Chapter 327 The Real Murderer of the Poisoning
Fifteen miles north of Anzhou City lies a lake called Green Willow Lake. The lake, two or three miles in circumference, boasts crystal-clear waters, and its banks shaded by green willows. The scenery is beautiful and has become a famous tourist attraction in Anzhou.
During the sweltering summer heat, wealthy families from Anzhou Prefecture would escape the heat and enjoy boating on the lake. At night, the lake was ablaze with lights from pleasure boats, and the embankment was bustling with people, creating a lively atmosphere.
For convenience, Prince An's Mansion also built a manor next to Green Willow Lake.
It's late October now, and the weather is turning cold. Aside from the occasional fishing boat, the lakeshore is deserted, long gone from the bustling summer evenings.
Shen Yuexi stood on the lake embankment, looking at the manor on the opposite bank.
The three of them came here according to the intelligence. Xia Lan stayed in the grove to guard the horses, while she and Yang Cong went to the lake embankment to look for the target.
At first I thought it would take some time to find it, but I didn’t expect the target to be so conspicuous that I saw it at a glance.
Unlike the buildings scattered around the lake, this manor was guarded every three steps and every five steps. Soldiers, armed with torches, surrounded the entire manor, completely impenetrable. Such a formation could only be achieved at Prince An's mansion. Doctor Hua and his son must be here.
Although she had found her target, Shen Yuexi was worried. How could she get in with so many soldiers guarding the manor?
"Master, look, the prisoner car is here." Yang Cong pointed to the official road not far away.
From the south, a group of soldiers marched, all armed with swords and guns. In the center of the group was a prison van. The night was too dark, and the two were quite far away. Although the soldiers in front of the prison van held torches, Shen Yuexi still couldn't see clearly who was in the van.
She said to Yang Cong, "If the information is correct, this person should be the one who poisoned us. How did he come to this manor? Let's take a closer look."
Although it was night, she was afraid of being discovered, so she approached carefully and squatted with Yang Cong behind the slope by the road.
As the prison van drew closer, Shen Yuexi poked her head out to take a look, then immediately retracted it. Yang Cong, noticing her nervous expression, was about to ask, but Shen Yuexi waved her hand, signaling her to remain silent.
It wasn't until the prison van entered the gate of the manor and the road became quiet again that Shen Yuexi stood up and said, "It really is him."
Yang Cong asked curiously, "Is it the person who poisoned me?"
"Lin Kui," Shen Yuexi said, pulling Yang Cong up, "I should have guessed it was this bastard who poisoned me."
Previously, when she and Xiao Zhuo attended Xiao Beiheng's banquet, Lin Kui had poisoned Xiao Zhuo to death. She rushed in and made a scene, defusing the crisis. This time, Lin Kui, using his position as an official, made it reasonable for him to poison the pregnancy-preserving medicine.
Yang Cong asked in confusion: "Master, even if he was the one who poisoned him, why did he come to this place?"
"I don't know either. This is a bit strange..."
Shen Yuexi was lost in thought when Yang Cong, who was standing beside her, suddenly jumped up and frantically drew his sword: "Who tapped my shoulder?"
"Don't be nervous, it's me." Ji Yunyan's smiling voice sounded behind the two of them.
Yang Cong turned around and saw that it was Ji Yunyan. He breathed a sigh of relief, put the knife back into its sheath, and said, "How did you come here without making any sound? You almost scared me to death."
Shen Yuexi also turned around and said in surprise: "Sister Ji is here too."
Ji Yunyan was wearing a black dress and a veil. If she hadn't been standing right in front of the two men, they wouldn't have been able to notice her at all.
"You said I was scary... but you scared me to death," Ji Yunyan looked at Shen Yuexi, "There are rumors in the capital that you died of poisoning in Shengjing, why did you show up here?"
"That's fake news," Shen Yuexi said, "they did try to poison me, but I didn't let them succeed."
Ji Yunyan said, "You, I told you all along that Xiao Beiheng would definitely take action against you, but you just didn't take it seriously. Luckily you managed to escape this time, otherwise there would be two dead."
Shen Yuexi touched her belly awkwardly: "I know I was wrong. Oh, right...how did Sister Ji get here?"
Ji Yunyan said, "Didn't you send someone to tell me to come and rescue Doctor Hua and his son? We just arrived in the capital last night and heard rumors on the streets that you had been poisoned to death. Madam Li didn't believe it, saying that my niece-in-law was so smart and clever, how could she have been poisoned? It must be a rumor."
