Aunt Ru firmly believed that as long as Duanmu Yao didn't sell her out, no one would ever find out the truth!
Actually, she didn't want to expose herself to Kong Xi in the first place. Her plan was so thorough.
She didn't betray the Tang Clan, but made a mutually beneficial deal with Duanmu Yao. She even helped the Tang Clan out.
Duanmu Yao agreed not to pursue the matter of Tang Li running away from the wedding, and to put in a good word for the Tang Clan in front of Cang Qiuzi. Aunt Ru then helped Duanmu Yao come up with an idea to purposely injure herself so she could seek out Long Fei Ye for treatment.
Duanmu Yao liked the idea very much. Even now, she had no idea about the relationship between Long Fei Ye and the Tang Clan.
She assumed that revealing the location of the Yaoshui estate wouldn't be discovered, but Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi had noticed such details.
Long Fei Ye had brought up the matter of the traitor as soon as he returned to the Tang Clan, so she needed to put an end to the matter. In other words, she needed a scapegoat.
Thus, she found Kong Xi.
She promised to take good care of Grandmother Kong and his lover, Jin Se, the servant girl in the workshop. Although she said she was taking care of them, it was more like blackmail.
She guessed that Long Fei Ye would interrogate them personally, so she had Kong Xi put on a show. Who knew that Long Fei Ye would find Kong Xi's grandmother and force him to commit suicide to leave behind a clue?
That clue was Kong Xi's lover, Jin Se.
But she was threatening Kong Xi, not Jin Se. Jin Se was just like Grandmother Kong, ignorant of everything.
"Kong Xi had a lover?" Aunt Ru feigned astonishment.
"Aye! I really had a hard time finding him! " Chu Xifeng sighed before turning serious. "Aunt Ru, Kong Xi would rather commit suicide than expose the traitor. That means the traitor must have something on him. That's why His Highness ordered me to investigate Kong Xi from top to bottom. We can't let go of any clues! I discovered that Kong Xi and Grandmother Kong depended on each other for survival and had no other relatives. Moreover, the child was very introverted and didn't have any friends … "
Chu Xifeng paused here on purpose. "Aunt Ru, say, this traitor really knows how to pick people. A child like Kong Xi would be perfect as a scapegoat, wouldn't he?"
"Indeed." Aunt Ru was very calm.
"Heheh, although that shameless traitor knows how to pick his targets, I, Chu Xifeng, am no vegetarian! Kong Xi's lover's name is Jin Se, a servant girl from the needle grinding workshop. She's been with Kong Xi for two to three years now, but she's hidden herself very well. Nobody knows anything about them, not even Grandma Kong! "Chu Xifeng smiled.
Aunt Ru was displeased to be scolded, but she could only endure it. "Then how did you find out?"
"I have my ways! Of course I can find out who the traitor is! "Chu Xifeng added.
Aunt Ru grew impatient. "Where is he? Have you interrogated him? "
"Not yet. They were just locked up in the prisons. How about we call over His Highness Duke of Qin and the Tang Clan head to interrogate them together?" Chu Xifeng asked.
"Is there any use in interrogating her?" Aunt Ru asked coldly. "The traitor is threatening Kong Xi. That girl may not know the truth."
"Not necessarily. Maybe she does, maybe she doesn't, "Chu Xifeng said seriously.
"The traitor wouldn't be stupid enough to make direct contact with Jin Se, right? One more person who knows his identity means one more layer of danger, "Aunt Ru added.
Chu Xifeng smiled. "Of course the traitor wouldn't be stupid enough to reveal his identity, but Kong Xi might."
Aunt Ru laughed coldly in her heart.
Although she hadn't revealed any of the Tang Clan's secrets, colluding with Duanmu Yao was still a huge crime. She'd been very careful when doing things like this, so how could she leave any clues behind?
By the time she'd chosen Kong Xi, he was already locked up in the prisons. He'd never had a chance to meet with Jin Se, so how could the girl know the truth?
Chu Xifeng was very capable, but it was a pity that no matter how he investigated or interrogated him, it was all for naught!
Aunt Ru mused that since Chu Xifeng had told her so much about Jin Se, Long Fei Ye probably didn't suspect her at all.
She feigned a sudden realization. "That's right! Why didn't I think of that?!"
"That's the only clue left!" Chu Xifeng sighed with emotion. In front of Aunt Ru, he called for a guard to inform the Duke of Qin and the Tang Clan head. "Aunt Ru, let's go wait outside first."
Aunt Ru agreed easily. The two of them headed to the prison cells while discussing the case.
Chu Xifeng didn't talk about anything important, so Aunt Ru asked curiously, "Just how did you know Kong Xi had a lover?"
Aunt Ru knew because she'd forced the information out of Kong Xi's mouth.
"Heheh," Chu Xifeng grinned mysteriously.
"Stinking brat, you're still keeping me in suspense?" Aunt Ru asked unhappily.
Chu Xifeng grinned mischievously. "I don't have such skills. Someone told on me."
"Who?!" Aunt Ru grew nervous. "What happened?"
"It was the old mama next to Kong Xi's cell. She said she heard the sound of hidden needles firing at night. Then I went to check the cell where Kongxi was locked up and found this. "
As Chu Xifeng spoke, he stuck out his finger, revealing a hidden needle launcher. This was one of the Tang Clan's assassination weapons. Although it didn't do much damage, it was easy to conceal.
"What does this mean?" Aunt Ru was puzzled. "This little toy came from the needle grinding workshop, but plenty of Tang Clan disciples play with it. It's not strange for Kong Xi to have one."
