Chapter 66 Are you waiting for me?
Early morning, in the Songtao Courtyard of the Chengde Marquis's Residence.
With a loud "bang," the cup was smashed to the ground.
"Young Master has been missing for two nights and hasn't returned, and you're only telling me now?!"
Shen Yao was furious, while Chen Qiurong was extremely anxious.
"My lord, Hui'er has difficulty walking, where can he possibly go?"
The servants of Songtao Courtyard knelt in several rows, trembling with fear. One of them stammered, "Young Master left on his own the night before last. It seems he took a carriage when he left. As for where he went... I dare not ask."
Wherever their master is going, unless the master himself tells them, what right do servants have to ask questions?
Therefore, when Shen Linhui left, the others in Songtao Courtyard naturally dared not ask any questions.
"Report to the authorities!"
"This matter must be reported to the authorities!"
He hasn't returned for two days and two nights, and there's not a single word from him. This matter is definitely not that simple.
Chen Qiurong was restless, feeling as if a huge stone was lodged in her heart.
Shen Yao also felt that this matter could not be delayed any longer. If Shen Linhui were alive and kicking, it would be fine, but he had difficulty walking. If something really happened to him, he would probably have a hard time escaping on his own.
It would be better to report to the authorities and find someone as soon as possible.
Thinking this, Shen Yao and Chen Qiurong got up to go to the Jingzhao Prefecture.
No sooner had they stepped down the stairs than Butler Liu rushed in, looking flustered.
"My lord, something terrible has happened!"
Steward Liu has been in the Marquis's mansion for so many years and has seen all kinds of storms. If something can make him so panicked, it must be something big.
Shen Yao's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up inside him.
"what happen?"
Steward Liu stumbled and almost fell at Shen Yao's feet, his expression sorrowful. "My lord, the Duke has arrived."
"He brought...brought...the young master..."
The corpse.
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yao and Chen Qiurong had already bypassed him and strode out.
"Lord!"
Butler Liu had no choice but to get up and run over quickly.
In the front courtyard of the Chengde Marquis's residence, servants stood scrambling to one side, each with a look of fear on their faces.
Shen You and Shen Xiangning stood under the eaves, their expressions indifferent.
Chu Xiao, dressed in a dark, fitted outfit, stood tall in the courtyard.
Beside him was a stretcher covered with a white cloth.
This is the scene that Shen Yao and Chen Qiurong saw when they turned from the moon gate.
Both of them paused, their incredulous gazes sweeping around the courtyard before returning to the white cloth.
Tears streamed down Chen Qiurong's face. "Impossible...impossible..."
She couldn't believe it, and even subconsciously took a step back, only to be supported by her personal maid who rushed over.
With heavy steps, Shen Yao walked to the stretcher, looked at Chu Xiao, and asked with difficulty, "Duke Zhenguo, what does this mean?"
Chu Xiao stated frankly, "When we were suppressing the bandits in the early morning and had captured them all, we discovered that there was actually a corpse hidden near the woodshed in the backyard of the bandit stronghold."
"It is your son, Shen Linhui."
"What..." Shen Yao swayed, but fortunately, Butler Liu arrived in time to support him.
"How is this possible... how is this possible..."
Shen Yao kept shaking his head, finding it hard to accept.
Not far away, Chen Qiurong could no longer hold back when she heard the name "Chen Linhui" and burst into tears, completely losing her former demeanor as the mistress of the Marquis's mansion.
"My Hui'er! No!"
Unwilling to believe it, she rushed over from the side and ripped off the white sheet.
The body on the stretcher was exposed.
Despite his face being covered in blood, it was still recognizable that he was indeed Shen Linhui.
His body was covered in blood, and his once magnificent robes were now tattered beyond recognition, riddled with knife wounds of all sizes.
"Hui'er!"
"No!"
Chen Qiurong collapsed in tears beside the corpse. No one in the courtyard spoke; only her heart-wrenching cries echoed through the air.
"Hui'er!"
Tears welled up in Shen Yao's eyes. He took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. "Lord Duke, what exactly happened?"
"What's going on?" Chu Xiao's eyes were frighteningly cold. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Lord Marquis?"
"The Jingzhao Prefecture has no records of Shen Linhui's disappearance registered in the Chengde Marquis's residence."
"I was ordered to suppress the bandits. Why did Shen Linhui end up in the bandit stronghold? Doesn't Your Excellency think you owe the Emperor an explanation?"
"If it is found that they are related to bandits, then the plaque of the Chengde Marquis's Mansion will probably have to be taken down."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yao broke out in a cold sweat amidst his grief.
He didn't even have time to consider his grief over losing his son, and hurriedly said, "Lord Duke, there must be some misunderstanding."
"Our son has been missing for two days, and we just happened to be planning to report him missing to the Jingzhao Prefecture today."
He glanced at the gruesome death of Shen Linhui, "...Please tell me, Duke, was my son murdered?"
Chu Xiao didn't intend to hide it from him and said frankly, "Shen Linhui had multiple knife wounds on his body. He was hacked to death by bandits from Xishan."
"Waaaaah."
"Hui'er!"
Chen Qiurong was almost crying herself to death. Chen Xiangning pursed her lips, walked down the steps, gestured to the servants to cover her with a white cloth, and then helped Chen Qiurong up.
"Go find the royal physician."
If Chen Qiurong continues to cry, she might faint. It's better to have the royal physician come over just in case.
"I will investigate why Shen Linhui appeared in the Xishan bandit stronghold."
"Shen Linhui's body has undergone an autopsy and is now being returned to your Chengde Marquis's residence. However, if any investigation is needed in the future, everyone in the Marquis's residence will need to cooperate."
“That’s natural,” Shen Yao agreed, at a loss for words.
