Chapter 221
Wu Yong pursed his lips and said to Wei Ping, whose rank was several levels higher than his own, "Yes, Lord Wei. Although the Junior Preceptor doesn't fear these things, it still doesn't sound good, does it?"
Wei Ping felt quite embarrassed after hearing them explain the ins and outs of the matter. He hurriedly recounted what had happened during the lecture earlier.
He added, "I will take my men to the Liu family's residence shortly. Once the case is resolved, I will naturally clarify to the public that I received guidance from the Junior Preceptor today.
It was only because I was so astonished that I had such an expression."
Cai Xian, who often collaborated with Wei Ping on cases, had a flash in his eyes. No, he knew Wei Ping too well. A mere case wouldn't cause him to make such an expression; there must be something else going on.
So, he gave Wei Ping a sidelong glance and said, "Old Wei, look, we've been colleagues for so many years, and now, because of the Junior Preceptor, we're all tied to the same rope."
He pointed at Feng Tang, Wu Yong, and the others, continuing, "If you have something going on, you can't hide it from us. Whether it's good news or bad news, we'll face it together."
Feng Tang immediately caught on and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, yes! Lord Wei, just speak your mind. We will definitely help if we can!"
Wu Yong was a bit dazed, but he followed the crowd and nodded along.
Wei Ping thought to himself: I'd be a fool to believe you! Especially that old fox Cai Xian, he's incredibly shrewd!
Knowing he couldn't hide it—and frankly, not intending to—Wei Ping was actually itching to show off to those in the know!
He coughed lightly and said with a face full of joy, "I heard the Junior Preceptor say that in a few days, for my birthday, she will give me a wondrous book called the Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified as a birthday gift!"
Hearing that the Junior Preceptor was going to give Wei Ping a birthday gift, Cai Xian and the other two exchanged glances. Their eyes confirmed it—they were all burning with jealousy!
Not only did the Junior Preceptor remember this guy's birthday, but she also planned to give him a gift. How could the three of them, whose birthdays were still months away, not be jealous?
Full of envy and jealousy, they slowly surrounded Wei Ping. If they hadn't remembered that they were in the government office, and on Wei Ping's turf at that, he would have definitely been in for a beating!
At the very least, Cai Xian, as a Minister, wouldn't just stand by and watch his smug face without doing something!
Cai Xian was not just a Minister, but the Minister of Justice. With him in charge of the Ministry of Justice and Wei Ping heading the Court of Judicature and Revision, they were practically in the same line of work.
Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified—just hearing the name meant it was right up their professional alley!
He chuckled twice, finally unable to resist rubbing his hands together, and decided to try the diplomatic approach first.
So he discussed it with Wei Ping, saying, "Lord Wei, once you get the book, could you lend it to me to read?"
Wei Ping initially wanted to feign refusal to negotiate some benefits for himself, but then he heard Cai Xian continue, "Look, given my relationship with the Junior Preceptor,
when my birthday comes in two months, I might also receive a gift. When that time comes, I will definitely share it with you, my good brother."
Wei Ping thought about it and realized it made sense. The Junior Preceptor was actually very easy to get along with and treated all of them quite well. This old fellow Cai Xian might really manage to score a birthday gift.
However, thinking of Cai Xian's special hobby, he couldn't help but say, "What if the Junior Preceptor gives you a recipe? Like how to make some kind of pie!"
Cai Xian was speechless!
It really wasn't impossible!
But at the thought of the fragrant, crispy, and crumbly meat pie, Cai Xian silently swallowed his saliva and said seriously, "Does Lord Wei think the crumbly meat pie is not fragrant, not crispy, or not delicious?"
The day after the Junior Preceptor taught him the recipe, he was demanded by a group of colleagues to bring the food that even the Junior Preceptor praised so highly for them to taste as well.
So, these people had eaten plenty of his pies under the guise of tasting them.
Before Wei Ping could say more, Wu Yong, who was swallowing his saliva, chimed in, "The Junior Preceptor's recipe is naturally excellent. The crumbly meat pie is absolutely superb. I find it incredibly delicious."
