Her guards

Chapter 150 The Mantis Makes Its Move

The Ji-Ying blood letter case was handled by the Dali Temple.

Ji Ying's family and servants were also imprisoned and interrogated here.

Because Ji Ying was on an inspection tour and had said before leaving that he wouldn't be back for the New Year, his family didn't pay attention to his whereabouts.

When there had been no letter for two months, the elderly mother became worried and asked the family to inquire. Only then did they send a letter, only to find that the person had disappeared.

“Our master likes to travel incognito, so we don’t dare to search for him in a big way, for fear of delaying his business.”

"Only send a servant to visit secretly."

"This happened before any news even came back."

The Ji family cried and wailed, but no matter how much they asked, they couldn't get any useful information; they really did know nothing.

Furthermore, with the Marquis of Yichun pleading guilty and the Emperor ordering a thorough investigation of the officials involved in the case in Baima Town, the interrogation of the Ji family became less important.

That night, the servants of the Ji family, who were imprisoned together, got into a fight over food. One of the servants, who couldn't get any food and was beaten, shouted, "Eating is useless, we're all going to die. First the master, then us—" Upon hearing this, the jailers immediately dragged the man out for interrogation.

The interrogation lasted all night until dawn. The servant could no longer hold on and finally spoke, but he asked to see the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

"The only people I'm talking about who have connections to the highest levels of power are the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. I don't trust anyone else, and you all look down on them."

.......
……

"and then?"

Hearing this, Wei Jiao, who was leaning back in her chair, finally found it interesting. She took the book off her face and asked.

"The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review has arrived?"

Because it was not a case of treason, but involved the safety of the people, in order to avoid arousing greater public anger, the emperor did not hand the case over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but only allowed them to spy on public opinion.

Spying on opinions naturally includes the general public and officials, so the movements of the Dali Temple were also being watched by the Embroidered Robe.

However, all I managed to glean was nonsense, which was quite boring.

Xiu Yi laughed: "How could that be? The official in charge of interrogating him immediately gave him more than a dozen lashes, and then the servant couldn't take it and spoke up."

Wei Jiao asked lazily, "What did you say?"

Xiuyi stopped laughing: "He said that the reason Ji Ying used death row inmates instead of bandits to hastily close the case was because the massacre was carried out by Ji Ying under someone's orders."

Wei Jiao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who instructed you?"

This person was indeed very important, and the woman in embroidery lowered her voice slightly: "Marquis Yichun."

Wei Jiao laughed heartily and clapped his hands: "Good, good, good."

It's not a big deal to acknowledge someone as your father; what's important is to make everyone's lives chaotic and stressful.

……

.......
"Since it involved the Marquis of Yichun, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was alarmed and had him arrested."

"But because it was shouted from inside the cell, the interrogating officials were too late and unable to stop the words from spreading."

The man dressed as a shop assistant in the grocery store continued to explain in detail to the old man.

The old man glanced back; the teacup on the table was still warm, and the maid in the seat had already left.

When the shop assistant came in to report, the maid got up and took her leave, seemingly uninterested in the news he brought, as if everything had been expected.

"Thank you for what you did earlier. I won't trouble you with anything else," she said with a smile.

The shop assistant's voice continued, "...Now everyone's talking about it, all questioning it. It's absurd..."

The old man chuckled.

“It’s absurd because people don’t know the inside story,” he said, turning his gaze away and standing by the window looking out at the street. “For people who know the inside story, it’s not so absurd.”

Those who knew the inside story, like him and the general, found it perfectly reasonable.

It didn't matter to him that the Marquis of Yichun had been dragged into this; he looked at the shop assistant.

"Is that servant of the Ji Ying family one of their men?"

Censor Li Bu was a pawn that the Grand General had been cultivating for many years; he was someone they had arranged for him.

The servants of Ji and Ying were not appointed by them.

The shop assistant nodded: "It should be. Isn't Ji Ying in their hands? It's not a big deal to place a servant in the Ji Ying family."

"Not a big deal?" The old man said solemnly, "Let alone the fact that the servants in the homes of court officials have gone through so many screenings, this is a prison cell in the Dali Temple. When to do what, what to say, it's not something that a single servant can do."

The officials in the Dali Temple must also have their own people.

This young prince, despite his wanderings and exile, has managed to place so many people among the court officials; he is indeed not to be underestimated.

……

.......
"You really did use me to frame Marquis Yichun."

As Yang Luo sat in a restaurant waiting to buy some newly made pastries for "Miss Yang," Ji Ying's voice came from behind.

She glanced back and saw Ji Ying being pushed in by the shop assistant. His face was ashen, and although his arms were covered by his sleeves, they were visibly stiff from the torture he had endured. Yang Luo had told Ji Ying everything that had happened in the past few days, so even though he was imprisoned, he knew what was going on outside.

Yang Luo smiled but did not answer.

