Proud Feather

Chapter 58 Compassion
Wei Qi was dizzy and was helped downstairs to apply medicine.

"It hurts a little, please bear with it, sir!" The person who applied the medicine was probably a eunuch. His movements were gentle and quick, worthy of being a servant.

The powder touched the wound, causing Wei Qi to grimace in pain. Xiao Lianxiang happened to come in and smiled at him, forcing him to hold back the pain.

Even though I suffered a lot today, it was worth it to be treated as a distinguished guest by the princess and to receive a smile from Xiao Lianxiang...

After the wound was bandaged, the eunuch helped him up and said softly, "Sir, please wait a moment. We will arrange a sedan chair to take you there to recuperate. However, the princess is afraid that His Majesty will be angry if he finds out. Please, for the sake of our relationship, help keep it a secret and wait until your wounds are healed before returning."

"Of course I can, but can I send a message back? Otherwise, I'm afraid my family will worry." Wei Qi said guiltily.

He had originally planned to play for two days before returning home, even if his aunt got angry. But now two days was definitely not enough to recover from his injuries, and he was afraid that if his aunt complained to his family, he would be punished if he returned home.

"Of course." The eunuch winked and quickly brought over paper and pen. "Just write a note. Don't mention meeting the princess. Just say you're staying at a friend's house for a while. Once you've recovered from your injuries, I'll personally take you back and explain everything to your family. With the princess as your guarantor, they won't mind. How do you do it?"

Wei Qi was overjoyed. This way, he wouldn't have to go to the academy and could have fun without worry.

"Okay, okay, that's it!"

On the other side, Xiao Lianxiang turned her head and whispered, "This guy is so stupid. He's still smiling even after being beaten like this."

Mother Qin warned: "Don't let anyone hear it, or it will ruin the princess's business."

Little Lianxiang said hurriedly, "I don't need to worry, Mom." Then she asked, "Is the princess satisfied tonight?"

Mother Qin smiled broadly: "I'm satisfied. The princess even gave me a reward!"

Xiao Lianxiang patted her chest and said, "That's great, this matter is finally over."

Mother Qin said, "Silly daughter, how can you let this go? If the princess is satisfied, this is a great opportunity to rise to the top..."

Xiao Lianxiang widened her eyes.

Mother Qin said meaningfully: "Serving a man is not as good as serving a princess."

……

The noise faded away, and the pleasure boat gradually sailed out of the people's sight, sank into the darkness, and finally stopped at a private pier.

"Princess, please." This was the garden of the Duke of Anguo's mansion, and the servants of the Feng family had been waiting there for a long time.

As Chu Ling walked in, she heard Jiang Shijun whisper to her, "The man has been sent away, and everything is sealed. As long as we don't let the news out, no one will know his whereabouts."

"Thanks to his disguise, it's difficult for Wei to find him."

Jiang Shijun said with a smile: "I have gained a lot tonight. I didn't expect to find the person behind it so easily."

Chu Ling said: "The person has always been there, all we lack is evidence."

Jiang Shijun understood what she meant: "You really know..."

Chu Ling said calmly, "Isn't this obvious? No matter how much they disguise themselves, as long as we see who benefits in the end, they will probably not be able to escape."

Jiang Shijun lamented, "That being said, so many people are deceived by appearances, and we dare not even mention it."

Chu Ling remained silent, dejected. This was how it had been in his past life: some people acted according to the situation, some remained indifferent, and some pretended to be deaf and dumb. If only someone had lifted the veil, my brother wouldn't have died unjustly.

Therefore, in this life she will be the one to lift the veil, to avenge any grievances and revenge any grudges!
The two talked all the way to the hall, where someone was waiting with a lantern in front.

Chu Ling originally thought it was a maid, but when he got closer, he found that there was an old lady in the middle.

"Grandma?" She was stunned.

"A Ling." The old lady of Duke Anguo looked at her with a complicated expression.

Chu Ling turned around and said, "Mr. Jiang, you should go and have a rest first. We can talk about it tomorrow." Jiang Shijun bowed and quietly retreated.

