A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 365 Ending (34)

During these years of keeping a low profile, the Marquis of Huai'an distanced himself from court affairs, seemingly living a carefree and leisurely life, but secretly cultivating considerable power.

Although the number of guards kept by the Marquis's mansion was within the prescribed limits, their strength lay in their elite status; in terms of individual combat ability, each of them was no less capable than those in the Imperial Guard.

When Lu Xun travels, he will ostensibly be accompanied by two constables from the Dali Temple, but secretly, the guards of the Marquis's mansion will be divided into several groups to follow him at varying distances, ready to be dispatched at any time.

After he finished making the arrangements, he turned around and saw Bai Zhizhi persuading Hou Yiping and Xiao Linzi. Her lively and cheerful eyes and bright and cheerful appearance seemed to bring back memories of when he first met her.

Thus, Lu Xun suddenly realized that since Bai Zhizhi recovered from her injuries, he had rarely seen her. Even when they occasionally met, the girl was indifferent and ignored him.

He couldn't help but wonder, had he offended Bai Zhizhi somehow? He believed he had completed the task Mu Qingcheng had given him fairly well, and had been secretly protecting Bai Zhizhi, ensuring the girl hadn't suffered any harm!
After thinking about it for a while, and after Hou Yiping and Xiao Linzi left, he walked over and called out to Bai Zhizhi, who was about to leave, "Miss Bai!"

Bai Zhizhi was startled and slowly turned around. When she saw Lu Xun with a smile on his face, she couldn't help but feel a flutter in her heart, which made her blush instantly. She was flustered and uneasy. "Lord Lu, Lord Lu."

Lu Xun tried his best to appear gentle and kind so as not to scare the little girl away. He smiled and said, "I've been busy lately and may not have taken good care of you. Please don't be angry."

"Lord Lu, you flatter me. I'm not angry, and Lord Lu has no obligation to take care of me." Bai Zhizhi quickly concealed her emotions and responded with a distant and indifferent attitude.

After speaking, she bowed and turned to leave.

Lu Xun was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses. He strode after Bai Zhizhi, his brows furrowed deeply. "Miss Bai, did I do something wrong?"

Bai Zhizhi unconsciously clenched her fists and said lightly, "No, Lord Lu is very kind. It was my own fault..." She suppressed the bitterness in her heart and pretended to be nonchalant, "I am just a small constable and come from a merchant family. I really dare not burden Lord Lu."

Lu Xun was stunned. "What are you saying? You're Qing'er's sister, which means you're my sister..."

"No, I'm just Sister Mu's sister!" Bai Zhizhi interrupted him, her feigned calm now turning into uncontrollable agitation. "I don't have an older brother, and I don't need one!"

Lu Xun stood frozen in place, watching Bai Zhizhi run away. He was full of questions and really didn't understand why things had escalated to this point!
At this moment, a clerk hurried over, bowed, and said, "Lord Lu, Vice Magistrate Xu requests your presence at the Southern Prison."

Lu Xun composed himself and strode towards the South Prison.

When they arrived, Xu Chunshan, Mu Qingcheng, Zhang Zhubu, and Duan Qianzhong were already gathered in the morgue.

Shen Che was left in the courtyard to keep watch.

Since the Lin Shuban rebellion, the safety of the Jingzhao Prefecture was no longer 100%, so they did not stay in the council hall for too long, since Mu Qingcheng's main official business was in the morgue.

Fortunately, there have been no recent murders, and the remaining bodies have been properly disposed of. The morgue is empty, with only rows of mortuary beds remaining.

The door was closed, and everyone gathered around the only table.

Lu Xun informed the three judicial departments of the clues Mu Qingcheng left behind, as well as the current progress and results of the investigation. Afterward, they discussed the cooperation that would be needed from several parties the next day.

Afterwards, Mu Qingcheng went to the death row and met with Liu Changqing, the mute assassin, and Lin Chuan alone.

Lu Xun and the others were in the interrogation room. He didn't know if Mu Qingcheng had persuaded those people, but seeing that her expression wasn't too bad, he felt relieved.

Many things cannot be predicted in advance; it all depends on how the public trial will unfold tomorrow.

Mu Qingcheng found a chair and sat down, rubbing her forehead, looking rather tired. "Lu Xun, how is Father? Does he know about me?"

"Yes, I told Father everything I knew. Don't worry, Father is fine and safe. I left Lu Zhao at Liuzhuang Villa to take care of Father." Lu Xun told the truth. "Father will appear at the appropriate time during the public trial tomorrow. Don't be too surprised then."

As he spoke, he walked behind Mu Qingcheng and placed his hands on her shoulders and neck. "You must have been exhausted and suffering these past few days. Let me loosen up your muscles and help you relieve some of the stress."

Mu Qingcheng stiffened and turned to look at Lu Xun, only to see heartache in his eyes and self-reproach in his words, "I'm sorry, I didn't take good care of you."

"I'm a grown woman, I don't need anyone to take care of me." Mu Qingcheng twisted her shoulders, wanting to refuse Lu Xun's heartwarming gesture.

However, Lu Xun held her down, not allowing her to move, and said, "You listen to me, or I'll tell your father that you don't cherish your own body and don't want to live a long and healthy life to be filial to your father."

"You..." Mu Qingcheng was both amused and exasperated, "Aren't you childish!"

Lu Xun smiled broadly as he massaged her, "It doesn't matter, as long as it works."

"Tsk tsk, didn't your father give you a beating for faking your death?"

"No, Father is understanding. He not only forgave me, but also..."

"what?"

"No rush, let's talk about it after we finish tomorrow's business."

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Lu Xun swallowed them back. Now they were all on the brink of defeat, and he couldn't let it affect Mu Qingcheng's mood for the battle.

In fact, Mu Qingcheng was somewhat aware of the situation. What separated her from Song Shuyu was not only the hatred for her mother's murder, but also her father's affection for Lu Xun and the marriage agreement that was worth a thousand pieces of gold.

The only variable here is her romantic choice.

However, in the face of a mother's hatred, how insignificant are the feelings between children?

"By the way, Qing'er, what's wrong with Miss Bai? She was fine before, so why is she acting so cold towards me now, and even bringing up her background?"

Lu Xun's voice brought Mu Qingcheng back from her chaotic thoughts. She was stunned for a moment, then asked, "You spoke to Zhizhi?"

“Hmm.” Lu Xun recalled Bai Zhizhi’s attitude and was puzzled. “When we met at the yamen gate, I thought I hadn’t taken good care of her, so I apologized to her. Who knew she… Qing’er, you know Bai Zhizhi best. Do you know why? If I did or said something wrong and angered Bai Zhizhi, you must tell me. I will make a backup gift and apologize to Bai Zhizhi later.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingcheng looked at Lu Xun again, her expression complex and difficult to decipher. She tentatively asked, "Why...why do you care so much about Zhizhi's attitude towards you?"

Lu Xun smiled gently, "Isn't she your most cherished younger sister? As the saying goes, 'love me, love my dog,' so naturally I treat her as my younger sister too."