Yu Huatian was not a talkative person. He closed his eyes slightly in the carriage, clearly indicating that he did not want to talk much in the carriage.
This suited the other two people in the carriage just as well. Yan Liang had a premonition that the West Depot would have even less time to eat fish, so he decided to finish the grilled fish in his hand while he was still in the carriage. Li Xunle had a similar idea, but after taking a few bites, he belatedly realized that something was wrong.
—Why is his fish smaller than before?
Li Xunle hesitated before speaking, "Brother Yan..."
Yan Liang didn't even look up: "You've switched with Miss Hua."
Li Xunle: "...I see."
He's his elder, after all... so let's just replace him.
Li Xunle looked at the fish on his plate, sighed softly, and started eating.
Yu Huatian's eyes were slightly closed, but he heard their conversation clearly. He was first in a complicated mood because Li Xunle finally discovered that the grilled fish had been switched, and at the same time, the mention of "flower girl" reminded him of the girl in the apricot-colored dress he had glimpsed in the Li family courtyard earlier.
Even Yu Huatian had heard of the romantic tales between the third-ranked scholar and the two young ladies. If he wasn't mistaken, the girl in the apricot-colored dress who switched the grilled fish was the legendary flower girl.
Rumors should not be taken at face value. Yu Huatian understood this principle well. He pondered the identity of the girl in the apricot-colored dress for a while, but could not figure it out, so he put it aside for the time being.
Yan Liang ate quickly. While Li Xunle was still slowly picking at his food, Yan Liang had already put down his chopsticks and leaned against the car wall, lounging around like a lazy bum. A relaxed and carefree atmosphere filled the air around him.
The three were clearly in the same carriage, but a low table separated them, like the Chu-Han border, with the atmosphere on both sides clearly distinct.
The aroma of grilled fish wafted from the carriage, and the curtain was lifted slightly to let the smell dissipate. The clinking of plates and chopsticks was quite noticeable in the silence.
Yu Huatian opened his eyes and immediately saw Yan Liang leaning contentedly against the corner of the carriage wall.
Li Xunle, standing beside the other, stood with his back straight and his gestures were serious.
Yu Huatian had seen the three men at the Qionglin Banquet that day. Each of them had their own unique characteristics, but Yan Liang stood out the most. At that time, Yan Liang was as upright as a pine tree, chatting and laughing with everyone, and every gesture he made exuded an indescribable elegance and charm.
...The third-ranked scholar at the Qionglin Banquet was a completely different person from the lazy young man in front of him.
The third-ranking scholar had two different appearances in public and in private, while the top-ranking scholar always appeared rigid and inflexible.
Yu Huatian wondered why this person would act so lazy in front of him. Could it be that he didn't consider him an outsider?
Yan Liang seemed to sense something, slightly raised his eyes, and smiled at him.
Yu Huatian withdrew his gaze, showing no intention of responding.
Yan Liang wasn't annoyed and continued to lazily slump over. He didn't know what Yu Huatian wanted to ask him and Li Xunle, but anything that would make the head of the Western Depot specifically come to see them must be something extraordinary.
The Western Depot is currently investigating the case of the death of the Vice Minister of Rites at home. If you contact them, they will definitely be involved in this case.
Yan Liang seemed to be deep in thought. Liu Changmin had taken leave today and hadn't come... He had a bad feeling about this.
Fifteen minutes after Li Xunle finished eating the grilled fish, the carriage stopped in front of the West Factory.
Yu Huatian lifted the curtain and got off the carriage. They were all covered in the smell of grilled fish. The three of them, smelling of grilled fish, passed by the guards at the gate and entered the courtyard in front of them.
The West Factory was located in a shady place, quiet and eerie, with a chill in the air.
Yu Huatian led the two of them straight to the backyard without stopping. Li Xunle was filled with doubt, just as he was wondering about what Yu Huatian wanted to ask. As the surrounding scenery changed, a faint fragrance wafted through the air. Yu Huatian stopped in front of a room with its door tightly closed.
