inform
Mu Qing was quite surprised to hear that Jiang Likun was bedridden.
She asked a few questions, and a maidservant gave her more detailed information, saying that Jiang Likun had fallen at home, and the doctor she had invited in had not been released. It was said that he had been receiving treatment for Jiang Likun, and this matter had alarmed his uncle, the Grand Commander-in-Chief, who might come to Weizhou to visit his nephew soon.
"Who is the Grand Commander's Chief Secretary?" Mu Qing had heard of him a few times, but had never paid attention.
"The Grand Commander's Chief Secretary is a third-rank official, and it's related to the young prince." The maid relayed what she had heard. "The Grand Commander commands the troops of several prefectures, and the title is only given to princes. However, in several neighboring prefectures, only the young prince has the title of prince. Because he is too young, the position of Grand Commander has been vacant, and the authority and responsibility have been handed over to his Chief Secretary."
Seeing Mu Qing stunned, Shi Yu said, "Miss, don't worry about it. The Grand Commander's Chief Secretary is powerful now, but in a few years, when the young prince is appointed Grand Commander, the Chief Secretary will have to bow down, and Young Master Jiang will have to be even more submissive. Even if we scold him to his face, we can only do nothing about it."
Ning Gu scolded, "Shiyu, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. One should be careful with one's words and actions. Do you want to cause trouble by cursing people to their faces?"
Shiyu immediately bowed her head and admitted her mistake.
Ning Gu turned to Mu Qing and advised, "Miss, that young master Jiang is of bad character. Calling him a playboy is an understatement. You can't help but curse him when he's innocent, and you can't pity him when he's in trouble. Why bother asking around and making yourself miserable?"
Mu Qing replied, "Ning Gu is right, I understand."
She spoke calmly, but inwardly she was anxious.
When that Grand Commander's Chief Secretary arrives in Weizhou, things will definitely get more complicated. We need to get rid of Jiang Likun before then.
As April arrives, the weather gets warmer, and you can wear much lighter clothing when going out at night, making it easier to move around.
Following her memories, Mu Qing arrived at the gate of the Jiang residence. Hearing the night watchman's drum, she hid in the moonlight behind the stone lion. After the night watchman had gone far away, she was about to climb over the wall when she heard someone speaking in a whisper in the quiet night.
"There is an ambush inside the Chiang Kai-shek residence."
Mu Qing turned her gaze to a large tree not far away and asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"
The tree rustled, and a burly figure leaped down, tossing out, "If you don't believe me, you can go in and die."
After saying that, he ran wildly down the street, bathed in moonlight.
Mu Qing thought for a moment, then chased after the departing figure, not daring to get too close. He followed the figure through streets and alleys until he saw it run to the inner city riverbank.
Several painted boats floated on the river, their colorful lights reflected on the water, and the sound of music drifted from the river, making the boats moored on the riverbank less noticeable.
Seeing the burly figure leap onto one of the boats, where light shone from the two-story cabins, Mu Qing stopped and leaned against the eaves of the riverside house.
Once you're on the ship, getting off the ship might not be so easy.
She hesitated, about to leave, when she saw a window suddenly open in the upper cabin of the ship. A person stood in front of the window, and the dim yellow candlelight illuminated the edge of his black clothes from behind. His face was not clear in the moonlight, but Mu Qing still recognized him at a glance. It was Zhong Linlan.
As if guided by some unseen force, she stealthily boarded the ship.
When she arrived at the cabin, she found the lights were off, but the window was wide open. Peeking inside, she saw the pale moonlight shining into the cabin. Zhong Linlan was sitting on a chair by the wooden wall, holding the armrest, looking out the window.
Perhaps because it wasn't bright enough, he looked serious, lacking the previous ambiguity and infatuation.
Mu Qing mustered his courage, jumped through the window, closed half of it, leaned against the window, and asked, "Did you send that person to warn me?"
Zhong Linlan looked at her and said, "It was just in case, I didn't expect you to actually go to the Jiang residence."
It sounded like a reproach, but Mu Qing wasn't sure what he meant, so she remained silent.
Then Zhong Linlan said again, "It's one thing for you to deal with me, but how can you repeatedly harm others for your own benefit?"
His long eyebrows were lowered, and his eyes were as black as ink, as if he were more heartbroken than when he discovered that she had bitten him with a poisonous snake.
Mu Qing felt a pang of sadness and whispered, "Jiang Likun attacked me first. You were there the day the carriage went out of control, so you should know that it couldn't have been an accident."
Zhong Linlan said, "He didn't do that. He only became suspicious of your identity after the carriage went out of control."
Mu Qing was startled. "How did you know?"
Instead of answering, Zhong Linlan asked, "If you suspect him, are you going to silence him?"
"..."
Mu Qing could not deny it, but he dared not admit it either.
"Did you participate in the Jiang family massacre five years ago?" Zhong Linlan suddenly shouted coldly.
He had clearly stated before that she hadn't done it, yet he started to have doubts again.
Mu Qing retorted angrily, "So what if I have it, so what if I don't?"
Zhong Linlan said in a deep voice, "If there is nothing, I can let you go. If there is, you definitely won't be able to continue as the Miss Lu."
Mu Qing was stunned for a moment, then said, "No, I never thought of killing the whole family, I only wanted to kill one person, but before I could make a move, someone had already made a move."
"Who did you want to kill back then, Jiang Likun's father?" Zhong Linlan suddenly realized, "Was he the 'high-ranking official' who contacted your village under the guise of offering amnesty?"
