"We found out. It's in the hands of Marquis Zhongyong's younger brother, Lu Tian." Shang Xingjian said.
Su Wanti's eyes flickered slightly, "Then was the nanny bribed by Lu Tian?"
Shang Xingjian nodded and said:
"One of the pawnshop owners vaguely remembered the man who paid a high price for children's ornaments thirty years ago. I had a portrait painted based on his description, and the man in the portrait actually resembled Lu Tian to some extent, except that Lu Tian now looks a bit older than the man in the portrait."
Su Wanti lowered her eyes, bit her lip and thought for a moment, connecting all the clues together.
She took a deep breath and said slowly, "Thirty years ago, Marquis Zhongyong's younger brother Lu Tian coveted his brother's title and family property. He bought a few servants and ordered them to take Marquis Zhongyong's son away and abandon him in a remote alley in Luzhou."
"At the same time, he pretended to be still in the capital, but in fact he had already secretly arrived in Luzhou, hiding in the dark, and watching the son of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery being taken away."
"That person pawned the ornaments of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's son in batches. Lu Tian was afraid that the An family would find out about the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's son through the pawnshop, so he paid a high price to buy all the ornaments himself."
"Four years ago, he discovered that Madam An possessed a gold locket once worn by the son of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. Fearing that Madam An might find him through it, he bribed the An family's maid to steal the locket. To prevent future trouble, he later instructed the maid to poison Madam An, causing her to suffer unbearable headaches and lose her ability to remember the past. She then died from the torture."
"And the son of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery who was deliberately lost is most likely my father. The person who took him away back then was Old Man Su."
After Su Wanti said all this, her excited heart became unusually calm.
"Your Highness, I'm going to the capital. I have a way to make Lu Tian tell me in person what happened thirty years ago." Her eyes were firm, and her beautiful pupils were shining.
Shang Xingjian nodded, "Okay, I'll finish the things on hand as soon as possible, and then we'll return to Beijing."
"Is it the matter of the Luzhou prefect?" Su Wanti asked.
Shang Xingjian had nothing to hide from her. When she asked, he frankly said, "Xu Denggao wasn't just embezzling government funds. He also privately manufactured weapons and dug gold..."
"He's going to rebel?" Su Wanti's eyes turned, and then said, "No, he's being controlled by someone."
Shang Xingjian frowned.
Su Wanti said in a clear voice, "Your Highness, do you remember? He was captured last night and turned into a zombie!"
The man in front of him nodded.
Su Wanti continued, "They've all been poisoned by a poison that transforms living people into mindless, painless zombies capable of attacking and destroying. Successfully transformed zombies will only obey the wishes of the poisoner."
"Will?" Shang Xingjian was puzzled.
Su Wanti explained:
"The poison requires an essential ingredient: the ashes of a living person's hair. The strange thing is, after taking the poison, the transformed zombie will establish a connection with the owner of the hair. It will do whatever the owner of the hair wants it to do, even if they are thousands of miles apart."
Shang Xingjian pondered, "Then the person who provided the hair can be called the zombie's master. If the zombie is destroyed, how will their master be affected?"
Su Wanti shook her head.
"I don't know. My master once traveled all over Daning. She discovered this poison that can turn living people into zombies in a tribe deep in the southwest mountains. As for the effects of the zombies being destroyed and the people they are connected to, she hasn't seen it, so I don't know."
Shang Xingjian frowned deeply, "Southwest..."
He silently recited these two words, his eyes deep and condensed into ink.
After a long while, he finally spoke, "Thank you Miss Su for clearing up my confusion. Now that we have figured out the origins of Xu Denggao and his zombie warriors, we can set off and return to Beijing today."
He felt uneasy, thinking that something big was going to happen in the capital. He thought that the affairs of Luzhou could be left to Lord An, and he had to return immediately.
"Miss Su, pack up your things and let's leave immediately."
Su Wanti was slightly stunned. "Isn't this too sudden? I still want to see my family..."
Shang Xingjian's gloomy eyes softened when he saw Su Wanti's frown.
"I will send someone to bring your family into the An Mansion so you can see them."
"Are we going to pick it up now?" Su Wanti's eyes were full of excitement and joy.
Shang Xingjian nodded.
————
Shang Xingjian kept his promise and brought Su Wanti's family to the An Mansion within a quarter of an hour.
Because they were brought in by the eldest prince, everyone in the An Mansion attached great importance to Su Wanti's family and took very thoughtful care of them.
The eldest lady arranged a spacious and bright courtyard for them, assigned more than a dozen servants to serve them, and sent them the best food, clothing and other necessities.
Her father has not been found yet and his identity has not been confirmed. In order to avoid unnecessary complications, Su Wanti told her family not to reveal their true identities to anyone.
She also did not recognize her family in front of the An family.
We met briefly and had to part without saying a few words.
Her mother and younger brothers and sisters said goodbye to Su Wanti in tears. Su Wanti's eyes were curved and her face was full of smiles. After waving goodbye, she turned around with wet cheeks and two lines of tears streaming down her face.
Shang Xingjian's returning team was much smaller than when they came.
He took his guards and rode fast horses back to the capital first. Servants and others drove carriages and followed behind with luggage at a leisurely pace.
Shang Xingjian and others picked good horses and changed them at the post station. They soon left the main force far behind.
Su Wanti didn't know how to ride a horse, so Shang Xingjian didn't say anything and just carried her to his saddle.
Along the way, the two rode the same horse.
Su Wanti felt sorry for the horse, and she always secretly fed it pills to strengthen its body and eliminate its pain.
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