Chapter 69: The Dash and Elegant Little Marquis (2)
This was Huo Xian’s first time inside a prison cell—an ancient prison cell, at that.
Was it a novelty? Certainly not.
Intuition told him that with such a tragic opening, the Son of Destiny in this world likely had a fate fraught with misfortune.
Facts proved his expectation correct.
The Son of Destiny of this world possessed a distinguished status. He was the only son of the current dynasty’s Princess Jin’an and the Martial Marquis, Marquis Dingyuan. He was the biological nephew of the current Emperor, Emperor Hao Yuan. He was dashing, elegant, and overflowing with talent. The Emperor favored him even over the Crown Prince and the other imperial princes, repeatedly praising him as a “Qilin Son.”
But it was precisely this title of “Qilin Son” that invited the calamity of death and family extermination.
This world was another world with a massive bug: a reborn Third Prince. On the surface, he appeared gentle and refined, but in reality, he was a man of cold temperament, paranoid and dark inside, ambitious, and ruthless.
The current Imperial family did not have many heirs. The Emperor had only four sons and two daughters. The Crown Prince, Xiao Jinhan, though learned and knowledgeable, had been frail since childhood; a traveling doctor once predicted he would not live past twenty-five. The Second Prince, Xiao Jinyu, was physically healthy but born mentally challenged. The Third Prince, Xiao Jinli, was versed in both civil and military arts and free of illness or pain. However, his birth mother, the current Noble Consort, had been married to another before entering the palace after her husband’s death. Xiao Jinli was born prematurely at less than seven months, so whether he was of the Emperor’s bloodline remained unknown. The Fourth Prince, Xiao Jinchi, was born blind, destined to have no chance at the throne.
Thus, the “Qilin Son” nephew, Huo Xian, became the most special one. Many people even secretly speculated whether Emperor Hao Yuan intended to pass the throne to him.
The murder case at Lixiang Ju (Pear Scent Residence) was the beginning of the Huo family’s collapse.
The deceased, Shishi, was a Qingguan (courtesan who sells art, not body) at Lixiang Ju and also its top attraction. She was educated, reasonable, and possessed both beauty and talent, making her a confidante to many literati in the capital. However, Shishi was not the original host’s confidante; before today, they had only met once.
Although the original host was the capital’s famous number one handsome man, dashing and elegant, he kept himself clean and never entered brothels. The reason he went to Lixiang Ju yesterday was twofold. First, Lixiang Ju wasn’t a pure brothel but leaned more towards a place of elegance and culture; most of the girls were Qingguan, and the guests were mostly polite scholars. Second, Shishi was originally the daughter of a convicted official. She had been in the Imperial Music Office for less than a month when her father was exonerated, but by then her family was broken and dead, so she entered Lixiang Ju. The original host’s father had worked with Shishi‘s father in their early years and shared some friendship. Unwilling to see his old friend’s daughter destitute, he asked the original host to visit her.
Unexpectedly, this visit caused an incident.
The original host went to Lixiang Ju in the morning, but not long after, he fainted. When he woke up in the afternoon, he was already in Shishi‘s bed, and Shishi had been killed.
The news that Little Marquis Huo bullied a weak woman, and killed her after failing to rape her, flew into the homes of ordinary commoners overnight as if it had wings. The original host’s mother, Princess Jin’an, eager to protect her son, whipped those spreading rumors in the streets, leading to her impeachment by the censors. His father, Marquis Dingyuan, ran around gathering evidence to clear his son’s name but accidentally stumbled upon a treason plot. The deeper he investigated, the worse it got. By the time he realized something was wrong and wanted to pull back, it was too late; the entire Huo family became the masterminds of the treason case.
Since ancient times, treason has been a grave crime punishable by the execution of nine generations.
Although Emperor Hao Yuan was deep in thought, he was not brainless. He had suspected that the original host indeed coveted the throne, but he dismissed the thought quickly because he himself intended to groom the original host to succeed him. However, the original host was naturally uninhibited and loved freedom, unwilling to be restrained. Unless the Huo family had been acting in front of him all along.
However, manipulated by the mastermind behind the scenes, the court officials did not give Emperor Hao Yuan a chance to overturn the case for the Huo family. The original host’s father “committed suicide to escape punishment” early on in the prison of the Court of Judicial Review. Although the original host’s mother was protected in the palace by Emperor Hao Yuan in time, she soon succumbed to “madness,” burned down half the palace, and perished in the sea of fire herself.
