Chapter 97 The Mourning Incident

Chapter 97 The Mourning Incident

The following day, Prince Jing wore court robes, while Princess Jing wore plain clothes, with no hairpins or jewelry on her head and only a light touch of makeup. The two rode together in a carriage to the Marquis's residence to offer their condolences.

Throughout the journey, Xie Yan maintained a cold expression, resting his hands on his knees and staring blankly into the distance.

He sat in the central seat, while Shen Nanzi sat to his right.

The carriage swayed, and both remained silent.

The atmosphere was frozen, and even Wuying and Qinghe, who were sitting outside the carriage, couldn't stand each other and stared at each other from opposite directions.

Arrived at the gate of the county magistrate's residence.

Outside the carriage, Wuying and Qinghe jumped off the train.

Wuying lifted the carriage curtain, and Prince Jing, Xie Yan, stood up, his eyes cold and his brows slightly furrowed.

When he passed by Shen Nanzi, he didn't look at her at all, not even glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Shen Nanzi naturally didn't care about Xie Yan's feelings; now they were just enemies bound by marriage.

After he got off the carriage, Qinghe led her down as well.

The two walked toward the county magistrate's residence with their faces showing displeasure and their hearts also at odds.

White banners were hung inside and outside the mansion, and paper money was scattered on the ground. The servants were all dressed in white mourning clothes.

In front of the mourning hall, the county magistrate's coffin was placed in the center, and his body had already been placed in the burial chamber.

The filial sons and grandsons are divided into two sides, with men kneeling on the left and women kneeling on the right, arranged in order of seniority from top to bottom.

A table with prayer cushions was placed beneath the coffin.

Lin Ruyi, dressed in mourning clothes and with a mourning scarf draped over her head, revealing her red and swollen eyes, knelt on the right front, in the position of the mistress.

There was a brazier in front of her, and she was numbly throwing paper money into it.

The firelight blazed brightly, illuminating her face.

Xie Yan and Shen Nanzi, each holding a lit stick of incense, walked to the front of the mourning hall, their expressions solemn.

The master of ceremonies announced, "Prince Jing, Princess Jing has arrived to offer her condolences to the Marquis."

"One kowtow!"

"Two kowtows!"

"Three kowtows!"

Xie Yan and Shen Nanzi bowed slightly.

"The ceremony is complete!" the master of ceremonies shouted again. "Please offer incense!"

The two of them placed the incense sticks into the incense burner one after the other.

"The family members return the greeting!"

The family members of the Marquis's residence performed the kowtow ceremony.

Shen Nanzi and Xie Yan then picked up the paper money and added it to the brazier.

Li Changshu, the eldest son of the Marquis, suppressed his grief and rose to his feet. He approached Xie Yan, bowed deeply, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Thank you very much, Your Highness Prince Jing. I am deeply grateful that Princess Jing came to pay her respects to my father."

Xie Yan and Li Changshu exchanged pleasantries.

Shen Nanzi whispered to Lin Ruyi, "You didn't expect I'd still be alive, did you?"

Lin Ruyi froze, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes as she looked up. But then, as if remembering something, she calmed down.

He raised his head, his eyes filled with defiance.

"What is Princess Jing saying? I don't understand!"

"Is that so?" Shen Nanzi said in a low voice, with a hint of cold laughter. "The assassins you hired from the Phantom Pavilion, don't you want to admit it?"

Lin Ruyi looked shocked, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, her eyes darting around uncertainly.

Shen Nanzi: "You've really wasted your time. You've lost your qualification for the archery range, you haven't even managed to get the Crown Prince for your Zhang'er, and you haven't even killed my enemy!"

Her words seemed to have successfully enraged Lin Ruyi, whose eyes turned bloodshot as she stared at her like a ghost.

Shen Nanzi continued in a low voice: "Don't think that just because I can't find out now, I won't be able to find out later."

"Lin Ruyi! Don't forget, murder is punishable by death! Your marriage was not caused by me, the princess. Your suffering is your own fault."

