“I understand what Old Master Du wanted to do, but some things are against the law,” Lin Fei said, looking up at Old Man Du in front of him, “not to mention that this matter hurts innocent people.”

This innocent person referred to…

Old Master Du lowered his eyes, let out a faint sigh, and said, “The first to discover Madam Jin’s true identity was none other than myself.”

Lin Fei in front of him did not show any strange expression. He glanced at Old Master Du in front of him, nodded, and said, “I asked Zhao You to go to the Chang’an government office and found out that the previous owner of the house where Jin zhǔshì’s family lived was Old Master Du. At that time, Old Master Du sold it to Jin zhǔshì at a price that was much lower than that of ordinary houses.”

So it was actually Old Master Du who arranged for Jin zhǔshì’s family to live in this alley and become neighbors with Cháoān Gōngzhǔ.

“Although Cháoān Gōngzhǔ is a fake Gōngzhǔ, she had been a Gōngzhǔ for so many years without any problems. She probably thought that the real Gōngzhǔ was no longer alive and no one in the world could shake her identity, so she didn’t even think about it. Seeing that Cháoān Gōngzhǔ and Madam Jin have met so many times, the fake Cháoān Gōngzhǔ doesn’t even bother to doubt her. Old Master Du could only ask Fù Fùmǎ, who had been jealous of the fake Gōngzhǔ for a long time, for help,” Lin Fei said, “Fù Fùmǎ had already said that he first began to doubt Madam Jin’s identity because you, Old Master Du, ‘casually’ said that the two of them are somewhat similar.”

“Cháoān Gōngzhǔ wears heavy makeup every day and never shows her plain face to outsiders. It’s not surprising that Fù Fùmǎ has seen Cháoān Gōngzhǔ’s plain face. After all, they are husband and wife. How did you see Cháoān Gōngzhǔ’s plain face, Master Du?” Lin Fei said this and shook his head slightly. “So, Master Du must have known Madam Jin’s true identity first, so he could deliberately guide Fù Fùmǎ’s suspicion with his words.”

“Due to Dan Sheng’s words, I was sure that Cháoān Gōngzhǔ was a fake. So I found the palace maid from that year. Coincidentally, the palace maid was still alive at that time and knew where the real Gōngzhǔ was taken. I traced it all the way and found Master Jin, so I arranged everything.” Old Master Du said, “But Fù Fùmǎ is too cowardly. He only dared to suspect but didn’t even dare to expose it. Not only that, he was afraid of death and even had the crazy idea of ​​letting Madam Jin directly confront the fake Gōngzhǔ.”

Madam Jin was indeed a true Gōngzhǔ, but before her status was restored, how could a lady who just managed the house, possibly compare to a Gōngzhǔ of royal blood?

It could be said that Fù Fùmǎ’s action pushed Madam Jin into the fire pit.

Cháoān Gōngzhǔ only allowed the officials to set fires but not the common people to light lamps. Naturally, she would not allow Fù Fùmǎ, who depended on her for a living, to flirt with others.

Therefore, she became jealous of Madam Jin.

Cháoān Gōngzhǔ had long seen clearly what kind of person Jin zhǔshì was. When she learned that Jin zhǔshì was not at home, she wanted to teach Madam Jin a lesson so that she would have no chance to defend herself, which led to what happened to Prince Yu early that morning.

The result made Cháoān Gōngzhǔ very satisfied. A rumor spread like wildfire, and Madam Jin was pushed out and could no longer clear herself from the truth.

“Although the old man did not intervene directly in all this, he indirectly contributed to the occurrence of all this, and…” Lin Fei raised his eyes and looked at the old man Du in front of him, “He was happy to see it happen and added fuel to the flames.”

If not for this, when he came to ask that day, Old Master Du would not have specifically pointed out Madam Jin.

Upon hearing this, Old Master Du lowered his eyes and remained silent for a while, then smiled bitterly and said, “Young Master Lin is right!”

He watched everything happen, and watched Madam Jin, who was born into a wealthy family but ended up living in misery among the common people, suffer innocently. Not only that, he also made the most crucial move.

“I know the personalities of the master and servants of the Jin family best. Once this happens, the Jin family will definitely abandon Madam Jin,” said Old Master Du. “I am happy to see this happen. I even guided the old woman when she complained.”

“Although my original intention was to let that woman persuade Jin zhǔshì to divorce Madam Jin,” said Old Master Du, “Jin zhǔshì may seem to be ‘affectionate’, but in fact, he is ‘heartless’, selfish, and not a good match. I originally thought that after this matter was settled, Madam Jin would regain her status as a Gōngzhǔ and find a good match. But I didn’t expect…”

Old Master Du boasted that he knew this master and servant family well enough, but he still underestimated how cruel they were.

After hearing his guidance, the old woman actually forced Madam Jin to death. The reason was that the incident was so serious that if Jin zhǔshì divorced Madam Jin, he would be known as “irresponsible”. In the eyes of the old woman, it was best for Madam Jin to “die to show her determination”.

“Afterwards, the woman imitated Madam Jin’s handwriting and wrote a suicide note for me to read. I put the suicide note away in the study. You can take the suicide note and arrest the woman.” Old Master Du smiled bitterly when he said this. “I am to blame for Madam Jin’s death.”

The reason he added fuel to the fire was that he attracted the Dali Temple to investigate Cháoān Gōngzhǔ, Prince Yu, and Madam Jin, and it happened that the elixir was stolen, and the Goguryeo people were unable to take care of themselves.

He wanted chaos, the more chaotic the better, because the more chaotic it was, the more convenient it was for him to do things.

“I’ve been waiting for five years,” said Old Master Du, with a wry smile. He sat hunched over, with a hint of fatigue in his eyes. “I’m old now, I don’t dare to bet whether I can wait another five years!”

Having waited so long for this opportunity, he naturally wanted to catch all of these people in one fell swoop.

“The people of the Moro sect have already infiltrated the Goguryeo court. The death of the Goguryeo envoy has confirmed this to me.” When Old Master Du said this, a trace of doubt appeared on his face. “As far as I know, the envoy was one of the Moro sect members who helped to replace fake Gōngzhǔ. The cook who was hacked to death and implicated by your Dali Temple must be related to Prince Yu, who is also a Moro sect member. In this case, why would they kill their own people?”

The situation of a small religious sect in a foreign country was complicated and troublesome.

“Because it’s not just you, Master Du, who is troubled by the Moro Cult, but also the people of Goguryeo themselves.” When Lin Fei said this, his eyes flashed, and he said, “The people of Goguryeo themselves also intervened in this matter.”

…

…

The collapse of power took only a few days. During these days, seeing that all the people related to Prince Yu and Cháoān Gōngzhǔ were taken to the Dali Temple, Wen Mingtang, a cook in a public kitchen, got to know many “old people” in the Internal Affairs Yamen.

Two days ago, Ji Caimai pointed at the palace servant with silver hair, white face, and red lips, who looked strange and enchanting, and told Wen Mingtang: “That was the eunuch Mu from the former Internal Affairs Office.”

Of course, with so many palace servants coming and going, Ji Caimai did not just randomly point out this eunuch Mu. There must be a reason why he specifically pointed out this eunuch Mu.

“The reason you were targeted earlier was because of his order,” said Ji Caimai.

(End of this chapter)

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T/N Poor Madam Jin, such a tragic character. I have half a mind to write a fanfiction where Madam Jin is reborn before marrying Mr. Jin, and then changes her past.