She called out, "Madam Luo, please come in. Hongmei has prepared a table of snacks. Please come in and try some."
Luo Qingling stepped over the threshold and saw Madam Hongmei lying alone in the room. The table in front of her was full of snacks and tea, and she didn't move at all. She didn't know if she was waiting for her to come.
"Why is Madam alone in the room? Where is Master Wei?" Luo Qingling didn't want to be polite with Madam Hongmei, so he went straight to the point.
After she finished speaking, Madam Hongmei lowered her head and chuckled twice. She slowly sat up straight and looked at Luo Qingling at the door. She smiled and said, "Hongmei guessed that Madam Luo came here for Fuxian. It's a pity that Fuxian left Caiyifang early this morning and took the indenture with her. I don't know where she went."
Regardless of the timing, this is indeed true.
"Wei Fuxian left?" Qin Yanheng appeared behind Luo Qingling and asked coldly.
Seeing this, Madam Hongmei remained calm and sat there calmly, looking straight at Qin Yanheng, her red lips moving in and out: "Young Prince Qin is here too, Hongmei knows that you two are here..."
A gust of wind blew by, and a few strands of hair on the temples were cut off.
Madam Hongmei looked calmly at the sword-wielding young man in front of her, her face calm. "If your Highness doesn't believe me, go ahead and check. Fuxian and Hongmei are only related by money. If he wants to leave, I can't stop him. Hongmei disdains to lie to anyone."
"Then why did Wei Fuxian suddenly say that to Luo Qingling?" Qin Yanheng stared into Madam Hongmei's eyes, not letting go of a single emotion.
"Fuxian's younger brother, Wei Er, is from my Caiyifang. He usually only buys wine and has fun. He and Cao He often drink in the restaurant. He is also a close friend of Liu Chang, the son of Master Liu." Madam Hongmei said in a flat tone, watching Qin Yanheng tell everything. "Hongmei said that she will not protect anyone. Your Highness can rest assured that Hongmei did not lie."
The long sword across her neck was suddenly retracted. A silver light flashed before Hongmei's eyes, and she turned her head to look to the side.
"Where did Liu Chang and Cao He have the dispute?" Qin Yanheng asked again.
"It was in this restaurant that Master Cao... was hacked to death by Master Liu." The waiter who came and stood by the door trembled.
Cao He was killed by Liu Chang? Then who was this Cao He?
"Why don't you report this matter to the Dali Temple?" Qin Yanheng asked coldly.
The servant stood there trembling, not daring to look up or speak. Reporting or not wasn't something he, a gatekeeper, could decide. Besides, Liu Chang was the eldest son of the Liu family; it would be easy for him to take down a restaurant.
Seeing the servant's expression, Qin Yanheng and Luo Qingling looked at each other silently, and they understood what was going on.
This matter must have been caused by Lord Liu of the Jinwu Guard using his connections to conceal the incident for his son Liu Chang. Not long ago, Lord Liu was even able to pretend that Liu Chang was the victim and ordered Song Yutai to search the city for Liu Chang.
Since Liu Chang killed someone and escaped, why did his mother Liu Zhang's body appear in a garden outside Beijing?
Qin Yanheng and the other man were completely baffled, feeling the situation was becoming increasingly complicated. Qin Yanheng had taken over as host, sitting on the couch where Madam Hongmei had been lying. Seeing this, the servant hurriedly brought out new teacups and poured tea for the two of them. Madam Hongmei stood by, her arms folded, smiling silently.
The tea was boiling hot and poured slowly into the cup. The rising white mist was a little blinding.
Inside Liu's house.
A white mist, mingled with wisps of water vapor, enveloped the entire room. A man and a woman sat in the tub, their necks hooked and their lips pressed together. The woman sighed softly and retreated, ripples spreading from the two of them. The mist clouded her face, making it vaguely recognizable as Master Liu's concubine, Lady Lu.
"Don't worry, sir. The night is long. Let's play slowly."
