Chapter 329: Chapter 234
Upon hearing she fell into that bottomless Dayang Lake, her body never found, the weight on his chest felt as heavy as a thousand jun, pulling straight down, causing him heart-wrenching pain.
Where before he couldn’t discern why he kept thinking of a girl he had only met a few times, after experiencing how his mind was consumed by worries over her safety, he began to understand.
He had a gentle disposition, but he wasn’t someone who would patiently humor anyone who came abruptly with absurd talk of reading his palm.
He first saw her in a wedding room adorned with red silk, accompanying a friend to fetch the bride.
After completing a jest poem, she glanced at him, then removed the beauty fan hiding her face, revealing a radiant expression.
At that moment, he did not understand what his brief distraction meant.
The laughable thing is, he now realizes his feelings, yet she has already perished at the icy depths of the lake.
Even heaven left him no room.
Ji Chengfeng suppressed the bitterness in his heart, raised his wine cup, and drank it down in one gulp.
He looked towards his silent cousin across from him and asked, "How is Aunt doing?"
Xie YanYu remained silent, merely nodding.
Seeing his reluctance to speak, Ji Chengfeng did not carry on the conversation.
The simple welcome banquet concluded in silence.
Xie YanYu picked up his tea cup for a sip, then inquired about the situation with the scholars of Bianzhou.
Being their teacher, it was right to care about the current scholars.
Ji Chengfeng noticed his pale complexion and said, "You’ve had a tiresome journey, why don’t you rest for today?"
"Please, go on," Xie YanYu politely declined, "I arrived late as it is."
Ji Chengfeng was helpless, but as he himself was recently appointed, he was not familiar with the local talents and gentries, hence he called upon two subordinates to introduce the situation.
The two brothers sat expressionless with half-closed eyes; the subordinates couldn’t help but glance at the two officials, unsure if they were listening.
It wasn’t until they heard about an incident from the previous day involving exam candidates experiencing severe diarrhea after eating pastries from the Li Family’s old bakery in town that Xie YanYu’s brows moved slightly, "Tell me more about it."
The subordinate hesitated, knowing that conspiracies to harm each other among scholars were detested by the chief examiner, yet such cases appeared in almost every examination session.
Hurriedly, he grabbed the dossier and began explaining in detail.
Xie YanYu quietly listened until the end, then asked, "When will the case be tried?"
The subordinate continued looking at the dossier, "This afternoon."
Xie YanYu pondered for a moment, then looked at Ji Chengfeng, "Shall we take a look?"
According to the Great Khan’s laws, scholars with titles could see officials without bowing.
Involving several scholars, although not requiring the presence of the Lord Governor himself, given that the provincial examination was imminent, it was necessary to inquire.
Since Xie YanYu was present as the chief examiner, he certainly couldn’t ignore it.
The two exchanged a look and decided to observe the trial.
Meanwhile, outside the government office gate.
Xie Wanqing and Chen Xi’er, both heavily pregnant, were stopped outside the government office.
Scholars, bearing the status of their titles, even if they became suspects in a case, the trial was not an event for ordinary people to watch.
Even though Chen Xi’er desperately explained she was Li Wenhao’s wife, she was blocked outside by the guards.
The purse Xie Wanqing offered was confiscated by both guards.
With the provincial exams underway involving several scholars, although it didn’t initially lead to fatalities, even the Lord Governor was likely focused on the case, and the subordinates dared not show any leniency.
