sovbooks Chapter 25 The Prefect of Jinling: He's got a bit of cleverness.
Chapter 25 The Prefect of Jinling: He's got a bit of cleverness.
"Liu Siyu, give this to me!"
"Me too! Me too..."
A group of young maids surrounded Liu Feng, chattering noisily, their eyes fixed on the flower wreath he had just woven.
They were all maids from Jia Min and Lin Daiyu's courtyard, and they had long been familiar with Liu Feng, so they weren't afraid of him at all.
"I'm not making any more!" Liu Feng shoved the flower wreath into a maid's hand, patted off the petals clinging to his clothes, and was about to get up.
"Hmm~ That won't work~"
The other maids were unhappy. It was one thing for a girl to act cute, but with so many of them pestering him, Liu Feng couldn't resist and had no choice but to continue.
"Second Master! Second Master..."
"Prison Warden Liu!"
Liu Feng looked up and immediately burst out laughing in anger.
Xiangling and Xueyan, along with several old women, brought over a bundle of newly picked peach blossoms, plum blossoms, and tender willow branches.
Those two unlucky kids!
Liu Feng was so angry he wanted to punch them both on the ground.
Previously, Xiangling was showing off her flower wreath everywhere, and Xueyan, seeing this, was envious and begged him to make another one. And then it just got out of control!
The Xue family's maids stood at a distance, their hearts filled with longing, but none of them dared to step forward.
They had all heard that this man was Liu Feng, the one who beat up their uncle, and that he was also an official of the imperial court.
Finally finished editing, Liu Feng stood up, supporting his back, and pounded it a couple of times. "My back is so bad at such a young age, what am I going to do!"
Not to mention all the beauties in the world, the Twelve Beauties of Jinling alone are divided into the main register, the secondary register, and the supplementary register. One times three equals three, two times three equals six... Alas, I am powerless to do so!
"Second Master, have some tea."
Xiangling brought over the tea, looking both guilty and ingratiating.
Liu Feng glared at her, annoyed, took the teacup, and took a sip: "Hey, this tea is pretty good!"
Xiangling: "This is Tianque Mountain tea, grown and processed by the temple itself, and only for distinguished guests. The tea is also brewed with the temple's spring water, which is clear, sweet, and mellow."
Liu Feng took another sip, smiling at her: "You seem to know quite a lot."
Xiangling tilted her head slightly, her face full of undisguised pride.
Liu Feng smiled.
This girl is honest and kind-hearted, a natural optimist. She didn't dwell on the hardships of the past and is always cheerful. Now, along with Xueyan, she has become the life of the party in the inner quarters and is well-liked by Jia Min and Lin Daiyu.
"Take some with you when you leave."
Liu Feng downed his drink in one gulp, then subconsciously glanced at the pavilion in the distance; neither Lin Daiyu nor Xue Baochai were there.
Where are they?
Xiangling hesitated, then pursed her lips and looked at the teacup in Liu Feng's hand.
Liu Feng was momentarily stunned, but then he understood: he had drunk too much water and had gone to pee.
The thought that even fairies need to poop and pee made Liu Feng shake his head.
"Prison Warden Liu!"
The old woman on duty at the mountain gate hurried over, saying, "People from the yamen have arrived again and are waiting outside the mountain gate."
Liu Feng frowned. Who had died again? He shoved the teacup into Xiangling's hands, then turned and strode towards the mountain gate...
"The madam is dead?" Liu Feng tightened his grip on the knife handle. The jailer Wang had just drowned, and then the prisoner he was guarding died. Could these two things be related?
The messenger reported: "The magistrate suspects that the death of Prison Chief Wang is related to this matter, and has already sent people to investigate."
Liu Feng nodded: "Before the madam died, who went to the prison?"
"I've only been there to deliver lunch."
"Have you checked?"
"I'm a local, and three generations of my family have been in this line of work. There are no problems."
"And what about lunch?"
"We've checked, and there's nothing unusual."
"I'm asking about the bowl the madam ate!"
The constable looked bewildered: "This... the madam hanged herself."
"I meant in her belly!" Liu Feng said irritably.
The constable then realized what was happening and hurriedly said, "I'll report back to the magistrate right away!"