Outside, there was a young eunuch with his mouth and nose covered by a cloth. Yu Huatian gestured to him, and the young eunuch hurriedly offered three pieces of cloth.
Upon seeing that Yan and the other two had their mouths and noses covered, the little eunuch pushed open the door, and Yu Huatian led them inside.
Yan Liang had a premonition when the cloth was put over his head, so when he saw the scene in the room, he didn't react much, he just kept his mouth tightly shut.
Inside the room lay a corpse with its face slashed and mangled, already rotting and infested with maggots; upon closer inspection, one could see white maggots writhing and crawling within the flesh. The person's clothing was, in fact, a blue official robe embroidered with mandarin ducks, the attire of a seventh-rank civil official.
When Li Xunle first saw this scene, he was stunned for a moment. After realizing what had happened, his stomach churned, and he almost vomited. He bowed slightly, his face extremely pale.
No wonder they were told to cover their mouths and noses, no wonder there was a strange, pleasant fragrance in the courtyard...
The fragrance was used to mask the stench, and covering the mouth and nose was to prevent the smell from being detected.
Yan Liang silently patted Li Xunle on the back, hoping to comfort him. Li Xunle's mind was filled with the image of the corpse he had just seen. He felt not only nauseous but also extremely distressed.
Yu Huatian observed their reactions and, after they calmed down, casually asked, "You two are most familiar with Liu Changmin. Can you confirm the identity of this corpse?"
Li Xunle's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Yu Huatian with suspicion and uncertainty. The other party did not even glance at him, but only stared down at the corpse, and asked again, "I heard that the three of you are the most familiar with him... In that case, can you recognize him?"
Yan Liang's expression was subtle. He glanced at Yu Huatian before bending down to examine the corpse closely.
"It's him."
Yan Liang pointed to a red mole on the side of the man's neck. The skin there was intact, but the mole was much darker than when he had glimpsed it before.
Yu Huatian raised an eyebrow slightly: "You can be sure it's him just from this red mole?"
“This person is the same height as Brother Liu, and has this red mole.” Yan Liang said slowly, “Judging that this corpse is Brother Liu is just my own opinion. If Chief Supervisor Yu has a different opinion, that’s fine too.”
Liu Changmin went to the capital alone to take the imperial examination and had little contact with the other candidates. He was the same kind of person as Yan Shendu before him, except that Liu Changmin was very rich, so rich that he could rent a house in the capital all by himself.
After entering the Hanlin Academy, because the three of them were all ranked first class, they were closer to Yan Liang and Li Xunle than to other colleagues in the Hanlin Academy; however, they were not close enough to tell them about their family situations. Although they seemed very warm, there was always an inexplicable sense of distance between them, as if there was a veil between them.
Putting aside that inexplicable sense of alienation, Liu Changmin is a warm and simple person.
Yan Liang pondered for a while, but ultimately did not speak. Seeing that they could not explain themselves and that Li Xunle's face was pale, Yu Huatian suggested that someone send them back.
When Li Xunle left the room, he couldn't help but vomit. The image of Liu Changmin's corpse lingered in his mind. He felt both pain and sorrow, after all, he had been chatting and laughing with Liu Changmin just a few days ago... Who would have thought that their reunion today would be their eternal separation.
Yan Liang stared at him silently for a while, then turned to look at Yu Huatian, who stood to the side with a cold expression, and asked, "Is Brother Liu's death related to the death of the Vice Minister of Rites that Chief Supervisor Yu is investigating?"
Yu Huatian glanced at him casually, seeing the sadness in Yan Liang's eyes clearly, and said, "It's none of your business. The less you know about some things, the better."
Yan Liang withdrew his gaze and did not speak again.
Asking further would not yield any answers... Yu Huatian had only one purpose in bringing them here from the beginning.
The carriage that took them back was the same one that had brought them there. After Yan Liang saw Li Xunle get into the carriage, he moved back a little and moved to Yu Huatian's side.
"Whom does Chief Supervisor Yu suspect?"
