"I … I'm Xiao Yu's friend."
Ji Xingxuan's face was half veiled, so her expression was not obvious. "Since you're a friend, have you seen her these past two days?"
Jing Chen had just seen Yu Shu during the day. She said that she was going to find Doctor He to ask about his illness, but she had not returned. Earlier in the courtyard, he had heard the conversation between Ji Xingxuan and Aunty Xu outside the door. He assumed that something had happened to Yu Shu and that this person in front of him knew about it. He asked, "She came here this afternoon. You said that she was taken away by the government. What happened?"
Ji Xingxuan knew that this man in front of her was the Daozi that the Celestial Commissioner was looking for. She had come here to try her luck, but she had coincidentally bumped into him. Judging by his expression, he did not know about the announcement that had been made this morning. She immediately thought of something and said, "My surname is Ji, and I'm considered a relative of Yu Shu. For some reason, she was temporarily staying at my house as a guest. She didn't return last night, and there was no news from her. It was really worrying, so my family sent people out to look for her. I heard that she was taken away by the government this afternoon. I don't know if this is true or not. I knew that she had stayed here before, so I came here in case she didn't return to our house.
Hearing this, Jing Chen frowned. He had actually seen the woman in front of him twice. The first time was at the Taoist temple outside the city, and the second time was to retrieve the Adversity Blocking Stone. Before this, Yu Shu had not mentioned her, so he did not know who she was. Now, it seemed that she was from the family that had bullied Yu Shu. His good impression of her immediately disappeared. However, he had always been a person of few desires, so he did not show his emotions. His expression did not change, but his voice became colder. "You said that she was taken away in the south of the city?"
Ji Xingxuan was a very meticulous person. As soon as she introduced herself, she noticed the slight change in Jing Chen's attitude. She knew that Yu Shu must have damaged the Ji family in front of him. If that was the case, it would be difficult to build a good relationship with this Daozi.
After giving it some thought, Ji Xingxuan decided to take Yu Shu away from this place to avoid the Celestial Commissioner's interrogation. She said, "I am not sure. My grandfather has sent someone to the yamen to gather information. If Young Master is worried about Yu Shu, why don't you come with me?"
Jing Chen did not know where Yu Shu had gone. Now he could only ask what was in front of him. After thinking for a moment, he held the rusted sword in his hand and nodded, "Thank you."
Seeing that things were going smoothly, Ji Xingxuan asked Yun He to send away the sedan bearers. She walked leisurely with Jing Chen back to the Right Magistrate's Residence. Along the way, she tried to sound him out with words. However, Jing Chen did not know the ways of the world. He was not happy and did not even respond.
Ji Xingxuan realized that Yu Shu was trying to slander him. What she did not know was that Yu Shu had not even mentioned her name in front of Jing Chen.
Yu Shu was brought to the Imperial Astronomer and sent into a loft with her hands tied behind her back. There was a brightly lit hall in front of her. Without going into the details of the furnishings, she saw a long Eight Trigrams Evil Suppression Desk on the east side. Behind the desk sat a man in his thirties. He was dressed in black silk and had silvery-white hair. His appearance was extraordinary, but his expression was cold and dignified. At first, he was still writing with meticulous brushwork, but when Yu Shu arrived in front of him, he put down his brush and looked up.
Yu Shu met the man's eyes. She knew that this was the Celestial Commissioner's Junior Supervisor. Even in this situation, she could not help but sigh. Hearing about him was not as good as meeting him in person. She immediately lowered her head, avoiding eye contact.
"Your Excellency, this is the man." The middle-aged official who was sent to capture Yu Shu bowed.
After scanning Yu Shu's messy hair and clothes, Ren Qiming picked up the announcement on the desk with his left hand and passed it to the attendant behind him. "Show it to her."
"Yes."
The attendant took the announcement and unfolded it in front of Yu Shu. Puzzled, Yu Shu lowered her head to look at the portrait on the announcement. Her expression changed slightly. She read the content of the announcement in detail. Not only did it reveal Jing Chen's identity to the world, but it also ordered a reward for finding him. Her heart sank. She immediately confirmed her guess when she entered the room: the Celestial Commissioner was here for Jing Chen.
Confused, she looked down and saw the date at the end of the announcement — 'After the fifteenth of the first month. According to this, this announcement was only posted today.
This detail made Yu Shu suspicious. It was not strange that the Celestial Commissioner would come to find her. Although Jing Chen seldom went out with her, more than one person had seen him. It was normal for someone to see this announcement and report it to the government for the reward.
However, it had only been a day since the announcement. It seemed that the news had not spread in the city yet. Otherwise, she would have heard about it after running around the city for half a day. She could count all the people who had seen Jing Chen with her: Aunty Xu and her family, Zhou Fangfang, and a few other neighbors. They were illiterate, so how could they understand the content of the announcement? They might not think that the man in the portrait was Jing Chen. If they really reported it to the government, it would take at least three to five days for it to happen.
Then there were Zhao Hui and her husband, Pei Jing, and several servants. If she thought about it with her toes, it was impossible for them to inform the government behind her back.
The last one was Xue Rui, and Yu Shu directly eliminated him. With her understanding of the Eldest Young Master Xue's character, if he saw this notice, he would surely look for her first and tell her about it. Why would he covet any rewards from this notice, let alone betray her?
Then who could it be? Who else would be with Jing Chen and keep an eye on her? Who could take the Celestial Commissioner's men to the clinic to get her if something happened?
Yu Shu thought about it quietly and thought of a person, or rather, a family.