Shen Yuexi would feel a little flattered when she was praised, and said with a smile: "Auntie still understands me very well."
Ji Yunyan smiled and said, "That's exactly what I said."
After settling Madam Li and her daughter, she traveled to Anzhou overnight. Arriving in Anzhou City around dinnertime the next day, she immediately made her way to Prince An's Mansion, discovering it was heavily guarded. Upon closer inspection, she learned that Xiao Beiheng had placed Su Mo under house arrest. However, she remained unconcerned with the matter, intent on finding Doctor Hua's whereabouts.
After searching everywhere but not finding Doctor Hua and his son, she had no choice but to leave and go to the city to inquire. She learned that there was a manor of Prince An's Mansion on the shore of Green Willow Lake. She hurried there and met Xia Lan who was watching horses in the woods. After handing the horses to Xia Lan, she came to find Shen Yuexi.
"The man in the prison van just now was called Lin Kui," Shen Yuexi said to Ji Yunyan, "He was the one who poisoned me."
Ji Yunyan said, "Lin Kui? I've heard my grandfather mention this man before. He seems to have been Xiao Beiheng's staff..."
"It's him. It's just a little strange why he came to this place," Shen Yuexi said, "Sister Ji, you are very skilled in martial arts. Please go into the manor and see if you can find anything."
If anyone could enter such a heavily guarded place, it would be Ji Yunyan. She could even come and go freely in the Qi Wang army camp, so this was naturally a piece of cake for her.
Ji Yunyan said, "Okay, I'll sneak in and take a look first. You guys just go to Xia Lan and wait for me to come back."
After the discussion, Ji Yunyan parted ways with the two and went out of the manor alone.
Although the guards had surrounded the manor tightly, it was not difficult for Ji Yunyan to escape. She took advantage of a soldier dozing off while leaning on his halberd, slipped past him silently, ran a few steps, and used the momentum to climb over the wall.
Lin Kui had been released from the prison van and escorted by several soldiers into a house in the side yard. He stumbled as he walked, appearing to be in considerable pain.
Ji Yunyan walked along the roof ridge to the room where Lin Kui was, and gently lifted the tiles on the roof to create a gap. The voices and lights in the room came out from the gap.
"Prince Ping, I'm innocent," Lin Kui said, weeping bitterly. "I really didn't poison him. Song Zhen was definitely seeking revenge for a personal vendetta. Now my official position has also been demoted. I'm so miserable..."
Hearing Prince Ping's words, Ji Yunyan thought to herself, "Xiao Beiheng is actually here?"
She gripped the hilt of the sword behind her shoulder with her backhand, hesitated for a moment, and finally let go, lifted the tile a little more and looked inside the house.
The room below was brightly lit. Xiao Beiheng, dressed in a purple robe, sat in a chair, the Yanque sword resting on his lap. Below him, Lin Kui, in prison garb and disheveled hair, knelt on the ground, tearfully accusing Song Zhen of torturing him.
"He didn't know the truth and insisted that I was the one who poisoned him. He even had me tortured. I couldn't stand it any longer... so I confessed under duress."
"That's enough," Xiao Beiheng raised his hand to stop Lin Kui from continuing, "Of course I know you were wronged, otherwise why would I save you?"
Lin Kui kowtowed repeatedly in excitement, "If you hadn't stopped the prison van midway, Prince An would have cut me into pieces once I was taken to Shengjing. I would never have seen you, Prince Ping, again."
Xiao Beiheng snorted and said, "You've been following me for so many years. Giving you to Xiao Zhuo to kill you would be like cutting off an arm of my own. How could I do such a stupid thing?"
"Then your Majesty..."
"I will naturally find a way to deal with the emperor, so you don't have to worry about it."
"Master, Song Zhen is from Xiao Zhuo's side," Lin Kui stood up and stood beside Xiao Beiheng. "He is definitely a spy who has infiltrated our ranks and wants to eliminate your right-hand men one by one...Master, you must act decisively."
"You don't understand this." Xiao Beiheng waved his hand, "Song Zhen is not a spy."
Lin Kui shouted, "Master, you must not be deceived by him. Even if I am stupid, I can see that he is deliberately pushing me out to be killed by Xiao Zhuo..."
Xiao Beiheng shook his head impatiently. After thinking for a moment, he said to Lin Kui, "You are my confidant, so it's okay for me to tell you clearly. The real person who poisoned me was Song Zhen."
Lin Kui seemed startled and said, "Master, you are not joking."
