Chapter 70: The Dash and Elegant Little Marquis (3)
Marquis Dingyuan and Princess Jin’an split up to work immediately after leaving the Court of Judicial Review. Although Wang Yunshi was just a Qingguan at Lixiang Ju, she was also a young lady from a prestigious family before entering Lixiang Ju, and was known as the number one beauty. In the past, when she was Miss Wang, people couldn’t see her, but after entering Lixiang Ju, anyone who could afford the price could see her. Therefore, among the young nobles and literati in the capital, many were her “guests.” Her death would be a source of lingering resentment in many people’s hearts.
Aside from anything else, just inciting the anger of Wang Yunshi‘s guests would be enough for Huo Xian to suffer, and inciting their anger wasn’t difficult.
Spreading rumors would suffice.
The first thing Huo Xian asked his parents to do was to send people to scatter across the capital and choke off the source of the rumors before they spread, and if possible, follow the vine to find the melon (trace the source).
The second thing concerned the procuress of Lixiang Ju. She was a woman whose style completely mismatched Lixiang Ju. While the bailiffs were respectful to him, the procuress, fully aware of his identity, was relentless in demanding the bailiffs arrest him. She even shouted at the top of her lungs, wishing the whole world knew he killed Shishi out of anger from failed coercion. Commoners fear officials; that shouldn’t have been her reaction at that time.
The third thing involved the servant boy, Yantai. He should have been waiting by the side when the original host spoke to Wang Yunshi, but Yantai wasn’t there when he woke up. Furthermore, when he went downstairs with Lu Peng, Yantai‘s behavior showed not worry for his master, but rather bullying others by flaunting power. Attempting to oppress people with authority had never been the rule of the Huo family.
The fourth thing was that the safety of the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Tu Nan, must be guaranteed.
As for the fifth thing, naturally, it was to find Huo Yuan. He still had to stay in jail, so he could only let his parents do it.
Huo Xian thought his parents would be too busy to attend to him, but unexpectedly, after returning to the manor, Princess Jin’an sent servants over. Without a word, they transformed his ordinary single cell into a luxurious suite. Also, his first prison meal in this world was a deluxe five-layer food box, complete with wine, dishes, color, aroma, and taste, making the neighboring inmates drool with envy.
Who would believe he was here to serve time?
Anyway, Lord Vice Minister Tu Nan didn’t believe it.
Tu Nan‘s actions were quite fast. At the break of dawn the next day, before work hours at the Court of Judicial Review even began, he arrived with dark circles under his eyes to interrogate Huo Xian. He had no choice; as soon as the incident happened, the Emperor in the palace received the news and ordered him to investigate quickly and clear Huo Xian’s name. Thus, having stayed up all night, Lord Tu came over in the morning only to see the square table in the corner of the narrow cell piled high with exquisite breakfast pastries.
Seeing him, Huo Xian even raised a hand in greeting: “Morning, Lord Tu. Have you had breakfast? Want some?”
Tu Nan kept a wooden face and swept a cold glance at the jailer. The jailer lowered his eyes guiltily, his heart drumming, daring not to meet his gaze. But if he had to choose again, he would still choose to open the door of convenience for the Princess’s Manor—who could not love heavy gold?
In the end, Huo Xian couldn’t persuade Tu Nan to share breakfast with him. However, the breakfast wasn’t wasted. He picked out enough to make himself full, then gave the rest to the jailers to share.
His every move was under Tu Nan‘s eyes. The act of sharing food surprised Tu Nan slightly. Not because he gave the extra food to the jailers, but because he set aside the portion he needed before touching his chopsticks; the rest couldn’t be called leftovers. The jailers didn’t mind eating leftovers from these nobles, but Huo Xian’s action imperceptibly gave a sense of respect to others.
Respect? It seemed inconsistent with Huo Xian’s status.
Huo Xian didn’t make Tu Nan wait too long. Entering the interrogation room again, Tu Nan cut straight to the chase: “Has the Little Marquis met the deceased’s maid, Huixiang?”
Huo Xian paused, then recalled carefully and said, “A black mole at the end of the right eyebrow and above the lip?”
Hearing this, Tu Nan‘s expression paused. He remembered the rumors in the capital that Little Marquis Huo had a photographic memory; remembering someone’s appearance didn’t seem difficult for him.
“What happened to her?” Huo Xian asked.
Tu Nan didn’t hide it: “After the incident yesterday, Lixiang Ju was sealed and searched. Some knockout incense was found in her residence. The incense burner Lu Peng brought back was laced with knockout incense.”
“Has Your Lordship interrogated her? What did she say?” Huo Xian continued asking.
Tu Nan was silent for a moment, then said, “When she was found, she had already hanged herself.”
Huo Xian frowned slightly: “Suicide or homicide?”
“…Homicide.” Tu Nan spat out the two words heavily, feeling his chest blocked by a breath of air, stifling him. “The procuress of Lixiang Ju was also found to have fallen into a well early this morning.”
Killing to silence witnesses fitted the Third Prince’s temperament.
Huo Xian’s eyes turned slightly cold, and he then asked about Wang Yunshi.
Tu Nan was just about to speak when he suddenly realized the roles between them seemed reversed. Little Marquis Huo was clearly the suspect; he came to learn more details of the case, not to narrate the case to him one by one!
“Lord Tu?” Huo Xian wondered why he hadn’t answered yet.
Tu Nan said calmly, “This official will do his utmost to clear the Little Marquis’s name. Before the truth comes out, the Little Marquis will have to suffer for a few days.”
“Since Lord Tu believes in my innocence, we might as well talk more about the details of the case. After all, I also want to know who went to such lengths to set up this trap to frame me.” Huo Xian smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
No matter how meticulous an action, it leaves traces. Moreover, the Third Prince’s rebirth node was very recent. The trap he set wasn’t meticulous; it was even a bit crude.
