When the expressions of the two people sank, their thoughts converged in one place, and they thought about the same thing and the same situation. But Xie Zhaoxue was in a state of complete confusion.
He looked at Wen Chan, then at Liang Yanbei, and asked doubtfully, “Your Highness, have you thought of something?”
It was a bit troublesome to explain, and Wen Chan didn’t want to stay in this cell any longer, so he said, “Things are more complicated than we thought. Let’s go out first.”
He walked out of the cell and said, “You order these corpses to be put away and find someone to conduct a careful examination to find out the cause of death of these people.”
Liang Yanbei walked up a few steps, grabbed his wrist, stopped him, and whispered, “Don’t interfere in the affairs of the Zhong family.”
Wen Chan turned his head and looked straight into his eyes, “As long as Zhong Guoyi is still alive, he will definitely try his best to kill me.”
He wanted to say something else but was interrupted by a voice from next to him.
“Why?”
The two turned their heads at the same time and saw Zhong Wenjin, who was wearing a mask, standing in a daze. His expression was still as wooden as before, and his dark eyes stared at Wen Chan, “My…… Father, why does he want to kill you?”
Wen Chan looked at Zhong Wenjin looking like this and suddenly felt a little distressed.
He didn’t know what kind of expression was hidden under this mask, but seeing the little bully who was always lively in the past had become like this now. He was feeling completely uncomfortable in his heart, but he couldn’t say anything suitable to comfort him.
In his previous life, Zhong Wenjin hated the Zhong family because of the matter with Xie Zhaoxue and Xie Yilu, so he killed everyone. No one knew what he was thinking. But perhaps, on some quiet night, when memories of the family that once showered him with love resurfaced, he, too, felt a deep ache in his heart, a sorrow that came not from others but from the wounds he had inflicted himself?
In a way, Wen Chan thought that Zhong Wenjin was much stronger than him. He had a lot in common with Zhong Wenjin, but at least in the end, Liang Yanbei was still with him, but Xie Zhaoxue passed away early.
He had undergone a complete transformation in his own world. From a pampered and feared young master to a cold-blooded killer. He now wielded a sharp blade with ruthless precision, slaughtering even his own blood relatives.
That’s why Wen Chan always thought that Zhong Wenjin was a lunatic because if those experiences happened to him, he would have collapsed long ago.
At this moment, Zhong Wenjin was not as strong as he was in his previous life after losing everything. He was still a teenager and was helpless in the face of this sudden change.
Wen Chan sighed lightly and patted his shoulder, “If you have doubts, just remember that I am hostile to the Zhong family, but not to you.”
“Why?” Zhong Wenjin repeated blankly.
“I’m sorry I can’t tell you the reason now.” Wen Chan said, “But one day I think you will understand.”
He really couldn’t explain to Zhong Wenjin now those things hidden in his heart. Even if he said the things hidden in his heart, no one would believe it.
“Forget it; let him calm down.” Liang Yanbei knew Zhong Wenjin’s current state and that he couldn’t be persuaded with a few words. So he pulled Wen Chan back a few steps.
Then Xie Zhaoxue also came out. After the two of them said goodbye to them briefly, they left the Gecha Mansion together, walked a long way to the side, and stopped by the carriage.
Before getting on the carriage, Wen Chan asked him, “Do you feel uneasy?”
Liang Yanbei was taken aback when he heard these words. Wen Chan continued, “The Zhong family has become what it is now. It was all designed by us. Zhong Wenjin is now depressed, and it seems that he is really sad.”
He knew that Liang Yanbei was not a ruthless person. In any case, Zhong Wenjin had followed them all the way to Wuyue Island, and they had a friendship.
Targeting the Zhong family was bound to hurt Zhong Wenjin. Wen Chan had already thought about this issue before. But when he really saw him like that, he couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted.
Liang Yanbei thought for a while and said, “I can only apologise to Zhong Wenjin. If his relatives want to hurt you, then I have no choice but to protect you, even if doing so will hurt innocent people.”
When he said this, his eyes were full of seriousness, without any adulteration. Such a firm look made Wen Chan really feel it.
His heart shook, and he blurted out, “Liang Yanbei, I sometimes can’t figure out how I can be worthy of you doing this?”
Liang Yanbei laughed softly when he heard the words, patted his head with his palm, and replied, “I think it’s worth it in any way.”
Wen Chan was a little embarrassed for a moment and coughed dryly, “I’m leaving. See you another day.”
This time he did not stop him for the first time but just watched Wen Chan get on the carriage and gradually go away. After the shadow of the carriage disappeared, he returned to Gecha Mansion.
Xie Zhaoxue was holding Zhong Wenjin’s hand and whispering something, while Zhong Wenjin had his head lowered.
Liang Yanbei glanced at the two people’s clasped hands and raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. His emotions then quickly flashed, and he said to Xie Zhaoxue, “Is there really no clue about Zhong Guoyi’s whereabouts?”
“No.” Xie Zhaoxue seemed to have expected him to return, and said calmly, “He really disappeared out of thin air, just like the assassin who tried to assassinate His Ninth Royal Highness before. We couldn’t find anything strange at all.”
Liang Yanbei was silent, thoughtful.
“Brother Yanbei, what happened to what I asked you before?” Xie Zhaoxue asked.
