Chapter 514: A Younger Brother Like a Husky
Chapter 514: Chapter 514: A Younger Brother Like a Husky
It was golden autumn, and the evening maples were lit by the brilliant sunset glow.
From a distance, it looked like a sea of fire under a sunny sky.
In Shen Ningning’s Princess Mansion, she and Mo Lingwei were secretly meeting with Lady Shu.
"Aunt, you can speak freely now." Mo Lingwei sat beside Shen Ningning, looking at the troubled expression on Lady Shu’s face across from them.
Even after Lady Shu was no longer the Princess Consort, Mo Lingwei still respectfully called her "Aunt" out of consideration for their past relationship.
A short while ago, Lady Shu had sent word to Mo Lingwei, hoping for a private meeting with Shen Ningning.
Lady Shu had her trusted maidservant bring out an incense box.
"Ningning, when you and your second brother were investigating the case, I heard that a musk-based incense called ’Crimson Poppy’ was one of the key clues."
"Could you take a look for me and see if this incense is the ’Crimson Poppy’ you mentioned?"
Shen Ningning glanced at it and took a sniff. It was indeed the familiar scent.
She nodded at once, noticing that the box of ’Crimson Poppy’ was more than half empty.
"Lady Shu, is this yours?"
Lady Shu shook her head, her brow furrowed even deeper. "It’s Zhirou’s. I had someone find it in her room. She never used to like this scent; she only started using it recently."
Musk is expensive, so one could imagine that Crimson Poppy, which used musk as its main ingredient, was not cheap either.
But Lady Shu was quite indulgent and doting toward her adopted daughter. As long as it wasn’t an outrageous request, Lady Shu would always grant Su Zhirou’s wishes.
Shen Ningning’s limpid eyes were dark and composed. "But an incense box alone doesn’t prove she’s connected to the case."
"There’s more," Lady Shu said, her eyes filled with deep worry. "I secretly questioned her personal maid the other day. I learned that on the day I held the banquet for her to apologize to Vice General Zhang and his wife, the maid heard a man’s voice coming from her room."
Shen Ningning froze, exchanging a glance with Mo Lingwei.
"Is that true?"
"The maid wouldn’t dare to lie. The servants I assigned to Zhirou were all carefully selected by me. She noticed on two occasions that this man, whenever he visited, was able to perfectly avoid the patrolling guards in the mansion. I’m worried... what if he’s some kind of scoundrel?"
Mo Lingwei’s gaze was cold and dark.
He said, "If Su Zhirou was acting as an inside contact, telling him when to come to avoid being discovered, then it would all make sense."
Lady Shu sighed. "That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. I didn’t raise her well. I let Zhirou become rather vain and materialistic. I’m just worried that she might do something reckless for some reason, hurting herself and others in the process."
Shen Ningning comforted her, "This isn’t your fault. You’ve already given her the best of everything. Her own heart is simply not in the right place."
"Aunt, you don’t need to worry. We will keep an eye on this matter discreetly," Mo Lingwei said with a nod.
The three of them discussed for a little longer.
The maid serving Su Zhirou said that the strange man had not appeared again since the incident at the Qi Mansion.
To be safe, Mo Lingwei secretly dispatched a team of the Crown Prince’s personal guard to go undercover as servants in the Su Mansion and conduct surveillance.
After returning home, Shen Ningning told Xie Ming’an what she had learned from Lady Shu.
At that moment, Xie Ming’an was pacing back and forth in his study.
There was one thing he couldn’t figure out: who on earth was Mr. Qi working for, that he would go so far as to sacrifice his own daughter to achieve his goal?
Even now, after being thrown in the dungeon and subjected to several rounds of brutal interrogation, Mr. Qi had not broken and confessed the truth.
He insisted that he committed matricide to free his wife and daughter from the torment of his wicked mother.
But he’d had many opportunities to do so, yet he chose to act only now. Furthermore, he used the same Lily Frost that Qi Xiuwei had administered, which proved he knew all along that his daughter was attempting to use poison.
These various mysteries, coupled with the fact that Mr. Qi was only begging for a swift death, made Xie Ming’an sense that something was deeply wrong.
"Stinky Second Brother," Shen Ningning called out as she entered his study.
The young woman was stunned by the chaotic mess in the study.
The floor was covered in papers scrawled with all sorts of clues, the related ones linked together by lines of vermillion red ink.
A chart detailing the relationships and grievances within the Qi family was taped to one wall.
On another wall was a timeline of events detailing how Qi Xiuwei was exposed as the Tenth Princess of Changliu Country.
Xie Ming’an had also scrawled his own questions all over.
[Why was it such a coincidence that my sister fell and the Jade landed in Qi Xiuwei’s blood?]
