Su Ziluo was a gentleman and a member of the court. Now that the matter involved him and the murderer hadn’t been found yet, it was perfectly reasonable for the Court of Judicial Review to ask him to make a trip.

Naturally, he wouldn’t make things difficult for Lord Huang.

“Since that’s the case, Su will certainly accompany you, my lord, to prove my innocence.”

What kind of person was Su Ziluo? He was the son of the illustrious Old General Su. Even His Majesty had to give him some face. Lord Huang naturally couldn’t offend him and had to handle this properly to avoid making an enemy. He had several elite guards go up and carry Su Ziluo down.

The Marquis of Kangding was deeply worried and said to Lord Huang: “Lord Huang, this doesn’t seem quite right, does it? After all, General Su is no ordinary person. For you to do this is somewhat…” Improper!

He didn’t speak the last three words aloud.

But Lord Huang understood!

“Marquis, I’m merely handling this impartially. After all, the wine containing poison was brought by General Su.”

“But he’s not the one who poisoned it!”

“Right now the truth is still unclear. It must be investigated!”

The Marquis held back his frustration. He glanced in the direction Su Ziluo was being taken downstairs, his forehead veins throbbing with anxiety. He lowered his voice to question Lord Huang: “Investigate? How will you investigate? If you can’t find anything, will you keep General Su locked up indefinitely?”

“Marquis, you’re looking down on the Court of Judicial Review’s investigative abilities!”

“It’s not that I doubt your investigative capabilities—I just fear the murderer is cunning and General Su will be implicated.”

“…”

Lord Huang knew the Marquis greatly admired Su Ziluo, but he never expected him to trust Su Ziluo to this extent!

After all, the grudge between the Wen and Su families wasn’t just a day or two old. Many people knew about what happened back then, they just didn’t mention it. So the possibility that Su Ziluo harbored resentment toward the Wen family and poisoned Old General Wen couldn’t be ruled out!

But naturally Lord Huang couldn’t voice this openly.

He silently pressed it down in his heart.

Su Ziluo was carried down to the first floor. When his wheelchair touched the ground, he adjusted the blanket covering his thighs, seemingly unconcerned about everything.

The Marquis of Kangding strode to him worriedly: “General Su, this matter wasn’t your doing at all. You don’t have to go to the Court of Judicial Review.”

Su Ziluo smiled warmly: “Thank you, Marquis, for speaking on my behalf. However, now that a murder has occurred and I’m involved, if I truly want to clear my name, I shouldn’t avoid it.”

“But…”

Old General Wen suddenly cut off his words: “Marquis, you keep saying this matter has nothing to do with General Su, but there’s neither witness testimony nor physical evidence. To conclude based solely on your word alone that General Su is unrelated to this matter—if word of this got out, wouldn’t it invite criticism from the people of the realm?”

The Marquis of Kangding’s expression turned ugly.

Old General Wen’s deep gaze turned toward Su Ziluo, his eyes slightly narrowed. Adopting the posture of an elder, he lowered his tone somewhat and said: “These past years, our Wen and Su families have had little contact. But regardless of what happened back then, your father and I were sworn brothers. You are still my worthy nephew. Today you were kind enough to gift wine, but I had no desire to drink. Whether or not there were hidden schemes involved, I won’t pursue it. Instead, I hope… that the Wen and Su families can reconcile.”

It seemed like he was extending an olive branch of reconciliation.

Su Ziluo’s expression remained calm, without the slightest change.

He smiled and remarked lightly: “A broken mirror, no matter how well mended, will still have cracks!”

A broken mirror, no matter how well mended, will still have cracks!

The implication was obvious!

The harmless smile at the corners of Su Ziluo’s lips appeared in Old General Wen’s eyes like winter’s ice shards, stabbing viciously at his chest through the surrounding air.

That scene from years ago had become a deep chasm in Su Ziluo’s heart that he could never cross.

If not for the Wen family… his father wouldn’t have died, and he himself wouldn’t have lost his memory on the battlefield and been taken to Dalin.

If not for that, he wouldn’t have met Ji Yunshu.

If he hadn’t met her, he wouldn’t be in such pain today.

If… this world never had any “ifs”!

He looked at Old General Wen’s ugly, grim face, his smile deepening further. Then he instructed the elite guards from the Court of Judicial Review: “Take me away.”

The two elite guards glanced at Lord Huang. After receiving his nod, they pushed Su Ziluo toward the Court of Judicial Review.

Qi’er followed a few steps: “Young Master?”

The wheelchair’s wheels suddenly stopped. Without turning his head, Su Ziluo instructed: “Tell the guests at the estate not to worry.”

“Yes.”

After Su Ziluo was taken away, the Court of Judicial Review also took Matchmaker Hong and the young servant who delivered the wine to the Court of Judicial Review. They searched Saixian Tower inside and out once more, then took away several maids who had contact with the deceased and the young ladies participating in the competition.

Lord Huang glanced at the corpse and waved his hand: “Take the deceased back.”

The elite guards responded and set to work.

Suddenly a voice came from the stairway: “Elder Sister.”

Liu Yunzhu, her face covered in tears, rushed toward the deceased.

She was stopped by the guards: “Where did this little girl come from?”

“Let me go—that’s my sister! Let me go!” She cried until her eyes were swollen, her voice hoarse.

Zhu Yao, supported by her maid Cai’er, also came downstairs and immediately said: “Don’t hurt her.”

Minister Zhu was stunned when he saw his daughter and asked: “Yao’er, what’s going on here? And where did this little girl come from? Earlier she nearly disrupted things.”

At the start of the courtesan competition, Liu Yunzhu had leaned out from the third floor and called “Sister,” nearly causing a disturbance.

Now she had rushed out crying and shouting again.

Naturally Minister Zhu was puzzled.

Zhu Yao said: “Father, I’ll explain everything to you in detail when we return.”

“This?”

Zhu Yao pulled Liu Yunzhu to her side, then said to Lord Huang: “Lord Huang, that woman called Matchmaker Hong already admitted the deceased wasn’t Miss Huazheng, but rather a young lady called Liu Yunyan who took her place. It just so happens that this little girl was separated from her sister a few days ago. Her sister’s name is Liu Yunyan. The little girl recognized her at a glance—the deceased is undoubtedly her sister.”

“Oh?” Lord Huang frowned and asked Liu Yunzhu: “Is the deceased truly your sister?”

Liu Yunzhu wiped her tears and nodded: “Yes, she is my sister.”

“Then this saves us the time of investigating the deceased’s identity. We’re taking your sister to the Court of Judicial Review now. You should come with us as well. There are some things we need to ask you in detail, and you can help find the true murderer who killed your sister as quickly as possible.”

“Mm!”

Liu Yunzhu nodded vigorously.

In the end, Liu Yunzhu and her deceased sister Liu Yunyan were taken away.

Lord Huang ordered his troops withdrawn, and the people in Saixian Tower left one by one.

Only the Ministry of Rites suffered!

A murder occurred on the day of the grand selection—they still had to carefully consider how to report this to His Majesty.

The Imperial Observatory was also worried. According to celestial phenomena, they were to use the courtesan as an offering. Now that a murder had occurred on the day of the grand selection, how should they report this to His Majesty?