Previously, when he went to Tongji Pharmacy to look for someone, the shopkeeper said he didn't know Feng Luan's whereabouts. Now, Feng Luan had left a place to stay, and Zou Chengyi felt that it would have been better if she hadn't.
Why would Feng Luan be connected to the Regent?
Zou Chengyi braced himself and went to seek an audience.
The Regent's mansion was not a place for constables from the Ministry of Justice to enter. This was the first time he, the Minister of Justice, had stepped foot into the Regent's mansion in so many years.
The servants of the mansion led Zou Chengyi into the study.
"My Lord, Minister Zou seeks an audience!" Xuan Shisan announced from outside the door.
"Enter!"
Ji Jinmo's voice came from inside. Zou Chengyi tidied his robes before pushing the door open and entering. Feng Luan was lounging on a soft couch, as if boneless, eating nuts. Zou Chengyi took a quick glance, not daring to look closely, but his heart was churning. Feng Luan's relationship with Ji Jinmo was even closer than he had imagined.
"Your servant pays respects to the Regent!"
Zou Chengyi bowed and offered his greetings, performing all the proper courtesies.
Ji Jinmo leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the armrests, his hand on the table. His long fingers toyed with a string of beads, which made a "clacking" sound as they rubbed against the tabletop.
The sound, rising and falling, struck Zou Chengyi's heart like war drums before a charge, resonating from his ears to his chest, unsettling him.
"You may rise!"
He raised his hand slightly, his phoenix eyes lifting, his deep, cold gaze falling upon Zou Chengyi. His clear voice gave no hint of his emotions. "Minister Zou, are you here to interrogate Feng Luan?"
Dense cold sweat instantly broke out on Zou Chengyi's back. The oppressive aura from all directions bent his upright spine. However, he was a high-ranking official of the court. Despite his inner turmoil, he did not lose his composure, and explained in a calm voice, "Your Lord, it is not an interrogation, but a summons."
Interrogation and summons carried two entirely different meanings, and represented his stance.
"A summons?" Ji Jinmo's lips curved upward.
Zou Chengyi gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, I need to understand some matters."
"What matters?"
"Your Lord, it concerns a murder case. I..."
"Hmm?"
Ji Jinmo looked at Zou Chengyi with a half-smile. The menacing aura that washed over him was like crashing waves, chilling Zou Chengyi to the bone. The fear that instantly rose within him felt like a colossal beast swallowing him whole.
His hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled slightly. The fear that surged from his mind to his body, causing every cell and sensory system to lose control, prevented him from continuing.
"Your servant wishes to inquire about Feng Luan's whereabouts on the night Liu Ling died."
"In the Regent's mansion, with me!"
Nan Shiying, while peeling pine nuts and popping the kernels into her mouth, thought seriously. She was indeed at the mansion that day, but she had been alone in Xingyuan Pavilion. How could she have been with him?
Zou Chengyi turned and looked at Feng Luan.
"What, Minister Zou, do you not trust me?" Ji Jinmo slowly straightened up, his hands resting on the beads, then on the table. He leaned forward, his voice, neither heavy nor light, containing a dangerous undertone. Zou Chengyi's heart pounded fiercely. Fear caused his tongue to produce saliva, his scalp to tingle, and his whole body stiffened as if his blood had frozen.
Yet, he still did not turn around.
Seeing Zou Chengyi look at her, Nan Shiying lazily replied, "The Regent has an illness, and I am treating him!"
These lightly spoken words nearly made Zou Chengyi's liver and gall burst. His eyes, which had suddenly widened, trembled violently. His contorted features seemed to question why Feng Luan was so cruel as to put him in such a predicament!
Was this something he was meant to hear?
Zou Chengyi felt as if a rope was hanging from the ceiling, swaying and coiling around his neck, ready to sever his head from his body at any moment.
"Minister Zou, why are you trembling?"
Nan Shiying brushed some food residue from herself, and her peripheral vision caught Zou Chengyi's pale face and frail appearance, like a willow that could be blown down by a gust of wind. Her question, when it reached Zou Chengyi's ears, carried a hint of deliberate mockery.
Why am I trembling?
Don't you have any idea why I'm trembling?
Ji Jinmo glanced at Nan Shiying. A hint of helpless amusement flickered in his eyes, so tender it seemed capable of melting into water. If Zou Chengyi had seen this then, he wouldn't have been so terrified.
Seeing that Ji Jinmo remained silent for a long time, large drops of cold sweat trickled down Zou Chengyi's forehead. He suddenly turned around and knelt on the ground. "Your servant has been anxious and stressed these past few days, suffering from blurred vision and hearing loss. I beg the Regent's mercy and ask to take Feng Luan away."
He was practically about to swear an oath.
Nan Shiying stood up, walked to Zou Chengyi's side, and squatted down, tilting her head to look at him. "The Regent merely has a common cold. I am just staying here temporarily."
Zou Chengyi: "..."
He felt indignant and wanted to grab her collar, demanding why she didn't explain things clearly from the start.
Ji Jinmo pursed his lips, his smile subtle, but his voice, when speaking to Zou Chengyi, still held a trace of coldness. "Since I have vouched for Feng Luan, why do you still insist on taking her away?"
"Replying... replying to Your Lord, it is because I have ascertained that Liu Ling died from a poison called Floating Sun Half-day Powder. Since Feng Luan is no longer suspected, I wish to ask Feng Luan to assist me in solving this case."
Zou Chengyi's voice trembled slightly, but by the end, he had calmed his nerves. Since the Regent was not suffering from a chronic illness, he no longer feared being silenced.
"Floating Sun Half-day Powder?"
Hearing the name, Nan Shiying froze for two seconds. She was very familiar with this substance. Wasn't this a poison she particularly enjoyed refining when she was practicing?
Yue Sinan had asked her why she practiced this first.
She had replied: Because it's interesting!
Yes, interesting!
"Liu Ling died from Floating Sun Half-day Powder? That's truly unfortunate!"
"Oh, so that's why his wounds festered! It seems the murderer sprinkled the poison on his wounds. Wait... then, this means the murderer's objective wasn't just to kill him. Perhaps, rather than killing Liu Ling, the murderer wanted to frame me!"
"Hiss~ What kind of enmity could this be!"
Hearing Nan Shiying's words, Zou Chengyi suddenly looked up.
"Perhaps, the other party merely wanted Liu Ling to appear to have died of a serious illness rather than homicide? Why is your first reaction that someone wants to frame you?"
"In other words, you believe someone would go to great lengths, even committing murder, just to frame you?"
"Why?"
Nan Shiying blinked, momentarily speechless. She couldn't possibly say that this was a common psychological trait of rulers, could she? Suspicious?
"Intuition!"
Under Zou Chengyi's gaze, she stated resolutely.