Chu Ling smiled and went to greet her warmly, "Grandma, why are you in the garden? I'm just out for a walk. I hope I don't disturb your rest so late at night."

The old lady smiled faintly and patted her hands: "It's hard for me to fall asleep when I'm old, so I just came here to wait for you."

As she spoke, she frowned: "Your hands are too cold. You don't know how to take care of them at such a young age. Go back to the house and warm them up. Girls can't catch a cold, okay?"

Chu Ling listened obediently, and responded to whatever the old lady said. He followed her back to the house and washed up obediently.

When she came back after washing up, her body was warm and the old lady's face looked better.

"I want to have a private conversation with the princess. You two can go down first."

The maidservants and palace maids bowed and left. Chu Ling couldn't help but put away her smile: "Grandmother..."

Since only the grandfather and grandson were left in the room, the old lady didn't beat around the bush: "Tell me, what on earth have you been doing?"

Chu Ling said: "I... I'm going to swim in the river! It's very lively tonight, grandma, you don't know..."

The old lady interrupted her, speaking seriously, "A Ling! Are you even trying to trick Grandmother? The last time you left the palace, you were poisoned. This time, you're leaving early and coming back late, leaving even Weiwei unable to see you. Grandmother is very worried, you know that?"

Chu Ling felt guilty. In her past life, she had fallen out with her father, and her grandmother, at her old age, had gone to the palace to plead for her, kneeling until she broke her body. In this life, she kept coming and going, using the Duke of Anguo's mansion as a springboard, but she had never explained it to her grandmother.

She didn't say it because she was afraid that her grandmother would worry. But if she thought about it carefully, keeping it a secret would only make her more worried.

Thinking of this, Chu Ling said sincerely: "I'm sorry, grandma. I was doing something that outsiders couldn't know about, so..."

"To investigate Ayi's death?" the old lady was puzzled. "His Majesty only asked you to supervise the three judicial departments in handling the case. Why do you need to do it yourself? Besides, why can't this be made public? You accepted the assignment with honor."

Chu Ling didn't know how to answer.

The old lady found the answer from her expression: "You don't believe in the Three Judges."

Having said that, Chu Ling could only nod: "Yes, I think they can't find the murderer, or rather, they dare not find the murderer."

The old lady's expression was subtle, and she lowered her voice: "Do you have a goal in mind?"

"Grandma..."

The old lady then said, "You suspect the second brother, don't you?"

Chu Ling was really surprised: "How do you know?"

"Isn't this easy to guess? He's my grandson, how could I not know who wants to kill him the most?" The old lady said coldly, and then softened her expression when she looked at her. "But you, you really impressed my grandmother. You did such a big thing on your own."

Chu Ling said softly, "I can only bite the bullet and do it. Their family pretended to be so good that even my father was deceived."

The old lady nodded and said, "You are right not to say it. His Majesty is your and Ayi's father, as well as his father."

There seemed to be some hidden meaning in her words. Before Chu Ling could think about it, she heard the old lady change the subject: "Have you found any clues?"

"I've found some." Chu Ling briefly recounted what he had found tonight. "...The Wei family is related to the Marquis of Jingping's family, so they're definitely involved in this matter!"

The old lady had lived for so long, having witnessed the chaos of Emperor Xingzong's reign and countless secret affairs in the mansions. She knew the key point as soon as she heard it and said angrily, "It really is them! I told your mother that Tian Shi was not a good person, but she didn't take it to heart! Now Tian Shi is enjoying her blessing and harming her son. It's really..."

"Don't be angry." Chu Ling knew that her grandmother had a quick temper, so she quickly tried to appease her. "What would I do if something bad happened to you?"

Seeing her granddaughter's pitiful gesture, the old lady's heart softened. She patted her chest and said, "Don't worry! Grandma is very strong and will definitely live well. I'll watch you deal with those evil people. If you need anything, just tell Grandma. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Although the Anguo Mansion has declined, it still has some assets!"

This chapter was finished a long time ago, but I made some mistakes and spent several hours revising it, so it’s late to post it.