“I think there’s something fishy going on.”
After coming out of the county office and getting into the carriage, Xu Yan said in a deep voice.
The county magistrate had also made it all the way to the imperial examinations, and should have been very clear about the punishment, how could Qin Qian have been allowed to die before he had confessed? Even if he had died, his body should have been put in the righteous village first, not thrown into a mass grave, unless, of course, it was to cover up something.
Mr. Xu Er had a heavy face, “Let’s go back and talk about it.”
The two men went back and told the old gentleman word for word what the county magistrate had said.
After listening, the old gentleman stroked his beard and pondered.
“Second grandfather, uncle!”
The shout was accompanied by the sound of footsteps, and several people looked outwards as Song Wangyue arrived at a fast pace, holding Xu’s hand.
“Second uncle, big brother.”
Xu shouted back.
After shouting, she smiled and said, “I reckon you’ll be here soon, you were scared to death to hear the news of grandfather’s poisoning, right?”
“No. ……”
Looking at Xu’s smiling face, Xu Yan also followed suit, “The moment I heard Song Si say that grandfather had been poisoned, I felt that the sky had collapsed, thankfully grandfather was fine.”
“Of course maternal great grandfather will be fine, he’s going to live a long life and enjoy the happiness of heaven.”
Xu Yan agreed, “Yue’er is right, grandfather is going to live a long life and enjoy the joy of heaven.”
Song Wan Yue nodded her little head, “Surely he will.”
The crowd was amused by her.
The atmosphere in the room relaxed.
“Second uncle and big brother will sit for a while, while Yue’er and I go and cook.”
Mr. Xu Er gave Xu Yan a wink, which he understood and said, “I haven’t seen Yue’er for a long time and want to have a good talk with her, there’s no rush to cook, Wan’er, go over and tell mother I’m here, I’ll go over to see her later.”
Xu did not doubt it and turned to go out.
Silence fell in the house.
The three of them looked at Song Wangyue.
The old man spoke, “Yue’er, you didn’t let me see Qin Qian yesterday, did you already know he was dead.”
Song Wan Yue curbed her smile, “Yes, he couldn’t stand the torture and died before you woke up, I was afraid you would blame yourself, so I didn’t tell you.”
“Have you confirmed that he really died?”
Song Wangyue froze slightly.
“Qingping County is not an ignorant and foolish person, even if he was eager to get him to confess, he would not have killed the person, let alone throwing the body to a mass grave without informing his family again, unless he did not want an official career, so Qin Qian must not have died.”
“Father means that the Qingping magistrate is trying to shield Qin Qian?”
Xu Er asked eagerly as the old gentleman’s words fell.
The old gentleman’s voice was slightly deep, “A Qingping County Magistrate alone would naturally not dare to do so, it should be ……”
The old gentleman paused, “It should be the two who live in the county office.”
Mr. Xu Er stood up in shock.
Xu Yan was equally shocked, “Why would they do that?”
“For the business in Yue’er’s hand.”
The two men didn’t dare to believe it.
Song Wan Yue pursed her lips, but her heart rose with heartfelt admiration, in just one night’s work, the old man had thought of all this, worthy of being a great Confucian who was famous all over the world.
“How bold they are!”
Mr Xu Er came back to his senses, furious.
His father was so old, if that poison was really harmful to his body, his father would have been …… today
“This is just my father’s guess, as to whether or not that is the case, we still need to investigate properly, and the breakthrough in the investigation is Qin Qian’s family.”
Mr. Xu Er sat back, “Father means to bring in Qin Qian’s parents and let them make a big deal out of this?”
“You are right, only then will those two reveal themselves, or rather force out the ‘dead’ Qin Qian.”
A quarter of an hour later, Xiao Si hurriedly went to the restaurant, found Wei’s boss and whispered a few words, who called for a fellow and ordered him to go down.
The man went back to the house, changed his clothes, went to the backyard, got his horse and left Qingping County.
……
As soon as Mr. Xu Er and Xu Yan entered the county courthouse, the Third Prince’s side got the news and originally wanted to send someone over to invite the two of them over, but was stopped by the Duke of Qi, “This is too deliberate, you and I will go over to visit the old gentleman a little later.”
The two of them waited for half an hour before they left the magistrate’s office and came to see the old gentleman in a carriage.
“Greetings to the Third Prince, Duke of Qi.”
Mr Xu Er saluted.
The Third Prince gave a false support, “No need to be polite, Second Gentleman, when did you arrive?”
“It’s been an hour, during which I even went to the county court to ask why Qin Qian wanted to harm my father, only to find out that Qin Qian had already died, I came back and told my father about this, my father has been blaming himself.”
The third prince’s face was unchanged, “This matter is that Qingping County was too eager, I have already put in this toss and requested that he be removed from the post of Qingping County magistrate, the old gentleman does not need to blame himself, according to my and the State Prince’s deduction, Qin Qian is also the most suspected, he also deserves to die.”
“Thank you, Third Prince, for your comfort, but after all, there is no conclusive evidence, a human life was lost like this, I feel very bad in my heart, I will not accompany you both, go back inside and take a breather.”
“Take your time, old man.”
Xu Liang helped the old gentleman back to his house.
The Third Prince and the Duke of Qi sat down.
The Third Prince said, “Don’t worry, Second Sir, even if Qin Qian dies, we will still find out who is behind his instructions.”
“The Third Prince has taken the trouble.”
“It’s a matter of duty, you’re welcome, Second Sir. The Duke and I were so intent on bringing the imperial doctor to Qingping County early to help cure the old man’s poison that we forgot about Second Sir, so please don’t blame us.”
Mr. Xu rose and gave him a big salute, “Thank you, Third Prince, for running around so much for my father.”
The Third Prince got up to help him, “Second Sir is really polite, it’s a matter of old sir, I should do my best.”
“Second Sir is here on his own?”
The Duke of Qi asked knowingly.
“It is with Yan’er, who has come to see his mother.”
The Duke of Qi nodded, “Speaking of which I haven’t seen him for a long time since the old man’s birthday feast.”
Hearing the meaning of his words, Mr Xu Er had someone call for Xu Yan to come over.
After greeting him, Xu Yan sat down and the Third Prince and the Duke of Qi first chatted with him about family matters before asking, “What are your plans for the future, Sir Xu?”
If it were not for Xu Qingwan’s disappearance, Xu Yan would have been better than blue by now, and because of this, his reputation had not been raised, so he could be brought in.
“My family has suffered a series of changes, I haven’t thought about that yet.”
The Duke of Qi nodded, “The old gentleman has only been here for a month and such a thing has happened, I think this Qingping County cannot stay any longer, when the old gentleman has recovered in a few days, you can persuade the old gentleman to return to the capital.”
Only when the old gentleman returned to the capital could they seize the secret formula.
“Good.”
Seeing that Xu Yan agreed, the two Duke of Qi relaxed and spoke for a while longer before bidding farewell and leaving.
When they had sent them back, the two of them went back to the painting hall, where the old gentleman was already sitting and waiting.
“Father, you were indeed right, they are really plotting the business in Yue’er’s hands.”
Mr. Xu Er said.