第八章Chapter VIII

第八章

Chapter VIII

The night was still in the middle when the first dawn lights began to touch the skyline of the capital Zhang. Jin Shen sat at his desk, surrounded by documents and reports piled on the table. He was thinking deeply about recent events, especially Minister Zhou's mysterious death. "There's got to be something bigger going on behind the scenes," he muttered to himself as he grabbed a cup of tea that had been cold for hours, "but, he was in prison, how can it be overdosed? This is unless he was hiding it with him or was given this herb to him before I arrived at the prison and interrogated him, because his actions were unbalanced, there must be evidence in his cell."

He came out of his room quickly ordering: "Prepare the horse" and then rode the horse 'Jiaa', tightened the saddle with the force of his fist and headed to the prison, hoping to find a thread for this.

Meanwhile, Li Xiao was preparing to leave the palace. She was thinking about the events that took place with Minister Zhou and Jinxin.

"Since Minister Zhou knows dangerous secrets, there must be more yet to be revealed, I have to check his residence, there may be something that can reveal a new thread to me," she said wearing her cloak. She called out to her maid Rory, "Rory, take it from here, no one should reveal my departure, I'll be back soon. I'll go now."

Rory looked anxiously, "Madam,

Do you think this is the right time to go out? There are a lot of soldiers in the palace looking for the spy."

Xiao smiled confidently at me, "Don't worry, I just want to have a little fun in the capital," and whispered among herself, "If we can discover the truth, we will be able to protect the empire from the coming danger."

This time Li Xiao managed to get out smoothly from the palace, not like last time. She went to Minister Cho's house, where she knew he might have documents or evidence that might help her uncover more about the plot.

When she arrived at Minister Zhou's house, the outdoor garden was neglected, filled with leaves and dark. Li Xiao quietly crept inside, wary of any movement that might indicate anyone's presence. I started searching the minister's office, where I found piles of papers and letters. Suddenly, a small box carefully hidden behind the bookshelves caught her eye, on which was a token with a special opening mechanism. I wondered what made him keep such a box, and what it contained.

Meanwhile, Jin Xin arrived at prison. Min Lian was anxiously waiting for Jin Shen. "Sir, there is something strange about the cell where Minister Zhou died. We found a mysterious inscription painted in blood under this wooden table." Jin Shen looks at and examines the inscription, amazed by this inscription. "Isn't it strange to find something observable so quickly? Look at these badges," he pointed with his fingertips, trying to understand what was drawn. "What is meant by the word '阴影' shadow?" What is the point? It might be someone's signal." Min Lian didn't understand what Jin Shen was talking about, then he stood up and pointed out, "The cell window is on the right. During the day, when the sun is perpendicular to it, that is, when light enters the cell, sunlight enters from the right, illuminating the left side. If there is light, there is shadow. We might find something in the shadow part, the other side." Jin Xin and Min Lian started to get clear, and then they both went to the shadow place, the right side of the cell, and tried to find anything. Suddenly they noticed a small piece of paper tucked into a hole in the wall. "What is it?" he muttered as he spoke to Min Lian. The paper bore mysterious symbols and numbers. "It seems that this is the thread I was looking for," Jin Shen told himself. "We can find any inscriptions or symbols at Minister Zhu's residence," he discussed with Min Lian.

"Your words are reasonable, sir. I expect that he wrote it while under the influence of the drug, he may have previously been under the influence of the drug and it is possible that he left or made symbols in his home. We have to head there, sir." Jin Shen nodded in agreement with what Min Lian said, and they both came out of prison heading to Minister Zhou's residence.

