Chapter 28 Newcomer
Qian Deng didn't want to consider it, nor did anyone else.
After returning to her room, she threw the list on the desk, and planned to reject the palace envoy in two days by saying that there was no candidate she liked on the list.
She had enough worries before her: Yu Guangling, Jintang, Meng Lanxi... her mother's last words before her death, the scraps of paper left by Uncle Fu, the evil spirits lurking in the backyard...
Could that piece of paper be related to the letter my mother mentioned?
She picked up the case file copied from the Dali Temple and read it again.
The autopsy records of Yu Guangling and Zheng Junshan were written hastily, and it was obvious that they were not done carefully.
In Yu Guangling's case, the coroner was too lazy to conduct a thorough investigation due to the heavy rain, and in Zheng Junshan's case, the murderer was caught on the spot, so the coroner only briefly examined the wound, confirmed it was fatal, and ended the case.
As a woman, she was not familiar with the workings of the coroner's profession. Therefore, although she proposed to re-examine the body in detail, the coroners always shirked their responsibilities, thinking that all the issues had been written down in the files and nothing had been missed.
Let's wait a little longer. Once Cui Fufeng enters the mansion, he should be able to have someone examine the body again, and perhaps find something.
She read the interrogation statement sent by Cui Fufeng again, but found no new strong clues. The case has now reached a stalemate.
There are no other suspects and no other important evidence, and it seems that it is an established fact that Meng Lanxi committed the crime.
How can we overturn this ironclad case and find another path?
Just as she was lost in thought, she heard two knocks on the door, followed by a soft and tender voice: "County Lady, I'm sorry to bother you."
Qiandeng let out a sigh and motioned Liuli to bring the person in. "Mr. Xue, what do you want from me at this hour?"
Xue Xiyang, the Minister of Music, has the best voice in the capital. If he softens his voice and sings a lingering and sad poem, he can make many girls' hearts melt into a pool of spring water.
He sat down in front of her, his face looking enchanting, his voice matching hers. His phoenix eyes, gazing at her under the lamplight, had a faint blush at the corners of his brows and eyes, echoing his voice. "It's my fault for disturbing the county lady's rest. It's just...something urgent needs to be done, so I've come here in a hurry."
Qian Deng thought for a moment and glanced at the list on the table: "Is it about the new candidate?"
"That's right. And it's related to Ji Linyou's cousin." He leaned against the table, looking at her with the corner of his eyes, holding his chin and winking at her: "Does the county lady know the details of this Ling Tianshui?"
Qian Deng took the booklet, turned to Ling Tianshui's page, and read it again, but didn't notice anything unusual: "What happened to him?"
Xue Xiyang looked at her and smiled softly.
Qian Deng knew that he was here to spread rumors, but she still found his smile particularly charming, like a kitten's paw grabbing at the lapels of clothes, tempting people and scratching their hearts, but it didn't seem sticky or frivolous.
She lowered her eyes, and other people's comments about him came to her mind -
Vixen...
The vixen continued to brazenly frame him: "County Lady, think about it, Jin Tang dragged Yu Guangling to help him, but Yu Guangling ended up gaining favor in the palace, which made the Jin family furious. And how could the Ji family not learn from their mistakes and send someone in? What if they can't help Ji Linyou, wouldn't that just create more resistance?"
Qian Deng remained calm: "Oh, you know the inside story?"
"It's not really an inside story, but... I heard some rumors..."
He glanced at the maids outside and lowered his already low voice even more: "The things that Ling Tianshui's parents did in their lifetime were truly shameful."
"What's not up to par?"
"I heard that due to their financial difficulties and desperate circumstances, his parents, when they were in Longyou, coveted the government's reward money and not only secretly helped guard and transport corpses at the charity cemetery, but also..." His expression didn't change at this point, but his voice tightened slightly, giving Qian Deng, who was listening, goose bumps. "His parents even worked as coroners for the government! Naturally, their son Ling Tianshui often helped out... County Lady, tell me, just for a few red envelopes, they would disembowel those rotting corpses and rip out their hearts and livers. Is this something an ordinary person would do?"
"Coroner..." Qiandeng frowned subconsciously, but his eyes suddenly lit up.
Xue Xiyang, who was standing in front of him, thought the county lady's reaction was a little strange. He blinked and asked, "Yes, county lady, you said, can the hands that have dissected corpses and moved the dead be cleaned no matter how hard you try? I heard that the stench of corpses will always be on the body of the coroner, and it will never be hidden for a lifetime!"
Qian Deng remained silent, a look of surprise on his face: "Really? Is Mr. Xue's information accurate?"
"It's absolutely true! Originally, Xiyang shouldn't have said too much, but I've seen how sad and distressed the county lady has been lately. I really don't want to make her feel any more sad, so I've come here despite all the disapproval. I hope the county lady understands my feelings. I...actually, I don't want to be the bad guy."
Xue Xiyang's charming phoenix eyes stared at her, filled with endless worry.
"Although Ling Tianshui isn't a slave, he does menial and dirty work. For a fellow like him, one who's been around the dead, to enter the palace is a disgrace to the county lord. How can this be allowed?"
"Okay, I understand. I'll have someone thoroughly investigate his situation." Qian Deng heard his gentle voice, smiled at him, and comforted him, "Don't worry, I know your intentions are all for my own good."
Xue Xiyang's peach blossom eyes were filled with smiles, and they became alluring crescents: "No need, for the county lady, I am willing to do anything."
Qiandeng stood up and sent him out the door. After watching him leave, he immediately rushed back to the desk, grabbed a pen and ticked the name "Ling Tianshui". He called the guards and asked them to send the list to the palace immediately for the people in the Inner Palace Bureau to make arrangements.
"Just say that this county lady has taken a fancy to this man. Tomorrow morning, as soon as I open my eyes, I want to see him standing before me."
On the second day, Ling Tianshui was brought into the mansion and stood in front of Qian Deng.
Qiandeng, who was drinking tea, almost knocked over the teacup in his hand when he caught a glimpse of his figure.
Didn’t Ji Linyou say that he was a poor little boy whose parents had both passed away?
Didn’t Xue Xiyang say that he was a lowly person who often had his stomachs cut open and his intestines scraped out?
But the man striding across the corridor towards her was clearly a tall and majestic man with a commanding aura.
He was very tall, and the branches under the corridor hung low, about to hit his forehead, but he looked straight at her without hesitation, as if he didn't know how to lower his head, and raised his hand to push the branches away.
He brushed aside everything that stood between them, enough for him to see her clearly, and enough for her to see him clearly.
It's him.
The moment their eyes met, Qian Deng immediately recognized that he was the man who had rescued Meng Lanxi's mother with her outside the Dali Temple prison that night.
The sunlight was dim in late autumn, and he came down from under the dark red clouds, like a sharp wind, bringing with it a few hints of sharp chill.
But such a cold person had facial features that were too moving and profound, so when he stopped at the steps and looked at her with those dark eyes that could see through people's hearts, Qiandeng felt a sense of surprise and slight palpitations in his heart, and an indescribable trembling surged in his heart.
She slowly put down the teacup in her hand, slowly stood up, stood in the corridor and looked straight at him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com