Chapter 44 Interrogation (Part Four)
“I should have thought of that sooner,” Ling Wei continued, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight. “At first, I always thought it would be so easy to find that specific person and get rid of them.”
"But then I thought about it, my Great Chen has a mother, and two older sisters who are as cunning as honeycombs. How much trouble would it take for one person to deal with all three of them at the same time?"
She lifted the wine jar and took another big gulp. The spicy liquid made her cough, and her eyes reddened.
“Unless… it’s not just one person at all.” Her voice was filled with a sense of desolation and helplessness after she had seen through it all. “It’s a group of people, a group of people who claim to be loyal to the emperor and love their country, but in reality, they are all scheming for themselves.”
"On the surface, they maintain the operation of this dynasty, but in reality, they each act independently, for their families, for their parties, for their own interests, slowly eroding the foundation. Unbeknownst to them, silently, by the time they are discovered, the roots are already rotten."
Ling Wei's voice trembled slightly, whether from the alcohol or from her surging emotions, "Everyone's a villain... Ha, what a villainous mission, this task really thinks highly of me."
She slammed the empty wine jar to the ground with a thud.
"But why?!" She suddenly raised her voice, as if questioning the system, or perhaps the very heavens, "Why this time? Why couldn't it be earlier? If it could have been while my older sister was still alive, if she were still alive..."
Ling Wei knew that even if she moved up the timeline, she might not be able to keep Ling Hua alive, but her voice finally trembled with suppressed anger and resentment: "With her here, why would I need to be here speculating whether my mother's private treasury is tainted? With her here, in this court, in this world, is it my place to be caught in the middle?"
The system listened with heartache. This node marked the turning point in the dynasty's decline from its peak. It was silenced and could not even offer comfort. It could only watch as Weiwei drank mouthful after mouthful, trying to drown her unvented pain.
Just as Ling Wei opened another jar of wine, the door was gently pushed open.
Shen Zhilan stood at the door. He had changed into clean casual clothes, his hair was loosely tied back with a hairband, and his face was still slightly damp from his shower. However, there were obvious dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he had not slept at all.
Ling Wei looked up, her gaze fixed on him, and then she gave a sarcastic smile.
"Oh," she drawled, her voice hoarse from the strong liquor, "Has Mr. Shen arrived?"
She swayed as she stood up, propping herself up on the table, and pointed to herself. "If there are any other clues that need to be 'guided' for me to investigate, just make a list and give it to Qing Shu."
She took two steps closer, the smell of alcohol mixed with her unique, aloof fragrance wafting towards me, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery: "Don't bother... giving me any hints, really, I don't understand."
Her words were like a soft whip, striking Shen Zhilan's heart again and again.
She wasn't angry that he used Xuan Ying, that he secretly investigated the case, or even that he might use her.
What angered her was that, despite having entrusted her with everything during their journey together, he still chose to keep her in the dark until Xuan Ying appeared.
The feeling of not being fully trusted, of being treated as a mere pawn, made her furious and exhausted.
Shen Zhilan couldn't make a sound. He lowered his eyelashes, silently walked in, and gently closed the door behind him.
He didn't argue, but walked to the table, looked at the jar of wine in Ling Wei's hand, then at an empty bowl on the table, stretched out his finger and gently tapped the empty bowl, then looked up and quietly looked at Ling Wei.
The meaning is clear: I want to drink, and I want to drink with you.
Ling Wei turned her head away, avoiding his gaze, picked up the wine jar and took another gulp, then slammed the jar heavily on the table: "There's none for you!"
Shen Zhilan stood silently for a while, then his footsteps led to the door. Just when Ling Wei thought he would leave quietly as usual, the footsteps returned.
She couldn't help but glance over out of the corner of her eye and saw that Shen Zhilan had also pulled out a jar of wine from somewhere. He carried the jar of wine and walked back to the table.
This time, without asking for her consent, he sat down on the stool next to her, took a clean empty bowl, filled it to the brim, then picked it up, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
Ling Wei: "???"
She frowned and glared at him. After finishing a bowl, a thin blush quickly rose to Shen Zhilan's face, and even his neck turned pink. But he didn't stop. He poured himself another bowl and continued drinking.
They remained silent, but their silence carried a stubbornness.
Seeing his unusual behavior, Ling Wei kicked the leg of his chair with her toe and said irritably, "Go back to your room if you want to drink!"
Shen Zhilan paused, holding the bowl. He looked up, and perhaps because of the alcohol, or perhaps for something else, his calm, deep eyes were now shimmering with tears as he looked at Ling Wei with an innocent yet stubborn gaze.
Then, with his free hand, he pointed to the only bed in the room, on which two pillows were placed side by side.
That was to make it easier to put on a show for Sun Man, and it was also something the servants habitually set up after he stayed there that night.
Shen Zhilan's gaze returned to Ling Wei's face, his eyes conveying a clear meaning: This is also his room.
Ling Wei was taken aback by his self-righteous accusation, then laughed in anger, her finger trembling as she pointed at him: "Well done, Shen Zhilan, you're truly a master of disguise. You used to act like a snowman, but now that you've stopped pretending, you've even gotten thick-skinned? You've become tough?"
She grew angrier and angrier, and suddenly shouted towards the door, "Qing Shu! Qing Shu!!"
The door was immediately pushed open, and Qing Shu strode in: "Your Highness?"
Ling Wei pointed at Shen Zhilan, who was sitting next to her drinking alone, and said in a furious tone, "Throw him out! Now! Immediately!"
Qing Shu was stunned. He looked at Ling Wei, who was obviously angry, and then at Shen Zhilan, who was silent with her eyes down. He was dumbfounded for a moment.
How... how do I throw this away?
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to compromise. She stepped forward, bowed slightly to Shen Zhilan, and said in as gentle a tone as possible, "Minister Shen, you see... His Highness is not in a good mood today, so perhaps you..."
She didn't finish her sentence.
Because Shen Zhilan stood up without saying a word.
Seeing this, Ling Wei snorted coldly. Trying to be tough in front of her? Bullshit!
However, after Shen Zhilan stood up, she did not follow Qing Shu to the door, but walked towards her instead.
Ling Wei was leaning against the table when she saw this and instinctively frowned: "What are you doing...?"
Before she could finish speaking, Shen Zhilan had already walked up to her. Then, before Ling Wei and Qing Shu could react, he suddenly reached out and hugged Ling Wei tightly.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and back, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and pressed down on her with all his might.
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