Chapter 283 - 281: I Understand, My Lady (First Update)

Chapter 283: Chapter 281: I Understand, My Lady (First Update)

Xiao Yi couldn’t help but lift the corners of his lips, but then, thinking of something, he resumed a serious expression and said, "You know the situation in Lingzhou now, it’s in turmoil, and I’m not sure how things will evolve. You must be careful when you act alone. If anything happens, come to the Lingzhou Prefecture to find me immediately."

Xu Jing was also aware that Cui Han’s matter was no child’s play, which was why she had come in disguise, not letting anyone know about her relationship with Xiao Yi.

She straightened her expression and said, "Okay, I have Cheng Xiao and a bunch of guards with me; I also have the ability to protect myself, so you don’t need to worry. Speaking of which, what exactly is going on with Cui Han? If Vice General Li, who exposed Cui Han’s crimes, didn’t commit suicide, could it be someone deliberately killed him and forged his handwriting to write this letter, framing Cui Han?"

Xiao Yi shook his head, "We are not clear on that point either. Cui Han... I don’t know much about him. The Military Governors of various places already have few opportunities to enter the capital, and Cui Han has always been low-key and restrained, unlike other Military Governors who are ostentatious. Few people in the capital know him well.

His grandfather Cui Zhenyang was a general in the former dynasty and occupied Lingzhou during its collapse. When the Grand Ancestor Emperor established the Great Chu, in order to quickly stabilize the situation in various regions, he had to appoint him as the Shuofang Jiedu Envoy. Later, the position of Shuofang Jiedu Envoy was passed down through the Cui Family from generation to generation.

However, during the King Wu Rebellion twelve years ago, many Military Governors had some small actions, but the Cui father and son were the only Military Governor without any small actions."

Xu Jing was slightly stunned, "Are you saying that Cui Han might be loyal to the court?"

Xiao Yi said, "We cannot rule out this possibility, but it’s intriguing that two days before I and Prince Zhao arrived in Lingzhou, Cui Han escaped from prison and has been missing since."

Escaped from prison?

Xu Jing lowered her eyes in thought and said, "Now that he’s escaped, there are two possibilities: one, all the allegations in Li Huaiying’s letter against him are true, and he fled out of guilt; two, this has been a setup against him from the start, aimed at driving a wedge between him and the court. Given the suspicious nature of Li Huaiying’s death, I lean towards the second possibility."

This woman’s thoughts have always been very lucid and meticulous. Every time he discussed a case with her, Xiao Yi would gain insights.

He unconsciously looked at the woman in front of him, smiled faintly, and said, "Indeed, I also lean towards the second possibility, but if Cui Han was framed, why would he escape from prison?"

"If he had evidence in his hands proving he didn’t rebel, he could have waited for you and Prince Zhao to arrive and handed the evidence to you. His escape means he might not have proof of his innocence, or more likely, he escaped for self-preservation!"

"Exactly."

There was also a glint of a smile in Xiao Yi’s eyes, "The person who set the trap doesn’t want him to see the people sent by the Holy Emperor to investigate this matter. They want to firmly establish that he intended to rebel, so they plan to harm him, and for self-preservation, he escaped."

Xu Jing then said, "And if we imagine even more boldly, why go to such lengths to frame him? Is it purely because he is loyal to the court? Or is it because he holds something in his hands, something they don’t want the world to know?"

A commonly known as handle.

Xiao Yi couldn’t help but sigh, "You’re indeed impressive, Jing. I think your thoughts are already very close to the truth of the matter.

In fact, during this period, the incidents in Lingzhou involved more than just Cui Han. Many of his subordinates have also had incidents."

Xu Jing was slightly stunned.

Xiao Yi said solemnly, "We don’t even need to mention Li Huaiying, one of Cui Han’s vice generals. Chen Shaoguang, a general under Cui Han whom he highly valued, suddenly died from a fall five days ago. Cui Han’s Jiedu Chief Secretary, Cao Yue, encountered mountain bandits ten days ago and died young. Moreover, the equivalent to Cui Han’s second-in-command, Vice Governor Zhou Wenbai, suddenly disappeared eight days ago, the same day Cui Han had his incident, and there’s been no trace of him since, along with the disappearance of Cui Han’s wife and children."

