Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 205 Aga
In Qilin Hall.

"I'm ashamed." Xiao Zong replied with a shameful face: "The story has to start from the night of the Lantern Festival... I let that witch flirt and speak nonsense in front of my father, and even lit up Suzaku Street. Although my father didn't say anything, I, the governor of Danyang, have seriously neglected my duties."

"Your Highness, you are too polite. That night, the capital city was experiencing a lantern festival and the streets were deserted. How could the government possibly handle it with the limited manpower available?" Chen Qianzhi said softly.

"That's not what I said. That witch made such a big scene and even went to the Imperial Road openly, walking from the Vermillion Bird Bridge all the way to the Vermillion Bird Gate. No one stopped her the whole way. This is an oversight that shouldn't have happened!" Xiao Zong said with a look of sorrow:

"The next day I started an internal investigation to see who was negligent in his duties. But after investigating for a long time, I found myself - it turned out that it was my palace counselor Xie Mo who was dragged into the water by Ming Gui and falsely passed on my order to let the soldiers release the witch."

"Really?" Chen Qingzhi said in shock, "Xie Ziyi is from a noble family, how could he be dragged into this by the Ming Gui?"

"Alas, you know that when my father ordered my second sister to remarry, he couldn't get over it. Later, he asked Shen Yue to write a poem for my second sister to try to win her back. My second sister was moved and took the poem to beg my father, but he still didn't agree, so he held a grudge against her." Xiao Zong sighed:

"He has been with the Ming Gui for quite some time. Not only did he participate in the Lantern Festival, he also helped them rob the tomb of Donghun Hou under my name."

"It's unbelievable!" Chen Qingzhi sighed and asked, "Have they arrested him and interrogated him?"

"Yes." Xiao Zong nodded, and said with a sad face: "He committed suicide out of fear of punishment, but left a suicide note explaining everything."

Then he sighed and said, "Of course I am also to blame. I felt that if this matter spread, my father would lose face, so I was confused for a moment and sent people to kill Dong Dang before Gou Chensi could do so."

"It backfired, and now I have no way to defend myself." After saying this, he leaned forward and cried, "General Chen, you can report everything to the emperor. I am willing to accept any punishment."

"I will report the truth to His Majesty." Chen Qingzhi pondered for a moment, helped him up and said, "Your Highness must also tell the truth to His Majesty. I believe that even if there is a slight fault, it will soon pass."

"Does General Chen believe in me?" Xiao Zong looked at Chen Qingzhi eagerly.

"Of course." Chen Qingzhi nodded and smiled, "To be honest, I was just worrying about how to report it."

"Thank you, General Chen." Xiao Zong couldn't hide his joy and kowtowed to Chen Qingzhi again.

~~
After seeing off the second prince, Chen Qingzhi returned to Zuyin Garden.

Gongsun Lu followed in. His magical power was "listening to sounds". Even without using any magic power, he could hear the sounds of the entire yamen.

The price is that these voices cannot be blocked...

There was no magic shielding during the conversation between Chen Qingzhi and Xiao Zong just now, so he heard it clearly.

"Does General Chen believe his lies?" Gongsun Lu asked softly.

"You've already said it's a lie." Chen Qingzhi laughed and said, "But the Second Prince is very good at making up lies. He didn't tell a single truth about the things he couldn't bear, and he didn't tell a single lie about the things he could bear."

"Yes, this kind of half-truth and half-falsehood is the most effective," Gongsun Lu sighed and said, "Besides, the emperor will certainly choose to believe him."

"The emperor's doting on his family has no limit, and we cannot change that." Chen Qingzhi said with a wry smile:
"Anyway, we have already investigated the case thoroughly. Whether the emperor believes it or not is up to the emperor himself."

"It's really boring." Gongsun Lu suddenly said dejectedly, "This is a bit far from our dream back then."

Chen Qingzhi sighed and said, "The dream is far away, but if you stop, you will never reach it."

"Will that day ever come?" Gongsun Lu asked.

"Of course, I firmly believe it." Chen Qianzhi nodded.

"Okay, I believe you." Gongsun Lu let out a long breath, stood up and said, "Those kids seem a little disappointed in you." "Really? It seems we need to arrange a heart-to-heart counseling session." Chen Qingzhi smiled bitterly and said, "I'll ask Lingzhi to persuade them later. It's not easy to get them into the Gou Chen Division, we can't let them run away."

"Alas, if they knew this, they would be even more disappointed in you." Gongsun Lu shook his head and said, "The great Chen Shuai is always plotting against a bunch of juniors behind their backs."

"No, you are wrong." Chen Qingzhi said seriously: "From the perspective of Senior Brother Sun, we are equals."

"Have some shame." Gongsun Lu gave him a cold look before getting up and leaving.

"No, our seniority is there, how can I be shameless?" Chen Qianzhi shouted from behind.

"Keep your voice down. You're making me sick." Gongsun Lu covered his ears and left Zuyin Garden.

~~
On the return journey, Xiao Zong sat in the airtight carriage, thinking constantly in his mind.

Now that Xie Mo has taken the blame and committed suicide, and Chen Qianzhi's side has also been dealt with, it should be almost over this hurdle.

Only then did he relax from his stressful state, review today's events, and fill in the gaps.

First of all, it is about one’s own life experience.

At that time he believed that he was the son of Xiao Baojuan, but now that he has calmed down, he is not so sure - is the bone dripping method really 100% effective?

Although I used the comparison method and it seems to be effective after personal testing, the sample size is too small. What if it is just a coincidence?
"I should find someone else to try..." When he thought of this, he suddenly realized that he just didn't want to accept this reality...

"Damn it! I still miss the murderer of my father!" Xiao Zong cursed himself secretly. But now he has "confessed" to Chen Qingzhi. Whether he believes it or not, he has to face Xiao Yan.
Based on his understanding of Xiao Yan, as long as Chen Qingzhi kept his word, he should have no problem getting through.

But when he thought about crying and begging for mercy in front of the murderer of his father, he was overwhelmed by a huge sense of shame and guilt, and began to retch.

While he was retching, he suddenly thought, what if Chen Qingzhi was just perfunctory? He was the dog raised by his father, how could he be on his side?
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt fearful again, and his dry heaves turned into wet heaves, and he almost vomited out his gallbladder...

~~
When Xiao Zong returned to the palace, it was already dark.

Princess Wu came out with her child. "The prince is back. Hurry up and help him change his clothes and have his meal."

"I'm not hungry." Xiao Zong shook his head, walked to Wu, and picked up the emperor's eldest grandson who was just half a year old.

When Xiao Yan was young, he was henpecked. His wife gave birth to three daughters in a row but no sons. It was not until two years after Xi Hui's death that he gave birth to Crown Prince Xiao Tong, and in the same year he had Xiao Zong.

This naturally delayed his chance to have a grandson. He was already in his sixties when Xiao Zong gave birth to his eldest grandson. Although he was not a legitimate child, it did not affect Xiao Yan's love for the child. He personally gave him the nickname "Ajia" and planned to give him a formal name when he was one year old.

"Aga was crying all day, but she stopped crying when the prince came back. It seems she missed her father." Wu smiled cautiously.

The prince was acting crazy at home all day long. She saw it but didn't dare to persuade him, so she was naturally worried. She only hoped that her own son could make him a little more normal.

"Aga." Xiao Zong picked up the baby and looked at him intently.

When Aga heard someone calling his name, he giggled and looked at his father.

"Aga..." Xiao Zong called the baby's nickname again.

Aga's laughter became louder.

(End of this chapter)