The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 101 The Wrongful Conviction of the Burial of Books

Ni Tianze's body trembled, and he raised his gaze to look at Lian Hongling, his eyes filled with undisguised wariness and confusion.

"Master, have you ever heard of the infamous 'Burial of Books' case that shook Qinglu?" Lian Hongling said, glancing briefly at Ni Tianze before continuing.

“My mother was a servant who fled from the Ni family. Although the grasslands did not allow intermarriage with foreign tribes, my father still defied public opinion and married my mother. I have heard my mother talk about the Ni family’s case.”

"Since you know, then I won't say anything more. Please leave!" With a cold snort, Ni Tianze's expression was gloomy, a layer of frost covering his bronze face, and his dark eyes were full of indifference and aloofness that kept people at a distance.

"Hongling, tell me in detail what you know about what happened." Yin Quan's gaze swept over him subtly before she pursed her lips and looked at Lian Hongling.

Upon hearing her words, Ni Tianze's expression turned cold, and he stood up and walked towards the window.

Glancing at his clenched fists, Yin Quan nodded to Lian Hongling, who then spoke after a slight movement of her lips: "The Ni family of Qinglu is a renowned family of officials in Puyang City. Three generations of their family have produced Juren (successful candidates in the imperial examinations), and I've heard that two of their ancestors even achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations. My mother once said that Ni Shixuan, the head of the Ni family, is a famous legal advisor in Qinglu County. He has not only solved many unsolved cases but has also been involved in many major corruption cases. The previous prefect of Puyang lost his post because of Ni Shixuan's uprightness..." As she spoke, Lian Hongling paused, her gaze involuntarily drifting towards Ni Tianze, who was standing by the window.

Seeing the barely perceptible hesitation in her eyes, Yin Quan pursed her lips and said, "Continue."

"Yes, Master." Lian Hongling nodded slightly, turning her gaze away from Ni Tianze, and continued, "My mother said that Master Ni was an upright man throughout his life, but because of the Prefect of Puyang, he took his anger out on the Prefect's sister, who was married to a powerful figure in the capital. As a result, he was framed by villains, leading to the extermination of his entire clan. My mother once told me that if Master Ni hadn't dismissed the servants in time, he too would have perished. I heard that Master Ni's only son happened to be away from the mansion that day, thus escaping the calamity." After speaking, Lian Hongling's originally straight brows furrowed slightly. She looked at Ni Tianze's straight back, her lips pressed together, her eyes filled with worry and sympathy.

Her voice was low, as if afraid of being overheard by the figure standing by the window. Even so, every word she uttered was heard and remembered by Ni Tianze. Every word Lian Hongling spoke was like a sharp sword, piercing his heart, twisting and churning, churning out the resentment and sorrow that had been buried deep within him for so long. Like scalding spring water gushing from the earth, it could be fatal in a single blow.

Yin Quan's gaze lingered on Ni Tianze's increasingly clenched fists. She moved her lips slightly, then stood up and walked towards him.

"What has kept you alive until now?" She didn't comfort him, nor did she offer any gentle words. Instead, her voice sounded to him like a babbling brook flowing through a snowy winter plain, clear and chilling.

"Living a wretched life?!" Ni Tianze sneered and turned around, his body twitching slightly. His originally honest face was now etched with a deep, bone-deep sorrow.

He glanced at her, then walked into the inner room. A moment later, he emerged from it carrying a bundle wrapped in black cloth.

He stopped in front of Yin Quan, opened the bundle, and saw that the black cloth had been spread out, revealing a thick stack of dark chestnut-colored memorial tablets.

Feeling a stinging pain in her eyes, Yin Quan frowned, staring intently at the memorial tablets, as if she could see the unjustly killed corpses emitting mournful cries.

Biting her lip, she took a deep breath and shifted her gaze from the memorial tablet to Ni Tianze, her eyes holding a soft, warm glint like the spring sunshine.

"You ask me why I'm still alive?! These, these wronged souls who died unjustly are my reason for living!" Ni Tianze said, forcefully pulling the black cloth from under the memorial tablet. A series of cracking sounds followed, and Yin Quan froze on the spot. Harina was startled by his extreme action and let out a low gasp.

Lian Hongling supported Harina's shoulders and held her in her arms. Her dark eyes were fixed on Ni Tianze, whose eyes were red, and her gaze contained an undisguised pity.

Raising her gaze to meet Ni Tianze's eyes, which were filled with grief and indignation, Yin Quan asked in a deep voice, "Whom did the Prefect of Puyang's younger sister marry?"

