Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The three of them, mistress and servants, got some pastries packed at Fanlou, intending to take them back for Aunt Huang to try.
However, they hadn’t gone far when they were stopped by three or four guards with swords.
The leader bowed to Yu Linlang, his attitude relatively polite, “Miss Yu, our Prince invites you.”
Yu Linlang narrowed her eyes and said softly, “The Prince of Pingkang?”
“Indeed.”
Jiu Jin stepped forward to block Yu Linlang’s way, “The Prince of Pingkang’s sudden invitation, isn’t it inappropriate for a lone man and woman to be alone?”
“You two can accompany her.” The lead guard said calmly, “Please, Miss Yu.”
Jiu Jin laughed angrily, slowly rolling up her sleeves, “Do you think you few good-for-nothings can persuade my young lady to come? Is that it?”
“Don’t be so overconfident!”
The head guard frowned, ignoring Jiu Jin’s provocation, and looked at Yu Linlang. “My master said that Miss Yu also has doubts, so it’s a good opportunity to go and talk to her. If you don’t dare to go, that’s fine too.”
Ba Liang rolled his eyes. “Do you think we have to rush to prove our courage just because you say you don’t dare? How naive.”
Seeing that the master and servants were unmoved, the guards exchanged glances. The leader then cupped his hands to Yu Linlang. “Please cooperate, Miss.”
Yu Linlang raised her hand, stopping the two maids who wanted to fight. “You two go back to the manor first.”
“Miss.”
Yu Linlang glanced at them indifferently, and the two immediately bowed their heads and replied, “Yes.”
“That carriage up ahead?” Yu Linlang walked towards the carriage parked to the side.
The guards with swords exchanged glances and quickly followed. “Please, Miss.”
The carriage carried Yu Linlang to a picturesque lake, its mirror-like surface shimmering in the afternoon sun.
Yu Linlang lifted the hem of her long dress and stepped down, following the guards leading the way towards the lakeside pavilion.
It hadn’t snowed in the past few days, and most of the snow on the road had melted.
Although the cold wind was still biting, it was much better than the damp chill of the previous days.
Ye Wuchen, dressed in a brocade fox fur coat, sat in a wheelchair, seemingly having waited for some time in the pavilion.
Yu Linlang entered the pavilion, and a servant bowed to offer her a cup of tea before obediently leaving.
“Please sit, Miss Yu,” Ye Wuchen said, raising his brooding eyes and offering a relatively warm smile.
Yu Linlang sat down gracefully, meeting Ye Wuchen’s gaze at him. Her voice was calm and even. “Did the Prince of Pingkang summon me here just for tea?”
“The finest Dragon Ball Tea[1], made with spring water from Biyuan Spring in Jiangnan, is brewed slowly and takes quite a while. Would you like to try some?” Ye Wuchen gestured to the teacup in front of her.
Seeing that she didn’t move, he couldn’t help but smile. “No poison.”
Yu Linlang picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp, her face expressionless. “No poison, but it contains a bone-softening powder. The Prince of Pingkang is so cautious when dealing with a weak woman like me?”
Ye Wuchen narrowed his eyes and chuckled. “You? A weak woman? I see you’re quite bold. The fact that you dared to come here alone shows that you’re confident you can escape unscathed.”
“Tell me, before this, did you ever suspect me?” Ye Wuchen lifted the porcelain teapot and personally poured Yu Linlang another cup of tea.
“Why don’t you tell me first, why did you think I suspected you?”
“Heh. The night my grandfather’s personal servant Hong Liang died, you kept staring at me intently. Don’t think I didn’t know; you suspected me from then on.”
Yu Linlang almost lost her composure, raising an eyebrow. “You’re quite funny. I stared at you, and you thought I suspected you. That’s probably just you feeling guilty.”
Ye Wuchen smiled faintly. “You actually knew from beginning to end who killed Hong Liang. Didn’t you?”
“I don’t know.” Yu Linlang shook her head decisively. “But I know it was a group of women. Zhao Ji, whom I met before, was one of them.”
“So I speculate that the ones who killed Hong Liang were the ladies in the old prince’s concubine garden, perhaps the Prince of Pingkang?”
Ye Wuchen pursed his lips, his fingertips tracing the porcelain cup. “You really did know. So you suspected me from then on, didn’t you?”
“Suspicion is just suspicion; I have no evidence. Besides, this matter originally had nothing to do with me, but since you insisted on bringing me here, I have no choice but to tell you the truth.”
Ye Wuchen laughed. “Then tell me, how did you discover that Zhao Ji was one of the murderers? You found out that the body had been moved that day, and that multiple people were involved. But how were you able to confirm it was Zhao Ji?”
“The abdomen of the body was slashed into pieces, and the wounds were of varying depths, clearly indicating that it wasn’t done by an unskilled person, and the wrists didn’t seem to have much strength.”
“Most importantly, during the autopsy, I smelled no less than five different floral scents. The faint jasmine scent on Madam Zhao was one of them.”
Ye Wuchen sneered. “Why didn’t you say so at the time?”
“Did you smell it then?”
Ye Wuchen paused, then shook his head.
“So what’s the use if only I smelled it? Whether I say it or not doesn’t constitute substantial evidence. Besides, why should I say it? What does this have to do with me?”
“If you hadn’t come here today and insisted I say it, I would have almost forgotten about it by now.”
“And then?”
“What ‘and then’? Then your grandfather died.”
Ye Wuchen scoffed, suddenly saying something unrelated, “Those women in the Beauty Garden were released on the day my grandfather was buried.”
“The Prince is benevolent.” Yu Linlang’s praise was rather half-hearted.
“Hong Liang was my grandfather’s most loyal dog. If we hadn’t eliminated him first, we wouldn’t have been able to act so smoothly that day.”
“Besides, he brought it on himself. That day in the garden, he forced several girls to do some despicable things.”
“Although I was the one who ordered them to seduce him, if he had been upright, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state.”
“Zhao Ji stabbed him in the stomach first, and the others rushed at him while he was still in shock. Several girls pressed his head down and shoved him into the mud. Three or four others used their belts to strangle him until he was stiff and motionless. They took out daggers and, trembling, slashed his stomach again and again.”
“I, the Prince, sat to the side and watched him suffocate to death, watched him being disemboweled and having his heart and liver removed. We were all very happy. Although our hands were covered in blood, we still felt a sense of satisfaction. It was as if we could see the dawn about to break before our eyes.”
“I guess you don’t understand this feeling, Miss Yu.” Ye Wuchen gazed deeply at her. “Do you know how much energy a person can unleash in the depths of despair? You certainly don’t, because you’ve never experienced it.”
Yu Linlang stared at him expressionlessly. “You know Wang Baitian?”
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[1] Dragon ball tea refers to single-serving portions of tea leaves hand-rolled or tightly compressed into small spheres or balls.
