Chapter Twenty-Five
The next morning, Zhou Yanqing instructed Chen Wu to take Chen Ludao to the Judicial Office to give his testimony.
He and Si Yanmo led a small team of guards to the Ning residence.
On the way, Si Yanmo still felt unsatisfied, "Is it really over just because we arrested Ning He?"
"Otherwise what?" Zhou Yanqing lifted the curtain, her gaze falling on the trees receding into the distance. If you looked closely, there was a hint of resentment in her eyes.
"According to the Southern Law, murderers must pay with their lives, but considering his merits, he was exiled to the border region of Qin to serve in the army."
"That's not what I meant. I meant that he put righteousness before family at the Digu Temple, and the whole of Qin'an City was praising him. Now this guy has a better reputation than you, and if we just arrest him like this, nobody will know. Do you think the people will believe us?"
"Whether they believe me or not, it's all the same. At most, they'll just call me a tyrant and a cruel ruler who persecutes loyal people." Zhou Yanqing shrugged. "I'm used to it. A couple more words won't make a difference."
His casual remark made Si Yanmo frown. "It's not a good reputation, yet you seem to like it."
"What can I do if I don't like it?" He forced a smile, revealing a hint of helplessness and bitterness. "At least I've done what I was supposed to do."
Looking at the man's appearance, Si Yanmo felt inexplicably choked up.
When she first saw Zhou Yanqing's destiny, she also thought that he was just a ruthless tyrant who killed without blinking an eye. But after spending more time with him, Si Yanmo found that good and bad were not so easy to judge.
Perhaps because her days of lucidity were too short in both her past and present lives, she always made an oversimplified judgment when it came to distinguishing between good and bad people.
Killing people makes you a bad person, saving people makes you a good person.
A fierce-looking person is a bad person, while a kind person is a good person.
Unreasonable people are bad people; reasonable people are good people...
These original criteria for judgment seem to have changed after getting to know Zhou Yanqing.
Zhou Yanqing had killed people and was fierce. When they first met, he seemed unreasonable. But after spending so much time together, Si Yanmo really couldn't bring herself to say that he was a bad person.
At Wufeng Pass, Liu Ziwei was always smiling and seemed like a kind uncle, but he betrayed Qin. When he first met Ning He, he also seemed reasonable, but he secretly killed his own daughter and wanted to use her corpse to enhance his reputation.
Are these people good or bad?
This was the first time Si Yanmo had begun to think about this question.
Before she could figure it out, the carriage had already arrived at the Ning residence.
The Ning Mansion today is different from the last time I came here. Last time, Si Yanmo only felt that the place was magnificent. This time, the gold shop in front of her hides a man-eating demon under its winding walls.
It will emerge from the cracks in the tiles and bricks, devour the tender buds of the willow trees and the returning swallows, and then retreat back to digest them slowly, waiting for its owner to release it again.
She followed Zhou Yanqing inside. As soon as the door opened, Ning He came to greet them, as if she had known they were coming.
"I was unaware of the arrival of the King and Queen of Qin; I have failed to greet you properly." He glanced at the guards holding swords, his expression composed. "And this is?"
Zhou Yanqing: "Ning Shi must know what he did."
Ning He crossed his arms over his stomach, lowered his eyes, and smiled, "Your Highness, I don't understand what you're saying."
Seeing his composure, Si Yanmo had a vague sense of unease.
Just then, Chen Wu rushed in, sword in hand, and whispered to Zhou Yanqing, "Your Highness, Chen Ludao is dead."
The whole family died.
Suddenly, a thunderclap boomed across the clear blue sky, and dark clouds pierced the sunlight, spreading rapidly like ink drops into clear water, enveloping the entire city of Qin'an.
Raindrops pelted Si Yanmo's collar, but fortunately, oil-paper umbrellas were always kept in the carriage, and a perceptive guard quickly grabbed two to shield the two of them from the rain.
The rain was blocked, but Ning He still dutifully let down the curtain of water, making it impossible for them to see the faint, mocking smile on his lips.
Back in the carriage, she and Zhou Yanqing stared intently at the tightly closed gates of the Ning residence through the curtain.
"We can't let him get away with this!" the two said in unison.
What are your thoughts?
“No, not yet.” Zhou Yanqing rubbed his temples. “We only had one witness, and now he’s dead.”
Si Yanmo also sighed and lifted the small curtain at the window, "This guy is really hard to deal with. Even without Ning Qingzi's matter, he would probably be a major threat."
"Otherwise, why do you think I would ask you to look at his destiny? When Master was in power, he was no pushover. Master could control him, but I couldn't."
"Why don't we check other places? When you look at his birth chart..."
As Zhou Yanqing was speaking, Si Yanmo's gaze fell on the passing Digu Temple.
"parking!"
She suddenly stopped the carriage, lifted her skirt, and rushed into the Digu Temple in the rain. Zhou Yanqing couldn't catch up with her.
She went straight to the statue of Emperor Gu, her eyes scanning the area, and lit up when she saw the tortoise shell used for divination on the platform.
"What do you think... what if we don't find any witnesses and just ruin his reputation?"
When Zhou Yanqing followed, he saw her holding up the tortoise shell, looking at it from left to right, with a sly smile on her lips.
He immediately sensed something was wrong. "Si Yanmo, I don't care what you're thinking, stop thinking about it!"
"Why?"
"Forging divine pronouncements will incur divine retribution!"
“Ning He didn’t suffer divine retribution, so what am I afraid of?” Si Yanmo shook her head and picked up the carving knife next to her to carve words on the tortoise shell.
