Chapter 104: Qishan Fengchan 11 Schisandra
The coroner speculated that King Chen died around midnight, but people around King Chen said that King Chen had returned to his bedroom to rest at the beginning of the evening.
From the beginning of the Hai hour to the end of the Zi hour, a full two hours, no one knew where King Chen went, what he did, or who he met. Even how he ended up in this dilapidated courtyard and why he was killed remained an unsolved mystery.
Xun Shu walked carefully around the broken wall and found no traces of climbing on the wall, nor any collapsed grass or hidden footprints on the ground.
Both King Chen and the murderer entered the courtyard through the gate.
Why on earth would they come to such a place that had been abandoned for many years?
Xun Shu muttered, "Could it be that during the six months Prince Chen was overseeing the renovations at the Zhai Palace, a disagreement arose between him and the craftsmen there, leading to this murder? The craftsmen are familiar with every courtyard within the Zhai Palace. Perhaps, seeking revenge, they brought Prince Chen here and poisoned him..." Before Li Xuanhe could speak, she shook her head, denying the allegation. "Why would Prince Chen go alone to meet a craftsman? And that small medicine bottle wouldn't have fallen into the hands of the craftsman. Unless, as Qi Zijin suspected, the craftsman, with his looks resembling Pan An, lured Prince Chen here in the middle of the night."
Xun Shu's tales grew increasingly outrageous, and Li Xuanhe rubbed his forehead helplessly. "Although I'm not familiar with this uncle, I've heard some things about him, such as his unwavering style of doing things after returning to his fiefdom. I think if, as you suspect, Prince Chen has a romantic interest in a particular craftsman, he probably won't have the patience for such roundabout tactics. He'll probably take the craftsman directly back to his fiefdom." He paused, then added, "Besides, the craftsmen have already evacuated the Zhai Palace. Now that His Majesty and the Crown Prince are residing there, the security is much tighter than before, and no one can enter or leave without a token. The murderer must be among those living there."
Xun Shu sighed, lowered his eyes to look at the dirt between his fingers, and murmured: "You have a point, I was wrong."
Her scallion-like fingers were dotted with brown dirt, an eyesore no matter how you looked at them. Li Xuanhe reached for the handkerchief he carried with him, then remembered that he had used it to wrap the sword on the corpse that morning and hadn't used a new one since. Without hesitation, he grasped Xun Shu's hand and wiped the dirt from her fingertips with his sleeve.
"You should wear more clothes. Why are your hands so cold?" Li Xuanhe said gently.
His hand was very hot, like a hand warmer burning with charcoal. Xun Shu was burned and struggled to pull it out, but the man held it tightly.
"Don't move." Li Xuanhe looked down at her dry hands, her wrists so thin that they seemed to break at a touch. His heart felt like it was clenched into a ball, and he could hardly breathe.
How come he became so thin in just a few days?
The words his mother said to him half a month ago came to his mind.
At that time, the mother had just sent Xun Shu away and turned back to the backyard. She saw him hiding in the corner and secretly looking out the door.
My mother said nothing, no accusations, no persuasion. She simply said, "The affections of youth are pure and sincere. Family background and status are not considered, money and interests are not entangled. Only a burning heart can move a pure heart. You were born in the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, my child. You weren't destined to experience this, but I never imagined that by some strange twist of fate, you would actually meet a girl like this."
His mind was in a turmoil at the time. The affairs of the court, the Fengshan Ceremony, Jiang Zheng's affairs, and Xun Shu's departure were all mixed up. He didn't know what to do, so he could only promise his mother that when he was done with this busy period, he would find Ah Shu, explain everything, and bring her back. But his mother sighed and said, "The relationship between two people is like red-hot iron. If you don't strike while the iron is hot and fuse it thoroughly, it will cool down if you leave it alone."
When my mother said this, she looked at the bustling streets outside the mansion with a long expression, as if she was nostalgic and regretful. I don't know what she was thinking about.
He didn't fully understand it at that time. It was not until the night before yesterday when he saw Xun Shu again in the forest that he suddenly realized that the two of them were no longer as close and trusting of each other as they once were.
Has he cooled people's hearts?
Xun Shu let Li Xuanhe slowly wipe her fingers clean, completely unaware of the drama unfolding in his mind. When she looked up, she had no intention of reminiscing or arguing with him about the past. Her eyes were calm and clear, filled with a single-minded desire for the truth.
She lowered her voice again. "The Crown Prince once said that the Imperial Preceptor came to Your Majesty yesterday to offer the elixir of immortality. I originally thought it was one of the two given to the Imperial Preceptor by Wu Wei Zi, but now it seems that may not be the case. In any case, this medicine bottle is the only clue. We must find Wu Wei Zi as soon as possible and ask him what is going on." Xun Shu paused for a moment, a look of hesitation on her face. "But his relationship with us is a secret. We should not let outsiders know right now. How can we avoid their sight and meet him without anyone noticing?"
The word "we" pleased Li Xuanhe, and the heavy weight on his heart eased a little. He gathered his thoughts and returned them to the case. "I've sent someone to look for him. Ashumo, don't worry. We should have results soon."
Li Xuanhe's "very quickly" was much faster than Xun Shu had expected. Within half an hour, the elusive Yuchang reappeared, bringing news about Schisandra chinensis.
