Chapter 21: They’re Just Two Dogs
Madam Zhang was speechless.
Earlier, the Marquis’s Mansion had pressured the He Family to deal with Liu Shi.
So Liu Shi’s death was inevitable, but how could the He Family be so stupid as to implicate themselves?
That was Shuntian Prefecture’s prison! Besides people from Shuntian Prefecture and the Imperial City Department, who else could enter and kill?
It was simply that someone did not want He Hui to live!
And as Zhang Shaode said, at this time, besides the Du Family, who else would wish for all the He Family Members to die?
“So you mean that next, the Du Family will come after us?”
Madam Zhang could hardly stand.
Zhang Shaode’s voice was hoarse: “Liu Shi’s petition did not mention the Du Family at all. This morning at the Marquis’s Mansion, he was already furious. What he fears most is the secret being exposed, and he also fears most someone using it to threaten him!
“By coincidence, the people in this world who know this secret best are the Zhang Family and the He Family, so the He Family’s accident was not an accident at all, but premeditated.
“Since they have already struck at the He Family, it is a foregone conclusion that they will strike at us next.”
Madam Zhang burst into loud sobs.
“What are you crying for?” Zhang Shaode took out the storeroom key. “We cannot sit idly by.
“Quickly take some travel expenses, while it is still not dark, have your daughter-in-law make an excuse to take the grandson to her maternal home in Songyang for a short stay and leave the city!
“Once out of the city, immediately send someone to catch up with your stepson and remind him to be on guard! Have them come up with an excuse and not come back!
“Go quickly!”
Madam Zhang wiped her tears and hurriedly left.
Zhang Shaode took out the bloodstained token from his bosom, his hands still trembling.
……
Du Yu hurriedly returned to the mansion from Shuntian Prefecture and found the Marquis of Guangling in the main courtyard.
“Father, things are getting more and more bizarre!”
Before Du Yu returned, someone had already reported to him about He Hui, and the Marquis of Guangling was at his wits’ end.
“What exactly is going on? No suspicious points found?”
Du Yu shook his head: “I questioned He Jianzhong’s wife for a long time, she has completely gone mad and can’t say anything!
“The only thing is that she keeps muttering ‘Princess’ in her mouth!”
“Princess?” The Marquis of Guangling looked at him.
Du Yu sighed: “She is raving mad and can’t answer anything.”
The Marquis of Guangling paced back and forth with his hands on his waist: “What about the government officials? They didn’t find anything either?”
“In just two or three days, starting from He Xu, one case after another, leaving people overwhelmed, the government officials haven’t even figured out He Xu’s death yet, and these later cases connected to it are even more complicated, with no way to start.”
The Marquis of Guangling nearly ground his teeth to pieces: “What about He Hui? Why was he stupid enough to act against Liu Shi in prison? Doesn’t he know that even if successful, it would easily arouse criticism?!”
Du Yu took a deep breath: “I went to the prison and saw He Hui. He said clearly that He Jianzhong told him to bring the person back to the mansion for disposal, and he had never done anything to Liu Shi.
“But Liu Shi was poisoned!
“He Hui denies that the He Family sent anyone to the prison with food. He said that bundle appeared out of nowhere, and he doesn’t know what happened!
“So I feel very puzzled. If what He Hui said is true, then who administered the poison?
“Who could poison in the mansion to frame He Hui, and also go to the prison to kill Liu Shi?”
“There is absolutely no such person!”
The Marquis of Guangling’s face was as black as ink, looking at a pile of Imperial City Commander Tokens on the desk in front of him: “Besides Shuntian Prefecture and the Imperial City Department, who could go to the prison? No one! And all the tokens are here, not a single one missing!”
Du Yu took a deep breath: “This is the biggest problem.
“If it is not a lapse by the Imperial City Department, then only people inside Shuntian Prefecture could possibly do it.
“But if it were people from Shuntian Prefecture, they have no reason to harm the He Family Members and couldn’t possibly kill so many people in the He Family one after another.
“Compared to people from Shuntian Prefecture, we, the Marquis of Guangling, who have taken the He Family as our right-hand men, have even more room to maneuver.
“In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, we who are closely related to the He Family could easily poison or commit murder there!”
“Nonsense!” The Marquis of Guangling slammed the table. “Why would we kill the He Family? The He Family and Zhang Family are just two dogs under our Marquis’s Mansion. Why would I kill a watchdog for no reason?!”
“Of course because there is an unspeakable motive.” Du Yu’s gaze was deep. “Others might think we have no reason to kill, but what about the Zhang Family?
“The ones who personally carried out the operation back then were the He Family and Zhang Family. Now the He Family Members are dying so strangely, and almost only the Zhang Family Members remain.
“I believe once Zhang Shaode has a suspicion, he will definitely find a reason for us to kill!”
The Marquis of Guangling froze.
A chill appeared in Du Yu’s eyes as he continued: “After the incident this afternoon, Zhang Shaode arrived at the He Family before me. Before I arrived, he had already examined He Jianzhong’s corpse first.
“I don’t know what he associated it with, or if he had some other discovery. In any case, from the moment I saw him, his expression was very off.
“Later, while I was handling the He Family matters, he remained silently at the side.
“Liu Shi’s death is right there. If we cannot prove our innocence, prove that we have not been to the prison, then from He Xu’s death onward, this black pot of exterminating the He Family will fall on us.
“And the first to suspect us will certainly be the Zhang Family! He will conclude that we are kicking the donkey after it has pulled the mill!”
The Marquis of Guangling felt a prickling itch on his forehead: “This is a conspiracy. A conspiracy specifically targeting my Du Family!
“But who exactly is behind it, plotting so meticulously step by step?”
Du Yu frowned tightly: “Madam He kept muttering about the Princess in her mouth. I am worried that someone has learned of that secret from back then and is taking the opportunity to stir up trouble.”
The Marquis of Guangling stared intently: “Wei Zhang?”
Du Yu shook his head: “The clues show he is still in Ping City, two hundred li away from the city.”
The Marquis of Guangling did not accept it: “He could have slipped back early without you knowing! After all, if he is really alive, he has hidden it from you and me for three years!”
Mentioning this made him extremely irritated. “Back then, when Princess Yongjia left the capital to live, the Former Emperor specially assigned twelve guards to this only niece.
“Wei Zhang was the outstanding one among them, and the only one not confirmed dead that night!
“If he is really alive, then none of this is a problem for him!”
Du Yu was silent for a moment, then shook his head again: “The encirclement that day was in the pitch-black midnight. All those over a hundred people were masked, and the only one whose identity was revealed was He Xu, whose face cloth was torn off by Princess Yongjia.
“On Princess Yongjia’s side, only Wei Zhang remained with his life or death unknown.
“Wei Zhang could not possibly know that the He Family were the killers.
“Moreover, back then he failed to protect his master, leading to Princess Yongjia being killed, and he himself escaped alive. Once exposed, he would have only a dead end.
“So even if he wants revenge, he absolutely dares not cause such a big wave.
“I am certain there is definitely another person!”
