On the morning of the 22nd of the sixth month, Xue Rui ordered the guards to prepare the carriage, then he brought along the corpse of the murderer, Niu Er, and two pieces of evidence that pointed at the princes before he left the restaurant where the murder took place and returned to the capital.
The spy squatting outside the restaurant saw them go far away, and then he showed his head. After wandering on the street for half an hour, he entered the restaurant with the seal torn off and inquired about what happened last night.
However, it was destined that he would not be able to get anything out of them. Last night, Xue Rui had ordered the guards who came along with him to keep their mouths shut. The manager and the waiters had to stay in their rooms at night and were not allowed to come out. When Xue Rui and the others left, only then did they realize that the head cook had disappeared. They did not know that someone had died last night, and they also did not know that Xue Rui had found a human head in their cellar.
"It's about the two princes. The right and wrong have not been confirmed. I don't know the emperor's intention. In my opinion, you'd better keep your mouths shut. Don't leak a word about what happened in the restaurant last night. Be careful of a careless mouth and cause a disaster."
Xue Rui warned the guards who knew the truth. Fortunately, Lu Hong and others were sensible and immediately said that they wouldn't talk.
"Don't worry, Your Excellency. We can distinguish the pros and cons."
.....
The carriage and horses left the city and went on the official road. They ran fast all the way. They had to hurry and try to reach the city gate before dark.
Last night, Xue Rui and Yu Shu didn't have a rest. They went out of the city and had lunch early on the way. Yu Shu couldn't help dozing off. However, the road in the suburbs was uneven. She leaned against the wall of the carriage and woke up from time to time. She couldn't fall asleep even if she wanted to.
Xue Rui sat in front of her. When he saw how sleepy she looked, a hint of a smile flashed across his eyes. After thinking for a while, he pulled down the curtain behind him to block his line of sight outside the window. Then, he supported his sutured left arm and changed his position to sit in the middle.
When the car turned dark, Yu Shu suddenly raised her head and looked at Xue Rui with sleepy eyes. She saw him placing a soft pillow on his lap and patting it as he whispered to her, "It's more comfortable to sleep here."
Yu Shu hesitated for a moment and resisted the urge to lie on top of him. She shook her head and said, "No, you are tired. If I fall asleep and accidentally touch your wound, it will be bad."
As she spoke, she stretched her body and patted her face. She felt a little more awake.
"Are you really not going to sleep?" Xue Rui confirmed with her.
"I'm not sleeping."
"Alright then …" As Xue Rui spoke, he picked up the soft pillow on his lap. He stretched out his hand and placed it on her thigh. Then, he tilted his body and bent his long legs. In the next moment, he used it as a pillow.
"…" Yu Shu looked at Xue Rui lying on her lap and was speechless.
"I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me up when your legs are numb." Xue Rui's low voice sounded a little tired.
Yu Shu's eyes softened. She nodded and looked at his left arm on the side of his body. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and held his wrist to prevent him from moving after he fell asleep and affecting his wound.
Xue Rui closed his eyes and the corner of his mouth slightly curled up.
Originally, he was just teasing her and wanted to rest for a while before getting up. But this pillow really suited him, and he fell asleep unknowingly.
Yu Shu, on the other hand, was sitting steadily. She lowered her head and looked at his sleeping face. She didn't close her eyes throughout the journey.
When the group of people returned to the capital, it was already dusk.
Xue Rui dropped Yu Shu off at Wang Ji Tower, then brought the living and the dead in the direction of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Before entering the palace, he had to first report to his superior, the Supreme Court Chancellor Guo Huai 'an. After all, a prince assassinating an imperial envoy was a big matter, and it would be stressful for him to face the emperor alone.
Once Yu Shu returned upstairs, she laid down on the bed. Her entire body was stiff, and every movement made her sore. She thought to herself: This job of being someone's pillow, don't expect me to have a second chance.
"Miss, dinner and hot soup are ready. Do you want to eat something first, or wash up first?" Xiao Qing walked in and asked as she bent down beside the bed.
Yu Shu lifted her eyelids and groaned. She said weakly, "Leave it there. I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me up after two hours."
Xiao Qing squatted down and reached out her hand. "Let this servant give you a massage?"
"Okay."
Under the maid's moderate strength, Yu Shu quickly began to snore.
On the other side, Xue Rui had gone to the Supreme Court of Justice and found Guo Huaian who was looking through official documents. He reported the incident that occurred in Pei County like this, and he even mentioned Yu Shu, yet from the beginning until the end, he didn't mention a single word about Prince Ning.
As for how he had stabbed Zhou Qing's murderer to death, he had already prepared an explanation. "… I sensed that the murderer was in the restaurant, but I couldn't find Zhou Qing's head. At my wits' end, I remembered my sworn sister's Death Divination Art and had someone send her a letter, asking her to perform a divination. When she received the news, she ran to Pei County to find me. Thanks to her help, I was able to see that Niu Er was the murderer and found Zhou Qing's head in the restaurant's cellar."
"Later on, my sworn sister reflected on herself and calculated that she would meet with a fatal disaster last night. I suspected that the criminal was about to commit murder again, so I took precautions early on and set up a trap, waiting for him to walk into it. Who would have thought that I would slip up and stab him to death, injuring myself as well."
Xue Rui's face was full of remorse. Guo Huai 'an hadn't heard the two pieces of evidence and was still in the mood to comfort him. "This is pardonable. Don't worry about it. Besides, the murderer was sentenced to death. It's not a big deal that you killed him, but … without his confession, we don't know who the mastermind is."
Guo Huai 'an was still regretting when Xue Rui dropped a piece of important news. "The witness is dead, but I found two related pieces of evidence on the deceased. I brought them back for Your Excellency to have a look."
"Oh? Take them out and let me have a look. "
Xue Rui took out a letter and a waist token from his bosom and handed them to Guo Huai 'an.
Not long after, Guo Huai 'an's expression changed.
The letter pointed to Liu Yi in black and white. As for the waist token, if Xue Rui could recognize it, how could Guo Huai 'an not?
Not only did he recognize that it was a death soldier's waist token from a prince's residence, but he also knew which prince's residence it belonged to.
"This …"
"I wish to enter the palace to report this matter. Will Your Excellency accompany me?"
Guo Huai 'an was in a difficult position. The two items in his hands weighed heavily on his heart. How could he not know that if this case were to continue investigating, it might end up in a difficult situation?
However, as the Chancellor of the Supreme Court, he could not just sit back and do nothing.
"Does Prime Minister Xue know about this matter?" Guo Huai 'an asked Xue Lingnan.
"I came to see Your Excellency the moment I returned to the capital. I did not send a letter back home. This case was investigated by the imperial edict. My grandfather will not interfere. "
Meeting Xue Rui's calm and determined gaze, Guo Huai 'an sighed inwardly. He kept the two pieces of evidence and said: "Forget it. I will go with you."
Xue Rui cupped his hands and said: "Thank you, Your Excellency."
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