Chapter 102 Parting (Part 7) The Truth Revealed
"Who ordered you to do this?"
"yes……"
The woman was about to speak when a sharp arrow came from the darkness. The arrow came so fast that no one noticed it. By the time they realized something was wrong, the arrow had already pierced her throat, and the woman fell to the ground, unable to get up.
Then came a series of urgent sounds.
"Murder! Murder!"
The person, who was half asleep, was woken up, threw on a coat, and went out the door, heading this way.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the people Li Yunru sent out had to retreat temporarily.
Fortunately, both of them were skilled in martial arts and agile, and they left before the rest of the group arrived.
...
Li Yunru didn't sleep all night. She was convinced that her guess was correct; that woman must know something, and this incident should bring some results to the matter. But for some reason, she couldn't put her mind at ease.
The night was deep and dark.
"Here, have some tea to calm down."
Seeing her tense expression, Songji poured her a cup of tea.
Li Yunru lowered her head, glanced at the table indifferently, and had little interest in drinking. She asked, "What time is it now?"
Song Ji replied, "It's almost 3 AM."
"Then we should have results soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, two people rushed in from outside the door, one in black and one in white. They were the two scouts that Song Ji had sent out.
They were in a great hurry, and on their way back they were covered in sweat and their breathing was unsteady.
"What happened?" Song Ji asked.
The scout in black reported: "Mr. Ou is dead!"
Li Yunru and Song Ji frowned, wondering what had happened, when they heard the white-clad scout say, "We were just about to interrogate him, and we were about to get the results, but someone came from somewhere and shot an arrow. It was so fast that we didn't have time to react, and the man was dead!"
It's quite obvious.
They're investigating in the right direction.
"Someone is trying to kill me to silence me."
"Oh no! Oh no!"
The gatekeeper on night watch rushed in from the outer room, "Strategist, Madam Li, a lot of people have come outside. Just like the other day, the Governor's Mansion is surrounded by them again!"
The maid said, "It seems they won't give up. Perhaps you should hide, Madam?"
Li Yunru shook her head.
"At this critical juncture, what would it mean if I hid? Since they're still after me, I'll go and see what they have up their sleeve!"
Avoiding trouble has never been in her nature, let alone forcing her with such superstitious and baseless nonsense!
Furthermore, this involves two lives, and she is determined to find out what happened behind those two deaths!
Li Yunru threw down her teacup and stormed out.
Songji watched the disappearing figure, shook his head and sighed. He told the two who had just returned to change their clothes and then followed after them.
There weren't many people this time.
It was just a few families who were rescued from the foot of the mine.
Standing at the very front was a child, about six or seven years old, thin and bony, with a white cloth wrapped around his head.
Li Yunru had some impression of him. He was carried past her with his body covered in wounds, and the situation was so terrible that it was unbearable to look at.
He is Aunt Ou's son.
The entire Ou family is dead, leaving only her and this one child.
Initially, Li Yunru visited the child, who was very friendly to her. The child would eat the steamed buns with crumbs all over his mouth, calling her "sister" repeatedly.
well.
"He's out! He's out! The murderer! He didn't even spare orphans and widows!"
"I actually thought she was a good person before. I took those medicines she gave me. Could she have poisoned me?!"
Li Yunru: "..."
The chattering sounds were like thunder in the darkness, echoing throughout the entire gate of the Governor's Mansion.
As soon as Li Yunru appeared, the stone was thrown at her.
"Murderer, you must pay with your life!"
Heavy, sharp stones were thrown at her, but they didn't hit her. She reacted quickly and dodged them, which only angered them more, and they threw the stones even harder.
"My lady, let's forget about these people. We can't reason with them. Let's go inside and hide!" The little maid advised, protecting her as she retreated.
Li Yunru hadn't expected them to come prepared, carrying so many "weapons" with them.
However, she is not someone to be trifled with.
"Why are you hiding? They've already bullied us!"
With some distance between them, she had enough room to move around. When the barrage of stones came flying at her, she squatted down, picked up a few, and threw them back.
"She even dared to throw us away!"
The group became even angrier, throwing the stones even faster and harder. Li Yunru and the others were struggling to keep up. Just then, Song Ji led a few soldiers out and used shields to block her. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Yunru picked up the stones on the ground and launched a fierce counterattack. There was chaos outside the gate, which lasted for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping.
Neither side benefited; both were injured. Li Yunru even had her head hit, leaving a gash that was still bleeding.
"Have you made enough of a scene? If you have, then you can calm down and talk!"
She had them invited into the house, and after having a cup of tea, she finally got straight to the point.
"Now that I have taken charge of Jiangzuo, do you all know what you just did? It was an act of usurpation and insubordination. According to the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty, I could arrest and behead you all!"
After the initial excitement subsided, hearing her recount the consequences filled them with lingering fear, and they all cowered in silence.
"Considering that you have just escaped a great calamity and survived by the skin of your teeth, or that you were deceived and used by wicked people, I can let it go. But you must tell the truth, or you will bear the consequences!"
