TIGR Chapter 19

The Imperial Guard’s Revenge

Chapter 19 Fragile

Wang Yanqing didn’t know when she fell asleep, but she wasn’t as ease, as if she was in a daze. She kept running, but her limbs were bound, and she couldn’t break free no matter what she tried. Suddenly she felt the spell drop, and Wang Yanqing was violently jolted awake.

She was still covered by Lu Heng’s cloak, but he was nowhere to be seen. Wang Yanqing held the material and sat up slowly.

There was no light in the room, but by the light of the fire outside the window, she could vaguely see something on the desk. The charcoal basin in the corner had been extinguished for a long time, the room was empty, and cold air climbed up from the ground, making it seem particularly deserted.

Wang Yanqing’s heart froze. Lu Heng left?

·

At this moment, Lu Heng was dismounting with an indifferent expression. He casually threw the reins to the person behind him and strode in: “Where is the person?”

“Commander, he is in front. The area is already enclosed.”

Lu Heng originally read the official documents in Baoding Mansion. No matter how immoral he was, he would not take advantage of a sleeping woman. He pulled the sliding screen and read the official letter from the capital after the case. After noon, the Imperial Guards who went to search the mountains in Mancheng came back and said that they had found it. Afraid of waking Wang Yanqing, Lu Heng quietly took them out without making a sound.

The Imperial Guards have their own intelligence network. When other government agencies see that the Imperial Guards are handling a case, no one dares to stop them. Therefore, if the Imperial Guards really wanted to investigate a case, it has always been very quick.  It was only half the night, and the front line already had results.

After the Imperial Guards found Liang Rong’s body, they wanted to pull it back, but Lu Heng refused and went out of the city to check the body in person. According to the law, no entry or exit was allowed at night, but the person who came was Lu Heng. The city doormen did not dare to say anything, and they obediently opened the city gate.

Lu Heng took the lead and hardly slowed down. He galloped past the city gate in the cold wind, and it didn’t take long to reach the place where the corpse was thrown. Hearing his subordinate’s reply, Lu Heng nodded, signaling to lead the way ahead. The leader took the torch himself and carefully led the way in front of Lu Heng.

The winter night wind was cold and strong, and the cold wind rolled through the deep mountains, whining endlessly, like a crying baby. The light of the fire swayed left and right from the cold air, and in the dark shadows, Lu Heng vaguely saw a corpse lying in front of him.

There was a man lying down in the ditch. He was about six feet tall. He was thin and had swollen skin. There were signs of corruption on his face, mouth, and nose. He was wearing a heavy black chinchilla cloak. The light of the torch rotated through periods of dim and bright. The light and shadows passed over the body, making it gloomy and terrifying.

The Imperial Guard guards on both sides were afraid that Lu Heng would not like it, so they quickly said: “Commander, this corpse should be several days old, so it has already been corrupted and smells. The commander does not need to approach, just tell the subordinates if you have any instructions.”

Lu Heng didn’t pay any mind and continued to move forward. He had seen bloody scenes in the prison, and he was not afraid of the living, let alone a dead body. It was still cold outside, and the corpse was not that bad. If it was summer, the corpse would have been even more ugly.

Lu Heng stopped beside the corpse, looked at it for a while carefully, and asked: “Was he like this from the beginning? Have you moved him?”

The man who appeared to be the leader replied: “My subordinates didn’t dare to move the body when they found it. They immediately sent someone to answer the commander, but they didn’t move it.”

“Have you called someone to recognize it?”

“I didn’t ask the Liang family to come, but there were people in the guard who are familiar with Liang Wei. They came to check and said it was Liang Rong.”

Lu Heng nodded, suddenly stretched out his hand to the side and said: “Bring gloves.”

Everyone around was shocked when they heard this: “Commander…”

Lu Heng didn’t speak, he raised his eyes and glanced at them coldly. Everyone was silent for a while, and they obediently handed Lu Heng gloves. Lu Heng put on his gloves, then pressed the corpse’s skin, and untied the cloak around his neck.

This cloak was heavy, and it likely was the new cloak the doorman mentioned. Lu Heng untied the cumbersome fur and pressed at the corpse’s throat. Liang Rong’s body was already somewhat deformed, but he could still see that his complexion lacked oxygen, his eyes were wide open, his eyes were a little bloodstained, and his lips and nails were purple blue.