He had met many people in the capital, and when he heard the word "high-ranking official," he would not think of a sixth-rank prefect. But for Mu Qing, a sixth-rank official was quite a high-ranking one.
Mu Qing replied, "I saw it with my own eyes. He met my father and they went into the house together, but the next day, my father's head was put in a box. When the monkey gave me that box, he said it was a gift from the adults in the house to the mountain stronghold, and that I should take it back to the stronghold."
Hearing the hint of a sob in her voice, Zhong Linlan quietly looked at the figure by the window. The light was too dim, and only a small outline of her was visible, her shoulders trembling slightly.
The boat rocked slightly at that moment, and Mu Qing turned around in surprise. She then heard Zhong Linlan say behind her, "The people on the boat are all reliable. We're just sailing into the middle of the river to avoid being seen. We won't go far. We'll take you to the riverbank later."
Mu Qing wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, turned around, and asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"
Zhong Linlan slowly said, "Jiang Likun pretended to fall and get injured. He knew that your identity was fake and that the Lu family had been attacked at night and the carriage had gone out of control. He thought that you might suspect him, so he devised this plan to lure you into going to him."
How do you know all this?
“He has my people by his side.”
Mu Qing was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you."
Zhong Linlan smiled almost imperceptibly. "There's someone you'd like to meet."
Who is it?
"Didn't we mention before that Monkey had a prostitute he was close to named Little Peach Blossom? He left some things for Little Peach Blossom that are related to the case from back then, but Little Peach Blossom will only hand them over if she sees you."
After closing the window and lighting the candles, Mu Qing waited in the room for a while before a young woman followed Zhong Linlan in. She was wearing wooden clogs, with her bright red trousers hanging over her plain white socks. She wore a gray-blue outer jacket, and her raven hair was loose and disheveled, like a boatwoman who had just been woken up. However, she had a hideous scar on her face, which marred her beautiful appearance.
She noticed Mu Qing in the room, dressed in purple robes made of the finest fabric, without any jewelry, which looked rather strange. After a quick glance, she said, "Lord Zhong, her face is covered, how can I recognize her?"
Zhong Linlan stood to the side, silently looking at Mu Qing.
Mu Qing looked at the young woman and said, "How would I know you're Xiao Taohong?"
“Oh, that tone is quite similar to mine.” Little Peach Blossom smiled, the scars on her face not obscuring her bright complexion. “Unlike the young lady, I’m not wanted and can’t be compared to the painting, so of course I can’t prove myself. However, I know that Monkey has a few scars.”
Mu Qing was greatly displeased and said coldly, "Does the monkey tell you everything?"
Xiao Taohong laughed and said, "If you don't show your face, how can I be sure you're the young lady he's talking about? If not, there's nothing more to say."
Mu Qing raised her hand and removed her face mask, revealing her clean face. "No need to say more. Just take out whatever he gave you."
Xiao Taohong looked at her, her expression becoming much more serious, and she only smiled slightly.
"He didn't give me the item, but he told me that he found a letter in Grand Secretary Zhen's study. Since it was inconvenient to go into the water to bring it back, he hid the letter in the second crevice on the left side of the lintel of Bihua Manor. That letter can prove that someone else was instigated to massacre the Jiang family back then."
Mu Qing was taken aback. "Someone else? Who is it?"
Xiao Taohong shook her head and said, "That official only told me before the incident that he was a fake magistrate, nicknamed Monkey, and that there was a young lady he was longing for waiting for him to clear his name. He told me in a hurry, and that's all I know. I only wanted to repay the kindness he had shown me, so I disfigured my face and fled from Chun Gui Chu, running to Bi Hua Zhou. As a result, I was recognized by Lord Zhong, and I didn't expect to actually see the young lady."
Hearing what she said and seeing the scars on her face, Mu Qing could no longer speak coldly and softened her tone, saying, "You are so kind and righteous, no wonder he trusts you."
"Young Miss, you really know how to talk."
Xiao Taohong smiled brightly, and was about to speak again when she saw the girl in front of her put her face mask back on, leap to the window, and as she opened the window, she seemed to remember that the boat was in the river, and stopped and said, "That's enough. I'll go get the letter."
“I’ll go get that letter,” Zhong Linlan suddenly said.
Xiao Taohong glanced at him, then smiled at Mu Qing and said, "I'll go down first and let the boat return to shore."
After she left, Zhong Linlan said again, "I will go and retrieve that letter. You just need to think about who else besides Jiang Likun could recognize you and risk human lives to come looking for you."
Mu Qing leaned against the window, her voice low and muffled: "If I could have thought of it, I wouldn't have gone to the Jiang residence."
Zhong Linlan asked, "Have you seen the list of people who attended the banquet at the Ji family's residence that day?"
Mu Qing turned to look at him. "No."
"If you want to see it, I'll bring it here next time."
When is the next time?
"Did I tell you, will you come on time?"
"……meeting."
The moon's reflection shimmered, the river lapped against the banks, and the boats returned to their original positions.
Xiao Taohong knocked on the cabin door, but the girl inside was gone. She said regretfully, "She's already gone? What a pity. I don't think I made myself clear earlier. She suddenly wants to leave. Does she think I'm that man's lover?"
“She has other matters to attend to,” Zhong Linlan said calmly. “Didn’t you two say that once you found the item and handed it over to the authorities, you planned to leave Weizhou? Tell me where that letter is hidden, and that will be considered handing it over to me. You can leave now.”
Seeing that his expression was normal, Xiao Taohong pursed her lips, then smiled and said, "I suppose Lord Zhong is a thoughtful person. Please help us obtain the travel permit so that we can leave smoothly."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
