Chapter 84
Su Shuxian was still immersed in the grief of her cousin's breaking the rules by killing someone for her, and did not hear Jiang Lingyao's voice at all.
Jiang Lingyao wasn't talking to her; she was asking Duan Nanqi.
Duan Nanqi had stood up at this moment and sat down on the chair beside her, looking down at the testimony he had just written.
He flipped through the pages, and finally his eyes fell on Su Shuxian's words.
Su Shuxian said that Xue Dingshan had become a different person after returning from his hometown. His temperament and preferences seemed to be the same, but he was no longer the same person as before.
As his bedmate and the mother of his child, she is the person who knows Xue Dingshan best besides his parents.
What Su Shuxian meant was that although everything seemed normal to Xue Dingshan, in fact, it was completely different. Because Xue Dingshan humiliated her in every way, she lived more in temples and Buddhist halls and had less contact with Xue Dingshan.
Duan Nanqi asked, "What if Xue Dingshan did it on purpose?"
Jiang Lingyao's eyes lit up: "Xue Dingshan deliberately kept his wife away from him, so that no matter what he did, there would be no one watching him and nothing would be revealed."
"Many years have passed, even though he and Su Shuxian have become strangers, so he doesn't have to do anything, Su Shuxian won't get close to him, he has the peace he wants."
Duan Nanqi nodded calmly: "Yes, it seems that he must have other secrets."
Jiang Lingyao said, "We need to go to the study to find out more."
Before, in the study, they couldn't mess around with things because the murder case hadn't been solved. Now that the case has been solved, they can investigate it carefully.
Duan Nanqi hummed and turned to look at Su Shuxian.
Su Shuxian was completely immersed in great sorrow, crying bitterly, as if she wanted to vent all the sorrow of the past few decades.
Jiang Lingyao sighed and said, "Madam Su, you still have Master Xue and Xinyue, as well as so many people in the Bo Mansion."
Su Shuxian paused, silently wiped her face with a handkerchief, and finally stopped crying.
But her face was covered with red marks, her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was full of desolation.
"Thank you for your consolation," Su Shuxian whispered, "Sir, except for my dowry, everyone in the Bo's Mansion only listens to Xue Dingshan. When Xue Dingshan is not around, it is the housekeeper Wen Li who is in charge. To be honest, Yaozu, Xinyue and I are not allowed to make decisions at home."
"Whatever Xue Dingshan did, it has nothing to do with us, mother and son, or the other servants."
Although Su Shuxian was very sad, she was also very sober.
She made it very clear: "We, mother and son, really know nothing. If he really did commit any crime, only Wenli or Guiyin Temple would know about it."
Jiang Lingyao was a little surprised: "How did Madam know that there was something strange about Xue Dingshan?"
Su Shuxian sighed, "I guessed. I tried to test him when I was young, but he and Wenli were too smart and hid it very well every time. For so many years, I didn't find out what he was doing in private. After a long time, I didn't care so much anymore."
"As long as it doesn't affect the whole family, let him do whatever he wants."
Su Shuxian was disheartened. She had also noticed that there was something strange about Xue Dingshan when she was young, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not find out who was behind him or what he did in private. For the safety of herself and her son, she did not continue to investigate.
Now that everyone is dead, Su Shuxian has no secrets.
Su Shuxian looked at Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqiao, looking at this young couple with different faces but very similar temperaments, as if she was looking at her own son and daughter-in-law.
"Master Duan, Master Jiang, I have said before that I only want to save my life. I hope you two can help mediate."
She was clearly the elder, yet she used honorifics at this moment.
Duan Nanqi lowered his eyes for a moment before saying, "Madam, what happens to the Bo's Mansion in the future depends on the evidence found, but please rest assured, Madam, His Majesty is merciful and will not be irritated with the innocent."
Su Shuxian did not beg for mercy.
Duan Nanqi arranged for Chu Xiunian to make another confession to a few people, and then he and Jiang Lingyao returned to the door of the study in the main courtyard.
The two men came alone, and apart from the Tiqi guarding the main courtyard gate, there was no one else in the entire bamboo garden.
Before entering the study, Jiang Lingyao stopped in her tracks.
"I know what's strange about this study."
"Look, just looking at the doors of the study and the tea room, as well as the size of the tea room, the study should be this big." Jiang Lingyao walked to a wall and drew a line on it.
Duan Nanqi immediately understood what she meant: "This location... Are you saying there is still space behind the bookcase?"
Jiang Lingyao nodded, with some excitement in her tone.