Lu Heng retracted his hand and made a slight movement. The person next to him squatted down to continue. Lu Heng didn’t stop and said: “Undo his sleeves and be careful not to damage the skin.”

Liang Rong’s corpse had been thrown out for half a month. Even if the weather was cold now, the body was slowly decaying, and his limbs had changed a lot. His flesh and blood were stuck to his clothes, and it was very difficult to separate. The Imperial Guard simply drew a knife and cut open his sleeves from the side.

Lu Heng saw that there were grayish-yellow scars on his arms of different sizes. The Imperial Guard wanted to cut farther, but Lu Heng raised his hand to stop him: “No need. Turn him over and see if there is any trauma on his back.”

Several Imperial Guards joined hands and turned Liang Rong’s body over. They took care of the clothes on Liang Rong’s body, as Lu Heng raised his eyes and slowly looked at the surrounding environment.

They were in a ravine with a mountain slope above it, the slope was very steep, and jagged with gravel. This place was in the shade, where there is no sunlight all the year round. It was not close to the mountain road, so the body had been able to avoid detection for so long. Lu Heng walked slowly down the slope. He stopped at a spot, looked up, and suddenly took a few steps forward and turned over a broken stone.

There was blood on the stone, and gray-black fluff hung from it. Lu Heng asked the person behind him to clean up, changed his direction, and walked up the hillside.

After reaching the heights, the wind became significantly stronger. Lu Heng stopped at the edge of the hillside and looked down. Under his feet, the Imperial Guards were busy disposing of Liang Rong’s body, and their torches bent back and forth like snakes. Lu Heng stood at the mouth of a tunnel of wind and his clothes rattled around him. He waited for a while, then Imperial Guards ran back behind him, clasped their fists and said: “Commander, Liang Rong has several bruises on his back, other than that, there are no wounds.”

Lu Heng nodded and said coldly: “Mark this place and take the corpse back to the city.”

The aftermath and the removal of the corpse would be done by others. Now, Lu Heng set off with a few elites and quickly returned to the government office. The sound of horse hooves clopping on the streets in winter was especially obvious. Lu Heng stopped at the gate of the government office and was about to order something when suddenly his eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse of a figure.

Lu Heng frowned, jumped off the horse, and walked quickly up the steps: “Qing Qing? Why are you standing here?”

Wang Yanqing was standing in the cold wind holding her cloak, her face turning pale from freezing. A soldier on duty next to her held a lamp and said helplessly: “Commander, I have asked Miss Wang many times to go in and wait. But the girl refused to leave…”

He had left for so long. Had she been standing outside the entire time? Lu Heng’s face sank. The soldiers on duty were very sensible, and they clasped their fists and backed out the door. Lu Heng grabbed Wang Yanqing’s hand, the temperature of it shocked him.

She was cold, like a lifeless ice sculpture. Feeling distressed and angry, Lu Heng clenched Wang Yanqing’s hand tightly, and scolded her in a deep voice: “Don’t you know your body, how dare you stand at the gate at night?”

Wang Yanqing’s lips were faintly blue, she lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and handed the cloak in her arms to Lu Heng: “You didn’t have a cloak.”

When she just woke up, she found that she was alone in the room. She knew rationally that it was impossible, but she couldn’t help but be afraid. Did Lu Heng leave her alone?

She had no memory, and she only knew Lu Heng in the huge Baoding Mansion. If Lu Heng left, she wouldn’t even have a place to go.

There were people coming and going in the guardhouse, but all of them were strange men, and Wang Yanqing was instinctively afraid. Even though the Imperial Guard who guarded the gate, had said several times that the commander had taken people the city to look at the corpse, she still couldn’t relax her mind and insisted on waiting for him to come back at the gate. She felt so much panic, fear, and agitation, but when she saw Lu Heng, it all turned into one sentence “you didn’t have a cloak”.

Lu Heng looked at her pale face and weak voice, how could he be angry. He sighed in his heart and took the cloak. He shook it off, put it on her, and said: “How could I leave you alone, even if you are willing, I am not willing. Don’t be afraid, come on, let’s go back.”

Wang Yanqing glanced at the Imperial Guards outside the door and asked: “Do you have other things to arrange?”

Lu Heng glanced faintly and said: “No hurry, I’ll take you back to rest first.”