As for the original host, after escaping prison, he investigated in secret and finally traced the mastermind to the Third Prince. Discovering the Third Prince also exposed his own whereabouts. The Third Prince used his parents’ remains to threaten him into showing himself. In the end, after suffering torture in prison, his neck was snapped by the Third Prince, and he died with hatred, unable to close his eyes.
Compared to the three worlds he had been to, this world had the most unfavorable start and an incredibly powerful opponent. To describe the Third Prince in modern terms, he was a typical antisocial personality. If such a person became Emperor, could the world be at peace?
Also, he didn’t know Huo Yuan‘s current situation. The manager only initially showed that the “corpse” found for Huo Yuan was within a ten-mile radius. Now that he was stuck in prison, he had to get out first to find him.
Fortunately, his identity gave him great privileges. The truth of the case was not yet clear, and the jailers, knowing his identity, were polite. It wasn’t hard for him to get things done or send a message.
Before entering the prison, he had already asked Lu Peng to send a message to the Princess’s Manor, asking the couple to come to the Court of Judicial Review first and not to do anything else, especially not to lay a hand on the common people.
When Princess Jin’an and Marquis Dingyuan arrived at the prison of the Court of Judicial Review, Huo Xian was undergoing interrogation. The one interrogating him was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Tu Nan. Tu Nan wasn’t old, but he was just, upright, and impartial. He had offended many people, but was also praised by the common people for his integrity.
Facing this “Iron Yama,” Huo Xian wasn’t nervous. In the original host’s memories, there was brief contact with Tu Nan. Tu Nan was indeed as he appeared—unafraid of power and unwilling to wrong others. It was a pity that in the original host’s life, the crime scene wasn’t protected well, and much evidence was destroyed, leading Tu Nan‘s investigation into a dead end with incomplete clues, unable to clear Huo Xian’s suspicion. But Tu Nan didn’t give up. He had a naturally keen sense for solving cases. After careful questioning, he finally found traces. However, when he returned to the crime scene to investigate, he was attacked and died from a lethal poison. The clues in his hands were destroyed by the killer, and the truth of the case sank into the ocean.
The original host’s memories didn’t contain the details Tu Nan had found, so Huo Xian couldn’t provide many clues. However, he detailed everything that happened after he entered Lixiang Ju, including the tea he believed caused his coma and the incense used, asking Lu Peng to pack them up on the spot and bring them back for testing.
Although his statement was very clear, Tu Nan didn’t just take his word for it. Instead, he seriously interrogated him from multiple angles with the attitude of questioning a criminal.
“…I have no grievances or enmity with her; there is no reason for me to kill her,” Huo Xian said.
Tu Nan said with a cold face, “Shishi‘s original name was Wang Yunshi. She was the daughter of former Minister of War Wang. She was known as the number one beauty in the capital. Minister Wang had dealings with your father. Before the Wang family met with misfortune, your manor and the Wang family seemed to have intentions of marriage.”
Hearing this, Huo Xian raised an eyebrow, revealing a somewhat strange expression.
Tu Nan didn’t understand his expression. His face grew colder, as did his voice: “Does the Little Marquis have an explanation?”
“Hmm…” Huo Xian drawled out a long hum before saying, “First, I believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The number one beauty in others’ eyes may not necessarily be so in mine. Second, my father’s friendship with Minister Wang wasn’t deep. The Wang family did intend to form a marriage alliance with our family, but I refused.”
Hearing this, Tu Nan‘s eyes flashed, and he immediately asked, “Why?”
“Because… I possess the passion of Longyang,” Huo Xian said unhurriedly.
Tu Nan‘s eyes widened into perfect circles. His face, which rarely showed much emotion, now looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Huo Xian’s eyes darkened slightly as he continued, “I had no need to kill her, and it is especially impossible that I killed her out of lust.”
The Lord Vice Minister left in a trance. Walking out of the prison, the cold wind blew, and he gradually sobered up. As his consciousness returned, his brows knit even tighter.
Little Marquis Huo was the “Qilin Son” praised by the Emperor himself. He was stunningly brilliant and talented, the ideal husband in the hearts of countless noble ladies in the capital. The women wanting to marry him could line up from the Princess’s Manor to the outer city gates. If they couldn’t be the main wife, being a concubine would do. But the Little Marquis, who would be turning twenty next year, not only had an empty backyard but didn’t even have a chamber concubine or bed-warming maid. Princess Jin’an and Marquis Dingyuan had tried to arrange matches for him several times, but were all rejected. Under these circumstances, unless his heart belonged to someone else, he had unspeakable hidden troubles. These hidden troubles included the preference for Longyang (men) he mentioned, or a physical ailment. Either way, it was enough to prove he had no lustful intentions toward Shishi.
