BVAHEDLA[W Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Ancient Times 14 Drowning

He was a man who looked inexplicably sad.

He paced anxiously back and forth in front of the yamen gate in the cold wind, sweat beading on his forehead from anxiety, which he casually wiped away with his sleeve.

When he turned around and saw the figures of Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-chen, he was almost in disbelief.

He rubbed his eyes first, and after confirming that he was not mistaken, he was overjoyed. He hurried forward with big strides and warmly grabbed Chu Li-fei’s hand.

“Greetings, Prince Qin.” He turned his gaze to Lu Mo-chen behind Chu Li-fei, as if trying to discern who he was, “Greetings… Fourth Prince.”

Lu Mo-chen didn’t take it to heart and nodded slightly to the man as a greeting.

Chu Li-fei gently supported the man, stopping his attempt to perform a bow.

He nodded slightly to the man and said with a kind smile, “Lord Feng is too polite.”

Lu Mo-chen heard Chu Li-fei’s words and looked sideways, taking in the person in front of him.

Surname Feng?

Lu Mo-chen searched his mind for people with this surname.

The man in front of him looked to be about forty years old, with an elegant and gentle temperament, and his clothing was low-key and restrained. Even though his appearance was somewhat disheveled due to anxiety, one could still tell at a glance that his status was not ordinary.

What’s more, Lu Mo-chen felt that he had seen this man somewhere before.

Soon, he came up with the answer.

Could it be that he was Feng Rao’s father—Vice Minister Feng Ping of the Ministry of Revenue.

At this moment, Chu Li-fei asked Feng Ping, “Why has Lord Feng come here today?”

“I wonder if Lord Feng has come to this prince at the yamen for some important matter?” Seeing that Feng Ping’s gaze had not left him since he saw him, Chu Li-fei’s eyes narrowed, and he asked tentatively, “Could it be, it’s also for the Qi family’s case?”

“Your Highness is indeed exceptionally intelligent.” Feng Ping sighed helplessly when he talked about this matter, “This old minister only has one daughter, Feng Rao. Now that such a thing has happened to the Qi family, this old minister and his wife… are truly unable to eat or sleep in peace.”

“Actually, this old minister came here yesterday, but unfortunately, when I came yesterday, I heard the yamen guard at the door say that you and the Fourth Prince had gone to the Qi residence with Lord Qian to investigate. So today, on my day off, I waited here early.”

He continued, “Back then, this marriage was, in the end, decided by this old minister and the Marquis of Zhongyi at the time, that is, the old Marquis. I’ve also met that child, Qi Lu. He’s honest and well-behaved, and has a good character. So, after my wife and A-Rao knew my intentions, they agreed. But I never expected… alas…”

Feng Ping couldn’t help but shake his head. He never thought that Qi Lu would do such a thing as privately hiding armor: “This old minister believes in that child, Qi Lu’s character. But if… if it really was Qi Lu who did it, then this old minister has let A-Rao down… I wonder if she’s been doing well recently…”

Chu Li-fei saw Feng Ping’s sighing appearance and lowered his eyes slightly: “Lord Feng, you’ve worked hard. However, this prince is only acting on orders. If there truly is injustice in the Qi family’s case, this prince will investigate everything thoroughly and restore the Qi family’s innocence. Presumably, Qi’s wife will also be safe by then.”

Chu Li-fei looked at the strands of white hair growing at Lord Feng’s temples and couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity.

However, before clarifying the truth of the matter, he could not reveal the details of the case to outsiders. He could only comfort him. Chu Li-fei could understand Feng Ping’s love for his daughter, thinking that he wanted to ask about the progress of the investigation, or the situation of his daughter, to see if there was any room for maneuver.

Feng Ping, who had been immersed in officialdom for many years, could naturally discern the implication of Chu Li-fei’s words. He was stunned for a moment, seemingly a little surprised. After reacting, he quickly waved his hand and said, “Your Highness, you have misunderstood my meaning. I naturally know the rules of handling cases in the court, and I dare not expect His Highness to make an exception for me. It’s just that this old minister is really worried about his little girl, and also has an important matter to report.”

Important matter?

Chu Li-fei was startled. Could it be that Feng Ping knew some inside information?

Lu Mo-chen frowned slightly. Speaking of which, he had not met Feng Ping in his previous life.

In his previous life, when he had the opportunity to attend court, the Minister of Revenue was no longer Feng Ping, but someone else.