"Yin Zhengting!" Ni Tianze almost gritted his teeth as he forced the name out from between his lips. He stared at Yin Quan, his emotions running high, so much so that the muscles in his cheeks twitched slightly.

Yin Zhengting?!

Upon hearing this, Yin Quan was shocked. She felt a sudden boom in her mind, and then it seemed as if she lost all consciousness.

Yin Zhengting?!

The biological father of the person in this body is actually Ni Tianze's father's killer?!

Damn, this is way too much dog blood!

Upon hearing Ni Tianze's answer, Lian Hongling and Harina's expressions became subtle and complex. They both looked at her almost simultaneously, while she seemed still processing the name he had just uttered.

"that……"

"Master!" Harina, quick to speak, called out to Yin Quan, nipping her in the bud when she tried to confess.

He pulled her close and whispered, "Master, you can't..."

“It’s alright. This is the sin he committed, and he should pay for it.” Yin Quan said, squeezing Harina’s wrist. Then she turned to look at Ni Tianze and spread her hands, saying, “The person you’re talking about seems to be my father.”

Upon hearing this, Ni Tianze froze on the spot as if struck by lightning. His eyes, which had been bloodshot, suddenly widened, and his dark pupils stared at her intently. Even his lips parted slightly, forming a barely visible narrow slit.

“If the prefect of Puyang’s younger sister’s surname is Liu and her given name is Ruyue, then you don’t need to look for her anymore, she is already dead.”

Another bombshell of news exploded in his ears. Ni Tianze stared at Yin Quan, completely unsure how to react.

Liu Ruyue...

That's that heartless woman!

This caused the deaths of all sixteen members of the Ni family, including even infants still in swaddling clothes!

His poor little brother, only a few months old, died because of that beastly woman!

Liu Ruyue! Good riddance!

Death, good, good...

Tears welled up in his eyes. Ni Tianze raised his sharp, angular chin, and slowly loosened his clenched fists, revealing shocking, bright red bloodstains on his palms.

"You're bleeding!" Lian Hongling exclaimed as she stepped forward, grabbing his strong wrists and pulling him towards the door. However, he stood motionless, his feet seemingly glued to the ground. No matter how hard she tried, he wouldn't budge.

"You just said that Yin Zhengting is your father?" Seemingly unaware of Lian Hongling in front of him, Ni Tianze looked away from Yin Quan, a hint of confusion in his dark eyes.

Whether it was because the news came too suddenly or for some other reason, Ni Tianze looked somewhat dazed, as if he had just woken up from a dream and was still a little confused.

He gazed at her, a slight tremor appearing on his slightly parted lips.

She looked back at him and saw his restraint.

“Not bad.” Taking a deep breath, Yin Quan responded calmly.

She never had any good feelings towards Yin Zhengting. Back then, it was because he failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a father that she, a lonely soul from another world, had the opportunity to take advantage of him.

Although he was never the direct killer, he was more despicable and unforgivable than the killer.

If it weren't for his indulgence and arrogance towards Liu Ruyue, the real Yin Quan would never have left this world at such a young age with endless sorrow.

As a lawyer, she has always believed in karma and that good and evil are rewarded accordingly.

At this moment, Ni Tianze, standing in front of her, is the best proof.

Looking down at the figure in front of him, Ni Tianze felt waves of intense emotions surging within him.

He couldn't even describe the emotions in words; there was resentment, grief, and utter bewilderment and suddenness.

In fact, he had been lying in wait on the outskirts of the capital for a long time, imagining countless times the thrill of personally killing his enemies. He wanted to use the blood and heads of Yin Zhengting and Liu Ruyue to appease the sixteen wronged souls of the Ni family. The hatred he had been thinking about day and night was almost constantly clamoring and surging within him, like a ferocious beast stirring up his internal organs into chaos, making every breath he took feel like his lungs were being torn apart with unbearable pain.

He was only freed from his relentless nightmares when she came to him with strange blueprints.

Revenge is the only goal that has driven him to live on, even after abandoning all dignity.

But when his enemy's daughter stood in front of him, he hesitated at first.

He was not a bloodthirsty person.

Looking into her dark eyes, which shone like stars, he realized that, in fact, the hatred that tormented him day and night, churning within him, seemed to only plunge him into endless suffering.

Even after learning of Liu Ruyue's death, he still did not experience the satisfaction of avenging his great enemy.

On the contrary, the emotions that surge from the limbs to the chest are more like a relief.

