Chu Li laughed out loud when he heard that.
Ha ha!
She was too honest, law-abiding, and just wanted to live a stable life, but she ignored the inconsistencies in this world.
Jiangnan City is indeed a good place, but people are all different. I have been in the palace for more than ten years. What kind of people have I not seen?
"Your Excellency is right. This arson case did not harm anyone. It only burned some property. How dare I trouble you to pay attention to it every day?"
"I didn't think it through."
Cui Qianjin sneered.
It turns out that he is a bully who only bullies the weak and fears the strong.
I've been urging him every day these days, and as soon as he raised his voice, I knew he was afraid.
Too.
In Jiangnan City, their prefect is the highest official, the local tyrant. As an outsider, she'd better keep a low profile.
"It's good that Miss Chu knows."
snort!
The prefect once hinted to him that there was no need to investigate the arson case in depth.
"Since you cooperate with us, we will help you investigate. That's it, let's close the case first." He made a decision. "Oh, by the way, these people were disrespectful to the police just now. Either pay some money and get out on bail, or go to jail for half a month."
The one-eyed dragon glared angrily: "What did you say..."
"First day of the new year!"
Chu Li interrupted, "Go get the silver and pour tea for the officials."
Chu nodded and the matter was done efficiently. Soon, Cui Qianjin went out with a bulging bag of silver in his arms, very satisfied.
The one-eyed dragon was really angry:
"This is too much!"
These officials are simply executioners who abuse their power for personal gain and exploit people at will.
Chu Li sat down calmly. "A few days ago, the gentleman surnamed Tang was indeed investigating this matter for me seriously. After being replaced by this gentleman Cui, he started practicing Tai Chi. I speculated that the murderer who wanted to harm me might have some connection with the officials in the prefecture."
This is difficult to do.
She was worried that if she got too close to the government, the news that she was still alive would be exposed.
The one-eyed dragon gritted his teeth and said:
"Let's sneak into the Jiangnan prefecture at night and find out what's going on! If we find that Cui guy again, I'll beat him up!"
"If we do this, won't we be able to get caught by others?"
“Is this the end of it?”
Thinking of Cui Qianjin's arrogance just now and how he had extorted a large sum of money from them, the eight people wanted to tear him apart alive.
Although the Eight Vajras are gangsters with martial arts skills, as the saying goes, the people do not fight with the officials; if they really come into conflict with the government, they will definitely suffer.
If Chu Li wanted to live a peaceful life in Jiangnan City, she couldn't fall out with the government, and she didn't want to make a big deal out of it.
Although this Cui guy is domineering, there are people everywhere in the world who take advantage of the power of others to bully others.
The top priority is to catch the murderer.
Her head is still hanging on the edge of a knife.
Chu Li raised his fingertips and thought for a moment:
"Go dig out Xiao Hei's body."
"Ms. Chu means..."
"That night, Xiao Hei ate most of the roast chicken and was poisoned to death on the spot. There must be some poison left in his stomach. Let's see what the poison is."
Most medical clinics and drugstores dare not sell these life-threatening poisons.
But there are shady ways to buy it.
The One-Eyed Dragon understood, and immediately called Scarface and Small-Eyed Dog, while the others stayed in the inn for protection.
A few days later, the big black dog was buried in the soil and its body had rotted away. A large amount of arsenic was found among the remains of bones and flesh!
Arsenic is a deadly poison!
-
"Go, go, go! Get out!"
In a noisy gambling house, two thugs grabbed a man and threw him out roughly.
"I have money! Let me make one more bet, one last one!"
The man's face was covered in grease, his eyelids were blue, and his eye sockets were sunken. He hadn't slept for several days and nights.
"Zhang Laosi, you've lost all your money. We don't accept credit here!"
The man rushed in frantically as if he was poisoned:
"This is the last one, I'm sure I can make my money back!"
"I'm selling my daughter to you...ah!"
"roll!"
"We are a legitimate gambling house. We don't do that kind of thing!"
The man was thrown out and rolled several times before crashing into a pair of white embroidered shoes. His dark eyes were trembling and he tried to crawl into the gambling house like a madman.
The pair of embroidered shoes were raised and stepped on the corner of his clothes.
