Chapter 136: The Zhu Estate

The sky cleared up slightly after the snow. Although the brilliant sun hung high, the temperature still dropped sharply due to the melting snow.

Ji Changge and Wen Jing sat inside the carriage, each harboring their own thoughts.

"That sword belongs to Dongsheng, doesn't it?" Wen Jing said.

This remark did not seem to surprise Ji Changge too much. He only gave a faint response, as if he had no intention of hiding it from Wen Jing.

"Dongsheng... who on earth is he?"

Ji Changge glanced at Wen Jing, a mocking smile curving the corners of his lips: "With the seventh young lady's intelligence, how could you not guess?"

Wen Jing smiled slightly, dropping this issue, and asked instead: "Young Master Dongsheng has been with us all along; he certainly couldn't have gone to kill those people. It's just that the appearance of this sword is rather peculiar."

Ji Changge's gaze turned cold, and he said in a low, lingering voice: "Someone deliberately left that sword there to frame Dongsheng. The killer is killing two birds with one stone—both eliminating a hidden threat and making Dongsheng take the blame."

Apart from Lian Cheng wanting to pin the blame on Dongsheng, Wen Jing could think of no one else who held hostility toward Dongsheng. The killer could not have murdered so many people simply to frame Dongsheng; that idea was far too crazy. What connection did the killer have with Lian Cheng? Or could the killer be Lian Cheng himself...

...

Returning to the capital once more, having been away for barely a month, Wen Jing felt a sense of a world away. Compared to the bustling and noisy capital and the secluded, ethereal mountains—had it been in the past, Wen Jing surely would have preferred the life of the Taoist temple. But at this moment, she actually preferred the taste of scheming and deception in the capital. Since she had decided not to flee anymore, even if things were at their most sinister, she would walk this path through.

The carriage stopped. The driver said to the occupants inside, "My Lord, the Zhu residence has arrived."

Ji Changge acknowledged, and Wen Jing stepped down from the carriage as well.

Zhu Chengde looked in astonishment at Ji Changge and an unfamiliar young lady beside him. The young marquis was a rare visitor indeed.

"This official is unaware..." Zhu Chengde hurried out, preparing to salute.

"Please rise quickly, Lord Zhu need not stand on ceremony," Ji Changge quickly reached out and pulled him up.

A trace of suspicion flashed through Zhu Chengde's eyes, and he hurriedly smiled: "The weather is freezing, Young Master Marquis, please step inside quickly and have a cup of hot tea to warm up."

The three of them walked into the room together.

"And this young lady is?" Zhu Chengde glanced at Wen Jing and asked.

"This is the seventh young lady, daughter of Lord Wen Qiran," Ji Changge introduced.

"So it is Lord Wen's daughter." A trace of disdain flashed across Zhu Chengde's eyes. So this was the Wen seventh young lady who failed to complete her marriage alliance with the second young master of the Wang family and subsequently broke off the engagement. Rumor had it that she was tangled in an ambiguous relationship with the young marquis. This was splendid—the two of them acted as if they were afraid the world didn't know. How long had that Wang second young master been dead, yet the pair were already acting so clingy?

Wen Jing smiled slightly: "I have long admired Lord Zhu's great reputation, and today I finally get to meet you."

"Oh? How has Wen the seventh young lady heard of this old man?" Although Zhu Chengde was all smiles, he did not even look at Wen Jing directly. A young lady who flirtatiously flaunted herself everywhere actually wanted to come and butter him up.

Lifting the cup of hot tea on the table, Wen Jing took a slight sip and smiled: "The seventh young lady comes from the Huaqing Temple. An old friend entrusted the seventh young lady with a message for Lord Zhu: she said she misses Lord Zhu very much."

The smile on Zhu Chengde's face froze abruptly, a flash of anger crossing his eyes. Turning to look at Wen Jing's composed and leisurely expression, he realized he had misunderstood her intent; this young lady was clearly not here to flatter him.

"Many thanks to Wen the seventh young lady," Zhu Chengde said coldly.

