Chapter 47 - 45, Drink to Full
At the head of the banquet, the Princely Heir and Princess Bai Li sat behind the table, merely listening to everyone chatting without interrupting. The two whispered to each other, unknown about what they discussed.
Chen Ji felt somewhat out of place in this Literary Meeting, not knowing when Princess Consort Jing would seek him out to discuss matters.
At that moment, Chunhua quietly approached him and, bending over, whispered softly, "My Lady requests your presence for a talk."
Chen Ji surveyed the scene of the Literary Meeting and, ensuring that Consort Yun hadn’t attended, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, in front of Princess Consort Jing, he was a man of the Spy Department; in front of Consort Yun, he was from the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department, feeling as tense as if walking a tightrope thousands of meters above the ground.
He stood up and followed Chunhua to a pavilion, peering through the bamboo curtain into the interior where he could only see a blurred figure of Princess Consort Jing.
Chunhua departed, leaving only Chen Ji and Princess Consort Jing in the pavilion, separated by a curtain.
Princess Consort Jing took a long time before speaking. Chen Ji stood thus, the two seemingly focused solely on attending the Literary Meeting.
After an indeterminate period, Princess Consort Jing calmly asked, "Everyone says Liu Shenyu was driven to death by the Spy Department. Why do you claim he was killed to silence him?"
Chen Ji responded slowly, "I examined the body myself. Someone colluded with the inner prison guards to fake his death as a hanging, but he was actually strangled. This matter can be checked in the Spy Department’s archives."
Princess Consort Jing frowned, "How can I access the archives of the Spy Department? How do I know you’re not deceiving me?"