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Zhèng Yún Ní did not manage to leave of course.
Before she could even reach the gates, she was stopped by the embroidered emissaries, and she was brought to the front courtyard soon after.
Huò Wēi Lóu sat on the main seat calmly. No anger could be perceived on his visage, but his cold eyes were enough to make people prostrate in fear.
Zhèng Yún Ní raised her chin slightly, “Hou’ye, ȳou should be aware that the seventh of March is the day of chen’nü and His Second Highness’ big wedding, and this is a marriage bestowed by the Emperor. If Zumu hadn’t met with her demise, [we] should be entering the Capital with Zumu in the next two days.”
臣女 (pinyin: chen nü) – this subject-daughter.
Huò Wēi Lóu toyed with his black jade ornamental thumb ring, his expression impossible to decipher. Zhèng Yún Ní gnashed her teeth, “Although three people have died in the residence, these people are unrelated to chen’nü. Does Hou’ye want to detain chen’nü because chen’nü bears the possibility of being the murderer or something?”
Huò Wēi Lóu’s gaze deepened, wordless. Fu gonggong comforted her with a crinkle-eyed smile, “Oldest Young Lady, the marriage is on the seventh of March, it is only the fifteenth of January right now. Travelling to the Capital from this location via the water road only requires half a month, there’s no need to be so anxious.”
Zhèng Yún Ní did not dare to offend Huò Wēi Lóu, but she had never placed Fu gonggong in her eyes, “Gonggong, the big wedding for the imperial clan is riddled with etiquette; it is not as simple as you presume it to be.”
Fu gonggong was still smiling with crinkled eyes, “Although it isn’t simple, it isn’t that complicated either.” After giving a pause, Fu gonggong said warmly, “During the current Emperor’s big wedding, zajia led the horse for His Majesty, hence he has some knowledge of it.”
Emperor Jianhe was established as the Crown Prince in his youth. For being able to lead the horse for the Crown Prince, he could only be a trusted aide and nothing else. When Zhèng Yún Ní saw Huò Wēi Lóu bringing along a personal servant by his side, she merely assumed that he was a servant from the Eldest Princess’ Residence, but she never expected that Fu gonggong would be the Emperor’s subordinate.
Zhèng Yún Ní pursed her lips tightly, her small face paling slightly.
Thin perspiration sheeted Zhèng Wén Ān’s visage as he said: “Hou’ye, please forgive us, it is not that we don’t want to abide by the rules, it’s just that the murderer hasn’t been caught up until now. Hou’ye is also aware that Yún Ní’s status is much more high-born, it is only out of the fear that something would happen to her that we thought it would be better if she entered the Capital earlier.”
She was the unwedded Huangfei of His Second Highness; what a good high-born she was. Fu gonggong’s brows raised slightly, his smile softening even more.
皇妃 (pinyin: huang fei) – a prince’s legitimate consort/wife.
On the other hand, the tips of Huò Wēi Lóu’s brows did not move at all. “Before the case details are clear, no one is allowed to leave.”
Zhèng Yún Ní’s brows knitted together, forcibly suppressing her urge to say something. A few moments later, she spat out a few words from between her clenched teeth, “Fine… then [we] shall listen to Hou’ye…”
Zhèng Yún Ní bowed after saying that, then turned around and departed from the front courtyard.
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Zhèng Wén Ān wiped his sweat as he said, “Hou’ye please forgive her, Yún Ní has the temper of a child, she isn’t trying to offend Hou’ye on purpose.”
Huò Wēi Lóu raised his eyes and looked over, “Allowing Yún Ní to enter the capital in advance, was that the suggestion that Momo Yu gave you?”
That startled Zhèng Wén Ān, his mouth opening wide although he did not know how to reply, “Hou’ye… this… this was a decision that zaixia made after careful deliberations…”
Zhèng Wén Ān lowered his eyes, fear apparent in his expression. Huò Wēi Lóu stared at him with frigid phoenix eyes, “With how things are right now, you should learn from your Fourth Brother instead. Marquis Anqing Residence used to be a family of hats and ornaments, and yet it is an arrow at the end of its flight these days. Your three older brothers have already met with their demise, and if your vision is still lacking despite that, then even if His Second Highness truly becomes the Crown Prince, how many days of light basking would your Marquis Anqing Residence stand to have?”