[Was the child Mrs. Qi gave birth to back then really stillborn? Who can prove it?]
He had also gathered numerous books, searching for useful knowledge.
For example, what kind of Jade could absorb human blood.
The entire study was plastered with the materials he had collected.
The only place left to walk was the tiny patch of floor where Xie Ming’an paced back and forth, deep in thought.
When he saw Shen Ningning arrive, the serious expression on Xie Ming’an’s face instantly relaxed.
"How many times have I told you, Little Sis? Call me ’Good Second Brother,’ or ’Sweet-Smelling Second Brother,’ just not ’Stinky Second Brother.’ I, your second brother, am trying to think my way through your friend’s case."
Afraid of stepping on his papers, Shen Ningning could only stand at the doorway.
The young woman mumbled, "No matter how urgent it is, this case won’t be solved in a day. You haven’t even eaten anything because of it. Father told me to leave you alone, but I’m worried you’ll become dangerously obsessed. Look at you, surrounded by all these clues. Aren’t you going to drive yourself crazy?"
She beckoned with her hand. "Stinky Second Brother, come out and get some fresh air! Don’t stay cooped up in here!"
Xie Ming’an clasped his hands behind his back, his fair face filled with confidence.
"The trickier the case, the more excited I get. I have to get to the bottom of it, or I’ll be ruining my own reputation."
"Little Sis, you should go. I need to think some more."
Shen Ningning had no choice but to leave the box of Crimson Poppy from Lady Shu.
"Why is there another box?" Xie Ming’an picked it up, examining and sniffing it.
Shen Ningning threw up her hands in resignation. "Lady Shu found it. It’s the unfinished box of ’Crimson Poppy’ from Su Zhirou’s room. Maybe it can help. You keep investigating, Second Brother. I’m going to watch our older brother practice his martial arts."
The young woman skipped away.
Xie Ming’an was about to stop her. "What’s so great about our older brother? Fine, I’m not busy anymore. I’ll go with you and take a break."
But as soon as the words left his mouth, his sharp eyes noticed that this box of Crimson Poppy was different from the ones he had seen in the spice shop.
It seemed to be mixed with some fine, silver-colored powder that was difficult to spot.
Xie Ming’an immediately walked over to his desk, picked up his tools, and teased some of it out to study.
Shen Ningning had heard him ask her to stay and had already turned back.
Standing at the door, she saw her investigation-obsessed second brother already busy again, and the young woman shook her head in resignation.
’Oh, well!’
’I’ll just go find our older brother!’
After Shen Ningning left, Xie Ming’an remained locked in his study.
Behind the tightly shut door, the occasional sound of CLANGING and BANGING could be heard from within the study.
The servant boy guarding the door outside heard the strange noises within and was genuinely afraid that their Second Young Master had finally gone mad from investigating the case.
「Just as the sky began to show the first pale light of dawn.」
A sudden peal of laughter erupted from his study.
"So that’s it! That’s how it was done! I understand, I finally understand how they did it!"
The next second, the door to the study was thrown open with a BANG.
Xie Ming’an burst out, laughing, clutching a piece of Jade and the incense box. A thin stream of blood trickled from his left hand all the way down to his wrist, but he paid it no mind.
Instead, he rushed excitedly toward Shen Ningning’s courtyard.
Just as he reached the gate, he saw his older brother, Xie Mingxu, who had already been pacing outside the courtyard for a long time.
"Older Brother, what are you doing here?"
Xie Mingxu, dressed in dark brown martial attire with his hair tied in a high ponytail, glanced at his disheveled younger brother, who looked like a chaotic husky, with a calm, cold expression.
He frowned slightly. "I’m waiting for our sister to wake up. I’m taking her out for breakfast. She wants to eat at Fengpu Wonton on the street corner. You, on the other hand... how did you get into such a state?"
Xie Ming’an laughed heartily. "I’m afraid you’re in for a disappointment. As soon as our sister sees me, she won’t want you anymore. You should just go eat wontons by yourself, Older Brother."
Xie Mingxu’s sharp brows furrowed even deeper, and he clenched his fists. "Are you asking for a beating?"
Xie Ming’an didn’t have time to explain. Raising his bleeding hand, he rushed into the courtyard.
"Little Sis, wake up! I have great news for you!"
Hearing the commotion outside, Shen Ningning groggily opened her eyes.
"Who’s being so noisy? Is it that flock of magpies I fed before, coming back for more food?" The young woman sat up, rubbing her eyes.
Her black hair cascaded like a waterfall to her waist, making her small, palm-sized face seem even more fair and delicate, flushed with the rosy tint of sleep.
Wanchun rushed in from outside. "This is bad, Princess! The Eldest Young Master is beating up the Second Young Master!"