Chapter 48: The ice coffin is like the Styx that trapped countless resentful spirits, trying to swallow...
The bright moon rises in the east, and its clear light shines through the eaves of the corridor and illuminates people.
The smoke from the fight gradually dissipated, and the young man just walked to the corner and stood still, looking down at the wooden floor where a big hole was smashed by the shadow guard.
The shadow guard shook his head slightly at him.
No one.
Is it his illusion?
The young man closed his eyes and sighed softly, "Let's go."
The shadow guard responded and left with the young man.
As the footsteps gradually faded away, the window frame at the corner quietly opened a crack, and then half of a furry head poked out.
The amber phoenix eyes carefully looked around every corner, and after making sure that no one was lying in ambush, he supported the window frame with his palm and climbed out of the room nimbly.
After landing, Wen Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart was still palpitating and even her fingers were trembling.
The attack just now was obviously aimed at taking her life. If she hadn't been suspicious and prepared, she would have already crossed the Naihe Bridge.
She had never thought that the man would do such a radical thing. When did the Chinese law allow court officials to take people's lives at will without asking for reasons or approval?
If all people were like that young man, she would be assassinated on the first day she approached Yan Jing.
This is not like Wei Quan's style, or to be more precise, it is not like the style of any official in the Dali Temple.
However, he could walk around in the sealed Gao Mansion openly, and even order the officers and soldiers to do things as a matter of course.
Who is he?
However, time was running out, and Wen Ying no longer had the extra energy to delve into the young man's actions, so she started by analyzing what the young man had just said.
[When the hour of Hai arrives, move to the door of the study.]
What is it that makes that person so secretive?
There is still an hour and a half before the midnight, and she needs to go to the study to find out what's going on before those officers and soldiers.
Wen Ying acted decisively and quickly. In the blink of an eye, she turned into a black shadow and headed towards her destination.
But she didn't see that the young man who was supposed to leave returned to his original place calmly a moment later, and silently looked around the corridor that seemed to be normal.
"Your Highness?" A shadow guard asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong?"
The young man did not answer, but just lowered his head and squatted, looking at the floor.
With the refraction of moonlight, the light gray dust concentrated in one area, forming a very small and faint mark.
He clearly remembered that there was no such trace here just now.
It appeared after they left.
A gleam of light flashed in the young man's eyes, and the corners of his lips slightly raised. His smile gradually widened until his gentle face was completely cracked, revealing a crazy background.
Got you.
·
Wen Ying followed the route she remembered and found Gao Xuan's study. Unexpectedly, Gao Xuan's study was not sealed or even locked.
It's like a trap that's meant to lure you into a trap.
She frowned slightly, her fingers unconsciously resting on the hilt of the long sword hanging at her waist.
No matter what, she had to go in and take a look.
She carefully leaned against the door panel, and at the moment she pushed open the gap in the door panel with her fingertips, she grasped the handle of the knife, ready to fight at any time.
After waiting for a while and seeing no unusual movement, he leaned forward and looked into the door.
The dim room was empty, with only the dust raised by the door opening fluttering in the bright light.
Wen Ying took a tentative step into the room, stood with her heels against the threshold, and gently closed the door.
The wooden door closed with a slight friction sound, and Wen Ying blew up a tinderbox, illuminating the road ahead with the faint flame.
There was no human presence, no murderous intent, and no signs of traps anywhere I could see...
Is it really just a vacant room?
Wen Ying's nerves were tense, all her senses were stretched to the limit, and she moved in small steps, fearing that she would miss a tiny detail and fall into an ambush.
But unexpectedly, she didn't encounter any mechanism, and no one came to stop her, so she easily reached the table.
The general's desk was much cleaner and tidier than Yan Jing's, except for a layer of dust on it.
The four treasures of the study were placed in an orderly manner on one side, looking brand new, as if they had never been used.
Wen Ying rubbed the desk drawers one by one, opening them slightly to prevent hidden weapons from being thrown out.
Similarly, until she had checked all the drawers, she did not touch any mechanism, and only found a few blank memorials, a few volumes of military books with yellowed edges, and two pieces of rice paper.
Written on the rice paper are: [Letter of Confession] and [Letter of Petition], which are two universal templates.
Wen Ying: ...Yes, that’s how we military generals are.
Her father also had two copies of the same template, and she didn't know which kind-hearted civil servant gave them them.
He put the two pieces of paper back to their original place speechlessly and searched for clues on Gao Xuan's bookshelf without hope.
The Analects, The Great Learning, The Classic of Literature... The brand new but old papers show that they have never been opened since they were bought.
...Wait, "Secrets of the Night Palace"? Gao Xuan also reads this?
The name was so out of tune with the surrounding books that Wen Ying couldn't help but climb up the bookshelf and take it down.
When she turned the pages of the book, a small object fell into the gap between the pages. Wen Ying bent down and picked it up.
