Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Out of curiosity, the Qi Wang ordered an investigation into the Zhou family’s whereabouts, which unexpectedly uncovered a major case.
It turned out that Qiu Tong, the maid who framed Miss Zhou, was actually bribed by Li Ze’s cousin.
As fate would have it, Li Ze was Miss Zhou’s fiancé three years ago, and his cousin was now his wife. The two had been having an affair for a long time and wanted to be together openly, but they were reluctant to give up the Zhou family’s wealth and status.
Back then, Li Ze was just a lowly guard with no background, but he was highly regarded by Master Zhou because of his outstanding abilities.
Master Zhou was a confidant of Governor Qin and was also a military commander at the time, so he was able to promote Li Ze in the officialdom.
Faced with a choice between his future and his cousin, Li Ze chose his future, but he was still resentful and wondered if there was any way to have the best of both worlds.
Qiu Tong was thus bribed, and Miss Zhou lost her innocence and went mad.
Li Ze understood Master Zhou’s personality well, so he resolutely refused to break off the engagement and repeatedly swore to Master Zhou that he would take good care of Miss Zhou.
He knew that Master Zhou valued propriety, integrity, loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness highly, and would certainly not send his mad daughter to the Li family; he also knew that the more sincere and genuine he appeared, the less likely Master Zhou would agree to the marriage.
Master Zhou couldn’t bring himself to send his daughter to bring disaster to the Li family.
Then, Li Ze’s plan succeeded. Master Zhou took the initiative to break off the engagement and, out of guilt, worked even harder to promote Li Ze.
After a year of hardship, his daughter’s condition still hadn’t improved, so Master Zhou resigned from his official post. But before he left, he gave all his connections to Li Ze, who had now replaced him as a favorite of Governor Qin and was about to be promoted to Commandant.
Master Zhou originally only intended to deal with Qiu Tong secretly, but he did not expect the prince to intervene and directly arrest Qiu Tong and interrogate her severely.
After only a few strokes of the cane, Qiu Tong confessed to being Li Ze’s cousin, who was now Mrs. Li.
Back then, Madam Li was a destitute woman, orphaned and penniless. How could she possibly have come up with three hundred taels of silver to bribe Qiu Tong? Where did her money come from? As the ultimate beneficiary, was Li Ze truly unaware of this?
Based on this suspicion, Qi Wang’s subordinates also arrested Li Ze. After several rounds of torture, the couple couldn’t withstand it and confessed everything.
Miss Zhou was indeed framed by them, because they wanted to be together but also wanted to seize power from the Zhou family.
Their schemes were undeniably ruthless and ingenious, manipulating people’s hearts at will.
Upon receiving the news, Mr. Zhou was so angry that he fainted, and when he woke up, he vomited several mouthfuls of blood.
Looking at the file in his hand, Zhuang Li fell into deep thought, a strong sense of familiarity already leaping off the page.
“This case is related to Zhuang Tian’er,” he said with certainty.
“How did you figure that out?” Qi Wang showed no surprise. He had also investigated Zhuang Tian’er and was naturally aware of her strangeness and sinister nature.
“Read Qiu Tong’s confession carefully, especially the part about how she drove Miss Zhou crazy.” Zhuang Li spread the file out on the table and pointed to a passage.
Qi Wang lowered his eyes to examine the technique closely, and pondered, “The method is very skillful.”
“It’s not just about being experienced. Every morning at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), Miss Zhou would go to the main courtyard to pay her respects to Madam Zhou, and then come back to read, write, and embroider.”
“This was Miss Zhou’s habit. However, Qiu Tong followed Liu Cui’s (Li Ze’s cousin) instructions and put drugs in Miss Zhou’s breakfast to make her drowsy. After seven consecutive days of drugging, Miss Zhou naturally developed the habit of taking a nap after paying her respects.”
The Qi Wang grew increasingly puzzled as he listened: “Is there anything wrong with taking a nap after paying your respects?”
