Chapter 79: The Dead Man Right Under Your Eyelid
Ever since Yan Bei directly exposed that behind the He Family case there was the hidden truth that Princess Yongjia was suspected of being murdered, even the Emperor dared not slack off, Grand Tutor Mu had also spoken up, so how could the Three Judicial Offices dare to evade?
Who exactly handled the He Family blood case has become secondary; the important thing is what exactly He Jianzhong and Zhang Shaode were doing when Princess Yongjia met with her accident three years ago?
Once this investigation got underway, the time Du Minghuan spent at the yamen grew longer and longer. In the entire Marquis of Guangling’s Mansion, aside from Du Minghuan, only Du Yu and his mother knew the truth of the matter.
Old Madam Du, who had just passed her grand birthday, kept urging Madam Du and her son to go plead with Yan Bei. The mother and son verbally couldn’t refuse, but inwardly they were suffering unspeakably. Now, at the mere mention of being summoned by Old Madam in the main chamber, their hearts raced.
But ever since that night when they confronted the masked person, a day had passed with no action from them. Du Yu was burning with anxiety, so he took a desperate risk, sought out Xu He, and got the matter at the Imperial Clan Court done.
In the past, he naturally wouldn’t have acted so recklessly, but at this point, he had no choice.
Yan Bei personally stepped forward to apply pressure. On the Imperial Court, some who had previously leaned toward the Du Family due to their two families’ relations now saw the situation and began to switch sides.
Du Yu had also seen the fickleness of the world from a young age and had always kept a low profile, but only in these three years had he begun to hold his head high.
He knew that if this continued, it wouldn’t be long before the Du Family became a target for all, and without Yan Bei needing to do anything more, others would jump out to follow suit and chime in. To curry favor with Yan Bei, regardless of whether the Du Family had committed crimes, they would pin some on them.
After returning from the Imperial Clan Court, Du Yu thought it over and over. By dusk, he first went to that residence to pass the news to the other party. Afterward, he also sent people to keep watch on the Chu Family’s movements.
Until he saw people from that residence hurriedly go to the Chu Family, and then Chu Xin hurriedly head to Prince Duan’s Mansion.
He finally thoroughly confirmed that the character “Chu” which Du Minghuan had written in his palm that night was not the least bit wrong.
Back then, the one directing the Du Family from behind the scenes to commit this heinous crime was the Chu Family!
After confirming this point, he didn’t dare think too deeply about the twists and turns behind it. The urgent matter was how to resolve the current crisis from the Chu Family’s perspective.
After tossing and turning all night like this, early in the morning as he was about to go find Du Minghuan, the butler by Du Minghuan’s side came over:
“Heir Apparent, the people Marquis sent to Luoyang a few days ago to find Lord Xu’s wife He Shi have returned!”
Du Yu was stunned upon hearing this and immediately said: “Quickly bring them over!”
Last time when it was mentioned that Xu He was hateful and already hard to control, Du Yu had said that his wife of humble origins who had rushed over from the countryside didn’t seem like a country woman. Du Minghuan immediately sent people to Luoyang to investigate.
But later, they suddenly faced Yan Bei’s call for a thorough investigation of the He Family blood case, and along the way it left people exhausted and frantic—he had almost forgotten about this!
The butler quickly brought the person in.
The person arrived panting: “Reporting to Heir Apparent, we found Lord Xu’s hometown and discovered his wife of humble origins He Shi is not at all that woman from the birthday banquet that day!”
Du Yu’s whole body tensed up: “What’s going on? Explain clearly!”
“The He Shi now living in the Xu Family arrived in the Capital City two days before Old Madam’s birthday banquet, but when we inquired at He Shi’s maternal home, we learned she only left the day before we arrived there!
“Moreover, we showed the portrait of the He Shi who attended with Xu He that day to everyone who knows them both, and not one person recognized the person in the portrait!
“They all said He Shi absolutely isn’t that beautiful!
“Heir Apparent, there must be a deception on Xu He’s side! The lady of the Xu Family now is not He Shi herself at all!”
The guard said it all in one breath. After Du Yu heard it, his hands and feet had already gone numb.
He had indeed long harbored suspicions about that Top Scholar’s Wife who suddenly showed up at their door, but considering Xu He had no roots at all in the Imperial Court, even if he wanted to evade the marriage with the Duan Family back then, he surely had the intent but not the guts, and it wasn’t very likely he’d find a fake to fool their Du Family.
Because once he did that, it would inevitably be exposed sooner or later, and Xu He absolutely couldn’t bear that crime.
Unexpectedly—
“Did you investigate clearly?” He suddenly stepped forward. “Are you sure He Shi is someone else?”
