Chapter 575: A Grown Woman Can’t Be Retained
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
As the party directly involved in the matter, Bai Shuang might be blindsided by some things, but Zhou Qing could see everything clearly.
“Your Imperial Highness, that criminal looks very thin and refined. He honestly doesn’t look like a lewd pervert.”
Su Ying chuckled softly but her smile did not extend to her eyes. “I look gentle and kind too.”
Zhou Qing was speechless. That was definitely not true!
“Yes. Bai Shuang said that when she saved this criminal the first time, he had a lot of external injuries on his body. Judging from the movements and strength he used when he struggled, he did not have any martial arts. His foundation is relatively weak, which means that his body is currently in a relatively weak state. More importantly are the strangulation marks on his neck.”
“What’s wrong with the strangulation marks?”
“There are no obvious signs of struggle on the strangulation marks.” Zhou Qing had noticed this when she followed Bai Shuang and saw Si Chen last night.
Bai Shuang was confused upon hearing that. Did Zhou Qing think or not think that there was something wrong with Si Chen?
Su Ying’s fingertips tapped on the table. “Continue.”
Zhou Qing met Bai Shuang’s puzzled gaze and explained, “Under normal circumstances, even if a person wants to hang himself, he will instinctively struggle when he is about to die. Therefore, there will definitely be some overlapping marks on his neck. Even if he is caught and strangled with a rope, he will still struggle. As long as he struggles, the rope will rub against his neck repeatedly, and the strangulation marks will not be clean and tidy.” Realization hit Bai Shuang then. When she saw the strangulation marks on Si Chen’s neck, she felt that they were a little strange, but she did not know what was strange about them. Now that she heard Zhou Qing’s explanation, she understood. The marks on Si Chen’s neck were too clean and tidy.
“To enable a situation where there are no signs of struggle, the action must have been taken when the other party was unaware. It might have been done when the other party was unconscious.”
“So the other party strangled him with a rope when he was unconscious. Then how could he still be alive?”
Zhou Qing shook her head. This situation was hard to explain.
Perhaps the person who did it was too anxious or too confident at that time and thought that if the person did not move, he was dead. However, the person probably did not die at that time. He was just unconscious and no one realized it.
“Your Imperial Highness… then… is he a lewd pervert or not?” Bai Shuang was bewildered.
“How would I know?” However, more than that, Su Ying wanted to know what secret was hidden behind the key that Si Chen had given Bai Shuang.
“Zhou Qing, take a few people and immediately go into the city to retrieve the things in the storage pavilion. I want to know what exactly is stored in there.” “Yes, your servant will go now.”
Su Ying then summoned the Imperial Guards. “Pass on my words to the Capital Governor. Tell him that the criminal they just captured must be kept alive before I give the go-ahead for punishment.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”
Bai Shuang’s stunned gaze remained for a long time. Su Ying stood up, walked over, and slapped her on the head. “To think that you have worked with Lin Zhuyu for so long, yet you haven’t learned any of her cleverness. What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and pack up. I want to return to the palace.”
Bai Shuang came back to her senses and nodded dumbly. “Yes, yes, your servant will prepare now.”
At the foot of the mountain, a figure hidden in the dark looked at Si Chen being brought out by the officials, and a smile appeared on his face. His master really knew how to solve problems. So what if she was the Empress? She was still played like a fool!
That person secretly followed the officials until he entered the city and saw Si Chen being brought into the Capital Governor’s Office. Only then did he turn around and leave.
Zhou Qing immediately led the Imperial Guards into the city to retrieve the items from the storage pavilion. She then returned to the Imperial Palace, well before Su Ying and her retinue arrived.
Su Ying and her retinue only returned to the palace after noon.
Bai Shuang knew that she had done something wrong, and after returning, she went to look for Aunt Zhao to receive her punishment.
Aunt Zhao was now in charge of managing the affairs of the Imperial harem’s quarters. Su Ying did not let her follow them to the villa this time because she felt that it was not good for Aunt Zhao to travel back and forth at her old age. After listening to Bai Shuang, Aunt Zhao was silent for a long while before she said faintly, “You have been by the Empress’s side since you were young. I also know that you’re loyal to the Empress, but sometimes, you’re just not smart enough. Even if the Empress doesn’t hold it against you in this matter, you still have to be punished accordingly.”
Bai Shuang knelt in front of Aunt Zhao with a guilt-ridden face. “Aunt Zhao, I know I was wrong. I didn’t expect to meet him again. I also don’t know why,’ but I seemed to have been bewitched. I kept feeling that he’s not a bad person.” Aunt Zhao glared at her. “That’s why I said you’re not smart enough. Can you tell whether a person is good or bad just by appearance? Gosh, I say! I will report this matter to the Empress later. You can go to the punishment room to receive the strokes from the pole.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll go now.”
After Su Yun returned to the palace, Zhou Qing gave her the things she brought back.
“Your servant has checked it. There is only a small bundle inside and the bundle contains only one letter.”
Su Ying opened the letter and read it.
As she read the letter, her expression became increasingly ominous.
This was a letter from Qingyang County’s magistrate, Ma Zhi, to a certain person. The letter stated that a gold mine had been discovered in Qingyang County after the earthquake. The content of the letter was that he planned to mine it privately and wanted to usurp the gold mine together with the letter recipient for themselves.
“Truly, when the heavens are high and the Emperor is far away, any knavish dog can have the guts of a leopard.”
“What did Bai Shuang say that lewd pervert’s name was?”
“Your Imperial Highness, he seems to be called Si Chen.”
Su Ying frowned slightly. “Go to the Ministry of Appointments and check if there’s anyone named Si Chen among the officials in the Kun City locale.”
Si Chen looked like a weak scholar and had the opportunity to discover these things. The possibility of him being an ordinary commoner was relatively small.
True enough, Zhou Qing found Si Chen’s name in the appointments book at the Ministry of Appointments.
“If the name this person told Bai Shuang is true, then he is most likely the county magistrate of Yangjiao County.”
The discovery of the gold mine was definitely not a small matter. This matter must be reported to Xiao Jin.
“Send people to the Capital Governor’s Office and get them to protect Si Chen.
The other party might want to silence him.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”
As soon as Zhou Qing left, Aunt Zhao entered the inner hall with some snacks.
Your Imperial Highness, have some snacks. They are still warm.”
Su Ying sat up straight, took a piece of snack, and took a bite. It was indeed still warm.
“Why are you free to come here today, Aunt Zhao?” Aunt Zhao was busy with many tasks, so she no longer served Su Ying by her side.
Aunt Zhao stared at Su Ying reproachfully. “Look at what Your Imperial Highness is saying. Can’t this old servant come over and serve Your Imperial Highness anymore?”
“It’s not like there’s no one by my side. If you are free, you should rest.”
Aunt Zhao poured her a cup of hot tea. “Your old servant just got someone to punish Bai Shuang. This girl is simply brainless. She was not smart when she was young, but she always has the foolish determination to protect her master.”
Su Ying’s eyebrows twitched slightly as she chewed on her snack and looked at Aunt Zhao. “She deserves a beating. A grown woman really can’t be retained.”
Aunt Zhao did not know Si Chen’s identity. She only knew that Bai Shuang had been deceived. “If Your Imperial Highness is worried, your old servant will find her a husband and let her leave the palace.”
“What’s the rush? There’s no rush..”