Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Chapter 119: Chapter 118: Closing the Case _1

Suddenly hearing footsteps stop in front of his cell door, Qin Dezhao clenched his hand and opened his eyes to look towards the entrance, only to see a person in a cloak standing behind the prison guard.

Qin Dezhao’s heart tightened; he feigned composure, stood up, straightened the diagonal lapel of his robes touched by weeds, and asked, “May I ask who you are, sir?”

“Sir, take your time chatting!” The prison guard respectfully saluted that person and then turned to leave.

The person removed the hood of the cloak. Qin Dezhao saw that it was Gao Sheng from King Liang’s side. Feeling the coldest killing intent from Gao Sheng’s eyes, his heartbeat quickened.

Qin Dezhao composed himself, stood with hands behind his back, and maintained his poise, saying, “Lord Gao, please convey to His Highness, King Liang, that Bai Qingyan has found out the names of those who tampered with the grain supplies. She may seize this opportunity to create trouble. Please advise His Highness to prepare early.”

Gao Sheng glanced at the untouched water and food at the entrance. “Does the Marquis know that Young Master Qin has taken the list you gave him, along with loyal servants of the Qin family, and gone to drum at the Court of Judicial Review? Such swift action. Could it be he was acting under your instruction?”

Qin Dezhao’s face turned pale; he had guessed that Qin Lang had been deceived by Bai Qingyan.

“Lord Gao, do not speak rashly. That list was not given to Miss Bai by me. Miss Bai came today, copied the list here, asked no questions, said nothing, and left. The Bai family probably already had this list. Considering Miss Bai’s intellect…His Highness should be cautious!” Qin Dezhao expressed his loyalty, “As for that unfilial son, even if I am interrogated, I will not say a word about it! This matter is unrelated to me. The grain was handed over properly when I delivered it!”

“So, the Marquis is quite loyal to His Highness?” Gao Sheng’s voice was cold and emotionless.

“That’s right. Not only out of loyalty to His Highness but also to preserve my own life! Admitting the truth means certain death! Denying it, even struggling to survive, is still living.” Qin Dezhao stared at Gao Sheng, knowing that expressing loyalty alone would seem hypocritical in this moment. Appealing for survival seemed more sincere.

Gao Sheng drew a short dagger from his waist. Qin Dezhao, startled, took two steps back, bumping into the wall. “Lord Gao!”

“His Highness once told the Marquis, only the dead can keep secrets!”

As Gao Sheng finished speaking, he moved almost instantaneously in front of Qin Dezhao, the sharp short dagger plunged into Qin Dezhao’s abdomen. Qin Dezhao’s mouth opened wide, but no sound came out, his eyes fixed on the flickering candlelight on the cell wall.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝοѵǤօ.ƈο

Gao Sheng embraced Qin Dezhao’s neck, slowly helped him kneel down, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

Not until Qin Dezhao’s hand, which was tightly gripping his sleeve, slackened, did Gao Sheng release him. He hid the gem-encrusted sheath of the short dagger into Qin Dezhao’s deerskin boots.

The dagger was a good one; it easily pierced Qin Dezhao’s flesh. The hilt plugged the wound, leaving no bloodstain.

Gao Sheng put on his cloak and turned to leave. The prison guard came to lock the door, acting as if he had seen nothing, and left.

From New Year’s Eve, with news from the Southern Front, one event followed another in Dadu City, giving no one a moment’s respite.

At the end of the year, Qin Lang, who had voluntarily renounced his position as the Princely Heir, was kneeling in front of the Court of Judicial Review, escorted by soldiers guarding the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage, holding a silk list, loudly presenting evidence of family betrayal for the Southern Grain Case.

The Emperor was particularly concerned about this case. The Minister of Judicial Review, Lu Jin, ordered people to bring in Qin Lang and the loyal servants he brought from the Qin family for detailed questioning.

The Qin family loyal servants, upon seeing the list, believed that Qin Dezhao intended to sacrifice someone for the honor of the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage’s residence. Now, they regarded Qin Lang as the new master of the Qin family and naturally followed the unified statement Qin Lang had just discussed with them in the study.

Qin Dezhao’s advisors claimed that Qin Dezhao had become greedy upon seeing others profiting from transporting grain.

However, driven by guilt and being his first time engaging in embezzlement, he had made many mistakes that were used against him by subordinates. Originally thinking appeasing everyone would keep things quiet, he did not expect each delivery to grab hold of Qin Dezhao’s leverage to embezzle. The further it went, the more daring the officials became, gradually replacing the top-quality military grain with wheat bran.

Ultimately, these people, utterly brazen, even replaced the wheat bran with Silver Taels before transporting it to Fengcheng. Seeing the matter escalate, the Marquis feared implicating himself and began harboring murderous intent.

The advisors detailed the advice they had given to Qin Dezhao and how the guards of the Marquis’ residence had silenced those involved, revealing everything.

Minister of Judicial Review Lu Jin, with the confession from the loyal servants of the Marquis’ residence, imprisoned them, preparing to present the case to the Emperor.

The discord between Qin Lang and the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage was already well-known after Qin Lang moved out of the residence. Moreover, Qin Lang was praised by both the Emperor and Empress as the paragon of aristocratic youth. With the Bai family’s request to protect Qin Lang, the Minister of Judicial Review couldn’t neglect him and temporarily placed Qin Lang in a side hall of the Court of Judicial Review.

Qin Lang complied, knelt, and expressed his remorse to the Emperor, asking the Minister of Judicial Review to convey his wish to donate all the property of the Marquis’ residence to the national treasury to atone for his father’s sins.

Minister of Judicial Review Lu Jin, seeing Qin Lang’s shame-filled demeanor and recalling the words spoken by the steward of the Duke of Zhen’s residence, nodded, saying, “Young Master Qin, rest assured!”

This case, which Lu Jin initially thought would be particularly tricky, had the evidence brought to him by the Marquis’ son before the trial even began.

Holding some gratitude towards Qin Lang, Lu Jin subtly praised him while reporting to the Emperor.

The Emperor did not read the testimonies submitted by the Minister of Judicial Review. He closed his eyes and listened to Lu Jin recount the event’s details, burning with anger.

“The Marquis of Loyalty and Courage is truly audacious!” The Emperor gritted his teeth, fury evident, about to curse Qin Dezhao when a sudden realization struck him, causing him to stand up abruptly.

“Liu Huanzhang deceived King Xin with military grain, yet Liu Huanzhang is at the front lines…how did he know the grain wouldn’t reach Fengcheng?!” The Emperor frowned deeply.

Minister of Judicial Review respectfully bowed and said, “According to the loyal servants of the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage, the list records officials who have all been made to appear dead by accident! One official remains alive…Liu Huanzhang’s brother-in-law, Sun Yiming. The people sent to kill Sun Yiming last November by Qin Dezhao failed, leaving clues and resulting in the death of two guards! Coincidentally, this case was mentioned to me by Jing Zhaoyin of An Jingguo. He said they couldn’t find any leads despite investigating everyone who bore grudges against Sun Yiming! Now it seems the case Jing Zhaoyin was handling can be closed.”

Liu Huanzhang’s brother-in-law?!