"Lord Zhu, on the night of the fourth of this month, where were you?" Ji Changge looked at Zhu Chengde and asked.

Zhu Chengde's expression shifted slightly, and then he smiled faintly: "I was visiting disaster victims in ** County."

"But the magistrate and others of ** County said that on that day, Lord Zhu did not go to ** County at all," Ji Changge stared at Zhu Chengde and said.

Zhu Chengde was startled, clearly not expecting Ji Changge to have investigated the matter so thoroughly. He then slapped his head and said, "Look at this memory of mine; because of a last-minute matter, I wasn't able to go."

"Then where did Lord Zhu go?" Ji Changge smiled as he looked at Zhu Chengde.

A thin layer of sweat seeped onto Zhu Chengde's forehead. Looking into Ji Changge's bottomless eyes, the words on the tip of his tongue refused to come out.

"Let this official tell Lord Zhu instead. After Lord Zhu left the capital that day, you turned your carriage around and headed north, passing through Beiming County... and finally, you went to Huaqing Temple."

The sweat on Zhu Chengde's head rolled down drop by drop. It was clear that not speaking just now had been the right choice; Ji Changge knew his itinerary for that day like the back of his hand, and any lie would merely be courting humiliation.

Seeing Zhu Chengde tacitly admit it, Ji Changge continued to ask: "Lord Zhu, what business did you have going to Huaqing Temple?"

"This official... this official went to find the Abbess Feng to have her calculate how my official fortune would fare," Zhu Chengde said.

"Oh? How did the calculation turn out?"

Zhu Chengde wiped the sweat from his chin: "Abbess Feng said this official's fortune has been unfavorable these past two years, and as long as I safely weather these next two years, a promotion is bound to come later."

The corners of Ji Changge's lips curled into a smile as he looked at Zhu Chengde: "Lord Zhu is probably unable to receive a promotion anymore. Abbess Feng is dead, and she likely never calculated when she herself would die."

The teacup in Zhu Chengde's hand dropped to the floor with a clatter, and he gasped in shock: "What? Abbess Feng is dead?"

"That night, only Lord Zhu went to Huaqing Temple," Ji Changge said coldly.

Upon hearing that Abbess Feng was dead, Zhu Chengde was so frightened that he lost all composure and hurriedly blurted out, "That night I didn't see Abbess Feng at all! Lord Ji cannot pin this filthy accusation on my head!"

Ji Changge's gaze turned cold: "You just said Abbess Feng told your fortune, and now you say you never saw Abbess Feng. In my view, you are indeed highly suspicious. Come with me to the Dali Temple."

"I truly didn't see Abbess Feng that day! My fortune wasn't calculated either, and I had no idea she was dead! If I were the killer, I certainly wouldn't have said I went to find her to have my fortune told—wouldn't that be confessing to being the murderer myself?" Zhu Chengde said hastily.

"Whether you are the murderer, this official will naturally investigate. What you need to tell me now is, why on earth did you go to Huaqing Temple that night?" Ji Changge pressed step by step.

Zhu Chengde's eyes rolled around a few times.

"What this official likes to hear most is lies. Because those who tell lies are usually the murderers," Ji Changge looked at Zhu Chengde with a half-smile.

Watching the last trace of panic fade from Zhu Chengde's face as he seemed to give up struggling, his voice dropped so low it was almost inaudible: "That day, this official originally went to seek pleasure. But after waiting for a long time without seeing Abbess Feng's figure, I left in anger."

Seek pleasure? Ji Changge and Wen Jing exchanged glances, both of their faces revealing a trace of astonishment—going to a Taoist temple to seek pleasure?!

Connecting this to the words spoken by the burly man who died yesterday, Wen Jing seemed to understand. Could it be that this Abbess Feng had turned the Taoist temple into a concealed brothel, and those Taoist nuns were like the uniformed temptations of modern society? But those Taoist nuns were not women of the demimonde, and most of them did not come from lowly backgrounds; how could they be willing to sell their bodies?

