Chapter 84 A Harmonious Reciprocation Shen Qinglu lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes...
*
Under the emperor's nose, powerful and wealthy people are everywhere.
The Kwan brothers, having no roots or foundation, have managed to climb to their current positions not only because of the powerful backers they rely on, but also because of their own abilities and ruthless methods.
Compared to his cousin Guan Hu, who wore his emotions on his sleeve, Guan Bao was more cunning and calculating.
He squinted at the person in front of him, his mind racing.
Previously, he had only seen Mu Han from afar, never spoken to him, and had no dealings with him. He knew little about this Ninth Master of the Mu family, who rarely appeared in public, and didn't care much about him.
Now that they were facing off, he secretly marveled at how powerful aristocratic families were. Even an unknown member of the family exuded such an intimidating aura that he was no less impressive than the Marquis of Yongyi.
"You said you're here to get a certificate? What kind of certificate?"
"Firstly, the fourth young master of the Shen family is considered my disciple. I heard that my disciple killed someone with a hidden weapon, so I have to get to the bottom of it. Secondly, I was also present when General Shen asked me to testify about his family affairs and when Miss Shen used the hidden arrow in public."
The sound was clearly as light and cold as falling snow, but it sounded like an avalanche.
"So, Lord Mu recognizes the hidden arrow made by Young Master Shen?" Guan Bao was overjoyed and quickly presented the evidence. "Then, Lord Mu, do you think this hidden arrow was made by Young Master Shen?"
Mu Hanshi picked up one of them, turned it over and over for a while, and said calmly, "It does look like it."
Shen Qinglu: "..."
Could this Mu Lao Jiu be here to kick someone when they're down?
She stared blankly at the person blocking her way, his dark, cold eyes filled with a deep black.
"Since Lord Mu can testify, then..."
Guan Bao's slightly excited and eager words were lightly cut off by Mu Hanshi's words, "I only said it looks like it, I haven't confirmed it. This kind of hidden weapon is not difficult to make, nor is it difficult to imitate. My disciple can make it, and others can make it too."
“Lord Mu’s words make sense. We can’t conclude that Miss Shen was the killer just based on this. We still need to find the quiver.” Guan Bao suppressed his displeasure and gestured to the constables behind him.
"Wait," Mu Hanshi said again, "Do you have any search warrants?"
“Lord Mu, this is a case handled by my Criminal Division. Is it really appropriate for you to obstruct me like this?” Guan Bao’s gaze turned sinister, clearly indicating that he thought he was being nosy.
However, when I met his calm and deep eyes, I felt a chill creep up from the bottom of my heart.
He looked down at people with a cold and indifferent expression. Even without saying a word, he could make people unconsciously feel inferior.
Guan Bao's back was covered in sweat. He cursed under his breath, but he also felt increasingly guilty. "Lord Mu, this is a matter of life and death, and it is a murder case. Our Criminal Division has an inescapable responsibility. As for the search warrant, I will definitely provide it afterward."
"You're right, human life is at stake."
As Mu Hanshi's voice, as soft as falling snow, fell, the hand behind his back twitched, his slender fingers hooking as if indicating something.
Shen Qinglu: "..."
She actually understood!
This is simply unbelievable; she and Mu Lao Jiu actually have a tacit understanding.
But should she accept this tacit understanding or not?
She barely hesitated, because it was a matter of life and death, and it concerned her own life. So she cried, "I didn't kill anyone, you're framing me! You even searched my house, humiliating me like this, I'll die right now!"
As she spoke, she covered her face with her hands and rushed toward the mimosa tree.
Her slender figure barely moved before she was pulled back.
The familiar warmth emanated from the man's palm through her clothes. She looked at the man holding her with teary eyes, his dark, jade-like pupils like jade stones gently soaking in a spring.
She was timid and helpless, yet breathtakingly beautiful.
The vibrant color fell precisely into Mu Hanshi's deep gaze, like the meeting of fire and water.
Guan Bao also caught half of what was going on. While suspecting that they were working together, the sinister glint in his eyes was quickly suppressed, and his voice softened, sounding like clothes that hadn't dried properly on a rainy day, which was particularly unsettling.
“Miss Chen, come back to the Ministry of Justice with me. Don’t worry, if you really didn’t kill the person, I will definitely find out the truth and clear your name.”
