27. Prince
Su Lin frowned and pointed at the words on the document.
"This is the information about the man in the downtown area. His family background is clean, and his ancestral home is Qing County. A careful investigation reveals that he is just an ordinary broker..."
"The Qing County Magistrate also rushed over to deliver all the information on this person when the incident occurred. Everything was clear and in great detail."
She continued to ponder, "He's just an ordinary broker, so why does he have so many people to traffic?"
"She has no relatives or friends in the capital, so why would she be afraid of being killed?"
"She moves cautiously, and no one knows her daily whereabouts."
Su Lin carefully sorted out the findings from the investigation so far.
"Those lowly slaves she sold were fed to the dogs as soon as they entered the palace, and nothing could be learned from them."
The investigation has reached a deadlock here.
There was a vague rumor in the court that "Su Lin's torture was too cruel and drove people crazy." They were just waiting for Su Lin to fail to explain herself so that they could put the blame on her for the several lives lost in the downtown area.
Su Lin investigated day and night, and his face looked haggard.
The subordinate who was reporting next to him hesitated for a moment, but still opened his mouth to ask.
"Is it that you...are not right? We...are asking too much questions and driving him crazy?"
"After all, she has a clean family background and appears to be just... an ordinary broker."
The subordinate's voice gradually became quieter, and his suggestion trembled a little.
The outside world almost tacitly agreed that Su Lin abused lynching, drove people crazy, and committed murder in a busy city.
Besides, Su Lin has been investigating day and night these days, but has not found any good results.
Su Lin paused, then looked up at her for a long time.
The subordinate's legs trembled, and he quickly closed his mouth and lowered his head.
After a long while, she heard a sigh, like a tired murmur, "If only it were so..."
Su Lin rubbed his temples tiredly, feeling somewhat helpless and self-deprecating.
"This way I can personally apologize to the victim's family."
But Su Lin was 100% sure.
She didn't drive that man crazy.
She was investigating the Song Mansion incident at the time, and became suspicious of her hesitation, so she sent her to her own residence, intending to put pressure on her and interrogate her, but she had not yet used torture.
However, the number of corpses in the Song Mansion was too shocking. It took several days to sort it out and report to the emperor, but it had already delayed that person, causing her to escape from the mansion and what happened.
The servants reported that she suddenly went crazy one day and thought Su Lin wanted to kill her.
He clearly looked confident before and refused to say anything.
During the days when she was crazy, Su Lin did not go to see her. He was alone in the study reporting on what happened in the Song Mansion.
This person's surface information was clean, but Su Lin's intuition told her that this matter must be complicated.
Su Lin was silent for a long time and let his subordinates go out.
"yes……"
She looked at the scenery outside the window. The plum blossoms were blooming in the frost. The snow that fell a few days ago, accompanied by the red of the plum blossoms, was just like the red clothes that Su Zheng loved to wear.
Su Lin was stunned for only a moment, and then there was a knock on the door.
"Sister...can I come in?"
"...Come in."
Su Zheng poked his head out, revealing a delicate little face. He brought a plate of sweet cakes and placed it on Su Lin's table.
There was still a bandage around his neck, covering the wound left by the busy day in the city, which only made his face look smaller and more handsome.
A pair of almond-shaped eyes looked at the sweet cake reluctantly, but when Su Lin looked over, she quickly looked away and swallowed silently.
The son of a wealthy family naturally cannot be greedy. He must have an upright posture, a slender waist, and his every move must be well-trained.
But Su Zheng just loved to eat sweet food, whether it was sweet cakes or candied haws. He could eat a lot without paying attention. Because his father was afraid that he would get fat, he had to stop eating cakes and only had one plate of sweet cakes every half a week.
Su Lin lowered her eyes and looked at her brother who was looking at the sweet cake reluctantly. She was curious why this rare plate of sweet cake was sent to her.
They had just had a fight a few days ago.
That day he gave Yun Zhihe a headband, which made his hair disheveled. If Su Lin hadn't carried him away, he might have foolishly followed Yun Zhihe back to the palace.
After all, if the news of an unmarried man giving something to someone else gets out, it will ruin his reputation.
She instructed her subordinates to say a few polite words when delivering the thank-you gift and to subtly ask for the hairband back.
Who would have thought that Su Zheng heard it, and suddenly grabbed the subordinate and refused to let her go.
Su Lin thought he was pitifully stupid, and seeing his stubborn look, she was so angry that she scolded him a few words.
"It's very impolite for an unmarried man to give a woman something. Besides, this is the first time you two have met, and you are a child of the Su family. Don't make people feel frivolous."
After listening to her scolding, Su Zheng paused, pursed his lips and sobbed, tears streaming down his face.
No sound yet.
When Su Lin found out, he was already in tears. He bit his lower lip with a wronged look on his face, trying not to cry. His lower lip was red from biting it, and his hair was stuck to his cheeks because of his tears, making him look pitiful and hazy.
Su Lin was a little panicked.
Su Zheng looked at her panic and sobbed incoherently.
"No way, wow, no way did I give away...things to others, wow, I need to get them back..."
He cried so hard that he even started hiccuping.
