Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!

Chapter 551 - 550: Substitute

When Yan Daoxin was mentioned, Lu Qing’s face darkened as well.

Zhu Yu noticed his thoughtful expression and quickly reminded him with some concern: "You’d better not think about anything right now, and definitely don’t have any plans!

The wound on your back has only just stopped bleeding and has scabbed over firmly. To recover quickly, you must rest quietly.

If you end up tearing open the wound that has just begun to heal, then I won’t be able to stitch it up, and you’ll be unable to move, which will really delay everything!

Did you understand?"

"Understood, madam. Don’t worry. I’m not so reckless, nor will I act impulsively," Lu Qing replied, clearly seeing that Zhu Yu was genuinely worried about him, answering both decisively and sincerely.

Zhu Yu nodded in satisfaction: "Earlier, Liu Yueyao mentioned Runzhou. That Zhao Xin is...?"

"Madam, did you forget?" Lu Qing was not surprised that Zhu Yu did not remember Zhao Xin, considering they hadn’t interacted much back then, and so much has happened since. "At that time, along the Congzhou border, we found large tracts of abandoned farmland, and later heard that the sole distillery in Qingshui County said their grain was bought from nearby Runzhou.

The Prefect of Runzhou forbade farmers from abandoning farmland to grow ornamental and dye crops, so Runzhou’s grain reserves are very ample.

Zhao Xin is the farsighted Prefect of Runzhou."

Zhu Yu recalled after Lu Qing’s reminder: "Back then, you sent Fu Lu with the Golden-faced Imperial Censor’s waist card to borrow manpower, yet he shrewdly picked the competent and only lent twenty men!

That shrewd and cautious prefect, right!"

"That’s him." Lu Qing nodded, "This Zhao Xin is a smart man. His greatest strength is his caution, but paradoxically, his greatest weakness is also being overly cautious.

The Capital lies within the Congzhou boundary. While farming could be overlooked, stockpiling troops or something else would instead attract attention.

In comparison, Runzhou is much better.

It is neither under the Capital’s nose as Congzhou is, nor as remote and inaccessible as Li State.

Zhao Xin was too clever for his own good, trying to play it safe, forgetting whether others would even allow him to remain safe in his position."

"So you are indeed preoccupied right now, but are you also using this chance to give him an opportunity to see reality and reevaluate his position?" Zhu Yu asked.

"Yes." Lu Qing pondered for a moment, "Rest assured, I will recover well first, afterward, we must make a trip to Lan Country.

By then we will surely pass through Runzhou, and perhaps we might have a chance to meet Zhao Xin."

"Going to Lan Country?" Zhu Yu asked in surprise, "Why go there?"

Thinking about it now, previously whether it was Shuo Land or Bhutan, each step of their journey was fraught with peril, with every incident seeming to be life-threatening.

Upon reflection, it was Lan Country that left her with a chilling unease, be it the Immortal Castle or the Little Mountain Building.

Though these happened in Lan Country, ultimately all kinds of sedatives and curious poisons, strange flowers, and venomous insects originated from Bhutan.

This is why Zhu Yu remained exceedingly cautious of everything related to Bhutan.

Even if Lu Qing were to say they planned to disguise and return secretly to Bhutan, whether she agreed or not is another matter, at least she wouldn’t be overly surprised.

But going to Lan Country... Zhu Yu couldn’t help but tremble.

"I know you have shadows about Lan Country." Lu Qing, noticing Zhu Yu’s reaction, tenderly took her hand into his, "But that place cannot be bypassed by us.

On the surface, it seems Fan Country played a significant role in all these matters, but we’ve already infiltrated Fanwang Mansion and seen the situation in Bhutan clearly.

King Fan is obsessed with longevity and immortality, caring nothing about the living conditions of his subjects.

The lands of Fan Country were requisitioned for medicinal crops, yet ordinary people can’t even buy the most basic herbs, each starving and gaunt, silently enduring even the slightest illness.

In such circumstances, I don’t believe King Fan has the capability to direct his people to accomplish so many things externally.

Nor do I believe Fan Country has sufficient financial and material resources to orchestrate these.

Afterwards, King Fan’s sudden death was indeed a trap set up by the opposition to frame us.

This trap also confirms my previous suspicions, considering that no one capable of such complex planning would fall into someone else’s plot so readily.

Clearly, the mastermind orchestrating all of this has always been outside the circle, with King Fan being merely a pawn, and Fan Country nothing but a facade to confuse outsiders.

I also don’t believe such an extensive scheme could be managed by just one person; besides the Fake Castle Master we disposed of, there must be others involved.

Once I recover, I plan to delve into Lan Country to explore their reality."

Listening to this, Zhu Yu no longer felt confused. Although Lan Country had left her with a significant psychological shadow, since nothing ventured, nothing gained, initially they thought the crux of it all lay in Bhutan, so after escaping Little Mountain Building, they headed straight for Fan Country without observing other signs in Lan Country.

Now thinking back, in this world, there is rarely a single-sided cause. Fan Country’s constant encroachment on Lan Country’s borderlands stoked the resentment of Lan Country’s people, yet Prince Lan remained unusually quiet, reportedly not even sending memorials to Emperor Jin for years.

Since Prince Lan and Emperor Jin are distantly relatives by blood, Emperor Jin rarely paid extra heed to him.

This is peculiar indeed, having one’s land persistently encroached upon, yet remaining silent, deaf to public grievances. If there’s nothing wrong with Prince Lan, no one would believe it.

It’s likely not merely a question of whether he’s a muddle-headed ruler.

Recalling their previous experiences at the Immortal Castle and Little Mountain Building filled with bizarre occurrences, Zhu Yu’s ominous feeling grew stronger.

Suddenly, she remembered something Emperor Jin once mentioned to Lu Qing about the details of his kin’s past demise during a conversation in the palace.

"The Holy Emperor mentioned your household once had a single other survivor besides you, a servant, but he was eventually found dead near the border between Jin Country and Lan Country. His body was discovered by the riverside, already half-consumed by fish.

This means only the clothes on him could verify his identity.

So, this man who died by the river may not necessarily have been who they claimed he was, but possibly a substitute," she told Lu Qing.