"I stepped on someone!"
He tugged at the corner of his clothes anxiously and angrily:
"You're blind! You stepped on someone, loosen your foot!"
"Zhang Laosi?"
The woman raised her cold voice, "Is your name Zhang Laosi?"
He was stunned for a moment, then raised his head: "You are..."
"You don't know me, but you dare to set fire to me? Who ordered you to do that?"
Zhang Laosi was shocked, and the panic in his eyes could not be hidden, "W-what? What did you say? Why can't I understand?"
"not understand?"
Chu Li smiled lightly and reached her hand into her sleeve to touch.
Zhang Laosi was very frightened.
Is she going to kill him?
It was indeed he who set the fire that night, but he was fully prepared, and no one discovered him, and he left any evidence. What evidence did she have to kill him?
He wants to report to the police!
She was clearly framing him!
Zhang Laosi was so angry that he pulled out the corner of his clothes and threatened to rush to the government office, but he saw the woman took out a small golden bar.
In an instant, his eyes widened.
"You have no money left to gamble, right?"
"Zhang Laosi, this little gold bar of mine is enough for you to gamble for half a month. Do you want it?"
-
In the east of the city, there is a spacious and clean ordinary house. It is not luxurious, but there are five or six servants to serve. In the mild climate of Jiangnan, the small house is also particularly bright and spacious.
"This letter was sent to the Imperial City and delivered personally to the Sixth Prince."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Chu Yuanchi sealed the secret letter, watched the guard leave, sat for a while, then patted his clothes elegantly, stood up and walked out.
"Yan'er."
"father!"
Chu Hongyan was reading a book under a tree in the courtyard.
The sun shines on my body and I feel warm.
Chu Yuanchi looked at his handsome son and felt a little warm in his heart. "What have you learned?"
"My mother is teaching me Hundred Family Names!"
Chu Hongyan held the book in both hands and read it very seriously. Normally, children start to go to school at the age of five or six, but he is only four years old this year and he already knows a lot of words.
Yang Wan was no longer the eldest prince's consort. She wore an ordinary silk skirt and plain clothes, and looked gentle and generous.
"Brother Chi, you stay here and watch over Yan'er. I'll go to the kitchen to take a look."
"Wan'er."
Chu Yuanchi grabbed her slender wrist, his eyes showing complicated emotions, "You and the child have been implicated by me and have suffered with me."
Yang Wanrou smiled and said, "We are one family and we don't have to talk about different things."
Chu Yuanchi had mixed feelings.
He was a favored child of heaven, but he was defeated in one day and fell to this point, falling from heaven to the quagmire. If it weren't for his wife and children, he would have collapsed and wanted to commit suicide.
Sooner or later, he will return to the imperial capital!
He will go back!
Those who owe him, insulted him, and bullied him must pay him back tenfold!
"Dad, how do you pronounce this word?"
Chu Yuanchi collected his thoughts and bent over with a smile, "Dad, look, this word is pronounced 'hui'... yes, that's the meaning... Yan'er is really smart."
I must strive to do well in the future.
His hopes and inheritance all rest on this child!
After dinner, Yang Wan went to the bookstore to buy new ink, and took Chu Hongyan with her to the street. She went into the bookstore to get the ink, but after only half a cup of tea, Chu Hongyan disappeared.
"Yan'er?"
Her expression changed in shock:
"Yan'er!"
There was no one around, and he was so scared that he dropped the new ink in his hand to the ground.
"Where are the people! Where is the little boy who was here just now! Yan'er, Yan'er!"
Chu Hongyan is missing.
A quarter of an hour had passed when Chu Yuanchi arrived, and along with him came the prefect's officers and soldiers, as well as Prefect Li himself, who also looked anxious.
Why did this child disappear out of nowhere?
This is the eldest grandson of the current Emperor of Chu!
Magistrate Li did not dare to be careless at all and mobilized all officers and soldiers to search the whole city for Chu Hongyan.
Chu Yuanchi ran around, sweating profusely:
"Yan'er!"
"Yan'er!"
He ran out of breath and searched every place around him, but he didn't even see the shadow of Chu Hongyan. The anxiety in his heart was like a burning fire and he couldn't rest for a moment.
