Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2652 Still Vigorous in Old Age 36.0
“I know about this, or rather, I was a witness to it.” Song Yaojia said with a somber face, looking at the crowd looking at her and sighing. “Old Du’s eldest grandson, Yun Shen, used to be my study companion, and the child who was murdered was his younger brother.”

"Du Yun Shen?" Chu Han and Xia Chen clapped their hands in unison. "Right, how could we forget him? If it weren't for that accident, this eldest son of the Du family..."

The two didn't continue speaking, but exchanged a glance, their faces filled with regret.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Xue Ruitian looked at Song Yaojia and frowned slightly. "If I remember correctly, isn't your study companion that brat Tan Duoer? He's always climbing on the roof and tearing off the tiles. Lord Tan is summoned to the palace every few days to clean up his messes. Am I mistaken?"

“Of course not.” Song Yaojia shook her head gently. “They are both my study companions, but you have only met Dor.

"I'm actually quite qualified to speak on this matter," Xia Chen said, looking at everyone with a smile. "Yao Jia went to study at the East Palace a few years earlier than you all. He's about the same age as Yun Shen, maybe a little younger, but not by much. At that time, the Du family couple should have just had their accident not long ago." He looked at Chu Han, "Right?"

"Hmm!" Chu Han nodded and sighed, "Grand Tutor Du was a diligent and conscientious man who devoted himself to serving the people, but his luck was never very good."

“Yes!” Xia Chen sighed. “I don’t know if it’s because the old Grand Tutor is so lucky, but apart from him and the eldest son, everyone else has passed away for one reason or another over the years.”

"Isn't this what they call 'destined to be alone'?" Xue Ruitian looked around, somewhat embarrassed, and said.

"Don't be embarrassed, that's how it is." Xia Chen spread his hands helplessly and said, "The old Grand Tutor's wife passed away a long time ago, leaving him with two sons. The old Grand Tutor never remarried and raised his two sons alone. When his younger son was three or four years old, he was encouraged by his friends to climb a tree and accidentally fell to his death. Although the friend who encouraged his younger son was punished for it, what good did it do? It couldn't save his younger son's life."

"Yes!" Chu Han sighed. "Three- or four-year-old children are very competitive and can't stand a few words from someone with ulterior motives."

"What about the other son? Since the Grand Tutor has a grandson, it means the eldest son lived to adulthood." Shen Cha looked at them and said hesitantly, "Right?"

"Yes, the eldest son did indeed live to adulthood smoothly, and he also passed the imperial examinations, married the woman he loved, and had two sons and a daughter. We thought the Du family's bad luck had come to an end, but who would have thought that on their way back to their hometown to pay respects to their ancestors on behalf of their father, the couple encountered a band of bandits. The couple, with a dozen servants, fought a bitter battle for two days until reinforcements arrived, but they died from exhaustion."

"Bandits?" Shen Cha thought for a moment. "The case outside Zhenjiang Prefecture?"

“That’s right!” Xia Chen snapped his fingers, nodded to Shen Cha, and said, “It’s the case in Zhenjiang Prefecture. Zhenjiang Prefecture doesn’t have any troops stationed there, so they could only mobilize the navy from the coast. They arrived at the scene in two days, which is already quite fast. If it were at the normal speed,” he shook his head slightly, “let alone catch them, they probably wouldn’t even be able to find a trace of them.”

"The late emperor was grateful for the contributions of the Du family, so he allowed Du Yun to study in the Eastern Palace, nominally as Yao Jia's study companion." Chu Han sighed and said, "Grand Tutor Du was also affected by this matter, and his health collapsed immediately. Although he did not retire, he only held the title and did not have to attend court. It can be said that he retired in luxury."

“This eldest son of the Du family,” Shen Cha looked at everyone, “when I was in the palace, I heard the Empress Dowager and Sister Jinyu talk about him. They said that if it weren’t for an accident, and if this eldest son had seen through the coldness of the world and insisted on becoming a monk, he would probably have become a famous minister.” She stroked her chin. “I was curious, so I asked why, but they didn’t tell me. They said I would find out if I had the chance.” She looked at Xia Chen, then at Chu Han. “This accident, could it be the murder of his younger brother?” “More or less!” Xia Chen sneered. “It’s a cruel twist of fate. Everything was going well, but unexpectedly, this happened, giving the grandfather and grandson a heavy blow.”

When did this happen?

“In the third year of Yun Shen’s studies at the Eastern Palace, at the beginning of the year, Yun Shen told me that he planned to take the imperial examination this year, and maybe he could get a good score. But then…” Song Yaojia sighed and said, “not long after, his younger brother was kidnapped, and then came the news of his brother’s death.”

"But..." Shen Cha looked at Song Yaojia in confusion, "Young masters are always accompanied when they go out, how could he be so easily abducted? Where did all the people who were accompanying him go?"

"Xiao Cha's question hits the nail on the head." Chu Han nodded approvingly at her. "Before we caught this kidnapper, we were also very puzzled. Only after we caught him and interrogated him did we realize that this kidnapper's identity was far more than just a tomb raider."

"What is it?"

"In fact, he still has many connections with the Du family." Xia Chen received a look from Chu Han and explained, "According to seniority, he should be a distant cousin of Du Yunshen and Du Yunqian."

"Cousin? A relative of the Du family?"

"Hmm!" Xia Chen nodded. "This kidnapper's grandfather was the old Grand Tutor's cousin, but the two families weren't very close. The old Grand Tutor went out to study at a very young age and rarely returned home—you could count the number of times on one hand. However, the family must be very proud of the old Grand Tutor. And the old Grand Tutor was willing to help his clansmen; as long as it was within his power, he wouldn't refuse."

"So, this kidnapper actually came to Xijing City to seek refuge with the Grand Tutor, but then betrayed him and killed his own cousin?"

“That’s right.” Xia Chen nodded. “Xiao Cha was right. If it were a stranger, Yun Qian wouldn’t just follow along. But this cousin is no stranger. If he says he’s going to take him out to play, he’ll definitely believe him without a doubt.”

"That's true." Shen Cha nodded. "How long has this kidnapper been with the Du family?"

"It's been five or six years now. The old Grand Tutor and Yun Shen both said that this cousin had been diligent and honest during his time at home. But they never expected that such an honest person would do something so earth-shattering and shocking. It shows how unpredictable people's hearts are."

“Yes, that’s my question too. They’ve lived in the Du family for so many years, why would he do such a thing?” Shen Cha asked, puzzled. “Does he have any entanglements or conflicts with the Grand Tutor and the eldest son?”

"No." Xia Chen shook his head slightly and said, "It seems to be related to..." He looked at Chu Han, "...the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty?"