It was a small painting. The paper was so old that the brush strokes were a little broken, but the face of the person drawn on it could still be clearly seen.
The person in the painting has extremely heroic eyes and eyebrows, is wearing armor, and holds a golden stick in his hand, looking extremely dashing.
Wen Ying instantly recognized this person's identity because of her appearance which was three-quarters similar to Gao Lerong - it was Gao Lerong's mother, Zhang Rong.
Despite her parents' opposition, she learned martial arts and joined the army. Later, she insisted on marrying Gao Xuan, who came from a poor family. She accompanied him from a small soldier to a general. She was an extremely powerful person.
This book was placed on the fourth floor, which was just the right height for Gao Xuan to reach when he stood up. Judging from the state of its preservation, he must have treasured it extremely.
[How can I have the face to go to the underworld to see Rong'er? ]
She still remembered that on the first day of the Riding and Archery Banquet, Gao Xuan had treated her daughter coldly and also belittled Zhang Rong, to the point that even Wen Ying thought he was a shameless man who used his wife's family to gain power and secretly disliked his wife from being seen in public.
But now it seems that he is not without feelings for Zhang Rong. Maybe on the contrary, he loves Zhang Rong deeply.
He belittled Gao Lerong, despised Zhang Rong, slandered Wen Jian, and spoke rudely to Yan Jing in public.
All of this was obviously against his will. His purpose was... to distance himself from all of them?
There are only two situations in which people would want to distance themselves from others. One is to protect themselves, and the other is to prevent their actions from bringing harm to their relatives and friends.
Could it be that he had already prepared to go to jail from the very beginning?
Thinking back to what he had said to Yan Jing in prison before:
[You said that if I let those assassins and the bear in, then...]
What will happen?
Will it protect Gao Lerong?
If Yan Jing wanted to take advantage of the situation, find out the real collaborator, and bring down the Third Prince, then Gao Xuan was already a general of the cavalry, so why didn't he hesitate to gamble his reputation and future to make a deal with Yan Jing?
Yan Jing had caught him with something? What was that?
Could it be that he was the one who murdered General Wen? No, with the support of the people in heaven, he would be safe even if there was irrefutable evidence.
While Wen Ying was thinking, she casually put the small painting back into the original book page. When she picked up the book to put it back, she suddenly noticed something strange out of the corner of her eye.
A brick next to the bookshelf seems to protrude slightly from the side next to it.
As a master of secret passages and hidden doors, Wen Ying instantly sensed something strange. She walked to the brick and rubbed it a little. As expected, she felt a mechanism and pressed it lightly.
In an instant, there was a metallic vibration of a mechanism snapping together from the corner, and the wall that had been tightly fitted suddenly cracked into a gap three fingers wide.
The moment the crack opened, Wen Ying smelled a strong smell of blood coming from the cracks in the metal mask. It was so pungent that she couldn't help but feel nauseous despite having committed countless murders.
Then, the brick wall suddenly slid to the left, revealing the scene behind it.
Wen Ying widened her eyes slightly and took two steps forward in disbelief, allowing the light source to move closer and illuminate the center of the secret room.
Under the warm firelight, a beautiful woman was lying in a crystal clear ice coffin. Compared with the bold brushstrokes in the small painting, her closed eyes made her look more gentle.
It’s Zhang Rong.
Zhang Rong, who died three years ago, still has his body intact. Apart from his overly pale skin color, he looks like he was just sleeping.
In sharp contrast to the woman's skin color was the blood-red that soaked her entire body, filling up half of the ice coffin. It was shocking to the eye, like the Styx that trapped countless vengeful spirits, trying to devour human flesh and blood.
Wen Ying was so shocked by what she saw that she was speechless. Even if a person's blood was drained out, it might not be enough to cover the bottom of the ice coffin. And judging from the marks on the coffin wall, it should have been completely full at the beginning.
How many people did he kill? Is this Gao Xuan's handle?
But why would he do this? Is he crazy?
Before I could figure out the cause and effect, a serious voice came from outside the door, resoundingly:
"His Majesty has ordered a thorough investigation of the Gao Mansion! You, follow me to the study."
Alarm bells instantly rang in Wen Ying's mind. She immediately put out the fire and closed the door of the secret room.
Compared to hiding in the study which is in plain sight, this dark room is more concealed.
She listened to the chaotic footsteps outside, and the sound of books and items being moved and pushed away, as if someone was digging three feet into the ground.
The sound of the search lasted for a long time before it slowly stopped. She heard a man say in a deep voice, "Master Wei, we have searched everywhere, and there is no one."
Lord Wei? Wei Quan? Why is he here? Could that young man really be Wei Quan?
Wen Ying couldn't help but hold her breath and listen more carefully to the noise outside.
Wei Quan heard the man's report and it didn't seem surprising: "Has everything been searched? But I heard that there seems to be a secret room hidden in Gao Xuan's study?"
Wen Ying's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no.
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