Yan'er!
His only child!
His child!
He lost everything when he was young, which was a big blow to him. If he couldn't even protect his son, how could he be called a husband? A father? A man?
Yan'er, where are you?
Don't scare Dad.
When the common people saw the soldiers marching out, they could not help but whisper:
"What happened again?"
"It's such a big move that even Jiangnan City is blocked."
"I heard that there are flower thieves appearing in the Jiangnan area recently."
"I've never seen a thief caught in broad daylight."
“Who knows…”
The officers and soldiers were searching everywhere in a hurry, making the common people anxious, but no one noticed a slender figure standing at the end of the street where there were overlapping shadows.
Chu Li is there.
Looking at the prefect's pomp and circumstance, he twitched the corner of his mouth, sneered, and turned away.
Hexi Inn.
"Ninth uncle...you, you are a woman...how could it be...this, this...father said you were dead, could it be...you are a ghost?"
The missing Chu Hongyan was in the inn at this time, staring at Chu Li with wide eyes in disbelief, and was too stunned to speak.
Chu Li waved his hand and asked two maids to bring cakes and fruit tea.
"Touch my hand and see if I am a human or a ghost?"
Chu Hongyan was afraid and curious, and he stretched out his white and fleshy hand carefully.
Warm?
It's a human!
Still alive!
"Ninth Uncle!"
He happily threw himself into her arms and rubbed her breasts hard, which were sweet and soft.
"So you're not dead, and you've turned into a woman. You smell so good! The same as my mother's!"
He likes the Ninth Uncle very much.
Ever since he could remember, the Ninth Prince Uncle had doted on him and shown favoritism to him. He always brought him delicious food and played with him. Of all the princes, he only liked the Ninth Prince Uncle.
Chu Li touched his head, with a complicated light in his eyes.
She wanted to draw a clear line with the past, but even if she hid in Jiangnan, she could not avoid the past.
The years she spent as the Ninth Prince were ingrained into her bones.
It might not be long before word spread that she was still alive.
What a hassle.
She is most afraid of trouble in her life.
"Ninth Uncle, why did you become a woman? Why are you in Jiangnan? Aren't you going back to the palace?" Chu Hongyan is small, but has many questions.
Chu Li chuckled:
"Well."
She said in a roundabout way, keeping the audience in suspense. "This is a very long story. Do you want to hear it?"
"think!"
"Have some snacks, and I'll talk to you slowly."
Chu Hongyan was very happy. He held a piece of sweet cake in both hands and looked at Chu Li with his big curious eyes, like an extremely eager little hamster.
Chu Li slowly spoke:
"Once upon a time, there were two concubines who fought to the death for favor..."
This is a long story.
How long is it?
Probably about ten years.
While telling the story, even Chu Li herself wanted to laugh, and she couldn't help but wonder who her biological parents were and what kind of life she would be living now if nothing had happened back then.
However, we had only been talking for half an hour, and the little guy had eaten too much cakes and drank too much fruit tea, and fell asleep with his eyelids drooping.
He moved his head noisily like a chick pecking at rice.
Chu Li carried him to the room to sleep.
"Ninth Uncle..."
He rubbed his eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "I should go back. My parents will be worried about me."
"No hurry, get some sleep first, I'll go talk to your parents, we haven't seen each other for so long, don't you miss your ninth uncle?"
"think!"
The little guy chuckled, turned over in his quilt, and went to sleep soundly for his nap.
Chu Li tucked him in. She was good at coaxing children and she also liked children. When Chu Aotian was a child, he often cried.
Afraid of ghosts, crying.
Wrestling and crying.
I was stung by a bee and cried.
She has gained a lot of experience in coaxing Chu Aotian.
Watching Chu Hongyan's breathing become steady and he slowly fell asleep, he quietly left the room.
"Miss Chu." The one-eyed man stepped forward.
Chu Li raised his hand: "Let's talk downstairs if you have anything to say."
The one-eyed man glanced at the wing room and naturally shut his mouth. When he got downstairs, he said, "The prefect has dispatched more than 200 officers and soldiers to look for this child. They are searching every house. I'm afraid they will find us soon."