Shen Qinglu lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes wet with tears, looking pitiful. "Just now, Lord Mu said that the hidden arrow was only similar, and it's not certain that it was mine. You haven't even seen it, yet you brought people to search my house based solely on someone else's word. It's clearly an attempt to frame me. How could you possibly want to clear my name?"
She didn't know what Mu Hanshi wanted to do, and all she could do now was stall.
The burning heat on her arm subsided, but she still kept her head slightly lowered. The snow in her vision was very white, dazzling even more under the sun, like a sudden snowfall in the bright spring sunshine, much like her current state of injustice.
“What Miss Shen said makes sense. If Inspector Guan wants to enter the house to search, he must first confirm that the hidden arrow belongs to Miss Shen.”
Mu Hanshi's words intensified the hostility in Guan Bao's eyes.
Guan Bao gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, there were other people present that day. I'll go and invite them over to identify them."
*
Da Xuan Kong Temple.
Granny Yu saw the doctor out, glanced at the autumn dew outside the door, sighed softly, and then went to prepare the medicine.
When the medicine was ready, he saw that Qiu Lu was still standing there like a wooden stake. He frowned, said nothing, and carried the medicine in one hand and lifted the curtain with the other to enter the room.
The house was not large, in fact, it was quite small. There was no outer or inner room; it was separated only by an old elm wood screen. Once you walked around the screen, you could see inside.
Shen Linlang sat on the edge of the wooden bed, lost in thought.
Beneath the blue, coarse cloth quilt was a pale face, clearly sickly, with a noticeably pointed chin—it was Yu Liuzhu.
Granny Yu brought the medicine forward, which was taken by Shen Linlang.
Without needing to say anything more, Granny Yu helped Yu Liuzhu up so that her mistress could be fed the medicine.
This tacit understanding was a habit that the master and servant had naturally developed over the years.
Not long after taking the medicine, Yu Liuzhu slowly opened her eyes, tears streaming down her face before she could speak. "Mother, is it really you? I thought I was going to die and you wouldn't even come to see me..."
"Where is your mother?" Shen Linlang asked, suppressing the pain in her heart.
She shook her head. "I don't know. She doesn't really care about me. She's always running around outside, and I don't know what she's doing."
Those sorrowful and pitiful eyes looked longingly at Shen Linlang.
“I’m so happy that you could come to see me, but I can’t get up and can’t even serve you tea. Mother… my heart is so heavy. I thought I was going to die last night…” she choked up. “I was in a daze, and I seemed to dream of the past. When I was sick, Mother would always stay by my side. I could see Mother as soon as I opened my eyes…”
Sixteen years! A full sixteen years!
All the little moments between mother and daughter flooded Shen Linlang's mind. She clearly remembered every time the child was sick, because she stayed by her side, personally feeding her medicine and changing her clothes without relying on servants.
"Don't dwell on the past."
“Mother…” Yu Liuzhu timidly took her hand, “I really, really want to go back to the past, if none of this had happened…how wonderful that would be. I don’t want to fight with Ali, I just want to be with you, Mother…”
"You have your own mother."
“She doesn’t care about me at all. She doesn’t care when I’m sick and she’s still running around outside.”
Qiu Lu entered unnoticed, wiping away tears. "Madam, Miss hasn't eaten a single bite since last night. It's not that I don't want to call a doctor, but I don't have a single penny on me. I really have no other choice..."
"Who told you to say such things? Get out..." Yu Liuzhu shouted angrily, then coughed violently, seemingly due to excessive emotion. "Mother, I'm alright. There's vegetarian food at the temple. I'm not hungry..."
They didn't even have food to eat!
Shen Linlang felt distressed, but quickly hardened her heart and looked at the child she had cherished for more than ten years with complicated eyes, as if she wanted to see clearly.
Yu Liuzhu coughed, seemingly oblivious to the strange look in her eyes. After Qiu Lu left, she weakly said, "Qiu Lu's indenture isn't with me. I can't even afford her monthly allowance. Mother, please don't blame her. Even if she has ulterior motives towards me, I don't resent her..."
She frowned upon hearing this.
She knew perfectly well whether Qiu Lu had any ulterior motives.
"You're still sick, don't overthink things."
