Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 104: Death of Hong Xian, New Title

Hong Xian's body was placed in the charity cemetery behind the Dali Temple. After the autopsy, the coroner Xin Wei reported the results to Lu Ling and the others. Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan, led by Lu Shiyilang, had just arrived and heard Xin Wei say, "She was indeed poisoned, but I've never seen this kind of poison before. We examined her body and found no poison between her teeth or under her fingernails. I just don't know how she introduced the poison."

"Are you sure she committed suicide?" Murong Huan was a little unconvinced.

"She died peacefully, even with a hint of a smile on her lips. Oh, and she also left a suicide note for you, my young lady."

Xin Wei brought a bloodstained silk scroll to Murong Huan, who opened it and saw the words: "I've had a very hard life, but now I can finally be free. The evidence you seek, including the places where I was trained, is contained in these two scrolls I left behind. By the way, if you could collect all the scrolls from this assassin organization, you might be able to learn a secret, but it's a secret I can't reveal right now."

"Murong Huan, I'm very grateful that you've awakened my conscience. I once longed for family affection, but then I killed my own parents, then the man I once loved, and finally the man who used me. Now I have nothing else to ask for, and nothing to live for. I just want to quickly regain the family, friendship, and love I once had. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I could be like you, right?"

"Actually, my name isn't Hong Xian. My name is Lin Yuchan. It's a pity that no one will ever remember this name."

After reading the contents on the silk, Murong Huan couldn't calm down for a long time. This tone really sounded like Hong Xian's, and it was also in line with her current mentality.

"But she won't commit suicide."

"Why are you so sure?" Lu Shiyilang asked curiously.

"She promised me that if I saved her life and helped her people escape slavery, she would help me find this assassination organization and rescue those innocent people," Murong Huan replied. "I saw her yesterday, and she didn't look like someone who would commit suicide."

"By the way, where are the two official documents she left behind?"

Lu Ling ordered someone to give the two papers left by Hong Xian to Murong Huan.

When Murong Huan opened the first roll of papers, he saw all the information about the Nanke prefect written on it: Nanke prefect Liu Sizhi was a clerk in the Dali Temple. He came from a poor family and was determined to break free from the shackles of his humble background and rise in his official career. So he secretly colluded with cruel officials such as Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen, looking for opportunities to frame important officials in the court in order to get a chance to be promoted.

Xiao Muchen opened the second scroll and saw the words "The Story of Yingying" written at the top. Below that was a description of the story: Zhang Sheng, a humble scholar, fell in love with Cui Yingying, a young girl from an impoverished aristocratic family. Later, through the handmaid Hongniang's intermediary letters, the two developed feelings for each other, like Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun, their relationship blossoming. At the height of their affection, Zhang Sheng suddenly changed his mind and publicly compared Yingying to Zhou Baosi, a beauty who brought disaster. From then on, their relationship ended...

The two scrolls each tell a story and include the life of the protagonist. The most striking thing is that there is a picture in the lower right corner of both scrolls, which seems to depict the protagonist's final ending.

Seeing this, Murong Huan asked, "Have you captured Liu Sizhi, the governor of Nanke?"

Lu Shiyilang looked embarrassed: "I did catch him, but he's also dead! This scroll of "The Story of Yingying" was obtained from him!"

"He's dead too. How did he die?"

"It seems he died in his sleep, in his own dream. And when we found him, there were a lot of ants surrounding his body. It was strange and fierce!"

Murong Huan looked at the lower right corner of the name list of Nan Ke prefect again with a look of surprise.

"what happened?"

"Look!"

Xiao Muchen, Lu Ling, and Lu Shiyilang gathered around and saw that the image in the lower right corner of the scroll depicted exactly how Prefect Nan Ke died. He smiled in his sleep, blood streaked at the corners of his mouth, and a dense swarm of ants surrounded him, like the family in the story who, upon learning of the coming flood, moved in search of their next home. "So, the murderer wanted all these people to die according to the fate depicted in these scrolls, right?" Lu Shiyilang was extremely puzzled. "What was the motive for the murders? Just to silence them? But now Su Yu has already confessed to most of the corrupt officials he had business dealings with, so why would he silence Hong Xian and Prefect Nan Ke?"

"Of course, it's to cover up a bigger secret than this." Xiao Muchen continued, "Did the King of Wei confess?"

Lu Shiyilang said, "I get angry whenever I mention the King of Wei. Today, when the trial was about to begin, he suddenly went crazy!"

"Crazy? What made you crazy?"

"He just kept muttering that he was threatened by Helan Minzhi and that none of it was his fault. He was also controlled by Helan Minzhi at the time. He also said that Helan Minzhi also knew evil magic like soul control and mind control, and that his soul was taken away and his body was helpless! Then he cried and laughed at the same time. Really, if you say he was acting for us, I have to admire his acting skills. No one can match him!"

At this point, Lu Shiyilang gritted his teeth in hatred and continued, "Then the Sage sent an imperial decree, stripping him of his title of King of Wei, confiscating his property, demoting him to the rank of Special Advancement, and allowing him to return to his own mansion, where he would be confined for retirement from then on."

"Such a serious incident happened, he was about to commit regicide, but he was able to escape death."

Lu Shiyilang was very dissatisfied. Is this the advantage of having the surname Wu?

"Someone must have pleaded for him before the Saint."

"Wouldn't it be considered cliquey to ask for mercy at this time?"

Xiao Muchen shook his head and lowered his voice, "Perhaps the Saint doesn't want him to stand trial. After all, Wu Chengsi knows a lot of secrets about the Wu family."

After thinking for a while, he said:
"Well, since the Saint has issued the decree, then this is the only way. Let's first bring his cronies to justice... However, perhaps Wu Chengsi won't live much longer."

After saying this, he asked, "What about Xue Huaiyi? Didn't he also accuse the King of Wei in court?"

Lu Ling continued, "Yesterday, when you came to the public trial with us, he did admit to conspiring with the King of Wei and Helan Minzhi to rebel. But today he changed his statement, saying that he was also threatened by Helan Minzhi and had no intention of rebellion. He just wanted the Saint to pay more attention to him."

Hearing this, Lu Shiyilang found it funny: "A man, like a little wife, is obsessed with getting the attention of the queen. I'm embarrassed to say it out loud."

"It seems someone instructed them to do this and say this. Hong Xian and Nan Ke Taishou have been silenced, so the next one is likely to be Xue Huaiyi."

As soon as Xiao Muchen finished speaking, a constable from the Dali Temple came hurriedly reporting: "Lu Shaoqing, it's bad, General Xue also... also committed suicide!"

Lu Ling's face changed. "Didn't I tell you to send more people to guard him at all times? How could he commit suicide?"

As they were talking, the group hurried to the prison and saw a burning smell and thick smoke coming out of the cell where Xue Huaiyi was imprisoned.

"what happened?"

"Lu Shaoqing, we don't know what happened. Monk Xue was chanting for a while, and then he suddenly set himself on fire! It's so scary!"

(End of this chapter)