“That’s where the problem lies.” Zhuang Li pointed to this passage of testimony with his fingertip: “Everyone has about five dreams every night. The first four dreams are very short and mostly happen in the first half of the night, but the last dream lasts for 45 minutes and mostly happens in the morning when a person is about to wake up.”
“Short dreams are fragmented images, while long dreams are complete stories, similar to a memory. Therefore, people who are caught in long dreams often cannot distinguish between dreams and reality.”
“If a long dream is interrupted and one falls asleep again after a quarter of an hour, the memory of the long dream is still hidden in the mind. This person is very likely to follow the previous dream and have another dream with a coherent plot. As a result, reality and dreams become even more confused.”
“If a person is woken up from a long dream every day and then falls asleep again, they will have more coherent dreams and will become increasingly unable to distinguish between dreams and reality.”
“They think they are awake in their dreams, but in reality they think they are asleep, and their minds gradually become confused. This method of confusing dreams with reality is called ‘sleep interruption.’ Only professionals like myself are well-versed in it; ordinary people simply don’t understand the principles behind it.”
“Qiu Tong forced Miss Zhou to develop the habit of taking a nap, which was actually to confuse Miss Zhou’s ability to distinguish between dreams and reality. Qiu Tong would often knock on Miss Zhou’s bed at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) and the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), and Miss Zhou, whose mind was already in a mess, naturally believed her nonsense.”
“Ms. Zhou’s madness is largely due to her inability to distinguish between dreams and reality. She often mistakes the ghosts in her dreams for real ghosts.”
Zhuang Li pointed to Qiu Tong and Liu Cui’s files and prompted, “So, did you see the problem?”
Qi Wang stared at a passage in the document and suddenly realized, “Two illiterate women could not possibly devise such a brilliant plan, nor could they possibly master such manipulative tactics. They must have been instructed by someone behind the scenes.”
Zhuang Li tapped his temple, his eyes growing cold: “After much thought, the only person besides me who knows this kind of method is Zhuang Tian’er.”
Qi Wang immediately said, “It must be Zhuang Tian’er.”
The young man would never do such a thing.
Zhuang Li glanced at him with a smile and continued, “Zhuang Tian’er is the kind of person who won’t do anything without a reason. There must be a reason why she would help Liu Cui frame Miss Zhou. Liu Cui’s confession didn’t mention Zhuang Tian’er, and I have a feeling that there are still some doubts in this case that haven’t been clarified. I want to see Liu Cui.”
“Alright, I’ll take you to the prison right away.” Qi Wang readily agreed, hitched up his carriage, and left, paying no attention to the funeral taking place in his residence.
When civil and military officials came to offer their condolences, he instructed his steward to send them away, leaving only two white lanterns hanging at the entrance as a formality. He even went to the palace on the very day he returned to the capital and personally altered the imperial edict.
Logically speaking, deceased members of the royal family should have their names recorded on the jade tablet. By doing this, Qi Wang was essentially denying Yun Changrong’s existence.
The Empress Dowager dared not inquire about this, and the young emperor was too young to ask, so the matter was easily resolved.
….
The two quickly arrived at the prison cell and met Liu Cui.
With a little guidance from Zhuang Li, Liu Cui awoke from Zhuang Tian’er’s hypnosis and remembered the memory she had forgotten.
“I don’t know Zhuang Tian’er; she came to me herself. She said she could help me deal with Miss Zhou, but on the condition that I arrange for her to meet Gao Feng. Gao Feng is my husband’s good brother and often comes to my house for drinks. If arranged properly, it won’t be difficult for him to meet Zhuang Tian’er.”
“I thought Zhuang Tian’er had taken a liking to Gao Feng and wanted me to help set them up, so I agreed. That day, I brought Zhuang Tian’er home, disguised her as a maid, and had her serve my husband and Gao Feng while they drank. On the way, I made an excuse to send my husband away, leaving her and Gao Feng alone in the room.”