Zhèng Wén Ān’s cold sweat dripped down like rain. Emperor Jianhe had yet to canonise a Crown Prince, which made discussions about the Crown Prince taboo in court. However, Huò Wēi Lóu had the audacity to speak of it so directly, and he wasn’t wrong either. The past few generations of Marquis Anqing Residence were all mediocre, and their lot was going to be exhausted soon. Their only chance was His Second Highness being established as the Crown Prince, and Zhèng Yún Ní becoming the Crown Princess and the Mother under the Heavens in the future.
Zhèng Wén Ān swallowed with much difficulty, “Hou’ye, zaixia is cognizant, everything… everything has been said.”
Huò Wēi Lóu threw a sidelong glance at Zhèng Wén Ān. Subsequently, he waved his hand and ordered him to withdraw.
Zhèng Wén Yàn cupped his hands and bowed. When he was leaving, his back was visibly hunched, and Fu gonggong only felt like sighing as he observed him. “This Fifth Master is not good at concealing; even laonu can perceive that he’s hiding something… If this drags on, isn’t he afraid that variables will truly arise in the marriage between the Oldest Young Lady and His Second Highness?”
Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyes sank as he listened.
For the Marquis Anqing Residence, nothing was more important than the big wedding between Zhèng Yún Ní and His Second Highness, and only by solving the case early, would the Marquis Anqing Residence be spared from criticism during Zhèng Yún Ní’s big wedding. However, since they remained close-lipped, it was obvious that whether it was Zhèng Wén Yàn or Zhèng Wén Ān, they had a lot to hide.
Could it be that whatever the Marquis Residence was concealing was more important than Zhèng Yún Ní’s big wedding?
Huò Wēi Lóu pondered deeply for a brief moment before summoning the embroidered emissary who had watched over the ancestral hall last night. The embroidered emissary stated: “Zheng wu’ye (5th) went to the ancestral hall last night, and he only left after a double-hour. During this period of time, there was not a single sound coming out from the ancestral hall. After Zheng wu’ye left, Momo Yu chanted scriptures in front of the Zheng clan’s memorial tablets all the way till dawn before her voice disappeared. However, the silence only lasted for a pillar of incense (30 minutes), since Momo Yu returned to the left side room to rest.”
After giving a pause, that embroidered emissary continued, “Hou’ye, the Zheng clan’s ancestral hall must have a secret room, does it require a search?”
Huò Wēi Lóu’s fingertips knocked on the armrest before his eyes firmed up, “Pass down the—”
Before Huò Wēi Lóu could utter the word “order”, another embroidered emissary suddenly entered the front courtyard in large strides. His gait was exceedingly fast, his expression heavy, and once he stepped through the hall doors, he exclaimed in a deep voice: “Hou’ye, the ancestral hall is on fire!”
“On fire?” Huò Wēi Lóu’s pupils shrank. The development was sudden, but the spoken words were still calm and steady.
The embroidered emissary nodded, “Yes, it caught fire, and the fire is incredibly intense, it can’t be put out.”
Huò Wēi Lóu was planning to search the entire Marquis Residence rather than the ancestral hall alone, but before he could issue the order, the ancestral hall caught fire. A dark lustre emerged from the bottom of his eyes. He stood up, lifting his foot to head outside.
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Marquis Anqing Residence had more than a hundred years’ worth of history, and it was originally the travelling residence of a Qinwang from the previous dynasty before it was bought by the Zheng clan after several twists and turns. It was only after repairs and renovations that it took on its current appearance, and the Zheng clan ancestral hall in particular, had been rebuilt before.
The lush and verdant hundred-year pine and cypress were akin to an overspilling canopy, but today, with the tongues of flames and thick smoke rising above the ancestral hall roof, even the pine and cypress were set aflame and razed. Just as Huò Wēi Lóu and his entourage reached the outer periphery of the bamboo forest, they knew for certain that this fire could not be put out.
By the time he traversed through the bamboo forest and stood in front of the doors to the ancestral hall’s yard, the accumulated snow in his surroundings had been melted by the oncoming waves of heat, thus muddying the entire trail. Momo Yu fell to the ground with disorderly hair under an old pine tree, her soot-covered face streaked with tears.
