Chapter 78 Clearly Holding a Grudge
The lanterns under the corridor of Yaoguang Garden at the end of the Xu hour had already been lit, and the warm yellow light shone through the gauze cover onto the stone slabs, casting the shadows of several people.
As Pei Zhiwei, Xiao Yunzhan, and Xie Ji stepped into the courtyard, they saw Pei Lin sitting at his desk flipping through case files, his pen still resting on the page.
Seeing them come in, he put down his pen, looked up and said, "I just heard from Steward Lin that you're back. I already know that Xu Ren was killed in public by Xu Li."
Pei Zhiwei walked to the table and sat down, while Xiao Yunzhan stood next to her.
Xie Ji crossed his arms and leaned against a pillar, his fingertips unconsciously scratching at the paint surface until Xiao Yunzhan glanced at him, at which point he abruptly stopped.
"There was quite a commotion at the Xu residence today."
Pei Zhiwei spoke first, recounting how she had unexpectedly rescued Hanyan at the Yihong Courtyard, witnessed Xu Ren kill Liu Shi and kidnap Wang Shi at the Xu residence, and finally saw Xu Li commit the murders.
Of course, the focus was on why Xu Ren didn't run away, a question that puzzled her greatly.
Finally, he recounted all the clues Lu Fanghui from Yu Hu Chun had given them, along with his own speculations.
Pei Lin tapped his fingertips lightly on the edge of the table, his brows furrowed slightly. After pondering for a while, he said, "We can't verify the truth of Lu Fanghui's words right now, but in the current situation, having more clues is better than being stuck in one place."
At least we know which direction to investigate in, so it's not a bad thing.
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Xie Ji standing beside him with a tense expression, his fingers unconsciously digging into the pillar, clearly agitated by the possibility of Lu Fang pointing back.
Pei Lin softened his tone and looked at Xie Ji: "Don't be too hasty."
Whether Wang's intention is to deal with Cui Yanwu, or whether her family behind her wants to bring down the Cui family, it is not something that can be accomplished overnight.
The Cui family is a respectable and prestigious family; how could anyone just take action against them?
We can't let them throw us off balance. Right now, the most important thing is to thoroughly investigate the Xu family's case.
Once the case is solved, the hidden connections behind it will naturally come to light.
Xie Ji listened, scratched his head, and the tense lines on his face softened a bit.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if trying to squeeze out the tightness in his chest, before putting on his usual carefree smile again.
"Uncle Pei is right, I was just too worried and confused."
Focus on the case first; put everything else aside for now.
Pei Zhiwei suddenly stopped talking, looked up at Pei Lin and Xiao Yunzhan, and a possibility began to emerge in her mind.
She bit her lip and pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "What do you say..."
Could the Xu family's affairs be related to the purpose of our trip?
Xiao Yunzhan and Pei Lin exchanged a glance, also considering the possibility, but because they couldn't quite grasp the underlying logic, they didn't speak immediately.
Before they could even speak, Xie Ji suddenly stretched, the movement so large it almost knocked over the stool next to him, exclaiming, "Ouch, I'm exhausted!"
Dealing with Old Man Lu just now almost drove me crazy. I need to hurry back to my room to rest and recharge so I can fight that Madam Xu with Liu Jingchang again tomorrow!
As he spoke, he suddenly remembered, "Oh right, I'll send a message to find my uncle and bring him back. I'll have to interrogate him properly then!"
Haha, what goes around comes around... Who knew I'd be the one interrogating him?
Without waiting for anyone else's reaction, he respectfully bowed to Pei Lin as a junior, then turned and headed towards the guest room, leaving behind only a hurried figure.
Pei Lin watched his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips, and praised, "The son that Lord Xie raised is indeed a wise man."
Pei Zhiwei was taken aback, feeling a little surprised.
She asked so directly just now, she never intended to hide it from Xie Ji.
I thought that even if he didn't ask what the "purpose of this trip" was, he would at least listen in, but to my surprise, he simply left.
"I thought he would at least stay and listen to us for a bit, but I didn't expect him to leave so quickly."
Xiao Yunzhan wasn't surprised at all, and said with a smile, "That's because you don't understand Xie Ji."
Don't let his unreliable nature fool you; in a place like Beijing where everyone is shrewd and calculating, he thrives precisely because of his unreliability.
To be able to live so 'carefree' amidst a bunch of unpleasant things, like him, is a skill in itself.
Pei Zhiwei thought about it and couldn't help but laugh: "Now that you mention it, I think that's quite rare about him."
Pei Lin then took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Yunzhan, saying, "Princess Zhaohua has sent a letter, and she specifically instructed that whoever receives it first can read it first."
I opened it and took a look first.
The princess said that the Gu family has already clashed with the Zhang family.
She knew we had important business on this trip, and although she didn't know the specific purpose, she understood what you said when you left.
Since she was going to let the two families fight, she didn't stand idly by and added fuel to the fire.
At this point, Pei Lin couldn't help but laugh.
"The princess also joked in the letter that after being a dignified and virtuous princess for half her life, she had now tried being willful and domineering, and found that living like this was much easier."
It's as if I forced myself to suffer a lot of hardship in the past for nothing.
Xiao Yunzhan took the letter, glanced at it, and sighed helplessly.
“I didn’t want her to get involved. If she hadn’t been involved, I was afraid she would have gotten into trouble because of the Gu family. But I didn’t expect her to take action first.”
Pei Lin patted his shoulder and comforted him, "The Gu family is her husband's family. Even if we want to keep it a secret, she will find out sooner or later."