“I don’t know what they said or did. I only know that Zhuang Tian’er left a quarter of an hour later, and Gao Feng continued drinking without any apparent reason. After that, I got married, and Zhuang Tian’er disappeared without a trace, having no contact with Gao Feng whatsoever. Your Honor, please have mercy on me! I know I was wrong!”
Liu Cui shook the prison door and wept bitterly.
But Zhuang Li ignored her cries, dusted himself off, and strode away from the dark dungeon.
After boarding the carriage, he looked at the Qi Wang and asked in a low voice, “Who is Gao Feng?”
Qi Wang lifted the carriage curtain and ordered someone to investigate.
The guard captain immediately reported, “Your Highness, there’s no need to investigate. I know Gao Feng. He’s the young master’s guard, and he accompanied the young master to Xishan the day before yesterday. I’ll send men to arrest him immediately.”
Half an hour later, Gao Feng, completely bewildered, was brought before Zhuang Li.
Seeing the other person’s tired face and dark circles under their eyes, Zhuang Li already understood that this was yet another person whose memories had been erased by Zhuang Tian’er.
Hypnosis could also have side effects. If the awakening process was not smooth, the subject may experience headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and recurring insomnia. These symptoms were fully manifested in Gao Feng.
Without a doubt, he was also a victim of Zhuang Tian’er.
Zhuang Li hypnotized Gao Feng again, awakening his memories, and a shocking case was exposed to everyone. This Gao Feng was actually hiding another identity.
He used to be a bandit leader operating in the Bazhou area.
In order to infiltrate the capital, he deliberately sent his subordinates to intercept and kill Yun Changrong, and then pretended to happen to pass by and help him, thus gaining Yun Changrong’s trust and becoming his bodyguard.
He continuously relayed news from the imperial court to the mountain bandits. He also gathered information about which mountain peaks and roads the 600,000 taels of relief funds would pass through.
After his subordinates succeeded, he made an excuse to take leave and quietly came to Bazhou. Under the guise of rewarding his subordinates, he invited them to drink, but in reality, he drugged their drinks. Once his subordinates were all unconscious, he swiftly killed them all.
He arranged to meet his subordinates in a cave where the silver was hidden, under the pretext of dividing the spoils. They drank wine in the cave, killed someone, and blocked the entrance. From then on, only he knew the secret.
The court officials investigating the case could not possibly suspect the personal guards of the Qi Wang.
Once things calmed down, he would gradually transfer the 600,000 taels of silver out and enjoy it slowly.
But he never expected that his actions would be seen clearly by Zhuang Tian’er, who was hiding near the cave.
Gao Feng was in a bloodthirsty frenzy, covered in blood and holding a sharp knife. Zhuang Tian’er dared not go out to face him. Only after he left did Zhuang Tian’er sneak into the cave, where she discovered corpses scattered all over the ground and the 600,000 taels of silver.
If Zhuang Tian’er wanted to keep this money, she must deal with Gao Feng. But how could she deal with Gao Feng? Kill him? She was a weak woman with no strength to even kill a chicken; she simply didn’t have that ability.
This led to the later case of Miss Zhou going mad.
Zhuang Tian’er and Liu Cui reached a deal. After her wish was fulfilled, Liu Cui arranged for her to meet Gao Feng alone. During that one meeting, she erased Gao Feng’s memory, and when they parted, she also erased Liu Cui’s memory.
From then on, the 600,000 taels of silver became her private property, and no one else knew her secret.
After learning the truth from Gao Feng, even Zhuang Li couldn’t help but admire Zhuang Tian’er.
This whole affair was perfectly orchestrated, a flawless scheme. No wonder Zhuang Tian’er was able to marry Yun Changrong so smoothly and eventually become Empress. With 600,000 taels of silver, what did she have to fear? Who could be more confident than her?
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