"Inside the Taoist temple, how does one seek pleasure?" Ji Changge continued to ask.

Zhu Chengde's expression turned somewhat awkward, and he stammered, "Naturally, those vulgar and painted women in the capital cannot compare to beautiful Taoist nuns. Originally, this official never had such a thought; it was Abbess Feng who seduced this official, saying that those Taoist nuns were all willing, and because life in the Taoist temple was difficult, it only required giving some silver."

"How many times have you been?"

"Three times," Zhu Chengde answered without hesitation.

"Were those Taoist nuns all willing?"

Zhu Chengde paused, as if trying desperately to recall, and after a moment said: "Now that you mention it, it was somewhat strange. Those Taoist nuns neither spoke nor took the initiative; it was just that the lights were very dim at the time, so things weren't very clear. Since it was arranged by Abbess Feng, naturally it wouldn't be wrong, and it wasn't as if money wasn't being paid."

Wen Jing cursed "beast" in her heart!

"Do you still remember their names and appearances?" Ji Changge continued to ask.

"Like I said, it was pitch dark, so their appearances couldn't be seen clearly at all, let alone their names."

Wen Jing glanced at Zhu Chengde and said: "Lord Zhu's former concubine, who is now Abbess Mingzhi, why did she enter the Taoist temple back then?"

Zhu Chengde glanced at Wen Jing and frowned. It was one thing for Ji Changge to question him, but what right did a young lady like her have to interrogate him?

"Answer," Ji Changge said coldly.

"Because she was jealous and always envied the matriarch of the household, she was sent to Huaqing Temple to repent," Zhu Chengde brushed it off quickly, seemingly unwilling to dwell on the topic.

Ji Changge looked at Wen Jing with a questioning gaze to see if there was anything else to ask, and Wen Jing shook her head.

"Please ask Lord Zhu not to travel far in these past few days. If necessary, this official will come to question Lord Zhu again. Thank you for your cooperation, Lord Zhu," Ji Changge said.

Zhu Chengde paused and said, "Lord Ji, could you please... not let this matter get out? If this were to spread, where would this old face of mine go?"

Looking at Zhu Chengde's awkward appearance, Wen Jing cursed inwardly: serves you right.

"This... please forgive this official for being unable to agree. These matters naturally must be recorded and presented for His Majesty to review in the future. Ji dares not conceal it, as that would be the grave crime of deceiving the emperor," Ji Changge said indifferently.

Upon hearing that it was to be reviewed by the emperor, Zhu Chengde was so terrified that he collapsed limply to the ground.

Ignoring him, Ji Changge walked straight toward the door.

"Lord Ji, wait, this official has more to say," Zhu Chengde suddenly called out.

Ji Changge turned around and looked at Zhu Chengde with rising interest. This Zhu Chengde, who wouldn't spit out the truth unless beaten, had actually spoken up of his own accord.

"Actually... actually there are many other officials... who have been to Huaqing Temple. They are all just like me," Zhu Chengde whispered.

Watching Zhu Chengde with his head bowed, Ji Changge thought to himself: This old fox, rather than dying alone, he wants to drag a bunch of others down with him. Perhaps if the emperor sees so many people involved, he won't punish them too severely; if it were only him alone, the imperial wrath might boil over and result in the execution of his entire clan. This fellow really is an old fox.

"Then please have Lord Zhu write down the names of those officials." Ji Changge took out paper and brush and placed them in front of Zhu Chengde.

Zhu Chengde picked up the brush, but delayed making a stroke. Ji Changge naturally knew what he was thinking.

"Lord Zhu, rest assured. Having Lord Zhu write them down is merely because this official is afraid of forgetting. This slip of paper will not become evidence."

Having his thoughts seen through, Zhu Chengde did not feel awkward; once things were laid out in the open, it was actually better. He picked up the brush and began to write.

As Ji Changge looked at the names appearing one by one on the paper, the expression on his face grew increasingly grave. He was very familiar with every single one of these names.