Chapter 486 Yunmeng Jianze, the Daily Scapegoat
Inside the quiet hall of the Control Yuan.
"I have seen this ring before."
Ouyang Rong was the first to break the silence.
Wei Shaoqi, Rong Zhen, and the others all turned to look at him.
Ouyang Rong said seriously:
"I have seen Zhu Lingxu wear this ring before; it must be something he wears close to his body."
Wang Lengran nodded: "That's right, it's something that Governor Zhu cherishes and doesn't give away easily."
Rongzhen asked:
"Zhu Yuheng was the eldest son of the Zhu family, so isn't it normal to find Zhu Lingxu's personal belongings on his body?"
Wei Shaoqi smiled, shook his head, and first turned to ask Ouyang Rong:
"After Zhu Yuheng led the vanguard troops out to war, did Chief Secretary Ouyang still see this jade ring on Zhu Lingxu's hands?"
Ouyang Rong's expression turned serious:
"On the day of the expedition, the city gate was opened by me. When we saw Zhu Yuheng off at the city gate, after Zhu Yuheng had gone far away, this jade ring was still in Zhu Lingxu's hand and was not given to Zhu Yuheng."
He turned to the crowd and asked in confusion:
"That's strange. Why would this ring appear at the location of Zhu Yuheng's body in Hongzhou? Could it have been sent there later?"
Wei Shaoqi couldn't help but glance at Ouyang Rong again:
“Prefect Ouyang’s observation is correct; Governor Wang and his men have also noticed this oddity.”
He nodded, then shook his head:
"It was indeed sent over later, but it wasn't sent by Zhu Lingxu's people."
"What does that mean?" everyone asked curiously.
Wei Shaoqi then asked:
"Your Excellency, Ouyang Lianghan, after Zhu Lingxu was beheaded at the city gate, wasn't it you who handled the matter?"
"That's right."
"It was handled by the two of us."
Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen exchanged a glance.
"I heard from Governor Wang that Zhu Lingxu had a black iron token with the character 'Wei' written on it at the time?"
"right."
Rong Zhen nodded: "It's from your Prince Wei's residence, right?"
"It is indeed from the Prince's residence, but..."
"But what?"
Wei Shaoqi spoke each word with a hint of gritted teeth:
"But it is my sixth brother's identity token, and I won't give it away easily."
"Are you sure it's your sixth brother's?"
“Confirmed. You must have already registered that token as evidence. Our Prince Wei’s Mansion also has some relevant records, and many people have seen it, which can be verified one by one.”
"good."
At this moment, Ouyang Rong frowned and asked with a puzzled expression:
"What does this mean? Why is the identity token of Young Master Wei's sixth brother in Zhu Lingxu's hands?"
"Yes, why would it end up in the hands of a complete stranger..."
Wei Shaoqi paced back and forth in the hall, muttering to himself, and sighed:
"Lady Historian, do you think there's any possibility..."
"Someone mediated and swapped them, which is why these two items ended up on the wrong person."
Rong Zhen frowned: "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, someone used this black iron token to exchange for Zhu Lingxu's personal jade ring."
"Who is it? Why is Zhu Lingxu willing to make this exchange?"
“He is my sixth brother.” Wei Shaoqi nodded. “Strictly speaking, he is an imposter sixth brother.”
"An imposter of the sixth brother?" The crowd looked on with curiosity.
Wei Shaoqi narrowed his eyes, took out a stack of letters from his pocket, and threw them on the table.
Tell the story in detail:
"Governor Wang should know something about this. There is a Persian merchant named Li Li who manages many businesses in Jiangnan for our Prince Wei's Mansion."
"He was also in Xunyang City at the time. According to a letter he sent back to the Prince's Mansion afterward, two nights before Zhu Lingxu organized his troops for the expedition, my sixth brother, Wei Shaoxuan, came to my door and asked Li Li to arrange a meeting between him and Zhu Lingxu."
Rongzhen spoke:
"You mean, this is a fake Wei Shaoxuan? He met Zhu Lingxu through Li Li, and then they exchanged personal tokens?"
"That's right."
Lin Cheng asked, "Why would the two of you exchange personal tokens out of the blue?"
Wei Shaoqi's expression remained unchanged:
"I don't know, but the reason is, of course, that we met too late, our feelings are deep, and we want to keep it as a memento. That's all."
Rong Zhen asked seriously:
"Why is your Wei family so certain that this Wei Shaoxuan is an imposter?"
"His words and actions were inconsistent."
Wei Shaoqi lowered his eyes and explained:
"My sixth brother went to Yunmengze with his master, Mr. Qiu, carrying the Ding Sword, to seek opportunities. He has been out of contact for a long time, so logically he should be unaware of Zhu Lingxu and the situation in Xunyang City."
"But when Li Li questioned him that day, he kept saying that he had met our Wei Wang Mansion's informant after leaving Yunmengze, and that's how he learned about the Jiangzhou matter. He also said that Mr. Qiu had already returned to Luoyang with the Dingjian sword."
