Chapter 55 Answer 7 "Kiss me."
"New Jade."
Prince Jin shouted again anxiously, his voice unable to conceal his worry. Zhu Song, who was hiding in the dark, looked over carefully and saw that Princess Jin had fallen down. Fortunately, Prince Jin ran over and caught her.
Zhu Song breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Princess Jin fall into Prince Jin's arms.
"Xinyu, what's wrong with you? Xinyu?"
Not getting a response, Prince Jin hurriedly picked up the person and walked back in a hurry. He was walking in such a hurry that he naturally didn't notice Zhu Song hiding in the dark.
Prince Jin rushed back to the palace at lightning speed and immediately sent someone to the Imperial Hospital to invite Li Yuanzheng to treat Princess Jin.
Unexpectedly, after reading it, Li Yuanzheng smiled broadly, "What a happy occasion!"
Prince Jin was puzzled and asked anxiously, "Where does the joy come from?"
Li Yuanzheng bowed and replied, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. The Princess is pregnant."
Prince Jin was surprised and then overjoyed. However, when he saw the princess still lying in bed, he became worried. "Why did the princess faint?"
Li Yuanzheng replied, "Judging from the princess's pulse, it's caused by excessive worry. Pregnant women are often emotionally unstable. You need to relax and be more at ease. After this period of time, you will naturally feel better."
Prince Jin asked again: "When will he wake up?"
Li Yuanzheng replied, "The princess's pulse is fine. She will wake up tomorrow morning at the latest. Your Highness, there is no need to worry too much."
Prince Jin thanked him and personally escorted Li Yuanzheng out the door.
"Your Highness, please stay." Li Yuanzheng bowed to Prince Jin before leaving.
Li Yuanzheng left. Prince Jin turned around and saw Zhou Xinyu on the bed had opened her eyes. He was overjoyed and hurried over to ask anxiously, "How do you feel?"
Princess Jin's eyes filled with tears as she threw herself into his arms, "Your Highness, am I going to die soon?"
Prince Jin was shocked. "What happened? Why do you say that?"
"Ever since I went to Xiangguo Temple to pray for a child, I've been having nightmares. Tonight, I was even completely confused. I don't know what I did. Your Highness, I'm so scared. Did I do something wrong in my past life that I need to pay for in this one?"
Princess Jin was crying so hard that her eyes were filled with tears. Seeing this, Prince Jin's heart softened. He reached out and wiped the tears from her face, and said in a gentle voice, "Don't think too much. The imperial physician just came to see you. You are pregnant with our child."
Princess Jin was overwhelmed with surprise. Her bright eyes widened as she touched her belly in disbelief. "Really? I'm pregnant with our child?"
Prince Jin replied, "Of course, Li Yuanzheng just told me that personally."
With a slight blink of her long eyelashes, crystal tears fell on the back of Prince Jin's hand. Princess Jin pursed her lips and said, "I thought I would never have the chance to have our child in this lifetime."
Prince Jin held her in his arms and comforted her, saying, "Don't let your imagination run wild. We've only been married for a short time. Li Yuanzheng just said that you need to be calm while you're pregnant. You should stay in the mansion and take care of the baby, okay?"
Princess Jin nodded and said, "Well, I won't let my thoughts wander anymore. I won't go out either. I'll just stay home and take care of my baby."
Prince Jin scratched her nose and said, "That's good."
Princess Jin said gently and thoughtfully, "I'm sorry that Your Highness has been worried during this period."
Prince Jin smiled and said, "To have your words, Princess, make everything I do worthwhile."
Princess Jin also smiled, reached out and hugged Prince Jin, nestling in his arms affectionately. However, when she raised her eyes to look at the palace lanterns not far away, her eyes were cold and without any warmth.
Zhu Song did not return to the city until the next morning. He went home to take a shower and change clothes before rushing to the Dali Temple. He wrote a memorial to reopen the Lin family extermination case and submitted it to the palace.
There was no reply until the next day, and Zhu Song could not wait any longer, so he went to the palace to meet the emperor in person.
"Your Majesty, we have new clues in the Lin family massacre case. I believe we should reopen the investigation and restore the truth to the deceased."
Unexpectedly, Emperor Liang waved his hand and said, "There's no need to investigate this matter any further."
Zhu Song was startled and asked, "I dare to ask, why?"
Emperor Liang looked at Zhu Song with an unhappy expression, "The Lin family's affairs have repeatedly caused a stir in the capital, isn't that enough?"
