frightfiction Chapter 312 Showdown
Chapter 312 Showdown
The old lady of Marquis Wu'an opened her cloudy eyes as wide as copper bells, staring intently at her eldest son who was usually filial to her.
Her face was filled with rage, and the corners of her mouth twitched violently with anger. Even her loose skin was pulled out of shape. Her originally kind and gentle face now became hideous and terrifying, like an enraged beast.
Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, her breathing was heavy and rapid, and her body was shaking slightly involuntarily with anger.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she nearly broke her voice as she cursed at Marquis Wu'an, "Wei Tingqian! You heartless and unfilial son! I raised you with great difficulty, and now you dare to disobey me! I will definitely go to the Queen Mother and accuse her of your unfilial behavior. I'll have to punish you severely! Humph, let's see how you can continue to be the Marquis Wu'an! And your ignorant little son, you little bastard, will never inherit any title again!"
Faced with his old mother's harsh rebuke and threats, Marquis Wu'an just stood there quietly, looking at her expressionlessly.
His heart was completely cold at that moment, as if it had fallen into a bottomless abyss. Was this the mother who gave birth to him? He had always believed that his mother was the person who loved him most in the world, but now it seemed that everything was just an illusory dream.
Thinking back on the past, Marquis Wu'an couldn't help but feel sad.
Back then, it was this mother, relying on her status as an elder, who tyrannically and unreasonably coerced him and Qing'er into accepting Chen as a concubine. From that point on, the family was in turmoil, ultimately leading to Qing'er's depression and her untimely death.
Now, she is resorting to the same old tricks again, trying to threaten me with family affection again and force me to harm my own flesh and blood.
How could there be such a vicious, cruel and ruthless mother in this world?
The corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a hint of undisguised sarcasm. His voice was like the gurgling of water, slowly and calmly saying, "Mother, you can do whatever you want. For me, whether I am the Marquis of Wu'an or not is of little concern. It will not prevent me from serving Your Majesty. As for Ning'an..."
At this point, an indescribable look of pride suddenly appeared on Marquis Wu'an's previously calm face, followed by a burst of clear laughter. "Haha, that child is the pride of our Chu family! He is not only smart, but also gifted. Now he has not only become the new top scholar of the imperial examination, but has also achieved a feat never achieved by anyone in history, namely, winning the first six places in the imperial examination! Why should such an outstanding person rely on the mere title of Marquis Wu'an?"
After hearing these words, the old lady was so angry that she trembled all over. Her chest was heaving violently like the waves, but she had no way to deal with the Marquis Wu'an in front of her. She could only stare at him with eyes full of resentment and anger, as if she wanted to eat him alive.
At this moment, a hurried and respectful voice suddenly came from outside the door: "My Lord, Mr. Han has an urgent matter to report."
It turned out that it was Wei San, the trusted and long-servant of Marquis Wu'an, who had arrived.
Marquis Wu'an slowly turned his head upon hearing the voice, casually glancing at the old lady with a furious face. Then, he said in a nonchalant, unconcerned tone, "I think Elder Han has already found out who the real murderer of Ning An was. Mother, I think you can finally feel a little relieved now."
Before he finished speaking, he turned and left without hesitation, without even turning his head back, leaving the old lady alone, sitting on the gorgeous Luohan couch in frustration.
Wu'an Marquis' Study
When Mrs. Chen, wife of Marquis Wu'an, stepped into the study, what caught her eye was the lonely figure standing in front of the window.
He stared quietly at the scenery outside the window, but his straight back revealed an indescribable desolation and loneliness.
It was early spring, and the breeze still carried a hint of coolness. Chen couldn't help but shiver slightly, and her heart became heavy.
She walked lightly and slowly behind Marquis Wu'an, bowed with a humble bow, and asked softly, "My Lord, I wonder why you called me here today?"
Wu Anhou did not respond to her question immediately. Instead, he remained silent for a moment and then suddenly asked, "Did you instruct others to do what happened five years ago?"