"After investigation, it was found that he was lying; none of the people in our Prince Wei's Mansion had ever seen him."
"Later, my sixth brother and Mr. Qiu also failed to return for a long time, which further confirmed this point."
"Back in Xunyang City, the sixth brother who chatted privately with Zhu Lingxu in the middle of the night was an imposter!"
"This also explains why he exchanged tokens, and why the jade ring later ended up with Zhu Yuheng."
Wei Shaoqi stood up, pointing to the dried bloodstains on the jade ring, and said:
"This thief is actually the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower. He used Zhu Lingxu's token to deceive Zhu Yuheng, who was fighting on the front line. Zhu Yuheng trusted his father too much and fell into the trap, thus losing the vanguard.
"The so-called defection of the vanguard was a dead end from the very beginning; it was all a trick by this cunning and treacherous person!"
The entire room fell silent.
Rong Zhen, Ouyang Rong, and Lin Cheng exchanged glances.
Ouyang Rong's expression turned serious. After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand, frowned, and pointed out:
"But Zhu Yuheng shouldn't know Wei Shaoxuan, right? Just by bringing a token, is Zhu Yuheng really that easy to fool? Logically, something seems to be missing."
Lin Cheng nodded in agreement:
"That's right, and there's another question: how did that thief impersonate Wei Shaoxuan? What were his methods?"
"Of course, judging from the fact that he possesses Wei Shaoxuan's personal token and clothing, your family's sixth young master is probably in grave danger... Could it be some kind of disguise technique, or a sinister human skin mask from a sorcerer?"
"Good questions from both of you."
Wei Shaoqi nodded, his tone filled with emotion:
"This is also the most difficult part of the entire logic chain to understand, but I have some guesses."
"Speaking."
"Think about it, everyone, isn't this related to the case of Zhao Rushi being beheaded in the street?"
"The reason why the master of Butterfly Love Flower killed Zhao Rushi was to impersonate him, carry the token, and set up a trap."
"As for the specific method, I can't guess it. I still hope the three of you can help me find out. But since he can impersonate my sixth brother, what difficulty is there in impersonating Zhao Rushi?"
Wei Shaoqi surveyed the entire audience:
"As far as I know, Zhao Rushi was Zhu Lingxu's old subordinate when he was in Hongzhou. She is one of his own people, and Zhu Yuheng also knows her."
"The thief impersonated Zhao Rushi, carrying a jade ring as a token, and went to deceive Zhu Yuheng, using some excuses to urge Zhu Yuheng to flee..."
"Thinking about it this way, everything makes sense, and most of the previous doubts have been eliminated!"
The entire room fell silent.
There was a moment of silence.
Ouyang Rong sighed, gave a thumbs up, and was the first to break the silence: "That makes sense."
Lin Cheng nodded: "It does make sense, and the chain of evidence is mostly complete."
Rong Zhen shook her head:
"What Young Master Wei said makes a lot of sense, but these are all just guesses!"
Wei Shaoqi sighed as well: "Yes, so much time has passed, a lot of evidence is gone, and it would be extremely difficult to overturn the case."
Rong Zhen said coldly:
"If we're going to talk about guesses, others might guess that you're not the fake Wei Shaoxuan at all, but the real one, and that the murderer is your sixth young master of the Wei family."
"If that's the case, how will Young Master Wei explain himself?"
"An explanation? That's utter nonsense."
Wei Shaoqi frowned:
"What do you mean by this, Lady Historian? Do you not trust our Prince Wei's Mansion? Do you think we are the thief crying 'thief'?"
"And why would our Prince Wei's Mansion harm ourselves?"
"In the case of Zhu Lingxu and his son's rebellion, the biggest victim in the court and among the people was our royal family. Not only did my father lose his military post, but His Majesty also became very dissatisfied with us, and even began to doubt the abilities of the Wei family members..."
"Are we just bored and needless to do this, harming ourselves?"
Ouyang Rong interjected in a serious tone:
"What Lady Historian said isn't without reason. Who knows if Wei Shaoxuan is an ungrateful wretch? What great injustices did he suffer in the Wei Prince's mansion before? Is he afraid of domestic violence or something? I heard that Wei Shaoxuan is indeed born out of wedlock..."
“Young Master Wei, think carefully about whether this is true or not. He participated in bullying, so now he wants to turn around and accuse your Wei Prince’s Mansion… Hmm, that makes sense. There’s no need for an impersonation anymore, and the subsequent disappearance and lies can be explained clearly.”
Wei Shaoqi's temples throbbed as he suppressed his anger:
"Nonsense! Brotherly love and respect are the family tradition of the Wei clan. In both royal palaces, the brotherhood among this generation is renowned for its unity and mutual love. Even His Majesty has praised it... Sixth Brother is also deeply loved by Father and his brothers. Father values him highly. Otherwise, the opportunity for the Dingjian Sword in Dragon City would not have been given to Sixth Brother. He even hired a famous teacher to tutor Sixth Brother before..."