Cai Xian felt as if he had found a kindred spirit and suddenly found the chubby Wu Yong much more pleasing to the eye. "Lord Wu also thinks it's delicious, right!"
He then glanced at Wei Ping again. "Be straightforward, just tell me if it's a yes or no!"
Wei Ping looked at the sky outside and, not wanting to entangle with him any further, readily agreed, "Alright, it's a deal."
He cupped his hands to the group and said, "Gentlemen, I still need to take my men to investigate the Liu family's residence, so I won't keep you any longer!"
Wu Yong looked somewhat enviously at Cai Xian and Feng Tang, who were leaving with Wei Ping. It was a pity that this case had nothing to do with his department, otherwise he could have tagged along to watch the fun!
Wei Ping acted very quickly. By the time Yue Fuguang finished her classes, the officials passing by her hurriedly cupped their hands and bowed to greet her from afar.
Her two older sisters looked at her with starry eyes all the way, but Yue Fuguang was completely bewildered, her head full of question marks.
After listening to the system's explanation, she finally understood the whole story, which was related to the case from that morning.
Just because of this minor case, the Junior Preceptor's persona of being a godlike detective was inexplicably established!
Upon returning to the Yu Manor, Yue Fuguang ate and drank her fill, and then fell into a food coma from all the carbs. She hadn't slept for long when she heard the system calling her.
[Host, Chonghua and Zhou Yunxin are dead, and Bai Yu is dead too!]
"They're all dead? When did this happen, and how do you know?"
[Just over the past two days. I was checking the point balance just now and suddenly noticed that the points had increased by six thousand.]
"Three people, so that's two thousand points per life. Isn't that a bit low?"
[It's not low at all. Zhou Fushan was only one thousand five hundred, and Xu Changyue was three thousand. The others were even less than those two. The points might be higher when the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Ming die.
So getting six thousand points for these three is already pretty good! These don't even count towards the mission points; they are considered extra rewards, so you should be content, Host!]
Where you sit determines where you stand. She wasn't surprised at all that the system was speaking up for its own company. However, thinking about it, what it said made some sense. It was free points, and having some was better than having none.
So she asked about another matter. "How did they die? Did Emperor Mingxi do it?"
[After Bai Yu was secretly captured from Xie Zhiyao's marriage alliance procession by the men Huo Ying sent, he was locked up in the heavenly prison for interrogation and died from the torture.
As for Chonghua, when the Emperor heard that Zhou Yunxin was dead, he felt it would be meaningless to keep Chonghua alive, so he finished him off with his own hands.]
Yue Fuguang nodded. "Taking revenge personally is indeed the only way to satisfy one's hatred. By the way, if Zhou Yunxin didn't die by the Emperor's hands, did she die of illness?"
[Consort De did it. She poisoned her with One Day Heartbreak.]
"Consort De? She seems to be just like the Fourth Prince's mother, Concubine Xin, an invisible person in the imperial palace. I've never even seen her."
[Master, Concubine Xin feigns illness all year round, and Consort De constantly practices vegetarianism and recites Buddhist scriptures without ever leaving her small Buddhist hall. Naturally, you wouldn't see them.]
Hearing the system call her Master, Yue Fuguang's eyes shifted, and she followed up on its words, asking, "What kind of deep grudge does Consort De have against Zhou Yunxin?"
[The enmity of murdering her child and ruining her health. Consort De's original name was Bai Weiyin. Not only did she have a beautiful name, but she was also extremely beautiful herself.
After she entered the palace, she indeed took away a lot of Emperor Mingxi's favor from Zhou Yunxin. From the very beginning, she was hated and envied by Zhou Yunxin, becoming a thorn in her side that had to be removed.
Only a few months after entering the palace and receiving favor, Bai Weiyin became pregnant. Later, according to the imperial physicians, it was a male fetus.
At this time, the Ninth Prince was only a year old. Zhou Yunxin was afraid that Bai Weiyin's son would take away the Emperor's favor from her own son, just as Bai Weiyin had done to her.]