It seemed to be a member of the Crown Prince’s faction.

Wait, the Crown Prince!

Thinking of this, Lu Mo-chen became even more certain that his guess was correct. The mastermind behind this case must be the Crown Prince.

Even if he didn’t plan it personally, he must be involved.

Although Lu Mo-chen had not met Feng Ping in his previous life, he had heard about Feng Ping’s affairs.

The reason why he knew something about it was because the matter concerning Feng Ping was too absurd.

When the incident happened, Feng Ping was not considered old. Logically speaking, he was far from the age of retirement.

But one day, he suddenly resigned from his position to the emperor. According to those present that day, Feng Ping’s hair turned white overnight, and he looked several years older. His body also collapsed overnight, and he coughed incessantly with every step he took.

Only then did the emperor grant his request.

Now that he thought about it, this incident happened not long after the Qi family was sentenced to exile. Qi Lu was dead, and Feng Rao, a widow, was to be exiled to the frontier. It seemed her days would not be easy.

After all, she used to be the daughter of the Minister’s household, the pearl that Feng Ping and his wife held in their hands.

Judging by how concerned Feng Ping was about Feng Rao now, how could he accept that his daughter would end up in such a state because of his relationship?

This matter must have been a great blow to him, which was why his hair turned white overnight.

Lu Mo-chen turned his gaze back to Feng Ping.

He saw Feng Ping carefully looking around, and only after seeing that no one was paying attention to them did he feel relieved. He approached Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-chen, lowered his voice, and said, “Does Your Highness know the girl who married into the Qi family with A-Rao? That is, the Qi family’s eldest son’s wife—Lu Ying?”

Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-chen nodded together.

“Speaking of which, I have to make Your Highness laugh. This old minister has many siblings. When I was just a small clerk, my wife was also looked down upon and often ridiculed. Therefore, I naturally know something about the discord between sisters-in-law. A-Rao is gentle, and I was afraid that she would be bullied, so I entrusted a few colleagues to secretly investigate that girl, Lu Ying.”

“Originally, there was nothing wrong. My colleague told me that the Lu family made their fortune by fishing. The couple was originally in harmony, supporting each other. They only had one daughter, Lu Ying. At first, I was worried that this girl would be a domineering character. I didn’t expect my colleague to tell me that Lu Ying was enthusiastic, cheerful, and quite chivalrous, which suited the ‘ying’ in her name.”

“After learning this, I felt relieved and let A-Rao marry into the Qi family. Later, A-Rao often sent me letters, occasionally mentioning Lu Ying. However, the Lu Ying in her letters was completely different from what my colleague told me. A-Rao said that Lu Ying was strange, difficult to get along with, and gloomy. At first, I didn’t take it to heart, as long as my A-Rao was not being bullied in the Qi family. Until later—”

“My colleague sent me another letter.”

Feng Ping paused, and when he said this, he became nervous, as if the following events were extremely shocking.

“I was surprised to receive the letter that day. Investigating the Lu family was already troublesome for him back then. I didn’t expect that he would continue to pay attention to it for me. After Lu Ying got married, the Lu couple’s business grew bigger and bigger. But unexpectedly, the two of them died unexpectedly during a sea voyage.”

“At that time, the accompanying sailors pulled the couple back, saying that they had accidentally fallen into the water. Later, after the local coroner’s examination, it was also determined that the cause of death was drowning. But the letter my colleague gave me actually said that the couple was poisoned first, and then thrown into the sea to fake the drowning.”

“My colleague and I are from the same hometown, so I naturally believe what he says. He told me that he grew up by the sea and had seen what drowning victims look like. But the Lu couple were clearly not like that. He also told me that the two sailors who pulled the Lu couple back also disappeared. When he asked the people at the dock, they all claimed that they had never seen them.”

“When I heard about this at the time, I felt suspicious and wanted to investigate secretly. But later, as the end of the year approached, I was so busy that I completely forgot about it. I only remembered it recently.”

“I know Lord Qian’s character and ability. Now that the case has not been closed for a long time, there must be many doubts. Although the matter I mentioned has nothing to do with Qi Lu’s private possession of armor, I always feel that there must be some connection behind the two matters. If Your Highness cannot find anything by starting with the Qi family, you might as well try a different path.”