"These things can be easily found out by asking around. Who in the Prince's mansion doesn't know them? I know my sixth brother best. He is kind-hearted and would never be a villain who turns against his family. So he would never do such a thing!"
"You say your sixth brother is the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower? What evidence do you have? Even guessing is nonsense! Don't mention it again."
Wei Shaoqi's face flushed slightly; he had been offended and stood up to protect his younger brother's reputation.
Ouyang Rong waved his hand: "Young Master Wei, don't get excited. I was just saying it's a possibility. Since this is a discussion to gather ideas from all sides, we can't overlook any possible directions."
"Absolutely impossible! There's no such direction."
"Okay, don't rush."
Ouyang Rong pressed his palm lightly in the air and comforted him in a gentle voice.
Wei Shaoqi stared at him arrogantly, while Wang Lengran coldly said:
"If we're talking about possibilities, then following the principle that whoever benefits is the most suspicious, it seems more likely to be General Qin, Prince Xiang, or even the Xunyang Prince's Mansion."
"Then can we also suspect the Xunyang Prince's Mansion? Who knows if the Xunyang Prince's Mansion and someone else are plotting this? Putting aside whether they have the ability, just the fact that they are in a position of power makes them highly suspicious, doesn't it?"
Ouyang Rong nodded, his expression unchanged, and sincerely pointed to himself: "That's right, I did it. So what? Why don't I summon my beloved sword right now and kill you all?"
Lin Cheng placed a hand on Ouyang Rong's shoulder and spoke:
"Stop arguing and let's discuss serious matters."
"Many thanks to Young Master Wei for the clues provided today. Although there has been no concrete progress, the speculation is quite reasonable and has made the whole incident seem much clearer."
"Furthermore, if we trace back from the murderer in Wei Shaoxuan's disappearance case, wouldn't that mean that the people who harmed Wei Shaoxuan were the same group as the Butterfly Love Flower Master?"
“Yes.” Rong Zhen stood up: “These two cases should be investigated together.”
Ouyang Rong asked, "Young Master Wei, I have a question. Has Wei Shaoxuan offended anyone before?"
Wei Shaoqi and Wang Lengran glanced at him.
Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged:
"Don't look at me, I can't beat your young master. Although we had some grudges when we met in Longcheng... and didn't you say you had a master or something with you? He must be a master too."
Rong Zhen turned her head and looked at Wei Shaoqi.
The latter pursed his lips: "Fifth-grade cultivation."
Lin Cheng's pupils contracted slightly, and he said thoughtfully, "To make a fifth-grade Qi cultivator go missing... this murderer is definitely not simple."
Rong Zhen suddenly asked, "You said that after Wei Shaoxuan was in Longcheng, he went to Yunmengze with his master?"
"That's right."
Wei Shaoqi nodded and said:
"It's very likely that Sixth Brother was killed in one of two places: either when he was in Dragon City, or when he went to Yunmeng Marsh and was killed by bandits!"
“Yunmengze…” she sighed, “What a coincidence.”
Lin Cheng nodded: "The Empress of the Palace is powerful enough to accomplish this."
Everyone fell silent.
Rongzhen pursed her lips:
"Back then, Yue women were also seen in Huang Xuan's courtyard. Does that explain things?"
Ouyang Rong immediately asked in confusion:
"Killing Wei Shaoxuan and his master to seize the Ding Sword is understandable, but why would the Yue Maiden of Yunmeng Sword Marsh want to kill Zhu Lingxu and his son? Was it out of hatred or dissatisfaction with the imperial court?"
He turned to look at Wei Shaoqi, his eyes filled with a strange expression:
"Could it be that your Prince Wei's Mansion did something to offend them, and they're deliberately doing this to you?"
Before Wei Shaoqi could speak in displeasure, Rong Zhen suddenly said:
"Is it possible that Yunmeng Jianze and Li Zhengyan's Restoration Army had a secret deal and cooperated, which is why Yunmeng Jianze sent a swordsman, the master of Butterfly Love Flower, to not only kill the traitor Zhu Lingxu and his son, but also hide in Xunyang City, preparing to threaten the Donglin Buddha, which was about to be completed, to be placed on the ground?"
She muttered to herself, making inferences and analyses:
"Moreover, if we look at it this way, there is not just one sword wielder hiding in Xunyang City, but also a Yue woman, and a Yue woman of the queen level, protecting this sword wielder!"
"No wonder there were traces of Yue women left in Huang Xuan's courtyard later. They were all in cahoots, so it wasn't a fight back then?"
"That makes sense." Lin Cheng nodded.
The hall fell silent as everyone exchanged glances.
The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and they all nodded in agreement.
Ouyang Rong, who was standing to the side, hesitated before glancing towards the direction of Yunmeng Marsh to the south.
How come you're still taking the blame for this?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
