NOVEL NEXT chapter 17
Chapter 17 Fishing Law Enforcement (1)
“Young master, you don’t really want to investigate the real culprit, do you?”
Ling Yan asked.
She was indeed not good at considering those struggles, but this did not mean she was stupid. The so-called investigation by His Majesty was simply forcing a confession. Qin Ji had done nothing, and because there was a suspicion, he had to find out the real culprit? It was really frustrating.
In the end, His Majesty didn’t have to do anything. If he couldn’t find out, he would just blame the young master. If he found out, he would blame the real culprits. Is this reasonable?
“Since His Majesty asked me to investigate, I have no choice but to go. It’s not a matter of whether I want to or not—I must go.”
“Alright, what do you need me to do?”
Ling Yan asked.
However, Qin Ji shook his head: “There is nothing you need to do. You just need to stay in the mansion. Protecting me is your only goal.”
“Not taking the initiative to attack?”
“Taking the initiative to attack? That would only tell the other party that we lack patience.”
Qin Ji lay comfortably on his bed and continued, “The other party’s actions were simply to frame me. If possible, killing me directly would be the best. Their real goal is to have His Majesty kill me. This way, they don’t have to dirty their own hands. Since there is no movement from His Majesty’s side and I am responsible for investigating this matter, they will definitely not be able to sit still. After all… in their eyes, it might be that His Majesty has given me a chance for revenge.”
As Qin Ji said this, he picked up the tea Ling Yan had brewed and took a sip. “Da Xia needs stability now. Since they took the initiative to provoke, and I have the imperial edict in my hand, it would be better to leave them hanging for a while. They will naturally become anxious.”
Ling Yan lay by the bedside, her arms resting under her chin, looking at her young master. “Are you so sure they won’t be able to hold back?”
“They won’t hold back because, in their eyes, His Majesty has listened to my ‘slander’. This time, they thought they could bring me down, but I am completely fine. Even if they are foolish, they should realize something is wrong. So, to finish the job, killing me completely is the best choice. At worst, they can push out a minor official to take the blame. Standard procedure.”
At this point, Qin Ji sat down and pointed at Ling Yan.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see what happened today, but next time, in front of His Majesty, you must not be so rude. No matter what, she is still His Majesty. Your murderous intent towards her does us no good, understand?”
“Mm… I understand.”
Ling Yan bit her lip gently and lowered her head. She knew she had gone too far today. Since the young master was not flustered in front of His Majesty, it meant the situation was still under his control. However, she had completely exposed her sharpness.
“I know you mean well, but sometimes, restraining yourself is actually helping me. Of course, you don’t need to feel guilty. Today’s events were indeed beyond my expectations. If you weren’t by my side, I would lose many means to confront His Majesty.”
“You don’t need to comfort me, young master.”
“I’m not comforting you. It’s the truth.”
Qin Ji’s smile looked warm, which did comfort Ling Yan a bit. However, she still realized a fact: she had indeed put the young master in danger.
This is no joke. If His Majesty were really frightened by her murderous intent or felt his life was threatened and completely broke with the young master, as a guard, she would have done more harm than good.
“Are you still dwelling on this? It’s already over. Just remember the lesson for next time. Or do you feel uncomfortable if I don’t punish you?”
Qin Ji said teasingly.
But as soon as he said this, Ling Yan lowered her head and nodded slightly.
“……”
Seeing her like this, Qin Ji’s mind fell into a brief frenzy.
This girl definitely has a screw loose!
“Let Si Yue punish you.”
Qin Ji decisively chose to pass this headache-inducing problem to his sister. This is normal; sisters are meant to take the blame. This is the normal operation between siblings.
Obviously, Ling Yan did not expect Qin Ji to make such a choice. She was stunned for a moment, then saluted and walked towards Qin Si Yue’s room.
Qin Ji withdrew his gaze and carefully pondered the possibility of uncovering the mastermind behind the scenes.
After thinking for a long time, he finally made a decision.
He picked up a pen and wrote a letter, then poked his face with the penholder twice, suddenly remembering something:
“Uncle Cui!”
As soon as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps came from the small room next to him. A middle-aged man stood in front of Qin Ji. “Young master, what do you need?”
“Send this letter to General Bai’s residence and tell him I want him to mobilize five hundred soldiers.”
“Yes.”
Uncle Cui nodded, then turned and walked out.
“Wait,” Qin Ji stopped his action and then patted Uncle Cui’s shoulder, “Uncle Cui, remember, this letter is very important. Don’t lose it—don’t let it fall into anyone else’s hands. My life depends on this letter.”
Uncle Cui was so shocked by his solemn words that he trembled all over, then immediately became serious: “Young master, rest assured, I guarantee nothing will go wrong.”
Qin Ji watched Uncle Cui leave, then picked up a wooden box on his desk.
He opened the wooden box, which was filled with gold and silver.
He had already prepared a resignation letter for Uncle Cui. If Uncle Cui had just requested to resign, the money in the box, enough to support a family for decades, would have been given to Uncle Cui.
But this old servant hadn’t asked to resign.
What was he thinking? Did he want to do one last thing for him before leaving, or was he unwilling to leave the Duke of An’s mansion?
It was really hard to handle…
…………………………
General’s Mansion.
General Bai took the letter, then was silent for a moment, looking up at the old servant in front of him.
“I received the letter. You can go now.”
“General, the young master said this matter is of great importance. Although I don’t know what’s written in the letter, I hope the general will act as soon as possible.”
“……” General Bai leaned back in his chair and sighed, “You seem very loyal to your master.”
“The young master is talented and promising. I admire him. However, my health is deteriorating year by year. I should prepare to retire soon. Before I leave, I want to do a few more things for my young master.”
“Alright, I will do as you say.”
General Bai nodded in agreement.