Chapter 589: Close Ones

Ling Feng had been driving and waiting at the alley near the Chen Family, but saw the Prince carrying someone together with his own Princess Consort walking straight toward the carriage; he quickly dismounted and went to greet them.

When he saw that the person the Prince was carrying was the already dead Chen Zhuo, his heart suddenly raced; what had those two been doing all night?

"Prince?" Ling Feng stepped forward, hurriedly supporting Chen Zhuo's corpse.

Xiao Yin first placed Gu Jiu Ling into the carriage, then tore off the carriage's canopy, wrapped Chen Zhuo's body, and placed it neatly inside the carriage compartment.

"To South Street entrance!" Xiao Yin's voice was cold and urgent.

"Yes!" Ling Feng drove the carriage into the night.

The carriage had barely left when, shortly after, the Chen Family's guards arrived with their men, but there was no trace of the carriage.

Lin Jingyuan rode up on horseback, tightened the reins, his expression wavering.

Soon another rider caught up; Gu Kang rode up to Lin Jingyuan and asked, "Did you catch up?"

Lin Jingyuan ground his back teeth and said coldly, "Truly inhuman, they even took Mr. Chen's corpse away!"

Gu Kang frowned, "Report to the authorities first! I'll go to the Ministry of Punishments to find someone from the Six Gates; although I've resigned and stay at home now, I still have a bit of former influence."

"Those two, one tall and one short; the tall one's martial skill is truly impressive, and his techniques are very strange!"

Gu Kang's eyebrows lifted slightly, "Strange techniques?"

Lin Jingyuan nodded, "They hardly used any weapons, just stones and ripped‑off canopies; they managed to repel many people, still carrying their accomplices and Mr. Chen's corpse away."

Gu Kang's brows furrowed hard, "They probably didn't dare reveal weapons; such weapons would be known throughout the world, and showing them would …"

A figure flashed through Gu Kang's mind, and the words he was about to speak stopped abruptly; he closed his mouth instantly.

"Lord Gu?" Lin Jingyuan didn't understand what half‑spoken, half‑revealed words meant.

Gu Kang paused, then smiled faintly, "Mr. Wen once served as head instructor at the Imperial Academy and was close to Mr. Chen; if there's any way we can help this time, Lord Lin, feel free to bring it up."

Lin Jingyuan gave a faint smile, a trace of bitterness in his eyes, "No need for that title, sir; now I'm just an idle person."

Gu Kang lowered his brows slightly; since the former Crown Prince's downfall, the Li and Lin families' power has waned, and he felt Lin Jingyuan was somewhat ungrateful.

It's because his elder sister and brother‑in‑law are good‑natured; if he were in Xiao Yin's position, perhaps neither of those two families would survive.

Cutting the grass without removing the roots ultimately brings disaster.

He consoled, "Most of life's disappointments—nine out of ten—come with valleys and peaks; Lord Lin, don't belittle yourself. When the administration stabilizes, a talent like you, how could the Imperial Court not employ you?"

"Am I not now a demoted official returning, accompanying my mentor to farm in the countryside?"

"Lord Gu and I… are different!" Lin Jingyuan stared steadily at Gu Kang.

Indeed! How could he be compared with Gu Kang?

Gu Kang's brother‑in‑law is now the Regent King who dominates the court, and his sister is the renowned Regent King's favored consort in Shang Jing; his future is bound to be bright.

Lin Jingyuan inhaled, "Enough. I'll first retrieve the gentleman's corpse; thank you, Lord Gu, for coming to help. Farewell!"

After saying that, Lin Jingyuan turned back, leaving Gu Kang alone on horseback standing in the empty street.

He lifted his gaze toward the ink‑black sky, where only one or two specks of stars fell, like unfathomable court intrigues.

"Men!"

"Sir!" A tall follower rushed to Gu Kang's side and bowed.

"Send someone to Rui Wang Fu to check; report any news to me!"

"Yes, sir!"

Inside a well‑disguised house at South Street entrance, Ling Feng carried Chen Zhuo's corpse into the main hall, placed it on a wooden bed, and laid oil paper beneath as Gu Jiu Ling had previously instructed.

Gu Jiu Ling took out the tools she had prepared earlier, approached Chen Zhuo's body, and carefully cut open the abdomen.

Xiao Yin frowned slightly; he wasn't very familiar with these matters, only knowing that his Princess Consort said there must be a problem.

When Gu Jiu Ling opened the cavity, her brows furrowed hard; she saw the abdomen filled with thread‑like insects, seemingly parasitic within Chen Zhuo's body.

"Truly ruthless!"

Gu Jiu Ling whispered through clenched teeth.

Xiao Yin hurriedly asked, "How exactly did Chen Zhuo die?"

Gu Jiu Ling's eyes grew heavy as she said slowly, "He was poisoned, with an extremely vicious gu poison."

Xiao Yin frowned, thinking silently, "How could this happen?"

Although Chen Zhuo was rigid and somewhat arrogant, annoying to others, his scholarship was indeed impressive.

He was reluctant to enter officialdom, so Xiao Yin's impression of him wasn't entirely negative.

Yet this time Chen Zhuo seemed mad, clashing with him; Xiao Yin still doesn't understand Chen Zhuo's motives.

At that moment, Gu Jiu Ling mentioned the gu poison she found, and Xiao Yin was greatly surprised.

After all, such a cunning and bizarre toxin isn't something ordinary people can wield, and those aristocratic families using it against an old scholar of the Imperial Academy seemed, from any perspective, inappropriate.

Could there be another conspiracy behind this?

Xiao Yin stepped forward, looking at Gu Jiu Ling, "Jiu Ling, are you sure Chen Zhuo was poisoned with gu poison?"

Gu Jiu Ling nodded solemnly, "It's very poisonous."

"The poison must be administered with warm water into the abdomen, then spread through the blood to the whole body; with external stimulation, the person is certainly doomed!"

"Moreover, this toxin develops quickly; once the parasites' eggs embed in the body, within two to three days the victim can't endure it."

Gu Jiu Ling steadied herself, then used several special knives and tweezers, carefully opening Chen Zhuo's skull; indeed, there were some insects inside.

These disgusting insects, even though their hosts were dead, remained active in Chen Zhuo's body, draining his remaining value.

"Indeed, not very sharp, otherwise why would you prevent me from re‑examining the Qi Sha Gu case?"

"That brain was also corrupted; it looks like all his blood vessels burst, leading to death."

Xiao Yin was stunned for a moment, then, recalling his own experience, asked quickly, "Speaking of poisoning, especially such a hidden toxin never seen before, a family member would be the most fitting poisoner."

Gu Jiu Ling replied slowly, "Even if not a relative, it must be someone who regularly cared for him."

"But we still don't know who exactly dealt such a cruel hand?"