"Would Kong Xi be in the mood to play with such things in his cell?" Chu Xifeng retorted.
Aunt Ru grew alert and looked at Chu Xifeng wordlessly.
Chu Xifeng's smile grew even more mysterious. He took out a small ball of paper and placed it in the hidden needle launcher. With a light flick, the paper flew high into the air.
Now Aunt Ru was stunned. Before she could ask for details, Chu Xifeng picked up the paper and showed it to her. There was a line of elegant handwriting written by Jin Se to Kong Xi, telling him not to worry and that she'd take good care of Grandma Kong.
Aunt Ru stilled as her back broke out in cold sweat!
"This hidden needle launcher was found in the prison cells. This slip of paper was found in one of the storm windows. If I'm not wrong, Jin Se must have sent this slip of paper to Kong Xi outside the cell. She didn't shoot it properly and left it on the windowsill. "
Chu Xifeng sighed. "It's all thanks to that old mama. Otherwise, no one would have discovered this slip of paper even after ten years."
By now, Aunt Ru was almost unsteady on her feet.
She dearly wanted to maintain her rationality, but it was impossible. Her mind was a complete blank, with only one thought in mind: silence the witness!
She had to kill Jin Se before Chu Xifeng found Long Fei Ye and Tang Zijin to interrogate her!
Otherwise …
Kong Xi was already an accident, but Jin Se was an even more unexpected one! Since Kong Xi and Jin Se had been secretly communicating, and Jin Se had said something like that, then Kong Xi must have told her the truth!
No!
She couldn't allow that to happen.
"Now that you mention it, it's strange. We used a special mission to imprison those people, so how did Jin Se find her way to the prison cells?" Chu Xifeng asked.
Only then did Aunt Ru realize the problem.
But because Chu Xifeng was the one who'd asked the question, Aunt Ru didn't suspect him at all. That slip of paper had made her so flustered that she didn't have time to think. Right now, all she could think of was how to delay Chu Xifeng and buy time.
After walking for a while longer, she finally spoke up. "Chu Xifeng, go fetch Grandmother Kong. She needs to know about this. Comfort her on the way so she won't get too worked up. "
Chu Xifeng's eyes flashed with a cold smile before he declined. "I'm not good with words, so I don't know how to comfort people."
Aunt Ru rolled her eyes at him. "I'll go."
"Then I'll go find esteemed wangfei. As I see it, there's a conclusion to this matter soon! Ferret out that traitor, heheh … "Chu Xifeng's face was ruthless.
Aunt Ru felt her entire body turn cold at the sight. Fortunately, Chu Xifeng walked faster than she did, or else she really would have collapsed.
Seeing him leave, Aunt Ru exhaled in relief. She was about to send someone to the prison cells to silence them when she changed her mind and decided to go herself.
She wouldn't allow anyone else to know about this, so she had to do it herself!
First, she'd kill the person and hide the truth in their stomachs. That was the most important thing. Whether or not she'd be suspected was no longer important. Without proof, even if the entire world suspected her, what could Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi do to her?
Aunt Ru made a prompt decision and turned into a small alley to enter the prison cells from the back courtyard.
She was very familiar with the cells and easily avoided all the guards to find the small cell where Jin Se was being held.
The cell was surrounded by stone walls on three sides and iron bars on one side. Jin Se was about the same age as Kong Xi and was currently curled up in a corner, sobbing quietly. She didn't even notice Aunt Ru standing in front of the door.
Aunt Ru's time was limited, so she said Cold, "Girl, come here."
Frightened, Jin Se turned to see Aunt Ru with a lost expression. She looked timidly at her and shrank further into the corner.
"Come here, do you hear me?!" Aunt Ru was about to break down. She had no patience at all.
"You … you, who are you?" Jin Se cried.
Aunt Ru only needed to shoot a needle to kill this girl, but she still had a bit of reason. She couldn't use hidden weapons and couldn't leave behind any clues.
She suppressed her panic, anxiety, and anger and said patiently, "You're Jin Se, right? Come here, I'll tell you how Kong Xi died."
"Kong Xi is dead!" Jin Se was shocked.
She only knew that Kong Xi had received a special mission to participate in the production of a batch of secret hidden weapons and would be away for a few days. She had been waiting and wanted to ask Grandma Kong several times, but she didn't dare.
Grandma Kong didn't even know about her and Kong Xi, so she couldn't be presumptuous. She could only wait silently.
But last night, she was suddenly brought here. That terrifying guard warned her that no matter who came looking for her, she had to speak more. She was scared out of her wits and didn't know what she had done wrong.
She didn't connect Kong Xi's matter with this at all, but … but this terrifying woman in front of her told her that Kong Xi … was dead!
Jin Se ignored her fear and rushed over. "What did you say? What did you say? "
Aunt Ru had been waiting for this moment. She moved swiftly and viciously, wrapping one hand around Jin Se's neck and covering her mouth with the other. Terrified, Jin Se struggled with all her might, but it was useless.
A trace of viciousness flashed past Aunt Ru's eyes. She pressed Jin Se against the metal fence and covered her mouth tightly. She exerted strength in her arms and wrapped them around her neck.
Jin Se's eyes widened. She couldn't breathe and was about to suffocate. At this moment, a hidden dart flew out from the side and hit the back of Aunt Ru's hand!
Aunt Ru was shocked and let go. But when she saw the dart, she sucked in a breath of cold air!
She turned back and saw …
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