Chapter 87: Your lordship will take care of the snake poison (1/2)
If they were sure the poisoner was on intimate terms with the general’s estate, then they couldn’t rule out this situation, either!
Han Yunxi’s words finally cleared up Mu Qingwu’s understanding. “Esteemed wangfei’s thoughts are indeed meticulous, this humble official understands.”
Han Yunxi discussed a few more particulars with Mu Qingwu before leaving the general’s estates. Unknown to her, she’d barely left when Long Feiye arrived in her wake. This was the second time he’d come to General Mu’s estate after investigating the matter of the Northern Li Country spies. Dressed in black, he sat authoritatively upon the seat of honor within the main hall, his gaze cold. Those arrogant eyes that looked down upon everything resembled that of a sovereign of the world. The entire hall was empty except for General Mu, who stood in attendance.
A short while later, Mu Qingwu hurried over to pay his respects with an official military bow. “This humble official greets Your Highness, Duke of Qin.”
Long Feiye raised a hand to excuse him, asking coldly, “Han Yunxi just left?”
Han Yunxi?
Both General Mu and his son felt strange hearing these three characters from the Duke of Qin’s lips. In their memory, the Duke of Qin had never called that woman by name. Of course, it was even more impossible for him to call Han Yunxi his aifei[1]. But in the past, he’d called her Qin Wangfei just like everyone else. Since when had he changed his habits?
Curiouser and curiouser. Whether it was General Mu or Mu Qingwu, neither had the guts to ask. a“Esteemed wangfei just left, these are the new clues she delivered,” Mu Qingwu said, hastily handing over the prescription sheet. He added as explanation, “These are the three poisons that esteemed wangfei didn’t mention last time. They’re supposed to be very rare, so only a few would possess them in all of our Cloud Realm Continent.”
Long Feiye nodded and asked, “Have you gotten any results from investigating the suspects of the household?”
General Mu figuratively flushed with shame. “To reply Your Highness, currently we have not.”
“Expand the range for your suspects and keep investigating,” Long Feiye said, his gaze turning keen as he lowered his voice. “Especially the women.”
Upon hearing this, General Mu and the Young General were both startled. The Duke of Qin had followed the emperor’s orders to hunt for Northern Li Country spies, but all of the ones they’d found so far were female. In other words, Mu Qingwu’s poisoning might be connected with that case; moreover, the general’s estate might have hidden Northern Li spies since long ago. The general’s estate was a very sensitive location that was the source of countless military secrets!
Things had turned serious!
How could General Mu have time to worry about Mu Liuyue now? He’d long shoved her bet with Han Yunxi to the back of his head and promptly agreed. “May Your Highness Duke of Qin set your worries at rest. I shall broaden the scope of my investigations for the suspect, regardless of kin!”
Mu Qingwu knew that his father favored Liuyue. Seeing his chance now, he jumped in, “Father, Qin Wangfei suspects that the poisoner might have used someone else’s hand to do the deed. As your child sees it, we can’t rule out those female cousins that visit often, either.” He paused for a bit, before adding, “Of course, we should look into Liuyue’s side as well.”
If this was any other day, Mu Qingwu’s words would be met with an angry rebuke from General Mu. How could his own little sister have any malicious intent against him? How would she be so careless? But under these circumstances and in front of the Duke of Qin, General Mu didn’t dare to lose his temper. He lost himself in thought before looking towards the Duke of Qin.
“Esteemed wangfei’s words are logical.”
Long Feiye looked pensive before quickly nodding his head. He collected the prescription and said, “Your lordship will take care of these three snake poisons. As for everything else, speed is of the essence.”
“Yes!” the Mu father and son chorused in unison as they respectfully obeyed.
Long Feiye rose to leave, but stopped suddenly at the door. He didn’t turn around, but his voice was cold as he spoke. “Your lordship heard…that Han Yunxi and Mu Liuyue have a bet?”
What?
His Highness Duke of Qin even knew about Han Yunxi and Mu Liuyue’s bet! General Mu had tried to reduce the effects by prohibiting gossip of the event, but how did His Highness Duke of Qin find out?
“To reply your highness, there is indeed such a thing. My daughter acted disobedient and presumptuous, so I will make sure to discipline her well,” General Mu explained hastily. No matter what, he’d try to prevent such a thing from happening. Worse came to worst, he’d force Liuyue to apologize. He couldn’t afford a bet that made both sides suffer losses!
“Please trust me, your highness, I will definitely…”
Before General Mu could finish, Long Feiye cut him off with a mild remark. “Your lordship is very much anticipating the results.” He didn’t ask for details but strode away, disappearing into the courtyard beyond.
This…
General Mu was stunned in place, unable to recover for a long while. He slowly turned to look at Mu Qingwu. “You…just then, did you hear…did you hear what His Highness Duke of Qin said?”
Mu Qingwu was filled with doubts as he muttered, “His highness said, he was ‘very much anticipating’ the results.”
General Mu’s face turned white as he grew anxious. “This…what does this mean?”
It couldn’t be that His Highness Duke of Qin wanted to see Liuyue take off her outer robes and run around Xuanwu Street? General Mu immediately discarded the thought. He must be overthinking things. No matter what, how could His Highness Duke of Qin be leisurely enough to make things difficult for a single girl like Liuyue?
Then…he wanted to see Qin Wangfei lose, take off her outer robes, and run around instead?