A child went missing, causing a stir in the entire Jiangnan city.
But Miss Chu was nearly burned to death, but the prefect kept passing the buck and playing Tai Chi.
Oh!
This prefect is a black-hearted person.
The water in Jiangnan is not shallow!
Chu Li took a sip of tea and said, "No hurry."
Hasn't this been found yet?
When the officers and soldiers came over, Chu Hongyan had already woken up. She took Chu Hongyan on a boat ride, so the officers and soldiers came back empty-handed and found nothing.
At that time, Chu Li was taking Chu Hongyan to the night market.
Chu Hongyan was having so much fun releasing river lanterns, buying snacks, wearing masks, and watching shadow puppet shows that he had long forgotten about his parents.
Or maybe he felt at ease and happy when he was with Chu Li, so naturally he wasn't so defensive.
On the other side, Chu Yuanchi was looking for it like crazy.
Yang Wan almost fainted several times:
"Brother Chi, our Yan'er couldn't be in danger... If, if anything happens to him, I won't live anymore!"
Chu Yuanchi hugged her tightly, "It's okay, it will be okay, don't worry."
"Yan'er, wu——He is still so young, but he has been missing for a whole day, my Yan'er!"
Yang Wan cried her heart out.
Chu Yuanchi felt extremely uncomfortable. He was unable to protect his wife and children and felt ashamed.
Yan'er, where have you been?
-
Late at night, after having enough fun, Chu Hongyan finally remembered to go home.
"It's already late, you should rest first, I'll take you home tomorrow morning." Chu Li kept him, "I'll ask Sister Chuyi to tell your parents."
Chuyi smiled, nodded, and went out.
Chu Hongyan felt relieved and soon pestered Chu Li, asking her to continue telling stories and to sleep with her.
Chu Li did not respond.
He held on to it and refused to let go:
"Uncle Nine, will you sleep with me? Tell me stories and I will be a good boy at night. I won't kick anyone or grind my teeth. I will definitely make you worry-free!"
"Men and women should not touch each other, boy."
“But I’m only four years old!”
"Well... I will agree to your request reluctantly."
"Ninth Uncle is the best!"
For Chu Hongyan, it was a very fulfilling day, so much so that he fell asleep in a daze at night listening to Chu Li's voice.
I slept until noon.
As for Chu Yuanchi, he did not sleep all night.
He hadn't slept for a whole day and night, and his tired eyes were bloodshot. He looked sinister and exhausted. Even lifting his feet was a little difficult, but he didn't dare to stop for a moment and kept looking for the child.
finally.
"There's news!"
"really!"
Chu Yuanchi was so emotional that he felt dizzy and almost fainted.
"Your Highness, be careful—"
"Where is Yan'er? Take me there, quickly!"
He didn't care about himself and immediately followed the officers and soldiers to a three-story teahouse.
The door slowly opened.
Chu Hongyan stepped out of the stairs. As Chu Yuanchi's smile spread across his face, he saw Zhang Laosi following behind him.
"So you kidnapped my son!"
He was so angry that he punched the man to the ground, knocking out a bloody front tooth.
Zhang Laosi covered his mouth and cried bitterly:
"My Lord, it's not me!"
"You are so brave!" Chu Yuanchi grabbed his collar and punched him twice, "I want to see how many lives you have!"
“Ah! Ah!”
Not him!
Spare me!
It’s Miss Chu.
Half an hour ago, Miss Chu called him to the teahouse:
"These past two days, the government has been looking for a missing child. You should know this, right? If you send the child back and make up for your crime, he will definitely reward you with a sum of money."
He hesitated:
"I set fire to you, but you didn't take revenge on me? You even sent the enemy's child back..."
"The child is innocent, and I am just a weak woman, how dare I fight against the government?"
Zhang Laosi didn't dare to do this at first, but he had already lost everything from gambling.
He needs money so much!
As long as he sent the child back, he might be able to receive a generous reward. Unexpectedly, he was beaten with blood in his mouth before he even opened his mouth.
"Troublemaker!"
“Asshole!”
Chu Yuanchi's eyes turned red with anger, and he kicked and hit Zhang Laosi, causing many people to look over curiously.