"Mom, I'm not thinking nonsense, I'm just really scared. After what happened at home last time, I had a bad feeling. What do you think Auntie is trying to do, running around outside all the time?"
“You…” Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt a bit suspicious.
She still remembers what Qiu Lu said.
Could it be...?
"You know nothing about her?"
Yu Liuzhu nodded, then shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I always feel that what happened last time was related to her. Mother, it's not that I'm imagining things, I just don't feel like she's my mother at all..."
Shen Linlang looked at her intently, trying to glean something from her expression.
Her eyelids were half-closed, and she looked like she was in great pain.
The mother and daughter have been together for more than ten years. It is said that no one knows a daughter better than her mother. And the daughter also knows her mother's temperament and personality very well.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, until the officials from the Ministry of Justice arrived.
When they arrived at the Shen residence, Yu Qingxue had already arrived.
"Don't arrest Ali, arrest me instead..."
Her voice arrived before she did.
Upon hearing this, a mocking glint appeared in Shen Qinglu's dark eyes.
The man arrived and knelt down before Guan Bao with a thud. "My lord, you've made a mistake! My Ali wouldn't kill anyone! There must be some misunderstanding. She's still an unmarried girl; how could she bear such a reputation? Arrest me! Take me away..."
"The law is strict; how can it be substituted?" Guan Bao handed over the hidden arrow for identification. "Take a close look; do you recognize this?"
Yu Qingxue seemed to be stunned for a moment, then pointed to the hidden arrow, "I recognize it... this is Ali's hidden arrow."
"Madam, have you seen it clearly? Is it really hers?"
"She accidentally shot that day, almost hurting me. I won't mistake her for someone else."
Guan Bao looked at Shen Qinglu, "Miss Shen, what else do you have to say?"
Then he asked Mu Hanshi, "Lord Mu, this hidden arrow has been confirmed to belong to Miss Shen. Do you still intend to stop me?"
"You do not have a search warrant."
"Master Mu!" Guan Bao said, his anger barely concealed. "Our Criminal Division has its own procedures for handling cases. In urgent situations, we often have to act expediently. Please do not interfere."
"I couldn't stop Guan from forcibly searching the place. I only have one question: what will you do if you find nothing?"
Guan Bao was clearly hesitant, his sinister gaze drifting.
His eyes quickly hardened, and he said, "If I have offended you in any way, I will definitely apologize to Miss Shen in the future."
Mu Hanshi lowered his brows and asked Shen Qinglu with his eyes.
Shen Qinglu estimated that the time had been dragged out enough and said without much emotion, "Since that's the case, then search. But let me make this clear beforehand: the search is one thing, but if anything is damaged or missing, you'll have to pay for it."
Upon hearing this, the constables looked at each other.
Guan Bao frowned deeply. He had climbed his way up from the bottom and had seen a lot, but he couldn't see through the two people in front of him. One was clearly a beautiful young lady from a respectable family, who had been acting like she was going to die just moments before, but her expressionless face made him uneasy.
The other one is even harder to discern. He appears to be a refined and aloof scion of a noble family, yet he possesses an aura that inspires fear and makes it difficult to gauge his true nature.
"Be careful, don't touch anything bad."
Upon hearing this, the constables all agreed.
Half an hour later, they finished searching but did not find the quiver.
Guan Bao didn't believe it and had them search again, but they still found nothing.
He frowned, clearly weighing something, and then, having made a decision, said firmly, "This hidden arrow has been confirmed to belong to Miss Shen, and there are witnesses who identify Miss Shen as the murderer. Even if we don't find the quiver, Miss Shen must come with us to the Ministry of Justice."
"My lord, what do you mean by this?" Yu Qingxue seemed frightened and asked anxiously, "Could it be that Ali killed someone with this hidden weapon? No... you can't arrest Ali, arrest me instead, just pretend I killed the person..."
True human nature is revealed in times of life and death.
Logically speaking, she was risking her life to protect Shen Qinglu.
Shen Qinglu felt a chill in her heart, devoid of any emotion, only filled with sarcasm.
She and Mu Hanshi were close by, and the red and white colors complemented each other perfectly, like red plum blossoms reflected in snow.
Such a beautiful scene was incredibly dazzling to Yu Liuzhu, who had come with Shen Linlang, and she wished she could erase her from her sight.
