Chapter 58: First Update "The fattest one."
Chapter 58
If eyes were knives, Ye Changning would have cut Zhou Ying into pieces.
——This is the attitude towards human life. If not him, who else should he cut?
"Judging from your physique, you seem to be a martial artist. Have you ever been on the battlefield?"
"…Yes. That's when my leg was injured."
"When did you go to the battlefield? Who were the enemies?"
"Fifteen years ago, fighting against the Northern Barbarians."
Fifteen years ago... fighting against the Northern Barbarians?
Aren’t those the people under Lord Ding’an’s command?
"Are you under the command of Lord Ding'an?" Ye Changning confirmed.
"I dare not. I am just an insignificant soldier in an army of 300,000. How could the Duke recognize me? Not to mention being under the command of Duke Ding'an, I dare not even say I am under the command of a thousand-man commander."
"But you know Lord Ding'an. Do you have a grudge against him?"
"No. Lord Ding'an led us to successfully repel the Northern Barbarians and return safely. I thank him from the bottom of my heart."
"Oh, your gratitude is to accept the money and assassinate the only son of Lord Ding'an? This clearly shows that you are determined to make an enemy of him!"
"Sir, I just collected money and created chaos, and I didn't really succeed in the assassination. Besides, didn't you successfully protect the young master at the scene?" Zhou Ying was surprisingly good at making excuses for himself.
"That's just nonsense." Ye Changning didn't bother to waste time talking to him and ordered, "Take him away."
He was skilled in interrogation techniques and knew that sometimes he could hear the truth from the suspect, while other times he would hear nothing but lies. He had to be able to tell the difference—judging from the other party's language coherence, facial expressions, and other changes, as well as the conclusions of subsequent visits and investigations...
Only in this way can we not miss any details and bring the real culprit to justice.
Asking the suspect questions and listening to his or her own statements are just one part of the various details of the interrogation.
He will not make hasty judgments or jump to conclusions.
After listening to Ye Changning's interrogation of the three people, Jing Yue was also confused.
This involves several forces - the Western Regions, Ruyi Casino, the source of weapons, and the hostile soldiers under Duke Ding'an.
There might be another royal brother stirring up trouble in the dark.
Ye Changning invited Jing Yue to his study in the Dali Temple and personally served him a new cup of tea - a cup of longan, red date and rose tea.
It was similar to the scented tea he had prepared for Lin Zhiyi during the spring hunt, except for the jasmine flower.
Jing Yue raised her eyebrows and teased with a hint of meaning, "Master Ye actually likes scented tea?"
Ye Changning paused, then said calmly, "This is what Yan Lin's wife prepared for him. He was injured while hunting down a criminal a few days ago. Because there were so many, Yan Lin distributed many of them to his colleagues. I have two bags here, too."
"Is that so..." Jing Yue lowered her head and sniffed. Without the neutralization of jasmine, the scent of rose was too strong.
They were alone in the study, and Ye Changning spoke directly, "What does the Prince Consort think?" "The person behind this... is filled with malicious intent," Jing Yue said. "Under the guise of revenge against Lord Ye, they're secretly working a vast network that has engulfed the Ding'an Mansion, the Yongsheng Marquis Mansion, the Crown Prince, and Lord Ye."
"Doesn't the Prince Consort doubt the Cheng family anymore?" Ye Changning lowered his voice.
Jing Yue had long since gotten over his initial outrage and no longer arbitrarily assumed the Cheng family was responsible. He shook his head and said, "No one would shoot themselves in the foot. The Cheng family is so close to the Crown Prince, it couldn't be them. Besides... with the Qin family and Lord Ye's intimidation, the Cheng family should be keeping a low profile lately, right?"
Ye Changning nodded. "That's right. His Majesty also reprimanded Lord Cheng. The Qin family received more rewards and appeasement from His Majesty. Recently, I have been sending people to monitor the people entering and leaving the Prime Minister's Mansion, and I haven't found anything unusual."
Jing Yue nodded slightly: So that's how it is.
It seems that Cheng Lunian really did reflect on his mistakes after breaking his leg.
Later... he will find another opportunity to ask Cheng Lunian to get back everything he lost to the previous two princes-in-law.
Including life.
Now... he can accept the peace talks for now.
After all, my father is protecting the prince's party.
After thinking things through, Jing Yue suddenly felt that his mother's favor was only a flash in the pan, a superficial favor - his father still favored the prince more.
The crown prince is the heir apparent to a country, and a single move by him can affect the entire country. When his brother-in-law made a mistake, his father was willing to turn a blind eye and let it go without further investigation.
He and his mother were just small figures among his father's many wives and children. After losing two princes-in-law, he could just find a third one.
Perhaps out of a sense of guilt, he had doted on his mother for a while longer, and had specially chosen Lin Zhiyi as his third consort. Recently, he had also conferred the title of Duke Ding'an on Marquis Ding'an, making his third consort's status even more prominent...
My father was reluctant to touch the prince's people, so he had to make amends to them.
However, not touching the crown prince does not mean not being angry.
Perhaps one of the other brothers noticed that Father was angry with the Crown Prince, so he secretly plotted and fanned the flames, hoping to make Father even angrier with the Crown Prince?!
Jing Yue and Ye Changning exchanged a few words and looked at each other before they each came to a conclusion.
But this cannot be said out loud.
It can only be understood tacitly.
"Lord Ye, please continue your investigation. I...I have to go back to the Imperial College, so I won't disturb you anymore." Jing Yue stood up and said goodbye.
