After Rebirth, She Becomes the Revenge Queen
Chapter 160 - 159: Indeed, There Is Collusion! (Second Release, Asking for Votes)

Chapter 160: Chapter 159: Indeed, There Is Collusion! (Second Release, Asking for Votes)

The recipient of the dagger initially bestowed in the previous dynasty is not necessarily the perpetrator of the blood crime.

But since it appeared at the scene, whoever possesses it must have some traceable connection.

After noon, the team split into two, with Liang Chen heading to the Imperial College and Pei Zhan going to the Hanlin Academy. Through Shen Shiyao, he sought to learn about Liu Rong, but unfortunately, Liu Rong had already left for the day, so Pei Zhan obtained Liu Rong’s address at the Hanlin Academy.

Just as he stepped out, he ran into Liang Chen, who was urgently looking for him.

It turned out that when Liang Chen arrived at the Imperial College to inquire about Sun Luo, he discovered that Sun Luo was no longer alive.

Upon further inquiry, he found out that Sun Luo had died six years ago. Liang Chen immediately went to Sun Luo’s home and learned the cause of Sun Luo’s death from his widow.

He also examined some of Sun Luo’s relics from his widow, among which were several letters from Liu Rong.

The contents of the letters were nothing special, only indicating that he and Liu Rong, both former colleagues from the previous dynasty, indeed kept in touch.

The peculiar part was the timing of Sun Luo’s death and its cause.

In that September six years ago, he actually drowned!

Pei Zhan stared expressionlessly at the ground: "Do you think Sun Luo’s death is normal? Don’t try to circle around; you can’t afford it."

Liu Rong immediately slumped to the ground, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He shook his head: "No, not normal."

"Why?"

"Because, because, he once said, Commander Chen was dead."

"Who is Commander Chen?"

"He was a general of the former dynasty, one of the defenders when the Zhou Army breached the capital city.

"After the city fell, he became a prisoner and later tended horses at the Ministry of Imperial Stables."

"How did he die?"

"By poisoning..."

Pei Zhan stared intently at him for a moment: "Who killed him?"

"I don’t know!"

"Then why did he die?"

"I don’t know either!" Liu Rong shook his head frantically, "But Sun Luo went to mourn after hearing of Commander Chen’s death. When he returned, he said he might be in trouble too!"

"Why would he say that?"

"...Commander Chen had a sword in his lifetime, bestowed by the former ruler for his meritorious service! When he became a prisoner, the sword was taken away!

"What kind of sword?!" Liang Chen asked sharply.

"It was a short dagger from Prince Yi Mansion of Dayue Country!"

Hearing this, Pei Zhan pulled out the dagger from his bosom: "Is it this?"

Liu Rong was startled: "That’s it! At the time of the reward, Sun Luo and I were present because we were historians!"

Liang Chen clenched his right hand into a fist, exchanged a glance with Pei Zhan, and then continued: "Who took Commander Chen’s sword? Why did Sun Luo think he would be in trouble?"

"Because Commander Chen died in August, but his sword had been seen and taken several months before that. Before he got into trouble, someone suddenly warned Commander Chen not to disclose the whereabouts of the sword.

"But a few days later, he still died."

Pei Zhan put the sword back in his bosom: "So you’re saying Commander Chen was killed by the person who took his sword to silence him?"

Liu Rong nodded vigorously.

"On which day did he die in August?"

Liu Rong thought for a moment and said: "August 14th! I remember very clearly, the next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival, Sun Luo hurriedly came to find me, saying he just returned from mourning Commander Chen, saying Commander Chen was poisoned to death! So he might get into trouble too because Sun Luo also knew who took that dagger! The key is, Commander Chen was his close friend!"

The room suddenly fell silent.

After a moment, Pei Zhan softly asked: "Who took the dagger?"

"He didn’t tell me!" Liu Rong held his head, "He really didn’t say! But the dagger was taken on the streets! Commander Chen knew martial arts, so to take the dagger from him, it must’ve been someone with power, influence, or skill! I can’t afford to mess with any of those!

"I’ve always been timid and avoided trouble, Sun Luo still kept in touch with former colleagues, but I only interacted with him! So I dared not inquire about this dangerous matter!"

He shrank into a ball, looking all the more pitiful under the dim lamplight.

After exchanging a glance, Pei Zhan and Liang Chen stood up, turned, and walked out the door.

Outside the courtyard, they dismissed the guards who were stationed there.

Then they suddenly turned around and, with great coordination, climbed onto the wall and silently returned to the outside of the previous room.

Inside, after their departure, Liu Rong had already stretched his body, sitting on the ground gasping for breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

After a moment, he stood up, picked up the clothing that had fallen on the ground, draped it over himself, and let out a long sigh in the light. His expression returned to normal.

He picked up the letters left on the table, opened each one, and then burned them by the flame.

"Brother Sun, you were too careless..."

After muttering this sentence, he turned around, only to be scared into sitting back down!

The two looming, god-like figures that had just departed were somehow, at some point, back in front of him!

"You know who killed Sun Luo."

The words from Pei Zhan’s mouth were not a question but an assertion, even carrying a hint of mockery: "If you were truly that timid, how could you have left these letters in the Sun Family?"

He looked down at the dagger in his hand: "Tell us, in whose hands did the dagger ultimately end up? You know we have already stained our hands with the blood of thousands."

Liu Rong’s face turned pale as paper, trembling several times, yet unable to string together a complete sentence...

...

Fu Zhen had pondered the Prince Rong’s Mansion many times before.

Before her death, Yongping was already eyeing Xu Yin, and his aim was power. How many benefits he gained from this marriage Fu Zhen wasn’t aware, but it was undeniable that the Prince Rong’s Mansion was a significant platform for his advancement.

In other words, what Xu Yin obtained through the Prince Rong’s Mansion was enough for him to abandon Liang Ning and the Liang Family at that time.

News unexpectedly overheard from the manor’s old lady again drew out her doubts repeatedly.

When Liang Zhi and another person returned her to the Ning Family, it was already late night. She tossed and turned for a long time and finally fell asleep just before dawn.

In her dreams, countless images flitted past like a lantern show, and Ziyan woke her up: "Miss, Junior General Cheng is here!"

Fu Zhen opened her eyes to the bright light outside the window and jumped out of bed: "What time is it?"

"It’s already the hour of the dragon!"

Ziyan replied while bringing clothes for her to change into: "Junior General Liang is also here, and they seem to be in a hurry, urging us to wake the girl up! — Oh, take it easy, don’t bump into anything!"

How could Fu Zhen slow down?

She donned her clothes and slipped on her shoes, heading to the main hall: "What’s going on?!"

"Indeed there’s a major problem!" Liang Cheng and the other person received her: "Before Zhang Shicheng was appointed as the garrison commander, he was the Commander of the Five Cities Military Office!

"And during the days when the Baiyu Lane blood crime occurred, it was precisely Zhang Shicheng who was leading the night shift!"