Fang Tong slowly began to recall. He said, “Back then, Du Mubai had his disciple qualification revoked, so for those few days, he was constantly unhappy, staying in his room every day without going out. Moreover, during those days he had a fall and injured his ankle, making it difficult to walk, so he could only rest in his room reading. At that time, we didn’t notice any suicidal thoughts from him! One day—the day he died—it was also a snowy day. Early in the morning he went out. At that time, Jiang Wen, Bingzheng, and I, the three of us went to browse the bookstore together. The bookstore owner can testify for us—we stayed until evening before returning. When we pushed open the door, we saw Du Mubai hanging dead in the room. We were terrified and took great effort to get him down from above. Then we reported it to the authorities. The officials came to inspect, and there were no signs of disturbance in the room. Moreover, the coroner examined the body—Du Mubai had indeed committed suicide, with no abnormalities.”
Ji Yinshu listened very carefully to these words, her brows tightly knit. She asked, “Why did it take great effort to get him down?”
“Because the rope was somewhat high—we couldn’t reach it!”
Oh!
“In the days before his suicide, were there any warning signs? For instance, did he say anything strange?”
“To be honest, my lord, Du Mubai had stolen Bingzheng’s poem and already felt deeply ashamed. Plus, sharing the same room with us, during those days he simply didn’t speak to us at all.”
That was understandable.
Du Mubai was a talented scholar who had earned the Marquis of Pingyang’s admiration through his literary abilities. For such a person to have his reputation damaged due to theft—no matter how thick-skinned he might be, he couldn’t bring himself to mingle harmoniously with everyone, pretending nothing had happened.
And after Du Mubai’s disciple qualification was revoked, he had nowhere else to go and could only continue staying in the literary hall.
Ji Yinshu’s thoughts grew heavy.
She pondered Fang Tong’s words.
Hoping to find some clues!
At this moment, Bingzheng was brought in.
His body was thin and frail, his walk very slow!
The thin clothing on his body was completely inadequate to ward off the biting cold wind outside.
He hunched his back, tucking both hands inside his sleeves, without a trace of a scholar’s bearing!
The guard brought him in: “My lord, this is Bingzheng. This time there’s no mistake.”
He deliberately emphasized this.
They couldn’t have another mix-up, or this would drag on for who knows how long!
As soon as Bingzheng entered, he looked at no one, keeping his head lowered the entire time.
When Song Zhi saw him, he exclaimed in surprise, “It’s you?”
Hey, hey, hey! How do you know him again?
Truly “well-traveled and knowledgeable”!
Everyone turned their gazes toward him.
Song Zhi quickly explained, “I’ve met Young Master Bing twice and spoken with him.”
Hearing him say this, Fang Tong and Jiang Wen’s expressions changed dramatically.
They became extremely nervous!
As if they had done something wrong.
The two secretly tugged at each other’s clothes.
This scene was all caught by Ji Yinshu’s eyes. She was certain these two definitely had something to hide and were concealing something.
But if she asked directly like this, they definitely wouldn’t reveal it.
As for Song Zhi’s words just now, Bingzheng remained unmoved. He raised his head to glance at Song Zhi, then said, “I don’t know you.”
What?
How could he not know him?
Song Zhi felt hurt inside and quickly said, “It’s me—we’ve met before.”
“I haven’t met you.”
“…” Song Zhi couldn’t understand at all. He reminded him, “Previously at the poetry gathering, we met. And today, when I went to the literary hall to find Brother Fang, I also ran into you. Remember?”
He wanted to jog Bingzheng’s memory.
They must acknowledge each other!
We clearly know each other.
Bingzheng gave a cold laugh, tucking his hands even deeper into his sleeves. He said, “Young master, don’t randomly claim acquaintance with people.”
He acted completely as if he didn’t know Song Zhi.
Song Zhi was flustered. Could there be someone who looked exactly like him? But even the tone of voice was the same—this was definitely the same person.
Just as he was about to speak again—
Li Cheng spoke up, interrupting him: “Enough! You bookworm are too strange. How is it that you know everyone? People have already said they don’t know you, yet you keep insisting. “
Song Zhi felt embarrassed, only then remembering there was serious business to attend to.
He stepped back two paces.
His face full of apology, he said, “I’m terribly sorry. I was rude just now.”
He said no more.
After this brief interlude, Ji Yinshu walked before Bingzheng and said, “Young Master Bing, you needn’t be nervous. We didn’t summon you because you committed any crime, but rather to ask clearly about the matter of Du Mubai stealing your poem back then.”
Bingzheng was very calm.
As if he had already guessed this.
“My lord, please ask.” His voice was very deep.
As if emerging from an abyss.
Ji Yinshu asked, “Everyone knows that Du Mubai was a talented scholar. His poems and essays were all first-rate. Why would he steal your poem?”
“Does my lord not believe me?”
“That’s not what I mean. I simply want to understand clearly.” Ji Yinshu said.
But Bingzheng raised his head and glanced at Fang Tong and Jiang Wen, who remained nervous. He said, “Regarding that matter back then, they can testify. They witnessed with their own eyes that I wrote that poem.”
Fang Tong and Jiang Wen suddenly became the focus of attention.
The two flinched.
They swallowed nervously.
“Yes, we personally saw Bingzheng write that poem. It was Du Mubai who stole it.”
Their voices trembled.
Jingrong, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke: “If the facts are as such, why are you two so nervous?”
“We…”
“Could there perhaps be more to this story?” Jingrong’s voice was neither high nor low, sounding quite calm.
But hearing this made Fang Tong and Jiang Wen’s faces turn ugly, their guilty conscience evident for all to see.
However, compared to Jiang Wen, Fang Tong was slightly more composed. He quickly said, “We’re not hiding anything! The facts are just as stated—that poem was indeed written by Bingzheng. Because Du Mubai is already dead, bringing up this matter now naturally makes us somewhat afraid. After all, the spirits of the departed must not be offended.”
This reason was barely acceptable.
Jingrong smiled slightly, completely unconvinced.
He had seen more people than they had eaten salt. Whether someone was human or ghost, he could tell to some extent.
But without evidence, naturally he couldn’t press the matter.
Yet the smile at the corner of his mouth made Fang Tong and his companion dare not meet his eyes directly, immediately averting their gazes.
Then Fang Tong added another sentence: “Regarding this matter, Bingzheng knows best. After all, Du Mubai stole his poem.”
He threw the entire matter back to Bingzheng intact.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes—
Bingzheng suddenly recited a poem.
“April catkins drift and fly, old friends meet by the lake, orchids and bamboo vie in spring rain, a small bridge holds the south of the Yangtze.”
Hm?
After finishing—
Bingzheng said, “This is my poem.”
“April catkins drift and fly, old friends meet by the lake, orchids and bamboo vie in spring rain, a small bridge holds the south of the Yangtze.” Very evocative!