60 Suspicion Growing (1/2)
”Dirty,” said An Jinxiu without waiting for the Emperor to react, after she dodged the kiss.
”There's no need to be so careful in front of me,” the Emperor said as he used his finger to wipe away the tears on An Jin's face. ”You can't cry anymore. How many tears can a person shed?”
An Jinxiu brushed up the half dried hair of Emperor Shizong. How many tears could a person shed? Many people could shed tears, but some were real and some were fake. An Jinxiu believed that her acting skills would not allow the Emperor to differentiate between real and fake.
Unlike the other cities, the capital was a place where no one was allowed to cause any trouble. If the Emperor did not see them after a long time, how were they supposed to deal with the fire in the old alleyway in the south of the city?
”Eunuch Xie,” Lord Wei asked. ”When will His Majesty be able to find time to come over?”
Eunuch Xie replied, ”Lord Wei, please wait a moment. His Majesty will arrive soon.”
Jiang Xiao Ting snorted from the side. ”How could His Majesty spend the night in a place like this?”
”Do I need permission from Jiang Xiao Ting to stay the entire night?” The Emperor Shizong walked in as he spoke.
”My apologies, Your Majesty.”
”This subject is called Wei Xi Sheng.”
”Jiang Xiao Ting.”
When the other officials including the Crown Prince saw the Emperor enter, they announced their names one after the other and said in unison, ”Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live our emperor.”
”Tell me about the fire in the south of the city.”
Wei Xi Sheng told the Emperor about the fire in Old Lane, in the south of the city. A total of seventy-nine mansions were burned, and the number of people who died was still being counted in the justice courts.
The crown prince said, ”The Shangguan family is dead? ”Who was there when the Shangguan family was on fire?”
”According to this official's knowledge, the Shangguan Family consists of Madam Shangguan, the little gongzi and General Shangguan sister and brother. Oh, right, there is also a wet nurse.”
”Are you sure all five of them are dead?” Emperor Shizong asked.
”No one from Shangguan's family escaped, so this official guessed that General Shangguan's family members were all dead.”
”Have you found the bodies of these five people?”
Wei Xi Sheng shook his head. ”To reply Your Majesty, this fire is too big. The corpses this subject found are no longer recognizable.”
Emperor Shizong looked at Jiang Xiao Ting, ”How did this fire start?”
Jiang Xiao Ting said blankly, ”Your Majesty, this subject believes that someone set the fire on purpose.”
”Oh?” The Emperor frowned, ”This is a murder case?”
Jiang Xiao Ting said, ”The corpses that this subject and Lord Wei found were not burned to death. They were killed by sharp weapons and the throats of most of the dead were cut off. ”Your Majesty, there must be more than one culprit tonight, and the fire started from Shangguan Yong's house. It's obvious that the culprit is targeting Shangguan Yong. Your Majesty, this subject believes …”
”Ahem.” At this point, Wei Xi Sheng coughed.
Jiang Xiao Ting shut his mouth after the words left his mouth.
Emperor Shizong said, ”What do you think? Go on. ”
Jiang Xiao Ting had no choice but to say, ”This subject doesn't know who Shangguan Yong offended to invite the annihilation of his family.”
The Emperor Shizong glanced at Eunuch Xie who was standing beside him before turning to Sir Wei Xi. ”How about Sir Wei?” What do you have to say? ”
The Emperor looked at him in a gloomy and thoughtful manner. Eunuch Xie immediately thought that this time, An Jinyan had overdone it. The Crown Prince and his wife might not only be unable to please the Emperor, they might even bring them big trouble. Eunuch Xie felt he had to think about how to keep himself out of this.
Wei Xi Sheng was much more tactful and careful than a general like Jiang Xiao Ting. After hearing this question, he only said, ”This subject believes that this matter still needs to be investigated.”
”If you want to reply to this in such a manner, you might as well scram!” ”If you have something to say, just say it. You don't need hide anything to me!”
Even though the Emperor had said so, Wei Xi Sheng still refused to speak.
At the side, Jiang Xiao Ting couldn't help but speak up, ”Your Majesty, we should first investigate who Shangguan Yong has offended. ”Murder is nothing more than three types: for money, for revenge, for love.”
The last word ”love killing” made Emperor Shizong's eyelids jump, he said, ”Shangguan Yong still get into trouble?”
Wei Xi Sheng quickly said: ”This subject believes that the probability of revenge is the highest.”
”Go investigate,” the Emperor Shizong said. ”Inform the Ministry of Revenue that the people who live in the old alleyway in the south of the city must be properly arranged. We do not wish to see a person living in the old alleyway in the south of the city being left behind.”