Chapter 152: The Couple At Li Residence
In the night, the street market became quiet, but the backyards of some restaurants and teahouses were still noisy and lively.
The shopkeeper was tallying accounts, the menial laborers were cleaning the back kitchen, and the rough workers were preparing meals.
Mo Zheng sat stoking the fire, listening to Uncle Hong, who was washing vegetables nearby, recount the recent investigations. To avoid being targeted by those people, Yang Luo rarely went out and did not linger or meet with Uncle Hong and the others, so she could not bring back news in time.
Many people were investigating Li Bu: people from Marquis Yichun’s Mansion, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and some unknown people, perhaps from the Imperial City or from some prominent families with unclear intentions.
“Following behind them, I discovered a small clue,” Uncle Hong said in a low voice.
Before Li Bu presented the bloody letter, he had chatted briefly with a postman from the Pingling Post Station while drinking at a restaurant.
“Pingling.” Mo Zheng looked at the map lines sketched on the ground with the fire poker. “The previous one in Huzhou was to attack the decoy manpower we threw out, which was surely just on the surface. This time, it’s helping us to express sincerity, so it should involve deploying hidden manpower.”
Mo Zheng tapped the fire poker at the Pingling location on the map.
“It seems their roots are to the west.”
Uncle Hong immediately responded: “We’ll investigate to the west…”
Those daring to scheme for under heaven were no ordinary people; there were only a few famous, powerful figures with soldiers and carriage and horses. As long as they found the right direction, they could certainly uncover their origins.
Mo Zheng waved her hand: “Don’t alarm them for now; handle one thing at a time.”
At this point, she asked Hei Shu.
Hei Shu was in charge of watching matters and people related to Yang Luo’s background.
Hei Shu, with his scarred face from the blade, was rinsing bowls with a clatter. Hearing this, he sat over and said, “Ji Ying said that servant of his is a household-born servant, but he does not serve at his side, just does rough work. His interactions with Marquis Yichun are secret, unknown to anyone in daily life, so that servant should not know.”
Mo Zheng nodded: “That servant must have just been instructed by someone else.” She asked again, “What have you discovered in the past few days?”
They could not touch the officials of the Dali Temple, and Marquis Yichun and the Embroidered Uniform Guard and others were already checking them. As long as Marquis Yichun and the Embroidered Uniform Guard found something, it would be as good as them finding it, so she had Hei Shu only watch some of the menial laborers at the Dali Temple.
Especially those who could access the prison cell.
Hei Shu took out a booklet from his bosom, flipped through it, and stopped at one line.
“Among these menial laborers, there is indeed one different from the others, and he is also connected to the family of the person the Young Master previously had us watch.” He said, “It’s the old menial laborer in charge of delivering meals. He has a grandson studying at the Bamboo Forest Temple outside the city.”
Mo Zheng leaned over to look at the three words Bamboo Forest Temple on the booklet.
“This is a place in the temple specially for poor children to read and learn,” Hei Shu said. “It was funded by the Li Clan.”
The Li Clan, huh. Mo Zheng raised her brows.
……
…….
The night was deep, and in the simple inner courtyard house of the Li Family, the study room still had lights on, with the silhouette of a slender figure sitting upright reading projected on the window.
An old servant carried a lamp to light the way, leading Madam Li, who was carrying a food box, inside.
“Master, it’s late at night,” she said. “Have some night snack.”
Lord Li put down his book, nodded, and watched the old servant place a bowl of plain congee and two dishes of side dishes on the desk.
“Have all the funding from various places been sent?” Lord Li asked.
The old servant smiled and said: “Master, rest assured; Madam personally delivered them one by one.”
Lord Li looked at Madam Li again: “In a few more days it will be the festival; the school should stop too. Give those misters an extra portion of meat to let them have a good festival.”
Madam Li acknowledged, her brows tightly furrowed, not out of worry about spending more money.
She sighed and said: “It seems His Majesty does not care; it is still the mountain bandits who destroyed White Horse Town, and that Yang Luo’s background has not been exposed.”
“That is because Ji Ying’s bloody letter did not get to the crux,” Lord Li said.
At this point, he looked at the letter on the desk.
The letter was sent out a few days ago by the Imperial Consort, saying that Yang Luo had disobeyed the Empress, and what idea Marquis Yichun had given to let him handle it outside…
But before the letter was finished, news of Ji Ying’s bloody letter arrived.