Lu smiled and brushed the hand off her neck. Before Lord Liu could show a look of dissatisfaction, Lu chuckled and took the initiative to hug Lord Liu's neck, whispering in his ear: "My lord, the water is so cold..."
"The water is cold? It won't be cold if you move." Lord Liu looked down at a ball of white snow in front of him, and reached his hands into the water to try to grab it. Their skin touched each other, and the temperature gradually rose.
"Master, you are so mean!" Mrs. Lu smiled and dodged.
The flower petals on the water surface swayed up and down with the waves, and the shadows of the two were reflected on the screen. Mrs. Lu did not suppress her voice, but instead tilted her neck and opened her red lips, looking very happy.
“Dongdong——”
There was a knock on the door. Sir Liu, in his heat, didn't want to hear it. He raised his hand and slapped Xuefeng across the face. Mrs. Lu cried out in pain, but she understood what Sir Liu meant. She braced herself on the edge of the tub, slowly turning to face Sir Liu, calling out to him non-stop.
"Speak louder, that bastard outside can't hear you." Lord Liu shouted harshly.
"Master Liu is calling me a thief."
Qin Yanheng appeared in the room at some point. He was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed, his elbows on the table, and his middle finger lightly touching his forehead. He looked at the shadows on the screen without any hesitation. The upper bodies of the two people exposed on the water were an arm's length apart, and they looked like a bunch of lotus flowers with the bathtub.
At this moment, the two people behind the screen were stiff and dared not breathe.
"Why, you don't welcome this bastard like me?"
Qin Yanheng sneered and spoke, gently shaking the other foot on his knee, looking relaxed and contented.
It was nothing more than a live pornographic show. Even if he had never actually seen it, he had probably read the picture book. Besides, every prince had to learn about this before being crowned. It was a piece of cake for him. How could he feel ashamed?
Thinking of this, Qin Yanheng silently glanced at the beautiful figure outside the door, and thought to himself: Fortunately, I didn't let Luo Qingling in just now, otherwise an unmarried young lady and an unengaged young man would get together to watch a live pornographic show. If this gets out, it will probably cause another stir in the capital.
"Lord Liu, how long do you want me to see you? Get out here right now!" Qin Yanheng said sternly.
After hearing this, Lord Liu must have realized that the person outside must be Prince Rong'an Qin Yanheng. He pushed Lu away, jumped out of the bathtub, took off his shoes, put on his clothes, and trotted to Qin Yanheng. Without saying a word, he knelt at his feet, lowered his head, and waited for him to speak.
"Why, is Lord Liu panicking?"
Qin Yanheng lowered his raised foot, rested his elbows on his knees, and leaned forward slightly. He leaned in to observe Lord Liu's sweaty appearance. Qin Yanheng tilted his head slightly, raised one corner of his mouth, and said with disdain, "I think Lord Liu must know why I'm here."
"No, no, I don't know..." Having just come out of the paradise, Lord Liu's mind was still in a mess. He had no idea why Qin Yanheng suddenly appeared in the room.
"You confess on your own, or I force you to confess. Choose one." Qin Yanheng was too lazy to say more. He leaned his back against the low couch and nestled comfortably on it. While doing so, he did not forget to glance at Lord Liu, his eyes full of disdain.
A black and gold python robe draped naturally across the soft couch. The young man's waist held a translucent white jade pendant, the word "Heng" written elegantly upon it, a handwriting instantly recognisable to the young prince. Lord Liu averted his gaze from the words on the jade pendant, tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply, straining to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. His lips trembled slightly.
"I don't know what Prince Rong An has found out. I hope Your Highness will not trust the thieves' words so easily. Everything should be based on evidence..."
Before Lord Liu could finish his words, a scimitar was suddenly thrown at his feet. He was so frightened that his shoulders trembled and he looked up at the young man on the couch with a stiff neck. The latter looked down at him, his black and white eyes full of inquiry.
"What is this..." Lord Liu was still being stubborn.
"How come Lord Liu can't recognize the murder weapon your son used in the restaurant?"
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