Chapter 89 Approaching the Truth
Shen Yanzhou composed himself and calmly retorted, "My heart belongs to another, so Your Highness need not worry about this matter."
Pei Siyan stroked the ring on his finger, his thin lips parting slightly, "You have someone you love? Are you too indecisive to propose, or is she ungrateful?"
Shen Yanzhou twitched the corner of his mouth, "Your Majesty, I want to give her the best, so I must treat her with care. I will only marry one person in this life, so I will definitely want to cherish her. Therefore, it is only right to put in more effort."
Pei Siyan glanced at him, his words implying that he hadn't said anything more.
Just then, a constable ran over and respectfully reported, "Your Highness, sir, the brothers have found the house where the gunpowder was hidden."
——
When Dou Wenyi, Cuizhi, and the others arrived at the scene, a large crowd had already gathered outside the house. The dismissal of Steward Meng was like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's hearts, and they no longer dared to underestimate the fourth young lady of the Dou family.
As they watched the boxes of gunpowder being carried out, the onlookers gasped in astonishment.
The kilns were used for firing kilns for a long time, and if they were not careful, they would all perish there.
The crowd started chattering, "Who's the heartless bastard? Does he have a death wish?"
"This gunpowder was hidden in the kiln, and sparks were everywhere. Once you got a touch of it, bang! You wouldn't survive..."
"Isn't this the house Old Meng often comes to?"
"Just now, the officials felt there was something wrong with the room, so they just barged in, and the key was still intact."
"What do you mean by that? Does that mean Old Meng buried gunpowder here?"
Among the crowd, some observant people still noticed something amiss.
Bai Weiqi lowered his voice and reminded her, "Fourth Miss, besides Steward Meng, his nephew also often comes here with the key to this room. No matter how daring he is, he wouldn't dare to do something so reckless, after all, he sometimes stays at the kiln at night."
Dou Wenyi quite agreed with this. Even if Steward Meng accepted money from others, he still had to be alive to spend it, so he was just a scapegoat.
At this moment, Shen Yanzhou walked into the room and looked up to meet a pair of smiling eyes.
Dou Wenyi smiled and nodded slightly at him as a greeting.
When Manager Meng saw the gunpowder, he was completely dumbfounded.
He collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, "Fourth Miss, I'm innocent! Even if I had the greatest courage in the world, I wouldn't dare do such a foolish thing..."
Dou Wenyi remained calm and composed, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Save those words for the yamen to explain."
Meng Wang was in a state of utter confusion. He had accepted money from Scarface Zhang San, who occasionally stayed at this house, so he had given him a key. He never expected that Zhang San would betray him like this.
If he confesses all of this, could he be implicated in murdering his employer?
Meng Wang grew increasingly frightened as he thought about it, when he heard Dou Wenyi's voice continue, "This is Lord Shen, a man of impartiality and integrity who enforces the law. You must not hide anything from him; tell the truth, or your life will be in danger!"
Shen Yanzhou glanced sideways. Was he really that good in her heart?
He asked a few simple questions and then ordered his men to detain and take away the steward, Meng Wang.
Dou Wenyi glanced at the door and, not seeing Pei Siyan, breathed a sigh of relief.
Shen Yanzhou moved a few steps closer to her without making a sound, and lowered his voice, "Fourth Miss, I heard that you took the initiative to report the case today. How did you know that there was something strange about the kiln?"
Upon hearing this, Dou Wenyi's brows furrowed slightly. Relying on her rebirth, she naturally had a greater advantage than ordinary people.
As for how to justify her explanation, she forgot to think about it carefully.
A slight smile appeared on Shen Yanzhou's lips. "Yesterday, you almost perished under the thunderbolt, so naturally you had some suspicions and were worried about the safety of the kiln. That's why you hoped that the yamen runners would investigate. Am I right?"
Dou Wenyi was extremely grateful; Shen Yanzhou was teaching her how to deal with it!
Seeing that the officials had confiscated the gunpowder, Shen Yanzhou took his leave with them.
After everyone left, Dou Wenyi returned to the house with a cold sweat on her back.
If she hadn't come to the kiln today, hadn't reported it to the authorities, and hadn't taken out the gunpowder, these kiln workers would have suffered the same fate and died innocently.
And their Dou family will inevitably be implicated, ultimately dragging down their grandmother.
If Dou Mingyan was the mastermind behind this, was her goal to take over the kiln or to target her grandmother?
If it wasn't her, then who was it?
She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice Pei Siyan coming in with the food box. Cuizhi's eyes widened, and she was about to remind him when he stopped her.
A piece of osmanthus pastry was offered to her lips. Dou Wenyi realized she was a little hungry and immediately took a bite.
"Is it tasty?"
Dou Wenyi was startled and suddenly turned her head, only to see Pei Siyan's handsome and elegant face.
Pei Siyan suddenly found it a little funny.
This is not a joke about Dou Wenyi.
Instead, he laughed at himself.
He shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. Just now, when she was biting into that osmanthus pastry, she gently licked his finger. The tingling sensation made his heart itch. He had spent the whole day in Ru County, but it was not in vain.
Pei Siyan inexplicably recalled how he had wondered why Zhang Chengxian had taken a liking to her, and how he had shamelessly said that men who were obsessed with love were all weak-willed heroes.
Dou Wenyi twitched the corner of her mouth and muttered softly, "Your Highness, it's you?"
"Then who do you think it is?" Pei Siyan's upturned lips fell back down.
Dou Wenyi's ears felt slightly hot. "I thought it was Cuizhi."
I was worried about her for nothing.
Wasn't she someone who couldn't bear to go hungry since childhood? She's utterly heartless.
Pei Siyan asked calmly, "How did you know that someone at the kiln had hidden gunpowder?"
Dou Wenyi was slightly taken aback, and then repeated the words that Shen Yanzhou had taught her.
Pei Siyan instinctively felt that she wasn't telling the truth, and raised a slight brow with his narrow phoenix eyes, "Dou Wenyi, you should try to trust me. Wouldn't it be better to take advantage of the situation?"
Dou Wenyi fell silent. She clearly realized that she would rather seek help from Shen Yanzhou than believe him, and as a last resort, she did not want to get entangled with him any further.
Perhaps this is the mystery of fate; even though they are so close, they are separated by thousands of miles.
Dou Mansion.
Dou Wenyi and her entourage returned to the mansion and hurriedly went straight to Shouhe Hall.
News of the gunpowder found in the kiln has reached the household, and the house is packed with people waiting for them.
Dou Bochang's face was extremely ugly, suppressing his anger, "What exactly happened?"
After bowing to everyone and taking her seat, Dou Wenyi said calmly, "I'm afraid we should ask Mother about this matter. After all, both Granny Tong and Steward Meng were people she arranged."
Madam Gu's face turned deathly pale...
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