"You are so young yet you have such a vicious mind, trying to ruin me, the princess. Don't think I don't know it was you who did it."

"So, you spare no effort to kill me, the princess."

Just as she finished speaking, Lin Ruyi suddenly cried out sharply, "Shen Nanzi! You devil!"

Her scream attracted everyone who had come to pay their respects, including Xue Yubai and Xue Qingning, who had entered the room a moment earlier.

The Lady of the Marquis's Mansion actually addressed the Princess Consort of Jing by her given name!

Lin Ruyi pointed at her with trembling hands, "She's the murderer! The murderer who killed the Marquis!"

Everyone stared at them in shock.

Xie Yan also stopped talking to Li Changshu, turned around, pulled Shen Nanzi behind him, and drew her to his side.

This scene caught the eye of Xue Qingning in the crowd, and a cold smile appeared in her clear eyes.

Shen Nanzi stared at her, and after a moment, sneered, "Are you crazy?"

Lin Ruyi stiffened her neck and pointed at the Marquis's coffin, "The Marquis was poisoned to death."

Li Changshu's expression was stern. Although he was a few years older than Lin Ruyi, he still addressed her respectfully:

“Mother, Father has passed away. I know you are heartbroken, but you must not speak nonsense.”

Lin Ruyi sneered at him, "Of course you want me to stay silent. Now that the Marquis has passed away without leaving a will, you've just become the heir of the Marquis's mansion."

"You wouldn't care whether your father lives or dies, would you?"

Li Changshu gritted his teeth, his face grim: "With all the guests here today, Mother, are you trying to make Father die with regrets by acting like this?"

Lin Ruyi's gaze fell on Shen Nanzi. "I've been waiting for her. I want to condemn her crimes in front of everyone."

Her words were so assertive, as if Shen Nanzi were the murderer who plotted against the Marquis's mansion, which drew everyone's attention to Shen Nanzi.

They did have a grudge against each other, but the idea that they poisoned the Marquis seems a bit far-fetched.

Seeing her like this, Shen Nanzi knew that she was still determined to harm her. Since one plan failed, she came up with another.

"I, the princess, have no grudge against your lord, so why would I poison him?"

Lin Ruyi glared with her reddened eyes and sneered, "Our relationship is like fire and water; everyone in the entire city of Luoyang knows that."

Shen Nanzi: "So what? What good would it do me, the princess, to poison the Marquis?"

A ruthless glint appeared in Lin Ruyi's eyes: "Shen Nanzi! You know that the Marquis will announce the choice of the heir to the Marquis's mansion on his deathbed."

Her eyes were filled with hatred. "And the Marquis felt indebted to me, being widowed at such a young age, with no one to rely on in this mansion, and was preparing to pass the position of heir to my Zhang'er."

"You will then harm me and make me lose everything."

"In this way, my Zhang'er will not have a will to inherit the Marquis's mansion, and in the end, it can only be inherited by the Marquis's eldest son."

"Shen Nanzi, you are so cruel! You won't let my child and me off at all!"

Lin Ruyi's words seemed to give rise to a strong motive for murder.

Since they are enemies, of course I don't want her to have a good life.

Shen Nanzi laughed in exasperation, utterly speechless. How could this even be acceptable? "Where's the evidence?!"

Lin Ruyi felt a thrill at seeing her take the bait: "The attack that night was actually your guard Qinghe who infiltrated the Marquis's residence and poisoned the Marquis."

The crowd was in an uproar. The knife attack in the eastern part of the city had indeed shocked Luoyang. They never expected it to be related to the death of the Marquis.

The East District assassination case!!

Shen Nanzi couldn't help but look at Xie Yan, who was the only one who knew about this.

Why would Lin Ruyi connect the two things?

Xie Yan understood the look in her eyes, his brows furrowed, and he remained silent.

Shen Nanzi looked at his silence and smiled. Sure enough, they were of the same ilk.

The county marquis's mansion was part of Prince Jing's faction.

Shen Nanzi knew that even if she hadn't come today, this meticulously planned scheme would definitely have backfired on her.

If they can't poison her, they'll frame her.