The more Xu Jing listened, the graver her expression became.

The situation was far more complicated than she had imagined.

After Xiao Yi finished speaking, she said, "No wonder you say that my final deduction is closely approaching the truth. Cui Han’s confidants frequently encountering incidents at the same time is definitely no coincidence. In fact, when Cao Yue had his incident, Li Huaiying was still alive. Cao Yue’s death could have been a warning from the person behind the scenes to Cui Han, but perhaps they discovered the warning was ineffective. Maybe Cui Han’s presence gave them a significant threat and unease, and they eventually decided to take action against Cui Han.

If Cui Han had the opponent’s leverage in his hands, his confidants were very likely to be aware of it too. Hence, the person behind the scenes would rather wrongly kill than let anyone slip through, and wouldn’t even spare his confidants.

Subsequently, other confidants of Cui Han might also face danger..."

Xiao Yi nodded and said, "I think the same way, so after understanding the situation, I immediately sent someone to closely monitor the other confidants of Cui Han and secretly talked to them. They all insisted that Cui Han was framed and that Cui Han had no intention of disloyalty towards the court. However, I could see that they also didn’t know why Cui Han would be targeted."

Xu Jing couldn’t help but frown and ponder.

So, currently laid before them are three questions—

First, was Cui Han truly framed?

Second, if Cui Han was framed, who is behind framing Cui Han?

Third, why did that person, or should I say those people, frame Cui Han?

Seeing Xu Jing deep in thought, Xiao Yi couldn’t help but laugh lightly and tap her forehead, "The subsequent matters cannot be known by analysis alone. Finding out the truth is the task for Prince Zhao and me. Weren’t you planning to find Doctor Yan?"

Xu Jing finally pulled herself away from these questions and said, "Yes, so you should work hard; otherwise, Prince Zhao will complain to me, saying he has to do the work of two people alone."

Xiao Yi’s eyes softened as he looked at Xu Jing, "I understand, my lady."

Those final words were spoken with a gentle, delicate tone, full of affection.

Xu Jing was still not used to such a change, her face slightly reddening, she cleared her throat and muttered "Goodbye", before turning to leave.

Because Xu Jing’s identity couldn’t be revealed to others, Xiao Yi couldn’t personally see her off and could only watch her figure gradually disappear outside the door, his heart feeling suddenly empty.

Had he known, he would have asked for another hug before letting her leave.

This feeling of unreality in his heart, who knows when it will disappear?

Waiting outside, Cheng Xiao saw Xu Jing finally coming out, and immediately stood up with excitement, "Lady... Lord, you finally came out!"

Earlier, Xiang You had dragged him into a small dark room and scolded him harshly.

Cheng Xiao, feeling wronged, finally understood why Commander Xiang resolutely refused to personally escort the lady over!

Xu Jing smiled and gave him a glance and said, "Let’s go, we set off to White Poplar Village."

White Poplar Village is where Doctor Yan is presently residing in seclusion.

According to Zhou Qi, Doctor Yan, like her, is also training young female doctors, and many of her disciples have already graduated, following her example to practice medicine and help the world.

However, their fame is still far from matching Doctor Yan’s, so few people know about them.

As this time involved a real journey and potential dangers, Xu Jing didn’t bring too many people, besides guards, she only brought Chunyang and her eldest disciple Yanhua.

White Poplar Village is located in the suburbs of Lingzhou, appearing to be a very quiet and peaceful village. Before reaching White Poplar Village, Xu Jing had already changed back into women’s attire. Upon reaching the village entrance, she called out to a villager carrying a bamboo basket and asked, "Excuse me, is there a Doctor Yan here?"

Unexpectedly, the villager immediately looked at her with great caution and, in a clearly unfriendly tone, asked, "What do you want with Doctor Yan? Who are you?!"