Chapter 14
Chapter 14
In the main hall of the Prince Rui’s mansion, not long after Li Mingxiao finished speaking, a guard entered and reported that someone had seen the true culprit.
Lin Qing lowered her head, thinking silently: It really has come!
Li Mingxiao’s eyes darkened slightly. “Bring them in.”
Soon, the guards escorted in a gardener.
The gardener was quite old, his graying hair tangled messily on his head, and a thick beard almost covering half his face.
The guard reported, “Your Majesty, this is the person.”
The gardener trembled as he knelt down. “I am your humble servant, Tian Xing. I pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor…”
The formal kowtow deeply impressed both Li Mingxiao and Lin Qing.
Li Mingxiao made no move to dismiss the courtesy, as if he did not hear it. Instead, he turned to Lin Qing and said, “Lin Qing, you’ve been working hard recently. Take care of your health. Fortunately, Imperial Physician Xu is here; have him prepare some medicine to help you recover.”
Lin Qing smiled brightly in reply, “Your Majesty’s insight is unparalleled. To serve Your Majesty faithfully is my honor.”
Li Mingxiao’s polite words were cut off by Lin Qing. If he didn’t stand with her, that would make him a foolish ruler, wouldn’t it?
He laughed softly, for he was a wise ruler, and Lin Qing was a particularly capable and somewhat special subordinate. The bond between them was something more than mere duty.
Li Mingxiao chatted casually with Lin Qing for a while before suddenly remembering the kneeling Tian Xing. He looked at him meaningfully, noting how the gardener’s limbs did not tremble despite the long scrutiny. “I almost forgot. Lin Qing, you question him.”
Lin Qing nodded in acknowledgment and finally focused fully on Tian Xing, examining him up and down with great interest before asking, “Tian Xing, where is your indenture contract?”
Tian Xing was utterly confused by this pair of rulers. He had come here because he saw the true culprit, right? But after entering, one of them ignored him completely, and the other didn’t mention anything about the culprit but instead asked for his indenture contract.
He had no such contract!
Tian Xing forced himself to answer bravely, “I was not born into a family. I only work in the mansion, in charge of the flowers and plants in the western garden. It’s been three years now.”
“Three years?” Lin Qing blinked in surprise. “Then you must know a lot about flowers.”
She whispered a few words to the guard, who went out and returned about fifteen minutes later carrying two rather unhealthy potted plants, placing them before Tian Xing.
Lin Qing said, “One of these two pots contains a rare flower from the Western Regions, a gift from His Majesty to the Prince. This flower is very delicate—afraid of sunlight, dryness, or being touched. That’s why Prince Rui has always kept it in the sparsely populated western garden. Since you’re responsible for the western garden’s plants, you must have seen this imperial gift. Please point it out.”
Tian Xing was dumbfounded. Although his identity was fabricated, all subsequent matters concerning it had been carefully prepared. Even if the Heavenly Prosperity Guard investigated, they wouldn’t find the slightest inconsistency.
But Lin Qing did not follow the usual path. Without investigation, she simply presented two pots and asked him to choose. If he was truly the gardener of the western garden, he would recognize the imperial flower. Yet he had no knowledge of any flowers.
Especially now, in springtime, both pots contained nothing but two green shoots, indistinguishable from weeds.
Thinking of his master’s plan, Tian Xing gritted his teeth and tremblingly pointed to the pot on the right. “It’s this one!”
Lin Qing’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “You really… guessed right!”
Li Mingxiao lowered his head, hiding a smile at how clever Lin Qing was.
Tian Xing breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed, subconsciously wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
Lin Qing asked, “Alright, now tell me about the true culprit you saw.”
Tian Xing bowed his head, feeling relieved that they were finally getting to the point. He stammered, “While pruning, I happened to see someone enter the small building. When they came out, they took away Miss Ge’s medicine box and took out a white porcelain bottle with some writing about fragrance on it.”
Lin Qing had only asked casually, but Tian Xing’s words suddenly brought to mind a pair of fox-like eyes. “Who was the person you saw?”
Tian Xing lowered his head even further, trembling all over in fear. “It was… it was Your Excellency.”
“So you mean that I stole poison and poisoned everyone in the Prince’s mansion?” Lin Qing nodded knowingly. “Well, since I have a grudge against Prince Rui recently, with reason, evidence, and witnesses, it’s quite convincing.”
Lin Qing clapped her hands mockingly and ordered the guards, “Arrest Tian Xing and lock him in the imperial prison.” Because of the recent reorganization after the Wang Duan incident, the prison was now much more secure.
Tian Xing was once again stunned, struggling as the guards held him down. “Your Majesty is here. How can a mere murderer punish a servant of the mansion?”
Lin Qing stepped in front of him, a half-smile playing on her lips. “You, a servant of the mansion, are quite knowledgeable about the kowtow etiquette.”