Ji Ying looked at the maid, his expression no longer calm and indifferent as before, but somewhat dazed and lost in thought.

That day, the woman severely tortured my wounds and revealed her identity to me...

The maid of Yang Tong's daughter in Baima Town...

“My young lady escaped, she didn’t die, and she even witnessed how you dealt with the matter perfunctorily, covering up the deaths of my lady, young lady, and neighbors, turning a big problem into a small one, and a small problem into nothing.”

So that's how it is. Then it's perfectly reasonable and justified to treat him that way...

but……

“But that’s not true. He didn’t make me do such a thing,” Ji Ying continued. “I covered up the events in Baima Town for my own selfish reasons. I’m willing to go to the government office with Miss to confess and ask the authorities to investigate thoroughly. As for the other matters, you can’t…”

Yang Luo smiled and said, "It was truly worth it for Marquis Yichun to plead guilty and punish himself by cutting his salary for you. Even now, you are still defending your benefactor who recommended you."

Ji Ying's face stiffened slightly: "I'm not defending him, I'm just stating the facts. I admit to what he asked me to do. If he didn't order me to do it, even if you use me to frame him, there's insufficient evidence. It will only disrupt the investigation and allow the real culprit to escape. Miss, I'm only thinking of your young lady..."

Yang Luo laughed heartily, stood up, and looked at Ji Ying.

"Lord Ji, you actually care about my young lady?" she said, raising an eyebrow slightly. "You also know my young lady's true identity, don't you?"

Ji Ying's expression stiffened; he did indeed know.

"Since you know the true identities of my lady and young lady, what were you thinking when you saw those two corpses embracing each other in a tragic death?" Yang Luo said coldly.

Just then, a waiter's loud voice came from outside, "Miss Ah Sheng, the pastries are ready. Your family is here to see you—"

Family members, servants of the Duke of Ding'an's mansion? Hmm, the Duke and Duchess of Ding'an wouldn't let "Miss Yang" out, but this maid made a huge fuss, demanding to buy her mistress writing materials, food, and drink, so they let her out. However, they also sent people to keep an eye on her. At this time, the news spreading in the streets involves Baima Town, so the Duke and Duchess of Ding'an must be terrified and want to take her back immediately...

Having done everything he needed to do today, Yang Luo responded loudly and walked outside.

"The murderer is no ordinary person," Ji Ying said in a deep voice from behind. "I investigated at the time. These people came and went in an orderly manner, moved swiftly, rode strong horses, and were equipped with excellent weapons. They were clearly from the military..."

“I know,” Yang Luo said without turning his head. “After all, our lady and young lady are not ordinary people, and no ordinary person would kill them.”

He walked out the door, turned back, and smiled faintly.

"Just wait and see, Lord Ji. This time, we won't be the ones being hunted."

……

.......
"Miss--"

Although he appeared relaxed and carefree in public, once inside Mo Zheng's room, Yang Luo could barely stand, even while holding onto the table.

“It really appeared.”

"It really is a case of the mantis stalking the cicada!"

The censor Li Bu was arranged by those people, but she didn't know whose people the Ji Ying servants who suddenly appeared today were.

In this lifetime, they took the initiative to use Ji and Ying as a test of the waters.

As in his previous life, Marquis Yichun was punished.

But Mo Zheng said that things would not end there, because after all, someone really did kill Ji Ying in that lifetime.

They did what the people who killed Ji and Ying in that life were going to do, so those people will surely do something else in this life.

Sure enough, by throwing out Ji and Ying, the cicada of Yichun was drawn out, and the mantis hiding behind them made its move.

What are these people doing this for?
Was it to pin the blame for settling the matter in Baima Town on the Marquis of Yichun?

Is Marquis Yichun really not the real culprit in Baima Town?

In fact, Yang Luo already believed Ji Ying when he said it.

So, was it arranged by the emperor? Ji Ying said that those mountain bandits and thugs were soldiers.
But the emperor actually wants to deal with the Marquis of Yichun? Isn't that his current wife's father? If he could get rid of his ex-wife, why doesn't he want to get rid of his current wife too?

Yang Luo started to let her mind wander.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Mo Zheng gently reassured them. "Since they want to accuse the Marquis of Yichun, they must be able to produce sufficient evidence."

Regardless of the purpose of this action, the truth about the White Horse Town incident will eventually be revealed to the world.

Moreover, these people can no longer hide.

"The Marquis of Yichun will investigate them, as will those people who are targeting me. My people will also keep an eye on them. In addition..." Mo Zheng said, raising an eyebrow, "I will ask my senior brother, the Embroidered-Robe Captain, for help."

Even if he were the emperor, he would be no match for four opponents this time.

"Look, we have a lot of people helping us this time. This is what it means to be virtuous and receive abundant help."

Yang Luo chuckled, amused.

Is this sentence used correctly? Ah Zheng really knows how to enjoy herself.

(End of this chapter)