Zhang Family
In the distance, the sound of several night watchmen's drums could be heard outside.
In the main hall, where you could hear a pin drop, these few calls of the night watchman seemed rather noisy.
Su Feng glanced left at Zhou Yanzhi, whose face was grave, and then right at Xiao Jiangsheng, whose face was solemn. He couldn't help but speak up, "Don't stay silent. Now that they know about this, why did they capture Miss Xiao?"
"Also, why did Consort De frame the Xiao family? Was it because of some old grudge?"
After all, who would go to such lengths to wipe out an entire clan?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi couldn't help but turn to look at Xiao Jiangsheng, also wanting to know why they had captured Xiao Yan.
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Jiangsheng frowned and said, "In my memory, the Xiao family and Consort De have never had any grudges."
"Moreover, everyone knows that Consort De was a musician His Majesty brought back from Jiangnan. My Xiao family has guarded the northern border for generations. With one family in the south and the other in the north, it is even more impossible for us to have any enmity with Consort De."
Upon hearing this, the three fell silent again.
As a courtesan, Consort De must have had no powerful backing. If that's the case, why would she go to such lengths to frame the Xiao family? Perhaps even the hatred for her father's murder couldn't have been greater.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Yanzhi said, "The Jingzhao Prefecture has a list of all the women who have entered the palace. I will immediately have someone retrieve Consort De's case file."
Su Feng exclaimed in surprise, "Aren't you afraid that the case file is fake?"
Zhou Yanzhi said helplessly, "Don't worry, the case files are all in duplicate. My Dali Temple also has a copy of the same case file. If there are any discrepancies, it can be used as evidence to be submitted."
Su Feng chuckled awkwardly, "So confidential..."
Zhou Yanzhi nodded, then turned to Su Feng and said seriously, "So, you absolutely mustn't tell anyone. If it leaks out, you know the consequences yourself. After all, this is a secret of our Dali Temple..."
Su Feng: "..." The old saying is true: the more you know, the sooner you die!
"I want to go to the palace," Xiao Jiangsheng suddenly said from the side.
"What?!" Su Feng's eyes widened. "General Xiao, don't forget, you're a fugitive now! Although you're highly skilled in martial arts, the Imperial Guards and the Forbidden Army aren't pushovers. Go to the palace? Go to the palace to die?"
Zhou Yanzhi remained silent, but there was some hesitation in his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiangsheng raised his scarred face, then took out a mask from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying calmly, "Wearing this human skin mask, naturally no one will recognize me as Xiao Jiangsheng."
"Human skin mask?"
...
Days passed, and spring finally lingered, leaving Dazhao along with the falling plum blossoms. In just a few days, the chinaberry trees in the library were already blooming exceptionally profusely.
Zhou Yanzhi stood by the window, put down his hand that was rubbing his temples, casually plucked a cluster of flowers from the chinaberry branch beside the windowsill, and threw it behind him without looking back.
The large, fragrant bouquet of flowers landed directly on the person who was lying sprawled out asleep beside the desk.
"Ouch!" The once dashing and debonair General of the Imperial Guard sighed, opening his squinting eyelids. He picked up a bouquet of flowers, struggled to his feet, and looked at the culprit, lamenting, "...It's not Ce'an, I'm telling you, why are you like this? I know you're worried because your precious little cousin is missing and the case isn't solved, but you can't keep people from sleeping, can you?"
Heaven knows how long the two of them have spent in this library since the day it was confirmed that Consort De had abducted Xie Xiangsi. Every day, the first thing they do upon waking is to peruse the records of Wei Shu's background. Apart from eating and sleeping, they have hardly rested.
For several days in a row, he rivaled the sun in brilliance and shone as brightly as the moon. To be honest, Su Feng really couldn't hold on any longer.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yanzhi, though not as exhausted as Su Feng, was genuinely tired and consciously ignored Su Feng's nonsensical "my dear little cousin".
Looking at Su Feng sitting on the ground, he spoke helplessly, but there was no remorse in his words: "If we can't find the person and solve the case, we'll both lose our heads sooner or later."
Upon hearing this, Su Feng raised his hand to touch his neck, then stroked his face, his tone even more mournful: "I haven't lost my head yet, have I? These past few days, investigating the case day and night, my face has become haggard, I'm practically drier than a dried corpse."
Zhou Yanzhi remained unmoved: "Young Master Su is worrying too much. It's only been a few days. Young Master Su is still as handsome as Pan An, radiant and charming."
As Su Feng listened, his fists clenched tighter and tighter beneath his sleeves. He endured it all, but finally, the young master Su couldn't hold back any longer. With eyes as lifeless as an eighty-year-old woman's, he angrily shouted, "Zhou Ce'an, you heartless, skinny Zhou! Do you want to look at the dark circles under my eyes before you start lying without batting an eye?!"
Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow but remained silent, simply staring at the finger Su Feng had extended to point at him.
After a moment, Su Feng withdrew his hand in a cowardly manner, and then, even more cowardly and tremblingly, picked up the pile of messy case files on the table and began to flip through them in a cowardly manner.
Not long after, a voice, now full of energy and righteous indignation, rang out.
"I want the silk fan and crescent blade in your storeroom, as well as five bolts of cloud silk."