Having said what he needed to say, Chu Xiao left with the Criminal Investigation Department personnel.
Before leaving, he subconsciously looked up and his gaze fell on the girl not far away.
Shen You stood under the corridor, dressed in a plain white dress, with nothing in her hair except a yellow jade osmanthus hairpin.
The clouds are thick today, so the sun is not visible.
As the cold winter wind blew, the girl's skirt swayed gracefully, appearing out of place amidst the somber and sorrowful atmosphere.
Shen You exchanged a glance with him, then looked away and turned to walk towards Wen Gui Courtyard.
Chu Xiao also withdrew his gaze and strode away from the Marquis's residence.
Behind him, the gates of the Marquis's mansion slowly closed, but Chen Qiurong's sobs continued unabated.
Shen Yao stood in the middle of the garden, suddenly looking as if he had aged ten years, his expression blank, until Shen Xiangning called out "Father" and brought him back to his senses.
"Butler Liu, prepare for the young master's funeral arrangements."
"yes."
——
Inside the main room of Wen Gui Courtyard.
The door was tightly closed.
Shen You, Zi Teng, Lu Luo, and Granny Zhao were all present.
Two maids accompanied Shen You to the front courtyard, where they naturally witnessed Shen Linhui's death. Looking back now, it was indeed quite horrifying.
But given the many bad things Shen Linhui had done in the past, they didn't feel sad about his death.
Although they were not sad, the entire Marquis's mansion was now shrouded in grief, so they naturally had to keep a low profile.
Granny Zhao sighed, "This child, one wrong step leads to another."
In the end, good and evil will be rewarded accordingly.
Evil people will be punished by other evil people.
The bandits of Xishan are retribution for the wrongdoings Shen Linhui committed in the past.
His gruesome death was well-deserved.
Shen You sat to the side, her lips pressed tightly together, without saying a word.
I wonder what he's thinking.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door.
She snapped out of her daze, exchanged a glance with Granny Zhao, who warily raised her voice and asked, "Who?"
A furtive voice came from outside; it was Mu Geng.
"Miss Shen, the lord sent me to deliver medicinal food to you."
Sending medicinal meals...
Green Ivy got up and went to open the door, and Shen You followed her.
She glanced behind Mu Geng and was about to speak when she heard Mu Geng say, "My lord said there was something unclean in the front courtyard today, so he told me to climb over the wall to get in."
Fortunately, he had some skill, which prevented the medicinal food from spilling.
Shen You paused for a moment, feeling both amused and exasperated.
She asked in a low voice, "Where is he?"
Mu Geng's eyes lit up, and he immediately realized, "You're asking about the lord, aren't you!"
"He needs to report back to the Emperor about the case in Xishan, and he has already entered the palace."
That's why the task of delivering the medicinal food fell to him.
Otherwise, I guess his master would want to climb over the wall himself.
Shen You nodded knowingly, "Where did you climb in from?"
Mu Geng chuckled foolishly, pointing to a spot on the wall of Wen Gui Courtyard, "I climbed over from there."
Shen You then said, "Climbing over the wall is not a good habit. From now on, come in through the front gate, and no one will dare to say anything."
"Don't pick up your master's bad habits."
Mu Geng scratched the back of his head, replied "Okay," then turned around, took a few quick steps, and tiptoed.
Where did they come in from, and where did they go out from?
Shen You withdrew his gaze and shook his head helplessly.
——
As evening approached, white mourning clothes were hung inside and outside the Chengde Marquis's residence.
The sky was overcast, contrasting sharply with the white expanse as far as the eye could see.
The candlelight was warm and yellow, but the Marquis's mansion was shrouded in sorrow.
The mourning hall was set up in a side hall, and Chen Qiurong's cries could be heard throughout several nearby courtyards.
Because she was worried about Chen Xiangning, Shen You decided to go to the mourning hall to see her.
The servants were busy running around. Chen Qiurong had just fainted from crying and had been helped back home. Now that she had woken up, she had someone help her back.
And so, they bumped into Shen You.
In just a few short hours, Chen Qiurong seemed to have aged considerably, and her eyes were swollen like walnuts.
She showed no reaction when she saw Shen Youshi, her empty eyes ignoring her. When she looked at the memorial tablet in the mourning hall, tears fell again.
Chen Xiangning came out to help her, her gaze meeting Shen You's.
However, this brief exchange of glances suddenly agitated Chen Qiurong, who was standing to the side.
She turned around and reached out to shove Shen You, saying, "Get out!"
"Hui'er definitely doesn't want to see you!"
Since the jewelry theft, nothing that happened to Shen Linhui has had a good outcome.
The jewelry incident was closely related to Shen You, and Chen Qiurong already disliked Shen You, so she didn't want to give her any kind look in front of Shen Linhui's mourning hall.
"Mother!" Shen Xiangning quickly grabbed her, looking apologetically at Shen You, "Elder sister, are you alright?"
Shen You shook her head. "I'm fine."
She didn't care what Chen Qiurong's attitude was towards her; she was just worried about Chen Xiangning.
Now that I've seen her and confirmed that she's alright, I'm relieved.
Because she didn't stay in the mourning hall any longer, she only stood there for a while before turning around and returning to Wen Gui Courtyard.
After bathing, Shen You, dressed in her undergarments and with a cloak draped over her shoulders, went to the window.
The room was warm from the underfloor heating, so even though a slight draft of cold air was blowing in from the window, it didn't feel uncomfortable.
She stood by the window for a while, lost in thought.
After a moment, he reached out to close the window completely.
However, as soon as she made a move, a large hand blocked her way.
The man carried the chill of the outside air, yet his gaze towards her remained burning.
He whispered, "Shen You, were you waiting for me?"
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