"Yes, the arrangement of the bookcase is unreasonable. The study is obviously not spacious, but they insist on having a wall of bookcases, which makes the study seem even smaller. Because of this, people who enter the study will subconsciously think that the study is smaller because of the space taken up by the bookcases, and will not think that the study is divided into two because an empty room is separated at the back."
Duan Nanqi exhaled slowly: "Master Jiang, you are really very smart."
Jiang Lingyao smiled faintly, and the two of them quickly walked into the study and stood in front of the bookcase, one on the left and one on the right.
They searched the bookcase carefully, trying not to miss any detail: "But how do we get into this empty room?"
Duan Nanqiao asked Jiang Lingyao to step back a few steps. He stepped forward and opened the door of one of the bookcases. He placed his hands on the horizontal partition and exerted force as if to pull the entire bookcase out.
Duan Nanqi has been practicing martial arts for many years. Although he does not look strong, he is agile and powerful. When he exerts force, his lower body is firmly fixed on the ground. If he wants to lift something, he can even lift a water tank.
But at this moment, the bookcase remained motionless.
Duan Nanqi tried twice and gave up decisively: "The bookcase was nailed to the wall."
He tried all four bookcases and confirmed that they were all nailed to the wall and could not be moved at all.
After struggling for a while, Duan Nanqi's forehead was sweating and his brows were gradually furrowed.
"It shouldn't be opened like this," Duan Nanqi said, "If you make such a fuss every time you enter an empty room, someone would notice even if there are only a few people in the main courtyard."
Jiang Lingyao nodded, her eyes sliding over every item on the bookcase.
Finally, her eyes fell on the gilded Guanyin statue on the bookcase on the middle left.
There were other ornaments in the bookcase, but this was the only offering. Jiang Lingyao took two steps forward and looked closely at the Guanyin statue.
Duan Nanqi also stood beside her, and the two of them stood almost side by side.
Jiang Lingyao looked at Duan Nanxi, then reached out and touched the Buddha statue.
"It can't be moved. It's connected to the bookcase."
Jiang Lingyao's eyes lit up. She held the Buddha statue with both hands and tried to rotate it.
She turned left but it didn't move, but when she turned right, the statue made a clicking sound and turned to the right.
There was a slight friction sound and something was moving behind the wall.
Duan Nanqi frowned, and he quickly grabbed Jiang Lingyao's slender waist and took two quick steps back with her.
When the two of them were three or four steps away from the bookcase, the bookcase on the far left slowly rotated, opening a narrow door that was wide enough for one person to pass through.
Jiang Lingyao opened her eyes wide and looked at Duan Nanqi, who was also looking down at her.
Both of them saw surprise in each other's eyes.
There is nothing to search in the outer study, which means that all the secrets are hidden in this secret room.
Jiang Lingyao took a deep breath and said, "Let's go in."
Duan Nanqi nodded, he let go of his hand, put Jiang Lingyao behind him, and walked to the door of the secret room first.
As the wind from outside was blown into the secret room, the lamp inside began to burn dimly, and a faint light shone through it, like a will-o'-the-wisp from hell.
Jiang Lingyao held Duan Nanqi's arm tightly and tiptoed to look inside.
"What's in it?" she asked.
Duan Nanqi took out a delicate dart from his sleeve, thrust it into the door and threw it neatly.
There was only a sound of breaking air, followed by the sound of a dart piercing the wall, and nothing else.
Duan Nanqi turned around and said, "It's probably not dangerous."
Jiang Lingyao said, "Come in."
At this point in the case, it seems that as long as they enter this door, they will be able to find the truth and clear their family of the years of injustice.
At this moment, both Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqi were determined.
Duan Nanqi nodded, thought for a moment, and then told Jiang Lingyao to wear a veil. After he put one on himself, he gently stepped into the room.
To their surprise, the secret room behind the study was just a long corridor with nothing in it except the dimly burning wall lamps.
At the end of the corridor, there is another iron door on the ground.
Jiang Lingyao lowered her voice and said, "Judging from the location, the iron gate here is probably the entrance to the tunnel, and the direction of the tunnel should be the rockery behind."
This Zhengyang Marquis's Mansion is really like a maze, with such strict arrangements.
The two men came to the entrance of the tunnel and saw another padlock on it. Duan Nanqi sneered, "This Xue Dingshan is really a thief with a guilty conscience."
He did not go out to look for the key, but directly took off the Xiuchun sword on his body and pulled the slender black iron sword out of the scabbard.
When Jiang Lingyao took two steps back, she saw the flash of swords and knives, and then with a bang, the brass lock on the tunnel door broke into two pieces.
