"Do you know the exact location where they were buried?" Zhao Shu asked again.
“It’s easy to find. Back then, Ninth Sister set up the Nine-Nine Dojo, and many people know that.” Little Zhu Zi looked puzzled.
"There are people watching outside the door. Find a way to get rid of them all. I will meet with Lord Huo in a while. Remember not to let the news leak out." For some reason, Zhao Shu always felt that someone was deliberately setting a trap for Huo Baichuan.
However, they cannot provide direct evidence and rely solely on intuition, which is ultimately unreliable.
I wonder if he is still in the capital.
Xiao Zhuzi agreed.
In the evening, Xiao Guozi brought a message saying that Huo Baichuan would come to see her, but did not say when.
Without a specific time, waiting always makes me anxious, but thankfully I have other things to do to distract myself.
Jiang Yangshi and the Jiang Zuo couple jointly wrote a memorial and submitted it to the Taihe Hall, instantly shocking the court and the public.
Jiang Ying's death became the first major case after Zhao Yi ascended the throne, and many people saw it as a great opportunity to eliminate dissidents.
However, some people were busy distancing themselves from the matter, but that's another story. Once the memorial was submitted, the imperial court immediately issued a warrant for the nationwide arrest of Jiang Yue, offering a generous reward to the informant!
Within hours of the memorial being submitted, the capital was in an uproar. Many people were keeping a close eye out for the court's legitimate reward, and some even formed teams to search for Jiang Yue.
With a thorough search, Zhao Shu believed that Jiang Yue would be forced out within three days, and then, in court, she would be made a sinner for all time! A synonym for a wicked woman.
Of course, if she didn't want to do that, she could have accused others and then pieced together the clues to settle the score.
It feels so good to finally be able to settle accounts.
Everyone was focused on Jiang Yue's situation. At midnight, Huo Baichuan arrived leisurely. When he saw Zhao Shu, his expression was extremely unpleasant.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Shu asked.
He sat in his special chair, with Duozi and Xiaopang standing behind him. The three of them appeared suddenly as if by ghosts, startling Xiao Guozi.
Upon hearing this, Huo Baichuan said, "I take back what I said last time."
Zhao Shu was taken aback. What did he say last time? After thinking for a moment, she said, "Let's not talk about the past. I suppose you already know about the Xiao residence."
"I just took the coroner to open the coffin and examine the body. The female corpse in the coffin showed signs of poisoning. This kind of poison is very difficult to find. The coroner didn't know what kind of poison she had been poisoned by, but he was certain that she had been poisoned."
"You also suspect that Jiu Niang is like her blind masseuse?" Zhao Shu asked. She wasn't surprised; Huo Baichuan was certainly capable of thinking of that.
He nodded. "I now suspect that Jiu Niang is going to commit suicide," he said, his voice heavy with unspoken sorrow.
"Suicide? Why?" Zhao Shu blurted out the question, but she already had the answer in her heart. She just didn't want to believe it. She could no longer believe that anyone would commit suicide for love.
Huo Baichuan did not answer, but leaned back in his chair. "I checked the people in the manor and also had people ask the servants who were released. There was nothing unusual. It seems that she knew that the teacher would not return to the capital, so she released all the people from before."
"You mean she poisoned the blind girl herself? Poisoned someone else, then poisoned herself? What kind of logic is that?" She couldn't believe it. If it were true, then Jiu Niang was far too obsessive.
Huo Baichuan, abandoning his usual carefree demeanor, wore a solemn expression and did not respond to Zhao Shu's words, which was taken as tacit agreement.
However, Zhao Shu couldn't believe it. "I don't believe it. I want to find out the truth. I don't believe she can be so heartless. She waited for Mr. Xiao for many years, which shows she is a person of deep affection. How could a person of deep affection do such a stubborn thing?"
Huo Baichuan still didn't reply. He just glanced at Zhao Shu. For some reason, Zhao Shu understood the thousand words in his heart. He preferred to believe that Jiu Niang couldn't get what she wanted, so he didn't want to believe that what he found out wasn't the truth.
However, if it is the truth, why doesn't he try to find a way to deal with it?
The truth must have devastated him.
"Mr. Xiao, are you really not going back to Beijing?" Zhao Shu asked softly.
"I won't come back, never." He closed his eyes after saying that, as if he didn't want to talk about it anymore, but he came here to discuss things with Zhao Shu, and there was no way to escape it.
After a long while, he murmured to himself, "He's not coming back."
Zhao Shu frowned. "Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean by 'can't come back'?"
“Dead, dead means never to come back.” He suddenly shouted, then immediately regretted it when he saw Zhao Shu’s blank expression, and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get angry at you.”
"Mr. Xiao is dead?" Zhao Shu couldn't believe her ears. How could Xiao Xingyuan be dead? How could he be dead!
Huo Baichuan lowered his head, recalling with heavy sorrow, "That day, Teacher was preparing to return to Beijing. He had already arrived in Tianjin, but suddenly decided to travel by sea to Suzhou. The sea was rough, and Teacher's ship..."
"If it weren't a ship sailing at sea, it shouldn't have had this accident. And it's not the rainy season yet, how could we be so unlucky?" Zhao Shu still couldn't believe it.
Little Fatty, standing behind Huo Baichuan, couldn't stand it any longer and chimed in, "Princess, the young master sent people to investigate. The ship has been tampered with. There's a reason why the master wanted to go to Suzhou."
Zhao Shu frowned. "What's the reason?"
"Aunt Dan wanted to buy a batch of matchlock guns, but the man she was with died. So she asked Mr. to help her go to Suzhou to find a merchant, but Mr. refused. As a result, the ship was pierced, and Mr.'s body has not been found to this day."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shu looked at Huo Baichuan, who looked like a dead man, utterly disheveled.
“If you don’t want to investigate anymore, then don’t. Actually, I can cure Jiu Niang, so you don’t need to feel guilty,” Zhao Shu comforted him. But no matter how much she said, she knew it wouldn’t be enough to comfort him.
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