“Nubi has sinned, nubi is ashamed to face the forefathers and ancestors of the Zheng clan…”
Momo Yu only repeated this line again and again, shock and guilt intermingling on her face. Very quickly, Zhèng Wén Ān and the rest of the Marquis Residence rushed over with panicked expressions. Bó Ruò Yōu brought along Chūn Táo and reached the site of fire after Second Furen and Zhèng Xiāo.
In the crowd, Huò Wēi Lóu singled out Bó Ruò Yōu at a glance. There was a hint of shock on her perpetually serene face, which made it quite evident that she did not anticipate that a place as important as the ancestral hall would catch fire, but that was quick to change as she used an investigative gaze to scrutinise the fire and its surroundings.
Regret emerged from the depths of Huò Wēi Lóu’s heart again.
At this moment, Zhèng Wén Ān stalked up to Momo Yu in a fit of rage, “Momo! How did it catch fire?”
Hastily, Momo Yu knelt in front of Zhèng Wén Ān, kowtowing as she said, “Nubi has sinned, nubi was praying for Lao Furen’s good fortune until daybreak before she rested, and then a fire suddenly started. Nubi wanted to stop it, but the fire was way too big…”
Momo Yu choked and swallowed as she spoke, and Zhèng Wén Yàn could not even unleash the scolding that was at the tip of his tongue upon seeing her like this. He could only walk up to Huò Wēi Lóu and say: “Hou’ye, an altar lamp that burns through the day and night is lit in the ancestral hall all year round. The weather and things are rather dry, and it probably caught fire because of Momo Yu’s negligence. It must have shocked ȳou, please return to the front courtyard to rest first, and leave the clean-up to zaixia.”
Grief coloured Zhèng Wén Yàn’s countenance, but Huò Wēi Lóu did not spare him a glance. “The fire started burning from the back wing-room, is the back wring-room also the place where the altar lamp was located?”
Huò Wēi Lóu had been inside the ancestral hall before, so he knew that the memorial tablets were placed in the central hall, as was the altar lamp. However, the tongues of flames were devouring, spitting, and rising high, after collapsing a part of the roof above the back of the central hall, and that was probably because it was the earliest to catch fire.
The intense fire had already spread out, giving the overwhelming perception that it had been deliberately torched. When Zhèng Wén Ān heard those words, the smoke and ash scattered in the whole sky could not hide the terror at the bottom of his eyes. Huò Wēi Lóu started instructing the embroidered emissaries, “Search the surroundings.”
The embroidered emissaries moved according to their orders. Bó Ruò Yōu wanted to go closer upon hearing that, but just as she took two steps forward, she heard Huò Wēi Lóu’s voice coming from the back right direction.
“Come here.”
Bó Ruò Yōu’s shoulders and back numbed inexplicably. Without needing to turn her head back, she knew that it was Huò Wēi Lóu calling her.
She turned around. Sure enough, Huò Wēi Lóu was glowering at her.
Bó Ruò Yōu sidled up to Huò Wēi Lóu and bowed, “Hou’ye—”
Huò Wēi Lóu did not issue another utterance as he shifted his gaze back to the fire again. Bó Ruò Yōu was baffled at first, but subsequently understood Huò Wēi Lóu’s intentions. Heart throbbing lightly, she did not step forward again, merely standing further back in a quiet manner.
The cold winds howled, and the inferno burned according to the wind direction. With a loud bang, even the central hall’s roof was burnt to the point it caved in. This noise made the spectators release alarmed cries and recoil out of fear. Amidst the smoke and dust, however, the broiling and heated winds coming towards Bó Ruò Yōu were dulled.
She raised her eyes, only to see Huò Wēi Lóu standing in front of her, his shoulders high and mighty as though it could hide the skies and cover the earth. A wisp of black ash swaying and floating in the wind happened to land on his shoulder quietly then, and Bó Ruò Yōu’s thoughts moved, almost tempted to extend her hand to help him brush it off.
But at this moment, Bó Ruò Yōu’s nasal cavity caught a faint whiff of an exceedingly faint but acrid smell. With attentive eyes, she turned, and saw Momo Yu, who was standing at an isolated, inconspicuous, and distant position, as she stared at the burning ancestral hall, her gaze obdurate.