Duan Nanqiao did not retract his knife. Instead, he used the blade to lightly pry open the tunnel door.
A damp and sticky breath hit my face, mixed with an unpleasant moldy smell, making me want to do something evil.
Jiang Lingyao retreated to the door, took down the wall lamp and held it in her hand, then quickly walked behind Duan Nanqi and said, "Come in."
As the dim light illuminated the way ahead, the two people went down the tunnel step by step.
Just as Jiang Lingyao guessed, this tunnel did lead to the bamboo forest in the rockery of the main courtyard. Therefore, the tunnel was not dug very well and it only took about a cup of tea to reach the bottom.
There is another not very long tunnel below. Walking along the tunnel, we finally arrived at a door.
This place was not locked. The two men looked at each other, and Duan Nanqi directly pushed the door open with his Xiuchun sword.
A foul odor hit my face, it was the sins accumulated over the years.
Both of them held their breath and walked quickly into the room.
As the light crept into the dark, hellish dungeon, a thin figure crawling on the grass appeared before the two.
The dungeon actually didn't seem to be that dirty or messy. Apart from a set of old tables and chairs at the door and the cells behind wooden bars on the other side.
There were two clay basins, a meadow, and an old, thick iron chain in the cell.
The other end of the chain sank into the feet of the person being fucked on the ground.
Jiang Lingyao was a little surprised: "Who is this?"
“I don’t know.”
The two men walked forward a few steps, but the man didn't move, and it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
Duan Nanqi put the Xiuchun sword back into the scabbard, squatted down, and lightly used the Xiuchun sword to flip the skinny man who seemed to have no weight.
When his unshaven face appeared in front of the two of them, Jiang Lingyao's eyes widened suddenly.
The man had gray hair, an old face, a tangled beard, and was so thin that he looked almost inhuman.
But Jiang Lingyao still recognized the man's face at a glance.
"Xue Dingshan?" she exclaimed.
————
Jiang Lingyao is good at recognizing people's faces.
Although the man in the dungeon was skinny, old and frail, his features were somewhat similar to those of Xue Dingshan who had just died this morning.
Especially because Xue Dingshan was deceased, in order to find clues to his death, Jiang Lingyao carefully looked at Xue Dingshan's face, so she recognized who he was at a glance.
Duan Nanqi's eyebrows were furrowed, and he whispered, "The person is still alive."
Alive, but dying, seemingly in a coma.
It was dark and silent here. There was only a two-foot-long air vent on the top of the dungeon, which led to the inside of the rockery. Therefore, not much light could be seen, and it was just enough for the people in the dungeon to barely survive.
It looked like this man had been locked up for many years. His skin was as pale as paper and he had not seen the light of day for many years.
Jiang Lingyao whispered, "I think there might be something fishy going on."
As soon as she said this, Duan Nanqi understood. The two looked at each other and both understood what the other meant.
Based on today's interrogation of the entire case and the testimony of Su Shuxian and others, they may be able to conclude that the person in the dungeon is Xue Dingshan, and the one outside is another person with a similar appearance to him.
By means of a funeral in his hometown, they made the real Xue Dingshan leave the capital, and then replaced him with a fake Xue Dingshan in Linzhou without anyone noticing. The real Xue Dingshan was then detained in a dungeon.
If this is true, then the real Xue Dingshan was imprisoned in the dungeon for nearly twenty years.
He is still alive after twenty years, which shows that he is determined and unwilling to die easily.
Duan Nanqi stood up and walked out of the dungeon quickly with Jiang Lingyao. He whispered in the tunnel, "Madam, is the case you mentioned earlier closely related to Xue Dingshan?"
Jiang Lingyao was slightly stunned, and her heart seemed to be splashed with thick ink, which instantly turned into huge waves.
Jiang Lingyao raised her eyes and looked towards Duan Nanxi.
The tunnel was deep, dark, damp and stuffy, but Duan Nanqi's eyes were as bright as the stars in the sky.
Jiang Lingyao looked at him deeply and said, "What about your husband's case?"
The change in the way they addressed each other brought them closer, and they became like an intimate couple, whispering to each other sweetly.
Duan Nanqi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was only determination in his eyes.
"My lady, this marriage arranged by the emperor may seem like a random arrangement by His Majesty, but His Majesty would never joke with me or the concubine."
What he meant was that Emperor Xuanhua's arranged marriage was not a reckless decision as outsiders had speculated, but was a well-thought-out decision.
Jiang Lingyao hummed lightly, as if she had taken Duan Nanqi's words to heart.