Ye Changning: "I'll send the prince consort off."
Jing Yue: "No need. My Lord, the investigation is more important."
Ye Changning packed a box of snacks and handed it to You Qi: "The prince consort hasn't eaten yet, so please eat first."
Youqi looked at Jingyue, and only after Jingyue nodded did he take it.
As Jing Yue left the Dali Temple, he saw the four guards and Lin Song who stayed in the Imperial College also rushed over and were waiting with worried looks on their faces.
Seeing him come out, Lin Song ran over, his eyes red, probably because he had been crying, his voice still nasal: "Master... I was scared to death..."
"Don't cry, I'm fine. Let's go back to class."
"Ah? You're not going back home?" Lin Song sniffed and wiped his tears.
"No." Jing Yue figured it out. No matter who they were targeting, if they still wanted to attack him, he would have to give them a chance.
This time he was alone.
However, until Jingyue returned home from school in the evening, she did not encounter any suspicious people.
It seems that the assassination at noon was most likely a show and a test.
…
Prince Rui's Palace.
That is the Second Prince’s Mansion.
After receiving the letter from the carrier pigeon, the man who looked like a counselor ran quickly for a while and came to a waterside pavilion.
Inside the waterside pavilion, the second prince Jing Zhuowu was practicing calligraphy.
The four characters "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss" are vigorous and powerful, revealing the ambition of "soaring to the sky".
Jing Zhuowu was 25 years old. He married the daughter of the Minister of Personnel three years ago. After that, he was named Prince Rui and left the palace to set up his own residence.
He is also the only prince currently living outside the palace.
"Your Highness..." Advisor Fang Jinsheng took the note out of the bamboo tube and presented it with both hands, "There's news."
Jing Zhuowu put the brush back next to the inkstone, admired his masterpiece for a while, then took the note, read it, and threw it to Fang Jinsheng.
Fang Jinsheng then lowered his head to look.
——The fishing nets have been cast.
"In your opinion, Mr. Fang, how many big fish can this net catch?" Jing Zhuowu asked.
Fang Jinsheng replied cautiously, "At least we can catch one."
"Which one?"
"The fattest one."
"Golden?"
"good."
The two looked at each other knowingly and smiled.
Jing Zhuowu walked to the waterside corridor in a good mood, looked at the vast lake view, and casually threw down some bait. More than ten fat and beautiful koi gathered around. Among them, the golden one had a big belly and a big tail, and its movements gradually became slow.
"Sir, the position of Assistant Minister of War is currently vacant. Will the Emperor arrange for Li Yang's consort to be appointed as his son-in-law?"
"Your Majesty has already conferred the title of Duke of Ding'an on Marquis Ding'an, so he probably won't confer any other title on the consort. The Lin family holds one-third of the military power, and they won't fight over a mere Vice Minister of War. On the contrary, to avoid suspicion, Duke Lin might recommend someone unrelated to him, or even let Your Majesty decide. In this way, Your Majesty can take advantage of the opportunity to place his own people in the position."
"Will the Western Regions really send troops to cooperate?"
"Although Hedda is only a small prince, he has worked hard for two years to avenge his brother and has accumulated some property and manpower. Putting on a show is definitely not a problem for him."
"It's a pity that we didn't take a bite of the Zhou family." Jing Zhuowu sighed.
"The Zhou family can be used, Your Majesty," Fang Jinsheng quickly reminded, "and they're better than the Lin family!"
"That's true." Jing Zhuo said, "The Zhou family are all warriors, brave but not wise. They are indeed good enough to be used as a knife."
Speaking of the Zhou family, Jing Zhuowu thought of something else. "Is Zhou Ying's identity clear? Don't let Ye Changning find out anything."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Zhou Ying has been out of the army for thirteen years. He did serve in the Ding'an Army fifteen years ago. He has been living in a muddle-headed way for the past thirteen years, doing all kinds of work to make a living. Even Ye Changning wouldn't be able to find out anything."
"That's good." Jing Zhuowu said with admiration, "Ye Xiuluo's reputation should not be underestimated. This prince still likes this Dali Temple Junior Official very much."
"The prince values talent."
"Has the final variable—the Ruyi Casino—been arranged?"
"No problem. Zhao Dapeng will die tonight from a relapse of his illness, and Liu Chong of Ruyi Casino will be burned to death. The Dali Temple will only find out that Ruyi Casino is... the property of the Third Prince's uncle."
"Great idea, sir."
"Thank you, Your Highness, for giving me the opportunity to display my talents. This is how I was able to serve you."
…
It was not until dinner time that Lin Zhiyi learned about the assassination of three people from the Lin Mansion.
She almost knocked over the bowl of Tremella soup next to her.
"Are you sure they're all right? No one's hurt, right?"
Youyi said hurriedly, "Yes, Your Highness, please be at ease. Lord Ye, Young Master Zhou, and Xie Erlang are all here, as is Youqi. The Prince Consort and the two young ladies are all safe and sound. Only Xie Erlang's palm was scratched by an arrow, it's just a superficial wound and will heal in a few days."
"Who did it? Lord Ye, do you have any conclusion?"
Youyi informed the princess of all the information the consort had instructed him to convey, and then comforted her, "The consort said that this matter has become a big deal, and Wanmin Street will be heavily guarded from now on, so no more accidents will happen. Please rest assured, Your Highness."
Lin Zhiyi sighed helplessly. What's the use of her being at ease?
What’s important is that Jingyue and the Lin family are safe.
Oh, and we have to catch the guy behind it!
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