Find the murderer
Back in his study, Xie Zhuo remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was in turmoil.
Was Yu Yadan really the one who wanted to kill A Qiao?
He lowered the cold light in his eyes. "Find out what Yu Yadan has been doing lately, and who she has been in contact with. Investigate carefully!"
Sheng An nodded: "Yes!"
That evening, Sheng An brought back a message.
Xie Zhuo sat in the chair, listening to Sheng An's report with a blank expression.
"Your Highness, Miss Yu went to Zhuque Street the day before yesterday with the eldest daughter of the Duke of Anguo's mansion to buy jewelry and face powder. She has stayed in the mansion the rest of the time and has not gone out."
Yu Yadan is a wealthy young lady, and all the people she associates with are daughters of other wealthy families. In the past few days, apart from Tang Yuying, no other young ladies have sent her invitations, so Yu Yadan hasn't gone anywhere.
Isn't it her?
Xie Zhuo recalled the image of Fu Zhi Qiao turning her back on him and ignoring him, and asked again, "Is that all? Is there anything I've missed?"
Sheng An pondered for a moment, "Miss Yu has a wet nurse, and her son Sun Chi also works at the Minister's residence. When I went to investigate, I learned that he has not shown up for two days."
While investigating who Yu Yadan had been in contact with, Sheng An also took the opportunity to investigate the people around her.
"Has Sun Chi been staying at the Minister's residence all this time?"
Sheng An nodded respectfully: "Yes, Sun Chi managed to get a minor steward position in the Minister's mansion because he is the son of the young lady's wet nurse. According to other servants in the mansion, Sun Chi left the mansion to go back to his hometown to visit relatives."
"Visiting relatives? He's alone? Didn't his mother come back with him?"
"No, his mother has always been by the young lady's side."
Something unusual must be going on.
It's too much of a coincidence that a minor steward who usually lives in the Minister's mansion would suddenly return to his hometown alone to visit relatives, and that the timing of his return coincided with the time when Fu Zhi Qiao was injured.
After Sheng An finished speaking, he handed over a piece of paper, which detailed the places Sun Chi had visited in the past few days.
The top-tier secret guards trained by the Prince's Mansion are undoubtedly highly efficient.
Xie Zhuo glanced at the screen quickly and noticed that Sun Chi had visited the same gambling den for two consecutive days. He asked, "Is Sun Chi a gambler?"
"In my opinion, Sun Chi is not a gambler. He only had spare money to gamble after he became a manager, and he didn't go to the gambling den very often in the past."
With each word Sheng An spoke, Xie Zhuo's expression darkened further.
Why would someone who isn't a gambler go to and from the gambling den for two consecutive days?
Gambling dens are places where all sorts of people mingle, making them good places to exchange information.
Xie Zhuo had a plan in mind: "Go and send someone out to issue a bounty, to contact the Death Seekers as their employer, and confirm whether HSBC Casino is really the Death Seekers' meeting point."
"Also, arrange for a few more people to guard outside the villa, so that she is not harmed in any way."
The "she" the prince was referring to could only be Miss Fu. Sheng An bowed and said, "Yes, Your subordinate obeys."
Xie Zhuo waved his hand, signaling Sheng An to go down first. Sheng An bowed and turned to leave quietly.
Xie Zhuo sat alone at his desk, his eyes deep and thoughtful. If Sun Chi didn't have something to hide, why would he be in such a hurry to leave the capital?
It seems that the person who wants to harm A Qiao is most likely Yu Yadan. Her radical attempt to kill A Qiao shows that the Ministry of Rites already knows about A Qiao's existence.
Yu Yadan's desire to get rid of A Qiao was quite simple: A Qiao's existence posed a threat to her, and the reason she did so was because she had put A Qiao in danger.
Thinking of this, Xie Zhuo's face immediately turned fierce, and his fingers tapped on the table. He had already obtained the Illusion Heart Pill, and he had to speed up the process.
His wedding with Yu Yadan was at the end of the month. While he was in southern Xinjiang, he received a letter from Zuo Murui, asking him to return to Beijing as soon as possible and make time to prepare for the wedding.
He only had about ten days to make the arrangements.
Xie Zhuo's eyes narrowed slightly; he couldn't wait any longer.
*
Fu Zhi Qiao was still feeling aggrieved. She was first forced to jump off a cliff, and then drifted in the icy river for half a day. She had suffered a lot.
Moreover, this was the second time she had fallen into the water.
The first time was when Fu Yan'er pushed her into the water.
The second time was when he was assassinated by someone hired by Yu Yadan.
Both times she fell into the water, it was related to Xie Zhuo. Fu Zhi Qiao hugged her arm, wondering if there would be a third time. If it happened again, she might not be so lucky.
Having been reborn, Fu Zhi Qiao cherishes her life very much. She calmed herself down and gave Yin Xing a look.
She has been lying in bed without moving since the accident. Lying in bed for too long has caused her back and waist pain, and her hands and feet are also a little numb. Yinxing understood what she meant, helped her up and put a pillow behind her back so that she could lean against the headboard in a comfortable position.
Xie Zhuo knew that he had upset Fu Zhi Qiao yesterday, so he sent someone to pick up Yin Xing early in the morning. Yin Xing was brought over by Sheng An, and she also packed some of Fu Zhi Qiao's usual clothes and brought them to the villa.
Fu Zhi Qiao remained unmoved by Xie Zhuo's attempts to coax her.
