Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 321 Deception

"You bullshit!"

Shen Lingshu immediately refused to believe it, pointing at Wei Zhuang and saying, "You're trying to trick me! You lackeys have no good intentions!"

She widened her eyes and realized she had misjudged the situation.

The woman in front of me wasn't that beautiful. Her makeup kept falling off her face, and a closer look revealed wrinkles and large pores.

She has a peculiar air about her.

Wei Zhuang lowered his head, looking just like a wronged young wife, and said softly, "How could I dare to lie to Miss Shen about such a thing?"

Although her face was heavily made up, the image of this delicate woman certainly didn't resemble that of a treacherous and cunning henchman of the Kaiping Division.

Having said that, he turned around, took out the letter that had been delivered to him from the west a few days ago, and said, "This is confidential information. It comes with the sealing wax and seal of the Kaiping Division. It cannot be counterfeited. You can show it to Miss Shen, but it must not be spread outside."

"show me."

Shen Lingshu stepped forward and snatched the letters and reports, reading them one by one.

These letters were sent at different times and places, and bore the seals of different people who handled them in different places, as well as annotations from officials at all levels of the Kaiping Bureau. They could not be forged in a short time.

The above details all the events that occurred after Shen Jichi entered Jusai City.

Finally, there is a speculation about Shen Jichi's ultimate fate, namely that he was refined by Gu Jingnian.

Shen Lingshu had long suspected that her father had a secret, but only today did she learn that Shen Jichi was an extraordinary person. Recalling many things that had puzzled her since childhood, she felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Therefore, she could easily understand what was said above.

She could guess what things were about, such as "shadow transmission technique" and "refining".

Recalling how Gu Jingnian saved her with his extraordinary abilities at the pharmacy, even the incident seemed terrifying.

I finally turned to the last newspaper, but it only contained four short words.

"The Marquis of Wuding has passed away."

After a while, a tear fell next to the character "殃" (yāng), blurring the ink.

The hand holding the paper began to tremble.

Shen Lingshu shook her head and said, "No, my father won't die. These are all fake."

“Miss Shen, you know all of this is true,” Wei Zhuang said. “Dying in battle is the fate of a military general… It’s a pity that Marquis Wuding didn’t die on the battlefield, but at the hands of that treacherous villain Gu Jingnian.”

"Gu Jingnian?"

Shen Lingshu murmured the name.

She had been deliberately avoiding thinking about that name for a long time, ignoring any news about him.

Today, however, this name, carrying a strong emotional impact, crashed into her mind once again, with a bang.

But her first reaction was that Gu Jingnian made her feel that her father was alright. The boy who had once saved her life was, deep down, still kind to her.

But this intuition only lasted for a moment.

“Yes, Gu Jingnian has always deeply resented Marquis Wuding,” Wei Zhuang said. “Miss Shen may not know, but Gu Jingnian’s birth mother died at the hands of Marquis Wuding.”

"what?"

Wei Zhuang continued, "It was precisely because Marquis Wuding felt indebted to him that he wanted to betroth Miss Shen to him. Later, Gu Jingnian learned the truth and therefore broke off the engagement..."

All sorts of chaotic information were crammed into Shen Lingshu's mind at this moment. She didn't have time to think about it carefully, but she was indeed very determined to find out the reason why Gu Jingnian broke off the engagement.

It turned out to be the case.

She finally realized that this was the reason she could accept the most.

Wei Zhuang truly understood Shen Lingshu's girlish thoughts, and this sentence greatly enhanced the credibility of his words.

After that, whatever he said made perfect sense.

"Gu Jingnian has been determined to avenge his birth mother since childhood, and he will stop at nothing to achieve this. He even turned himself into a demon, constantly refining and absorbing the abilities of others. Until this time, he finally killed Marquis Wuding."

"He...killed my father?"

“He not only killed Marquis Wuding,” Wei Zhuang said, “he also wants to kill all of us.”

Shen Lingshu stood there blankly for a long time.

Wei Zhuang sighed softly and said, "I shouldn't be telling Miss Shen these things. The court hasn't announced this matter yet, so as not to cause unrest among the border troops. In addition, the peace talks between the court and Yong Kingdom are also related to this matter. However, I was worried that Miss Shen might be caught off guard when she sees Gu Jingnian, so I spoke out against the rules. Please keep this a secret, Miss Shen."

