Young Mu Le followed his master home. He thought that since she had saved him before, she already understood the truth. However, he raised his eyes to find her staring at him in anger. Mu Le expected a scolding, but to his surprise, Yuan'an took out the medicine box to dress his wounds. The two sat on the grass in the stables, and Yuan'an rolled up Mu Le's sleeves. There were wounds and scratches from before, Yuan'an used a small cotton stick to apply medicinal powder gently. Then she inspected the wounds more closely, she squinted her eyes and blew gently, her pouting mouth resembled that of a pig's.
Mu Le, watching her, felt that the troubles of being beaten, deceived, and wrongly thrown into prison were all worth it. It was like a winding road, and the ultimate goal of this road was to be close to her, to see her squinting eyes and pouting mouth, and to smell her sweet childlike scent.
The person with the pouting mouth suddenly shook her head and said, "Hey?"
Mulue asked, "What's wrong?"
Yuan'an said, "I feel there's something strange about you."
"What's wrong?"
"You've grown a lot in the past few days. Also, the wounds on your arms and hands, even if the ointment from the old man in the basement storage is effective, shouldn't there still be traces of redness or scars. What's going on?"
Mu Le's thoughts were not on himself. He said, "I don't know."
Yuan'an looked at him carefully. "You're not a demon, are you?"
Mulue scoffed.
Yuan'an laughed and said, "Well, even if you are a demon, it's alright. You are my demon, my servant." She took out the waist tag and said, "Here, keep this. Regardless of everything, the cause of this matter lies with me. I apologize to you. If it wasn't for me driving you out without distinguishing right from wrong that day, there wouldn't be so many complications. Rest assured, with me in this house, no one will dare to bully you again. No one will dare to drive you away again!"
Mu Le nodded, took back the waist tag from her hands, looked at her, and shyly smiled.
Yuan'an also smiled at him but still felt uneasy. "Oh, by the way, that old man in the basement, he's a lunatic. Don't go to see him again. Just leave the food at the door in the future. Don't go inside. Stay far away from him, understand?"
"Alright."
He looked so honest and simple, with an innocent appearance, completely trustworthy. Lowering his head, with a round chin and fluffy eyelashes, he looked extremely cute. How could someone like him not be easily bullied?
Yuan An rolled her eyes and said, "Ah, no, that old man almost caused you a big loss. I can't let him off so easily. I have to teach him a lesson!" She leaned close to him and whispered instructions.
It was time to deliver the food again. Mu Le placed the meal box at Tian Shu's door.
The door suddenly opened from the inside.
My Le was curious and didn't leave.
The door opened a bit more from the inside.
Mu Le cautiously entered.
Suddenly, he fell, rolling into the basement.
Mu Le, dizzy from the fall, opened his eyes, and Tian Shu was right in front of him, grinning, "You're back? I missed you! I've improved the formula of my medicine, been waiting for you to try it."
Me Le leaned back, waving his hands, "No, no."
Tian Shu slowly approached, "Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid." He took out a small tube from his pocket with two pills in it, and said, "Come, open your mouth, and I'll blow it in for you!"
Unexpectedly obediently, Mu Le opened his mouth and held one end of the tube.
At that moment, Yuan'an suddenly rushed down from above and shouted, pointing at the two, "Mu Le! What did I tell you?!"
Just as Tian Shu was distracted, Mu Le blew back, and the medicine pellets in the tube went into Tian Shu's mouth. Unprepared, he swallowed them in one gulp.
Smartly outsmarted, Tian Shu was shocked, holding his throat with both hands, "Ah! It's over! Poisoned!"
Yuan'an clapped and laughed, "Well, now you've got it! Let this be a lesson to you!"
Tian Shu, lying on the ground, yelled, "Quick, get me some ice water for a bath! Otherwise, I'm done for!"
This day, to counteract the strong force of the medicine pellet, Tian Shu soaked in ice water for three hours, muttering, "Calamity, calamity, it's your fate."
Yuan'an, Mulue, and the monkey used for testing were jumping for joy.
One medicine pellet rolled on the ground, and Mu Le picked it up and put it in his pocket.
At the Luoyang County Office, Zhao Lanzhi, who had solved the case of the hooligan Nigu, discussed the case with the old investigator Yang. The conclusion of the old Yang surprised Zhao Lanzhi: "You mean this person is not the murderer?"
