Bu Shulin: …

Looking pitifully at Shen Xihe and seeing her unmoved, she grabbed the poison, took out a pill, swallowed it, and then hung her head: “This isn’t my fault. I’d been watching this pawnshop manager for a while, being careful at every step. He couldn’t have been setting me up from the beginning – something must have gone wrong elsewhere, and they hastily lured me in as a scapegoat.”

Bu Shulin felt wronged – she had truly been vigilant, making sure the manager didn’t know why she was there. After all, this was a major matter, and given her identity, His Majesty certainly wouldn’t have trusted her to handle it.

Hearing this, Shen Xihe lifted her delicate chin: “So you’re saying two people set you up.”

“Two people?” Bu Shulin lowered her eyes in thought. She wasn’t stupid. “His Majesty didn’t trust me.”

At this point, what was there not to understand? His Majesty indeed hadn’t entrusted her with this matter – she was just a decoy to draw others’ attention. She had stayed safe until now only because she spent her time here eating, drinking, and enjoying herself in brothels.

His Majesty’s side probably saw her as still useful, and since the real investigators hadn’t gathered evidence yet, they hadn’t moved against her. When the tomb-raiding case grew bigger, they were too busy to deal with her. But now that they had managed to get her out, it would be a waste not to take advantage of this excellent opportunity.

So the person His Majesty sent to secretly investigate the tomb-raiding case had set her up, leaking her purpose here to others. That’s why they knew her intentions, and seeing that the case had grown bigger due to Shen Xihe’s arrests and Xiao Changqin’s bombing of the imperial tombs, they went all in, deliberately luring Bu Shulin to the already exposed manager’s house to catch her red-handed.

Shen Xihe: “Not entirely unfair.”

“Right? Several forces conspired against me alone – I couldn’t escape even with wings. Fortunately, Governor Tang owed my father a debt of gratitude,” Bu Shulin said with relief.

“Did Governor Tang tell you this himself? That he owed your father a favor?” Shen Xihe asked.

“Yes,” Bu Shulin nodded.

Shen Xihe laughed: “Why don’t you write to your father and ask if Governor Tang owes him anything?”

One was from a noble military family guarding the Southwest; the other was a diligent civil servant from a humble background.

Shen Xihe had already investigated Tang Juan. He did have a record of serving in Shu territory, but several counties away from the Southwest Prince’s mansion. Shen Xihe didn’t believe they had any connection.

Moreover, with Bu Shulin here investigating such a dangerous case, if such connections existed, Step Tohai wouldn’t have failed to inform her.

Tang Juan had passed the imperial examination when the chief examiner was from the Cui family. Shen Xihe suspected Cui Jinbai had assigned Bu Shulin here precisely because Tang Juan was here, making her feel so secure.

And Tang Juan was clever – he hadn’t shown excessive favoritism, handling everything officially. Until the provincial governor arrived, he could claim full authority due to having doubts, thus keeping Bu Shulin from falling into the prefecture commander’s hands.

Undeniably, with Tang Juan here, Bu Shulin was completely safe. Just seeing how Tang Juan could imprison Bu Shulin and still leave to handle administrative matters, not worried about anyone taking advantage to harm her, showed how deeply he controlled the governor’s office from top to bottom.

If she hadn’t arrived first today, Cui Jinbai would likely have had ways to resolve Bu Shulin’s predicament – he had taken great pains to protect her.

“Hmm?” Bu Shulin’s eyes rolled, brightening: “Youyou, is Tang Juan your man?”

Shen Xihe: …

She shouldn’t have overestimated Bu Shulin’s intelligence.

“Figure it out yourself,” Shen Xihe said as she stood up and left the prison.

Since Provincial Governor Yu was coming, Shen Xihe naturally needed to meet with him properly.

Just as Shen Xihe left the prison, she encountered Tang Juan rushing over. Tang Juan bowed to her: “Princess.”

Shen Xihe returned the courtesy: “Governor Tang.”

“Princess, Provincial Governor Yu will arrive at the office in a quarter hour,” Tang Juan said.

This statement further confirmed to Shen Xihe that Tang Juan was Cui Jinbai’s man – otherwise, why would he trust her so much? He was giving her time to prepare.

Although Tang Juan helped Cui Jinbai, he had his concerns and position, and couldn’t directly conflict with his superior.

“Governor Tang should just handle matters related to the tomb-raiding case. Leave the rest to me,” Shen Xihe reassured him.

Tang Juan noticeably relaxed and bowed to Shen Xihe again.

Shen Xihe sat in the main hall, slowly savoring the Pingzhong tea – a packet Xiao Huayong had left her before leaving, telling her to think of him while drinking it. She took the tea but had no particular person to think about.

After sitting for about a quarter-hour, horse neighs sounded outside the office. Soon three people strode in, the one in front wearing purple official robes – in this dynasty, only officials of third rank or higher could wear purple.

Provincial governors were divided into three grades: upper province governors were junior third rank, middle province governors were senior fourth rank, and lower province governors were junior fourth rank.

After Governor Yu and Tang Juan exchanged greetings, they walked to the main hall where they saw Shen Xihe slowly standing up. According to rank, even though the provincial governor held real power over a province, he still had to greet Shen Xihe first: “Princess.”

Shen Xihe humbly returned the greeting: “Governor Yu.”

“Why is the Princess here?” Governor Yu asked with a smile as if making small talk.

“I cannot tell the Governor,” Shen Xihe replied flatly.

Governor Yu showed no displeasure, still wearing a modest smile: “It must be the Princess’s private matter – this official spoke out of turn. In that case, I won’t disturb the Princess, as I have urgent matters to attend to.”

“Could the Governor’s matter be about Young Master Step’s involvement in the tomb-raiding case?” Shen Xihe asked.

“Indeed,” Governor Yu nodded.

“Though this case occurred here and has major implications, shouldn’t Governor Tang be the primary investigator?” Shen Xihe said casually.

Although Governor Yu was Tang Juan’s superior, each jurisdiction had its own rules. Unless Tang Juan reported up, while Governor Yu had the right to intervene, it would look bad. After all, a province had anywhere from five or six to over ten prefectures – if superiors all acted this way, how would the prefecture governors feel?

“Princess may not know, but this case has major implications. The provincial capital is in chaos, and if we can explain sooner, we can ease His Majesty’s worries and reassure the people,” Governor Yu said grandly.

Shen Xihe looked Governor Yu over a few times before smiling lightly: “Is Prince Zhao aware of Governor Yu’s urgency regarding His Majesty’s worries and the people’s concerns?”

Prince Zhao’s deceased princess consort was the eldest daughter of Governor Yu’s brother.

While Shen Xihe didn’t believe Prince Zhao was behind this – many aspects couldn’t be reasonably explained – Governor Yu’s eager interference suggested he wasn’t seeking merit but helping others for different reasons, planning to frame Prince Zhao.

It wouldn’t frame Prince Zhao – as long as Bu Shulin died from guilt, Prince Zhao wouldn’t be implicated.