Ma Su stared at the woman before him, his mind slowly processing her words.
"I've admitted everything I should. After all the things I did a year ago, who can remember so clearly?" Ma Su said.
Zhong Li's sharp gaze lingered on Ma Su's face, confirming he wasn't being evasive. She reminded him, "It's about the assassination attempt on Jia Kun on the official road to Chang'an."
"You mean that time?" Ma Su narrowed his eyes, beginning to recall.
The next moment, as if remembering something, he looked up and down at Zhong Li's swollen eyes and asked, "Miss Zhong, why do you want to know about that incident? Does it have any special significance to you?"
"You only need to answer who the person you hired to kill Jia Kun was," Zhong Li's tone was cold and hard. She knew Ma Su had remembered.
"You mean him..." Ma Su drew out the word, "But why should I tell you?"
Ma Su let out a soft laugh. "What benefit is there for me, a man with one foot in the grave, to tell you?"
"You want to live?" Zhong Li countered.
"What, you, someone who dresses the dead, can offer me a way to live?" Ma Su mimicked her tone.
Zhong Li's lips curved into a slight smile. She glanced around, confirming that the guards supervising Ma Su couldn't hear their conversation. She then stepped closer and whispered.
As Zhong Li finished speaking and slowly returned to her original spot, a glint appeared in Ma Su's eyes.
"Are you telling the truth?" he asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Of course," Zhong Li nodded. "Lord Zhang has already been arrested and taken to Jincheng for questioning. The local official who will replace Lord Zhang hasn't arrived yet. Who do you think is in charge of the yamen right now?"
"The... the Heir Apparent?" Ma Su stammered.
"Then do you recognize this?" Zhong Li again held up the jade pendant she had previously obtained from Lu Wuxie before Ma Su.
"This... this is from the Heir Apparent's waist..."
"Then do you believe what I just said?" Zhong Li asked.
Ma Su's expression was one of overwhelming excitement. "Believe, believe!"
"Then why aren't you speaking?"
Ma Su nodded and quickly said, "Actually, that person... I don't know them either."
Zhong Li frowned.
Seeing this, Ma Su, fearing their deal would fall through, quickly added, "But I can give you a clue."
"Speak!"
"Actually, this person was introduced to me by Xie Xiaoyun."
"What did you say?" Zhong Li's tone rose slightly.
"Everything I'm saying is true." Ma Su, afraid Zhong Li wouldn't believe him, quickly explained, "Back then, when a few of us conspired to frighten Jia Kun, it was Xie Xiaoyun who proposed the assassination attempt on the official road. Later, the assassins who attacked Jia Kun were also found by Xie Xiaoyun. I merely assisted during this period."
"So, you've met these people?" Zhong Li seized on the key point in Ma Su's words.
"I have!" Ma Su nodded, but his face quickly fell. "However, they were very cautious and mysterious. When they met me, their faces were covered."
"So, after all this talk, you don't know anything?" Zhong Li's expression darkened. She turned to pack her golden needles, intending to leave.
Ma Su, seeing this, grew anxious. "I do know another clue. I asked Xie Xiaoyun where these people came from, but she didn't answer. However, I secretly looked through her makeup box, and there were several secret letters inside. They were all sent from Jincheng. I suspect those killers definitely came from Changjin City."
"Jincheng? Jincheng is so large, where in Jincheng were her letters sent from?" Zhong Li stopped her actions but didn't turn her head as she asked.
Ma Su was stumped. He opened and closed his mouth for a long time without saying a word, only able to say sheepishly, "I was in a hurry when I looked, and I was afraid of being discovered, so I only glanced at them. This is all I could remember."
As he finished speaking, Zhong Li took out a small bottle from her怀 and poured out a small pill, turning to hand it to Ma Su. "Eat this."
Ma Su gazed at the pill rolling in Zhong Li's fair palm, swallowing a few times. His eyes showed a look of resolve.
