The alley was deep, and no one checked after the few bangs. Tao Wanniang calmly picked up the spent cartridges and walked away. Whoever this person was, dressed like that, it would probably take several days to identify them, and she didn't know them. The wounds were unknown to anyone; she wasn't afraid of being implicated!
When Tao Wanniang returned to the restaurant, she was empty-handed and acted as if nothing had happened, completely unaffected by the incident.
Many of the people who came to the restaurant were from government positions. About three days later, some of the guests at the restaurant started talking about the matter.
"Isn't it strange? The head of the Censorate, Lord Chen, was found dead in a dark alley. The coroner said he was killed by some kind of hidden weapon."
"This is strange, but not unexpected. After all, it's the Censorate, and there must be quite a few people watching it behind the scenes. But who would dare to do this?" Tao Wanniang had only been out of the kitchen for a short while when she heard people discussing this matter in the corner.
A dark alley, a hidden weapon—her intuition told her it was the person she had killed. However, she wasn't about to walk into a trap and arouse suspicion.
The Emperor was furious about Chen Bin's death. Chen Bin had asked for leave, so how did he end up dying in an alley?
"Ling Yunzhou, you've seen Chen Bin's body. What are your thoughts?" Zhao Zhe asked Ling Yunzhou.
"Your Majesty, I do not know," Ling Yunzhou replied. The hidden weapon taken from Chen Bin's body was neither gold nor silver, and it was indestructible. He simply could not imagine what kind of hidden weapon in the world was so hard.
"Neither the Ministry of Justice nor you know, which makes me feel uneasy." Zhao Zhe's eyes were filled with anger. The death of the head of the Censorate outside the capital was a contempt for imperial authority and a provocation against the court.
"Your Majesty, could it be that we are overthinking things?" Ling Yunzhou said solemnly. "Chen Bin's attire before his death was probably to conceal his identity. Could it be that it was for personal revenge?"
"Your Majesty, the Minister of Justice requests an audience." A guard came to report from outside the Imperial Study.
"Announce."
The Minister of Justice looked solemn. He was slightly surprised to see Ling Yunzhou, but he immediately knelt down to pay his respects and reported, "Your Majesty, we have found out where Lord Chen went before his death."
"Where?" Zhao Zhe asked immediately.
"Star-Picking Tower".
Zhao Zhe and Ling Yunzhou exchanged a glance, and Zhao Zhe continued, "Anything else?"
Chaotian Palace.
Zhao Zhe's expression darkened further. What was Chen Bin doing at Chaotian Palace?
Ling Yunzhou couldn't help but ponder. The Chaotian Palace had the Eldest Princess, and the Zhaixing Tower had Tao Wanniang. It wasn't that he was overly confident, but he felt that if there was a connection between them, it was him!
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. He remembered when he sneaked into the Tao family's house at night, a hidden weapon had also been fired. Could it be…?
Zhao Zhe noticed the change in Ling Yunzhou's expression. Did the eldest princess in Chaotian Palace remind Ling Yunzhou of something?
"Liang Shangkun, go to Chaotian Palace and ask him. Tell him it's my will," Zhao Zhe said, dismissing the man.
"Lingyunzhou, why don't you take a trip to the Star-Picking Tower?"
"Your humble servant obeys." Ling Yunzhou replied, but he had some doubts. It wasn't surprising that Chen Bin went to the Star-Picking Tower, but he could ask if anyone was traveling with him.
After Ling Yunzhou left, Zhao Zhe gave instructions to his trusted confidants.
"I have a feeling that this matter is related to the Eldest Princess. Chen Bin has always been in love with the Eldest Princess. Go to Chaotian Palace and ask her."
When Ling Yunzhou came to Zhaixinglou, he was dressed casually. After ordering the dishes, he asked Ling Dapeng to call the manager.
"General Ling, what are your orders?" Lu Neng asked respectfully.
Ling Yunzhou also carried a portrait of Chen Bin with him. Unfolding the portrait, he asked Lu Neng, "Did this person come to Zhaixing Tower a few days ago?"
"The Zhaixing Tower is always packed with visitors, which I didn't know about before, but this person left a deep impression on me." Lu Neng didn't hide anything and told him about what happened that day. "General, who is this official?" Chen Bin in the portrait was wearing official robes.
“Chen Bin, the commander of the Censorate,” Ling Yunzhou replied suspiciously. “He even went to see Tao Wanniang, which is strange.”
Luneng was taken aback. The restaurant was well-informed, and many people had been talking about the assassination of the head of the Supervisory Yuan in an alley these past few days.
"You go ahead and do your work. I'll ask Wan Niang after I finish eating."
"Once Manager Tao received the reward money, he went off to do his work, and this Lord Chen also left. I don't think Manager Tao could say anything else," Lu Neng said, intentionally defending Tao Wanniang.
Ling Yunzhou said gently, "Manager Lu, there's no need to worry. I was just making a routine inquiry about Lord Chen's murder."
Luneng didn't know what to say after hearing this, so he left. But while Ling Yunzhou was eating, he immediately went to the kitchen to inform Tao Wanniang.
"Manager Tao, do you still remember the person who specifically sought you out that day and gave you a reward?" Lu Neng said briefly, "He's dead. He was the head of the Censorate. General Ling is here and having dinner. He might ask you questions later."
"Oh, it's a routine inquiry from the government, I know," Tao Wanniang replied calmly, having already prepared her response.
"Lu Neng, you've come at the right time. Have you taken the matter of finding me an apprentice that I mentioned to you seriously?" Liu Yueniang immediately poked her head out and asked as soon as she saw Lu Neng coming over.
"We're looking for it," Luneng replied immediately. "We'll talk later. I'll go out and take a look first."
Ling Yunzhou soon sent Ling Dahu to call Tao Wanniang.
"Mother, Father doesn't seem to be in a good mood. Has something happened?" Ling Dahu said in a low voice.
"Don't you know whether we're in trouble or not?" Tao Wanniang retorted. "You just need to focus on your work!"
"Is there a convenient place to talk?" Ling Yunzhou wanted to ask whether Tao Wanniang had any experts in hidden weapons around her.
Seeing this, Tao Wanniang led Ling Yunzhou to the backyard, and the surroundings immediately became quiet.
"Speak, what is it?"
"Manager Lu said that Chen Bin came to Zhaixing Tower to see you. Did you notice anything strange about him?" Ling Yunzhou asked tentatively.
“There’s nothing strange about it. My cooking is quite good, and many customers want to meet me after their meals, and they give me a reward.” Tao Wanniang thought for a moment and said naturally, “If there’s anything strange… it’s that the reward is exceptionally generous, a whole ingot of silver!”
She never looked at the man's face in the alley, but she was certain from his figure that he was suspicious. Her intuition that he was the head of the Censorate was correct. It was his identity as the head of the Censorate that surprised her slightly.
"The head of the Censorate is a close advisor to the Emperor, isn't he? If he doesn't genuinely appreciate my cooking skills, why would a mere cook like me attract the attention of such an important official?" Tao Wanniang calmly looked at Ling Yunzhou, practically saying it outright.
"After that, did you see him again?" Ling Yunzhou asked, feigning ignorance.
"No, what, do you suspect that his death is related to me? Even if I don't want to have anything to do with you, you can't use this to settle personal scores. I'm a cook, my cleaver isn't even good enough to kill someone."
“Chen Bin wasn’t hacked to death,” Ling Yunzhou said solemnly, staring at Tao Wanniang. “I also hope this has nothing to do with you!”
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