Chapter 148 The murderer was someone she feared, someone who feared they would never see each other again...
The grandson of the famous Grand Secretary and the emperor's nephew was beheaded and his head was displayed at the execution ground.
As soon as the news spread, the streets and alleys of Jian'an City were in an uproar. The people were secretly discussing it, saying that this was retribution for the Wang family's many evil deeds.
It is said that Wang Chang, a great Confucian scholar, indulged his clansmen in running rampant and oppressing the good and kind. Now, he has finally attracted the attention of a chivalrous man. With one stroke of his sword, he met a tragic end, his head severed from his body. Truly, good and evil will be rewarded in the end, and the cycle of karma is real. Look, isn't this what happened?
Upon learning of Wang Fengshu's death, not wanting to attract attention, Yu Nie disguised himself and went to Caishikou.
When she arrived, she encountered officials from the Censorate coming to collect the body.
There weren't too many onlookers. All three of Wang's sons were present, followed by several younger relatives, all of them weeping bitterly.
Watching the body being carried away, Yu Nie felt no sense of satisfaction at having avenged her great enemy. Wang Fengqi hadn't actually died at her hands, and for her, that was a regret.
Of the three beasts who killed Ah Hui, two died in the blink of an eye. Now, only the Third Prince Zhao Yuanze remains alive.
She was not in a hurry to take Zhao Yuanze's life.
Anyway, she was certain that he would die at her hands sooner or later.
Gu Xiangzhi, who also received the news, rushed to Caishikou to find her.
Then, the two returned to Hongzheng Pavilion together.
Along the way, Yu Nie did not discuss Wang Fengqu's murder with him first, but asked about Han Jie's movements and what exactly happened.
After she entered the hall first, Gu Xiangzhi followed her in and replied, "When my men arrived, that Lady Qu said that Han Jie, seeing that his master had not returned for a long time, ignored all advice and went out to look for him alone."
"Then he should have come directly to me, why haven't I seen him yet?" Han Jie knew that Xiao Chengyan had come to find her, and logically, the first place to look for someone should have been her.
Gu Xiangzhi parted her thin lips slightly, about to explain in detail, but her eyes grew more worried, and her steps were filled with unease: "He hasn't arrived yet. Could it be that his whereabouts have been leaked and Shen Tu Zheng's men have noticed him?"
“I’ve already thought of that, and I’ve had Mei Nian investigate.” He dispelled her unease: “The Shen Tu residence is peaceful and quiet, with no unusual activity. In my opinion, Han Jie most likely encountered the soldiers patrolling the streets to arrest him on his way here. Perhaps, to be on the safe side, he has temporarily found a place to hide.”
He comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, he's determined to get Xiao Chengyan, and he'll eventually find you."
His analysis was so logical that her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and she nodded, resigning herself to the situation for the time being.
Seeing that she had calmed down a bit, Gu Xiangzhi wanted to say what he had been thinking about for a long time.
Wang Fengqi died suddenly, and Wang Chang lost his grandson in his old age. He was heartbroken and must be like an enraged leopard. He will definitely use all his strength to find the murderer, and any suspicious connection may bring disaster.
Given her current status and her past conflict with Wang Fengshuo, the safest course of action right now is to be cautious in her words and actions, and not to show too much interest in the Wang family's affairs, so as to avoid getting burned and to stay away from this mess.
However, before he could utter these words of advice, the beaded curtain of the outer room of the bedchamber was lifted with a hurried sound. The two of them turned around and saw Aunt Liu walk in.
She arrived in a great hurry, without even bringing an umbrella. A small patch of her clothes was wet from the rain, and her hair was damp.
"Aunt Liu." Seeing her like this, Yu Nie immediately went up to her and said with concern, "It's still raining outside, why didn't you take an umbrella? Look how wet your clothes are. Aunt Liu, you've only been recovering for a short time, be careful not to catch a cold again."
As she spoke, she reached out and used her sleeve to wipe the water stains from Aunt Liu's cheek, her movements practiced and affectionate.