Besides, what she's doing now might not be a bad thing.
If the princess really wasn't involved in those sordid affairs, her meddling would only make the fire burn even brighter, throwing those hiding behind the scenes into disarray.
As for Zhiwei's speculation, it's not impossible.
The Xu family has been in business for generations, with businesses all over the country, and they are also imperial merchants, so there must be a lot of shady dealings involved.
But as I said before, we can't panic. We need to figure out the case first, and then many things will gradually come to light.
Xiao Yunzhan nodded, knowing in his heart that Pei Lin was right.
"From the moment we left Beijing until now, all the signs indicate that the other side is much more ruthless than I expected. This is all we can do now."
The group chatted for a while about the details of the investigation the next day before returning to their rooms to rest.
The next morning, after having breakfast, the three drove to the entrance of the county government office.
The yamen runners saw the Yaoguangyuan sign on the carriage from afar and hurried over to greet it.
He smiled and said, "Your Highness, Madam Pei, Prince Xie, and Lord Liu are waiting in the main hall. They said you can come in directly upon your arrival."
Upon entering the main hall, one sees Liu Jingchang sitting behind a desk, his eyes bloodshot, clearly having not slept all night.
He sat upright, holding a scroll in each hand, his eyes darting back and forth comparing them, showing considerable energy.
Seeing them enter, Liu Jingchang put down the case file, stood up and said, "You've finally arrived. I have something to tell you."
He gestured for them to sit down, then had tea brought over before speaking: "Last night I questioned each of the servants in the Xu residence, and none of them said that Xu Ren had acted strangely before the incident."
There was something rather unusual. The servants all said that Xu Ren usually treated Wang Shi with great respect, and he would do whatever she said.
Because Wang had been married into the Xu family for over twenty years without having children, people privately speculated that Xu Ren might be trying to appease Wang and register himself under her name.
But these were all thoughts from the first few years. After all, no one can maintain the same facade for twenty years, pretending flawlessly in front of others and behind their backs.
Therefore, the servants later came to believe that Xu Ren truly respected Lady Wang.
This time, he not only slapped Wang Shi, but also held her hostage with a knife. Everyone in the mansion found it strange, and no one could understand why he would suddenly do such a thing.
Pei Zhiwei held the teacup and took a small sip.
Yesterday, during their interrogation of Liu Yang, they learned that Xu Ren harbored ulterior motives towards Wang Shi, but they still couldn't understand why he would suddenly treat Wang Shi this way.
She didn't interrupt Liu Jingchang and continued listening.
“And then there’s Wang’s position in the Xu family,” Liu Jingchang continued.
"She came from a prominent family, and Xu Fengyan always respected her. As soon as she married into the family, she secured her position as the matriarch."
She had the final say on all matters, big and small, within the Xu family. Xu Fengyan never asked about or interfered with purchasing, servant scheduling, or the rules for the concubines.
No matter how arrogant the concubines in the mansion were, as long as Madam Wang took action to punish them, Xu Fengyan always stood by her side and never uttered a word in rebuttal.
Chen Gong managed the affairs of the outer residence with Xu Fengyan, while the inner residence was managed by Wang Shi and Wang Heng because of Wang Heng's trust in her.
Everyone in the manor knew that what Wang Heng said was no different from what Wang Shi said.
Upon hearing the name "Wang Heng," Xiao Yunzhan's expression darkened, and he reminded him, "We must keep a close eye on Wang Heng and make sure nothing happens to him."
He definitely hasn't revealed many crucial things; if he dies, this case will be much more difficult.
Liu Jingchang smirked, revealing a perfectly standard forced smile, and gritted his teeth as he said, "Don't worry, I've already made arrangements."
Isn't torture forbidden?
I instructed the matrons in the manor to use the same method they used to bind those suicidal women, binding him tightly with wide cloth straps.
I even assigned my trusted men to watch over him in shifts, feeding him leftovers mixed with his rice to ensure he wouldn't cause any trouble.
Xie Ji couldn't help but laugh as he listened: "Oh my, I didn't realize you were so vengeful, Lord Liu."
If an ordinary man heard this, he would definitely blush and argue with Xie Ji.
But to everyone's surprise, Liu Jingchang actually let out a cold snort.
He said righteously, "What kind of man can't even remember a grudge?"
"They dare to openly obstruct the investigation under Liu's jurisdiction. If I don't get to the bottom of this case, I might as well resign from this official post and avoid bringing shame upon my ancestors."
Pei Zhiwei was stunned for a moment when she heard this, then slowly raised her thumb, feeling a sense of satisfaction.
"Lord Liu's words are the most magnanimous I have ever heard."
That's right. Holding grudges openly is far better than pretending to be magnanimous.
Xie Ji followed suit, bowing to Liu Jingchang and saying with a smile, "I have learned a lot from what you said, Lord Liu!"
From now on, if anyone calls me petty, I'll retort like that, so they won't think I'm easy to bully.
Liu Jingchang was amused by the two of them and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, stop teasing me."
"You've come today because of yesterday's interrogation of Liu Yang. What clues did you find?"
Xiao Yunzhan pondered for a moment and said, "It wasn't found out during the interrogation of Liu Yang."
However, I've discovered some things that I need to verify with Xu Li, so I'd like to interrogate him first.
Liu Jingchang immediately replied, "No problem, I'll have someone bring him here right away."
As he spoke, he called out to the door, "Go and bring Xu Li to the main hall!"
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