Liu Feng turned and entered the mountain gate. He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped. If someone really was forcing her to die, what would their motive be?
Liu Feng's mind raced, and suddenly a terrifying thought occurred to him: they had probably been deceived by that madam from beginning to end!
She didn't overhear the news by chance; she was in cahoots with those people!
They were all thrown into disarray by this shocking case and blinded by the immense wealth, so they stopped using torture, allowing the madam to keep the most crucial secret.
I was actually tricked by a butcher!
Liu Feng grew increasingly furious. He swiftly drew his knife and slashed it hard at a large tree. The trunk was too thick; the knife not only got stuck but also caused him pain in his hand. He cursed and shook his hand.
"Pfft—"
"who!"
Liu Feng suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.
It was Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, both of whom were stunned by the murderous aura.
Granny Wang came over and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
Liu Feng gritted his teeth and pulled the knife out of the tree trunk: "Something went wrong at the yamen..."
"Are you going back?" Granny Wang asked again.
Liu Feng sighed: "It's too late."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Let's wait for the imperial decree."
Granny Wang changed the subject: "Miss wants to go to the Shilei Ruins to see the inscriptions left by our ancestors."
This is the old fortress where Yue Fei resisted the Jin dynasty. Scholars and poets from both the Ming and the present dynasties have come here to inscribe steles and leave their words.
"I'll take some people over there to take a look. I guess someone is copying the inscriptions over there."
......................
Liu Feng was incredibly tired, feeling like he had been shopping with his girlfriend in his past life; his legs were practically broken.
After visiting the stone ruins and strolling through the peach grove, the two girls ran to the stream and tried their hand at composing poems, imitating the ancient custom of floating wine cups. They recited verses one after another, going back and forth, and who knows how long they would have continued if Xue Baochai hadn't conceded defeat.
I walked at least 10,000 steps that day.
Xue Baochai was a well-known WeChat step count champion in the Grand View Garden, so Liu Feng wasn't surprised that she had walked so far. But Lin Daiyu, who was always frail, was also not out of breath and looked perfectly normal... her face was not visible.
Liu Feng couldn't figure it out, and in the end he could only conclude that people are in their best state when they are doing bad things!
Finally, the two agreed to go to Tianfei Palace together at the end of the month, and then go back to their respective homes and find their own mothers.
Liu Feng was extremely frustrated. On the way back, Lin Daiyu didn't say a word. He thought she was just tired from walking around. Later, he heard from Xiangling that the young lady was angry and said that he had yelled at her in public.
This is completely nonsensical!
What frustrated him even more was that the autopsy and the extraction of evidence from the stomach were thwarted.
Because one's body and hair are influenced by the teachings of one's parents, the imperial court has laws stipulating that mutilating a corpse warrants sixty strokes of the cane and one year of penal servitude. Major cases may be exceptionally permitted to involve disembowelment, but this requires the approval of the governor-general—isn't that absurd!
Liu Feng tried to persuade the clerk, saying that this was a major case of treason and that an exception could be made, but the clerk refused to agree and insisted on waiting for Lin Ruhai to return.
Enraged and at his wits' end, Liu Feng decided against dissecting the food for evidence. Instead, he persuaded the clerk to issue warrants, ordering the arrest of everyone who had handled the food—the cooks, the deliverymen, anyone who had touched the bucket—and subjected them to severe torture...
Jinling Prefectural Government Office
In the second hall, after listening to the gatekeeper's report, the Prefect of Jinling nodded slightly: "Thank you for your hard work."
"I'll take my leave." The doorman bowed and withdrew.
The prefect of Jinling got up and walked to the door, glanced at the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's office, and said softly, "They do have a bit of cleverness."
At that moment, the butler walked in from outside the courtyard and said in a low voice, "It's all been cleaned up."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "Should we just get rid of Liu Feng? If he keeps investigating, he'll get into trouble sooner or later... We've already suffered enough losses."
The prefect of Jinling gazed at the distant horizon, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "Jinling will have to be abandoned sooner or later. The real battle will be decided in the capital."
After a moment of silence, he said, "Eighteen years have passed. I wonder if anyone still remembers that poor, penniless scholar from back then..."