Mu quickly happily instructed Zongbai and the others to bring up the dishes."Mother, why haven't you all eaten" Zongyu asked with a frown.Fang Jinshui had guessed that her mother-in-law and the others...Xiaoyue quietly shut the door, muttering in her heart, "Master's affairs are none of my concern, Master's affairs are none of my concern."
Anyway, whatever the mistress said, she agreed with it.
It will be about ten days before the main army arrives at the capital.
The Prince Jing's Residence suddenly issued invitations, announcing a grand birthday banquet.
The birthday party's star was naturally Dong Er.
Fu Shangyuan had not originally intended to make a big announcement about Dong'er's return. That was until Zong Yu and Fang Jinshi went on a trip to Jing Wangfu.
The next day, the birthday invitations from Prince Jing's mansion were delivered to prominent families in the capital city, as well as to all officials.
Many people are speculating about what King Jing's intentions are with this move.
Previously, Your Majesty had mentioned holding a ceremony for the young prince to acknowledge his lineage within the palace. It was Prince Jing who refused outright.
The reason is that his son just came back, and he treasures him dearly. He doesn't want the child to face too much at once, fearing that the child might feel nervous or scared.
Now, what's the occasion for such a big celebration for this birthday
Yuan Buyu's mood these days has been consistently low. He sent out dozens of assassins, but not a single one returned.
He actually underestimated this magnificent Jinshu Mountain Villa.
After that, he sent people to investigate, but before they even got close to the villa, they were silently and quietly dealt with.
Yuan Buyu was greatly astonished. According to his prior understanding, there were no such masters within the Jinxiu Mountain Villa.
Besides that Zhao kid, the rest of the guards were basically pathetic.
Once the assassination attempt failed, Yuan Buyu did not immediately launch a second one. Firstly, he needed to figure out what was going on with the mysterious master who had suddenly appeared at Jinxiu Mountain Villa.
Furthermore, Prince Jing actually went to the Prime Minister's residence in person early the next day.
Fu Shangyuan had been idle for many years and held no real power in court. They had always kept to themselves, never interfering with each other's affairs.
Upon this sudden visit, Yuan Buyu did recall a matter.
It is heard that the Crown Prince of King Jing was saved by Fang Jinshu and recognized her as his adoptive mother.
Yuan Buyu never believed the rumors of ambiguity between King Jing and Fang Jinshu, but for his son, it was possible.
He purposely chose a time when the Crown Prince was not at Jinshiu Villa when he sent people there. This was to avoid unnecessary conflict with King Jing.
Yuan Buyu couldn't guess why Fu Shangyuan had come, so he could only go to meet him.
After a few polite exchanges, the two men withdrew to their respective sides. Yuan Buyu, who had served as prime minister for so many years, was naturally capable of remaining composed.
Prince Jing didn't get straight to the point, instead, he went along with their rambling conversation. He neither ignored them nor gave them a chance to find a loophole and link him to the attack on Jinshu Mountain Villa.
When Fu Shangyuan finished his third cup of tea, he could finally contain himself no longer.
He cursed inwardly, "Yuan Buyu, this old thing, acts so convincingly."
"Mr. Yuan, a shocking tragedy occurred at Jinshu Mountain Villa a few days ago."
Yuan Buyu feigned surprise, "Oh How appalling"
Fu Shangyuan stared at him, a smirk that didn't reach his eyes.
More than twenty people were killed overnight at the manor. The case has been reported to the Jingzhao Mansion. After examining the body of the killer, it is believed that he was just a hired assassin.
"These people have simple backgrounds and have no grievances with Jinshuxia Mountain Villa."
"Therefore, we speculate that these people must have been instigated by someone."
Yuan Buyu smiled, “Your Highness’s analysis is extremely accurate. Since we know someone is behind this, let’s capture the mastermind and bring them to justice.”
"Although I am the chief among officials, matters of adjudicating cases and apprehending criminals are not under my purview. Lord Wang, could it be that you haven't found the mastermind behind this, and thus have come to seek my assistance"
Fu Shangyuan also smiled along, the old fox, he really shouldn't be underestimated.
"That's not necessary, sir. As a minister, you have so much to attend to, how could I possibly trouble you with such a trivial matter"
"This King just finds it strange. The bodies of the assassins and the victims were sent to the Metropolitan Procuratorate together, but after only one night, the assassins' bodies have disappeared."
"The capital city is under the emperor's feet, and the Jingzhao Mansion has tight security. Could those assassins' bodies have flown away"
Yuan Buyu smiled but did not speak, raising his hand to let King Jing continue.
He could sit here and listen to him calmly, naturally with confidence.
"Apart from the person pulling the strings behind the scenes, this king can't imagine anyone else being interested in the bodies of those assassins."
Fu Shangyuan saw that Yuan Buyu remained impassive even now, a smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
"It seems my luck is good, actually. Dong'er was clamoring to avenge her foster mother, so I had no choice but to go to Jingzhao Mansion myself and take a look. I actually found something extremely important at the place where the bodies were stored."
When Yuan Buyu heard this, the movement of his hand holding the teacup finally paused for a moment. Though it was slight and he quickly resumed his original posture, Fu Shangyuan raised an eyebrow.
"Oh What kind of evidence"glared at him with a mournful look, Zōng Yù blushed shamefacedly, and at this moment he seemed at a loss.Just now, you were fierce like a wolf, and now you put on such an innocent act for whoZong Yu t...