"Wuweizi entered and exited the Zhai Palace twice yesterday. The first time, he was led into the Qing Palace in a sedan chair and quietly met with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I don't know what they said. After that, he left the Zhai Palace and wandered around outside, walking from the west gate to the east gate. He then entered the palace openly through the east gate and was led by the Imperial Guards to the Xingyue Palace in the southeast corner, the residence of the Imperial Master. After that, he has not appeared again and has remained in Xingyue Palace."
Wuweizi's whereabouts were similar to what Li Xuanhe had expected. He asked, "Could he be walking freely?"
Yu Chang nodded. "Wu Wei Zi's movements are not restricted. I bribed the servant who delivered the food and passed him a message, asking him to meet at the rockery south of Xingyue Palace at 12:00 PM. That place is not far from Xingyue Palace and is quite secluded. Would you like to go there in person?"
Li Xuanhe hummed, "It's been a long time since we last met in Ningyuan Village. Now it's time to meet again."
-
At exactly 12:00 PM, Li Xuanhe and Xun Shu appeared at the agreed location on time.
The Xingyue Palace was originally a place for storing books. It was renovated because the National Master was going to move in. Not only was the original palace renovated, but half of the garden on the south side was even flattened to build an alchemy room for the National Master to refine elixirs.
Next to the alchemy room is a small remaining forest. After passing through the forest, there is a group of rockery, which is also the place where Yuchang and Wuweizi agreed to meet.
Just after midnight, there were rustling footsteps outside the rockery, and a moment later, Wuweizi appeared in their sight. At this moment, the light was dim, the sun had set, but the moon had not yet risen. It was a perfect time to do something bad in the dark.
Wuweizi obviously hadn't noticed them. He looked around, stopping and starting. When he was a few steps in front of them, Li Xuanhe suddenly spoke, startling Wuweizi. He patted his chest, slowed his breathing, and after confirming that no one was following or paying attention, he cautiously approached and pulled the two into the cave in the rockery.
Time was running out, and Wuweizi knew why the two men came, so he didn't beat around the bush and told them everything that happened yesterday from beginning to end.
"Yesterday after noon, I figured the chaos in the Zhai Palace should have come to an end, so I quietly entered the palace and met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His Royal Highness is worthy of being the future ruler of the world! He was surrounded by a purple aura, and he looked so noble that I was stunned—" Wuweizi slapped his head and muttered, "I've gone off topic. After I met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he took the bottle of fake medicine and handed me a new one, asking me to use it to fool the Palace Master. After that, His Royal Highness asked me in detail about the situation in the Changsheng Palace and the Palace Master. Unfortunately, after entering the Changsheng Palace, I spent most of my time in Ningyuan Village, so I don't know much. Otherwise, if I could tell His Royal Highness the Crown Prince more information, perhaps I could have gotten a position."
Wuweizi's face was full of regret, as if the prince really wanted to keep a wavering person like him as a high-ranking official, or as if the national teacher really couldn't see through his fence-sitter nature and was willing to tell him the most core secrets.
Xun Shu found something else even stranger.
Since Li Xuanhe had introduced Wuweizi to the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince must have known that the medicine in Wuweizi's hand was fake and lacked any immortality properties. If it was fake, why did he replace it again? Why not simply have Wuweizi prepare a new bottle of medicine according to his request? This way, the two of them wouldn't have to meet in secret, which would have been much safer.
Meanwhile, Li Xuanhe noted Wuweizi's words, temporarily suppressing his doubts. He then continued, "What happened after that? You left the Zhai Palace through the west gate and then entered through the east gate. After meeting the Imperial Preceptor at Xingyue Palace, what did he say, and what did he ask you to do?"
Seeing that Li Xuanhe knew his whereabouts perfectly, Wu Wei Zi paused, then suppressed his perfunctory attitude. He spoke more seriously again, "After entering Xingyue Palace, the Palace Master was already waiting in the main hall. After I presented the medicine given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Palace Master asked many questions, most of which were related to Ningyuan Village, the snakehead fish, and the cave behind the shrine. He also said that after the Fengshan ceremony, he would personally visit the pool.
"I didn't dare say much, and only uttered the half-truths I had prepared in advance. Perhaps I'm truly a genius at making up stories, as the Imperial Master didn't even doubt my words! Afterwards, he let me rest in a room in the back hall, and told me not to wander around casually, as the palace had been very busy these past few days."
Seeing Wuweizi stop talking, Xun Shu hurriedly asked, "What happens next?"
"After this, I will go to rest." Wuweizi looked confused, not knowing what they wanted to know.
Xun Shu was silent for a moment, finally realizing that Wuweizi was just a humble Taoist priest in the Hall of Immortality. Even if he helped the Imperial Master refine the elixir of immortality, the Imperial Master might not favor him and tell him all his secrets. In fact, to the Imperial Master, his usefulness had already run out, and staying would only be a threat.
Xun Shu pursed his lips and said softly, "Wu Wei Zi, you must be careful and pay attention to safety."
Wuweizi blinked and was about to say something when he suddenly heard a bird cry from outside the rockery. Then, Li Xuanhe's face changed and he said, "It's Yuchang. Someone is coming."
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