In the blink of an eye, April has quietly passed, and May has arrived.
The case involving the Yan and Meng families, which caused quite a stir a few days ago, has now been overshadowed by another case in Chang'an.
This is a case of official embezzlement, which is exactly the same as the case of Zhang Jingzhi ten years ago.
However, the location of the incident has changed to Suizhou.
Suizhou was the original owner's hometown. As a member of the Supervisory Council, and because Su Yan was more familiar with the situation in Suizhou, the Crown Prince entrusted this case to her for investigation.
After traveling all the way from Suizhou to Chang'an, Su Yan never thought she would be able to go back one day.
In addition to Su Yan, the Crown Prince also sent Xie Yu and Shen Yao to accompany him.
Xie Yu grew up in Chang'an and the farthest he ever went was the Jiangnan region.
Not only is Suizhou remote, but its people are also known for their fierce and unruly nature. Upon hearing that he was going to go on a business trip to such a place, Xie Yu's eyes welled up with tears.
Su Yan is fine, but Su Bao'er and Banxia are still young and need someone to take care of them.
But as an official, she could not disobey the Crown Prince's order.
Finally, at Shen Yao's suggestion, Su Bao'er and Banxia were brought to his residence and cared for by the old servants of the Shen family.
When Su Yan told Su Bao'er about this, Su Bao'er wholeheartedly agreed.
"Sister Yan, when are you coming back?"
Su Yan was packing her luggage, while Su Bao'er and Banxia watched her expectantly from the side.
Su Yan squatted down and touched Banxia's face. "It could be as short as one or two months, or as long as two or three months."
After saying that, Su Yan looked at Su Bao'er and instructed him, "I will be away from Suizhou for a long time this time. Bao'er, you are the older brother, so you must take good care of your younger sister, okay?"
Su Bao'er nodded, "Sister Yan, don't worry, I will take good care of my sister."
Su Yan pinched Su Bao'er's chubby cheeks, "I believe you... then I'll go."
Su Yan picked up her packed luggage and walked out the door.
At this moment, the carriage was already waiting for her at the door.
Leaving home always brings a pang of sadness, especially leaving two children at home. Su Yan was extremely worried about leaving them behind.
But Su Bao'er and Banxia stood at the door, smiling and waving goodbye to Su Yan, reminding her, "Be careful on the road..."
Su Yan waved in response, "I know, you all need to be careful too, and remember to write to me."
Su Bao'er replied, "I understand..."
Shen Yao noticed that Su Yan was not feeling well, so he stepped forward, took her bag, and patted her shoulder to comfort her, "It's alright, Uncle Wang will take good care of them for us."
Su Yan nodded and finally boarded the carriage.
Since Shen Yao was the coachman, Su Yan naturally walked into the carriage.
When she saw Jingning's figure in the carriage, she couldn't help but be taken aback.
"Princess, what are you doing here?"
Su Yan was quite surprised by Jing Ning's appearance. Judging from her attire, she seemed to be leaving the capital.
Jing Ning smiled and said, "How about it? You can't tell I'm a princess from this outfit, can you?"
Su Yan nodded. "It's not that you can tell."
As a princess who was not yet married, Jingning did not have to live in the deep palace, but she could not leave Chang'an either.
So when she appeared in the carriage, Su Yan realized something was wrong. "You're not going to come with us to Suizhou, are you?!"
How did you know?
"But can a princess leave the capital?"
Jing Ning smiled and explained to Su Yan, "It is true that I cannot leave the capital, but I have consulted with Her Majesty the Empress and I wish to observe three years of mourning for my father and go to the temple to pray, so Her Majesty the Empress agreed."
"But Princess, we will be away for a long time, and we don't know when we will be back. What if the Queen suddenly looks for you?"
"Don't worry, I've taken care of everything. Actually, I..."
Jing Ning hesitated for a moment, then suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I actually want to visit my father."
Upon hearing this, Su Yan stopped trying to stop her.
Xie Yu, on the other hand, had an extremely unpleasant expression, as if she had just been crying.
Su Yan looked at Xie Yu with a puzzled expression and asked, "Dean Xie, what's wrong?"
Xie Yu did not answer, remaining bald and burying his head even lower, appearing unwilling to talk to anyone.
Jing Ning smiled and answered Su Yan for Xie Yu, "Su Yan, you don't need to worry about him. This is actually Xie Yu's first time being so far from home, and he's reluctant to leave his mother..."
Upon hearing this, Su Yan immediately understood and did not pursue the matter further.
Shen Yao picked up the whip and spurred the horse's rump. Soon the carriage started rolling and headed out of the city.
The four of them traveled a long way.
They traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping frequently during the day and resting at inns if available, otherwise sleeping in the wilderness.
Su Yan had already experienced the journey once, so she didn't have much of a reaction the second time.
For Shen Yao, who crawled out of a pile of dead bodies, sleeping in the wild was child's play.
Jing Ning and Xie Yu, however, were different.
One was pampered and spoiled, the other lived a life of luxury; neither of them had ever suffered such hardship.
I kept throwing up or getting sick along the way.
With two burdens along, the journey became increasingly faster.
Finally, when they were about 100 li away from Suizhou, the four of them stayed overnight at an inn.
Jingning and Xie Yu had persevered through this period and gotten used to simple meals, so they would immediately go to sleep after eating.
Meanwhile, Su Yan and Shen Yao were in the room looking through the case files about Li Qingming, the prefect of Suizhou, embezzling funds.
Li Qingming has confessed and committed suicide in prison. With the evidence of embezzlement and his handwritten farewell letter before his suicide, the case should be closed.
But the irony is that it was a prostitute from a brothel in Suizhou who reported Li Qingming for embezzlement.
It's so similar to the case of Zhang Jingzhi's embezzlement ten years ago.
Not only did the Crown Prince become suspicious, but even the Emperor noticed something amiss.
"Lord Shen, what is your opinion on Li Qingming's case?"
Shen Yao frowned and pondered, "I think the cases of Zhang Jingzhi and Li Qingming are by no means a coincidence, and are very likely the work of the same group of people."
Su Yan nodded in agreement. "I think so too. But Suizhou is not as wealthy as Yangzhou. It's just a poor, remote place. Is it worth paying such a high price to frame a prefect like this?"
"Let's wait until Suizhou to discuss this further. There's no point in us speculating here now."
Just then, an unusual sound came from outside the door.
Shen Yao immediately became alert and quickly blew out the candles on the table.
The room went dark instantly, and Su Yan was pulled behind Shen Yao.
Su Yan, unaware of what had happened, asked in a low voice, "Lord Shen, what has happened?"
"Shh..." Shen Yao gestured for Su Yan to be quiet, then pointed to the door, "Someone's here..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Yan saw the figure with the large knife appear in the corridor. The figure was moving very carefully, but the moonlight revealed its presence.
The moonlight cast his shadow on the window, revealing his every move.
It seems the leader must be some kind of assassin.
At this moment, Su Yan had only one thought in her mind: assassination.
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