Chapter 40 Chapter 40 Fang Ying was horrified when she heard this - first...
Fang Ying was horrified when she heard this - could there be another story behind the death of the late crown prince?
Zhou Congshan didn't say much, but stood up and said, "I'm going to go out and meet her. Please sit for a while and wait for me."
The sound of a door opening and closing could be heard outside. Fang Ying couldn't help but whisper a warning, "This person's arrival is suspicious. Don't believe anything he says..."
"I know." Zhou Congshan's usually nonchalant eyes suddenly took on a sharp edge. "Someone must be losing their temper."
After she finished speaking, she let out a light breath, straightened her back, and with the air of a daughter of a wealthy family, she slowly walked to the outer room.
The quiet room in Xiangguo Temple is simply furnished. The doors, windows, corridors and pillars are uncarved and only painted with varnish. It is very plain. But in the word "quiet", great effort has been put into it. Even the partition between the inside and the outside is a real wall. If it were not for a door with a bamboo curtain hanging on it, Fang Ying in the inner room would probably not be able to hear any sound from the outside.
Even so, she could only hear fragments of words such as "drug residue", "swear on the lives of my family", "afraid", and "help" when the voices outside occasionally got louder.
But even these are enough to shock people - the former crown prince has been weak and sickly since childhood, and he fell ill after the death of his dearest grandmother, and eventually died of illness. Everyone thought it was fate, but if the palace servant outside said that there was something wrong with the former crown prince's medicine residue and he was poisoned to death, then from the palace to the court, who knows how many people would be buried with him.
Just as Fang Ying was thinking this, she heard crying outside. Her heart skipped a beat. After carefully identifying it, she realized it wasn't Zhou Congshan. She felt relieved and sat patiently for a while. Finally, she heard the sound of a door opening outside and the maid's urging, "Don't leave. Don't dawdle."
Her eyes fell on the bamboo curtain, and the next moment the curtain was lifted, and Zhou Congshan walked in with a cold face.
Then there was the sound of a door closing outside, and a maid came in to change the tea, reporting, "The person has been taken away."
Zhou Congshan nodded, asked the maid to go out, picked up the tea and took two sips, and suddenly two lines of tears flowed down.
Fang Ying had been staring at her. Seeing this, she hurried over to sit beside her, silently handed her a silk handkerchief, and then raised her hand to hold her shoulders.
Zhou Congshan covered his face with a silk handkerchief, leaned on Fang Ying's shoulder, sobbed softly, and said, "I have something to ask of you."
"Between you and me, what's the point of asking for favors? Just tell me if you have anything to say."
"This matter is different. It may be somewhat dangerous, and... I must ask your father for help."
"My dad?" Many thoughts raced through Fang Ying's mind. "Tell me about it."
"Yesterday, a body was fished out of the Bian River. Kaifeng Prefecture conducted an autopsy and determined the victim fell into the water accidentally. The body has been returned to the family. The deceased's name is Mo Hongzhao. I'd like to know the identities of the coroner who performed the autopsy and the officials who retrieved the body."
Fang Ying asked, "Is this person the same as Crown Prince Zhaoyi..."
Zhou Congshan interrupted her: "Don't ask anymore, just help me find out my name."
Fang Ying knew that she didn't want to get herself involved, but how could she feel at ease watching her fall into this bloody vortex alone?
"Even if I don't ask you, my dad will have to ask me why I'm investigating this. I don't even know what the deceased did for a living, so how can I tell my dad? Even if my dad doesn't care and tells me, I can still learn about this person's background from him. Can you hide it from me?"
Zhou Congshan thought for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "I was confused. Mo Hongzhao was the apprentice of the imperial physician Wen Zuoqian. I wonder if you've heard that when my cousin passed away, an imperial physician named Yang Sheng committed suicide in gratitude."
"I heard that he was afraid of being blamed by the government because he felt his medical skills were not good enough, so he committed suicide out of fear."
"Do you believe it?" Zhou Congshan asked first, but before Fang Ying could answer, he said, "Mo Hongzhao was originally an apprentice of Yang Sheng. After Yang Sheng's death, he switched to become an apprentice of Imperial Physician Wen."
The Crown Prince passed away, and the attending imperial physician committed suicide for no apparent reason. Three years later, the imperial physician's apprentice also drowned. It sounded suspicious indeed. Fang Ying nodded and agreed: "I will go back to my parents' home tomorrow."
"Don't worry." Zhou Congshan gave a sad smile, "He's been gone for almost three years."
Fang Ying felt sad. She raised her hand and hugged her friend, then asked, "Did that palace maid tell her about Mo Hongzhao? How did she know that?"
"They've met recently..." Zhou Congshan began, then suddenly realized what was happening. He pushed Fang Ying and said, "I've already told you not to ask. There's no benefit in getting involved."
"I won't get involved. I'll just help you determine if what the palace servant said is true."
"No." Zhou Congshan turned his head and stared at his friend, "Don't I know you? It would be strange if you could resist not getting involved."
"But if you won't even tell me, who else can I discuss this with? Your father is away at war, and I don't know when he'll be back. Are you going to investigate on your own?"
Zhou Congshan said calmly, "It's because my father isn't around that I can investigate freely. You don't have to worry about me. My grandmother left me some help, and my aunt has trusted confidants in the palace. I certainly don't believe everything the palace maid said just now, but some of the things she mentioned just happened to coincide with my suspicions, so I have to get to the bottom of it."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Fang Ying said, "It's good that you understand what's going on. The timing of this person's arrival is too good to be true. The emperor has just led two princes to the battlefield, and it's obvious that he wants to choose one of them... We must be more careful and don't let him be used as a pawn."