Lu Heng was far taller than Wang Yanqing, and his cloak dragged on the floor behind her. Lu Heng tightly covered Wang Yanqing and pulled her forward. Wang Yanqing took a passive step, but as soon as she moved, there was a throbbing pain in her lower abdomen.

Although she hadn’t experienced it since her amnesia, she instinctively knew what was wrong with herself.

Wang Yanqing’s face changed, and her body told her that she had always had a habit of getting cramps since she was a child, but this time it seemed to be particularly serious. Yesterday, she rode in a carriage and even climbed a tree. She stood in the cold wind for a long time after nightfall. Maybe that’s how her condition was irritated.

Wang Yanqing’s body was cold and in pain, and cold sweat broke out. In front, Lu Heng didn’t realize anything and was still striding forward. Wang Yanqing gritted her teeth, endured the cramping pain, and walked forward in as good health as possible. Lu Heng found that she was walking very slowly, so he turned around and asked: “Qing Qing, what’s wrong with you?”

Wang Yanqing smiled with difficulty, shook her head and said: “I’m fine.”

She tried her best to hide it, but Lu Heng still saw that something was wrong. He reached out and touched Wang Yanqing’s forehead, and found that in the cold weather, she was already sweating. Lu Heng’s face suddenly became serious and asked: “What in the world? What did you eat after I left?”

The Lu family had few daughters, and Lu Heng had never experienced menstrual pain. His first reaction was that Wang Yanqing was poisoned. Wang Yanqing was embarrassed and shook her head hurriedly: “I’m fine. I was just standing for a long time, and my legs are a little numb.”

Lu Heng looked at her face and picked her up horizontally without saying a word. Wang Yanqing felt her body floating, as she was hugged by Lu Heng. She was startled, panicked, and scared, and half of her body didn’t dare to move: “Second Brother, let me down, there are still people around.”

Lu Heng paid no mind, and in his mind, he quickly flashed the scenes from the Baoding Mansion. Although he forged his identity before leaving, if someone were to inquire, his whereabouts were not a secret. Could it be that Fu Tingzhou set up an ambush? But even if Fu Tingzhou retaliated, he should have come at him, why would he poison Qing Qing? Could it be that Qing Qing unintentionally blocked a knife for him?

Countless of thoughts flashed through Lu Heng in an instant. The thoughts in his mind were numerous and confusing but it did not affect him at all as he held Wang Yanqing and strode forward. Lu Heng had broad shoulders and long legs, so he didn’t find it difficult to hold Wang Yanqing at all. On the contrary, when he circled her like this, he actually felt how slender and light Wang Yanqing was.

In his arms, she was as light as a cat.

Wang Yanqing was still wearing Lu Heng’s cloak. After being hounded by Lu Heng’s strength, the fabric was fluffy and bulging, Wang Yanqing seemed to be trapped inside and became even more petite. Her back was very high off the ground, and she was instinctively afraid. She didn’t dare to move and could only grab his clothes: “Second Brother.”

Wang Yanqing’s voice was already filled with tears, but this time Lu Heng didn’t soften. He hooked his arms behind Wang Yanqing’s back and the crook of her legs, and said: “Don’t make trouble, you may have been involved in a plot, you can’t be sloppy. I will take you to see the doctor.”

Wang Yanqing almost fainted when she heard this, she bit her lip tightly, embarrassed and flustered: “I am not in a plot, I just feel a little cold. I’ll just go back and warm up. Second Brother, believe me, it’s really okay.”

Lu Heng was unmoved. If she was fine, that would be best, but he could only have lived this far by being cautious. He would rather have a false alarm than take a chance. Wang Yanqing saw that Lu Heng did not move and tried to get off him. But the more she struggled, the tighter Lu Heng hugged her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of someone approaching. She was so embarrassed that she quickly lowered her head and buried it in Lu Heng’s clothes.

The opposite Imperial Guard saw that the commander was holding a person and he didn’t dare look closely. He moved away from a distance, lowered his head, and did not dare to lift it up. Fortunately, it was still early, and few people were walking around in the guardhouse. They didn’t encounter anyone else along the way. Lu Heng held Wang Yanqing without affecting his movements at all, and strode towards the guest room, much faster than when the two of them walked.

Lu Heng pushed open the door, and clearly felt the relief of the person in his arms. Feeling something strange in his heart, he put Wang Yanqing on the couch and turned around to call the doctor. However, Wang Yanqing grabbed his sleeves with her all her might: “Second Brother, I’m really fine.”

