On the return journey, there was one more person than before—Lu Zhao, who was shackled at the hands and feet.
Lu Zhao was an important witness to that case from years ago, and assassins after his life were countless along the way.
Every ti they encountered an assassination attempt, Song Wei would instinctively guard a box by his side.
The box was given by Wei Baihu, and it is said that most of the ti, the Jinyi Guard used it to store secret reports.
The box used the principle of the Lu Ban Lock, and it had a small chanism inside. If the outer "password" was wrong, the contents would be shredded.
After several encounters, the assassins already had an idea—that the box Song Wei was carrying contained evidence about the coal mine case.
The news was sent back to the Capital, and after hearing it, Su Xiang frowned and asked the spy, "Could it be a trap?"
The spy said, "I’ve heard of such a box; it’s exclusive to the Jinyi Guard. If soone who doesn’t know how to open it moves it randomly, the contents inside will be destroyed."
Su Xiang squinted slightly, "So, does this an the box really contains incriminating evidence?"
"I believe it is highly likely," the subordinate replied.
Several groups of assassins had already been sent out, each more skilled than the last, but none succeeded in killing Song Wei. Su Xiang was running out of patience and ordered, "Don’t send assassins anymore. Hire the Divine Thief with a considerable reward and make sure to steal that box for !"
"Yes!"
——
The night before entering the Capital, Song Wei and his group rested at a post house outside the city.
After dinner, the "little book boy" prepared hot water and was serving Lord Imperial Envoy in his bath behind the screen.
Song Wei leaned against the edge of the tub, slightly craning his neck, his eyes half-closed, as if he’d already fallen asleep.
After working tirelessly for over a month, there was an unmistakable weariness etched on his brows.
Water droplets slid down from his pronounced Adam’s apple, along his firm chest, finally disappearing into his waist and abdon.
Wen Wan’s gaze fell on the scar on the side of his waist.
She had noticed it on their wedding night, but at the ti, her husband probably didn’t want her to worry, so he only ntioned that it was an accidental injury.
Back in Ningzhou, during a conversation, she rembered and particularly asked her mother-in-law, who hesitated for a long ti before telling her the truth.
——When Song Wei was nineteen, his family arranged a marriage for him with a girl nad He Yui.
It was said that Song Wei had been plagued by bad luck since he was a child, and He Yui refused to marry him, fleeing in the night, only to be ravaged by mountain bandits.
Wen Wan had heard of people who couldn’t bear the humiliation and committed suicide after being assaulted, but she had never heard of soone willing to follow the bandits after such an ordeal.
The He Family, feeling humiliated, publicly claid that the girl died of illness, as if there never was such a person.
Supposedly, He Yui’s following the bandits was consensual, so one might expect Song Wei to live his life unaffected.
Yet, by chance, the next year when the Da Lang couple sent Song Wei to take the county exam, they were intercepted by the sa bandits on their way back, He Yui among them.
The person rumored to have "died of illness" not only was alive but had beco the woman of the Mountain King, leaving the Da Lang wife montarily confused.
He Yui, fearing they would spread rumors, goaded the Mountain King into silencing the couple, but he overdid it and killed them instead.
Song Wei had always known about He Yui and the Mountain King, but he preferred not to deal with it.
When he hurriedly returned after being inford of his brother-in-law’s and sister-in-law’s murder in the exam hall, the bandits had already fled.
After arranging the Da Lang couple’s funeral, Song Wei reported to the authorities. However, the local governnt couldn’t manage the bandits, so with no other choice, he went alone to their lair. In the woods, he encountered the crazy woman He Yui, who imdiately attempted to stab him with a dagger.
Luckily, Song Wei dodged quickly and was only wounded on his side, any higher, and it might have pierced his heart, killing him on the spot.
...
The people around Upper River Village gossiped that Song Wei brought calamity upon his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and his reputation suffered greatly.
Wen Wan could sense that whether the "bad luck" was related or not, her husband took all the responsibility for the Da Lang couple’s deaths upon himself; otherwise, he wouldn’t have beco so despondent and sworn never to enter the exam hall again at their graves. It was even to the point that he didn’t marry until he was twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Sotis, Wen Wan wondered, if she hadn’t been proactive back then, whether her husband would have considered marrying at all, planning instead to live a solitary life with Yuanbao.
...
Knowing her husband was tired, Wen Wan didn’t have the heart to wake him, only occasionally reaching in to check the water temperature.