Somewhere, An unknown person was sitting in the middle of a dark, almost illuminated hall, around which there was heavy security. Then the doors of the hall opened, and one of his followers, dressed in all black with a sword in his hands, entered and knelt on a foot, "I am at your service, sir." Minister Li Zhang was walking towards this follower, "I was good when I gave him the herb, You have proven your worth, you can get up." But the follower did not get up, but lowered his head. "I, General Jin Xin seems to have found something I hadn't noticed previously in the cell. I deserve punishment, sir, I couldn't do what you ordered me to do." Minister Li Zhang looked at him angrily, then grabbed him by the neck firmly, and tightened his fist even more. "Punishment? You idiot, how can you lose sight of this thing?" Then he took his hand away from him, and then the follower fell coughing, His life was almost over at this moment. "So where is he now, and what has he revealed?" the follower returned to his kneeling place, and replied submissively, "I didn't hear him where he wanted to go, and I didn't follow him, I came here quickly after you signaled to summon me. What they found were symbols that I had noticed were under the table and also they found something in the wall of the cell, that's what I saw." Minister Li Zhang stood right in front of him and looked at him, then raised his head and called, "Weijian, come in. What other are you? I remember a little while ago you told me you deserved punishment, didn't you?" the follower was nodding in confusion. Minister Li Chang turned around and gave his orders, "You will be punished then, you have contributed a lot with us, you have known a lot, so you may show us the future, right?" "Sir, never, I am at your command, I will not betray my master, no..." "People change. He approached with slow steps, with his right hand, clenching the handle of the sword, while his left hand rose slightly as if balancing with the air. Suddenly, his movement exploded at lightning speed, he lifted the sword to the top of his head, then landed it his body, followed by the sound of him falling to the ground and splattering drops of blood on the killer's face, and then he stood again steadily.

Smiling face Minister Li Zhang was going towards Weijian, Minister Li Zhang reached out both hands and gently placed them on Weijian's shoulder. It was a slow and deliberate movement, his fingers bent to encircle his shoulders, and a slight pressure to utter words of satisfaction, "This is my son, well done, and you are back in time, you are back home. From now on I need you to help me with a lot of things, I expect you to let me down because I trust you and your abilities." He took a step back, "You're going to take over from now." Weijian then joined both hands to each other and expressed his respect, "I will do what my father tells me to do."

At Minister Zhou's house, Li Xiao was unable to open the box despite her many attempts. She started looking around the room for other things, and then I found a bunch of messages and

Ancient manuscripts. She began to read the letters carefully, but found nothing useful for her. However, she took these manuscripts and papers with them, as well as the box, and put them in a cloth bag. Meanwhile, I heard the sound of soldiers breaking into the house and surrounding the place. She didn't have a chance to escape, so she started looking around if there was somewhere to hide. Then she saw a sideboard where she could hide. ا.

- The guards entered with their commander Jin Xin and began searching the place until they reached Minister Zhou's private office. They searched everywhere meticulously. Min Lian came to Jin Xin and said, "We didn't find anything, sir, as if the place had been evacuated and cleaned well, until there was no simple evidence left." Jin Xin was looking around until he noticed the closet, so he walked towards it and grabbed the handle of the closet. At this moment Li Xiao was afraid that she would be exposed. Jin Shen, holding the handle, wanted to open the closet, but it was locked. "The closet seems to have something," he said. Then he wanted to break the closet...

- Suddenly, a wealthy man walked in with sober steps and a slight smile on his face, with his hands behind his back, heading towards Jin Xin. Then he said, "General Jin seems to have broken into Minister Zhou's house." Mr. Ma stopped in front of Jin Xin and said, "But I am the one who should ask, General Jin. Look, it's a decree from the emperor delegating the case to me and at my disposal, so you are not allowed to intervene. Please, you and your men should withdraw and don't make it difficult for us." Jin Shen stepped towards him with a firm face and steady steps, then stepped down with his men outside the house. Min Lian said, "Sir, we have not completed the search. What are we going to do?" replied Jin Shen: "We follow the decree." They climbed their horses and actually withdrew.

- Mr. Ma is still inside the office. He stood up quietly and spoke, "You don't have to hide, miss. Get out of the closet." Li Xiao was surprised and confused, and then opened the closet door quietly and hesitantly. Mr. Ma said, "Don't try to escape, miss. Here we are meeting again." She stood up and said, "I thank the master for helping me, but how did you know I was here?" he laughed sarcastically: "As you heard, I'm in charge here. I came to interrogate this house, and I happened to see you entering, so I guessed you were going to hide here because the soldiers had surrounded the place. I came across you twice: once in the palace and once here. "I don't have to answer, I'm not a miss, I'm a man," she replied. He took a few steps towards her, his gaze fixed on her: "Man? How can a man have such small and soft hands? Also, when I caught you last time at the exit door of the palace, I felt your chest." I shouted at him, "You rude, how dare you?" Well, I won't bother you any more. I helped you twice, won't you reward me?" she turned to the side, holding hands, "I don't sell myself to people like you." He started laughing at her in surprise: "I don't want your body, oh, you already made me laugh. I wanted to have a big lunch in a luxurious setting as compensation. Honestly, you don't need your body. Hahahaha." She was really angry, so she walked out of the room, then paused for a moment and spoke loudly: "Don't you want compensation, or will you stay here?"