Lu Heng stood by the couch and looked down at her. There was no light in the room, and she couldn’t see his face from this angle. She could only feel that his eyes were bottomless, and full of suppressed power: “Qing Qing, don’t shy away from doctors.”

Wang Yanqing was desperate. She knew that with the stubbornness of Second Brother, he would never give up without her telling him the real reason. Wang Yanqing was dyed crimson from her neck to her cheeks, she bit her lip and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: “That’s not it. Those days have arrived for me.”

Lu Heng frowned as he listened, what days? After Wang Yanqing finished speaking, she was too embarrassed to raise her head. She buried her face deeply, wishing she could find a seam to disappear, but her fingers tightly clenched Lu Heng’s sleeve, for fear that he would really find a doctor.

Looking at Wang Yanqing’s statement, Lu Heng was at a loss for a while, and then seemed to realize it. He was also a little embarrassed, coughed lowly, and asked: “You are really okay?”

Wang Yanqing only showed the top of her head and shook her head slightly and quickly. This fact was Lu Heng’s blind spot in knowledge. He had moved out of the inner house when he was seven years old, and his knowledge of women was not as good as that of women’s corpses. He had only heard that women would get their period when they came of age, and some of them had abdominal pain, but his mother was in good health and never had these symptoms, so Lu Heng knew nothing about menstrual pain.

This was the first time that Lu Heng had encountered a woman’s private matters so closely. Wang Yanqing was probably the type of woman who suffered from abdominal pain. He didn’t know these things. Wang Yanqing said it was fine, so he could only believe it for now. He helped Wang Yanqing lie down and saw her hugging him tightly like a baby. Her face was pale, her thin eyebrows were tightly twisted, and her forehead was covered in fine sweat.

Wang Yanqing didn’t seem to want him to stay here. She opened her eyes, glanced at him weakly, and said: “Second Brother, I’m fine, you can go out and take care of your business.”

Lu Heng looked at her state and really didn’t believe it was okay. He stared at Wang Yanqing’s face carefully and asked: “Is it very uncomfortable? Do you need me to call someone to accompany you?”

“No need.” Wang Yanqing seemed to have a shadow in her mind. Some voices told her that every woman would have their period every month. If there was any hindrance, it was shameless to entangle a man with this kind of matter. She didn’t know where the voices were coming from, but naturally, she blurted out: “I’ve always been like this, I understand it myself. Second Brother, hurry up and take care of your things, don’t worry about me.”

Wang Yanqing’s right to speak was indeed much greater than that of Lu Heng’s in this matter. She said that she was fine, and it wouldn’t be good for Lu Heng to ask any more questions. He got up, pulled Wang Yanqing’s clothes, and said: “Okay, go to sleep first, I’ll see you later.”

Wang Yanqing nodded quickly as if relieved. Lu Heng saw it in her eyes, but he didn’t press it. After he went out, the Imperial Guards who had followed from the capital were already waiting outside. Seeing him come out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief: “Commander, Liang Rong’s body has already been taken care of. What should we do next?”

The evidence was all there. The only thing left was to collect the net to catch the fish. Lu Heng glanced at the sky, there was a faint light in the east, and the sky was about to dawn. Lu Heng said: “Go and search the Liang family, arrest Liang Wen Shi and Liang Bin, and bring them back to the government office for questioning.”

“Yes.”

The subordinates clasped their fists and turned to leave, but Lu Heng coughed slightly. The subordinates felt that something was wrong, so they stopped and asked: “Commander, is there anything else?”

Lu Heng asked: “Is there a maid in the guardhouse?”

The subordinates were stunned when they heard this: “A maid? Commander, do you mean female spies, they are all outside and not kept in the guardhouse. Does the commander have any orders? We will go summon them.”

Lu Heng waved his hand: “No need. There must be a woman in the kitchen, right?”

The subordinates didn’t understand what Lu Heng was asking, so they said quietly: “In the staff of the Baoding Mansion. The subordinates don’t understand either. But there should be.”

“Call a cook to deliver meals to the guest room. Today, she doesn’t have to work. She is in the guest room all day. If she has any orders, do it immediately.”

The subordinates finally understood. After all of that going around, the commander just wanted to deliver meals to that Miss Wang. Say it earlier, why take such a big circle. The subordinates clasped their fists and went down to arrange their manpower. After Lu Heng knew that someone was watching her, he was somewhat relieved, and he could handle the Liang family’s affairs with peace of mind.

