076
Lu Wuxie admitted he was a dissolute man, and also admitted he was unruly and wild, but having lived so long, his age was nearing the elderly bracket. Today, he had done something that would forever be etched in his memory as embarrassing; he had become a true — lecher!
He sighed and emerged from the rockery beside the pond.
Concurrently, Zhong Li finished her tasks and also walked out from the rockery opposite. Perhaps from spending more time in the water, she appeared even more delicate and fair than usual, her face bearing a hint of weariness. Coupled with her naturally aloof demeanor, anyone who saw her would feel as though she was about to ascend to immortality and float away at any moment.
"Ahem." Lu Wuxie shifted his gaze from her transcendently beautiful face. To alleviate the previous embarrassment, he cleared his throat and said, "I've scouted the surroundings. The arsonist deliberately sealed off all possible exits with fire. This place is the safest. According to the fire-watching and prevention requirements of the Southern Yue Kingdom, in about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, someone will come to rescue us."
Hearing the voice from across, Zhong Li finally shifted her gaze to Lu Wuxie. Rarely seen in plain robes, he was now only in his inner garment as he was thoroughly soaked. Having endured a night of turmoil, he also looked weary. His demeanor had lost some of its rakishness, replaced by a measure of composure and detachment. For some reason, she found herself almost lost in contemplation.
"Those people want us dead, they certainly wouldn't leave any way out," Zhong Li said, finding a clean stone to sit on.
Lu Wuxie sat opposite her. Seeing her gaze absently at the pond, he asked, "We jumped into the pond from the secret room earlier. Based on where we fell, you shouldn't have ended up where you were drowning just now. Did you discover something? Does it have anything to do with the hair entwining your legs in the water?"
Hearing Lu Wuxie's inquiry, Zhong Li slowly drew her gaze back.
Looking at his slightly concerned eyes, she initially didn't want to speak, but finally nodded, unable to resist. "Logically, I entered the water first, so I should have surfaced before the Young Marquis. However, my dissection knife accidentally fell to the bottom of the pond. Plus, the water wasn't too deep, so I decided to dive to retrieve it.
Just as I picked it up, I unexpectedly discovered a corpse in the water."
At this point, she sighed and continued, "My professional habit kicked in. Seeing a corpse, I wanted to investigate. I heard your call and wanted to surface to respond, but unexpectedly, my ankle was entangled by the hair of the corpse. What happened next is what you saw."
Lu Wuxie nodded and lowered his gaze to where Zhong Li had been drowning earlier. "Can you guess who was in the water?"
Zhong Li asked, "I recall the Young Marquis mentioning that Li Kun had a first wife before marrying the Fu clan, right?"
Lu Wuxie nodded, knowing what she was about to say.
"Now that Li Kun is dead, it's pointless to pursue any further. I hope that with this great fire, the wronged souls at the bottom of the lake can find peace," Zhong Li said faintly, her gaze falling back on Lu Wuxie.
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Wuxie looked at the somewhat dazed eyes of the woman opposite him and asked, "Did you also lose the dissection knife?"
Zhong Li sighed and nodded, as if answering. That knife was made to her design by the best blacksmith in Anding County, and it had cost her a considerable sum of money. Now...
Just as she was lamenting, a loud crackling sound suddenly erupted from afar. The flames grew brighter and redder, illuminating Lu Wuxie more distinctly. At that very moment, Zhong Li raised her eyes and, looking through the open collar of his inner garment, saw a red dot on his shoulder.
Her expression stiffened. Before she could process anything, shouts were heard outside the Li manor: "Fire! The Li manor is on fire! Quick, someone!"
"Is anyone there? Is anyone still inside?"
Simultaneously, the sound of splashing water could be heard. Lu Wuxie quickly got up, grabbed the damp outer garment hanging on the rockery, and shouted "Yes" towards the outside.
Then, he glanced at Zhong Li and said, "Let's go, someone is here for us."
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The case in Suqing County was considered solved.
Three days later, Liao Jue was to be taken to the execution ground.
For a time, the curses of the Suqing County populace were so loud they nearly blew off the roof of the yamen.
"Does the Young Marquis know what the people outside are saying about you?" Zhong Li asked, sitting in the carriage and looking at Lu Wuxie, who had just emerged from the prison cell, his eyes squinting as he slowly adjusted to the sunlight.
Lu Wuxie poured himself a cup of clear wine, casually pulled aside the carriage curtain, and lazily gazed at the streetscape of Suqing County. "It matters not. My reputation is already ruined, so I don't fear this."
Hearing this, Zhong Li's lips curved into a beautiful arc.
Lu Wuxie's unfettered gaze fell upon her face. The sunlight slanted across her pretty profile. As her crimson lips curled into a smile, he unexpectedly became somewhat lost in thought.
After an unknown period of time, as the carriage had already left Suqing County and was heading in the direction of Jincheng, Lu Wuxie glanced at the other carriage following behind. He casually let down the carriage curtain and said, "I asked Liao Jue about the events ten years ago."
Zhong Li knew that Lu Wuxie was referring to the matter of his imperial concubine, Xie Yunxia.
"What did Liao Jue say?" Zhong Li asked.
Lu Wuxie took a deep breath, as if trying to calm his emotions.
"Liao Jue said he knew about the assassination attempt on my imperial concubine ten years ago, but he, Liao Chen, Zhao Jun, and Li Kun only had contact through counterfeit herbs. He doesn't know anything else."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li's eyes darkened considerably. If the case of Xie Yunxia had made progress, it would have meant progress in the case of her adoptive father, Gai Chen. Now, it seemed she still had no clues.
Lu Wuxie looked at the disappointment she was trying to hide and thought for a moment. "However, Liao Jue did say that ten years ago, the imperial court did arrange for my imperial concubine to come to Lingshan Temple, and he also said that my imperial concubine's death was inseparable from the imperial court."
"The imperial court..." Zhong Li bit her lip, and after careful consideration, asked, "So, can I also assume that my adoptive father's death is related to the imperial court?"
Lu Wuxie remained silent, offering her a faint, carefree smile.
"Oh, right." After a long period of silence, Lu Wuxie seemed to recall something. He reached behind him, took out an account book from a hollow cabinet, and tossed it onto the table. "This thing is probably useless now."
Zhong Li eyed the account book before her. She could roughly guess that Lu Wuxie had retrieved it from Li Kun's secret room. It seemed he had found the key to the whereabouts of the related compensatory funds, but...
The account book was crumpled and worn. Flipping through it casually, the ink had already dissolved into a vast "ocean."
It seemed the person behind Li Kun had fortunately escaped unscathed.
"What are the Young Marquis's plans next?" Zhong Li, uncharacteristically, wanted to know his future arrangements.
Lu Wuxie poured two cups of Biluochun tea and placed them on the table.
The fragrance of tea instantly filled the air.
"Take Li'er to see the Emperor!"