“If Di Gu really has a spirit in heaven, he should kill him first before coming to find me. Besides, I am telling the truth, I am just using Di Gu’s words, he will not blame me.”
That's all fallacy!
Zhou Yanqing truly regretted becoming her ally. He even called himself a reckless fool, while she was far more insane.
Si Yanmo noticed his worry, put down the knife, and pinched his sleeve, shaking it slightly. "It's alright, I've calculated it. Don't worry, neither of us will get killed because of this!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another loud rumble echoed in the sky.
"See, it didn't split both of us in half, did it?"
The man was both amused and exasperated, but when he met her bright eyes, his tightly clenched lips finally deflated.
He knelt on the cushion and kowtowed three times and nine times, saying, "Go ahead and carve it. Anyway, I told Di Gu that I'm going to chop you up."
Si Yanmo raised an eyebrow indifferently, "No way!"
Zhou Yanqing shook his head helplessly and bowed to the statue of Emperor Gu again.
Forget it, let's not chop her up...
——
The following day, Zhou Yanqing, under the pretext of spring planting, worshipping the gods, and divination, came to the Digu Temple with a group of ministers, including Ning He.
The sacrificial ceremony began with the King of Qin offering incense, followed by everyone kneeling and praying for blessings. Then, the prepared tortoise shells were placed on the stove in front of the Emperor's statue to be roasted.
Once the tortoise shell has been baked until cracks appear, a shaman will determine whether it is auspicious or inauspicious. If it is an auspicious sign, everyone will be happy; if it is an inauspicious sign, a human sacrifice will be needed to ask Emperor Gu for help.
Since there are no shamans or diviners in Qin now, Zhou Yanqing went to invite Grand Master Mo from the Divination Academy to interpret the divine oracle.
Everything proceeded as usual, with everyone awaiting divine instructions. However, at this moment, Mo Wenzhong picked up the roasted tortoise shell, his brows gradually furrowing.
Zhou Yanqing asked at the opportune moment, "Grand Tutor Mo, is there a problem?"
Mo Wenzhong slowly raised his head and looked at Ning He, who was standing behind Zhou Yanqing, with an unusual expression.
"The ancient decree of the Emperor states: 'Those who deceive the people and murder their daughters for personal glory shall be burned alive.'"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers around him turned to look at Ning He.
The story of Ning sacrificing his own family for the sake of eliminating evil spirits had long been known throughout Qin'an, and these ministers had naturally heard about it to varying degrees.
Could there really be something fishy going on?
“What do you mean by ‘Ning’s affair’?” Zhou Yanqing turned around and stared at Ning He, his gaze scrutinizing her.
Ning He's hands were clenched tightly, and his forehead was covered in sweat.
He immediately knelt down, "Your Majesty, this humble official truly did not know."
"You don't know? Then tell me what this divination means?"
Upon hearing this, cold sweat poured down Ning He's forehead like soybeans. He knelt on the ground, trembling, and said, "It must be...it must be someone who forged a divine decree to frame me!"
His words startled everyone present, and no one dared to speak.
The person who witnessed this reckless woman accomplish all of this remained calm and composed. "Then tell me, who is slandering you? Is it me, Grand Tutor Mo, or Emperor Gu?"
His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but it reached everyone's ears, and everyone turned away, not daring to look anymore.
They couldn't believe that someone would dare to forge a divine oracle, especially in front of so many people. If they were to slip up even slightly, they would be doomed.
Even if it were true, it would be true until it was exposed!
The more they said, the more mistakes they made, so everyone kept their mouths shut and quietly watched what was happening before them.
Ning He naturally dared not answer Zhou Yanqing's question.
He had a vague idea that the other party was behind it all, but he couldn't say anything. Otherwise, he would be punished by the gods for fabricating the story of evil spirits and falsely accusing the King of Qin, which would be enough to get him burned several times over.
Just then, a woman's wailing came from the temple gate: "Ning He, you will die a horrible death!"
All eyes were fixed on the temple entrance.
A woman, dressed simply with disheveled hair, rushed straight to Ning He's face, grabbed his clothes, and cried out, "Give me back my daughter! Give me back my daughter!"
The guards beside him wanted to stop him, but were forced back by a single look from Zhou Yanqing.
Ning He's previously composed and strong face instantly crumbled upon seeing the woman's face. "Shouldn't you be..."
At this moment, someone spoke up: "This seems to be Ning Shi's concubine, Zhang Shi."
"Nonsense, I don't know this crazy woman at all!" Ning He tried to pull the woman away, but Zhang Yao held on to him tightly.
"It was you! You killed Qingzi!" she roared hoarsely, her wrinkled fingers gripping the man's collar so tightly they almost crushed the smooth silk.
Zhou Yanqing watched the farce unfold before her, then turned back to raise an eyebrow at the screen and quietly gave it a thumbs up.
Behind the screen, Si Yanmo smiled, her lips pursed.
It's all thanks to the heavy rain the day before yesterday.
When Si Yanmo returned from the Digu Temple the day before yesterday, she felt that she had missed something. She carefully recalled the scenes of her trip to Ning Mansion in the past few days and suddenly found a crying figure in her memory.
She carefully recalled the person's attire; it was not as luxurious as Ning He's, but it was also different from that of an ordinary maid or nanny.
Even though she had never seen the woman's fate, she could guess that this woman was probably Ning Qingzi's mother.
Si Yanmo thought that she must know something, so she asked Zhou Yanqing to send someone to investigate.
As luck would have it, Chen Wu found Zhang Yao, who had fled into the woods in the suburbs.
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