Zhu Song frowned slightly, "But the truth of this case is still unknown. A mere housekeeper wouldn't have the power to wipe out an entire family in a matter of seconds..."
Emperor Liang interrupted him, "How else can you explain it? It's just that one person was missed. There's no need to discuss this matter any further. I will not agree to it. Withdraw."
Zhu Song choked up, and seeing that Emperor Liang was determined, he knew that he would not be persuaded, so he stopped talking, responded, turned around and walked out.
Zhu Song walked along the broad official road towards the Dali Temple. The bright sun shone on him, but he could not feel any warmth at all.
Zhu Song returned to the Dali Temple with a gloomy face. Seeing his expression, Gu Huaiyu guessed what was going on and made tea for him. "I heard that Prince Jin went to the palace yesterday and persuaded the emperor."
Zhu Song raised his eyes to look at Gu Huaiyu, and had a bold guess in his mind, "Huaiyu, do you think the final murderer will be Uncle Chen?"
Gu Huaiyu knew what he meant and said seriously, "Zhu Song, let's end this matter here."
Zhu Song pressed his head and sighed. Even if he didn't want to stop here, it was impossible. Without the imperial order, unless he had omnipotent means, he would not be able to investigate the king's uncle, let alone the people behind the uncle.
Zhu Song was upset and asked, "Why do you think they killed the Lin family?"
Zhu Song could never figure out the murderer's motive.
Gu Huaiyu originally had some ideas, but it was useless to talk about them now, it would only add to his troubles, so he shook his head and said, "I can't think of any."
Zhu Song sighed all day, "I'm so incompetent."
Gu Huaiyu comforted him, "Under the imperial power, it's not about ability, it's about attitude."
Zhu Song was not comforted at all and even became more depressed. Gu Huaiyu could not comfort him, so he just stayed with him in his depression, sighing even more fiercely than him. Zhu Song got tired of listening to him and drove him away.
As the days passed, Zhu Song never saw Princess Jin again. He only heard from Meng Xiaohe that she had severe morning sickness. She vomited everything she ate, even vomited blood, and fainted several times. A royal physician was specially sent to live in the Prince Jin's mansion.
Meng Xiaohe heard these things from others, and she had not seen Princess Jin since then.
A few days later, Zhu Song heard that Prince Jin had left the capital and went to Dongzhou to find the mermaid pearl for the princess.
Legend has it that mermaids are easy to get pregnant and mermaid pearls can stop morning sickness.
The capital was filled with praises of Prince Jin's affection. Even the Dali Temple was talking about it all the time. Zhu Song's ears were almost callused from hearing it.
Before he knew it, it was the full moon night again, but Zhu Song was in such a low mood during this period that he was completely unaware of it.
He was sleeping in a daze at night when he suddenly felt someone getting on his bed. Zhu Song woke up instantly and subconsciously tried to push the person away. His nose was filled with a familiar smell, which made him realize who the person was.
"Antidote."
With the help of the bright moonlight, Zhu Song could see the person in front of him clearly.
Her face was flushed and she was only wearing a thin gauze dress that did not cover her at all.
Zhu Song's heartbeat stopped for a moment.
"You forgot."
Wen Fengxuan raised his chin and looked down at him with strong dissatisfaction in his eyes.
The scorching temperature was transmitted to Zhu Song through his fingertips, and Zhu Song reached out and held his hand.
"It's not too late to think about it now."
"Kiss me."
Looking at his as if it was a matter of course, Zhu Song couldn't help but recall the last time he forced Wen Fengxuan to kiss him.
"So proactive today?"
"Don't like it?" Wen Fengxuan raised his narrow eyes, showing a kind of arrogance, but the words he said were completely opposite, "Then I kiss you."
Zhu Song's answer was stuck in his throat, but he wrote it on the tip of Wen Fengxuan's tongue.
Detoxification completed.
Zhu Song was lying on the bed. Wen Fengxuan propped up his head and stared at him, drawing circles on his chest with his fingers. "Tired?"
Zhu Song turned his head to look at him, "Provoking me? Isn't it time for you to beg for mercy?"
Wen Fengxuan paused, pressed his fingers down hard, and spoke in a slower tone, "I'm just worried that you won't be able to get out of bed tomorrow and delay things."
Zhu Song said, "Then you don't need to worry. I've been very free lately. Not to mention tomorrow, I can even stay in bed for three days and three nights without any problem."