Tu Nan quickly cleared Huo Xian of suspicion using existing evidence. However, the testimony that best proved his innocence came from his servant boy, Yantai.
A while ago, the original host’s long-time servant, Qingzhu, broke his leg and had to rest. Yantai was promoted at that time.
Yantai was a smooth talker who pretended to be obedient and clever. The original host didn’t like him much and had thoughts of replacing him. All the servants in the Princess’s Manor knew that serving the Little Marquis was the best job in the entire manor. Yantai had used all his savings to grease palms to get the position by the original host’s side, so naturally, he was unwilling to move.
While Yantai was racking his brains for a solution, he accompanied the original host to Lixiang Ju. Then, Shishi‘s maid, Huixiang, found him and gave him another path—help Miss Shishi and the Little Marquis consummate a good deed. When Miss Shishi married into the Princess’s Manor in the future, benefits for him would be inevitable.
Yantai never considered the feasibility of Wang Yunshi marrying into the Princess’s Manor. Foolishly, he took the bait easily. When serving tea to the original host, he secretly put the drug given by Huixiang into the tea. The drug came from the same source as the knockout incense in the burner.
Yantai also confessed that although the original host only drank one sip of tea, with the boost from the incense in the burner, he quickly fell into a coma. It was Yantai who supported the original host onto Miss Shishi‘s bed and untied his clothes to create the fact that the original host and Miss Shishi had done the deed.
Although Yantai had confessed, and Tu Nan was certain there was no pressure or threat from Marquis Huo and the Princess, proving that Huo Xian was indeed innocent, Yantai was Huo Xian’s servant boy. His testimony might not be believed by others unless the real culprit who killed Shishi and framed Huo Xian was caught.
Furthermore, why did Huixiang and the procuress die?
Tu Nan currently had no leads.
It wasn’t until three days later, when he went to Lixiang Ju again hoping to find more clues, that he actually found something. He found a suicide note from Wang Yunshi hidden in the bed board.
In the letter, Wang Yunshi confessed that she admired Little Marquis Huo. Her family had sent a matchmaker hoping to tie the knot, but unexpectedly, she was rejected. She felt disappointed and unwilling. Later, the Wang family fell, and she fell from the clouds into the mud. When she was in prison, Little Marquis Huo was in high spirits, riding horses through the streets. Her heart was filled with resentment and jealousy, and she had a will to die. But before dying, she wanted to ruin Little Marquis Huo’s reputation so he would remember her for a lifetime.
“So, she committed suicide? Just to frame me and ruin my reputation?” Huo Xian looked at the suicide note written in small regular script used by women, his expression unfathomable.
Tu Nan didn’t speak, deep furrows forming between his brows. Compared to the content of the letter, he believed more that this letter was forged. The hiding place was concealed, but when he brought people to search, they combed every inch of the room, especially places with secret compartments. Why did he find the suicide note on his fourth visit when he hadn’t found it the first, second, or third time?
This suicide note seemed more like it was prepared specifically for him to close the case.
“Did the Little Marquis offend anyone?” Tu Nan‘s thoughts turned, then returned to Huo Xian.
Huo Xian replied indifferently, “Even if I offended someone, it wouldn’t reach the point of disregarding the law to kill someone and frame me.”
He knew the person who planned this case was the Third Prince, Xiao Jinli, but there was no evidence.
However, since there was a first time, there would inevitably be a second, a third… Xiao Jinli was a person who would use any means to achieve his goal. Since he coveted the throne of the Nine-Five (Emperor), he wouldn’t let go of the stumbling blocks in front of him.
Then the question arose: Was Xiao Jinli truly the Emperor’s biological son? Also, why did Emperor Hao Yuan take a widow as a concubine back then? Was it really true love between Emperor Hao Yuan and the Noble Consort as rumored in the marketplace, missed only because of the chaos of war back then? Was that why he took a subject’s wife as a concubine even while being accused by thousands?
If Emperor Hao Yuan truly loved the Noble Consort that deeply, why didn’t he love the house and its crow (love everything connected to her) and love their “crystalization,” Xiao Jinli?
Among Emperor Hao Yuan‘s four sons, the Second Prince and Fourth Prince were one foolish and one disabled. Let alone being born in the Royal Family, even ordinary families would find it hard to accept. Cruel ones might abandon them directly. But Emperor Hao Yuan accepted it calmly after his sadness. He didn’t banish the princes’ mothers to the Cold Palace, nor did he strip their ranks. He even gave them more care because of their defects. On the contrary, Xiao Jinli received the least favor among the four sons.
The original host was of similar age to the Crown Prince. Being clever and lively since childhood, Emperor Hao Yuan often summoned him to the palace to study with the Crown Prince. Therefore, he knew Emperor Hao Yuan‘s true attitude towards Xiao Jinli: Complex.
Emperor Hao Yuan would require the imperial physicians to check the Crown Prince’s pulse daily, and he would personally visit the Eastern Palace at most every two days. He would care if the Second Prince ate and slept well, and occasionally played with him during leisure time. He would read stories to the blind Fourth Prince. Only with the Third Prince, Xiao Jinli, were his eyes complex every time he looked at him. Materially, Xiao Jinli didn’t lack what other princes had, but he had nothing more, not even the closeness of an ordinary father and son.
Huo Xian felt that there was another story behind the “love” between Emperor Hao Yuan and the Noble Consort, and Xiao Jinli becoming two-faced couldn’t be separated from that background story.
Currently, all evidence indicated that Huo Xian had nothing to do with Wang Yunshi‘s murder; at most, he was a victim. The Court of Judicial Review naturally couldn’t keep him locked up anymore.
After five days, Huo Xian felt the wind symbolizing freedom.
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