Chapter 219: Chen Yan: I express my deepest sorrow for the death of your noble son

"Yes, that's right, I also remember one of the black-clad assassins saying this..."

Liu Jin's words instantly ignited Dugu Zhang's memory, and he couldn't help but nod and echo.

At that time, the situation was tense, and he hadn't paid too much attention to those words, but now that he thought about it carefully, there was indeed a problem...

"I heard it too!" The guard in the corner, Lin Mingjing, also said loudly.

"Usurper and overstepping?"

"Falsely claiming to be the Son of Heaven?"

Yang Qin's brows furrowed slightly, and he repeated it, muttering, "Could it be that these assassins were sent by the remnants loyal to the Murong clan of the Former Yan?"

"But what goal were they trying to achieve by killing A Gong?"

Restoration?

The Great Zhou provincial troops were all in the hands of the Yuwen imperial family and the Six Pillars of State; that was nothing but wishful thinking...

But the problem was, let alone killing A Gong, even killing him, Yang Qin, wouldn't shake the foundation of Great Zhou's rule!

While Yang Qin was lost in thought, Gao Jiong seized the opportunity and said, "Uncle Yang, we cannot rule out that the person behind the scenes is using the name of the Former Yan to cover their own tracks..."

His words were full of insinuation.

After all, the black-clad man was there to assassinate; anyone who wasn't stupid wouldn't expose their background...

Being able to say words that exposed their roots was a bit too deliberate!

It was hard not to be suspicious!

"If you want to talk about me, just say it directly!"

Chen Yan heard the subtext, raised an eyebrow, and shifted his gaze to Gao Jiong, smiling faintly: "Why be so roundabout and insinuate?"

He appeared completely open and aboveboard.

"Mirror Master Chen has misunderstood!"

Yang Qin, seeing this, immediately made excuses for Gao Jiong: "A Jiong didn't mean that!"

As he spoke, he glared at him, signaling him not to speak without thinking.

Even if he thought that way, he couldn't say it out loud!

Chen Yan wasn't a good-tempered person; if this kid made a mountain out of a molehill, he would suffer for it...

He really was a worry!

"Indeed!"

Dugu Zhang, seeing this, phrased his words carefully and said with a fawning smile, "What A Jiong actually meant was that insidious and cunning person behind the scenes..."

If it weren't for the fact that Gao Jiong's father, Gao Bing, had a deep friendship with the Dugu clan, he, Dugu Zhang, really wouldn't want to smooth things over for this fool...

"Oh?"

Chen Yan's mouth curled up slightly, and after exchanging a glance with Li Tan, he laughed: "Then it seems it was Chen who used a small mind to measure a gentleman's belly?"

Dugu Zhang laughed it off and decisively chose to change the subject: "I still don't know why Mirror Master Chen came with Uncle Yang?"

Between the lines, there was still a bit of probing...

Dugu Zhang just didn't say it out loud, but in his heart, he was also extremely suspicious of this newly appointed Mirror Department Mirror Master.

Especially since he had come uninvited without notifying him...

Chen Yan smiled calmly, his emotions showing no ripples, and said, "Old Li and I had just finished listening to music and were coming out when we happened to run into General Yang, who was coming in a hurry..."

"Hearing that the eldest young master of the Yang family had been assassinated, we came together!"

"Hmm." Yang Qin responded, confirming Chen Yan's statement.

It was indeed a chance encounter. When they met, there was a strong smell of alcohol, and one could tell at a glance that they had just drunk quite a bit...

Even now, although it had dissipated quite a bit, the smell of alcohol could still be detected.

Zhang Yin, the Legal Officer of Jingzhao Prefecture, came to Liu Bingzhong's ear and whispered a few words. He hurried forward and cupped his hands to the two: "General Yang, Mirror Master Chen, the investigation results from over there are out..."

"Speak quickly!"

Yang Qin, hearing this, had no heart to care about anything else and blurted out.

He paused, then continued to ask, "So what kind of poison was it?"

"And where was it administered?"

The reason Yang Qin was so urgent was that he wanted to follow the poison to find the damned person behind the scenes...

Whoever it was, daring to make a move against his eldest son, he would make that person pay a bloody price!

And Dugu Zhang was also listening intently, fearing he would miss a single word.

But his starting point was just fear that he had also eaten the poison...

Liu Bingzhong pursed his lips, appearing somewhat hesitant. After phrasing his words, he said, "General Yang, after repeated investigations by my subordinates..."

"There is no poison in the food and wine eaten by the three young masters!"

Having said that, his peripheral vision glanced at Yang Qin's face, observing his expression.

The officials checking the food and wine all found such a result strange...

Only after repeated checks and verification, confirming there was no mistake, did they dare to report it...

"What did you say?!"

"No poison?!"

