Chapter 912, (2): Coincidence
Chapter 912, (2): Coincidence
Zu An almost burst out laughing. This Sang Qien brat’s acting is actually pretty good! I didn’t even teach her what to do, and yet she actually taught herself! She even moved her hair in front of her face! Who wouldn’t want a partner as reliable as this?
However, Sang Qien didn’t actually have to hide her face, because she was under the effects of Pin Ru’s Wardrobe. To Qiu Yue, she looked just like the concubine.
“Your highness, it has nothing to do with me! It has nothing to do with me!” Qiu Yue frantically moved backward, but her body was so weak that she only managed to shuffle a few feet away. She could only repeatedly kowtow as tears streamed down her face.
Sang Qien was quite shocked. Why is this woman so scared? Is my acting that good? But she reacted quickly as well. She quickly took the chance to say, “It was you who caused my death.”
Qiu Yue sobbed as she explained, “It wasn’t me! When I told King Qi about it, I didn’t know he would kill you! Spare me, your highness! Spare me!”
Zu An and Sang Qien were both shocked. They had never expected the killer to be King Qi!
Sang Qien didn’t need Zu An to tell her anything. She immediately asked about why King Qi would kill her.
Through Qiu Yue’s stuttering explanation, the two of them finally found out what had happened. It turned out that during that day, King Qi’s concubine had dressed up meticulously. Perhaps because it had been too long since she had met with King Qi, she had ended up meeting him without bringing anyone with her.
The maid had just happened to run into King Qi in the courtyard, and happily told him that her master was heading over to visit him. King Qi’s expression instantly turned a bit strange. When he heard that, he quickly left.
Then, something happened to the concubine that very night. Qiu Yue was terrified, but as someone who had spent a long time in this king manor, she knew what she had to do to survive. She didn’t dare to say a thing no matter who asked her, and she pretended to not know anything. That was how she had been able to live until now.
What she was most worried about at that point, apart from her highness coming back and demanding her life, was that King Qi would choose to silence her. However, King Qi had never done anything, which made her calm down a bit.
Zu An knocked out Qiu Yue, then said gravely, “A concubine already died. If her personal maid died so soon, anyone would be suspicious. That’s why King Qi probably decided to take the risk of keeping her alive.”
Sang Qien nodded in agreement. “But according to what she said, we still can’t tell why King Qi would kill her. From what I know, this concubine was beautiful ever since she was young. Ever since she entered the manor a few years ago, she always received King Qi’s favor. Why would he kill her for no reason?”
Zu An recalled the appearance of the woman inside the coffin. She could be called beautiful, or at the very least prettier than King Qi’s other concubines. She was also younger. His expression became strange as he mused, “Did the concubine actually commit adultery?” This was the only reason he could think of as to why a man would kill the woman he adored.
“That is indeed the most likely possibility.” Sang Qien blushed. “But who the hell would be so brave as to mess with King Qi’s woman?”
Zu An also had a strange look on his face. I even slept with the emperor’s women, so is this even that big of a deal? However, he raised his head and looked outside, saying, “The sky is about to brighten again. Let’s leave for now.”
Sang Qien nodded. This was definitely not a place they wanted to be in for a long time. She was stunned when she saw Zu An pick up Qiu Yue and hoist her up on his shoulders.
Zu An replied, “This is a key witness. King Qi might kill her at any time if we leave her here. That’s why it’s better for us to bring her away.”
Sang Qien was hesitant. “But a witness alone might not be enough…” She gave the coffin a look. “I think you should take the concubine’s corpse with you. Only then will you have a chance of convicting King Qi.”
Zu An shook his head. “Kidnapping a maid isn’t a big deal, but taking away a concubine’s corpse is a huge offense. If we fail to convict King Qi, we won’t be able to shoulder the consequences of King Qi’s blame. We’re just investigating a case; there’s no need to throw our very lives away.”
Sang Qien was still hesitant. “Why do I feel more as if you don’t want to convict King Qi of a crime?”
“You’re overthinking it. Let’s just get out of here.” Zu An smiled, but he was shocked inwardly. This woman was just too sharp! He indeed didn’t want the case to get out of hand. If that happened, no one would be able to keep the emperor in check anymore! That would only make things even more difficult for him.
Of course, there was no way he would share those thoughts with the Sang clan. Even though they kept stating that they wanted to form an alliance with him, they had clearly been on the emperor’s side beforehand. Who knew what they were really thinking?
After what they had already experienced, combined with the fact that at that hour most people were resting, they were able to smoothly leave King Qi Manor.
Sang Qien looked at Qiu Yue, who was slumped over Zu An’s shoulders, and asked curiously, “Do you have a place to keep her?”
Zu An didn’t reply. He only looked at her with a smile. Sang Qien’s expression changed. “You wanted to leave her with us? No way; absolutely not!”
Zu An said, “You know that there are many eyes watching my manor. If I bring her back, she’ll be easily discovered. I don’t have anywhere else to put her! You’re the only one who can help me. Aren’t we allies?”
Sang Qien refused. “Our clan has many people watching us too!”
Zu An said with a smile, “That was before. The emperor already used your father’s contributions to pardon his crimes, giving him a position in the Imperial Secretariat Ministry of Transactions. The people monitoring him have already been pulled back. Little sis Qien’er, come on, help me out. Big brother will give you a lollipop next time.”