Wen Fengxuan withdrew his hand and stood up to leave, but Zhu Song stopped him and asked, "Are you scared already?"
Wen Fengxuan's legs were shaking, but he still spoke firmly, "Who's scared? I just remembered that my door is still open."
Listening to his lame lies, Zhu Song was in a good mood. "I was just kidding. I'll go and lock it up for you. Stay with me and lie down for a while."
Wen Fengxuan held him down and said, "It's your territory anyway. It doesn't matter whether it's closed or not."
Zhu Song knew that Wen Fengxuan was very concerned about his reputation, so he didn't say anything and just went down the slope. "That makes sense."
Wen Fengxuan still held up his head and looked at him as before, reaching out and stroking his eyebrows back and forth, "Unhappy?"
Zhu Song said casually: "You can see this?"
Wen Fengxuan snorted arrogantly, "I'm not a fool, how can I not see it's so obvious?"
Zhu Song frowned and smiled, "Since you can see it, why is someone so aggressive right from the start and didn't even try to comfort me first?"
Wen Fengxuan raised his hand and placed his thin sleeve across Zhu Song's face. "I thought someone would forget all the mundane things once they saw me."
The thin Feiyun gauze, as light as a cicada's wing, cast a layer of ethereal fairy air on Wen Fengxuan. Zhu Song reached out and gently stroked his face.
"I've forgotten now."
Wen Fengxuan leaned over and kissed her.
Zhu Song pushed him down.
The fight lasted until dawn, and Zhu Song finally washed the unconscious Wen Fengxuan and carried him back to his own room.
Zhu Song had originally planned to catch up on some sleep when the bailiffs from the Dali Temple came and said, "Sir, we've received a report that bandits have appeared on Xiyang Mountain and have abducted Princess Jin and Uncle Chen's family."
Zhu Song was very shocked. Not to mention that this was the capital city, there was Xiangguo Temple not far in front of Xiyang Mountain. There were people coming and going, so how could there be bandits?
"What's going on now?"
Zhu Song hurriedly followed the yamen runner out the door. The yamen runner said, "The situation is still unclear. It was the princess's personal maid who reported the case. She said that the princess was not feeling so bad yesterday, so she wanted to go to Xiangguo Temple to pray for blessings. She didn't dare to go alone, so she asked Chen Guojiu and his family to accompany her.
They left home very early today, before daybreak, and were captured by bandits when they reached Xiyang Mountain. She barely escaped and reported the crime."
Zhu Song frowned when he heard this, but no matter what, he had to make sure the princess was safe first.
Zhu Song asked the yamen runners to go back to the Dali Temple to ask for help, and he rushed there first.
When Zhu Song arrived at Xiyang Mountain on horseback, thick smoke was billowing in the mountain. When Zhu Song arrived at the fire site, he saw Princess Jin sitting under an ancient tree in a daze, with disheveled hair and a distracted mind. The thick smoke was drifting out of a cave not far away.
Zhu Song hurried over and asked, "Princess, how are you?"
Princess Jin raised her eyes to look at him, her empty gaze slowly coming back to life, tears falling silently. She did not speak, but just cried silently with an expressionless face.
Zhu Song squatted down and asked with a worried look on his face, "Princess, are you hurt?"
Princess Jin wiped away her tears and replied in a deep voice, "No."
Zhu Song turned his head to look at the cave, "Then you sit here for a while, I'll go over and take a look."
Princess Jin nodded, and Zhu Song stood up and walked towards the cave.
The fire was set inside the cave. As soon as he walked in, the thick smoke stung his eyes. Zhu Song bent down and stood at the entrance of the cave. The cave was already dark, and with the thick smoke, he couldn't see anything clearly.
Zhu Song called out, "Is anyone there?"
A faint voice came from the dark cave, "Yes... yes..."
His throat hoarse from the smoke, Zhu Song couldn't tell who it was. He groped his way to the sound and pulled someone over. Zhu Song carried him out of the cave, and only then did he see clearly that the man with a face covered in black ash was Chen Guojiu.
He is barely breathing and won't live long.
As soon as the two appeared, Princess Jin looked over. Uncle Chen pointed at her with his burning finger, very excited, "It was her, it was this bitch who hurt me."
At this moment, the runners from the Dali Temple rushed over, and the sound of horse hooves completely drowned out Chen Guojiu's voice.
Zhu Song looked at Princess Jin in confusion, but Princess Jin looked away and didn't look at him.