"Ni Tianze..." In a daze, Yin Quan's familiar voice came to his ears.

Upon hearing this, his dark eyes flickered slightly, as if he had suddenly come to his senses, and his gaze swept back and forth between Yin Quan and Lian Hongling.

"I've taken on the murder case involving the Ni family." Yin Quan said, enunciating each word clearly as she intently looked at him.

Looking at her, Ni Tianze's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I will seek justice for the sixteen innocent lives lost by the Ni family." Yin Quan's voice remained completely calm, sounding no different from usual. There wasn't even a trace of sympathy or pity; she simply spoke quietly, gazing at him with composure.

Ni Tianze looked at her, his tightly pursed lips twitched slightly, then pressed into a straight line again, repeating this for a long time, before finally turning into a barely audible long sigh that floated into everyone's ears.

"I have been a glass craftsman here for five years. How do you intend to overturn a case from five years ago?"

"You've been lying low in the suburbs of Beijing for five years, all for the day you could overturn the verdict, right?"

Instead of answering Ni Tianze's question, Yin Quan curled her lips and asked a question in return.

Upon hearing her question, Ni Tianze's cold and hard face finally softened slightly.

"Were there any other people with you that day?"

Ni Tianze was startled, and his gaze toward Yin Quan became even more profound.

Seeing this, Yin Quan glanced briefly at Harina and Lian Hongling beside him, and then said in a deep voice, "You can just tell me."

Upon hearing this, the surprise on his face faded slightly, and his lips, which had been pressed tightly together, parted a little: "Very well, if you intended to harm me, you wouldn't have waited until now."

As he spoke, he carefully closed the doors and windows, then turned around to look at the three people behind him before speaking.

Once outside the capital, Xiahou Ying stared intently at the map, a faint look of contemplation appearing between his brows.

Among the disaster reports from various states and counties, Qiucheng County was not the most severely affected county, but the consequences were the most severe.

There must have been some reason that delayed the submission of the memorial... which led to this great disaster.

His gaze swept back and forth across the intersecting blue and black lines on the map, Xiahou Ying's thin, crimson lips tightened slightly, and his expression appeared rather somber.

Thinking this to himself, he reached out and lifted the curtain of the square window, asking Wei Jun, who was riding a horse, "How far is it from here to the ferry?"

“Not far, only five li,” Wei Jun replied.

"Abandon the carriage and ride horses; we'll take the waterway instead," Xiahou Ying ordered in a deep voice. Before he could finish speaking, the carriage quickly came to a stop.

He jumped off the carriage, walked a few steps to the front, where Wei Jun was already waiting with the reins in hand.

About half an hour after Xiahou Ying rode away, Gu Lounan and his confidants caught up with the carriage. Gazing at the charred remains, Gu Lounan, dressed in a dark brocade robe, raised a wicked smile, his phoenix eyes narrowing slightly. He then reined in his horse, turned it around, and whipped it back the way he had come.

After listening to Ni Tianze's account of the whole story, Yin Quan racked her brains but could hardly find the words to describe the emotions she felt at that moment, which could only be expressed as "shock".

She looked at him, took his hands in hers without saying a word, and after a brief silence, slowly asked, "Besides your deceased master, is there anyone else who knows your identity?"

“No, after my master passed away, my old house was burned down, and then I came here. It has been five years since then. Most of the officials involved in the case have resigned, and no one knows my identity.” Shaking his head, Ni Tianze responded in a deep voice.

"Alright, I will seek justice for the Ni family's wrongful conviction." After saying that, Yin Quan squeezed Ni Tianze's hands tightly, and was about to let go, but he grabbed her hands in return.

A complex emotion gradually gathered on that bronze face. Yin Quan pursed her lips, not refusing the warmth from his palm.

"Thank you, Miss Yin! Thank you!" His gaze was sincere, yet tinged with an indescribable sorrow—the excitement of being reborn after despair, the complete release of long-suppressed emotions.

She looked at him, at those clear, dark eyes that were untouched by worldly dust or resentment, and for a moment a tightness and bitterness welled up in her chest.

Even though she had handled countless civil and criminal cases and met all sorts of people, her heart still trembled violently when she saw the seven-foot-tall man who had become resolute yet vulnerable because of the injustice he had committed against his family.

From the moment she left the glass workshop until she returned to Zhaoyang City, Yin Quan's hands and feet remained icy cold.

Harina and Lian Hongling followed behind her in silence. Both were quite depressed because of the Ni family's affairs, and they just kept walking silently, not noticing the black figure riding towards them in the distance.