Xun Zhou opened his mouth and was about to speak when a familiar voice came from the forest not far away.

“Maybe he came here because of your father’s matter!”

This voice… Wen Mingtang twitched his lips, and he and Xun Zhou looked in the direction of the sound.

The person pushed aside the bushes in the mountains and walked out.

He was wearing a riding suit and carrying a bow on his back. He looked like he was hunting in the mountains, but… Wen Mingtang looked at his empty waist: Hunting with only a bow but no arrows?

Lin Shaoqing might be good at solving crimes, but when he was pretending, he should have acted properly!

Because Lin Fei was not wearing an official robe, Xun Zhou was unsure of his identity for a moment and subconsciously turned to look at Wen Mingtang.
Wen Mingtang said: “This is Lin Shaoqing from the Dali Temple.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Xun Zhou’s face suddenly changed. Wen Mingtang saw his reaction and thought to herself, “As expected”, Xun Zhou had indeed come to Chang’an City early, otherwise he would not have known Lin Fei’s name.

Compared to Xun Zhou’s sudden expression change, Lin Fei looked calm. He nodded to Xun Zhou and said, “Lin Fei.”

Xun Zhou came to his senses and quickly took a step back, saluted Lin Fei, and said, “Lin Shaoqing!”

Lin Fei hummed, looked at Xun Zhou in front of him, and after sizing him up for a moment, he asked, “Xun Zhou?”

This was another person who took the initiative to reveal his identity without him saying anything. Xun Zhou showed a trace of helplessness on his face, but he still replied “yes”, and then said: “My shēngteacher and I came to Chang’an half a month ago. We have been asking about Miss Mingtang these days. Fortunately, hard work pays off, and I finally found out!”

Therefore, it was no coincidence that Wang He and Xun Zhou appeared here this time.

Wen Mingtang looked at Xun Zhou and asked again: “So, why did you specifically look for me? Is it because of my father’s matter?” When she said “Because of my father’s matter”, Wen Mingtang glanced at Lin Fei who suddenly appeared.

Lin Fei said: “I heard that Wang He recently took him to find a few minor officials who had a good relationship with your father and were not implicated in the incident to ask about what happened back then. I guessed that his search for you was related to this matter.”

Since Lin Fei had already said this, Xun Zhou hesitated for a moment, then simply admitted it: “Shaoqing Lin is right, I came here for this matter.”

The girl opposite tilted her head and looked at Xun Zhou, waiting for his next words.

“When the teacher got into trouble, I was out visiting my elder sister and jiěfū. My jiěfū was a local official and couldn’t leave without a reason, so I rushed back to Chang’an alone. Unfortunately…” Xun Zhou sighed, his eyes reddened, “I didn’t even get to see the teacher for the last time.”

It was only half a month from the time Wen Xuance was involved in the incident to the time the incident happened. It took ten days and half a month for the news to reach Xunzhou’s jiěfū. How could he have seen her in time even if he had rushed back to Chang’an?

Wen Mingtang didn’t think much of this. She said frankly, “If you had gone to see my father at that time, they would have arrested you and interrogated you as well.” At this point, she waved her hand and said, “It was already like that at that time, so of course we wanted to implicate as few people as possible. If you feel guilty about this, you don’t have to!”

Seeing the girl’s carefree and refreshing appearance, Xun Zhou couldn’t help but sigh again, and said with emotion: “Although the teacher looked serious on the surface, he was the same as Sister Mingtang in his heart, straightforward and carefree!”

Lin Fei glanced at Xun Zhou who was sighing, and said: “You forgot one thing – arrogance!”

It was precisely because of this arrogance that it was easy to offend people!

Xun Zhou heard this and said with a wry smile: “Lin Shaoqing is right!”

Those who were talented and arrogant, like Wen Xuance and Wang He, had different outcomes. Unlike Wang He, who, because of his arrogance, did not enter the officialdom and became a renowned mingshi, with this arrogance adding to his mingshi charm, Wen Xuance entered the officialdom. However, this arrogance could be a fatal flaw if it clashed with certain people, and he might not even realize when he had offended a petty person.

With a sigh, Xun Zhou continued, “My jiěfū and I don’t believe that the teacher would do such a thing, so we have been secretly investigating this matter over the years.”

To them, their mentor Wen Xuance not only taught them but also stood up for them when they were in trouble. How could they forget such a great favor?

At this point, Xun Zhou paused for a moment, glanced at Lin Fei, and said, “Last year, we found a person by accident. From this person, we learned that the imperial edict was most likely replaced by someone during delivery.”

Wen Mingtang said “Oh”, looked at Xun Zhou, and asked, “Do you have any evidence?”

Meeting the girl’s calm eyes, Xun Zhou opened his mouth, glanced at Lin Fei, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Lin Fei lowered his eyes, as if he didn’t see the look, and stood there motionless.

As a last resort, Xun Zhou could only helplessly say, “Sister Mingtang, can you spare me a word? This matter concerns our teacher and is extremely important.”

Because the matter is of great importance, outsiders couldn’t hear it.

From Xun Zhou’s repeated looks, it was obvious who this outsider was referring to.

Wen Mingtang: “…”

Seeing Lin Fei coming here on purpose and not shying away from her words, Wen Mingtang fell silent. After a moment, she said to Xun Zhou, “It’s okay. He won’t say anything.”

Was that so? Xun Zhou hesitated, paused, and looking at Wen Mingtang’s expression, Xun Zhou said frankly: “I’m not worried about Lin Shaoqing talking nonsense, I’m worried that he will investigate…”

During the half month they had been in Chang’an, they had inquired about many things going on in Chang’an City. Judging from the past of Lin Shaoqing, he would immediately start to investigate after he knew about it. If he disturbed someone who shouldn’t be disturbed…

Before he could finish his words, Lin Fei interrupted him: “Since you have found out that there is something fishy going on, why don’t you want us to investigate and clear Wen Xuance’s name? Are you planning to hide at home with the evidence and not go out?”

This sentence made Xun Zhou speechless. Seeing Wen Mingtang nodding in agreement, Xun Zhou opened his mouth and felt a sense of dejection and powerlessness: Weren’t these two too bold?

He sighed and said, “This matter is of great importance. When the incident occurred back then, someone pleaded on behalf of my master, leading to an investigation. The evidence was conclusive, and the late Emperor, in his anger, declared that the case should never be brought up again…”

“It was the late Emperor who said that this case should not be brought up again,” Wen Mingtang said to Xun Zhou, “but the current Emperor has not said that it should not be brought up again!”

Xun Zhou: “…”

Looking at the two calm and identical faces across from him, he found himself at a loss for words to argue. Not only could he not refute them, but a subtle feeling also arose in his heart: it seemed these two might not be wrong after all—there was no decree from the current Emperor forbidding the case from being brought up again!

Seeing Xun Zhou was silent and seemed confused, Wen Mingtang immediately asked, “So, what evidence did you find?”

(End of this chapter)

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