“We subordinates stake our heads on it—the one who came to the banquet that day absolutely was not the wife of humble origins Xu He married in the countryside!
“Because everyone we found to look at the portrait were all Xu Family relatives, plus neighbors around He Shi’s maternal home. They either spent days and nights with He Shi or watched her grow up—they absolutely couldn’t be mistaken!
“The key is, after He Shi was abandoned by the Xu Family, she worked temporary jobs at local shops, and she did indeed leave the day before we arrived there!
“And she didn’t leave on her own—someone took her away!”
Du Yu held his breath for a moment: “Who was that person?”
“Don’t know! But it’s said they were heading to the Capital City.
“We subordinates chased after them hurriedly but didn’t catch up, so we could only hurry back to report!”
Waves surged in Du Yu’s heart. He strode down the stone steps and paced back and forth twice along the garden path, then suddenly stopped under the pomegranate tree.
“Come here!”
He said sternly.
Several guards waiting under the door quickly stepped in.
“Prepare horses, come with me to the Xu Family immediately!”
The guards swiftly departed.
Du Yu suddenly called out again: “Wait!”
He looked at the several people who had stopped and pondered: “You few go first and check if that woman now living in the Xu Family is still there. If she is, scout if she has any escorts by her side. If so, how many, and who exactly are they?”
The guards acknowledged and left.
Du Yu’s cheek twitched, and he immediately turned back to the room, finding his wife who had just finished dressing: “On the day of the birthday banquet, who received Xu He’s wife He Shi?”
The Heir Apparent’s wife stood up: “It was the second branch’s sister-in-law. What’s wrong?”
“Go call her over. I have a few questions for her!”
The Heir Apparent’s wife was also worried about the family’s recent affairs and had helplessly asked Du Yu multiple times without response. Now seeing him so urgent, she didn’t dare delay a moment and soon brought over the second young madam.
Du Yu asked: “That day when you were leading He Shi into the garden, did you notice anything strange?”
The second young madam thought carefully with her heart pounding: “I can’t say exactly where it was strange. If I had to say she had something unexpected, it’s that she was really too calm. Along the way there were plenty mocking her, and for a country woman, she’d either throw a tantrum or feel scared, but she did neither. Instead, she seemed superior, disdainful of stooping to their level.”
Hearing this, Du Yu’s face had already turned pale.
The Heir Apparent’s wife was startled: “What happened?”
But how could Du Yu explain it to her now?
That Xu He’s abandoned wife of humble origins could rush to the Capital City right when he was discussing marriage with the Duan Family—this was suspicious in itself.
However, at the time the Du Family couldn’t force it, and with the moves they had made on his maternal grandfather and uncle giving them a handle, the Du Family chose to endure silently.
But now the guards sent to Luoyang to find He Shi had returned with the result that the He Shi of the Xu Family wasn’t the real He Shi—
If He Shi wasn’t the real He Shi, then who was she?!
That day at the tea banquet, Yan Bei lost composure toward her. This widower had never glanced sideways at other women for years, but this time he reacted!
And regardless that she was already a married woman!
What their past relationship was, Du Yu had no time to investigate. He only knew not just anyone had the qualification to know his Prince Jingyang!
Connecting this to Yan Bei’s unusual urgency twice later to handle the He Family blood case, wasn’t this woman’s background already obvious?
She was at least Wei Zhang’s accomplice!
That was exactly what Du Yu had just thought of, which was why he couldn’t wait to come to the inner residence womenfolk for confirmation.
The second young madam’s words instantly deflated his spirits!
To pass through amid everyone’s discussions without a care and still put on such an arrogant demeanor, what kind of person could do that?
Or rather, who else would impersonate the Top Scholar’s Wife to come to the Du Family?
The night before last, Chu Xin had also speculated on the background of the killer who slaughtered He Jianzhong’s entire family, but at that time Du Yu didn’t dare think that someone everyone had seen die with their own eyes could still be alive?
At most, he only dared think this person was just a bit higher in status than Wei Zhang.
But could Du Yu still think that way now?
Xu He was a proper Top Scholar!
Yan Bei was also the lofty Prince Jingyang!
Only Princess Yongjia had the qualification to interact with both of them!
And only she had the ability to wipe out He Jianzhong’s entire family, and amid the encirclement at Fei Yun Temple, kill Zhang Shaode ahead of He Hui!
Cold sweat broke out all over his head.
The sisters-in-law in the room also saw something was off with him: “What major event happened exactly?”
Du Yu waved his hand and walked out with an increasingly pale face.