The little boy is soft and silly, and he just likes to listen to his sister. But now he is very stubborn and refuses to let Su Lin take the hairband back.
Just like that, the two parted ways unhappily.
Su Lin has been busy recently, so he just asked his subordinates to buy some cakes and send them to him as a way of pampering him.
Seeing her eyes, Su Zheng spoke, his starry eyes filled with a subtle and flattering smile.
"Sister, you've been feeling uneasy lately. This sweet cake is delicious. Try it and you won't have to worry anymore."
He picked up a piece and was about to feed it to Su Lin. His starry eyes blinked with cautious flattery.
Su Lin responded, opened his mouth and ate, then heard him speak.
"Sister, you don't have to care about what those people say."
Hearing this, Su Lin's expression softened a little. After a pause, he said, "Then, if you want to give it to me, just give it to me."
Su Zheng's eyes lit up, his pupils curved, full of youthful vigor and cuteness.
"If you're happy, I'll go ask Yun Zhihe what he thinks."
Su Lin took a sip of tea, swallowed the cake in his mouth, and began to chatter about the arrangements with a serious expression.
"You'll be old enough to get married in a few days..."
"If both of you are interested, I will arrange your marriage quickly. She is a person of excellent character and stunning appearance. If you are engaged... her parents are both deceased, so the exchange of engagement letters should be handled by Your Majesty."
Su Lin stroked his chin, thinking about the process of getting married.
"I should be able to obtain an imperial decree to grant you a marriage if I submit a petition. This way, you will have a very high status in the Yun Mansion. If she takes a concubine in the future, she will definitely not treat you unfairly..."
Su Lin always did things perfectly, so he began to make detailed arrangements for their post-marriage affairs, and his expression became more serious as he spoke.
"It's time for you to learn how to manage things like a husband. You can't act like a child anymore. When you get married, you have to take care of the affairs of the Yun Mansion, be a good wife, and put aside your temper... But if you've been wronged, you can ask my sister for justice..."
"Men's affairs in the harem are complicated, so don't provoke others. But if they bully you, the Su family is your biggest support."
Su Zheng was stunned when he heard this, his face was a little dazed, and he looked at her blankly.
He didn't know what his sister was talking about.
After Su Lin finished speaking with a lingering feeling, she spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Ah, sister..."
Under Su Lin's scrutinizing gaze, he lowered his eyes hesitantly, "No, I don't want to marry her..."
"I just think she's pretty... She's very nice, so..." He frowned slightly, "I'm just a little... happy."
As if she thought of Yun Zhihe's smile to her, her ears slowly turned red, her eyes curved, and her eyes were full of youthful clarity.
"I just like her a little bit."
Su Lin rubbed his brows and sighed slightly.
My younger brother is simple-minded and must not know anything about matters between men and women.
I think it was the child's joy, and I was just too anxious.
But she was just really seriously considering Yun Zhihe as her sister-in-law.
Su Lin concealed his thoughts.
…
Yun Zhihe was writing poetry in her mansion at this time. Since she became an official, she rarely had the leisure to write poetry and compose couplets.
The tip of the pen outlines the plum blossoms, and the rhythm is pondered in the chest.
"Yun Zhihe."
Yun Zhihe paused, and the atmosphere was silent. Such an abrupt voice made her pen tip tremble, staining it with ink.
She looked up blankly and saw the second prince standing in front of her.
Qin Zhi stood in front of her, suddenly blocking the sunlight, which made himself appear to be against the light and his face blurred.
I don’t know why Azhi didn’t report it.
Yun Zhihe blinked and said, "Your Highness the Second Prince...you..."
Qin Zhi paused, pursed his lips, and after a long stalemate, he finally opened his mouth to ask.
The voice is low and hoarse.
"You...you think I don't follow male ethics?"
Um?
Yun Zhihe was a little confused.
He never cared about what other people thought and treated himself like a girl. A few days ago, the black panther he raised was taken out and scared the court officials, causing many people to write letters to him.
After being ridiculed and mocked by Eunuch Li, the Second Prince went back and thought for a long time, watching "The Man's Ring" which he had not seen since he was a child while crying.
His mother once said this while holding him in her arms.
"My son is a natural born phoenix, he just wants to be pampered."
Qin Zhi just smiled at that time, a happy smile with his fangs showing, and he acted coquettishly and asked for the newly presented cheetah as a pet.
He is already high and mighty, so why would he learn these things?
He is a high and mighty prince, and it should be an honor to be glanced at by him.
Qin Zhi pursed his lips.
Can……
Just like what Eunuch Li said...how could there be a good woman willing to marry him?
He said.
"Your Highness, your reputation has been completely ruined. How can a good woman in the capital marry you?"
Where is Yun Zhihe?
Would you dislike his spoiled and willful nature...?
He lowered his eyes and looked at Yun Zhihe. The ink from her pen tip dripped down, staining the area black.
Qin Zhi heard Yun Zhihe's soft voice, and his eyelashes trembled slightly with the words, with a gentle smile.
"...Why do you say that, Your Highness?"
Qin Zhi leaned down and looked into her face, and the two of them looked into each other's eyes.
"This prince..." He glanced at her again, "This prince is asking you."
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