Uncle Chen held Zhu Song's hand, and with a voice so low and excited that it was damaged by smoke, he said, "You must tell the prince that she has recovered her memory. She has recovered her memory."
The bailiffs came over and Zhu Song ordered, "Send the princess back to the palace."
"yes."
Several yamen runners stepped forward, "Princess, please."
Princess Jin looked at Zhu Song seriously, then stood up and left.
Zhu Song ordered the other yamen runners, "See if there are any other people in the cave."
"yes."
The remaining yamen runners all rushed into the cave. Zhu Song carried Uncle Chen to the spot where Princess Jin had been sitting and asked, "Who is she?"
Uncle Chen answered irrelevantly, "She came here to avenge the Lin family."
The long-awaited answer was right before his eyes. Zhu Song suppressed his excitement and asked, "She is seeking revenge for the Lin family. Why would she want to kill you?"
Uncle Chen shook his head, "I don't know, I don't know." After a while, he changed his tone and said, "I shouldn't have brought Lin Feng back. I shouldn't have saved him."
Zhu Song then learned part of the truth from Chen Guojiu.
Three years after the Lin family tragedy, Chen Guojiu left the capital for business and returned very late. The carriage was moving so fast that it almost hit someone. Chen Guojiu was shaken and was already angry. He lifted the curtain and was about to curse when he saw a pitiful beggar.
Chen Guojiu felt sympathy for the man, but he already had a wife at home, so he placed the man in Zhuqingyuan on the outskirts of the city.
The man was handsome and simple-minded. Chen Guojiu was very happy when he was with him, and gradually the two of them got together.
Thirteen years passed like this.
Unexpectedly, the man fell seriously ill a few years ago. After waking up, he recovered his memory and said that he was Lin Feng from Shuyun Villa. He also asked him to help him get revenge.
Chen Guojiu has been trying hard to hide his identity over the years. Even if he doesn't help, as long as he carefully investigates Lin Feng's whereabouts over the years, his identity will definitely be revealed, and what happened to him in the past thirteen years will also be revealed.
So Chen Guojiu had no choice but to kill him.
But no one expected that Lin Feng was not dead, and he caused such a big incident in the capital, and everyone knew about it.
Originally, Chen Guojiu thought that as long as he didn't tell anyone about him, he would let him go. But the Dali Temple didn't let him go. They actually found out about Zhuqingyuan, so he couldn't let him go.
Uncle Chen killed Lin Feng and let the housekeeper take the blame. I thought the matter was over, but I didn't expect that there were still survivors in the Lin family.
Zhu Song asked in a deep voice, "Who killed the Lin family members?"
Uncle Chen shook his head, "I don't know, I really don't know. I just regret it now. I shouldn't have saved Lin Feng back then, and it hurt our family." Then he emphasized to Zhu Song, "You must tell the prince that the bitch is crazy and will definitely harm the prince."
Zhu Song asked, "Why would she harm the prince?"
Chen Guojiu screamed in his hoarse voice, "Because she is crazy, she is crazy."
Zhu Song knew that he could not get any more useful information from Chen Guojiu, so he asked, "How did you kill Lin Feng?"
The Dali Temple was in a state of utter chaos at the time, and Zhu Song still hasn't figured out how Chen Guojiu managed to kill Lin Feng so quietly.
As the man was about to die, Uncle Chen simply told him, "In order to protect Lin Feng, you ordered that Lin Feng's bowls and chopsticks be used separately. My secret guards sneaked into the Dali Temple at night, lowered spiders from the roof, and released venom into the bottom of the cup. If he ate or drank, he would be poisoned to death."
Zhu Song suddenly realized that this was the case. He was too clever for his own good.
Seeing Zhu Song's guilty expression, Uncle Chen said to him, "Master Zhu, don't feel guilty. Even if this trick doesn't work, I have other tricks."
Zhu Song's face darkened. "There's no need to elaborate on Uncle Chen's cruelty."
At this time, the yamen runner came over to report, "Sir, we have completed the inventory. All twelve people in the cave are dead."
The yamen runner didn't lower his voice, and Zhu Song and Chen Guojiu heard it clearly. Chen Guojiu couldn't catch his breath, so he grabbed Zhu Song's hand and said with a groaning sound, "Tell... Tell the prince..."
Before he could finish his words, his hand dropped.
The yamen runner then corrected his statement, "The death toll is now thirteen."