Furthermore, if Shishi truly was the Little Marquis’s beloved, given how much the Princess and the Marquis doted on him, even if he wanted to marry Shishi as his official wife, they would likely compromise in the end. He had no need to force it.
Unless Shishi was unwilling? Did he kill her because she was unwilling? Would he kill someone, not run away, and sleep there waiting for the bailiffs to arrest him?
Tu Nan had a theory in his heart and walked swiftly.
Inside the cell.
Huo Xian met the original host’s parents. Princess Jin’an was dressed in red, looking graceful and luxurious. Although Marquis Huo was of military origin, he had a refined temperament. People in this era married early, so the couple was only just over thirty years old—a talented man and a beautiful woman, extremely well-matched.
His thoughts drifted for a moment but quickly returned, feeling both amused and helpless listening to the Princess’s rambling.
“You can still smile?” Seeing his smiling face, Princess Jin’an raised her willow-leaf eyebrows and went straight to twist his ear.
This was the first time Huo Xian had his ear twisted in his life. He hurriedly cried out in pain and begged for mercy. Unfortunately, the Princess wouldn’t let go, so he could only ask his father for help. Marquis Huo couldn’t bear it and wanted to rescue his son, but the Princess turned her fire on her husband: “It’s all your fault! You sent him to look after someone for no reason, and now looking after her caused an incident, didn’t it?”
Marquis Huo’s opened mouth closed silently, giving his son a sympathetic look that said I can’t help you.
Huo Xian: “……”
Right, how could he forget? Since marrying the Princess, this father of the original host had happily become a wife-slave. Fame, fortune, and promotions were all fleeting clouds to him.
In this dynasty, Prince Consorts could enter the court as officials, but the original host’s father did not enter the court, merely holding an idle position in the Ministry of War.
The original host’s grandfather, the Duke of Dingguo, was a general who fought to conquer the empire alongside the Great Ancestor. The Great Ancestor Emperor once personally said the empire belonged to the Xiao and Huo families. The Duke of Dingguo had no such ambition and didn’t want the Huo descendants to be feared by the new Emperor because of their military achievements. So, he petitioned to lower his title. When the original host’s father inherited the title, it was a Marquisate, but the Huo family was still renowned in the army. To reduce the Emperor’s suspicion, the original host’s grandfather resigned and returned to the fields, and his father married the Eldest Princess; thus, it was reasonable for the Huo family to hand over military power. After marriage, Marquis Huo followed the example of previous Prince Consorts, staying away from court affairs, holding an idle job, taking a salary to raise his wife and children, and living a life that was exceptionally peaceful and comfortable.
Unfortunately, this comfortable little life was ultimately shattered.
“Let’s go, come home with Mom.” Princess Jin’an had twisted his ear and was unwilling to let her precious son suffer any longer in prison. She absolutely did not believe Huo Xian would kill anyone, especially killing someone after failing to commit sexual misconduct with that girl from the Wang family. Heaven knows, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, Wang Yunshi, had fallen in love with Huo Xian at first sight and sent a matchmaker to their door the next day, but Huo Xian had rejected it outright.
Seeing his wife trying to take the person away without explanation, Marquis Huo frowned slightly. Just as he was about to stop her, Huo Xian beat him to it: “Mom, I can’t leave.”
Hearing this, Princess Jin’an raised her eyebrows again and asked in a dangerous tone, “What did you say?”
Huo Xian knew this was an extremely protective mother with a fiery temper, so he immediately persuaded her gently, “Mom, if you take me away today, it will confirm that our Huo family disregards the law and acts recklessly. It will destroy not only the Huo family’s reputation but also the Royal Family’s face.”
“Who dares to speak nonsense? This Princess will tear their mouth apart!” Princess Jin’an shouted.
It was evident that this mother was truly irritable. Huo Xian looked to his father for help.
Marquis Huo pressed his wife’s shoulder: “Calm down, listen to what Yi’er has to say.”
Yi was the original host’s courtesy name.
Princess Jin’an temporarily suppressed her dissatisfaction. Although she had a hot temper, she wasn’t truly brainless.
Huo Xian didn’t waste time and voiced all the things he was worried about and suspected. He believed that with complete evidence, it wouldn’t be hard for Tu Nan to find the truth behind Wang Yunshi‘s murder and clear his name. However, some matters were outside Tu Nan‘s jurisdiction.
“There is one more thing I need to trouble Dad and Mom with.” After finishing the important matters, Huo Xian mentioned another thing. “Help me find someone in the capital…”
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