- After arriving at a luxury restaurant, they both sat at the dining table, and then the waiter came: "Mr. Ma said: "Put all the dishes you have and the best wines." The waiter smiled and said, "Of course sir, your order will be submitted shortly. Have fun." The waiter went to fetch food, after which Mr. Ma asked: "It seems that the miss did not object to the amount of food, if your financial situation is good, if you are not a maid, Isn't it?" Xiao clung to me with a mug of water: "Don't servants have a lot of money? My lady who I serve gives us a high salary, so I saved it. I can pay at all costs." "Good," he said. Sorry, I didn't know myself. My name is Ma Ming, but until now I haven't known your name, Miss." She replied, "You are the son of an imperial doctor? What a coincidence." The waiter interrupted them for a moment: "Sirs, the food has come, go ahead, I hope you like it." Various dishes were placed on the dining table. "Miss, you can eat," he said, "their food is delicious and you'll like it." After they finished eating, she said, "I have compensated Mr. Ma now. I'll pay and then we split up like we haven't seen each other. Mr. Ma replied confidently: "It's okay, we agree. Waiter, the account please, will be paid by the master." The waiter began by talking about the demand and the final price: "Both sedans ordered roast duck at 400 taels, cod steamed with soy sauce at 300 taels, wagyu beef at 500 taels, and also sushi and sashimi at 300 taels, side dishes at 100 taels, with fine wines at 600 tales because they have been aged for over a hundred years. The final total is 2,200 taels." Mr. Ma looked at her to pay, and Li Xiao really wanted to pay but couldn't find her money. The moment she realized that she had dropped her wallet in the closet, her face was filled with expressions of sadness. Mr. Ma noticed that she had no money and said, "No need, I'll pay. Go ahead, that's the whole amount." She looked at him and tried to talk but he interrupted, "Miss, you owe me again, so you have to pay me next time." "I will pay you without a doubt," she replied firmly. He looked doubtfully: "You may deceive me. How do I trust you? So far I haven't seen your face covered, and I also don't know your name." She replied, "I'm not fooling you. I'll pay you. You can call me Zahi Ro, and when I meet you again I will definitely pay you." He began to laugh: "Finally I knew your name. You are already stubborn. So, in three days I'll meet you in the same place to make up for me. Now I have to go, I'll be happy to meet you again, Miss Zhi Ru."

In a justified voice, he said, "I will hide nothing from Your Majesty, but I delayed my investigation, until I found out that you had handed over the reins to Mr. Ma." The emperor looked sharply: "Do you blame me for delegating the case to him?" Jinxin lowered his head: "I do not dare, Your Majesty, but I could not enter Minister Zhu's house because the master did not prevent me from entering."

The emperor was listening to Jin Shen and said, "Mr. Ma is a reliable and intelligent person, so I handed him the case. Jin Shen looked at the emperor and said, "I appreciate your kindness and attention, Your Majesty, But I need to be the one investigating it. The emperor signaled him to sit in front of him and said, "You are already stubborn. Complete this game with me. You will work with Mr. Ma to uncover the hidden and will not oppose his partnership with you. Jinxin grabbed one of the black chess stones and placed it on the board and said, "I think the country is going through a difficult time, Your Majesty." The emperor paused for a moment and then said, "Minister Zhou died of an overdose of narcotic herb. He was addicted to it, so I eventually killed him. I think the issue is big and has a lot of hidden facts, and I'm worried about the spread of this grass among the common people." The emperor asked, "How did this happen? A thorough inspection of the source should be carried out. This grass can not spread. Jin Shen, formed a special group and appointed a new guard to search through the main provinces. Jin Shen replied firmly: "I will work on it, Your Majesty."

- After Jinxin left the palace, he returned again to Minister Zhou's house. He went into the room and went to the closet. When he wanted to open it, it opened smoothly, unlike the previous time where it did not open. Then he started looking and looking to see if it contained anything. The torch in his hands illuminated the place, and then he noticed a wallet with a special and luxurious embroidery containing coins. There was someone from a high class who had come in here before them and took evidence.

- Rory was going left and right with a nailed and anxious movement. She noticed and said, "Ma'am, oh, I'm back. Li Xiao tried to calm her down and said, "It's okay, I'm back. Also, I lost my wallet that was special for me." Rory said, "I'm going to make one for you."

To be followed in the next chapter.

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