Perfect Encounter - Chapter 108.3

PROOFREAD BY AFREANA

Chapter 108.3

An Ruochen turned to Mrs. Duan again and loudly instructed Lu Zheng and Tian Qing, “Arrest her and take her back to the Lord Governor for a detailed examination.” Turning around, she ordered a few more guards and then said to the crowd of onlookers, “This is a serious matter. We have to report it to the officials. Did anyone see how this woman appeared? Does she have any accomplices? Who has seen those robbers? Please help us out. If you have any clues, please join me in reporting to the government.”

The guards went into the crowd to ask around and found out something. Someone witnessed that Mrs. Duan was sent to that intersection in a sedan chair and had been hiding in it. When An Ruochen’s carriage arrived, Mrs. Duan rushed to the middle of the road to stop the carriage with red lettering and a white scarf. But when things got out of hand, the sedan chair was gone.

Mrs. Duan was sent to the courtroom, and An Ruochen took the witnesses and beat the drum to report to the officials.

Yao Kun heard An Ruochen beat the drum again and was surprised to hear the reason. When he saw Mrs. Duan and listened to the words of a group of witnesses, he fell silent in contemplation. He asked the magistrate to arrest An Zhifu and record the witnesses’ testimonies, and then he took An Ruochen to the back hall.

An Ruochen impatiently asked before she sat down: “Lord, is there any progress in Tang Xuan’s case? I asked the General. There are some things that I can use to confront Tang Xuan and force him to confess ……”

Yao Kun locked his brows and interrupted An Ruochen’s words, “Miss An, it’s like this. I will put the Duan’s case down first as I want to tell you something first.” He said until here but then stopped, seemingly pondering what to say.

An Ruochen suddenly had an unsettling premonition. She sat down and asked, “What is it that the Lord wants to tell me?”

Yao Kun said, “After Miss left, I interrogated Tang Xuan to no avail, and there was no progress about the witnesses. It took time to go to Yunhe County to get evidence, and I was afraid of delaying the military situation. So I thought of a way, pretending to release Tang Xuan and having someone secretly follow him to see who he would meet up with, hoping to find clues and catch his accomplices.”

An Ruochen’s heart sank, releasing someone for no reason. Fools would know that it is a fraud. How could he give him any clues? An Ruochen asked, “On what grounds did the Lord release Tang Xuan? Was Tang Xuan convinced it is true? Even before that, you said you would go to Yunhe County to verify his identity. Now you have not yet verified it, how can you release him?”

Yao Kun did not seem to hear An Ruochen’s questioning and continued, “Tang Xuan went straight back to Fu’an County after he was released from prison. He went out at around 5 o’clock, bought wine and food, and went canoeing on the Moonlight Lake alone. But when the boat sailed back, there was only one boatman. The boatman said that when the boat reached the lake, Tang Xuan let him stop the boat and did not disturb him. He would just sit on the bow. Then, he listened to the sound of Tang Xuan drinking and eating meat, probably crying. Then after being silent for a long time, Tang Xuan suddenly jumped into the river.”

An Ruochen was so surprised that her eyes widened and she stood up violently, “What!”

Yao Kun said, “Miss An, Tang Xuan is dead. The boatman went into the water to save him but failed. He rocked the boat ashore and reported it to the officials. Lord Qian organized people to fetch the corpse. On the second day, that is, yesterday, the body was found in the lake. I let the coroner’s examine the body. He has indeed drowned.”

An Ruochen was dumbfounded. She remembered Big Long’s explanation: if the Governor Lord let Tang Xuan go, it means that he is a spy or controlled by a spy, then you will leave Zhonglan.

An Ruochen blinked and tried to calm down. But now, Mr. Governor had neither interrogated Tang Xuan nor released him. He was trying to lure him into revealing the clues and then Tang Xuan died by accident.

An Ruochen shook her head again. Surprisingly, she couldn’t recognize the pattern here for a moment. What on earth was going on? Could it be that Tang Xuan wasn’t Mr. Xie but a small spy, so he could just die? But if that was the case, who was the contact person after Young Master Min? Who has the power to decide whether Tang Xuan lives or dies?

An Ruochen stared at Yao Kun, wondering if she could still trust him. False release, a scheme to lure the enemy. This sounded reasonable and reckless but really couldn’t be called wrong. But they clearly said well before she left. But he did not say that he intended to act with this scheme, ah. Even if it came out of the blue, couldn’t it wait for a few days?

An Ruochen gritted her teeth. She had no qualifications or position to condemn the Governor. Even if she was married to the General today, what right did an official’s family have to reprimand the Governor for his actions? Therefore, being a madam is not as strong as having an official position.

