Chapter 518: 518. Chapter 518: I Want the Empress Dead

518. Chapter 518: I Want the Empress Dead

Shi Lin, waiting for the outcome, called in sick to the Emperor today.

An Yi and the others returned.

He didn't wait for them to speak.

Shi Lin first asked them, "How did the investigation go?"

An Liu replied, "Master, Zhang Yun is the grandson of the former Grand Tutor, but his family all died, reportedly of illness; now only he remains of the family."

Shi Lin, the former Grand Tutor, had never met him, only heard of him.

He was quite formidable back then.

The Emperor was taught by him.

Zhang Yun is his grandson; could he be an ordinary person?

Shi Lin decided to go meet him.

He didn't go during the day; he went at night.

Zhang Yun was not sleeping; he was playing chess in his room when he suddenly heard a sound by the window, yet he continued his game without a flicker of emotion.

A moment passed.

Shi Lin slipped in through the window from outside; seeing him was not at all surprising, he asked, "Did you expect me to come?"

"Sit."

Zhang Yun beckoned.

Shi Lin sat directly opposite him.

Zhang Yun lifted a teapot on the side and poured tea for Shi Lin.

Shi Lin only glanced at it and did not drink.

Zhang Yun did not urge him either; he took the tea before him and drank it, then said, "You came to see me but said nothing; were you waiting for me to ask you first?"

"Why did the Third Prince have you open the shop?"

Shi Lin opened his mouth to ask.

Zhang Yun shook his head, "I don't know either."

Shi Lin continued to ask.

"Your grandfather was the former Grand Tutor Zhang **, and your father was also literary and even passed the provincial exam; logically you shouldn't be lacking. Why didn't you pursue an official career?"

Zhang Yun coughed a few times and laughed, "With me as I am, do you think I could? Not to mention appearing before the Emperor for the palace exams, even the ordinary imperial examinations I'm probably not able to pass."

Indeed.

Shi Lin examined Zhang Yun and felt he wasn't pretending; his health truly was poor.

He came to his senses.

Shi Lin recalled the question he had most wanted to ask and asked, "How did you know the person behind it was the Third Prince?"

"You only know my grandfather was the former Grand Tutor, but do you know who my mother is, or who my maternal grandfather is?"

Zhang Yun retorted with a question.

Shi Lin shook his head.

An Yi and the others didn't tell him this, which shows they didn't investigate.

Now that I think about it.

They really are unreliable.

Zhang Yun's gaze looked outside as he said, "My mother is a famous Red Matchmaker in the jianghu; she is proficient both in Thus Technique: Lightness Skill and swordsmanship. My maternal grandfather was the head of a sect; all my mother's martial arts were taught by him. Before my maternal grandfather died, unable to part with me, he dispatched two of his adopted sons to protect me; they helped me cultivate several Dark Guard…"

He was being so honest, telling him everything.

Shi Lin said bluntly, "You tell me all this; what's your purpose?"

He didn't believe he had no ulterior motive.

Zhang Yun stood up, "I want the Empress dead."

"Why?"

Shi Lin neither rejected nor agreed; he said so.

Zhang Yun didn't hide anything from Shi Lin; he told him frankly, "Did you think my grandfather and the others truly died of illness? They were killed by the Empress; if I hadn't gone to my maternal grandfather to recuperate, I might have died as well."

What!

Shi Lin was somewhat shocked.

Zhang ** was the Emperor's Grand Tutor, his mentor.

The Empress actually did this.

Shi Lin's question had not yet been voiced.

Zhang Yun seemed to see what Shi Lin intended to ask and said first, "My grandfather accidentally overheard a secret; do you know how your sister's child was lost? The Empress swapped it!"

Shi Lin had always suspected this but lacked evidence.

The Empress's actions were undoubtedly to prevent the Emperor from installing Feng Hui as Crown Prince; if so, why did she leave a way out and even let him retrieve the person?