nycdaug Chapter 143 Cloud Feather 2
Chapter 143 Cloud Feather 2
Gong Ziyu kept comforting herself in her room, while Jin Fan was running around outside, busy as a bee.
He first found the old master's concubine, Mingwu Ji, who was the first to discover the bodies of the old master and Gong Huanyu that night.
Mingwu Ji was a maidservant of Lady Lan, Gong Ziyu's mother. After Lady Lan married into the palace, she was depressed all day long. In order to please her, Gong Hongyu made an exception and brought Mingwu Ji into the palace to keep her company. Later, after Lady Lan passed away, she became Gong Hongyu's concubine and took good care of Gong Ziyu on a daily basis.
Whenever there was a conflict or dispute between Gong Hongyu and his son Gong Ziyu, Lady Wuji would mediate, which is why Gong Ziyu respected her so much.
Because of this relationship, Jin Fan was very polite when facing Lady Wu Ji.
Looking at Jin Fan before her, Lady Wu Ji picked up her teacup and slowly took a sip. Her eyes flickered slightly, and she wondered why Gong Ziyu hadn't come over. However, she still gently lowered her voice and recounted to Jin Fan what she had seen that day:
"That night, I warmed tea for Zhi Ren in his room. Then the young master brought the female assassin Zheng Nanyi to see Zhi Ren. Since it was an important matter for the palace, it was inconvenient for me to be present, so I made an excuse to go to the kitchen to make a midnight snack."
"When I returned after making the midnight snack, I heard a fierce fight coming from the room as soon as I entered the courtyard. Through the window, I could see three figures fighting inside."
"But soon the candle went out, the room became pitch black, and there was no more movement."
Jin Fan frowned slightly, puzzled, and asked, "Since Madam discovered the strange phenomenon in the room, why didn't she call the guards in the courtyard to help?"
Lady Mist Princess quickly retorted.
"I called out! But there wasn't a single guard around. When I entered the study, I saw the corpses of Zhi Ren, the young master, and that female assassin..."
At this point, tears welled up in Lady Mist's eyes, and her face was filled with pain.
Seeing her like this, Jin Fan didn't dare to ask any more questions: "Madam, please rest. Jin Fan will take his leave!"
After saying this, Jin Fan left Lady Wu Ji's place and went to find the old Green Jade Guard Jin Yu and Gong Huan Yu's Green Jade Guard Jin Jian to conduct an investigation.
The two statements were almost identical.
On the night of Lao Zhiren's death, he first met with Gong Shangjiao of Jiaogong. Then, Gong Huanyu suddenly brought the female assassin Zheng Nanyi over. The three of them stayed in the study for a while. After Gong Shangjiao came out, he left Jiuchen Valley overnight.
Jin Fan scratched his head, unable to make sense of it, and then went to look at the corpse of the assassin Wu Feng, who was disguised as a bride—Zheng Nanyi.
Zheng Nanyi's martial arts skills were inferior to those of Lao Zhiren and Gong Huanyu, so the two were not killed by her directly, but rather poisoned.
After a thorough examination, Jin Fan found the poison in Zheng Nanyi's hairpin.
Jin Fan was even more puzzled after finding the poison. Everyone in the palace took Baicao Cui regularly, so they should be immune to all poisons. How could Lao Zhiren and Gong Huanyu have died from poisoning? Could it be that there was something wrong with the medicine in the palace?
Two brides-to-be from the women's home were also poisoned that night. Could this be related to this incident?
Jin Fan's mind was a jumbled mess, but he could only check things one by one.
He wanted to find Gong Yuanzheng, but since he was just a guard, he couldn't openly question Gong Yuanzheng. He could only go to the pharmacy first to see if he could find any clues.
Finally, he found the dregs of the herbal extract that Lao Zhiren and Gong Huanyu had taken, as well as other suspicious medicinal materials, in the pharmacy. Under the suspicious gaze of the pharmacy manager, he wrapped these things up and took them away.
Upon arriving at the women's quarters and seeing the poisoned Miss Jiang, he confirmed that the poison she had been given was different from that given to the father and son who had been given the poison. He breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he had even more questions in his mind.
The truth behind the deaths of the old master and the young master is still unclear, but then the poisoning of two brides occurs...
Hey!
Jin Fan was feeling a bit exhausted!
He followed the most useless young master in the palace, who spent his days drinking and having fun, going to the brothel to chat with girls, and never getting involved in any of the palace's affairs.
I thought I would live a peaceful life following him, but unexpectedly, the old Blade Master and the young master both died suddenly. When the succession was in vain, the most likely candidate for Blade Master, the Horned Prince, was not there, the Tranquil Prince was underage, and the young lady was not a boy. In the end, the position of Blade Master actually fell to the young master.
Thinking about how the young master was neglecting his duties, Jin Fan couldn't imagine how busy he would be in the future. These things were probably just appetizers.
Jin Fan shook his head and sighed, intending to return to the Feather Palace first and report what he had found to the young master—no, he should now be called Zhi Ren.
He followed the winding, clear stream away. The murmuring water was like nature's soft murmur, washing away the dust from his heart and making him feel better without him even realizing it.
Two river lanterns drifted slowly down the river.
Why would someone release a river lantern in broad daylight?
Could there be a spy inside the palace gates trying to send messages to the outside world?
Thinking of this, Jin Fan's gaze sharpened. He grabbed a bamboo pole from the roadside and scooped up two river lanterns. He glanced at them quickly and saw words on them. He didn't have time to decipher what was written on them. He immediately channeled his inner energy and ran downstream along the path.
The women's quarters were located upstream of the stream. He had just come out of it and hadn't seen anyone suspicious along the way, so the people who released the river lanterns must have already reached the downstream area.
Jin Fan moved forward rapidly, and after a few leaps, he had already reached the downstream area.
He stood firmly, his expression calm, his breathing even, and his eyes sharp as a hawk's, quickly searching for clues in his surroundings.
Finally, by the stream, in a dense forest, a white figure was seen appearing and disappearing.
Upon closer inspection, the woman wore a simple white dress, its flowing fabric resembling the misty clouds at dawn. Her face was unadorned, yet her skin appeared even more radiant and translucent, like snow. Her gentle eyes were like meticulously crafted scenes from a landscape painting, subtle yet profound; her rosy lips were like a lone plum blossom blooming in winter, bright and captivating.
Jin Fan recognized the woman at a glance. He landed nimbly in front of her and asked coldly:
"Miss Yunweishan, where are you going?"
Yun Weishan was stunned for a moment when she saw the person who came.
The person who came was not Gong Ziyu, but rather Gong Ziyu's Green Jade Attendant, Jin Fan?
Yun Weishan was one of the assassins Wu Feng infiltrated the palace. She was ordered to disguise herself as a bride and infiltrate the palace. Because she had drunk the Half-Moon Fly before entering, she needed to exchange information about the palace with Wu Feng every half month to obtain the antidote.
With the half-month deadline fast approaching, she wanted to spread the news of Gongmen Zhiren's and the young master's deaths as soon as possible in exchange for the antidote.
However, in order to successfully become Gong Huanyu's bride, she poisoned Miss Jiang. Now the people in the palace are investigating this matter. In order not to expose her identity, she plans to deliberately reveal some non-lethal information to hide her true plans and identity.
And the person she chose to expose was Gong Ziyu.
(There will be another chapter in a bit)