Yan Liang asked him softly.
Yu Huatian said calmly, "What do you know? Don't make wild guesses if you don't know."
Yan Liang then asked, "Why couldn't Chief Supervisor Yu determine the identity of the corpse, so he summoned Brother Li and me?"
Yu Huatian glanced at him: "Because his face is disfigured, he cannot be recognized."
This answer was exactly what Yan Liang had expected. Yu Huatian clearly didn't want to talk about it anymore. Yan Liang gave up after his attempt failed, said goodbye, and got into the carriage.
Yu Huatian stood there watching the carriage drive away until it was out of sight, then turned and went through the gate behind him.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was heavy. On the low table were plates and chopsticks. Li Xunle vomited up all the fish he had just eaten. His stomach was empty, but he had no appetite and his mouth tasted bitter.
Yan Liang had lived for so many years, yet he hadn't developed any skill in comforting people. He could only watch Li Xunle's gloomy mood in silence.
Even he himself felt heavy-hearted.
Liu Changmin's death was the same as the rumored death of the Vice Minister of Rites. There must be some connection between the two deaths. But one was a newly appointed second-place scholar and the other was an important official of the court. What connection could there be between the two?
Yan Liang stared at his hands, lost in thought.
After Yan Liang and Li Xunle were taken away, Wang Lianhua slowly finished the grilled fish. In the quiet courtyard, he picked up his chopsticks slowly, feeling an indescribable loneliness.
After Yan Liang and Li Xunle returned, Wang Lianhua keenly noticed the strangeness in their expressions and turned her gaze to Yan Liang, hoping he could provide an answer.
Yan Liang told Wang Lianhua that they had seen Liu Changmin's corpse in the Western Depot, and that the manner of his death was very similar to that of the Vice Minister of Rites. Wang Lianhua seemed thoughtful. He looked at the sullen Li Xunle and did not speak up immediately.
Li Xunle was deeply saddened by Liu Changmin's death. Wang Lianhua knew that he was just temporarily overwhelmed with grief, so she wanted him to get some rest.
At night, Wang Lianhua and Yan Liang sat side by side on the rooftop to admire the moon.
With a clear breeze and a bright moon, it is indeed a perfect time for moon viewing.
What do you think?
Yan Liang asked lazily.
Wang Lianhua followed the trail of a righteous man who punished evil in the martial arts world to the capital, but after arriving in the capital, he could not find any trace of that man. After the news of the violent death of the Vice Minister of Rites came, he noticed that the manner of the Vice Minister of Rites' death in the rumors was similar to that of the people who died violently in the martial arts world.
"If the death of this year's second-ranked scholar is as you say, perhaps the person who killed the Vice Minister of Rites and his associates is the very person I'm investigating," Wang Lianhua summarized.
Yan Liang: "Did you receive any information?"
Wang Lianhua answered quickly: "No."
Yan Liang: "...I thought you knew everything?"
“The capital is a mixed bag, and I won’t be deploying too many people here.” Wang Lianhua paused, then continued with an air of arrogance, “These matters are none of my concern. I’m only investigating him out of boredom, not out of any intention.”
Wang Lianhua's unspoken message was: if you can pursue him, go for it; if you can't, then let him go.
Yan Liang thought to himself that this person was still the same as always, but couldn't help but laugh.
Wang Lianhua remained unchanged, but he had changed.
After he finished laughing, Wang Lianhua fell silent. She glanced at Yan Liang's expression and frowned slightly: "Don't tell me you're going to investigate this matter."
Yan Liang readily admitted, "Yes."
Wang Lianhua stared at him for a long time, her expression inscrutable, before finally saying, "Whatever you say."
Author's Note: I'm here! =3=
I was too busy yesterday; online classes are such a headache!
Everyone should take good care of their hair!
↑A sincere warning from a balding author: my hair is really thinning... I used to have so much hair... so sad. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2020-02-19 22:57:44 and 2020-02-21 19:22:53!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: ILOVEYOU (10 bottles); Little Koi (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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