Yesterday, Thousand Households Chen, who came from the capital, went to the Liang family to offer condolences. After staying for an afternoon, Liang Wen Shi took a breath of relief when she sent the distinguished guests out. She had worked hard for a long time, and her energy was unable to keep up, so she planned to interrogate the maid who looked after Liang Fu the following day. But Liang Wen Shi didn’t expect that the Imperial Guards would come faster than tomorrow.

Early in the morning, when it was still dark, and there were not many pedestrians on the road, there was a knock on the door of the Liang house. Liang Wen Shi was awakened by a loud noise. Before she could ask what was wrong, she was told by the Imperial Guards who broke in that they were suspected of murder and were arrested.

The Imperial Guards never waited for their suspects to dress up properly and Liang Wen Shi was taken away by the Imperial Guards in embarrassment. She did not look as bright and delicate as before. When Liang Wen Shi was brought out, she was barely able to maintain her composure. When she found out that Liang Bin was also taken away, her heart thumped violently.

But she still told herself not to panic, she handled everything seamlessly without any flaws. The Imperial Guards asked them to go to the government office, maybe it was just a random fraud.

Liang Wei was of the Thousand Households, and Liang Wen Shi was used to this method of handling cases. Most Imperial Guard cases were solved by beating, and the suspects were arrested and forced to confess. Whoever couldn’t bear to confess would be the real culprit.

Liang Wen Shi was the widow of an Imperial Guard Thousand Households, and they would never punish her. Liang Wen Shi was calm and composed the entire way, but when she entered the inner hall of the Imperial Guards and saw a familiar figure, she was stunned, and the expression on her face could no longer be maintained.

“Thousand Households Chen…”

Chen Yuxuan bowed his hands to Liang Wen Shi, took a step back, and gave way to the person behind him. He said solemnly: “This is the commander of South Fusi, Master Lu, you still have yet to greet.”

As if struck by lightning, Liang Wen Shi slowly turned her head and looked at the young man behind the desk. He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, without any valuable decorations all over his body. At this moment, he was sitting behind the case and drinking tea, and there was not even a vicious expression on his face. However, the appearance of his half-opened eyes made people tremble from the bottom of their hearts.

Liang Wen Shi shook, her teeth were trembling, and she couldn’t believe it: “Commander Lu?”

Lu Heng put down the tea. He had not slept all night, but his face showed no signs of fatigue. He was thinking about Wang Yanqing, and he really didn’t have the heart to go around in circles with a group of idiots. So, he asked bluntly: “The death of Liang Rong. Liang Wen Shi and Liang Bin, can you plead guilty?”

Liang Wen Shi’s heart trembled again. On the way, she had expected that Liang Rong’s matter might be discovered, but she believed that she carried no flaws and she stayed calm and composed during the journey. It was not until now when she faced Lu Heng that she knew that she might have been too naive.

She said that a young talent with a bright future in the capital come to the Liang family’s door for no particular reason. She asked how an ordinary guard could be so young, handsome, and extraordinary. It turns out that he was not a guard at all, but the famous Emperor’s childhood friend, and the second son of the Lu family.

Lu Heng was at the Liangs’ house yesterday and went through many places by himself. He even went to the backyard to meet Liang Fu… When Liang Wen Shi thought of this, her heart tightened. She tried her best to support herself with the table, and said: “Commander, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Still pretending to be stupid. Lu Heng leaned back, put one arm on the armrest, pressed his eyebrows, and said lightly: “Yesterday, the Imperial Guards found Liang Rong’s body on a barren mountain in Mancheng.”

Liang Wen Shi’s fingernails were deeply pinched into the palm of her hand, but she pretended to be surprised: “What, Liang Rong is dead? Didn’t he go to visit friends. Was he careless on the way, or did something happen?”

Liang Wen Shi was startled in the front as Liang Bin knelt in the back. He bowed his head, shrank his body, and didn’t say a word. Lu Heng ran out of patience. He stayed up all night and worked overtime to work out Liang Rong’s case, just to return to the capital to handle the corruption case as soon as possible. He didn’t have time to spend with them here.

Liang Wen Shi’s acting skills were very poor, and Lu Heng could already see many flaws without having to call Wang Yanqing. Lu Heng nodded and asked: “Then what do you think happened to him?”

