In a manor in the suburbs, Zhuang Yuqing and Feng Yu were sitting in a pavilion, warming their wine and chatting around a small stove.
"The case will be decided today, so you have to keep a close eye on it." Zhuang Yuqing picked up the wine jug and poured wine for Feng Yu.
Feng Yu sneered and said, "I have already ordered the impeachment memorial against Zhuang Li. I just wonder what Feng Yi will choose."
"He will definitely protect Zhuang Li. If that's the case, we can impeach him as well. Once we take the lead, the other princes will gang up on us and eventually get a piece of the pie from the two of them. As the saying goes, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot. They've been too popular lately." Zhuang Yuqing shook his head, a bit of disdain on his face, but he could hardly hide the jealousy in his eyes.
He had never expected Zhuang Li to be so talented and capable, and he had completely mastered the six government offices. Even the most cunning and treacherous men would bow their heads and obey his orders.
If I had known that he was hiding so well, I would have urged my mother to kill him directly.
Feng Yu saw Zhuang Yuqing's resentment, but he didn't care. He said bluntly, "If I had known earlier that Zhuang Li was such a person, I would have definitely won him over."
Zhuang Yuqing smiled faintly, but secretly held the wine glass tightly.
Feng Yu glanced at him and asked, "Have you arranged everything? Are you sure nothing will go wrong?"
"Of course not." Zhuang Yuqing smiled conceitedly. "The body has been burned like that, who can recognize it?"
However, just as he finished speaking, the gate was thrown open and a middle-aged man ran over, shouting anxiously, "Something bad has happened! Something bad has happened! Zhuang Li has recognized me!"
Zhuang Yuqing: “…”
Feng Yu slammed the wine glass down and gritted his teeth, "What's going on? Tell me slowly!"
The middle-aged man leaned against the pavilion pillar and took a breath, then spoke hurriedly, "Zhuang Li could tell at a glance that the deceased wasn't Mrs. Du's husband! He also said the deceased was 33 years old, a poor man who had been starving for years. He didn't match Mrs. Du's husband at all!"
After saying this, he looked at Zhuang Yuqing, the only person who knew the identity of the deceased.
Zhuang Yuqing's face turned pale and blue, it was really interesting.
"Is he talking nonsense?" Feng Yu stared at Zhuang Yuqing, with a calm expression on his face, but he began to panic in his heart.
Zhuang Yuqing managed to maintain his composure. "I don't know his age, but it's true he suffered from hunger for years. The deceased was a beggar." He paused for a long time before gritting his teeth and admitting, "Zhuang Li probably wasn't lying."
This also means that Zhuang Li had indeed seen the flaw.
Seeing Feng Yu's face suddenly change, as if ready to fly into a rage, Zhuang Yuqing immediately added, "But even if he realized that the deceased wasn't Du's husband, it would be useless. He was just a homeless beggar. Dead and gone, no one would report his disappearance to the authorities, and no one would know his identity. With the body burned like that, Zhuang Li has no evidence to investigate. This case is destined to remain a mystery."
Feng Yu, however, was not as optimistic as him and pressed on, "Who did you ask to kill this beggar?"
"They are just a few beggars." Zhuang Yuqing lowered his head and replied.
"Then kill these beggars as well!" Feng Yu gave the order decisively.
Zhuang Yuqing immediately denied it. "If several people died at once, wouldn't this case become even more serious? Master, please rest assured that Zhuang Li will never be able to find out the identity of the deceased. It's best for us to remain unchanged and not act rashly."
"If you have even a third of Zhuang Li's talent, I would definitely trust you. But can you outsmart him?" Feng Yu looked straight at Zhuang Yuqing, his eyes full of disappointment.
Zhuang Yuqing was so embarrassed by these words that her face turned red and she felt so ashamed and angry that she couldn't express it in words.
Since when did it become common knowledge that Zhuang Li's talent surpassed his? He was the one his father had high hopes for!
"Those beggars have seen you, go and kill them!" Feng Yu didn't care about Zhuang Yuqing's feelings at all and gave the order in a tough manner.
Zhuang Yuqing bent down and said in a dry voice, "Yes, Your Highness."
He immediately sent several assassins to clear the area.
Feng Yu had an ominous premonition in his heart. He drank several pots of wine and the depressed look on his face became more and more serious.
Zhuang Yuqing had to repeatedly comfort him: "Your Highness, you really worry too much. Unless Zhuang Li is the Monkey King incarnated on earth, with flaming eyes, he would never be able to tell the identity of a charred corpse."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, several assassins hurried back and knelt down to report: "Master, when we were there, we happened to see Zhuang Li and his men arresting all those beggars. It seems that he has found out the identity of the deceased."
Zhuang Yuqing: “…”
The middle-aged man who had come to tip him off earlier glanced at him furtively, his heart filled with sympathy. He was slapped in the face one after another, and the scene was too ugly.
Feng Yu put down his wine glass heavily and looked at Zhuang Yuqing with a grim smile.
Zhuang Yuqing was stunned for a long moment before muttering in disbelief, "How could he have found out, and so quickly? Impossible! The body was burned like that, how on earth did he find the person? I don't believe it! There must be a traitor among us!"
Feng Yu laughed in anger: "You handled everything single-handedly, without ever asking anyone else to do it. Who do you think could be the traitor?"
