Chapter 167 Beating the Drum to Cry for Justice, Suing Oneself
Divided by the carved wooden door, the candlelight flickers inside the house, while the stars glitter outside.
Jin Shu stood with her back to the door, gazing up at the winding sea of stars and the long Milky Way, which seemed to lead to the boundless void.
The scenery was beautiful, and the night breeze was cool.
Behind the carved wooden door behind her, Li Jin, holding her cuffs, personally poured Yun Jianlin a cup of tea.
"Lord Yun, I did not go to the court to find you, but only summoned you here. Do you know the purpose of this?" He raised his eyebrows and looked at Yun Jianlin, who was sitting directly opposite him with a furrowed brow.
"I understand." Having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for so many years, Yun Jianlin possessed this discernment. "Your Highness has no intention of punishing me."
As he said this, his withered lips trembled slightly: "But what exactly is this humble official..."
"Lord Yun," Li Jin interrupted him, narrowing his eyes slightly, "More than that, what I want to know is, where is Tang Si now?"
He looked up, his gaze cool yet full of trust.
Yun Jianlin glanced at his face, his lips opening and closing as if he wanted to speak, but he couldn't utter a word.
Li Jin, however, looked at him calmly and asked, "Does Lord Yun wish for me to let him go?"
For a moment, Yun Jianlin's expression showed a hint of panic.
He knew it was impossible.
Since Li Jin saved Yunfei eight years ago, his relationship with Li Jin has gone beyond just that of a local prefect and a royal prince.
He was the most steadfast supporter in Li Jin's camp, using "neutrality" as a disguise to secretly help him spread his own net.
He understands Li Jin.
Prince Jing of the Great Wei Dynasty possessed a more forceful approach than the former Crown Prince Li Mu, yet also a more gentle and humane nature than the current Crown Prince Li Jing.
Even so, he has his own principles and his absolute taboos.
“Lord Yun,” Li Jin looked at his brow, “it is true that Tang Si killed a wicked merchant, but it is also true that he killed a woman and two young children in the process.”
Yun Jianlin's face froze for a moment.
"Has this woman ever hurt anyone?" Li Jin asked, glancing at him.
After a long pause, Yun Jianlin shook his head: "That woman was someone else's wife that Xuan Yutang forcibly took because he was lustful..."
"Did those two children ever hurt anyone?" Li Jin asked, picking up his teacup with a blank expression.
Yun Jianlin shook his head: "No."
"...In that case, Lord Yun should know what to do." He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
Yun Jianlin remained silent for a long time before rising, bowing, and taking his leave: "This humble official understands."
As he pushed open the door to leave, he looked at Jin Shu and Zhou Zheng at the door, a bitter expression flashing across his face. He hesitated, then let out a long sigh and turned to leave.
After he walked away, Li Jin lifted the hem of her clothes and stepped over the threshold: "Get ready. After you see Tang Si, you need to go back as soon as possible."
Zhou Zheng looked slightly surprised: "Does Your Highness know where Tang Si is?"
Li Jin shook his head: "Yun Jianlin knows."
After saying that, he glanced at the medicine in Jin Shu's hand that had gone cold: "Zhou Zheng, let's go to Yang Qingyun's residence tonight."
Jin Shu was taken aback: "How can this be? Your injuries can't withstand such treatment."
Seeing her worried expression, Li Jin smiled faintly: "Are you worried about me, sir?"
Seeing his evasive manner and attempt to get away with it, Jin Shu snorted coldly: "I'm worried about my monthly salary."
After saying that, he added in a low voice, "I'll go with you; I can keep watch for you."
Li Jin paused for a moment, then burst out laughing. He shook his head, his voice as gentle as the early autumn night breeze: "Don't worry, the wages and this month's expenses haven't been paid yet, sir. I will be back unscathed and pay the money as soon as possible."
His smile remained unchanged: "I'm still grateful to you, sir, for heating up the medicine and waiting for me to return."
After Li Jin finished speaking, he took Zhou Zheng and strode away without waiting for Jin Shu to speak again.
Watching their retreating figures, Jin Shu held the herbal medicine in her hands, her brows furrowed, and let out a long sigh.
I've seen people who don't care about their lives, but I've never seen anyone this reckless.
Fortunately, Li Jin was a man of his word and returned unharmed.
"It would be even better if they didn't bring back a few more assassin corpses." Looking at the six men in black lying side by side on the ground, Jin Shu squatted down and clicked his tongue repeatedly. "Lord Zhou, you took on six men at once. Impressive."
The six men all had obvious sharp weapon wounds on their clothes, clearly inflicted by the Tang sword in Zhou Zheng's hand.
"It's better than some people who were injured while fighting five opponents at once."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin, who was drinking her herbal medicine, was taken aback: "How did you know there were five people?"
Jin Shu didn't speak, but pointed to the sky above her head: "Just chatting, I overheard it by chance."
After saying that, she reached out and searched the assassins.
There was nothing there.
“Zhou Zheng has already searched them. These are professional assassins. If they can’t beat them, they bite out the poison hidden in their back teeth and die soon after.”
Jin Shu stood up, somewhat surprised: "The last group of people, Your Highness captured them all alive, but none of them committed suicide by biting poison?"
In the darkness, Li Jin stood at the doorway, his gaze sweeping over the assassin's corpse, and nodded: "They must have been two groups of assassins with different motives."
“Last time it wasn’t an assassination attempt, it was more like harassment, and it was targeting me,” he said. “This time, this group ran into us at Yang Qingyun’s residence.”
"It's as if they're also looking for something."
Li Jin walked over from under the eaves with a lantern, squatted down next to Jin Shu, and held up the lantern to peel off the clothes of the assassin's corpse in front of Jin Shu, revealing a clear plum blossom tattoo on his chest.
It is exactly the same as the plum blossom in Li Jinna's painting.
“If they are indeed looking for something left behind by Yang Qingyun, or something he has hidden…” Li Jin said, “then this plum blossom branch most likely represents someone in the Ministry of Revenue. The most likely candidate is Pei Yide, the Minister of Revenue.”
“Hmm.” Jin Shu nodded. “It also suggests that Yang Qingyun must have something important that they haven’t found yet.”
As the night deepened, Li Jin glanced at the assassin's corpse before him and nodded.
The following evening, Tang Si personally struck the grievance drum at the entrance of the Shengzhou government office. He brought a petition, suing himself for the sake of three innocent lives.
Upon hearing the news, Li Jin rushed over. He nodded to Tang Si, who was dressed simply outside.
The middle-aged man was neatly dressed and physically strong. He looked at Yun Jianlin and Li Jin standing side by side, raised his hand, and respectfully bowed.
He glanced back at the donkey cart outside the door, and at the several empty cans of red lacquer on it. He took two steps forward, knelt down, and presented the dagger wrapped in burlap to Li Jin with both hands.
However, Li Jin did not answer.
He turned around with his hands behind his back and said, "Come with me." He added, "I've not called you here for a court hearing."
These words stunned both Yun Jianlin and Tang Si.
"I just want to know what exactly happened that night."
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