Chapter 124: All Is Known

All Is Known

One day had passed of the three-day deadline. Matters appeared to be growing clearer, but Nie Jinxuan knew in her heart that in fact they were not—instead, they had already reached a dead end!

Even though the true culprit had someone kill those villagers, allowing Nie Jinxuan to deduce from one angle that the Biyao at Zuixiashanzhuang was a fake. But that was all. Everything else remained completely unknown!

Furthermore, what Nie Jinxuan could not understand most at the moment was this: the culprit had gone to great lengths to set things up in advance, then conspired with the fake Biyao to kill Noble Consort Tong—so what could their ultimate purpose be?! Was it merely to vent Empress Duan's anger, and then go to Empress Duan's side to claim credit?! Or was there some other purpose?!

But if there was another purpose, who exactly was this culprit, to dare lay hands on a favored consort of the inner palace?! And by such brutal means!

Nie Jinxuan could not figure it out. Yet at the same time, an intuition kept telling her in her mind that this matter was absolutely not as simple as it appeared on the surface! There was even, behind this case, surely hidden a truth that one could not bear to look at directly—and it was precisely this truth that had driven the culprit mad, mad enough to stop at nothing, to forget all humanity!

Therefore, early in the morning, after reentering the palace and having Eunuch Gao accompany her to re-examine the fake Biyao's corpse, Nie Jinxuan left directly. However, after exiting the palace, Nie Jinxuan did not immediately return to Chen Wangfu, but went straight to the Ministry of Punishments!

……

This was not Nie Jinxuan's first time coming to the Ministry of Punishments, but it was her first time coming openly in broad daylight! So, the moment she stepped down from the carriage, Nie Jinxuan first raised her eyes to look at the gate of the Ministry of Punishments, then said in a low voice,

"Go knock on the door."

"Yes!"

The one following Nie Jinxuan today was still Zhongli. So, upon hearing Nie Jinxuan's instruction, Zhongli immediately responded respectfully, then strode forward quickly, and before long, a middle-aged man with the appearance of an official came walking out at a brisk pace.

"Aiya, my apologies for not welcoming you from afar, my apologies! This humble official had no idea that the Consort of Prince Chen would grace us with her presence—truly I beg your forgiveness~!"

A slightly plump figure, a round face, slanted eyebrows, mung-bean eyes, and a few sparse strands of hair meticulously gathered up—even wearing an official cap, one could still see his rather fragile scalp!

One had to admit, this was a man whose appearance was quite comical. Even now, with his face piled full of smiles, he still gave people an indescribable sense of oddness. So, upon seeing the newcomer, Nie Jinxuan could not help but pause for a moment, but then still stepped forward to respond without the slightest hint of contempt or disdain,

"Not at all, it is I, the Princess Consort, who have been presumptuous, arriving suddenly and disturbing Your Excellency."

Nie Jinxuan spoke calmly, a gentle smile on her beautiful face. At this, the official clearly had not expected Nie Jinxuan to say such a thing, and was instantly taken slightly aback, but then immediately smiled even more broadly and said,

"Aiya, Consort of Prince Chen is too courteous, too courteous! That the Consort of Prince Chen would come to this lowly official's place is this minor official's good fortune—how could it be called a disturbance… come, come, come, Consort of Prince Chen, please step inside and take a seat!"

Saying so, the official stepped forward and made a 'please' gesture toward Nie Jinxuan. Seeing this, Nie Jinxuan did not waste words either, nodded elegantly, and then followed the official into the Ministry of Punishments.

……

Afterward, once she had entered the front hall of the Ministry of Punishments and after a round of courtesies and introductions, Nie Jinxuan learned that the official before her was none other than Zuo Wei, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments!

The position of Minister was the head of a ministry! So, upon hearing that this unremarkable-looking man before her was actually a Minister, Nie Jinxuan could not help but be startled, but in the blink of an eye she immediately recovered, then said in a measured tone,

"Lord Zuo, having already attained the position of Minister while still only middle-aged—truly a rare talent and pillar of the state!"

Nie Jinxuan did not deliberately conceal her earlier surprise, so upon hearing these words, it was instead Zuo Wei who was slightly taken aback, then hastily replied with a smile,

"Aiya, the Consort of Prince Chen praises me too highly. This lowly official was merely fortunate, and at the same time was graced by His Majesty's generous favor, to sit in this position today. If we speak of talent, the Consort of Prince Chen has overestimated me~."

Whether Zuo Wei's words were true or false was hard to tell, but they sounded exceedingly humble. So afterward Nie Jinxuan could not help but smile slightly, but then shifted the topic,

"Lord Zuo is too modest. However, Lord Zuo, in truth the reason I, the Princess Consort, have come today is that there is a matter I would like to ask Lord Zuo's help with."

"Oh? What does the Consort of Prince Chen mean by that? If there is anything, speak directly to this lowly official—whatever this lowly official can do, I shall certainly not shirk!"

Zuo Wei answered quite readily, but upon hearing this, Nie Jinxuan only smiled slightly, then glanced with a turn of her gaze at the two maidservants waiting in attendance beside them.

Seeing this, Zuo Wei immediately understood, and then dismissed the several servants in the front hall, along with the guards at the door. Once they had all left, Zuo Wei leaned forward toward Nie Jinxuan and said,

"Consort of Prince Chen, please speak. This lowly official shall certainly tell all I know and hold nothing back!"

"Then since that is the case, I, the Princess Consort, shall speak… May I ask if Lord Zuo is aware of the matter at Zuixiashanzhuang a few days ago?"