The two stood facing each other. The faint and quiet fragrance of Jiang Lingyao's body slowly calmed Duan Nanzhi's chaotic thoughts.
At some point, the two of them were able to lean against each other closely, lowering their heads and whispering to each other in a way that no one could understand.
Duan Nanzhi lowered his eyes to look at the messy hair on Jiang Lingyao's temples and suddenly chuckled.
He reached out his hand, smoothed the messy hair on Jiang Lingyao's temples, and slowly pushed it behind her blushing earlobes.
"My lady, this matter should not be kept here for long, so I will make it short."
Jiang Lingyao's eyelashes trembled slightly, she seemed to be in a trance, her eyes only lightly falling on the embroidery on his chest.
"I thought that after spending these few months together, we understood each other very well and our life was quite harmonious," Duan Nanqi said with a smile in his voice, "so I thought that we could live a good life like this in the future."
Jiang Lingyao raised her head suddenly. There was no surprise in her bright eyes, only a little shyness and confusion.
Her gaze climbed up Duan Nanqi's face, finally landing on his smiling peach blossom eyes.
Immediately, Jiang Lingyao seemed to let go of a heavy stone in her heart and smiled brightly at him.
"My husband is right," Jiang Lingyao said softly, "I agree with you too."
Duan Nanqi exhaled slowly, he chuckled twice, and in the darkness of the tunnel, his face blushed wantonly.
He reached out and gently squeezed Jiang Lingyao's hand.
"That's great," Duan Nanqi said, "Then next, we have to send this person back to the East Office and let Chu Xiu Nian do his best to treat him. At the same time, I will go to the palace to report to His Majesty."
The two of them opened their hearts and knew what would happen to their lives. Then it would be easier to talk and do things.
Duan Nanqi spoke very quickly. He said, "If our guess is true, then the other party would keep him. First, his fingerprints have been kept on file. The documents for issuing orders must have fingerprints. Second,..."
The two looked at each other, and Jiang Lingyao said, "He must have something on him that will prevent the other party from acting rashly."
Duan Nanhui nodded and said, "If you trust me, then the East Office will do its best to take over this case."
"Okay." Jiang Lingyao said.
Whether this case is handed over to Duan Nanqi, it will be handed over to Your Majesty right under his nose. Only in this way will Your Majesty believe all the facts of the case that are revealed.
The two of them quickly finalized the matter and returned to the study. They ordered Chu Xiunian and Zheng Feng to enter the tunnel personally and bring the people in the tunnel back to the East Office without anyone noticing.
Chu Xiunian first checked his pulse and told Duan Nanqi that this man had been suffering from hunger and cold for years, had not seen the light of day, and was extremely weak. Because he pretended to be Xue Dingshan's death, no one had brought him rice or water for a whole day, which was why he fainted.
After returning to the East Office to recuperate and taking medicine, he will be able to recover in about a day or two, but Chu Xiunian doesn't know what his condition will be like after he wakes up.
Duan Nanqi could only arrange for Zheng Feng to lead his men to protect this man's safety, and then let Chu Xiunian devote all his efforts to treating him.
The rest of the interrogation will be discussed later.
After the people were taken away, the dungeon was cleaned out a lot. The two searched the dungeon again and found that the fake Xue Dingshan was really meticulous. Apart from a living person, he did not leave any clues.
Since there were no clues, the two decided not to stay in the dungeon and returned to the study.
After returning to the study, Jiang Lingyao drank two bowls of tea before finally getting rid of the smell from her mouth and nose.
As she drank tea, she carefully thought about all the confessions today, and suddenly said, "Master Duan, do you remember what Steward Wang said just now that he had heard of Wen Li's conspiracy with others?"
But Steward Wang said he heard Wen Li say, "The title still depends on him, so we must keep him and plan for future glory and wealth."
Duan Nanqi also remembered the confession and immediately understood: "He is not talking about the dead Xue Dingshan, but the living one?"
Jiang Lingyao's eyes were cold as she said, "That's right. No matter what they were plotting, they haven't succeeded yet. Perhaps the deceased Xue Dingshan didn't want to endure it anymore and wanted to kill the people in the dungeon, but Wen Li persuaded him not to."
"I think the person who was talking to Wen Li at that time was the deceased Xue Dingshan. The reason why the steward Wang couldn't recognize his voice was because that was his original voice. He impersonated Xue Dingshan and his appearance was almost identical. His voice should also be exactly the same. He must have learned how to speak like Xue Dingshan after a long period of imitation."
Duan Nanqi suddenly realized: "This makes sense."
From this point of view, the person in the dungeon is most likely the real Xue Dingshan.