Zhang Laosi rolled on the ground in pain:
“Mercy, mercy!”
"Zhang Laosi, I think you are tired of living!"
Chu Yuanchi beat him up and calmed down. He then called the soldiers to capture him and kill him.
When Zhang Laosi heard that he was going to be killed, he started to struggle frantically:
"I didn't kidnap Young Master Chu! I was wrongly accused!"
"Take him away!"
"Let me go!"
He struggled madly:
"It's not me! It's not me!"
"Mr. Chu, you can't do this to me. Are you eager to kill me? Do you want to destroy the body? As long as I die, no one will know that you wanted to kill Miss Chu!"
The onlookers stared.
What?
What did he say?
Chu Yuanchi's eyes flashed with shock and anger, "Shut up!"
"Hahaha! So that's really the case!" Zhang Laosi laughed. "Seven days ago, you gave me a hundred taels of silver and asked me to set fire to Miss Chu. I did it, but I didn't expect you would want to kill me to silence me!"
The people were suddenly in an uproar.
The murderer turned out to be this man!
He was the one who directed the arson!
All kinds of strange looks fell on Chu Yuanchi. He wanted to stop Zhang Laosi from speaking, but it was too late:
"You're crazy! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Once this matter spread, it would be difficult for him to stay in Jiangnan City.
"You are in cahoots with the government!"
Zhang Laosi was desperate, even his life was about to be lost, and in a fit of rage, he dared to say everything he should and shouldn't say:
"I returned your child to you, but you wanted to kill me to silence me. The entire government is looking for your son, but no one is investigating the arson case, because the murderer is you, and you are in the government. You are in collusion with the government!"
At this time, Li Zhifu, who had rushed over, almost fainted when he heard this.
Oh my god!
How can you say such things in broad daylight, in public?
There are so many people here!
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and hold him down!" Magistrate Li was furious.
"Let me go! This is Jiangnan, and also the State of Chu. You can't take human life lightly and cover up the world with one hand... Ugh! Ugh!"
Zhang Laosi had his mouth blocked and was forced to swallow.
However, the news was leaked and everyone saw it, which had aroused huge waves in the hearts of the people. They looked at Chu Yuanchi and Li Zhifu with strange eyes.
Li Zhifu's back was sweating, and he looked at the people:
"The government is investigating a case and trying to catch a thief. This man's crazy talk cannot be trusted!"
The common people are not fools.
The child was missing, and the entire government was mobilized to search for him day and night.
There had been no progress in the arson case for seven or eight days, and no one was even sent to investigate.
They know what is right and what is wrong.
"I have evidence of two cases of abuse of power for personal gain," said the narrow-eyed dog in the crowd, lowering his head and shouting, "If anyone still has grievances, why don't we get together, bypass the prefect of Jiangnan, and hand the evidence directly to the governor!"
Next to him, the one-eyed man disguised as an ordinary person echoed loudly:
"Oh my God! Last year, my wife died tragically, and I have been unable to report it to the authorities. I will go with you to report it to the governor!"
Suddenly, the emotions of the people were aroused.
Those who had been wrongly accused and treated unfairly became courageous and united together.
"I'm with you!"
"I want to report it, too!"
"I am also wronged!"
They gathered together frantically, some crying out for injustice, some presenting evidence, the situation became unstable and Governor Li was frightened out of his wits.
The rebellion!
This is a rebellion!
As the saying goes, those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. If the people really unite and things get out of hand, he will probably lose his official hat.
"Your Highness, what should we do?"
what to do?
What should I do?
What can Chu Yuanchi do?
He is now just a commoner and is suspected of colluding with the government. If he interferes, his identity as the "eldest prince" will be exposed sooner or later. At that time, his reputation will also be ruined by Prefect Li.
With his reputation ruined, how can he return to the imperial capital in the future?
He also wanted to know what to do!
Chu Yuanchi rubbed his brows tiredly. He hadn't slept for two days, and faced with this situation, he was exhausted. When he looked up inadvertently, he saw a slender figure standing at the window above the teahouse.
She looked down at the chaos.
He was extremely worried.
She looked down with disdain.
"Chu Li..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
