newbobooks Chapter 322 Testing each other
Chapter 322 Testing each other
Tong Shanzhang took a sip of tea and revealed a contented expression.
"I like to live as I please. Whether it's clearing land and farming or writing books and biographies, I'll do whatever I like."
"It turns out that the headmaster longed for a secluded life, which is truly enviable. Unfortunately, what supports such a comfortable life is money and power, and ordinary people don't have this kind of mindset."
Tong Shanzhang smiled enigmatically, “Miss Shen must come from a very good family. Your insight is extraordinary.”
"You flatter me. My parents taught me how to conduct myself and how to live a good life through their words and deeds. Later, my godfather taught me skills so that I could have a foundation to stand on in the world."
"Can you, a young woman, stand on your own?"
"Although there are many difficulties, we still have hope of standing firm if we work hard."
"Having ambition is a good thing, but the reality is too cruel. Some people can never succeed no matter how hard they try."
The crown prince didn't quite understand.
What kind of riddle are these two playing? Could it be that Shen Lan and his maternal grandfather have some connection?
Shen Lan sighed, "Yes, the reality is that those with power and influence will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and they never care about the lives or deaths of others."
Shen Lan stood up and said, "Thank you for the tea, Headmaster Tong. I should take my leave now."
"Someone, escort Miss Shen out properly." Even in the Crown Prince's residence, Headmaster Tong had the authority to make decisions.
After Shen Lan left, the Crown Prince asked in confusion, "Grandfather, what were you talking about?"
"This girl is no ordinary person. What is your relationship with the Xiao family?"
"The Xiao family? Xiao Ji is focused on solving cases, and the Xiao family is a faction of upright officials who don't associate much with the princes."
"You need to be able to tell whether someone is truly virtuous or just pretending to be. Don't let yourself be secretly plotted against."
"Are you saying that the Xiao family wants to be my enemy?" The Crown Prince thought it was impossible. What good would it do to be his enemy in the court?
And when has he ever done anything to wrong the Xiao family?
Last time, when the concubine conspired with Madam Zhao to harm Shen Lan, he upheld justice and even turned against his own family.
What do you think of Xiao Ji as a person?
"Intelligent, talented, and steady, he is a promising talent."
The Crown Prince had a very high opinion of Xiao Ji.
This was simply because Xiao Ji had indeed handled several cases that satisfied him.
"It seems you admire him, but whether someone is usable cannot be judged by appearances alone; you must see if what they do aligns with your goals."
Although Headmaster Tong had not found anything wrong with the Xiao family, he was very concerned about the fact that someone went missing in the mountains after their last visit to the academy.
However, since Xiao Ji and his group suffered heavy casualties that time, it's unlikely they could cross the valley.
"Grandfather, what brings you down the mountain this time?"
The Crown Prince hadn't seen him for a long time, and every time he came down the mountain, it must be for something very important.
Tong Shanzhang patted him on the shoulder, "I heard you were confined by the Emperor, so I had to come and see you no matter how busy I was."
The Crown Prince felt a deep attachment to his father. From childhood to adulthood, his father had been strict with him, and his mother had given him more instructions than care. Only his maternal grandfather always cared about him as a person, rather than his responsibilities as the Crown Prince.
"Grandfather, please stay with me at the mansion for a few days. I'm so lonely all by myself."
Tong Shanzhang nodded in agreement, "I'll stay here and have a good talk with you about what's happened recently. There must be a reason why you were framed."
If you don't even know who the enemy is, you'll be facing endless trouble.
Master Tong might not care about the life or death of a grandson, but his grandson, the Crown Prince, is the most important. Only if the Crown Prince is well can the Tong family prosper.
The rest of the Tong family couldn't explain what had happened to the Crown Prince, so he had to go down the mountain himself.
On the way, Shen Lan was still thinking about whether Tong Yiwen's descent from the mountain would bring them utter disaster.
He has an air of mystery about him, making people hesitant to act rashly.
They encountered Xiao Ji on the way. He was riding a horse with his guards and looked hurried. When he saw them, he quickly stopped.
Xiao Ji looked her up and down, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was unharmed.
"Has the Crown Prince made things difficult for you?"
"No." Shen Lan took the reins from the guard beside her and climbed onto the horse.
"Okay, we'll talk about it when we get back."
The group returned to the Xiao family home, and Xiao Ji led Shen Lan to the study.
"Someone died in the Crown Prince's residence. Did the Crown Prince summon you because of this?"
"Yes, the one who died was Zhou Ru, the Crown Prince's bodyguard, a martial arts master."
Xiao Ji remembered this person; he didn't talk much and always followed behind the Crown Prince.
"Someone is trying to harm the Crown Prince," Xiao Ji thought to himself.
Shen Lan felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look Xiao Ji in the eye. She unconsciously scratched the table and told him about Tong Shanzhang's departure from the mountain.
"He seems to be suspicious of us."
“It’s normal. They lost one person. Coincidentally, we were on the other side of the canyon that day. If we hadn’t been attacked by mad dogs, he might have come to the Xiao family instead of the Crown Prince’s residence.”
"I think he's getting a little impatient."
When Shen Lan met him this time, she felt that he didn't seem to be very composed.
I had previously seen him remain indifferent even to the death of his grandson, and I thought he no longer had much attachment to worldly affairs.
Unexpectedly, what he cared about was not a grandson, but the crown prince, his precious grandson.
"I heard that Minister Zhao suffered a setback at the Crown Prince's residence today?"
"Yes, I got scolded." Shen Lan said with a hint of schadenfreude.
Xiao Ji also suppressed a mischievous smile. The two exchanged a glance and then quickly looked away.
"Well, there's nothing to investigate about Consort Lu's case. I'll go check on the Crown Prince's side tomorrow."
Xiao Ji wanted to take this opportunity to get to know Headmaster Tong better; perhaps this was a good chance.
Shen Lan wanted to stop him, but didn't know what excuse to use.
She opened her mouth, then said dryly, "Since the Crown Prince hasn't assigned this case to you, sir, you shouldn't take it on. If you fail to find the murderer and the Crown Prince blames you, you'll be the one who gets scolded."
"Since it was murder, there must be a murderer. It's only a matter of time before the murderer is caught."
"This... perhaps the murderer has already escaped from the city."
"Escaping the city isn't like flying to heaven; you'll get caught sooner or later."
"Yes... but why take on a thankless task?"
Xiao Ji leaned closer to her, observing her expression with amusement. "Did you discover something?"
Shen Lan avoided eye contact.
Xiao Ji had a sudden thought and lowered his voice to ask, "Did you kill him?"
This wasn't the first time Shen Lan had killed someone, and the victim was someone close to the Crown Prince, so it's understandable that Xiao Ji was suspicious.
Shen Lan neither admitted nor denied it, and stammered, "You'd better not get involved in this case."
"It seems so, you really have a death wish!" Xiao Ji was both angry and anxious, clenching his fists and pacing around in circles.
He pointed at Shen Lan, wanting to scold her, but didn't know what to say.
Finally, he managed to stammer out, "How dare you come here today? Aren't you afraid the Crown Prince will find out and execute you?"
"The Crown Prince summoned me, and I had no choice but to go."
"Afraid?"
Shen Lan shook her head, "The Crown Prince is not good at investigating cases."
"Heh, the Minister of Justice was in the Crown Prince's residence at the time. Don't underestimate Zhao Kaizhi; his feud with the Xiao family is far from over."