The Ministry of Transactions was in charge of government revenue statistics and management. It was now one of the five high ministries of the Imperial Secretariat, together with the Ministry of Appointments, Ministry of Receptions, Ministry of Travel, and Ministry of Agriculture, which worked in tandem with the Three Dukes.
The Zhou Dynasty’s five ministries functioned similarly to the six government ministries of Ancient China, but their authority was much weaker. They were in charge of the Imperial Secretariat’s trivial busy work, underneath the Imperial Secretariat and the Left and Right Confidential Assistants.
For example, the Yu clan’s Yu Xuanchong and Bi Linglong’s father Bi Qi were the ministries’ immediate supervisors.
“Don’t try to bribe me with a lollipop!” Sang Qien’s expression was full of strong emotions. But in the end, she still gave in under his coaxing and pestering. “I’m making it clear right now that this will be the only time; there’s no next time! I’ve really been tricked by you today…”
Zu An chuckled and patted her shoulder. “Thanks, little sis Qien’er.”
The two of them had already been so close inside that coffin that Sang Qien had already gotten used to his touch. Furthermore, she was so busy thinking about how to deal with the maid that she didn’t notice that there was anything off.
The two of them were extremely careful not to alert anyone for fear of exposing their secret as they snuck into the rear courtyard. But they could never have expected that there would suddenly be a soft cough as soon as they went inside.
“Who is it?” came a voice. Then, a shining sword thrust out toward them, but Zu An managed to grabthe sword tip with his fingers at the last moment.
“Ah Zu?” exclaimed a pleasantly surprised female voice. The two turned around. Who else could the beauty in front of them be, if not Zheng Dan?
“You haven’t slept yet?” Zu An asked. He had almost thought that they were screwed. They had been fine even when they were in the heavily guarded King Qi Manor, so if they had ended up being discovered now, that would be absolutely tragic! The two of them had really ended up dropping their guard after they returned to the Sang clan.
“I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep. I suddenly heard some activity outside, so I thought that some people had broken in.” Zheng Dan put away her weapon and laughed shyly. She had once been a gang boss, so she was much more vigilant than an ordinary person. Furthermore, she still had some of her gadgets in the surroundings, so she had noticed them when they passed by.
She was really happy when she saw Zu An again. She thought that he had come over to look for her, but she noticed Sang Qien next to him. Then, her eyes shifted to the woman on Zu An’s shoulders. Her expression became strange. “You guys…”
Sang Qien finally snapped out of her daze. She pushed Zu An away from her and said, “We just came back from investigating a case.”
“Just investigating a case? Your investigation even made you change clothes?” Zheng Dan asked with a smile.
Sang Qien was horrified. The two of them were clearly innocent, and yet what Zheng Dan said made it sound as if something had happened between her and Zu An! She was usually pretty fast and clever in her speech, but she was completely stumped at that moment. She shoved Zu An and hissed, “Hurry up and say something!”
Zu An thus said, “We were indeed investigating a case in King Qi Manor. This is a girl we brought back from the manor.”
Zheng Dan jumped in fright. “Hurry and go inside! Don’t let anyone see her!”
As they went inside, a light scent of tea wafted through the air. Sang Qien had to admit that her sister-in-law was an elegant beauty. She was quite jealous of that side of her.
Zu An gave her a rough recount of what had happened. Zheng Dan was extremely shocked. “You two really are brave! Both of you would be in huge trouble if King Qi Manor’s people discovered you!”
“Don’t worry. She only needs to stay here for a single night. I’ll bring her back tomorrow,” Zu An replied.
Sang Qien immediately put up her guard. “Are you saying that you’re staying the night here?”
Zu An got up and bid them farewell, saying, “Of course not. I won’t disturb you all any longer. I’ll return tomorrow.”
Sang Qien’s vigilance was justifiable. There weren’t many men in the Sang clan at the moment, so it wouldn’t be too good for Zu An to stay there. She sighed in relief, feeling a bit embarrassed instead. “Be careful on the way back. I’m going to find a place for this maid first.”
Only after Zu An left did she bid her beautiful sister-in-law farewell. She hid the maid well inside their residence. Afterward, she quickly asked a servant to prepare some hot water. She had stayed in a coffin for so long and worn the clothes of a dead person, so she really wanted to take a bath and get changed.
That older woman said with a chuckle, “What a coincidence; both the young miss and the young master’s wife have decided to take a bath in the middle of the night.”
Sang Qien was stunned. “My sister-in-law is also planning to take a bath?” It’s not as if she stayed with a dead person all night. Why would she take a bath?
“Indeed. She asked me to prepare a tub of hot water not too long ago,” the older woman replied. Then, she quickly left.
Sang Qien’s expression changed. She suddenly remembered that her sister-in-law had only been dressed in pajamas. But even though they had chatted for a while, Zheng Dan hadn’t had the slightest expression of discomfort, as if she had already gotten used to being in her night wear in front of Zu An. Sang Qien felt a strange feeling of vexation.
“Don’t tell me…” Sang Qien gripped the sword in her hand tightly as she looked in the direction of Zheng Dan’s room. She walked over with an overcast expression. That rascal, do you think our Sang clan is empty or something?!