News of the White Horse Town incident also spread instantly.
Compared to this matter, other things were no longer important.
Thinking of this, Lord Li still could not help feeling nervous, excited, and puzzled, so he stood up and paced.
At that time, they watched the letter Marquis Yichun gave to Ji Ying. As soon as Ji Ying received the letter and set off, his arranged people acted, creating the illusion that Ji Ying, carrying Marquis Yichun’s secret letter, had been silenced.
This would uncover the White Horse Town case and frame it on Marquis Yichun, stirring up a big commotion.
But the manpower vanished without a trace, and Ji Ying also disappeared.
He originally thought Marquis Yichun had taken precautions early, so he did not dare act rashly again. Their Li Clan could not afford any stain, or all previous efforts would be wasted…
He never expected that after so long, the name Ji Ying suddenly emerged.
Could it be that Ji Ying had precautions back then and escaped? Then he thought it was a mountain bandit attack, karma, and confessed to the Imperial Court through Li Bu?
He had checked Li Bu; he was not Marquis Yichun’s man, nor anyone’s man, just a clean and simple censor clerk.
Although it differed from the plan, it was still somewhat to his liking, though the result was not entirely satisfactory.
So after hesitating repeatedly, he decided to still make a move to push things along. He had long bought off Ji Ying’s household servant, and then had the old menial laborer planted in the Dali Temple pass a message while delivering food. Once that servant made a fuss, it would directly point out that Marquis Yichun was related to that Lady Yang’s cause of death…
“Marquis Yichun just entered the palace,” the old servant said softly nearby. “Wei Jiao accompanied him in; it seems Wei Jiao went to spy at Marquis Yichun’s Mansion.”
Madam Li looked somewhat nervous: “Marquis Yichun must have gone to explain. Master, relying on just that one sentence from the servant is really hard to convince the crowd. Should we send some evidence? The Chai Clan’s arrangement on the Border Army side is all ready; as long as we send it over…”
Lord Li raised his hand to stop her: “No, the evidence can only let His Majesty investigate it himself; that way he will believe it more.”
At this point, he looked at the night outside and smiled.
“Although it is just one absurd-sounding sentence from a servant, to His Majesty, this is not absurd. After all, Marquis Yichun has done such things before.”
“His Majesty is a very suspicious person.”
“Moreover, it has been over ten years since his ascension to the throne; he also has enough power to resolve his own suspicions.”
Hearing this, the furrowed brows of Madam Li finally smoothed out.
Although many previous matters were not entirely satisfactory, the result now had achieved what they sought.
“That is good,” she said. “This time we truly seem to have heaven’s help.”
At this point, she picked up the letter on the desk.
“Also, the Heir of Duke Yongwu, Zhu Yunxiao, mentioned by Younger Sister in the letter—I think he is very good.”
Lord Li looked over and nodded slightly: “Then during the festival these few days, I will meet him.”
The old servant reminded nearby: “Master, eat the congee, lest it get cold.”
Lord Li sat down again and picked up the congee.
“Master, don’t stay up too late; rest early,” Madam Li said with a smile, then left carrying the food box, led by the old servant.
As Madam Li left, the shadows lingering in Lord Li’s study also dispersed, hiding in the servants’ quarters and carriage and horses shed of the Li Family courtyard house.
The shadowy figure crouching outside the Li Clan house also stood up.
“Impressive, the Li Family’s defenses are even stronger than Marquis Yichun’s Mansion,” Mo Zheng said softly in admiration. “We couldn’t get even half a step closer.”
Hei Shu’s scarred face grew even darker: “When we were watching daily, we didn’t discover anything at all…”
When they were watching, almost anyone from the Li Family could freely enter and spy.
They had never encountered such a situation.
“There must be a secret signal, like in husband-and-wife interactions, or a bowl of congee and other special markers, before they deploy guards for strict defense,” Mo Zheng said in a low voice. “At other times, they are open and casual, letting people spy, and few can notice.”
With that, she instructed them.
“In the future, be even more careful and cautious when watching them.”
Hei Shu acknowledged.
Mo Zheng looked at the quiet Li Family courtyard house in the night and raised her brows with a smile.
“It seems in the previous life, it wasn’t just Miss Yang who was unlucky.”
It was just that Miss Yang died without seeing it.
This time, they could watch the excitement.
(Everyone can save up chapters; the resolution of this plot is actually another plot, which will take another three or four chapters to write.)
