On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Chapter 2320 Governor Liu's Selfish Motives

Governor Liu stroked his beard and pondered for a long time.

"My lord, go and summon Constable Xie now. I need to go to the Shi family's courtyard myself to investigate the scene."

The clerk replied, "Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, in the Shi family courtyard, Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe were resting in a side hall with Princess Mingzhao and Mu Chen, listening to Princess Mingzhao recount the events of the past two days.

A guard entered, walked to Huo Changhe's side, bowed and whispered, "Your Highness, people have arrived from the direction of the Prefect's residence. There are not many of them, less than ten. They are only carrying two lanterns and have no torches."

Upon hearing this, Huo Changhe's lips curled into a mocking smile. He looked up and exchanged a glance with Yan Ruyu, the two of them understanding each other without saying a word.

Yan Ruyu said calmly, “It seems that this Prefect Liu has a good plan. He wants to investigate the situation but doesn’t want to make a big fuss. He has a lot of selfish motives.”

Princess Mingzhao frowned: "Is he holding back, not wanting to become a complete enemy of the He family? If he is biased towards the He family, then all our efforts will have been in vain?"

"Not necessarily." Huo Changhe stood up. "At least he came to investigate in person, which shows that he doesn't dare to openly engage in favoritism and corruption. Let's wait and see what he's up to."

They all nodded, said no more, got up and quietly left, hiding in the alley outside the courtyard wall.

Governor Liu then arrived at the Shi family's gate with his clerk, Constable Xie, and several yamen runners.

When the constable stepped forward and pushed open the door, a strong smell of blood hit them, making them all cover their noses.

Several corpses lay scattered on the blue brick ground in the courtyard; they were all He Er's guards.

Some had an arrow right in their chest, others had their throats slashed open by a sharp blade, dark red blood flowing all over the ground, a scene of utter devastation.

Governor Liu stood at the door, his steps faltering, his calm expression completely replaced by shock, and his heart skipped a beat.

He originally thought that it was just He Er bringing people to silence someone, and even if there was a fight, it would never be this tragic.

But the scene before him was far more serious than he had imagined. This was not a simple cover-up; it was clearly a life-or-death struggle.

The clerk followed behind Governor Liu, craning his neck to look into the courtyard, his face deathly pale.

He covered his nose, leaned close to Governor Liu's ear, and said in a trembling voice, "Sir, this matter is not simple!"

Judging from the number of dead and injured, and the signs of a struggle, this is definitely not an ordinary revenge killing; there are likely other motives involved.

Governor Liu cursed inwardly, "Do you even need to tell me? Even a blind man could see that something unusual is going on here."

With a stern face, he gestured with his chin towards Officer Xie: "Officer Xie, go and carefully examine the scene. See how these corpses died, and see if there are any other clues."

The head constable responded, holding up the lantern in his hand, and slowly walked into the courtyard.

He crouched down and carefully examined each corpse. He then picked up a few arrows that had fallen to the ground, held the arrow shafts in his hands for a long time, and frowned.

The arrow wounds on these corpses were all precisely aimed at vital organs, indicating that the person who struck them must have been extremely skilled.

These arrow wounds are unusual, but they don't seem to be caused by the rockets on the ground.

So, where did the arrows that killed these people go?

The constable was filled with doubt.

"My lord, judging from their attire, these corpses should all be guards of the He family. Some died from arrow wounds, while others were killed by sharp blades that slashed their vital organs. The person who did this was ruthless and extremely skilled in archery."

He paused, turned to look at Shi Mao standing to the side, and asked in a deep voice, "Dr. Shi, why did He Er lead so many men to commit the crime, and why did so many of his men suffer such heavy losses?"

Looking at these arrow wounds, it's clear that no ordinary person could have done this. How could this have happened?

Shi Mao's heart tightened, and his palms instantly became sweaty.

Regardless, I dare not name Yan Ruyu or any of the others.

He composed himself and delivered the prepared statement: "Sir, Officer Jie, to tell you the truth, when He Er and his men were about to kill me, a masked swordsman suddenly appeared. He couldn't stand what He Er was doing, so he stepped in to help."

These arrows were all provided by that great hero. He was extremely skilled and quickly dispatched many guards. However, the hero was masked, and after rescuing me, he left in a hurry. I didn't even get a good look at him, nor do I know who he was.

He spoke with genuine emotion, his face showing lingering fear, as if afraid that Prefect Liu and Constable Xie wouldn't believe him.

Governor Liu stared at Shi Mao for a long time, his gaze sharp, as if he could see right through him.

Shi Mao felt uneasy under his gaze, so he lowered his head even further and didn't dare to breathe loudly.

Governor Liu was skeptical, thinking that the story was too coincidental. How could there be such a coincidence that a masked hero would appear to help Shi Mao just when he was about to be killed?

Shi Mao had survived a near-death experience and was still injured. He didn't seem to be lying at the moment, so there was no way to find any flaws in his story.

After pondering for a long time, Prefect Liu instructed Constable Xie: "Constable Xie, arrange for men to carry all these corpses back to the yamen and register them carefully."

Furthermore, have the Shi family courtyard thoroughly cleaned up, and this matter must not be revealed to outsiders, nor should anyone be allowed to spy on it again.

Upon hearing this, Huo Changhe, who was hiding in the alley, immediately darkened his face, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He scoffed, "Clean it up? This shows they have no intention of investigating the scene again and don't want to leave any evidence."

Yan Ruyu narrowed her eyes slightly: "It seems that this governor wants to suppress this matter first, neither wanting to offend the He family nor wanting to make a big fuss and get himself into trouble."

Let's go back first and see how he handles it afterwards.

They all nodded, turned around, and quietly left the alley, disappearing into the deep night.

Princess Mingzhao led the group back to her rented courtyard in the west of the city.

Yan Ruyu looked at everyone and said, "You've all been busy all night, go back to your rooms and rest. We can talk about it tomorrow morning."

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking and the sky was beginning to lighten, there was movement in the courtyard.

Yan Ruyu got up and watched Huo Changhe practice boxing in the courtyard.

Before long, Princess Mingzhao also got up and asked with a smile, "Do you have any plans for today?"

Yan Ruyu thought for a moment: "Su Shengsheng is still at the inn, and that old woman has been following us. Why don't we go to the inn to see them first, send the old woman back to her place, and also see her niece. Maybe we'll find out something."

Princess Mingzhao nodded in agreement: "That's exactly what I was thinking. I'll go with you."

The streets are gradually becoming lively. Breakfast stall owners have set up their stalls, and steaming hot air is rising from the steamers. The aroma of steamed buns and soy milk fills the streets.

Yan Ruyu remarked, "Chongzhou is quite lively; it can be considered a large city."

Huo Changhe nodded: "Yes, although it can't be considered an important town, it has the advantage of flat terrain and fertile land formed by the siltation of the riverbed in the previous dynasty. The people live a relatively prosperous life."

As Yan Ruyu faced the morning light, a chill flashed in her eyes: "I'm afraid some people don't want to live their good lives properly."