His voice was as calm as a pool of stagnant water, and it was impossible to detect any emotional fluctuations in it.
Chen's heart trembled when she heard this, but she quickly calmed herself down and feigned confusion, asking, "What are you talking about, my Lord? I really don't understand."
As she spoke, she raised her head and looked at Marquis Wu'an with a full gaze, trying to catch a clue from his face.
However, what greeted her was the cold and indifferent gaze of Marquis Wu'an.
He glanced at Chen's eyebrows expressionlessly, his cold eyes seemed as if he was looking at a lifeless dead person.
Without saying a word, he threw the stack of manuscripts in his hand towards Chen.
The manuscript fluttered in the air and finally landed lightly at Chen's feet, like an abandoned fallen leaf.
Chen looked down at the manuscripts scattered on the ground, but did not reach out to look through them.
Her expression remained calm, as if these things in front of her were completely unimportant to her.
She spoke again softly, asking, "My Lord, what exactly is the meaning of your action? I hope you can explain it clearly."
"Mr. Han, Mr. Gao, please tell us the details."
Two aides slowly walked in from outside the door. They walked steadily and looked respectful. After walking in front of Marquis Wu'an and Chen, they first bowed deeply.
The two looked at each other, seemingly communicating something with their eyes. At this moment, the staff member known as Mr. Han coughed lightly and said, "So..."
Five years ago, Zhang Dazhuang had just returned from the battlefield and was an honest and decent man. However, he was somehow led astray by the outer courtyard manager and often followed him to and from the gambling house.
At the beginning, Zhang Dazhuang just tried his hand at it, playing a few games occasionally, with small wins and losses. He just regarded it as a pastime in his spare time, which was not a big deal.
But later he was lured into gambling more and more, and owed the gambling house more than 500 taels of silver. He borrowed from everyone around him, even Mr. Han and Mr. Gao had lent him money during that time, but he still could not pay back the gambling house.
At this time, Ningxiang, who was beside Chen, gave him a large sum of silver, saying that she sympathized with his hard work for Marquis Wu'an and could not bear to see him worrying about such a small amount of money and delaying the Marquis's important affairs.
Although Zhang Dazhuang was a rough-and-tumble soldier, he was by no means a foolhardy person. He knew very well that accepting the money would mean embarking on the seemingly luxurious but actually dangerous ship of the Chen family.
However, facing such an attractive sum of money, he couldn't help but be tempted. After all, this amount of silver was not a small sum for an ordinary soldier like him.
Zhang Dazhuang was also well aware that the Wei Family Army had strict military discipline and would never tolerate prostitution or gambling. If this matter were discovered by Marquis Wu'an, he would be expelled from the Wei Family Army.
After a fierce ideological struggle, greed finally won over reason, and Zhang Dazhuang reluctantly accepted the money.
Not long after, His Majesty led the people to the Canglan River to pray for rain. At this time, Ningxiang found Zhang Dazhuang again and gave him an even more shocking order: find a way to get rid of the prince!
Since he had the leverage in the other party's hands, and considering that Wei Jinchen was also a good choice as the heir to the title, Zhang Dazhuang decided to take the risk and secretly forced Chu Ning'an into the Canglan River.
As Mr. Han spoke, he handed various pieces of evidence to Chen one by one.
Mr. Gao, standing nearby, quietly watched everything unfold before his eyes. He then said, "Just a few days ago, the Crown Prince unexpectedly returned to the capital without any warning! The Marquis then learned that the Crown Prince's death was not an accident but a deliberate act.
Although Zhang Dazhuang left a suicide note, voluntarily taking full responsibility for his crimes, and then hanged himself, as the saying goes, "even a perfect plan can still have a flaw," those who forced Zhang Dazhuang to write the suicide note and commit suicide accidentally left a unique scent on the paper and ink they used. After careful investigation, I discovered that the scent was undoubtedly the spice commonly used by Ningxiang!