"it is good."

"By the way, asking Pei Nian about these things is useless. Her relationship with Gu Jingnian is quite suspicious, and the Kaiping Division is investigating her."

"Gu Jingnian...will I ever see him again?"

Shen Lingshu asked, her tone devoid of expectation, only filled with hatred.

Wei Zhuang said, "I suppose so. The Marquis of Wuding's mansion might still have something he wants." "What does he want?"

"I don't know," Wei Zhuang said. "Miss Shen, please be careful and go back."

He only told and reminded people, without making any demands, which made Shen Lingshu more trustworthy.

Shen Lingshu turned to walk out, but suddenly stopped and turned back to ask a question.

"What should I do to kill Gu Jingnian?"

Wei Zhuang touched his earring, secretly amused, but his face showed worry as he said gently, "How can you, a weak woman, possibly be a match for such a treacherous demon?"

“Madam Wei, you are also a woman, aren’t you? You can become a supervisor to protect your family and country, so why can’t I avenge my father?”

Wei Zhuang puffed out his rather full chest and said, "Good ambition! Wait a moment."

He turned around, picked up a dagger from the shelf, and handed it to Shen Lingshu.

"Take this, but remember two things. First, don't pull out this dagger lightly. Only pull it out when you encounter Gu Jingnian. At that time, I will be able to sense it and come to your aid."

"it is good."

"Secondly, this dagger is poisoned. Gu Jingnian has a special constitution. If he is poisoned, he may only be unconscious and paralyzed, but if someone else is cut by it, they will definitely die. You must be careful."

"Alright, thank you for reminding me, Madam Wei."

Shen Lingshu put away the dagger, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and walked out.

Once outside, she was no longer the weak, tearful woman she had been moments before.

From now on, she will become a ruthless and decisive person.

Thinking this to herself, she took a deep breath and sniffed her nose, which was red from crying, and her eyes started to sting again.

--------

Pei Nian returned to the Investigation Hall, where Ting Qiaobing soon came to greet him.

"Officer, have you seen Miss Shen?"

"Shen Lingshu?" Pei Nian asked, "She came here?"

"Yes."

"What about people?"

Tingqiao Bing glanced back and said, "Zhang the gatekeeper in the front yard led her to wait for tea."

Pei Nian nodded and went to find Zhang the doorman, only to learn that Shen Lingshu had already left on her own.

"Miss Shen? She's in such a hurry, she left before Pei Jishi could even wait, saying she had nothing urgent to do."

"is it?"

Pei Nian murmured something, and roughly understood why Shen Lingshu had come.

However, since things were still unresolved and she didn't know how to respond to Shen Lingshu, she decided not to complicate matters for the time being.

She remained still for a few more days before finding an opportunity to meet Pei Wugou in a natural and appropriate manner.

This was Pei Wugou's fourth day as Minister of War. He seemed to have something on his mind, and his eyes were always filled with contemplation.

The father and daughter met again, once more, under the yellow banner.

"how?"

“Gu Caiwei has a good impression of mortals,” Pei Nian said. “I think she is like-minded with us. If we can rescue her, it will have an immeasurable impact on Gu Jingnian.”

Pei Wugou nodded, but remained silent for a moment.

He had no clue how to rescue Gu Caiwei at the moment.

Finally, he raised his hand and said, "Don't make any rash moves. The Yong Kingdom delegation will be arriving in Zhuojing soon. Gu Jingnian may propose to release the Gu family members. At that time, I may be able to use the power of the Ministry of War to put pressure on the Kaiping Division and seek a turning point."

"it is good."

Pei Nian agreed, then added, "There's one more thing. Gu Caiwei asked me about Lu Yanning's whereabouts. Is there anything we can do to help her with this?"

“Lu Yanning?” Pei Wugou’s gaze narrowed slightly, a complex expression on his face. After a long pause, he said, “Consider him dead.”

Should I answer Gu Caiwei like that?

"No, just say 'already dead'."

After Pei Wugou finished speaking, he lowered his head and flipped through the official documents on the table.

After he took office as Minister of War, he already knew Lu Yanning's whereabouts. However, he had not yet figured out what to do with the troops related to Lu Yanning.

(End of this chapter)