"They wanted to impersonate Xue Dingshan because they saw that he was a close minister to the late emperor and the co-director of the Imperial Guard. He was a powerful official of the Imperial Guard. If they wanted to get things done, this identity would be the most useful."
Jiang Lingyao lowered his voice and said, "I guess the mastermind happened to have someone who looked 70% like Xue Dingshan. So after years of observation, he wrote down Xue Dingshan's habits and preferences, and then asked this person to learn to pronounce and imitate Xue Dingshan. After the plan was finally completed, he set fire to the Xue family's old house in Linzhou."
"Not only can we silence all relatives who are familiar with Xue Dingshan, but we can also take the opportunity to change his appearance and confuse the real with the fake."
After a major disaster at home and having been away from Beijing for more than a year, Xue Dingshan could use his pain and weight loss to change his personality, and it was easy for people to accept the slight change in his appearance.
Duan Nanqi's voice was slightly cold: "These people are like rats in the gutter, always watching this prosperous Yanjing. In order to make things easier, they can confuse the real with the fake. It's really unexpected."
"What they are planning will definitely not be simple."
Duan Nanqi stopped talking at this point. Jiang Lingyao turned her head to look at him, and both of them understood the deeper meaning of his words.
Duan Nanqi lowered his eyes and thought for a long time, then said, "I will bring Wen Li and Steward Wang to the East Office for interrogation, and the Zhengyang Marquis's Mansion will also be guarded by the Jinyiwei Tiqi. Once the case is investigated, His Majesty will have other orders."
Jiang Lingyao nodded: "Okay."
Duan Nanqi gently held her hand and whispered in her ear: "I will go to the palace to meet the emperor soon. You should go back to your parents' home to visit your father-in-law and mother-in-law."
"We'll discuss the rest when I get home."
The past events of the family weighed on Jiang Lingyao's mind for fifteen years. During these fifteen years, she could never forget the injustice suffered by her family.
Now, the case has finally been solved and clearing the injustice seems to be just around the corner.
Jiang Lingyao's eyes were somewhat warm, but she did not shed tears. She took a deep breath and said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the family affairs."
Duan Nanqi lowered his eyes and looked at her, and they both saw determination in each other's eyes.
After arranging the tasks at the Zhengyang Marquis' Mansion, Jiang Lingyao briefly explained the case to the yamen runners, telling Lord Yao not to worry as the case had been settled.
Then he was put on a carriage by Duan Nanqi and headed straight to the Marquis of Anding's Mansion.
Today is a day off and Jiang Zhisheng happens to be at home.
Jiang Lingyao returned home, but did not rush to discuss business with her parents. Instead, she went to visit her grandfather first and talked with him for a long time before going to the main courtyard. She saw her parents drinking tea and reading together in the garden.
The first time she saw her mother, Jiang Lingyao couldn't help but tears up in her eyes.
"Mom." Jiang Lingyao rushed to Zhou Huiniang's side like a young swallow and rested her head on her shoulder.
Zhou Hui Niang looked at her with a smile and said jokingly, "Didn't you go to the Zhengyang Marquis's mansion to celebrate his birthday? So, who dares to wrong you? Your son-in-law wouldn't dare, right?"
Jiang Lingyao was amused by her. She lowered her head and wiped her eyes, and soon calmed down.
"Dad, Mom, something big happened in the Zhengyang Marquis's mansion today."
After finishing the story of the case at the Zhengyang Marquis's Mansion, Jiang Lingyao lowered her voice and said, "We found another Xue Dingshan in the dungeon."
Jiang Zhisheng's face was full of solemnity at this time. He listened carefully to every word Jiang Lingyao said. After hearing this, he finally couldn't help but said: "No wonder."
No wonder Xue Dingshan, who used to curry favor with everyone, seemed to have become a lone minister after returning from Linzhou. Later, if the previous emperor had not passed away, he would not have tried to curry favor with Yang Ge Lao. Now it seems that everything is explained.
Jiang Zhisheng was in the court all day long and was very clear about all the major court affairs. As a result, he had a lot of thoughts in an instant, and his mind was in turmoil, as if he wanted to dig out all the loopholes of Xue Dingshan in the past ten years from his mind.
But Jiang Lingyao was hesitating about another thing.
She pondered for a moment, and finally made up her mind. She said to her parents, "Dad, Mom, I want to confess everything to Duan Nanqi. Is it possible?"
She had already made the decision in her mind and only needed her parents' approval.
Once you have decided on the most important thing in your life, you will not hesitate or change it.
Jiang Lingyao is so decisive.
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