"What do you mean by us? It's none of your business. If you keep going like this, Kaifeng Prefecture won't need you anymore. I'll find someone else."
Why would Zhou Congshan talk to her when he could find someone else? "Alright, I get it. I won't get involved," Fang Ying reassured her. "Why look for someone else? Don't let it alarm the wrong people and cost them a few more lives."
"I'm glad you understand. Remember to tell your father that I'm just asking about this quietly, so don't tell anyone."
"Don't worry, my father was in charge of criminal cases in Yangzhou. There's no need to tell him about this. He understands it better than us. But you must remember my words, be cautious and don't be impulsive."
Zhou Congshan held Fang Ying's hand and said solemnly, "I will. If my cousin was truly murdered, how can I face my grandmother, my aunt, and his spirit in heaven if I don't find the real culprit and atonce for him?"
Fang Ying felt more at ease and asked, "What about the palace maids? How do you plan to deal with them?"
"Hide in the temple first. Don't worry about it. Go back. There's news..."
"If I have any news, I'll go to your house and tell you in person."
Zhou Congshan thought about it and finally nodded: "Okay."
After hearing such a thrilling palace secret, Fang Ying could not hide it anymore, but when she returned to see Li, she inadvertently revealed a bit of trance.
Li saw it and asked, "What's wrong? Are you worried?"
Fang Ying came back to her senses, smiled and shook her head: "No. I just heard from Congshan that her eldest son had caught a cold and had a fever, and I remembered that my second sister also gets sick a lot during this season."
"Children are weak and are prone to catching colds when the seasons change. You haven't been home for a while, right? Since you're worried about me, why not go back tomorrow to see me?"
Fang Ying agreed to it and sent someone to her parents' home to say hello when she returned to Ji's house from Xiangguo Temple. The next day, she greeted Li and got on the car to return to Fang's house early.
Father Fang Chengxun had already gone to the yamen, and only stepmother Pan was at home with the children. Fang Ying brought freshly made snacks from Ji's house and gave them to her younger sisters and brothers, and chatted with Pan for a while.
Her relationship with her stepmother had always been mediocre, and there was nothing much to say after the greetings. She wanted to go back to her old boudoir and have some private conversation with Fang Quan, but before she could open her mouth, Pan sent Fang Quan and her two siblings out to play, as if she had something to say.
"I know you're very sensible and never need your parents to worry about you, but..." Pan said uncomfortably, "As a parent, it's inevitable that I'm worried about you. Liu Lang has been back for over a month now, right? Are you guys still getting along?"
She spoke these words haltingly, with an awkward look on her face, as if someone had forced her to ask - strange, could it be her father who had told her to ask?
Fang Ying's relationship with her father was far from close. He had even considered sending her to Prince Yan's mansion before. Now, he suddenly thought of caring about whether she and Ji Yanlang would get along, which was ridiculous enough. He simply replied, "Not bad."
Pan's expression became even more embarrassed. "It's okay," she laughed dryly. "I was saying that for a young man from a noble family like Liu Lang, whose marriage is decided by the Duke and his wife, they would never let you down..."
Fang Ying couldn't bear to listen any longer and interrupted her, saying, "Yes, I haven't been wronged. Madam and Liu Lang have treated me very well. If father still has any concerns, I will tell him in person when he comes back."
"..." Pan was choked with a breath stuck in her chest. She couldn't say anything and could only smile awkwardly.
"I want to go to my original room and sit for a while. Mother is busy, so let Second Mother accompany me." Fang Ying didn't want to say a word to her and stood up directly.
Pan hurriedly got up and wanted to see him off, but Fang Ying refused and went out to ask Fang Quan to go to the east wing.
After the man left, Pan gradually came to her senses and couldn't help but blame her husband in her heart for asking such a question, which made Fang Ying feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. However, "Why is she so angry?" Pan muttered to the maid beside her, "I didn't say anything."
"Could it be that she has really been wronged?" the maid speculated quietly. "From the look on your face, it doesn't look like you're really on good terms with her."
Mrs. Pan nodded in agreement. "I think so too. I've heard a lot about Ji Liulang's deeds in Yangzhou. Alas, no wonder the master suddenly asked me to show some concern. It's not easy for you, aunt. Although you live a rich life, who knows how much you have suffered in your heart?"
Fang Ying, who was now sitting in Fang Quan's room in the east wing, was unaware of her stepmother's wishful sympathy. She looked around her sister's room, first sending out the people who usually served Fang Quan, and then asked, "What are all these boxes in? Why are they in your room?"
"Summer clothes, cool mats and other things." Fang Quan answered crisply, "Mother said the west wing can't hold them anymore."
"Then why not go to Fang Lang and Er Lang's place?"
"It's already crowded for the two of them to live in one room." Fang Quan noticed that her sister seemed unhappy, so she timidly reached out and pulled her sleeve. "Put it against the wall, it won't be a problem."
The east wing had three rooms. The middle hall was shared by the three siblings. The room inside was originally a bedroom, but it already had a kang and a bed, so how much space was left? Several large boxes were piled against the wall, and if there were two or three more people in the room, they would be crowded together.
Fang Ying was filled with anger, and suddenly felt that Ji Yanlang was right. The Fang family should indeed move to a bigger house sooner rather than later, otherwise Fang Quan might have to live in the servants' quarters in the west wing in a year or two!
-----------------------
The author has something to say: The red envelopes have been distributed~
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2021-01-02 02:17:14 and 2021-01-03 20:21:49~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 1 bottle of Encore Encore;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