Yang Qin, hearing those two words, was astonished. He glared straight at Liu Bingzhong and said sternly, "Then where did the poison that my A Gong was struck with come from!"

If the food and wine weren't poisoned, it couldn't have appeared out of thin air, could it?

The questioning voice was wrapped in twenty years of killing intent. The officials of Jingzhao Prefecture behind Liu Bingzhong couldn't help but take half a step back, all trembling with fear.

Where that gaze swept, it seemed as if even the air had frozen into ice.

"Phew~"

"Good, good!"

While Yang Qin was furious, Dugu Zhang let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.

They were safe and sound, no need to worry...

"General Yang, please calm your anger..."

Cold sweat broke out on Liu Bingzhong's forehead. He bit the bullet and defended himself and his subordinates: "This subordinate doesn't know either!"

"Then have you found out what kind of poison it is?" Yang Qin took a deep breath, temporarily calming his mood, and asked again.

Liu Bingzhong, hearing this, looked bitter. He sized up Yang Qin's expression and said carefully, "No... none either... The poison Young Master Yang was struck with is too bizarre; it's unheard of..."

"We still need to check ancient books and distinguish it carefully..."

"You... you lot!" Yang Qin was instantly furious, his chest heaving with rage. He raised his hand and pointed at Liu Bingzhong, then swept across the crowd of Jingzhao Prefecture.

He paused, then scolded sternly, "What is the court spending so much silver every year to raise you for!"

By the end, he was almost roaring.

Raising scholars for a thousand days to use them for a moment, and the result was that they were useless!

Not finding out where the poison was administered was one thing, but they didn't even know what the poison was!

Trash!

Liu Bingzhong looked at the furious Yang Qin and bit the bullet, explaining, "General Yang, it really isn't that the people of my Jingzhao Prefecture are useless..."

"It's truly that this poison is too bizarre; we've never encountered it!"

"Give this subordinate some time, and I will certainly get to the bottom of it and get justice for Young Master Yang!"

Liu Bingzhong also had bitterness in his heart that he couldn't speak of...

Your precious eldest son, Yang Qin, could be poisoned to death under tight defense while killing all the black-clad assassins. Could the other party be an ordinary person?

Could those methods and that poison be so easy to investigate?

His Jingzhao Prefecture wasn't a god who could predict the future...

Yang Qin glared at Liu Bingzhong, unwilling to waste more breath on him. He turned his head to look at Chen Yan, who was quietly watching from the side, suppressed his anger, and asked in a much softer tone, "Mirror Master Chen, you are the head of the Mirror Department and have solved many major cases. Do you have any views?"

Yang Qin had seen Chen Yan's series of methods in Chang'an...

This time, destroying the conspiracy of the Jingzhou Prefect with thunderous momentum showed his ability even more.

Perhaps he would have some discoveries regarding clues that Jingzhao Prefecture couldn't find?

"I express my deepest sorrow for the death of your noble son..." Chen Yan, hearing this, cupped his hands to Yang Gong without haste and said in a deep voice.

He paused, changed the subject, and continued, "But my Mirror Department is not very convenient to participate in the follow-up investigation of this case..."

"Lest someone say that Chen is a thief crying 'stop thief'!"

Between the lines, only two words were highlighted:

Avoiding suspicion.

Although he said it extremely tactfully, he appeared as if he didn't want to manage it at all.

"Correct!"

Li Tan quickly took over the conversation and echoed, "In order not to be splashed with dirty water, it's better for my Mirror Department not to get involved..."

Having said that, he turned his head and exchanged a glance with Chen Yan.

"We'll take our leave first!"

The two cupped their hands to Yang Qin simultaneously and then turned and left.

They walked very decisively, without the slightest intention of playing hard to get...

Yang Qin was very surprised. He looked at their backs and shouted loudly, "Mirror Master Chen, Mirror Master Li..."

Three days later.

Because of Yang Gong's death, the marriage was called off, and the originally scheduled wedding was canceled.

Wei State Duke Mansion. (Dugu)

The slanting sun of early autumn shone through the mottled bamboo shadows, casting broken gold on the green stone tea table.

The gilded beast-head incense burner curled with dragon saliva incense, intertwining and weaving with the misty Shu tea fragrance in the purple clay teapot.

Dugu Zhao, dressed in a black cloud-patterned brocade robe, tapped the tea cup lightly. The water droplets condensed on the cup wall slid slowly along the lotus patterns, "A Qin, do you think A Gong's death was the work of Yuwen Hu and Chen Yan?"

Yang Qin flicked the tea dregs into the gilded silver tea wash, his movements flowing like water. He shook his head and said, "Big Brother Dugu, I actually feel that the suspicion of those two is actually the smallest..." ===== CHAPTER 220 =====