Zhou Yanzhi shifted his gaze from the case file and silently met Su Feng's wide eyes.
The two stared at each other for a moment, and Su Feng was the first to give in, but he still said angrily, "You even gave Brother Zigui money last time you asked him for help! I, a dignified General of the Golden Guard, only asked for three things, which is already a lot of face for me."
Although he only picks the expensive ones, they are still extremely expensive.
After a long silence, Zhou Yanzhi nodded and said, "Okay." Before Su Feng could say anything more, he turned his gaze back to the case file and sighed, "Quickly look at the case file. After we solve the case, you can pick whatever you want from the pile of things in my storeroom. If we can't solve the case, we'll wash our necks and wait to be beheaded."
Su Feng spat a few times and said urgently, "Don't keep saying such unlucky things. We have already sent a message to Minghua, and I have also sent Xiao Jiangsheng into the palace patrol team."
"If Miss Xiao is really there, we will find her sooner or later, and the case will be solved sooner or later."
"All that's missing now is a complete chain of evidence. Can you stop being so pessimistic?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi paused for a moment, staring at the dense ink characters before him, and said, "I just... that's all."
His conjecture was ultimately too shocking.
...
Time passed slowly amidst the fragrance of books filling the room. The prolonged use of their eyes was becoming increasingly unbearable for both of them. Zhou Yanzhi's eyes had lost their light, while Su Feng looked as if he was about to ascend to heaven.
"well……"
Zhou Yanzhi sighed softly, put the scroll he had just finished reading aside, closed his eyes, rubbed his temples hard, paused for a moment, and then casually picked up another case file beside him to read.
After staring at it for a while, the densely packed ink characters became increasingly blurry, as if they had suddenly come to life, turning into ants, crawling and scurrying about on the yellowed paper, making a mess that hurt the eyes.
Unable to bear it any longer, Zhou Yanzhi quickly grabbed a cup from the side and drank the cold tea in one gulp. The bitter tea flowed over his tongue, making his throat even drier.
Zhou Yanzhi narrowed his eyes, pinched his arm hard, and the pain brought him back to his senses.
He picked up the case file again and started reading. Suddenly, Zhou Yanzhi's fingertips paused, and his slightly confused eyes gradually became clearer.
The case file read: "The Wei family of Jiangzhou, through the introduction of Zhang Sanlang, was favored by Emperor Zhaowen. She was first granted the title of Beauty, and over the course of six years, her rank rose year by year until she was granted the title of Imperial Concubine and was granted residence in Yuande Palace."
Zhang Sanlang?
Zhang Xu?
Thinking of the statement Zhang Xu had taken in Danzhou, Zhou Yanzhi's heart sank. If he remembered correctly, Zhang Xu was the so-called Third Son of the Zhang family in Jiangzhou.
Thinking of something, Zhou Yanzhi reached out and patted Su Feng, who was pecking at rice like a chick. After a "thud," the elegant, mummified version of Lord Su, with a red forehead, raised his head from the desk with an angry look.
"Zhou Ce'an, what are you doing... ugh?!"
Zhou Yanzhi covered Su Feng's mouth with one hand, which stopped him as soon as he opened his mouth, and with the other hand he handed the case file to him and said in a deep voice, "Didn't you say that you saw Zhang Mingyuan outside that courtyard? Do you know what connection the Zhang family in the capital has with the Zhang family in Jiangzhou?"
Su Feng nodded, and Zhou Yanzhi lowered his hand, gesturing for him to speak.
Completely awake, Lord Su took a deep breath and said with a deep gaze, "The Zhang family in the capital and the Zhang family in Jiangzhou are actually of the same lineage. Zhang Mingyuan's grandfather was the brother of the head of the Zhang family in Jiangzhou."
Zhou Yanzhi frowned: "How could I not know about this?"
Upon hearing this, Su Feng couldn't help but say with some disdain, "That happened before you returned from Jizhou. Besides, gossip in the capital comes and goes quickly. Who would bring up this matter specifically?"
"What's wrong, Ce'an? Why did you suddenly bring this up? Did you discover something?"
Zhou Yanzhi nodded and pointed to "Zhang Sanlang" on the case file, saying, "The 'Zhang Sanlang' who introduced Consort De is the same Zhang Xu whom I arrested and interrogated at the Danzhou Prefectural Governor's Office."
Unexpectedly, this discovery sent a chill down Su Feng's spine.
Consort De was introduced by Zhang Xu, Danzhou was under Zhang Xu's control, and the small courtyard in the capital was a place where Zhang Mingyuan had appeared...
Why is the Zhang family involved everywhere? Could it be that Consort De and the Zhang clan have already formed an alliance?
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same shock in each other's eyes.
"I'll go investigate the Zhang family right away." Su Feng was about to get up, but Zhou Yanzhi stopped him.
"Wait a minute." Zhou Yanzhi's eyes were deep. "Song Baiyu has already been captured. If the Zhang family really colluded with Consort De, they must have already increased their vigilance. Not only will you not find anything, but you will also alert them."
He lightly tapped the three characters "Yuande Palace" on the file with his fingertips, his voice very low: "The archives of the Jiaofangsi are cleared every six years. Why not start with Consort De's old acquaintances before she entered the palace, and see how Consort De colluded with the Zhang family back then?"
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