Song Wei woke shortly after not sleeping long and saw her gaze hastily withdraw from the scar on his waist and abdon. He didn’t bother to explain, quickly getting up, stepping out of the bathtub with his long legs.
While drying his body, Wen Wan inadvertently touched the scar with her fingertip and asked if it still hurt.
Song Wei rely smiled.
He ached, his heart ached.
The scar, glaringly reminded him of why his brother and sister-in-law had died back then, but he was powerless to avenge them at the ti. By the ti he had the ability, everything had changed.
——
Changing into clean sleepwear and coming out from behind the screen, Song Wei’s eyes first fell on the box by the pillow.
Wen Wan also looked over, as if everything was normal and there was nothing unusual.
Song Wei walked to the bed, picked up the box, weighed it, and then touched the bottom, suddenly smiling, "It really has been swapped out."
It was sothing he had anticipated early on, Wen Wan responded calmly, "No wonder it’s a Divine Thief hired at a high price, it was done without anyone noticing."
"Probably already checked it out in advance." Song Wei said, "Even the weight of the box is similar."
However, he had marked the bottom of the original box, making it hard for anyone to notice, and the one in his arms now was clearly not the real deal.
Song Wei couldn’t help but look at his young wife, "What did you put in that box just now?"
Wen Wan thought of her childish prank, found it hard to speak, and said bashfully, "Not telling you."
——
On the day Song Wei entered the Capital as an Imperial Envoy, Su Xiang was going crazy at his own residence.
He had asked more than a dozen locksmiths in a row, but none could decipher Song Wei’s lock "code", and they dared not cut it open directly, fearing if there was poison inside, everyone would suffer.
The last one, a craftsman claiming to be a descendant of Lu Ban, took several hours to finally figure out the unlocking thod, and upon opening the lid, there was another box inside, with words on the lid saying, "Can’t find ."
The craftsman showed it to Su Xiang, and Su Xiang’s face turned dark imdiately. He opened the second box himself, only to find a third one, with the lid saying, "Still can’t find ."
Su Xiang opened it again.
The nested boxes got smaller and smaller, and the words got smaller, but were still clearly visible to the naked eye.
——Oops, wrong again.
——Open another for a surprise!
Before opening the last one, a sound ca from inside, "Quack~"
Su Xiang’s face got even darker, and he asked his subordinates to open it, finding a jar inside, filled with water, with a toad squatting inside, a note stuck on its back: Stupid.
Realizing he was being played like a fool, Su Xiang was furious, smoke practically coming out from his internal organs, he cursed Song Wei’s mother.
Every ti Su Xiang cursed, the toad in the box responded cooperatively with a "Quack Quack——"
The people around wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to, their faces turning red from holding it in.
Su Xiang coldly swept a glance at them, "Get out!"
"Quack——"
——
The situation was urgent. After returning to the Capital, Song Wei didn’t waste any ti and went straight to the Hanlin Academy to find Xie Zheng.
The evidence for the coal mine case was handed to Father Wen that day. Father Wen was a businessman, and they had their special channels to quickly get things sent to the Capital.
The receiver was Xie Zheng.
The reason for giving it to him was the trust built over years of friendship between him and Song Wei.
Xie Zheng wasn’t foolish. He knew what case Song Wei was working on, and when he received the materials, he imdiately guessed, feeling their weight was heavy. He hadn’t slept well for two days and nights, just waiting for Song Wei to return to take the materials, avoiding long nights full of dreams.
When Song Wei took the materials in hand, the relieved expression on Xie Zheng’s face was obvious. He patted his shoulder, "Do well from now on."
Even if the rest was unsaid, Song Wei understood. Xie Zheng wanted to tell him that as long as the case was solved, he would surely get a promotion.
Song Wei said nothing.
The impact of the case was too great for him. Every night he closed his eyes, more than eighty skeletons flashed in his mind.
He devoted himself to the coal mine case not for promotion, but to uncover the truth from years ago, bring the culprit to justice, and seek justice for the more than eighty victims of the mining disaster.
Wei Baihu urged from the side, "Mr. Song, it’s getting late."
Song Wei nodded, turned his head slightly to look at his little wife beside him, and said in a low voice, "Our ho is nearby; you head back first. I need to enter the palace."
Wen Wan knew that with her identity, she couldn’t enter the palace, and nodded obediently, watching Song Wei board the carriage and leave before turning to head ho herself.
Upon arriving in the Capital, no matter how capable Su Xiang was, he couldn’t act against an Imperial Envoy under the Emperor’s watchful eyes, so Song Wei’s journey to the Imperial City was particularly smooth.
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