Liang Wen Shi said tentatively with a thin voice: “The eldest young master loved to travel in the mountains and waters. He used to go to the deep mountains to find the way of immortals. Perhaps, he accidentally stepped on something slippery and fell off the mountain. The ravine was cold and remote, and no one noticed him, so he probably fell to his death like this.”

As soon as Liang Wen Shi finished speaking, Lu Heng suddenly asked back: “How do you know that place was cold and remote?”

Liang Wen Shi panicked, and then hurried to make up for it: “What I said is also a guess. People who die in the mountains are generally like this.”

Lu Heng looked down at Liang Wen Shi and Liang Bin and said slowly: “I am considering that you are relatives of Imperial Guards, so I wanted to give you face with an interrogation in the inner hall, not opening it to the outer hall. Do you have to punish me to tell the truth?”

Liang Wen Shi knelt on the ground, unexpectedly biting herself hard, and said eagerly: “Master, I really don’t know anything. Liang Rong went out early that morning, and I stayed at home the entire time. There were many maids around me to testify, how could I spare myself to kill someone? Now that you have found Liang Rong’s body, you should have seen the wounds on his body. You can call the coroner to check his corpse. If there are obvious wounds made by outsiders on his body, you can doubt me again, so that I can die pure.”

Lu Heng chuckled lightly, his eyes were cold and mocking, and he said slowly: “To this day, you still use that trick to fool me. Liang Rong died on the night of the sixteenth, and it was Liang Bin who went out that morning. Liang Rong did not have any injuries from swords or blows, but his nasal bone was damaged, his lips were purple, and his eyes were bleeding. It was an obvious death from suffocation. If you don’t want to admit it, then go look at his body and say you didn’t know into his eyes.”

Liang Wen Shi was speechless for a while, so Lu Heng sipped his tea, and continued: “You are all ears and eyes around Liang Wei. You know you can’t leave obvious trauma on the corpse, so you suffocated him, then pulled him up the mountain, and pushed him down the hillside, trying to fake that he stumbled and fell to his death. But you only know the first part of it, you don’t know the second. If a person was injured before his death, the wound would be blue and purple, but the bumps on Liang Rong’s body were grayish-yellow. It could be seen that he was thrown by someone after his death, not himself. On the seventeenth day, you claimed to be returning to your mother’s house, but someone saw Liang’s carriage on the Mancheng mountain roads. There were ruts on the hillside where Liang Rong’s body was thrown. The Imperial Guards went to your carriage to search for evidence and found dander similar to Liang Rong’s clothes. There are witnesses and physical evidence. Liang Wen Shi, why don’t you explain why you said that you were going back to your parents’ house, but you appeared in the place where Liang Rong’s body was thrown?”

Liang Wen Shi’s lips parted, but she didn’t know what to say. Seeing her panicked face, Lu Heng was unmoved, and said: “On the sixteenth night, Liang Fu went to look for Liang Rong. She just happened to bump into the murderer and heard the murderer pretending to speak as her brother. The next day, Liang Fu found a bead at the entrance of Liang Rong’s door. The bead fell from a shoe and there is only one shop in Baoding that offers such shoes. The account book clearly states that you had bought a pair. The maid next to you also pointed out that you once wore similar shoes and you liked them very much, but one day you suddenly burned them. Liang Wen Shi, if you didn’t know anything, why did you appear at his door the night Liang Rong died, and why did you burn these shoes after Liang Rong died?”

The hall fell into a dead silence. Liang Wen Shi slumped on the ground, her face pale and completely speechless. Lu Heng no longer wanted to accompany them as they went in circles. So, he took a sip of tea, and said: “You suspected that Liang Fu knew the truth, so you forged the charge of adultery and wanted to use the government’s hands to kill Liang Fu. One of you is her stepmother and the other is her younger brother. It was really cruel to do such a thing together. I’ll give you one last chance. Who killed Liang Rong on the sixteenth night of the eleventh month?”

There were no witnesses that night, but now it was certain that the murderer was among Liang Wen Shi and Liang Bin. But when finalizing a case, the suspect was not the only who needed to be locked down. They also needed clear identification of who was the murderer and who was the accomplice. There was a huge difference between the two, one was a death penalty and the other was a living one.

