The three of them had breakfast together and went to do their own things. They agreed to come back at night to discuss their next step.
When Yu Shu and Jing Chen were on the way to the Celestial Commissioner Office, she realized something was wrong. She had temporarily teamed up with Xue Rui and Jing Chen to go to the Princess' Tomb instance. Now that everyone was back, shouldn't they be dismissed?
She entered the Kunling Bureau's courtyard one after the other with a conflicted mood with Jing Chen. Several subordinates came early and were drinking morning tea in the east assembly hall. Seeing them come in, they quickly got up to greet them.
"Lord Right Commander, Lord Yu."
Jing Chen just nodded and said, "Hmm." Yu Shu responded with a smile, "Good morning, Lords."
Then one of them went up to the second floor and the other stayed behind to manage the affairs. After a month, the people of the Kunling Bureau had long been used to Jing Chen's "not doing anything" and his indifference to them. They didn't care and just surrounded Yu Shu to report the recent errands.
Not long after, someone came in from outside to pass on a message from the Great Master, inviting Yu Nuyu to Taixi Tavern.
Yu Shu heard Jing Chen mention it last night, so she should have known this and was already prepared. She unhurriedly ordered her subordinates to do what they needed to do and then followed the person.
.....
When Yu Shu arrived at Taixi Tower, she saw Master Ren and was surprised to see that Junior Supervisor Ren was also there.
Master Ren chose to meet Yu Shu in the tea room of the East Pavilion instead of the very dignified hall. Except for Ren Qiming, there was no one else around. Taixi Tower had always been quiet inside and outside. The three departments and two bureaus of the Celestial Commissioner Office had their own duties. It had been going on for nearly three hundred years. Unless it was a major event, there was usually no need to ask for his permission.
"Sit down. I asked you to come because I have something to ask you. It's about Daozi and His Majesty is a little worried. Just say it, no need to be reserved." Da Tidian raised his hand and gestured for Yu Shu to take a seat under the window. Ren Qiming was there too. He always had a straight face, as if someone owed him money.
She wanted to sit on the same level as Ren Qiming. Yu Shu hesitated for a moment before cupping her hands towards Junior Supervisor Ren and said, "I apologize for my lack of manners."
It was true that she was the famous Miaoling Messenger, but in terms of official position, she was a fifth rank official, while the other was a second rank official. Even if she had a title bestowed by the emperor, she was still inferior to him. It was better for her to play her part.
Ren Qiming's expression softened slightly and he nodded at her, "Official Yu, please sit."
As soon as Yu Shu sat down, she asked a question. Without any preamble, she went straight to the point, "It is said that a few days ago, Daozi went to the Princess Tomb to worship. Did you go with him in the lotus room?"
She listened to Da Tidian talk about her nickname in a friendly manner. It was the pseudonym that Xue Rui gave her as a joke. She felt a little awkward, but she quickly got used to it and focused on answering his question,
"Yes, I have a good personal relationship with Jing Chen. He doesn't have many friends in the capital, so he invited me and my sworn brother to go with him."
She took the initiative to mention Xue Rui because she wanted to explain in one go why Xue Rui would appear in their group as well. She wanted to avoid him asking about it later, and it would seem as if she was intentionally covering it up.
"Oh, did you encounter some accidents on the way?"
Yu Shu frowned and glanced at Ren Qiming, who was sitting next to her as a 'judge'. She nodded and told him about their encounter with Zhao Xiaozhu at the inn. Finally, she added,
"We felt that there was a person who appeared out of nowhere to fight for us, so we wanted to follow him to see what he was up to. We didn't expect that we would go to a hermit's place."
As she said this, she looked at the Grand Secretary. The other party was also staring at her. This was truly a little pressuring. It had to be known that for a powerful minister, especially such an enigmatic figure, even a gaze would have an inestimable deterrent power. She did not insist on looking him in the eye. In just a few breaths of time, she lowered her eyes.
Da Tidian seemed to be listening to her very carefully. After she finished, he asked the next question,
"What does the hermit look like? What are his characteristics? Describe it to me."
"He, um … he was almost seventy years old, healthy, white eyebrows and white beard. I heard that he called himself Mr. Yanye and was proficient in the art of Qimen Dun Jia."
"Daozi and Mr. Xue went to the Princess Tomb together, and you stayed in seclusion because you sprained your ankle, right?"
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
"Mr. Yanye asked me to go and chat with him. Then I didn't know why I fainted. When I woke up, he had left."
"What did he say to you?"
"Nothing much. Not long after I entered his room, I was drugged by him."
His questions came one after another, but after each question, he would give her time to answer. He listened very carefully, but didn't look into it. This made Yu Shu, who had been on high alert, feel an indescribable sense of incongruity.
Just like that, it didn't take long for Yu Shu to come out of Taixi Tavern. As she had expected, she didn't suffer at all. They clearly suspected her, but they couldn't interrogate her, not even a little harsher.
Yu Shu tried to figure out their minds. They thought that she didn't know the secret of the Great Disaster and the Life Breaker, or they weren't sure if she knew it or not, so they were afraid that she would find out something she shouldn't know.
Ren Qiming stood by the window of the small veranda and watched Yu Shu's back as she walked across the Nine Bends Bridge. He turned around to look at the Great Tipping Scholar, who was deep in thought with his eyes closed. He wanted to say something, but stopped himself.
"Say what you want to say."
"… Yu Shu is young, but she's quite scheming. I think she's hiding something. Did the Grand Secretary notice anything?"
Zhu Muzhao opened his eyes. His gaze flickered, as if there was a mystery. He said, "Everything she said was the same as Jing Chen. Even the places where she lied were the same."
She described the appearance of the hermit, it was fake.
She stayed because of her injury, it was fake.
She fainted, it was real.
She didn't communicate with the hermit in private, it was fake.
Ren Qiming's expression changed, and he said anxiously, "So, Jing Chen really acknowledged Yun Hua?"
Zhu Muzhao shook his head and said with certainty, "On the contrary, that hermit might be Yun Hua, but he didn't acknowledge Jing Chen."
Ren Qiming was puzzled.
Zhu Muzhao smiled faintly. It was rare for him to be in the mood to explain to him, "You don't know, but Yun Hua had an unusual treasure called 'Zhuge Eye', which could prevent people from performing divination. If he acknowledged Jing Chen, he would have to explain that he faked his death in the past, so that I wouldn't find out after Jing Chen returned to the capital, and he would definitely give the 'Zhuge Eye' to him. However, my Great Insight Spell could still predict that they lied. This proves that even if the hermit was Yun Hua, he did not reveal his identity to them."
Yun Hua was one of the few people who knew that he had successfully learned the Zhu family's Great Insight Spell. With his watertight style, how could he have overlooked this?
Ren Qiming breathed a sigh of relief, but he asked in confusion, "Then, why did they lie?"
"This is not difficult to explain. Jing Chen might have guessed that there was something fishy about Yun Hua's death in the past. When he saw the hermit, he suspected that he was related to Yun Hua, so he did not dare to tell the truth."
"Qiming, I'll write a memorial to the throne. Send it to the palace on my behalf."
"Yes, Taishu."
Yu Shu did not know the conversation between the two after that. She returned to Kunling Bureau and sent Wen Shao 'an to find the files for her. She stayed alone, thinking about whether there were any mistakes in Taixi Tower just now. After confirming that she did not say anything wrong, she relaxed and poured a cup of tea to drink. Then, she reached out to take out two rings from the secret compartment under the table and put them on her hand again.
This was what Xue Rui told her in secret before she went out in the morning.
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