An Ruochen took a deep breath, pushed down her annoyance and anger, and asked Yao Kun, “Did the Lord send people to follow and did not find any clues?”

“Right.” Yao Kun nodded.

“Tang Xuan was silenced. Isn’t that boatman suspicious?”

“I interrogated that boatman. He doesn’t know martial arts. If Tang Xuan is a spy, he must know martial arts. The boatman wouldn’t be a match for him. I’ve interrogated other people who make a living on the lake, and that boatman has been in charge of a boat on the lake for more than twenty years. He’s a local man, he’s honest, and the people in the vicinity all recognize him. I have sent people to watch him day and night to see if he has any possible contact with suspicious people. But no suspicions have been found so far.”

An Ruochen did not say anything.

Yao Kun added: “Nowadays, there are some rumors in the marketplace that Tang Xuan was a serious merchant, was defiled and put in jail, humiliated in jail, and had a hard time getting over it, and after he was released, he couldn’t think straight for a moment and threw himself into the lake.”

An Ruochen didn’t know what to say. Creating rumors and triggering speculation in the community to influence the state of affairs are all too common.

“These rumors are unfavorable to both you and me, and they are also unfavorable to General Long.” Yao Kun said.

An Ruochen tried very hard to hold back a cold smile. The most important clues were gone, and he still had to consider the trivial matter of folk rumors being unfavorable. The General was at the front line of the war, while Pingnan County was still in chaos, An Ruochen felt in a bad mood as well.

Yao Kun waited for a while, seeing that An Ruochen had no intention of chiming in, so the topic turned back to today’s matter: ”Your fourth mother brought someone to snatch you. This is fishy. I will interrogate the An family properly. I heard earlier that after your fourth sister disappeared, your fourth mother went crazy. I don’t know where she went to find those people. Perhaps she was also used by someone else.”

An Ruochen still ignored him, Yao Kun had no choice but to analyze himself: “If your fourth mother wants to avenge the death of your fourth sister, she should order someone to assassinate you. Trying to kidnap you is more like a spy’s behavior. She is a housewife. How did she come into contact with these people? This needs to be investigated in detail.”

An Ruochen glanced at him and finally spoke, “In addition to the spy, there is another person who can be the suspect. It is Master Qian. He wants to take revenge on me and kidnap me to relieve his hatred. This is something everyone knows. Does the Lord want to go check on Qian Pei?”

“Okay. I will investigate to the end and will not tolerate it.”

An Ruochen realized that something was wrong. There was something unusual in the attitude of Lord Governor today. Her suspicious heart was once again stirring.

“Now that the front line is at war, I received a military report that the military situation is alright, so I think South Qin still has concerns. It’s just that Miss An has a close relationship with General Long, so you still need to be more careful and beware of spies laying hands on you. If you are a hostage, General Long’s battle will not be easy to fight.” Yao Kun said, “Miss seldom goes out in your normal life. If you want to go out, you should bring more men with you.”

“My Lord, don’t worry.” An Ruochen deliberately said, “I won’t kill myself over too much stress.”

Yao Kun did not have much of an expression.

An Ruochen added: “If I kill myself, it will be his doing. I still hope that the Lord will not give up on the pursuit of the culprit and will return justice to me.”

“I will.” Yao Kun returned, “If misfortune befalls on you, I will not be blinded by the surface.”

“When other people’s misfortunes arise, I also hope that the Lord will think the same way.”

Yao Kun nodded. “I do think so. Likewise, if I meet with misfortune, it is by no means an accident, and no matter what the onlookers say, I hope that Miss will persist in pursuing it.”

An Ruochen froze. What trick was this?

Yao Kun, as if nothing had happened, as if he did not say anything strange, only said: “I’m going to review your fourth mother’s case again. Is Miss willing to join? Although Tang Xuan’s death is regrettable, something that happened is always a clue. No matter what, you have to investigate it properly.”

An Ruochen frowned. If it was acting, his acting was too well.

Meanwhile, next to the hut on Jiang Ding Mountain, An Ruofang stretched her neck and waited. Seeing that Master Jing Yuan had returned, she joyfully greeted her, “Master, how is the city? Can I go home now?”

Jing Yuan shook her head.

An Ruofang’s smiling face converged and she carefully asked, “What happened?”

“Your mother wanted to kill your big sister and made a scene for the government.”

An Ruofang’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait a little longer.” Jing Yuan was annoyed and headed towards the house, muttering as she walked, “This kind of crazy spirit should be thrown into the battlefield to kill the enemy so she will be honest.”

An Ruofang stood there stiffly in anxiety but not knowing what to do.