They looked at each other, then at the young child, who was still crying silently, his small body trembling uncontrollably with emotion.
"Why should we believe you!" someone was still struggling.
Li Yunru glanced at him, shrugged, and said indifferently, "Do you have a choice?"
Her people are everywhere inside and outside the Governor's Mansion.
"I could kill you all right here today, and no one would know. And what difference would it make if they did?"
She said dismissively, "Do you really think everyone is as impulsive as you? Killing one might cause some discontent, and there will be people like you who feel indignant and come to attack. Kill two, kill ten, kill a hundred... Guess whether they choose to protect themselves or risk their lives for people like you who are not related to them!"
Everyone: "..."
“Your lives have just been saved from a great disaster. Many of you have relatives who didn’t even have this opportunity. Are you sure you’re going to disregard your hard-won lives for these baseless rumors and gossip? Or do you want to reunite with your families? If so, it wouldn’t hurt to lend you a hand!”
This world is not good.
But if you can live, who would want to die?
Finally, after no one instigated them, these people calmed down completely, their minds cleared up considerably, and they stopped acting rashly.
After a long silence.
Someone spoke up: "Aunt Ou is dead. She was killed by your people!"
Li Yunru frowned slightly and asked, "How can we be sure they are our people?"
"Little Tiger, show the adults what your mother has on her."
The child cried as he stepped forward and handed her an arrow.
Li Yunru's gaze swept over the arrow. It was a fine arrow, with excellent forging craftsmanship and a weight that was just right, neither too light nor too heavy. The arrowhead also had a serrated edge, and although it was covered in blood, it could still be seen to shine in the dim candlelight of the night.
But she didn't know how the other party could be so sure it was her, or at least someone she sent out, based on just one arrow.
Li Yunru handed the arrow to Song Ji, saying, "Take a look."
He took it, his face darkening, and said, "This is indeed our arrow."
He had previously been in charge of this area.
The Jiangzuo Camp was not a heavy cavalry camp, but rather focused on agility. Archers were of paramount importance, so the requirements for their weapons were particularly stringent. Their arrows were all made by the master blacksmith Li Tian, and each arrow bore the master's mark.
Songji pointed it out to her, “Look at the tip of this arrow, there is a pattern, the master’s mark, tiger stripes.”
"So... the one who made the move was one of the archers?"
She ordered, "Bring all the archers in the army here immediately!"
Things seem to be starting to become clear!
...
When the soldiers entered the Jiangzuo camp, everyone was still drowsy, except for one person who was secretly carrying a package and slipping out of the camp.
Li Yunru acted quickly and timely, catching them red-handed.
At dawn.
The governor's mansion was bustling with activity; everyone in the mansion had gotten up and filled the courtyard.
Li Yunru sat in the middle, her gaze cold as she looked at the man who had been captured. She threw an arrow in front of him and asked in a chilling voice, "Speak, who ordered you to do this?"
"I have no idea."
"have no idea?"
"If you don't know, then why are you running?"
The man said, "I lost my arrow. The number of arrows in the army is fixed. If I lose it, I will definitely be held accountable, so I want to go and find it."
That makes sense.
But... how could it be such a coincidence?
Someone was killed here, and then someone else throws an arrow and tries to run away to find it?
"He's not being honest!"
Li Yunru looked troubled. "Sir, how should we deal with this kind of person?"
Song Ji was the military advisor and chief strategist. He used to frequently travel around the Jiangzuo camp and naturally had dealings with them. People might not know him, but the centurions who knew him were also chiliarchs.
"Madam has had a long night. Why don't you leave it to me? I will give you a satisfactory answer within two days."
Li Yunru didn't speak, but looked at the group of people in the mining area and asked, "What do you all think?"
Most people have accepted it and think it's acceptable, but some still have concerns.
"How do we know you're not in cahoots? Are you just sending someone to fool everyone?"
Song Ji said, "Since there are doubts, why don't we stay and assist in the interrogation?"
After exchanging glances, the group all agreed that it was feasible, so they nodded and appointed him as the "supervisor," leaving Tong Songji behind to interrogate him.
Two days later.
The weather cleared up and the sun was high in the sky. Li Yunru was admiring the flowers in the courtyard when Song Ji walked in with the supervisor.
"Have you figured it out?"
Song Ji: "Yes."
He said, "That man's name is Zheng Ge. He is from the Zheng family of Xingyang. The other day, the Wang family of Langya sent him a letter, asking him to cooperate in stirring up trouble, making things complicated, causing trouble for the lady, and preferably getting these people to spontaneously rise up... to kill you. The mine collapse and the rumors were all done by someone he hired. He also wanted to kill the Ou family to silence them, and it just so happened that our people ran into them, giving him the opportunity to frame someone."
"The Wang family of Langya?"
The flowers in Li Yunru's hand were crushed and suddenly fell to the ground.
"Isn't the real mastermind behind this the Cui family of Qinghe?"
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Author's note: It's so late again! Hope I can be on time tomorrow night~
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