Chen Guojiu's fingers moved slightly, and the yamen runner looked at him with surprise and a little fear, "Sir."
Zhu Song reached out and felt Chen Guojiu's breath, "Oh, dead."
The bailiff breathed a sigh of relief.
This incident caused a huge uproar in the court. Emperor Liang ordered the Dali Temple, Jingzhao Prefecture, and the Ministry of Justice to hold a joint trial and must catch the murderer.
The bodies of the Chen family are now kept in the Dali Temple. After examination by the coroner, it was determined that they were first drugged and then suffocated to death by the thick smoke.
The only survivor, Princess Jin, was so frightened that she fell ill after returning home. In addition, she had just become pregnant, so no one dared to ask her what happened.
But according to the princess's maid Xiaotao, they smelled a strange floral fragrance when they reached Xiyang Mountain. She was in a hurry to pee and went to the toilet in the woods. Before she came back, she heard a hurried sound. Then she saw the princess running towards her in a hurry, asking her to go back to the Dali Temple to report the case. The princess herself was hiding in the woods due to health reasons.
Xiao Tao didn't know what happened afterwards. In addition, Princess Jin developed a high fever when she returned home and she hasn't woken up yet. She didn't ask what happened afterwards.
The incident eventually turned into a manhunt for the bandits, but after three days of searching, not a single one was found. However, such a serious case couldn't be ignored, so everyone discussed it and decided to have three departments take turns searching for the bandits, one a day at a time, to keep it under wraps.
Zhu Song knew that there would be no results in this matter, so he just pretended to cooperate. When Emperor Liang asked about the progress, they were all scolded and that was it.
Five days later, the person Zhu Song sent to Jizhou came back. To be exact, the person did not come back, only a verbal message came back.
It happened to be Zhu Song's turn to go to Xiyang Mountain that day. He stayed there for a whole day. There were many mosquitoes and the sun was very strong. He couldn't even hide under the trees for shade. When it was finally time to get off duty, Zhu Song and his men quickly finished work.
As soon as I arrived at the city gate, I heard the gate guard say to a middle-aged man in plain clothes: "That is Lord Zhu Song of the Dali Temple."
Zhu Song asked, "What's the matter?"
The guard replied, "This man came from Xiliu Village and said he had something important to tell you, my Lord."
Zhu Song looked at the man. The man walked up and handed him a waist badge. Zhu Song recognized it as belonging to his trusted confidant who had been sent to Jizhou. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "Follow me back to the Dali Temple."
The man responded respectfully.
Zhu Song brought the man back to the Dali Temple. After dismissing his attendants, he asked, "Where is the person who gave you the badge?"
The man replied, "Dead."
Zhu Song frowned after hearing this and said, "Tell me in detail."
The man's name is Zhang Linxing, a farmer from Xiliu Village. He was sleeping at home late last night when he suddenly heard a rapid knock on the door. He opened the door and saw a man covered in blood lying at his door.
The man handed the badge to Zhang Linxing and said only one sentence, "Go to the Dali Temple to find Master Zhu Songzhu and tell him that it is Xue Caining."
He died after saying this.
Zhu Song frowned even more tightly when he heard this. It turned out to be Xue Caining?
"Where is his body?"
Zhang Linxing replied, "Still at my home."
"take me."
Zhu Song and his men rushed to Zhang Linxing's home, and just as Zhang Linxing said, the body was in his home.
Zhu Song walked over and looked at him with his eyes open, "I know everything you said." Then he reached out and closed his eyes.
Zhu Song brought his confidant back to the Dali Temple. After examination, it was found that his body was covered with knife wounds. The oldest wounds had already scabbed over. It was estimated that the confidant had been injured for four or five days. This meant that he had been chased all the way since he left Jizhou, and the others were probably dead as well.
It was obvious who did it. Zhu Song clenched his hands and went to see Xue Caining.
In the Jizhou case, Duan Zhenghong was sentenced to life imprisonment, but his family members were sentenced to death later in the autumn, including Xue Caining.
Duan Zhenghong was imprisoned in the Dali Temple, and the rest of the people were imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice prison.
Zhu Song had always had a good relationship with the Minister of Justice. Recently, because of the Chen family's affairs, they were in the same boat and had become even closer. He smoothly brought Xue Caining back to the Dali Temple.
Xue Caining's face was disfigured, and she was ostracized in prison. In just a month or two, she became emaciated. Her skin was pale, her eyes were lifeless, and she looked like a living corpse.
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