-------------------------------------
By the time Zhong Li emerged from the prison, the evening sun was slanting, and birds were returning home. A carriage was parked outside. The curtain of the carriage was drawn, revealing a person sitting inside, holding a book in one hand and taking a sip of tea with the other. In the glow of the sunset and mist, the person's naturally handsome and leisurely demeanor appeared even more at ease.
Zhong Li, carrying her medicine box, walked to the carriage. The person inside lazily uttered, "Finished questioning?"
Zhong Li lifted her skirt and got into the carriage. Her gaze flickered to the man opposite her, who was diligently reading a book upside down. "Heir Apparent, how long have you been waiting?"
Finally, Lu Wuxie put down the book and propped his head with one hand, looking at Zhong Li with a smile. "Is Li'er worried about me, afraid I'd be bored and impatient?"
Zhong Li took a deep breath and automatically ignored Lu Wuxie's 'nickname' for her. "I got the information, but it might not be what we hoped for."
"Oh?" Lu Wuxie raised an eyebrow.
"Ma Su said that Xie Xiaoyun arranged the assassination attempt on Jia Kun on the official road, and during this period, Xie Xiaoyun was in correspondence with someone," Zhong Li stated truthfully.
"Did he say who that person was?" Lu Wuxie pressed.
Zhong Li shook her head. "He only said the person was in Jincheng, and he didn't know anything else."
"Jincheng?" Lu Wuxie's casual eyes narrowed as he gazed at the sunset.
Zhong Li looked at the man facing away from her, lost in thought. Hesitantly, she asked, "Actually, the Heir Apparent suspected Xie Xiaoyun was problematic from the beginning, didn't you?"
Lu Wuxie turned back, smiling. "Why do you say that?"
"I don't know when exactly the Heir Apparent knew Xie Xiaoyun was problematic. Perhaps it was when you and I entered the autopsy room, or perhaps..." Her voice paused. Her gaze met his eyes, which appeared carefree but held a hint of sharp intelligence. "Perhaps you discovered it more than three years ago when you threw Xie Xiaoyun out of your room."
"Is that so?" Lu Wuxie's smile widened.
"But none of that matters," Zhong Li said, her eyes bright. "I'm just very impressed by the Heir Apparent's ability to play dumb. When you faced Lord Zhang, even though you knew Xie Xiaoyun was fake, you still brought up a connection, all to convict Magistrate Zhang. As for the reason... perhaps it has something to do with the newly appointed county magistrate of Anding County?"
As Zhong Li spoke, her gaze passed through Lu Wuxie to the window outside. At that moment, the newly arrived county magistrate had disembarked from his carriage and was being welcomed into the yamen.
Lu Wuxie followed her gaze out the carriage window and said, "Li'er is overthinking things. This Heir Apparent simply felt that even if that Xie Xiaoyun was fake, her death was truly a bit tragic, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity."
With that, he seemed to want to end the topic. He leaned back against the carriage, preparing to feign sleep.
Zhong Li was not one to pry unnecessarily. She changed the subject. "In order to question Ma Su, I promised to spare his life and help him out of the Anding County prison."
"Oh, is that so?" Lu Wuxie opened one eye and glanced at the woman opposite him.
"Don't worry, he took my Turtle Breath Pill and is in a state of suspended animation. It will be easier to bring him out, and he is already crippled, so he won't be able to cause any trouble in the future," Zhong Li added.
Lu Wuxie's lips curved into a handsome arc upon hearing this. "It's fine. Don't worry about this matter. Let Lin Jin handle it. Since he wants to get out of the Anding County prison, perhaps the water prison in Jincheng would be more suitable for him."
Hearing "Jincheng water prison," Zhong Li's heart turned cold. Throughout the entire Southern Yue Kingdom, who didn't know that the Jincheng water prison was a hell prepared for the dead?
"Sleep soundly for a while. It's a long journey to Jincheng, so conserving energy is most important," Lu Wuxie closed his eyes again and casually threw a sentence at Zhong Li.
Zhong Li looked at the man opposite her, who had already fallen asleep, recalling what he had told her in the carriage three days prior.
"Li'er, we are on the same boat. My mother, the eldest daughter of the Xie family, also died under the judge's brush."