He absolutely never expected that what he thought was the most impossible was the truth. The real culprit he and his father had racked their brains to pursue was right under their eyelids!
Moreover, the resurrected Princess Yongjia had openly entered their Du Family inner residence!
The scene of He Jianzhong’s blood flowing everywhere flashed before his eyes again. To kill with such invisible methods, linking up the deaths of the entire family front and back, almost seamless!
Now it was their Du Family’s turn—could they, who had only risen in three years, withstand it?!
Not to mention there was still a Yan Bei on the Imperial Court!
“Heir Apparent, bad news! Marquis has been taken into custody!”
He had just reached the front courtyard when someone came head-on. At this one sentence, Du Yu nearly collapsed to the ground!
……
At the Xu Family side, Lan Qin happily lifted the curtain: “Princess, Xiao Huo is back!”
After saying that, she stepped aside, and Xiao Huo’s loud voice carried in from outside the door: “Master, I’m back!”
After entering the room, the youth strode forward and kowtowed extremely deftly.
Yue Tang set down the several household registration files in her hand and smiled as she stood: “I figured you’d arrive today. How was it? Did everything go smoothly on the way?”
“Smoothly!” Huo Yun’s face was full of the joy of returning. “After this subordinate arrived, it took no effort at all to find He Shi through familiar villagers.
“She was very wary of me at first, so I stayed and persuaded her for a few days, and helped chase off two relatives who were kicking her when she was down. She finally trusted me.
“However, on the way back we ran into Du Family people.”
At this point Huo Yun took the tea Lan Qin poured and drank half a cup before sobering: “We had just left Luoyang City when we bumped into several people hurrying along. He Shi recognized them; she said they were people who had threatened her not long ago.
“This subordinate kept an eye out, doubled back to tail them, and discovered they were indeed Du Family guards.
“He Shi doesn’t know martial arts and can’t ride horses, so I could only hire a cart to take her. If I just rushed ahead, nine times out of ten we’d be caught by those Du Family people.
“So I simply stopped for a bit, let them go first, then continued. The rest of the way back was uneventful and very smooth!
“Just now I already settled He Shi in our residence and instructed the old women Aunt Qin brought, telling them not to go out these few days.”
Hearing this, Lan Qin smiled at Yue Tang: “This servant said it’s a clever child!”
Yue Tang smiled too. Then she paused: “Since Du Family people got there ahead of you, that means they’ve already returned to Marquis of Guangling’s Mansion?”
Huo Yun thought for a moment and nodded emphatically: “The journey from Luoyang isn’t too far; they must have arrived.”
Yue Tang then stood and walked to the curtain, glanced at the courtyard wall outside, then turned back: “Since the Du Family also sent people to find He Shi, that means they really suspect me.
“Du Yu is shrewd and knows I’m not He Shi, with recent events as proof. At this moment, he probably has already figured out my identity.”
Huo Yun, whose stool wasn’t even warm yet, immediately stood: “Then what do we do?”
Yue Tang raised her lips: “No need to panic. What should come will come.
“Qin Niang, you don’t go out either. Have Yu Ting go back to Prince Jingyang’s Mansion once, tell these matters to Yan Bei, and by the way have him ask if there’s any progress on the Chu Family side regarding the Du Family?”
“No need for him to go!”
Yue Tang’s words had just fallen when Wei Zhang’s voice came from outside the door.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, he said: “Du Yu has already sent people to scout the Princess’s situation. Several people lurking suspiciously at the east side gate of the Xu Family, grabbing the entering and exiting servants to inquire.
“The good news is, didn’t Chu Xin send people to the Vice Minister of Revenue and Vice Minister of Personnel mansions last night?
“This morning at court, censors were already impeaching the Du Family for harboring disloyal intentions. First someone accused the Du Family of unclear sources for their wealth, then someone reported Du Minghuan for disloyal thoughts, secretly disrespecting the Emperor, and spouting mad words in private. They even produced evidence of the Du Family secretly colluding with the Shen Family!
“Just half a shichen ago, the Emperor already sent palace guards to take down Du Minghuan!
“Collusion with the Shen Family?” Lan Qin said. “Isn’t that nonsense? Chu Xin really strikes ruthlessly! The Emperor surely won’t spare the Du Family!”
At this point she frowned: “Right, if the Mu Family is really the Chu Family’s accomplice, at this time they’d exert even more force to stamp out Du Minghuan in one go!
“This way the Du Family dies easily.”
Yue Tang nodded: “Whatever the Chu Family wants, I’ll make sure they don’t get their way.
“—Wei Zhang, keep a close eye on Du Yu.
“Then I’ll write a letter for you to deliver to Yan Bei along the way!”