Xiao Beiheng said, "My mother and Song Zhen came up with a plan to poison Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi on the Mid-Autumn Festival, but they didn't come... The poison was prepared by Song Zhen."
Lin Kui suddenly collapsed to the ground and stammered, "So...it turned out to be the Empress."
Not only Lin Kui was shocked, but even Ji Yunyan on the roof was shocked. She could not believe that the person who poisoned her was actually Empress Wen.
"My mother originally wanted to push you out as a scapegoat, but she didn't discuss it with me," Xiao Beiheng said. "I'm about to go to war with Xiao Zhuo, and I need people right now. How could I give you to Xiao Zhuo?"
Lin Kui was stunned for a long moment, then he turned over and knelt down: "Master, you have shown me great kindness... I will repay you for giving me a new life even if it means my life is shattered to pieces and I go through fire and water."
"No need to say more," Xiao Beiheng stood up and said, "You can hide here first. I still need to discuss with my mother how to deal with my father and Xiao Zhuo. There must be an explanation for the poisoning."
"Goodbye, master." Lin Kui sent Xiao Beiheng out the door with tears of gratitude.
Ji Yunyan was horrified when she learned the inside story. She didn't even bother looking for Doctor Hua and his son, so she quickly left the courtyard to find Shen Yuexi and tell her what she had heard.
Shen Yuexi almost jumped up after hearing this: "The Queen and Song Zhen are conspiring together, did you really hear it right?"
Ji Yunyan said, "What Xiao Beiheng said is absolutely true."
Shen Yuexi stood there in a daze, looking up at the ground in silence.
It wasn't like she hadn't suspected Empress Wen, but she had always felt she wasn't quite right. Now, it seemed, Empress Wen had personally intervened to allow her son, Xiao Beiheng, to seize the crown prince's throne. This meant Empress Wen had become an enemy, and Song Zhen had sided with her. Even more worrying for her was that Emperor Ming of Qi was still in the dark.
Ji Yunyan asked, "Now that Queen Wen has sided with our enemies, what should we do?"
Shen Yuexi was stunned for a long moment, then suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "Sister Ji, hurry back to the capital. Aren't my aunt and cousin going to see her? We have to stop them quickly, or they might be in danger."
Ji Yunyan said, "No way, they have 500 soldiers there. Could Queen Wen just take action? Besides, they are not important..."
"No," Shen Yuexi explained hurriedly, "I was afraid that Queen Wen would detain them."
Since Empress Wen wanted to take action during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time of family reunion, and poisoned her while she was pregnant, what could such a vicious woman not do? Madam Li was Xiao Zhuo's aunt, and she was afraid that Empress Wen would detain Madam Li and her daughter as hostages to threaten them.
Seeing Shen Yuexi's anxious expression, Ji Yunyan said, "What about Doctor Hua? I haven't found them yet."
Shen Yuexi hesitated for a moment.
Doctor Hua and his son were imprisoned here, and while their fate was in jeopardy, Madam Li and her daughter were ultimately more pressing. Ji Yunyan would first protect Madam Li and her daughter, while she figured out a solution for Doctor Hua.
"Sister Ji should go to the capital first and meet Madam Li. Then have them leave immediately for Shengjing. As for Doctor Hua and his son... I'll find a solution."
Ji Yunyan agreed: "Okay, then you must be more careful."
Shen Yuexi nodded in agreement. Xia Lan brought the horse over, and Ji Yunyan mounted it and galloped away.
Yang Cong watched Ji Yunyan disappear into the night, then turned to Shen Yuexi and said, "Master, this is a serious matter. Now even the Queen has become our enemy. What should we do?"
"Don't panic," Shen Yuexi turned to look at the manor, "Let's find a way to rescue Doctor Hua first."
Xia Lan said, "How can we rescue him? There are so many soldiers guarding him. None of us three have the martial arts skills of Miss Ji... It would be better to let Miss Ji rescue Doctor Hua first and then return to the capital."
Shen Yuexi was also worried, wondering whether to ask Daxiong to dig a tunnel and crawl in. But she didn't know where Dr. Hua was, so she couldn't just dig holes everywhere, right?
The three were at a loss when another team came from a distance. They were all soldiers. From the only carriage in the middle of the team, women's cries of pain could be heard from time to time.
"Oh, I can't stand it anymore...it hurts so much."
Shen Yuexi heard the voice sound familiar and hurried over to take a closer look. When she heard the voice of the woman in the carriage, the corners of her mouth curled up immediately.
Isn’t this Su Mo?
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