All of this was observed by Gu Xiangzhi, who was standing to the side.
He knew her true origins and the relationship between them. Therefore, he was not surprised by the heartwarming scene before him, and simply stood silently.
At this moment, he thought back to all those years when she was lucky to have someone like him taking care of her.
"It's alright, it's alright. The rain outside has lessened now, and I didn't get wet much." Aunt Liu replied, but her gaze had already shifted to Gu Xiangzhi beside her. The words she was about to say lingered on her lips, but instead turned into a gentle smile: "I didn't expect to see Supervisor Gu here. I wonder if you've had breakfast yet, sir?"
"Thank you for your concern, Aunt Liu. I had breakfast at home before coming."
"We'll use some more later, since we've already used them. The kitchen steamed some fresh meat buns this morning; they smell delicious." Aunt Liu chatted warmly, but a heavy matter remained weighing on her mind.
Thinking to myself, looking at the situation before me, I wondered whether I should force myself to suppress my emotions.
However, that matter couldn't be delayed, so she could only secretly give Yu Nie a wink, and then smiled at Gu Xiangzhi: "Then, Supervisor Gu, please sit down first. I want to say a few words to Qiqi." As soon as she finished speaking, before Yu Nie could react, she pulled him aside.
"Aunt Liu, what's all this about, so mysteriously?" Yu Nie asked, puzzled.
Considering Gu Xiangzhi's presence, Aunt Liu still dared not speak openly, but leaned close to her ear and lowered her voice to a very low tone: "Your martial uncle is waiting in the front room. He said he has something important to discuss with you and wants you to go there immediately."
Hearing that it was Cui Miaochang who was looking for her, Yu Nie's doubts were resolved: "Uncle-Master is back?" She had always thought that Cui Miaochang was staying at Yongxing Temple, but she didn't expect that she would return at some point.
Without thinking much of it, she said, "It was my martial uncle who called me. Seeing your expression startled me; I thought something terrible had happened."
"Okay," she said. "I'll go right now."
After agreeing to Aunt Liu's request, she turned to Gu Xiangzhi and said, "I'm going to see my uncle. Please have a seat, and I'll have Cuiwei serve you some tea."
"Go ahead and do your work, don't worry about me."
After they finished speaking, Yu Nie followed Aunt Liu out the door and headed towards the front yard.
Watching their figures disappear outside the door, Gu Xiangzhi gently lifted his court robes and sat down calmly.
The sound of rain pattering against the leaves and green tiles in the courtyard was heard outside the window.
Sitting alone here, gazing at the scenery outside soaked by the autumn rain, he thought that she might often sit here to enjoy the view. In a daze, he wondered if sitting in the spot she often sat in counted as having seen the same scenery she had seen.
Gazing intently at the tranquil autumn light filling the courtyard, the words "Huaiyuan" came to mind.
Huaiyuan, what is this place like? What was it like for her when she was a child there?
*
For some reason, Yu Nie always felt that Aunt Liu was hiding something extremely important from her.
Aunt Liu had never walked so hurriedly from the inner courtyard to the front yard. Even with her inconvenient legs, she limped along, wishing she could reach the front yard in a single step.
Yu Nie couldn't help but ask her, "Aunt Liu, why did you leave in such a hurry today?"
Aunt Liu just shook her head: "Don't ask, just go see your martial uncle."
Fortunately, the road wasn't far, and before long, the two arrived at the gate of Cui Miaochang's residence.
Yu Nie immediately noticed that the guards outside the house had been dismissed, and the area around the east wing was quiet, with not a single person in sight.
She pushed open the door and went in, only to see Cui Miaochang sitting calmly at the table, as if she had been waiting for a long time.
Because of the rain, the room was dimly lit, but even so, Cui Miaochang did not light a lamp.
"Master Uncle?" Yu Nie called softly, while wondering why her Master Uncle was so silent today.
Cui Miaochang only raised her eyes when she got closer.
Aunt Liu didn't come in; instead, she stood guard outside the door, vigilantly observing her surroundings. Cuiwei was also kept outside by her.