When Xie Zhuo walked in, the master and servant were chatting and laughing. Yin Xing heard the footsteps, turned her head and saw Xie Zhuo. She immediately got up and made room for him.
Fu Zhiqiao knew Xie Zhuo had come in, but she acted as if she hadn't seen him and continued talking to Yinxing: "Yinxing, I want some water."
Yinxing quickly served tea, but Fu Zhiqiao only took a couple of sips and didn't even glance at Xie Zhuo.
Xie Zhuo's expression was also not good. He had upset her yesterday, but it was not intentional. He had realized his mistake and even took the initiative to bring Yinxing over.
Xie Zhuo felt that he had already humbled himself, but Fu Zhi Qiao was still ungrateful.
An eerie silence fell over the room.
Yinxing stared blankly at the two people, feeling the strange atmosphere. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't help but breathe softly.
She huddled to one side, trembling, and hesitated whether to leave. Xie Zhuo glanced at her, and she shuddered as she quietly slipped out of the room.
"Ahem..." After Yinxing left, only the two of them were left in the room. Xie Zhuo cleared his throat awkwardly.
Fu Zhi Qiao seemed to have just noticed him. She tilted her head slightly and smiled at him, saying, "You're here. I need to go home to rest. I'm not used to living in the villa."
"No." Xie Zhuo was not a slow-witted person. He quickly realized that his tone had been too harsh. He softened his voice and said, "A Qiao, the imperial physician said that your internal organs are injured and your ankle is not healed. You need to rest and recuperate properly."
"I can rest and recuperate properly at home."
...
The two held their own opinions, and a silent confrontation flowed through the room.
"Ah Qiao, even if you're angry with me, you can't take it out on yourself." Xie Zhuo felt a lump in his throat; he didn't understand why Fu Zhi Qiao was suddenly getting so worked up.
At the same time, he also felt a bit annoyed, thinking that Fu Zhi Qiao was being unreasonable. He had already humbled himself and made amends, so why was she still holding on? Moreover, she had fallen from a height and injured her internal organs, so she should have been resting in bed. Moving her back to the city now would be very detrimental to her recovery.
Seeing her attitude of not caring about her own body, Xie Zhuo's impatience gradually emerged. He rebuked her, "You're being ridiculous!"
Fu Zhi Qiao hated his lecturing tone. She was already angry, and now Xie Zhuo had come up with something. Especially after seeing the "you're being unreasonable" look on Xie Zhuo's face, she suddenly felt a surge of anger, which almost burst out of her body.
Reason told her that she couldn't blame Xie Zhuo for all the mistakes, but some emotions are often hard to control.
"Who's being ridiculous? You were the one who didn't believe me first!" Fu Zhi Qiao raised her eyes and stared intently at Xie Zhuo. "Since you don't trust me, there's no need for us to continue talking. Is there a problem with me moving back to my own home?"
"This is bad." Xie Zhuo said anxiously, his voice rising slightly, "I didn't distrust you!"
"You didn't believe me right away. You thought I was framing Yu Yadan and that I was being unreasonable!" Fu Zhi Qiao felt a slight soreness in her chest. She was injured at the time and was very vulnerable both physically and mentally. She wanted to seek some comfort and support from Xie Zhuo, but she didn't expect that Xie Zhuo would completely fail to understand her needs and even doubt what she said.
She felt wronged; she really felt wronged!
Xie Zhuo felt inexplicably uneasy: "I... I didn't distrust you, I was just... a little surprised."
Xie Zhuo was somewhat incoherent. He moved his mouth, wanting to explain himself, but didn't know where to begin. Knowing that Fu Zhi Qiao was too angry to listen to reason, he took a deep breath and said helplessly, "Qiao, I'm sorry."
Xie Zhuo's quick apology extinguished the fire in Fu Zhi Qiao's heart.
There's no point in arguing with someone you don't click with. She admitted she was too emotional yesterday; she just wanted some comfort from Xie Zhuo and his unconditional support, but she overlooked his feelings.
Xie Zhuo is rational; he is analyzing the situation and wants to find out the truth, so it's okay for him to remain skeptical about things that are uncertain.
It's hard to say who's right and who's wrong, but they're clearly not on the same wavelength.
Fu Zhi Qiao also knew that Xie Zhuo's apology at this moment was only to appease her; in reality, he did not think he had done anything wrong.
"You don't need to apologize. I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."
Fu Zhi Qiao's mood changed too quickly, and Xie Zhuo naturally assumed that she was being sarcastic. He hurriedly said, "No, no, it was indeed because of me that you were in danger. It's because of me that you got hurt. It's understandable that you have grievances."
Fu Zhi Qiao had regained her composure by now, and she said solemnly, "Xie Zhuo, I'm serious. I shouldn't have blamed you for other people's behavior. I'm sorry, I was too impulsive."
When Xie Zhuo heard her bow her head and apologize, he was even more at a loss for how to react. But he knew that she was still angry inside, and that her seemingly calm face might be brewing an even bigger storm.
He stood up straight, a little stiff, and it took him a while to calm down before he was ready to tell Fu Zhi Qiao about his plan: "Qiao, let's not fight anymore. There's something I want to tell you."
Now that he has obtained the Illusion Pill, he will soon be able to break off his engagement with Yu Yadan and find out who is behind her scheme.
"Perfect timing, I also have something I'd like to tell you."
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