Ink Burns

Chapter 132 I’m here to kill you

"You mean, the former crown prince's name is mentioned in Xue Changfeng's confession?"

The woman's voice was clear, like the tinkling of a copper wind chime hidden in a niche, or like the flashing light of a huge diamond on a small, exquisite green wind-cooling needle.

The place for inquiries is on the top floor of the theater. The floor of the building is made of a huge piece of clear glazed plate, and there is gurgling water underneath the glazed plate.

Opposite the theater, a play was being performed with the beating of drums and gongs, singing, recitation and acting.

The performance was "Yu Huchun", the most popular Peking opera in the capital city recently.

The woman watched the opera stage singing out all the joys and sorrows without looking away, until the young man with two clusters of red feathers on his head, who had studied hard for twenty years and finally won the top spot in the imperial examination, came to the stage. Only then did she retract her gaze. Her skin was so well maintained that it seemed as smooth as a baby's. She wore a dark purple robe and a gold hairpin in her black hair, like a rich, gorgeous, and grand banquet.

Her expressionless face can give people a strong sense of oppression.

"Yao Yushi, a person of your character should not be able to see me. I have to ask your family, the Guanbei Marquis Chang family, to guarantee me before I can see you. If you try to deceive me with some nonsense, whether you are an official of the Yushitai or an actor on the stage, you will die."

Princess Jing'an's eyes fell on His Highness's face.

His Highness had slightly protruding cheekbones, sunken cheeks, clear eyes, and knelt straight: "If I say even a single word of falsehood, I will never make any progress in my career."

Princess Jing'an withdrew her gaze.

On the stage, the actor returned, wearing a purple-red Egret official robe and an exaggerated gold-thread belt adorned with four or five bright-colored sachets.

"Please tell me in detail." Princess Jing'an said.

Yao Zaozheng spoke clearly and in an orderly manner: "Yesterday, I and my colleague Xiong Bing were transferred to the secret cell of the Censorate, a place called 'Tianbao Temple'. Xiong Bing was placed inside the secret cell, which happened to be where Xue Taibao was. After I asked him questions, Xiong Bing said that the name of the late Crown Prince who died young was written in Xue Taibao's interrogation documents, so the documents were top secret and he could not know the whole picture, but it was said that the Saint was also very concerned about this case. After leaving his post yesterday, I waited at the restaurant at the door until dusk, and finally saw a low-profile black carriage stop at the gate of Tianbao Temple."

"A black carriage is common and ordinary, but the horse pulling the carriage is snow-white, with four dark black hooves, and a long and strong body. It is obvious at first glance that it is not an ordinary horse."

Yao Zaozheng spoke clearly and fluently in standard Mandarin, which sounded even better than the opera on stage.

Princess Jing'an was still watching the play, and asked intently, "Eight years ago, you passed the imperial examination and entered the Imperial Censorate. Why are you transferred to the secret prison at this critical moment?"

Yao Zaozheng straightened his back and answered without thinking, "I guess it's because I and Xiong Bing, the then Chief Clerk of the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, helped Censor Xue to clear up some feelings and speak a few fair words in Tianxiang Tower two days ago. Censor Xue returned the favor and promoted us both."

Princess Jing'an raised her eyebrows.

The next moment, Yao Zaozheng told all the false accusations made against Xue Xiao by the men from Jingzhao Yin.

Princess Jing'an raised her lips slightly, and a sarcastic flower blossomed on her plump red lips. She chuckled, "A pure minister? When one reaches a certain position, he knows that he can't fight alone. He killed his relatives and betrayed his teacher under the banner of a 'pure minister', and tried his best to please Xu Quyan. Now he can't help but pick a few confidants from the Censorate to cultivate his own power?"

Xu Quyan is the name of a saint of the time.

Yao Zaozheng lowered his eyes and said, "Xiong Bing is indeed fooled by this. In the past few days, he has repeatedly defended Xue Yushi."

The sound of suona is heard on the stage, and all kinds of music are king.

The play tells the story of a top scholar who passed the imperial examination, married a princess consort, and returned home to send his stepmother, who had always been harsh on him, to a mountain temple.

The old woman who plays the stepmother beats her chest and stamps her feet, wailing.

It looks great.

But the pleasure comes and goes quickly, and after watching it, I feel bored and dull.

Princess Jing'an turned to look at Yao Zaozheng and asked, "Was Grand Guardian Madam Zhu really killed by Grand Guardian Xue?"

Yao Zaozheng didn't expect that Princess Jing'an would care about this issue, and was stunned.