The unusual behavior of these two people deepened Yu Nie's suspicions.
She had just sat down opposite Cui Miaochang and hadn't even had a chance to ask a question when she saw Cui Miaochang looking at her calmly: "Your martial uncle is about to leave Jian'an."
This sudden news startled Yu Nie, who was almost incoherent: "W-why so suddenly? Has something happened at the temple?"
Cui Miaochang's stay in Jian'an was ostensibly to keep her company, but also to await her meeting with Langxi. Therefore, in Yu Nie's view, it was quite unusual for her to suddenly leave before even seeing Langxi, as she was not acting in the usual way.
These days, she is still secretly worried about how to arrange the meeting between Langxi and her uncle Cui Miaochang.
The truth will eventually come out, and she had a premonition that the matter would be exposed sooner or later. She even considered in her heart whether she should reveal all the secrets to Cui Miaochang.
She was afraid—afraid that they would lose even the chance to see each other again, and even more afraid that if the plan were exposed, none of them would escape death.
Unaware of her thoughts, Cui Miaochang simply gazed at her quietly and said, "Wang Fengqi is dead."
“I know,” Yu Nie replied. As soon as she said this, she seemed to have found the reason for her martial uncle’s unusual behavior today, and suddenly froze.
Cui Miaochang looked directly into her eyes, her voice still steady: "I killed him."
These words struck Yu Nie like a bolt from the blue, leaving him speechless.
She stood there, stunned, her mind flashing back to how Cui Miaochang had been leaving early and returning late these past few days.
It was only at this moment that she suddenly realized everything.
It turns out that behind her uncle's words about "wandering around and staying overnight at Yongxing Temple" was actually to find an opportunity to kill Wang Fengqi.
"So all this time, Martial Uncle, you..." she asked in disbelief, "have been following him?"
“Yes.” Cui Miaochang’s eyes were calm as water. She recounted her true whereabouts over the past few days, word by word: “During this time, I followed him every day and figured out his movements. This man is cunning, but he is most relaxed in the brothel. Last night he stayed at Zuichunlou, sent away all his attendants, and left only a prostitute to keep him company.”
She said, "I sneaked into the house while the woman was taking a bath, knocked her unconscious, and took her away. In an abandoned house in the west of the city, I made her tell me every detail of how she killed Ah Hui. After she finished explaining, I stabbed her and hung her head at the execution ground to apologize."
To her utter surprise, she never imagined that the one who would personally end Wang Fenghu's life would be her martial uncle.
At this moment, she had no time to think about anything else. Her mind raced, and she was determined to use all her abilities to hide Cui Miaochang safely in Jian'an and protect her as long as no clues were left behind...
However, Cui Miaochang's next words completely shattered her plan.
“When I killed him, a passing night watchman saw me.” Cui Miaochang showed no sign of confusion or panic: “He saw my face clearly. I didn’t kill him to silence him, so I had to leave.”
She looked at Yu Nie seriously: "I can't drag you down. After I finish telling you this, I have to leave immediately."
She paused, softened her tone, and glanced at the door: "From now on, I'm entrusting Aunt Liu to your care."
Having been seen and having witnesses, Yu Nie's mind was in turmoil, countless thoughts clashing within her, wondering how to resolve this situation.
However, the only thing she was certain of was that she couldn't let Cui Miaochang risk leaving at this time.
She grabbed Cui Miaochang's sleeve and pleaded, "No, Martial Aunt, don't rush off. There must be a way. Let me think of something..."
"There is no room for maneuver in this matter." Cui Miaochang said resolutely, "I will bear all the consequences alone. You don't need to try to stop me."
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Yu Nie's heart tightened, and he blurted out, "What about Junior Sister? Don't you want to see her?"
At this moment, apart from Lang Xi, she couldn't think of any other reason to keep her.
Fearing she wouldn't believe her, she added, "Junior Sister has already returned to Jian'an. Uncle, don't you see Junior Sister leaving again?"
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