Wanjin Lady

Chapter 239 Clues
Wei Zheng's chest rose and fell slightly as he placed the ring under the light... then... his eyes widened in disbelief!
It's it!

This is the ring my father was wearing on the day he disappeared!
This was a transparent emerald green jade ring with a bump on the edge, so my mother asked a craftsman to wrap it with gold thread and mend it bit by bit.

That bump... was when he fell from a height when he was a child, and his father hit his thumb on a stone while trying to save him. The crack pattern on this ring... is exactly the same as that on his father's ring!
Wei Zheng's breathing quickened.

This was the first time in ten years that he had obtained a tiny clue about his father in the vast crowd.

Wei Zheng clutched the ring tightly, like a child protecting a treasure. He steadied his breathing, and with reddened eyes he looked at Mother Yi, "When and where did you obtain this ring?"

Mother Yi wondered to herself, how did the investigation go from checking loan sharking to investigating the ring?
Suddenly Zhao Heng frowned, his muscles trembling, "Speak!"

"Just two years ago... I met a little girl of sixteen or seventeen on the street... I knew she was a runaway slave the moment she looked at her... She was neatly dressed... the fabric wasn't cheap... and her fingers were rough... She had a bag of gold and silver jewelry in her hand... People say wealth is precious with gold and jade... I was worried this ring had cracked before... I thought no one would want it... so I bought it at a low price..."

At this point, Mother Yi came to her senses. She realized that the fugitive had probably stolen someone else's property, so she could only beg for mercy: "Sir... I really didn't know these things were yours! If you like them, feel free to take them. Consider it my filial piety to you!"

"A runaway slave? What does she look like? Do you know her origins?"

"This... happened a few years ago... How can I explain it clearly? I've forgotten it long ago—"

"Can't explain it clearly?" The man's brows were gloomy. "Then go back and tell us slowly. Monkey, take her back and interrogate her carefully! I want to hear the result at dawn!"

Just as Mother Yi was about to complain, Zhao Heng struck her on the back with his backhand. Mother Yi swallowed her words instantly, her body softened, and she fell together with He San.

Hou Ji and Zhao Heng lifted Mother Yi carefully, then blew a sharp whistle toward the river. A small boat slowly approached on the shimmering river surface. Several people tied up Mother Yi and slowly threw her onto the water, then fished her onto the boat.

The people had clear division of labor and cooperated well. Amidst the singing and dancing, they were able to enter and exit the flower boat on the water as if it were flat ground.

Meng Yuanjie saw He San lying on the ground and asked Wei Zheng, "Lord, do you want to take this person back?"

If we bring more people...I'm afraid the small boat can't handle it.

"No need."

Hou Ji reminded Wei Zheng, "My Lord, Shopkeeper Wen is still here. Are we just going to abandon her like this?"

After all, Hou Ji had escorted Wen Wan and her group for more than half a month, so he naturally paid more attention to Wen Wan.

This flower boat is a place where all kinds of people gather, and it is also a place of redemption. It is really inappropriate to leave Wen Wan, a weak woman, in such a den of tigers and wolves.

The Marquis is too unkind to women.

Hou Ji muttered in his heart.

Wei Zheng seemed to have just noticed Wen Wan lying on the table. He stood up and left without hesitation, "Zhao Heng, Yuan Jie, the two of you stay behind to cover the rear."

"Yes!"

Only after making sure Wei Zheng had left on the boat did Zhao Heng drop his long sword, shake his stiff shoulders, and casually throw his long legs over his shoulder, looking like a typical soldier. He grabbed the teacup and was about to put it to his mouth when he heard Meng Yuanjie's cold voice say, "Don't touch it! There's a drug in this tea—"

"That's right!" Zhao Heng threw away the teacup, grabbed the teapot and prepared to look up.

Meng Yuanjie's voice sounded again, "This is also poisonous--"

Zhao Heng put down the teapot with an embarrassed look on his face and muttered, "The Marquis is so cunning... He drugged Shopkeeper Wen right in front of him..."

Even the sleeping potion was taken directly from He San's body. Zhao Heng recalled Wei Zheng's out-of-control appearance just now and felt uneasy. He pursed his lips, trying to find out some information, "Yuanjie, I've been following the Marquis for four or five years, but I've never seen the Marquis lose his composure! When I saw him looking at Mother Yi just now... his eyes were like knives... I was scared! That ring... what's its origin?"

Meng Yuanjie poured tea for the two of them from another teapot. The sound of stringed instruments on the boat was pleasing to the ears. The water rippled in the distance, but in the room before him were only the sleeping Wen Wan and He San.

Zhao Heng had been with Wei Zheng for several years. Not only was he honest, but he had also been through thick and thin. Meng Yuanjie trusted him, so he didn't hide anything. "That ring... belongs to the Duke..."

The word "relics" trembled on Meng Yuanjie's tongue, "The Duke's things."

When the legendary Duke was mentioned, both of them fell silent.

It has been fifteen years since the Duke disappeared after the "Kyoto Palace Incident".

That night, the Duke's whereabouts were unknown after he chased the enemy out of the palace, the Duke's wife starved to death in a secret room, and the Duke's legitimate daughter was stabbed in the abdomen by the enemy with a silver spear with a barb. Her internal organs were entangled in the spear and she was thrown high in the air like a kite.

Wei Zheng's family was destroyed, leaving only a signboard of Duke.

Zhao Heng felt melancholy from the wine as he drank his tea. "I'm really worried... if the Marquis keeps searching like this... he'll go mad sooner or later."

Meng Yuanjie sighed barely perceptibly.

How easy is it to find someone who disappeared during the Great Chen Dynasty? Especially since this person's life or death is unknown and he has been missing for more than ten years.

If the Duke were still alive, he would have returned to Kyoto to reunite with the Marquis long ago.

Now I’m afraid...it’s very dangerous.

Wen Wan was pushed awake by someone. As soon as she opened her eyes... she saw the golden moonlight on the river outside. Her arms were numb. Wen Wan slowly raised her upper body and her misty eyes fell on the two thin men in front of her.

Wen Wan recognized that one of them was Hou Ji, and the other was the archer who shot the bandit with an arrow when they were attacked in the valley that day.

She looked out at the broken moonlight in a trance, and slowly came to her senses. The boat was about to dock.

When Wen Wan thought about Wei Zheng drugging her, she became angry with the two men. She rubbed her aching neck and arms, "Where is your Lordship?"

Zhao Heng chuckled and said, "Let's go."

Wen Wan wondered, this flower boat was sailing on the water, could it be that Wei Zheng had grown wings and flown away?
"How did you get there?" Wen Wan looked towards the shore. "The ship hasn't docked yet."

Zhao Heng laughed again, "It flew away."

Row.

Wen Wan could see that this archer was warm and thoughtful, but he knew nothing when asked.

She could only look at Hou Ji, "Your Lord... is truly despicable..."

Hou Ji bowed to her and said, "Manager Wen, I'm sorry... Our Lord is busy with official business... It's best if you don't hear anything when interrogating Mother Yi. The Lord is also concerned about your safety."

Wen Wan pursed her lips and said nothing, but she also agreed to this statement.

If she hadn't met Wei Zheng at the dock today, she wouldn't have wanted to have too much contact with him.

Seeing her face improve, Hou Ji asked again, "Do you still want He San? If so, I can help send him to your residence. When you get off the boat, Zhao Heng and I will escort you home."