As the moonlight faded, Du Ruzhen slept alone in his room as usual. His son was still young, crying several times a night, disturbing everyone. He had to go to the government office during the day, so he slept in a separate room from his wife and children. Late at night, still unable to sleep, Du Ruzhen was upset when he smelled a delicate fragrance. By the time he realized it, he had already inhaled a lot. There was no incense burning in his room, so the fragrance must have come from outside. Could it be her?
It was indeed a drug incense, and Du Ruzhen felt weak all over. A moment later, the door opened and a man wearing a white mask slowly walked in, his gem-like green eyes flashing with an eerie light.
It was indeed her! Du Ruzhen said weakly and hatefully, "You really want to kill me?"
The masked man ignored his words and slowly walked to his side, undressed him as he did last time, and took out a knife.
Du Ruzhen didn't want to die like this, at least not in such an undignified way. He said, "Can't you wait a few more days? You know I'm going to die eventually."
The masked man stopped what he was doing, his throat moved, and he uttered, "So, can't I just die now?"
Du Ruzhen said coldly, "You've known what I did to your father from the beginning, haven't you? You're really patient. I was terminally ill, and you pretended to be kind and said you'd help me get a kidney. So I arrested so many people according to your request, but you said no one had a kidney. Now that the truth has been exposed, you're finally going to take action. You were just playing tricks on me before, weren't you?!"
The masked man was stunned, as if he didn't know how to respond. Unexpectedly, there was movement at the door, and the half-closed door was pushed open with a creak. Du Ruzhen was ecstatic. She couldn't kill him, but the joy on his face froze in an instant, because the person who came in was actually the Second Prince Fu Baiheng!
"So that's how it is. I was wondering why you arrested so many people. Du Ruzhen, you've done a good job as the prefect." Fu Baiheng curled the corners of his lips slightly, and he understood everything.
Du Ruzhen looked at the masked man in disbelief, then at Fu Baiheng. The masked man was not panicked at all, obviously he had expected Fu Baiheng to be waiting outside.
"Who are you?!" Du Ruzhen shouted at the masked man.
The masked figure looked at Fu Baiheng, who nodded slightly, and the masked figure removed its mask. Du Ruzhen saw her face clearly. It was a very beautiful face, with charming eyes and eyebrows. She was indeed not Xu Ziling! But her voice was exactly the same as Xu Ziling's. Du Ruzhen said sadly, "The Second Prince's subordinates are indeed very capable. They can even imitate Xu Ziling's voice. You have already found out about my relationship with Xu Ziling, so you came to see me hypocritically during the day to let me down my guard. Your Highness is really smart."
A beautiful young woman walked respectfully behind Fu Baiheng. Her name was Hua Lian and she was a secret guard under Fu Baiheng. Her specialty was that she could imitate other people's voices, and she could easily capture men, women, old and young. She was also good at disguise and often did some intelligence gathering for Fu Baiheng.
Fu Baiheng said contemptuously: "As the prefect of Taizhou, you know the law but you break it. You are the thief crying thief. You deserve to die."
"It's not a pity to die. Yes, it's not a pity for me to die." Du Ruzhen thought that beheading might be much better than being disemboweled by Xu Ziling.
Although Du Ruzhen had confessed, Fu Baiheng still felt something was illogical. Xu Ziling's motive for brutally murdering Du Ruzhen because she had punished her father was completely unfounded and difficult to justify. He had briefly spoken with Xu Ziling, and she didn't seem malicious. So, perhaps there was another reason for her murder. He quickly recalled Du Ruzhen's words to Hua Lian: "You knew from the beginning what I did to your father, didn't you?" This was a strange statement. What had Du Ruzhen done? If Xu Ziling had simply punished Xu Tiandong according to the law, there was no need for him to disembowel him.
"Du Ruzhen, what did you do to Xu Tiandong?" Fu Baiheng asked curiously.
Du Ruzhen turned his head to the inside and did not respond. When Hua Lian went up to see him, she found that he had already fainted.
On the second day, the news that the real culprit of the missing people was the prefect Du Ruzhen spread like wildfire throughout Taizhou. People in the streets and alleys were discussing the matter.
The news reached Shi Mingyue and the others. They had never imagined that Du Ruzhen could be the culprit behind the disappearances. But what was puzzling was that Fu Baiheng had clearly stated at the Xu family pharmacy that Du Ruzhen and Xu Ziling had a secret, so why had no one mentioned Xu Ziling now? While they were puzzled, Xu Ziling unexpectedly appeared at the Taizhou Posthouse, being treated to delicious tea and water by Fu Baiheng. If Shi Mingyue and the others had witnessed this, they would probably have been completely bewildered.
Although Du Ruzhen had been imprisoned, Xu Ziling remained calm and composed, sipping the fine Longjing tea that Fu Baiheng had offered her.
Fu Baiheng saw this scene as he walked into the living room. He waved his hand to dismiss the servants and said to Xu Ziling with a smile, "Doctor Xu, how about this tea?"
Xu Ziling smiled and said, "Not bad at all."
"It's not bad if I can barely satisfy you." Fu Baiheng's eyes darkened and he smiled, "You've heard about Du Ruzhen's story, right?"
"I heard about it. So, what is your purpose in inviting me here? Why don't you arrest me and take me to the government?"
Fu Baiheng said, "I admire Doctor Xu's talent. He has superb medical skills at such a young age. To be honest, I need someone like you by my side. If you are willing to work for me, I will naturally protect you."
"If I don't agree, will they arrest me and take me to the government?" Xu Ziling asked back.
"If you wish, I will also hand Du Ruzhen over to you. You can do whatever you want with him."
Xu Ziling sighed, then suddenly laughed. "When you came to the pharmacy and interrogated me that day, I thought you were a fair and strict person. It turns out you treat the law like child's play. You can so casually hand Du Ruzhen over to me for disposal. I'm very tempted. Really, I'm willing. I promise you. As for Du Ruzhen, I'm going to kill him right now."
Fu Baiheng smiled and said, "Don't be so anxious. How can I bring him to you in broad daylight? I should at least wait until night. But I'm really curious, what did he do to your father that makes you hate him so much?"
Xu Ziling smiled at him and said, "I'll tell you when we kill him."
At Taoju Inn, Shi Mingyue and the other two sat together and discussed for a long time. Unless Xu Ziling really had nothing to do with this matter, how could Fu Baiheng let her go?
Fu Yueli said: "The case will probably be heard in court in the next few days, and then everything will be clear."
Lu Lingyan breathed a sigh of relief: "I said Doctor Xu doesn't look like a bad person."
The more Shi Mingyue thought about this, the more she felt something was amiss. However, she knew so little. In her previous life, Du Ruzhen had been disemboweled, but in this life, she had survived thanks to Qin Zheng. Now, she knew he was the missing person, and Xu Ziling had a grudge against him. Could it be that Xu Ziling was the one who killed Du Ruzhen in her previous life and had escaped justice? This matter was becoming increasingly complicated, and Shi Mingyue couldn't help but feel a headache.
"Miss, someone sent a letter." Hongyin pushed the door open and handed the letter to Shi Mingyue.
Shi Mingyue was a little surprised and unfolded the letter. Lu Lingyan came over, but Fu Yueli didn't move. With Hongyin next to him, he still had to pretend.
After reading the letter, the two of them fell silent, one shocked, the other confused. Fu Yueli was puzzled as to what was in the letter that caused them to react in this way.
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