For ordinary people, kneeling and shouting “Long live the Emperor” was already impressive. But Tian Xing’s triple kowtow was proper and formal, clearly learned. Together with the earlier suspicions from Lin Qing and Li Mingxiao, from the moment he knelt, both knew Tian Xing was suspicious.
Lin Qing pointed at the two pots of plants again. “His Majesty never gifted any rare Western flowers. These two pots only contain weeds dug from the garden. How can a gardener not even distinguish seedlings from weeds?”
“Last thing.” Lin Qing raised her foot and stepped on Tian Xing’s hand, pressing down firmly. A crack was heard, followed by a pained scream.
“To disguise yourself thoroughly, you must be more thorough. Your face is old enough, and the skin on your hands… is acceptable. But the skin on your wrists is too soft. Every detail is a flaw. Your master must have deliberately sent you to amuse me.”
Tian Xing’s eyes showed a fierce expression. When he spoke again, it was in the voice of a young man. “My master…”
“No need to say more. I know who your master is.” Lin Qing sneered, parting her red lips to utter three words: “Mu Wantang.”
Tian Xing was dragged out by the guards as if choked by an invisible hand.
Lin Qing cursed inwardly. She hated being toyed with like a monkey. Luckily, she didn’t play fair either. If they wanted to play, then everyone would play!
Let’s see who plays better, and who enjoys it most.
…
Elsewhere, Mu Wantang led his subordinates hiding in the flower hall.
All the ministers, for convenience of treatment, had been placed in this temporarily renovated flower hall. Even Li Chenxuan was here.
Imperial physicians bustled through the crowd, busy and never pausing.
It had to be known that those lying here were all important officials of Dayuan. Aside from dukes and marquises, the lowest rank was still fourth grade—key government figures. If any died under treatment, the imperial physicians would be doomed as well.
Fortunately, Ge Yi knew the antidote and, fearing Lin Qing had given Li Chenxuan some pill, dared not conceal anything. After much effort with the imperial physicians, the poison was finally neutralized.
Mu Wantang and a few subordinates hid in the shadows, calmly observing everything. He had not deceived Lin Qing: he was indeed from the Mu family of Yuzhou and had come for the Mu family treasures. But he had a more important purpose.
Lying here were all top officials of Dayuan. He only needed to trigger the drug vapor concealed in the paintings, plunging everyone into a hallucination. Then, guided by them, he could learn Dayuan’s secrets.
Such as military deployment, supply conditions, confidential state affairs, and even the imperial physicians, who surely knew many royal secrets.
All these could cause a fatal crisis for Dayuan.
Mu Wantang knew Lin Qing would not fully trust him. Likewise, he did not fully trust Lin Qing. Sending Tian Xing was only to stir the pot.
He always felt Lin Qing would be a tough opponent. If he could crush her outright, all the better. If not, it didn’t matter; after all, this was a spur-of-the-moment plan.
Mu Wantang signaled subtly. Immediately, a young servant of the mansion ran in carrying Lin Qing’s birthday gift, calling out, “Prince, this gift doesn’t seem quite right.”
The servant’s voice was loud. The crowd, now awake, shifted their gaze from the servant to Li Chenxuan.
Li Chenxuan sat in a reclining chair, supported by Ge Yi. Hearing the words, he took the box and asked, “Whose gift is this?”
The servant replied, “It was sent by Deputy Director Lin of the Heavenly Prosperity Division.”
Hearing Lin Qing’s name, Li Chenxuan felt a surge of disgust, but also curiosity about what she had sent him. He opened the box and took out a painting.
“Deputy Lin, a mere martial man, yet you’ve taken the trouble to send a painting,” Li Chenxuan remarked as he unfurled it.
Coincidentally, a passing servant slipped, spilling his tea—most of it on the back of the painting, some on Li Chenxuan’s clothes.
“Prepare!” Mu Wantang whispered. The tea had been laced with his concocted drug, waiting for its effect.
His subordinates swallowed the antidote immediately.
They all waited, but everyone else ate, drank, and rested as usual. Except for Li Chenxuan punishing the servant, no one showed any sign of being affected by the drug vapor.
Then Li Chenxuan sarcastically slammed the painting on the table. “Deputy Lin, if you didn’t want to send a gift, just say so. Why bother sending me a fake?”
On the painting was clearly written: “Pine Waves and Crane Longevity Scroll.”
Mu Wantang felt a surge of rage and blood pressure, nearly coughing up blood.
No wonder his drug concoction had no effect—this was the very forgery Lin Qing had hanging by her bedside!
He recalled selling the genuine masterpiece for a mere few taels, the priceless medicines he had sent away, and the humiliations he had suffered at the Lin family…
Mu Wantang had never before experienced such cruelty. Unable to hold back, a trickle of bright red blood escaped from the corner of his mouth, lending him a fractured kind of beauty.
Lin! Qing!