“They are very fast. Yesterday they sent a message saying that they are almost in the capital. They will arrive in the next two days.” He said, “When they arrive in two days, I will take them to find you. If you have any news about Zhong Guoyi, let me know as soon as possible.”
Xie Zhaoxue nodded in response.
He wasn’t a fool. Reflecting on the various events of the past few days, he realised that a hidden game was quietly unfolding behind the scenes.
The sky in the capital became dark.
After the news was reported to the court, the emperor was furious and conducted another thorough investigation. In fact, just like before, nothing was found, and he could only try his best to suppress the rumours.
In the next few days, Wen Chan was in the palace, patiently waiting for news about Zhong Guoyi. He thought that if Zhong Guoyi were still alive, he would definitely come to his door.
Originally, the incident of the Zhong family being raided had not yet subsided when the Gecha Mansion caught fire, and then so many people died, which gave the people in the capital a lot of topics to talk about after dinner.
So there were all kinds of rumours about the Zhong family. Of course, people couldn’t be idle after they were full, and they always had to say something when they were free.
Some people said that the Zhong family were actually the reincarnation of evil gods. If anyone harmed the Zhong family, they would be cursed by bad luck and would die a miserable death.
Some people say that the death of the guards in the Gecha Mansion was caused by the ghost of Zhong Wenting.
Some people also said that the Zhong family’s followers could no longer hold back and were about to take action.
After Ah Fu told Wen Chan about these strange rumours, Wen Chan scoffed, “They all worship the Zhong family as gods. It can be seen that these people are really bored.”
“That’s not the case. Everyone explained it vividly, just as if it were the truth.” Ah Fu said, agreeing.
“Let them go. Anyway, they can only talk.” Wen Chan said.
At least in the first round of the game, Wen Chan won against the Zhong family.
After a period of tense nerves and fighting overtly and covertly, Wen Chan was a little tired. So on a sunny afternoon, he once again took Ah Fu, Qin Qi, and Shu Hua out of the palace to play.
The weather was getting colder and colder, and Wen Chan wore thick clothes under Ah Fu’s nagging. He also wore a cotton hat embroidered with golden Ruyi patterns, and the bright colours draped on his body made his face look more and more exquisite.
The capital was quite lively that day because a group of □□[footnote]It was originally like this in the raws[/footnote] merchants entered the capital.
These kinds of merchants were itinerant traders without fixed stalls. They travelled in groups from place to place, buying up whatever others wanted to sell or anything interesting they came across, then reselling it elsewhere.
Nothing sold by □□ merchants was ordinary. So when people heard that this group of merchants had entered the capital, many of them rushed to see them.
Of course, in the capital, such things were typically reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Ordinary people had no chance of buying them.
The merchants’ temporary marketplace was set up to the west of Donghu Bridge. It was not a prosperous area, and there were not as many people as on Yufu Street on weekdays. However, at this moment, most of the people in the capital gathered there, and some of them had very extraordinary identities.
As soon as Ah Fu got the news, Wen Chan could not stay any longer and led his people to the west of the bridge.
There were indeed a lot of people, but it was not chaotic. The vendors were very smart to separate the onlookers from the buyers with fences and ropes. If you want to enter the inner circle, you need to take out a string of 100 cash.
Ordinary people naturally would not spend so much money to watch the excitement and would rather stand farther away to watch.
When Wen Chan approached, he saw that in the inner circle, the vendors had set up several tables, and there were a lot of dazzling things on the tables. Some looked ordinary, but some also looked quite gorgeous, and there were many kinds.
He noticed that there was a wooden stick on one of the tables. The body of the stick was about one arm thick and eight feet high. It was unknown what was hanging on the top of the stick. It was covered with vermilion silk cloth, and it looked round and bulging.
This thing was different from others. So it is clearly rarer and more expensive.
“Dear bosses, I am very grateful that you all came to visit our humble stall in your busy schedule. If there is anything you like, you can take it away directly at a fixed price.” One of the dark-skinned women said.
Perhaps they □□ all year-round; the skin tones of the several merchants were dark, and it could be seen at a glance that they indeed had weather-beaten skin.
This was a seasoned group, well-versed in dealing with nobles and officials from all walks of life. They began with some mysterious-sounding words, “Everything on this table was gathered from across the land. Each item is one of a kind. For them to be here today and meet all of you esteemed sirs is a matter of fate. If something catches your eye, then for the sake of that fate, you ought to take it home.”
“Looking at these things on your table, I don’t think they are rare treasures.” Someone said.
“I didn’t say it’s a treasure, but each thing has its own special price, and the price tag all has the word fate.” A strong businessman took out a piece of blue glass gem from his sleeve. He raised it slightly and let the sun shine on the gem at a clever angle, making it sparkle.
The gem was made exquisitely. It looked very beautiful at first glance, and it instantly made many people jealous.
The merchant said, “The price of this gem is determined by fate. If someone can guess the price of this gem, I will sell it to you. If not, it means that none of you sirs present is the right person for it.”
As soon as these words came out, many people began to discuss in a low voice, with much ridicule in their words.
“This intention is too obvious. Isn’t it just to see who bids the highest price? In the end, how much silver the gem is worth would still be determined by his words. Do you think we are all fools?”
Wen Chan nodded approvingly when he heard this.
The primary goal of a merchant was to earn a profit.
Translator’s corner
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Thank You for the new chapter (⋈◍>◡<◍)。✧♡