Liang Rong was suffocated to death. He was an adult man. If he was awake, he would not have been suffocated by another without resisting. He was most likely smothered when he was in deep sleep or in a coma-like state. When he woke up later, he was powerless to resist. A woman was not as strong as a man, so it was reasonable to say that the person who could hold down Liang Rong down was a man, but it could not be ruled out that the tea that Liang Rong drank at night was drugged. If Liang Rong lost his strength under the effect of the drug, then even a woman could kill him.

Therefore, in theory, Liang Wen Shi and Liang Bin both had the possibility of committing the crime.

If this was an ordinary case, either Liang Wen Shi and Liang Bin would be convicted as the mastermind of Liang Rong case and the other as the mastermind of adultery case. In any case, these two cases were handled by the two of them and the cases could also be combined, one of them would die, and it didn’t matter who it was. But that would not be sufficient. Since Lu Heng slapped his superiors in the face to take over these cases, he must finalize them beautifully and elegantly. If there was the slightest flaw, Chen Yin would attack him when he returned to the capital.

In Lu Heng’s officialdom, he has faced many ups and downs for so many years. How could he not understand this truth.

However, in the hall, Liang Wen Shi lowered her head, and Liang Bin also shrank with her without saying a word. Fine, Lu Heng stood up and said: “It seems that you refuse to be convinced until faced with the grim reality. Take them down for punishment.”

Lu Heng thought that the case would be settled today, but he didn’t expect Liang Wen Shi and Liang Bin to not hit their limit and turn around, so he had to be serious. Lu Heng was not in the mood to watch the torture process, and before the interrogation started, he returned to the backyard to see Wang Yanqing.

When he returned to the room, a burly female cook was sitting at the door in a daze. Seeing Lu Heng coming, she hurriedly stood up and greeted: “Master Commander.”

Lu Heng gave a light hum and asked: “How is she?”

The cook rubbed her hands together and said with a smile: “The girl fell asleep. I brought her things for her menstruation and made her a bowl of brown sugar water. Women are like this every month. She just needs to get some sleep.”

Lu Heng felt bad when he heard this: “Like this every month?”

The cook was startled, probably not expecting Lu Heng’s focus to be so strange. When a woman was on her menstrual period, she was considered unclean, and men usually avoided them as soon as he heard about it. Occasionally, there was a husband who cared for his wife and would avoid intercourse in those days so that the woman could rest in peace, but that was already rare and considerate. As for whether it hurt for a woman when it came, not even speaking about the man, even the mother-in-law was too disinclined to pay attention. After all, every woman would get their period. Everyone’s came like that, so there was nothing unnatural.

Unexpectedly, Master Lu was a high-ranking official in the court, but he cared so much about his younger sister. When others heard that it came every month, they thought was that she would have gotten used to it, but when Lu Heng heard this, he thought about how she would be in pain every month.

The cook scratched her head and didn’t know what to say: “The girl hasn’t married yet and there will be a lot of trouble. It will be fine when she gets married.”

Lu Heng stared at the cook silently. What do you mean when she gets married, did he look so foolish? The cook was frightened by the look in Lu Heng’s eyes, and said trembling: “Commander, spare my life…”

The cook called for mercy, but she didn’t know what she had done wrong in her heart.  Lu Heng looked at the cook’s face until she didn’t dare to oppose in her heart, then he sent her down. As if receiving amnesty, the cook hurriedly left. After the door was closed, Lu Heng looked inside. Behind the screen, a slender figure could be vaguely seen. She fell asleep turned in, with her knees bent in front of her, curled up into a small ball like a baby. Lu Heng’s cloak was placed to the side, and it had been folded neatly.

Lu Heng thought that Wang Yanqing would feel better if he changed her to an experienced cook. But when he got closer, he found that her face was still pale, her cheeks were abnormally cold, and her fingers were tightly pinched on the palm of her hand, pinching dark red half-moon marks.

Lu Heng’s face suddenly sank, was this a good night’s sleep? Lu Heng quickly broke Wang Yanqing’s grip to prevent her from hurting herself. At this time, Wang Yanqing softly called “Second Brother”. Lu Heng knew that it was not him who she was calling, but he still lowered his head next to her face and listened carefully.

Wang Yanqing didn’t know what she was dreaming of. Her voice was as thin as a gust of wind, and she said very slightly: “Second Brother, don’t marry anyone else.”

|| Translator’s Note: Wishing you a wonderful week of beautiful surprises 🙂

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