The investigator said, "The fatal wound is in the victim's abdomen, not in the throat as the suspect claimed. Look here, there is no blood, indicating that the person was already dead when he stabbed. The blood had coagulated. Moreover, the wound on the eunuch's abdomen is irregular, not neat. It wasn't a precise, one-strike fatal blow, it was stabbed without preparation. So, more than one person has been to the crime scene. And the real killer is not the one you brought in."
Zhao Lanzhi contemplated, recalling the crime scene on the rainy night.
In a dark room, someone familiar exchanged a considerable amount of silver with the eunuch Cao Yi for the stolen painting.
Seeing the money, that person took advantage of the opportunity, stabbed him to death, and neatly sat him at the table.
The job might not have been finished yet. The hooligan Nigu and Me Le entered the room through the window. The murderer, hearing the noise, avoided the two then jumped out of the window.
Zhao Lanzhi calculated, "So before Nigu and Mu Le entered the room, the eunuch Cao Yi had already been killed. The painting stolen from the palace was taken away, but why didn't the killer take the silver coins?"
It wasn't for the money, but to silence him. The person who instigated Cao Yi to steal the painting must be someone he knew! Unfortunately, this clue had been cut off! Where should he go to find that painting?
Outside the city, tombstones flickered with ghostly lights.
Princess Xinghui ignited candles in front of Jiang Ren's grave, pulling out weeds, and moving bricks and stones until her fingertips bled.
She spoke softly, "Jiang Ren, Jiang Ren, are you there? Are you cold? Are you hungry? Still drinking wine? I often miss you. I miss the time when you were by my side. Rest assured, you are my servant, I won't let you die in vain! I will definitely get rid of Ye Yuan'an and Zhao Lanzhi. I must avenge you!"
Princess Xinghui gritted her teeth, blood flowing from her hands.
Someone flew down behind her, watching her with a smile.
It was Luo Tian, the master of the Luo family assigned by the national teacher.
Princess Xinghui didn't turn around, as if she didn't know there was someone behind her.
Luo Tian finally urged, "Princess Xinghui, the national teacher is summoning you."
After completing the mission with difficulty, Princess Xinghui, who had come with Luo Yang, presented the scroll in her hand to national teacher Tian Qiao. Tian Qiao opened it and looked at it. It was a painting of a man and a woman reading under a banana tree.
The national teacher frowned, observing for a long time without discerning any mystery. Suddenly, he became nervous and agitated, like a neurotic: "What's going on? I can't see it. The Buddhist beads in that person's hand will be exchanged for this painting?"
Princess Xinghui answered, bowing her head: "Reporting to the national teacher, it is this painting. It is the most cherished painting of the Empress, she always takes it out to look at it. A few days ago, the person who came to sell Buddhist beads in Luo Tian Cave wanted to exchange this painting."
The national teacher praised, "Hehe, it's rare, only you, Minghui, can have such clever tricks. You managed to steal it from under her nose."
Minghui smiled insidiously, "It was nothing impossible. I just bribed an eunuch and had him steal it for me."
It was exactly like the imagined murder scene Zhao Lanzhi had.
If the veil shrouding the hidden truth was lifted, it was Princess Xinghui who made a deal with the eunuch Cao Yi and killed him afterward to silence him.
All for the Empress' painting 'Under the Banana Tree'!
The national teacher said, "Is it cleaned up now?"
Princess Xinghui replied, "Rest assured, national teacher, I left no loose ends."
The national teacher nodded, took the painting, and looked at it repeatedly, puzzled and suddenly becoming somewhat manic: "What's going on? I still can't figure it out. Why would this person want this painting?!"
Princess Xinghui reassured, "National teacher, rest assured, our goal is the three heavenly Buddhist beads in his hands. Whatever he wants, as long as we give him this painting, we can get the beads."
The national teacher returned the painting to Princess Xinghui, seeing the bloody wounds on her fingers: "You did a good job, but I still want to remind you, collecting the Three Treasures Buddhist beads is a matter of public interest, a matter of utmost importance. Don't let your private affairs, trivial matters, distract you and confuse your mind."
"I understand." She lowered her head, she said she understood, but she hid her fierce expression, invisible to anyone.
Princess Xinghui bid farewell to the national teacher, left the main hall, and instructed Huo Yang, who was waiting outside to run an errand: "Help me with something."
Miraisaesang's notes: The National teacher did address her as Minghui, guessing Princess Xinghui is her honorary title, while Minghui is her real name...Also to clarify, she's not a legit or actual princess, meaning not a daughter or sister of the current ruling royal, rather it's a honorary title bestowed to her by the royals...In Chinese, her princess is Junzhu and a ruling royal's princess is Gongzhu; they are different, but there isn't really a good distinction in English.
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