Zhuang Yuqing: “…”
Feng Yu stood up and said coldly, "If Zhuang Li finds out about you, you know what to do, right? Don't forget, your sister is still in my hands."
All the bones in Zhuang Yuqing's body felt weak and sweat was pouring down his forehead.
Feng Yu flung his sleeves and left, his voice full of regret: "When I was selecting a study partner, I really shouldn't have listened to your father's lies and chosen you by my side. If I had Zhuang Li, I would have been the crown prince by now! How smart could a bastard born of a lowly maid be? Your father was also blind, unable to distinguish between fish eyes and pearls. He was banished three thousand miles away, and he really didn't deserve it."
As she stepped out of the courtyard, Feng Yu was still not satisfied and squeezed out a word from between her teeth, "Waste!"
The word "waste" was like a heavy hammer, hitting Zhuang Yuqing on the head, causing him to collapse immediately.
He has been highly sought after since he was a child and never thought that he would lose to Zhuang Li.
But what was even more tragic was that he still didn't understand how he lost. If it were him, he would have no chance of finding out the true identity of the deceased.
He's just a beggar. Who would recognize him? Who would?
Zhuang Yuqing slumped on the stone bench, his face dazed.
The middle-aged man bowed and said goodbye, saying sincerely: "You should run away quickly, maybe Zhuang Li will find out about you soon."
Zhuang Yuqing subconsciously retorted: "Impossible."
The middle-aged man quickly dissuaded him: "No, please don't say that. I'm worried that as soon as you finish your words, Lord Zhuang will come with his soldiers. Run, quickly, compared to Lord Zhuang, you are nothing."
The middle-aged man raised his little finger and gestured at the nail of his little finger with his thumb.
Zhuang Yuqing felt extremely insulted, but could not find any words to refute. When she came to her senses, the middle-aged man had already run away.
Zhuang Yuqing sat there for a while before returning to the house to pack his things. As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, several soldiers held their spears to his throat.
Zhuang Li stood in an open space not far away, his body bathed in the silvery moonlight, smiling at him. "Where are you going so late?"
Zhuang Yuqing opened his eyes wide and looked at him. For the first time in his life, he realized that there really were such people in the world. They were good at planning and their wisdom was almost demonic. Playing tricks with them was simply showing off one's skills in front of an expert and seeking one's own death!
---
Covered in wounds, Mrs. Du curled up in a corner of the cell, silently shedding tears.
All the food that the jailer brought to her was snatched away by the female prisoners in the same cell.
As they ate, they mocked him, "Don't cry! Three days from now, when the guillotine is down, you won't know anything. If you had the guts to kill your husband, you should have expected this day to come."
"I'm innocent! I really didn't kill my husband! I didn't have an affair with anyone! I'm really innocent!" Mrs. Du threw herself against the prison door, raised her head and cried out, "My Lord, please open your eyes! I'm really innocent! I didn't do anything!"
However, the prison door was deep, the road ahead was long, and there was nothing at the other end of the corridor except endless darkness.
"Stop shouting, no one will help you get justice!" a female prisoner yelled irritably.
Mrs. Du collapsed to the ground, her eyes red and swollen from crying, tears almost bleeding.
She was completely desperate.
At this moment, an orange light came on at the other end of the dark corridor, driving away the chill. A series of light footsteps approached from afar, breaking the dead silence.
Soon, three young people appeared in front of the prison door, two of them were men and the other was a woman. They all looked outstanding and were dressed very luxuriously.
The slender man half-knelt down, looking Du in the eye, and asked calmly, "What did your husband say to you on the way home the day he disappeared that made you run back crying?"
Mrs. Du opened her mouth, as if she wanted to tell the truth, but hesitated.
"You think that since he is dead, there is no need to tell about the ugly things he did, and let the two children suffer with you, right?" The young man's voice flowed like cold spring water in the night.
And his all-seeing eyes made Du want to confide in him.
"Yes, I didn't want to make the children sad. That day, he told me on the road that he had kept a concubine outside three years ago. That concubine was a prostitute, and he spent five thousand taels of silver to redeem her. My son wanted to spend fifty taels of silver to buy a set of ancient books. He begged him for several days, but he refused to take the money. However, he was willing to spend five thousand taels to redeem the prostitute. You know, all this money belongs to my Du family. Why would he do that?
"He also said that the prostitute was pregnant and couldn't stay outside, so he asked me to be generous and take her in. But when he asked me to marry him, he clearly promised me that he would never take a concubine in his life! Otherwise, I wouldn't have married an orphan without a father or a mother.
"All these years, all his kindness to me, my parents, and my two children was just fake! Woohoo, I hate him so much! But I really didn't kill him! I was so angry that I left him alone and went home. Later, I didn't care where he went. I always thought he was with that prostitute."
Mrs. Du fell to the ground crying.
The female prisoners looked at each other and shook their heads secretly. This stupid woman is dead! These words further solidified her murder conviction.
The young man nodded and sighed, "Just as I suspected, he was deliberately trying to provoke you." He then stood up and waved his hand, "Madam Du, you may leave."
"Wuwuwu...Gah?" Mrs. Du, who was crying sadly, let out a strange cry.
The woman, who looked about 50% similar to the young man, brought out a wet towel and a clean dress, chuckled, and said, "Hurry up and wipe your tears, change your clothes, and go out."
Mrs. Du looked dazed: "I, I'm not dreaming, am I?"
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