A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 319 The Assassination of the Duke of Song

Lin Chuan's lowered brows suddenly lifted, and he stared intently at Song Shuyu. After a long while, a hoarse sneer escaped from deep within his throat, "Lord Song, are you sure Duke Song is here to interrogate me, and not..."

He did not continue.

But those eyes conveyed so much information!

Song Shuyu was startled and instinctively retorted, "Lin Chuan, don't talk nonsense!"

A look of surprise flashed across Mu Qingcheng's eyes, but she quickly grabbed Song Shuyu's arm and whispered a reminder: "My lord, calm down! Words are meaningless and cannot be taken seriously."

Lin Chuan suddenly laughed, "Heh, Master Mu, considering how much you did to save my sister, I'll give you a piece of advice: you can trust Lord Song, but don't trust him without any limits, lest you end up like us, with your reputation ruined and dying a miserable death in the wilderness!"

A sudden storm raged in Mu Qingcheng's heart!
Lin Chuan's tone was too certain, and his eyes were too sincere, so that Mu Qingcheng, who had seen countless people and was good at reading people's hearts, could not ignore the profound meaning hidden in his words!
"Be bold!"

Song Shuyu was furious. "How dare you sow discord between me and Master Mu? Lin Chuan, do you think you can find a way out by implicating my father and driving a wedge between Master Mu? Guards, use severe torture on me!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The constables received the order and immediately stepped forward to escort Lin Chuan to the interrogation room.

"Wait!"

A voice interrupted, and the constable paused in his work, looking at Mu Qingcheng with confusion, then at Song Shuyu, awaiting instructions!
Song Shuyu said urgently, "Qingcheng, don't believe what he said, how could I possibly do this to you..."

"My lord, please do not worry. I know what I'm doing." Mu Qingcheng's expression was gentle, as if she had not been affected at all. Her gaze fell on Lin Chuan's face, and she asked calmly, "You were originally a master secretly trained by the old Duke Song in the army. Later, you were sent to the palace to serve in the Empress Dowager's palace. Your original name was Lin Chuan. Do you acknowledge all of this?"

Lin Chuan nodded. "I admit it."

Mu Qingcheng then asked, "The origins of the five skeletons on Eagle Beak Mountain are the same as yours, right?"

“Yes!” Lin Chuan replied.

Mu Qingcheng gave him no time to catch his breath, speaking rapidly, "Why did all six of you disappear together, and they all died, but you're still alive today?"

"If I die, the world will know that Duke Song was a loyal and benevolent general with outstanding military achievements."

Lin Chuan did not answer directly. His gaze was focused on Song Shuyu's face, and a complicated expression appeared on his face. "But I wonder, can Lord Song tolerate the stain on the Song family?"

"Are you saying that my father has a tainted past?" Song Shuyu narrowed her eyes and slowly clenched her large hand.

Lin Chuan lifted his eyelids, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. "Whether it's true or not, time will tell."

Before Song Shuyu could erupt in anger, Mu Qingcheng asked, "Did the six of you carry out the massacre of the 'Shuiyunjian' family?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"I'm following orders!"

"By whose order?"

"..."

Lin Chuan closed his eyes, no longer responding, and said only, "Master Mu is very perceptive, why ask so many questions? If you understand everything, you might not even have a way out."

Song Shuyu turned and left.

"Lord Song, loyalty and filial piety have always been difficult to reconcile. I, Lin Chuan, am a worthless life, indifferent to life and death. I only hope that Lord Song will not betray the reputation of the Jingzhao Prefecture and will not disappoint Master Mu!"

Lin Chuan's voice came from behind him. Song Shuyu paused slightly, but he didn't turn around and walked out of the South Prison with his upright posture. Mu Qingcheng's gaze darkened slightly.

She stared at Lin Chuan for a long time, making sure he wouldn't answer any more questions, before saying, "Lin Chuan, actually, you do believe in Lord Song, but you're afraid he'll disappoint you, so you used reverse psychology, right?"

"How do you know?" Lin Chuan frowned, his tone carrying a hint of embarrassment and annoyance at having his thoughts guessed.

Mu Qingcheng smiled. "You deliberately led us to Eagle Beak Mountain and deliberately fainted at the entrance of the cave, just so that we would find the skeletons and then uncover the truth behind the skeleton case, right? If you really didn't trust Lord Song, you wouldn't have exposed yourself to the Jingzhao Prefecture's sight from the moment of the Suhe female corpse, and you wouldn't have schemed step by step until today, right?"

Lin Chuan was speechless.

"Thank you for reminding me, but I choose to trust the adults."

Mu Qingcheng turned and left.

Lin Chuan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze empty.

Song Shuyu stood with his hands behind his back in the courtyard.

Upon hearing the familiar footsteps, the coldness on his face slowly dissipated.

Mu Qingcheng stopped beside him, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I guess my wise and mighty master won't fall for my trick, will he?"

"Do you think that what Lin Chuan said was just to set me up and is not true?" Song Shuyu turned to the side, grabbed Mu Qingcheng's arm with his large hand, and unconsciously tightened his grip.

His nervousness and unease were all too obvious.

Mu Qingcheng took the initiative to hook his finger and said, "My lord, no one in the world knows your father better than you. You can choose to believe him. However, when we solve cases, we value evidence and testimony, and testimony is not just one side of the story. Let's wait for the Duke of Song to return and hear what he has to say before making a judgment. There is no need to rush now, nor should we lose our composure because of a few words from others."

Song Shuyu's agitated mood was instantly soothed. He grasped the slender, fair fingers in his palm with his other hand and said emotionally, "Qingcheng, I'm so glad you're by my side. I'm so glad you believe I won't hurt you."

Mu Qing's clear, bright eyes reflected the man's handsome features. Their fingers were intertwined, and a smile slowly spread across her lips, as radiant and beautiful as snow in spring.

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's already late spring.

The sun shines brightly in Beijing every day, making the air feel hot and dry.

When the urgent report arrived in the capital, the emperor was in his study, listening to reports from officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Agriculture on spring planting.

The Minister of War rushed over, drenched in sweat, and presented a red-headed memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Song was assassinated on his way back to the capital!"

The emperor shuddered!
Zhou Chun quickly took the memorial and presented it to the emperor for his perusal.

After reading the document, the emperor was furious. "Zhou Chun, convey my decree: Imperial Physician Jin Zesheng is to immediately proceed to Yuguan to treat the Duke of Song!"

"Yes!"

Zhou Chun left in a hurry.

The Minister of War wiped the sweat from his brow, his eyes filled with worry. "Your Majesty, the accompanying military physician is no less skilled than Imperial Physician Jin. If the poison that the Duke of Song has been afflicted with cannot be cured, he will be paralyzed at best, and die at worst. What... what should we do? The border war has just stabilized, and this news will likely shake the morale of the army!"

"The truth will eventually come out!" The emperor's eyes darkened, turning cold as frost. "But it's not entirely without its advantages; at least it will allow some ill-intentioned individuals to take the opportunity to emerge!"

The Minister of War was taken aback. "His Majesty means..."

(End of this chapter)