……

Nie Jinxuan was, after all, getting straight to the point. At this, upon hearing Nie Jinxuan mention Zuixiashanzhuang, Zuo Wei's face immediately showed surprise, then after glancing left and right, he leaned his body forward and drew close to Nie Jinxuan, saying in a low voice,

"Aiya, Consort of Prince Chen, if this lowly official were to say I didn't know, wouldn't that be deceiving you?! A fourth-rank Noble Consort, and a favored consort of His Majesty at that—such a major incident occurred, how could this lowly official not know?"

Knitting those slanted brows of his, Zuo Wei spoke in a hushed voice, and upon reaching this point, Zuo Wei pursed his lips once more before shifting the topic,

"However, as the Princess Consort also knows, this matter is an affair of the imperial family—it is not yet the Ministry of Punishments' place to manage it. At the very least, until His Majesty issues a word, this lowly official can only pretend not to know~!"

Zuo Wei's words were, after all, quite honest. And seeing his nervous manner, Nie Jinxuan could not help but laugh, then said with pursed lips,

"Lord Zuo speaks rightly. However, Lord Zuo may have misunderstood. I, the Princess Consort, mentioned the case of Noble Consort Tong to you, but I have no intention of making inquiries… Rather, I wished to ask Lord Zuo whether you recall if anything happened at Zhang Family Village outside the city two years ago?"

A fire had just broken out at Zhang Family Village the night before last, so as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, Zuo Wei could not possibly not know about Zhang Family Village. And upon hearing this, Zuo Wei, after a brief moment of surprise, immediately responded,

"Is the Consort of Prince Chen referring to Zhang Family Village, where a fire suddenly broke out the night before last?"

"Exactly!"

"Mm… let this lowly official think…"

Having confirmed the place, Zuo Wei then knitted his brows in deep thought on his own, but after merely a moment, one could see Zuo Wei shake his head slightly, then say,

"No… no, no! This lowly official remembers Zhang Family Village clearly. Never mind the past two years—even within five years, nothing major has happened there. It is only the fire the night before last that counts as the biggest event to have occurred at Zhang Family Village in all these years!"

Zuo Wei said with certainty, and upon reaching this point, he could not help but look up at Nie Jinxuan,

"But why does the Consort of Prince Chen suddenly ask about Zhang Family Village's affairs… could it be that Zhang Family Village and the matter at Zuixiashanzhuang are connected?"

As the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, Zuo Wei was naturally no fool. And upon hearing this, Nie Jinxuan did not conceal it either, and simply recounted the matter of the real and fake Biyao! Upon hearing this, Zuo Wei instantly understood everything, but then immediately furrowed his brows,

"Uh… so you're saying, the fire at Zhang Family Village was also the doing of the true culprit who killed Noble Consort Tong?!"

"Very likely!"

Responding crisply, Nie Juxuan then composed her expression, and said to Zuo Wei,

"However, Lord Zuo, regarding what I, the Princess Consort, have spoken to you about today, I ask that Lord Zuo keep it confidential. After all, as Lord Zuo yourself said earlier, this matter concerns the inner palace and is not something the Ministry of Punishments can intervene in. I, the Princess Consort, came today merely to inquire about leads—and so when Lord Zuo asked, I, the Princess Consort, could not very well conceal it and say nothing… Therefore, the matters within this, I trust Lord Zuo understands."

"Yes, yes, yes, this lowly official understands! This lowly official understands!"

……

In truth, Nie Jinxuan had come to the Ministry of Punishments today primarily for two matters. The first was to indirectly probe to what extent the matter of Noble Consort Tong's death had spread throughout the court and beyond! After all, Noble Consort Tong had died in a gruesome manner, so Nie Jinxuan could not rule out whether the culprit had the intention of deliberately spreading the matter.

And the second matter was that Nie Jinxuan wanted to inquire from the Ministry of Punishments about the situation regarding Zhang Family Village. One had to understand—the culprit's entire plan had been set in motion two years ago, so did that mean there was a connection to some particular matter?!

But the final result was that, regarding the matter of Noble Consort Tong, the culprit had no plan to expand it. And the culprit's killings also appeared to have no connection to Zhang Family Village!

So naturally, Nie Jinxuan was somewhat disappointed by this result. Therefore, afterward, after conversing with Zuo Wei a while longer, Nie Jinxuan rose to leave. Subsequently, Zuo Wei personally escorted Nie Jinxuan to the main gate, but just as Nie Jinxuan was about to board the carriage, she suddenly halted, then in an instant turned her head to look at Zuo Wei and asked,

"Ah, Lord Zuo—may I ask if Lord Zuo knows whether anything major has happened in the capital these past few years?"

"Major matters? Uh… well… there are quite a lot to speak of if we bring that up—I wonder which aspect the Princess Consort is specifically referring to?"

Hehe~, nothing much, this Princess Consort was just asking casually; Lord Zuo, please don't mind.

Speaking, Nie Jinxuan politely nodded to Zuo Wei, then got onto the carriage and left……

……

Leaving the Ministry of Punishments, Nie Jinxuan remained bewildered, and promptly returned to the Wangfu on her own. Who would have thought that, as soon as Nie Jinxuan entered the mansion gate, she immediately felt the strange glances of the servants around her sweeping over her from time to time!

Seeing this, Nie Jinxuan couldn't help but startle, but she still walked straight back to her Ningxiang Yuan. However, just as Nie Jinxuan stepped through the moon gate, she saw Xiao Xiu rushing over in a hurry, and upon seeing Nie Jinxuan, she immediately lunged forward and shouted:

"Prince, Princess Consort, something terrible has happened! The matter of you and the Prince divorcing is now known to everyone!"