Chapter 32 Misty Western Hills (Part 4)
"Shen Zhilan, you didn't go looking for Qin specifically for this, did you?"
Shen Zhilan felt extremely uncomfortable with her laughter, but she couldn't look away.
The Ling Wei before me relaxed her brows and eyes, a smile spreading from the depths of her eyes to the tips of her brows. Her lazy and indifferent facade shattered, and she became dazzlingly bright.
In a daze, Shen Zhilan seemed to see the vibrant and spirited Fifth Princess from many years ago, her brilliance undiminished and her sharpness burning brightly.
He suddenly turned his face to the other side, his earlobes turning so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
Ling Wei didn't notice his little gesture, and sighed with a smile: "You played really well. Next time you don't need to go through all that trouble, just come out directly."
He walked out with his looks alone, and the other person was already overshadowed.
Suppressing her embarrassment, Shen Zhilan wrote again: "It's getting late, Your Highness should rest."
Ling Wei was indeed a bit tired today. She nodded and said, "It's time to sleep."
In order to convince outsiders that Consort Shen was genuinely jealous and clinging to His Highness, he had to stay in this room for the next few days.
Shen Zhilan blew out the candle on the table, plunging the room into darkness. He stood quietly by the bed for a while, listening to Ling Wei's even breathing, before slowly lying down, keeping an arm's length distance between them.
The faint, warm fragrance emanating from her lingered around his nose, and his heart felt as if it were being bound by threads, tightening slowly, bringing a tingling, throbbing sensation.
He didn't know how much time had passed when Ling Wei unconsciously turned over in her sleep, her arm naturally reaching over to wrap around his waist. She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, finding a comfortable position, and her warm breath brushed against the exposed skin on his neck.
Shen Zhilan froze.
This isn't the first time.
On their wedding night, he was also embraced by this prince who didn't sleep very well. At that time, he felt uncomfortable all over. The body temperature and breath of the strange woman made him feel oppressed, and he could only force himself to endure it.
But at this moment, the feeling is completely different; all sensations seem to be subtly amplified.
The strength of her arms encircling him, the warmth emanating through his thin undergarment, the soft touch of her cheek against his shoulder, and the gentle breaths brushing against his neck...
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart pounded in the silent darkness, heavy and rapid, making his eardrums vibrate and his fingertips go numb.
He should have pushed her away.
Shen Zhilan was keenly aware that Ling Wei's treatment of him was less like that of a concubine and more like a gesture of care for an old friend, out of consideration for the deceased Crown Princess.
She had no other feelings for him, and treated him more like a subordinate who needed some care.
An arm hung in mid-air, its fingertips trembling slightly, before slowly descending and gently covering the back of the sleeping person.
Then, little by little, carefully, I pulled my arms together.
He pulled her closer into his arms, holding her tightly and silently.
In the darkness, Shen Zhilan closed her eyes, letting the lingering desire in her heart quietly spread in the unseen night.
......
After only two days of reading the documents, the other party was so eager to interrupt, making Ling Wei even more certain that there must be something they didn't want others to know.
Among the documents Sun Man sent, several were deliberately placed at the top, their words emphasizing the bandits' brutality—the meaning couldn't be clearer.
Qing Shu, accompanied by two guards, had already roughly categorized the mountain of documents, while Shen Zhilan sat quietly by the window, carefully examining the booklets recording personnel changes.
He read slowly and attentively, occasionally picking up a pen to jot down a few words or a suspicious number on a piece of paper prepared beside him.
Ling Wei is looking at the few things he pointed out that are not right:
Firstly, in the past three years, the total number of "accidental deaths and injuries among artisans" reported annually by the Mining Supervision Bureau has been gradually decreasing.
The banditry in Xishan is said to be getting worse, and the mine guards are too busy to keep up. In addition, mining itself is risky, so why is the total number of miners who have died or been injured decreasing? This doesn't make sense.
The second one... Her gaze fell and landed on the last message that Shen Zhilan had marked.
She stared at the small characters "Xitou Village" for a long time, then frowned slightly and called Shen Zhilan to her side.
As he approached, Ling Wei pointed to the record on the paper, looking puzzled: "You specifically marked this one because you felt something was wrong? This... a village suffered a disaster, and the villagers fled and scattered. Although it's a pity, it's also a common occurrence, isn't it?"
Shen Zhilan looked at the line of text she was pointing to; it was a clue that he had specially circled from the mountain of documents and decided to present to her.
He remained silent for a moment, a struggle flashing in his eyes.
He had come with Ling Wei to bring some things that had been hidden to her, but now that things had come to this point, he hesitated.
If we investigate further, is it really good for her?
Seeing that he remained silent, Ling Wei became even more puzzled. She reached out and gently touched his arm, as if to bring him back to his attention. Her tone softened and was encouraging: "My older sister always praised you for being meticulous and perceptive. If you think there's anything wrong, just say it."
As soon as he uttered the word "elder sister," Ling Hua's calm and trusting gaze seemed to pierce through time and fall upon him once more.
The unfulfilled entrustment, the heavy truth, suddenly overwhelmed the personal concerns that had arisen in his heart.
The hesitation in Shen Zhilan's eyes quickly faded, replaced by determination.
He picked up another, earlier household register from the side, deftly turned to one of the pages, first tapped a spot with his fingertip, then steadily moved it horizontally to the blank space next to the record of "Xitou Village" that represented its disappearance.
Then he picked up his pen and wrote on the blank paper:
[Your Highness, please look. Xitou Village is located here, nestled against the mountains and beside the water. According to old records, its two neighboring villages are Shangtian Village and Wazigou.]
In the same year, no large-scale famine was reported in Fuling County; the county annals only recorded that "the summer floods were somewhat severe in some parts of the Western Mountains."
[If Xitou Village was indeed completely scattered due to the disaster, why are there no records of large-scale famine escapes in the neighboring villages of Shangtian and Wazigou, whose household registers are complete in the same year, and whose population and land tax changes are all within the realm of normalcy?]
[Sold only by a mountain and a river, why must a single village be destroyed?]
Ling Wei looked at the clear comparison on the paper, her gaze gradually becoming serious.
She hadn't considered this aspect. The documents were complicated, and unless one deliberately delved into the geography and corroborating evidence, it was easy to be dismissed by a simple statement of being scattered due to disaster.
“So… this disaster is probably not a natural disaster,” she said softly, tapping the three characters “Xitou Village” with her fingertips. “At least, not entirely.” Shen Zhilan nodded gently and put down her pen.
Ling Wei looked at him with approval: "So the key was hidden here... I've witnessed it firsthand, the reputation of 'Young Master Jinghong' is indeed well-deserved."
With the clues already emerging, Ling Wei suddenly seemed to sense something and turned her head to look out the window.
Before I knew it, the light of day had completely faded away. In the distance, the outline of the Western Hills undulated against the gray-blue night sky, like a silent beast devouring the darkness.
Ling Wei turned her gaze back, the gentle smile on her face vanishing without a trace, replaced by a cold solemnity as if a storm was brewing.
Continue the investigation.
Investigate to the end.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com