Princess Jing'an smiled and said, "You seemed calm and responsible just now, but you showed your true colors after a hasty question. You came to me in a hurry to report to Censor Xue about the late crown prince. You were just betting on the deep aunt-nephew relationship between me and the late crown prince. You wanted to bypass the Chang family and have a chance to meet me face to face. You got this chance, but you lost it because you were careless and not well prepared. It's really a pity."

Yao Zaozheng's face turned red with anger: He didn't want to know at all whether Xue Changfeng killed his wife!
He thinks that is not important!

The important thing is the first prince!
The former crown prince and Princess Jing'an were both aunt and nephew, and their relationship had always been close. He was betting that Princess Jing'an would be attracted by his words and leave the Chang family to meet him.

He was a man who was good at seizing opportunities. As long as Princess Jing'an saw his ability, he would be like climbing a fat, towering tree and rising straight up from then on. He had been in the Censorate for eight years, and had also been in Qingfeng for eight years with the help of his wife. He was still a seventh-rank 13th Supervisory Censor - he was too eager to make progress!
"Your humble servant, all your eyes are on the late Crown Prince. Yesterday, I caught the Holy Saint in disguise, and I was afraid of missing the opportunity. I hurriedly asked for an audience today. It was indeed your fault."

Stand at attention when being beaten.

When doing things as a person, the most important thing is sincerity.

Yao Zaozheng immediately spoke up to remedy the situation: "I will go back to the Censorate today and get to the bottom of this matter! I will sneak into the Qiantang Hall and copy down all of Xue Taibao's confession so that Your Majesty can make a good judgment!"

"No need."

The stage was closed, and Grand Princess Jing'an was bored: "Xue Xiao is definitely not a good person. You are the first person who has sneaked into the secret cell of 'Qingfeng' in all these years. You should do your job well and don't alert the enemy. Since Xue Xiao wants to cultivate his confidants, you should show your ability and become his confidant. Then, won't you control more information than you have peeked?"

Princess Jing'an's meaning couldn't be clearer. Yao Zaozheng was overjoyed, and a hint of joy appeared on his usually thin face: "Your humble servant, I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

"How do we get to Tianbao Temple?" asked Princess Jing'an.

Yao Zaozheng immediately handed over the sachet with both hands and recounted everything he had seen and heard yesterday.

Princess Jing'an waved her hand.

Yao Zaozheng stood up, bowed and backed away.

"Wait a minute—" Princess Jing'an suddenly asked, "Where are you from?"

"Your Majesty, I am from Yun County in southern Shaanxi."

Princess Jing'an waved her hand again.

When Yao Zaozheng walked away, Nanny Shen beside Grand Princess Jing'an whispered, "Censor Yao speaks Mandarin very well."

Princess Jing'an smiled and said, "Only people who come from poor places would practice Mandarin hard to avoid being seen through by others."

People who come from wealthy places always have a local accent unintentionally.

It's about being homesick and also about showing off.

"With Xue Changfeng's intelligence, I'm afraid he can't figure out that it was Zhu who set up a trap and used him to kill Qu Huai." Nanny Shen said again.

Quhui is the name of the former crown prince.

Princess Jing'an pursed her lips and said, "Just because he can't figure it out doesn't mean Xue Xiao can't figure it out, nor does it mean that my good nephew Qu Yan can't figure it out. As long as Xue Changfeng explains the whole cause and effect, Xue Xiao and Xu Qu Yan will understand it clearly in a short time - arrange someone to assassinate Xue Changfeng."

Good night.

A slender black shadow emerged from the corridor leading down from Tianbao Temple.

The big black dog pounced on the waist of the black figure, smelled a familiar scent on his body, and then quietly and silently fell asleep in the sand with his eyelids drooping.

A slender black shadow groped his way into the dark hall and poured half a bottle of milky yellow liquid into the wooden barrel filled with water beside Xue Changfeng. After finishing everything, the black shadow returned along the same route, with no obstructions along the way, and completed this not-difficult task very smoothly.

Tianbao Temple is an underground city where a steep corridor was carved out on the dark stone wall.

On the cliff corridor, there was a person who was watching all this quietly.

Xue Xiao's eyes, as sharp as an eagle, closed gently after confirming that the black shadow had poured into the milky yellow liquid.

Because of the incident with the late crown prince, the sage was not in a hurry for Xue Changfeng's death, and even offered him a chance of survival: as long as he could explain clearly what happened that year, he could save his life.

The saint did not want to kill him.
In the darkness, the falcon with sharp eyes suddenly opened its eyes.

——Since God doesn’t kill you, then I will.