After speaking, Feng Ping took a step back. He looked at the dark sky and felt depressed: “Now that I have told you about this matter, the guilt in my heart has been reduced a bit. This old minister will not continue to disturb Your Highness.”

Feng Ping cupped his hands in farewell.

At this moment, Lu Mo-chen suddenly said, “Lord Feng, please wait!”

With a “creak,” the door behind Chu Li-fei opened.

It was Qian Ming.

He looked at the three people outside the door, couldn’t help but be a little surprised, but he still saluted Feng Ping first.

Feng Ping was stopped by Lu Mo-chen and was a little puzzled, but he still stopped: “Fourth Prince, is there anything else you want to ask?”

Qian Ming heard this, turned his gaze to Lu Mo-chen, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

Seeing the eyes of the remaining three people focused on him, Lu Mo-chen couldn’t help but swallow. He said in a deep voice, “I wonder if Lord Feng knows about the Cheng family’s case back then?”

Feng Ping’s eyes deepened, thinking of the Cheng family’s case back then, and linking the common points between the two, he quickly realized what Lu Mo-chen meant by asking him this.

Qian Ming frowned slightly. When the Cheng family’s case happened, he was still in Jiangnan and had only heard about it.

At this time, Chu Li-fei looked at Lu Mo-chen. He was still hesitating whether to tell Lu Mo-chen about the Cheng family’s matter, after all, it was his maternal clan. He was originally thinking of investigating it privately first, so as not to end up with nothing. He didn’t expect that Lu Mo-chen already knew about it.

But where did he know about it from? Or did he analyze it himself from the existing clues?

Chu Li-fei rotated the thumb ring on his thumb, staring at Lu Mo-chen’s expression, trying to find a few flaws in it.

Feng Ping, who was on the side, thought for a while, and finally hesitantly asked, “Fourth Prince means, you suspect there is something wrong with the Cheng family’s case?”

Feng Ping believed that Lu Mo-chen would not mention the Cheng family for no reason at this time. Did he feel that there was a connection between the Cheng family’s and the Qi family’s cases?

Thinking this way, Feng Ping asked.

Lu Mo-chen nodded: “I wonder if Lord Feng knows the details of the case back then.”

But Feng Ping shook his head helplessly: “I’m sorry to disappoint the Fourth Prince, this old minister doesn’t know much about this matter. But now that Your Highness has mentioned it, this old minister feels that it can be investigated in detail.”

Lu Mo-chen heard this, and was slightly disappointed, but he still thanked Feng Ping and reminded him before he left: “Please take care of yourself, Lord Feng, and don’t give those with ulterior motives a chance to take advantage of you.”

Feng Ping, who was facing away from them, paused, a complex look flashed in his eyes, and finally became clear. Then, he boarded the carriage and disappeared around the corner.

The look in Qian Ming’s eyes when he looked at Lu Mo-chen was more profound.

After Feng Ping left, Chu Li-fei asked Qian Ming for the case files of the Cheng family’s case back then, and then, according to the Cheng family’s address recorded in the case files, went with Lu Mo-chen.

Soon, the two appeared in front of a dilapidated courtyard.

Along the way, Chu Li-fei could still hear the voices of vendors hawking on both sides of the street from time to time. But who knew that once they passed the corner, the lively atmosphere of life suddenly disappeared. They seemed to be in another world.

A piece of silence.

Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-chen exchanged glances and pushed open the dilapidated gate together.

In the courtyard, a dead tree with a haphazardly growing dead branch jutted out of the courtyard wall.

The bare branches crossed wildly. Suddenly, a black obsidian-like light seemed to flash. It was as if something had moved.

Through the overlapping dead branches, they discovered that there was a black crow standing on it. Its feathers were jet-black and shiny.

It seemed to have noticed the movement at the door and glanced at Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-chen.

“Creak—”

It was the sound of Chu Li-fei pushing open the door.

Wood shavings fell, stirring up flying dust.

The gate was very old, making unpleasant sounds like ghosts, seemingly mixed with the crow’s hoarse cries.

The gate was pushed open, Chu Li-fei clapped his hands, exchanged glances with Lu Mo-chen, and the two nodded and walked in carefully together.

The faint sunlight paved all the way to the entrance of the Cheng residence and stopped abruptly. Further inside, it was dark, like the gaping mouth of an abyss.

And where Chu Li-fei and Lu Mo-chen were originally standing, a jet-black feather suddenly appeared, the edges flickering with a sharp light.