Ji Xingxuan, the Ji family.
Thinking of this, it made sense. As the Right Judge of the Celestial Commissioner, Ji Huaishan must have got the news of looking for the so-called "Daoist". Ji Xingxuan knew her residence on Huixing Street and went to find her in person. Maybe Ji Xingxuan had seen her and Jing Chen together when she didn't know. This woman was good at physiognomy, and Jing Chen was easy to recognize. Therefore, when she saw the announcement, she thought of her.
Ji Xingxuan had seen her last night and knew that she went in and out of Wangji Building. She knew her whereabouts like the back of her hand, so it was not a problem to send someone to follow her. The servant who identified her in Huairen Medical Center must have been sent by the Ji family to follow her.
Yu Shu looked at the announcement. There was no mention of the Evil Qi of Ketu Star. Instead, she addressed Jing Chen as "Daoist". She also said that Jing Chen joined Taoism when he was young and inherited his parents' will. These beautiful words all showed that the royal family's attitude towards Jing Chen was friendly and valued.
Since the Ji family found out that Jing Chen was in contact with her, and they knew that Jing Chen had a high status, they were afraid that she would take credit for finding the "Daoist" in the future. So, they made a move first to gain the upper hand. Somehow, they fooled their superiors and made the young eunuch send someone to catch her.
In this way, if she honestly told the whereabouts of Jing Chen, she would be "betraying" Jing Chen in a disguised way. If she refused to tell, she would be in trouble. Not only would she not get any benefits, but she would also be trapped.
However, Jing Chen was missing a piece of memory. He didn't know who wanted to harm him, so he would be in danger as soon as he showed up.
As a senior actuary, Yu Shu was best at information calculation and analysis. Although she didn't know what was going on, she was able to sort out the clues that she already knew, and she was able to guess what had happened.
Yu Shu's mouth was blocked. She could only curse in her heart: this wicked Ji family!
"Do you recognize the person in this portrait?" Ren Qiming quietly observed the changes in Yu Shu's expression. Seeing that she finished reading the notice and didn't move for a long time, he asked.
The attendant pulled out the cloth from Yu Shu's mouth. Yu Shu coughed hard for a while and spat out two mouthfuls of saliva. She took a deep breath and made up her mind. Then she raised her head and looked at the big man behind the desk who could kill her with one hand. She said in a hoarse voice, "I don't recognize him."
"Hmm?" Ren Qiming frowned. Finding Yun Hua and the Princess's son was a very important matter. The Great Commissioner had told him to handle it personally and not let others handle it. That was why Right Judge Ji came to see him in a hurry. He said that the servants in the mansion had seen the notice and saw Daoist Child going in and out with someone. The description was very similar, so he sent his subordinates to bring the person back. Now that he was interrogating him personally, he wanted to avoid any mistakes.
At this time, he saw Yu Shu's strange expression and concluded that she was hiding something. So he said coldly, "Since you have seen the notice, you should know who is in this portrait. Someone has seen you going in and out with Daoist Child. Why do you say you don't know?"
Yu Shu's throat was blocked with phlegm. She felt dry and retched. When she heard the junior supervisor's question, her neck stiffened and she couldn't answer. The middle-aged subordinate felt that she was being negligent. He snorted and kicked her in the back of the leg. She knelt down. Yu Shu's ears were numb and she cried out in pain, "Ah!"
"The junior supervisor is questioning you. Don't hesitate and answer honestly!"
"Wang Yang," Ren Qiming said coldly, "Leave."
"Yes, sir." The middle-aged subordinate excused himself and bowed before leaving.
At this time, only Ren Qiming, Yu Shu, and the attendant were left in the building.
"Your surname is Yu and you were born in Jiangnan. You were the concubine of the third son of the Celestial Commissioner, Right Judge Ji Huaishan. You were an examinee of the Da Yan Examination last year, right?" Ren Qiming held a report in his hand. It was just delivered to him along with Yu Shu. After listening to Ji Huaishan's report, he sent people to arrest her and also sent people to several places to inquire about this girl's situation to verify.
"In addition, you have a foster relative with the surname He who moved here from the south. You have a weak younger brother who moved to the He family in the twelfth month of last year. At that time, he was accompanied by a young man. Later, he disappeared. Let me ask you, who is that man? And where is he now? "
Yu Shu bit her lips. She propped up her upper body and kneeled on the ground. Cold sweat appeared on her forehead and her shoulders trembled slightly. She said in a hoarse voice, "That is a friend who is staying at my house. I don't know where he went. As for the person in the painting, even if you ask him a thousand times, I don't know him."
Yu Shu's heart was heavy. The Ji family probably knew that she went to Huixing Street in the afternoon since they sent people to follow her. Jing Chen was now waiting for her in the small courtyard. He was completely unaware of the news outside and had nowhere to hide. It was only a matter of time before he was found.
She wasn't stupid enough to think that if she didn't say Jing Chen's whereabouts, the Celestial Commissioner wouldn't be able to find him.
But she couldn't say it. At least, she couldn't say it now.
Once she said it, she would fall into the Ji family's trap and wouldn't be able to get out.
Now that she had one foot in the swamp, she had to find a way to pull herself out.
"In front of me, you dare to lie." Ren Qiming was a strict man. He had always been cold and serious. He was sure that Yu Shu was hiding the whereabouts of the Daozi. He asked her again and again. Seeing that she was unwilling to say it, he lost his patience. He put down the report in his hand and put his hands on the table. He said, "Qingfeng, let her speak."
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