“Mother, listen to this. For the sake of Sister Ali, she is even willing to accept such a thing.”
No one could know what Shen Linlang was thinking; her gaze towards Shen Qinglu carried a hint of obscure complexity. Shen Qinglu also saw her, her eyes lighting up as she suppressed a pleading smile, her expression a mixture of grievance and desperation.
"Mother, I didn't kill anyone, it was her!" Shen Qinglu pointed at Yu Qingxue. "She came here claiming the murder weapon was mine, but there were no markings on the hidden dart. How could she be so sure it was mine? She clearly wanted to kick someone when they were down and use them as a tool to kill someone. She even pretended to say that if anyone was to be arrested, they should arrest her. Who knows, she might be the one who killed the person!"
Yu Qingxue was greatly alarmed.
"It's not me... I just couldn't bear it, Ali. I'd give you my life, how could you do this to me? I don't lie... Ali, it's all my fault, I'm the one who hurt you..."
The scars on her face have faded considerably; they are barely noticeable unless you look closely.
Shen Qinglu looked at her, her eyes dark and cold, and suddenly asked the flower, "Don't we look alike? Look again, is it her who killed the person? Or me?"
Caught off guard by the question, the flower blurted out instinctively, "It's you! Don't think I won't recognize you just because your face is covered!"
"So the murderer was masked." Before anyone could recover, Shen Qinglu asked, "Then how did you know it was me?"
"Besides you, who else wears red and has flowers painted on their face?"
“There are countless girls in Donglin City who love to wear red dresses and adorn themselves with floral patterns. Not to mention those from far away, there are plenty nearby,” Shen Qinglu said, glancing at Yu Liuzhu.
“Sister Ali, no matter how much you dislike me or hate me, you can’t frame me like this.” Yu Liuzhu’s face was visibly pale, and she looked very weak. “I’ve had a high fever since last night and was unconscious. Luckily, my aunt rushed over and got a doctor for me, otherwise I’m afraid I wouldn’t have woken up. How could I possibly kill someone?”
Therefore, she has an alibi, and the witness is still Shen Linlang.
For some reason, Shen Linlang felt guilty and didn't dare to look at Shen Qinglu. She quickly questioned Guan Bao, "The clothes are similar, the makeup is the same, and the face is covered. How can you conclude that my Ali is the murderer based on these things alone?"
Guan Bao frowned, feeling an invisible pressure that made it hard for him to breathe.
He knew who was behind this uncomfortable feeling, and even though Mu Hanshi didn't say a word, he couldn't ignore it and was focused on ending the matter as soon as possible.
“Madam Yu, I did not say that Miss Shen is the murderer, but this hidden arrow is hers, and she is a suspect. According to the laws of the Ministry of Justice, I can take her away.”
Outside the main courtyard, Xia Chan appeared at some point. When Shen Qinglu looked over, she nodded rather lightly.
Shen Qinglu's tense nerves relaxed, and her breathing became lighter.
"Who said this hidden blade is mine?" She pointed at Yu Qingxue. "Her? If she says it is, then it is. What proof do you have?"
"Ah Li, it's my fault, I deserve to die... Sir, please arrest me, I'm willing to take the blame for her..."
Not only was things not going smoothly, but it was also taking too long. Guan Bao was naturally anxious, and his sinister face showed a hint of impatience.
He knew that if he delayed any longer, things would definitely change, so he gave a wink to his two closest subordinates.
The two men stepped forward, intending to forcibly seize Shen Qinglu.
"Pass"
"Pass"
Before they could even touch anyone, they were knocked down by a powerful force, falling to the ground one after the other.
Guan Bao looked at them in disbelief, as well as at the man who resembled a tall cedar tree.
"Lord Mu, how dare you..."
"Chief Justice Guan, the matter hasn't been clarified yet, why are you in such a hurry?"
Beneath her slightly drooping eyelids, like a tranquil lake, Shen Qinglu's image was reflected, rippling with a tender and lingering affection. "Miss Shen, think again, where did you put that hidden arrow?"
Shen Qinglu inexplicably felt as if she were some rare treasure, wrapped in the finest silk in the world, being carefully treasured and cherished.
She frowned her delicate brows, seemingly trying to recall something seriously, but actually trying her best to ignore the strangeness.
After a moment, his brow relaxed, "I remember now!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
