Chapter 483 Contest (Two)
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“For now, it’s hard to draw a conclusion. Anything is possible,” Yuwen Chu said gravely.
Seeing his serious expression, Mingzhu thought for a moment and whispered in his ear, “I know Your Highness suspects who Teacher Lin is.’”
Yuwen Chu was surprised. “I suspect who he is?”
“Teacher Zhu,” Mingzhu said smugly. “My memory is quite good. When I first entered the mansion, didn’t the incident with Qiuwen and Liansheng happen? At that time, Liansheng confessed that she was rescued and adopted by someone named Teacher Zhu when she was young. She said this Teacher Zhu was young and handsome, sang beautifully, played beautiful tunes, and never cursed. Doesn’t that sound like Teacher Lin?’
This Teacher Zhu had adopted and trained countless orphans, sending them into the major mansions of the capital. When there was a task, he would contact these pawns. He had woven a huge web in the capital like a spider, making him the most trusted right-hand man under Zhongshan Wang. Du Heng had also sent word that this person had recently entered the capital.
The timing of Teacher Lin’s appearance and his appearance were similar to this Teacher Zhu, so Yuwen Chu did indeed suspect that he was Teacher Zhu, which was why he had repeatedly questioned Teacher Lin about the incident with Wang Ah Niu being bitten by a wolf. However, he hadn’t expected Mingzhu to be so perceptive and notice his thoughts so quickly. He was somewhat interested. “But you seemed very remorseful just now, feeling that you treated Teacher Lin poorly.”
“Although I feel remorseful, I still have to be wary of him. This involves matters of life and death, and I cannot be reckless.” Mingzhu said solemnly, “But I don’t think he’s Teacher Zhu.”
Yuwen Chu became more interested. “How can you be sure?”
Mingzhu analyzed for him. “The timing is wrong. Liansheng is younger than me. During the Great Flood of Cangzhou, Your Highness should remember that I was already learning to play the pipa. Teacher Lin had been coming to teach me for those years, so how could he have had time to go to Cangzhou to find orphans and train them as spies?”
After finishing the first point and seeing that Yuwen Chu showed no sign of opposition, Mingzhu continued, “Secondly, he told me he knew the Wusun Princess, had been to Wusun. If he were Teacher Zhu, he should have known about the conflict between us and the Linan Mansion. He should have deliberately concealed this information instead of telling me intentionally.
Thirdly, in the incident where Wang Ah Niu was bitten by a wolf, he took the initiative to bring the victim here. If he really were Teacher Zhu, setting up such a scheme, would he deliberately come to remind us? So I think he is not Teacher Zhu. But this is just my personal opinion. If Your Highness thinks it’s inappropriate, please criticize and correct me.”
“You make a lot of sense.” Yuwen Chu praised her, but still refused to agree with her viewpoint. “There’s a saying, ‘Real is fake, and fake is real.’ Until there’s solid evidence, I will always consider him as one of Teacher Zhu’s men.”
“One of Teacher Zhu’s men?” Mingzhu didn’t understand what he meant.
“It means he may be Teacher Zhu, or he may be a fake Teacher Zhu sent to distract us, but he’s still connected to this matter. Believe me, just wait and see.” Yuwen Chu was very confident. “Do you want to make a bet with me?”
“What are we betting on?” Mingzhu asked.
Yuwen Chu leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words. Mingzhu blushed deeply, “You’re dreaming!”
“I knew you couldn’t afford to bet.” Yuwen Chu lazily leaned back, looking down on her. “You don’t even have the courage for this, yet you still want to dominate the back courtyard alone.”
Mingzhu immediately got angry. “What do you mean? What else do you want? Want to drink some kidney-nourishing porridge again?”
“Even if I drink kidney-nourishing porridge, it’ll only nourish you.” Yuwen Chu wasn’t afraid of her at all. “I just want what I said earlier. Can you do it or not? Just be straightforward.”
Mingzhu’s competitive spirit was aroused by him. She vigorously shook his hand, “Let’s bet! Who knows who will win or lose! What if Your Highness loses?”
Yuwen Chu smiled ambiguously. “I’ll let the Wangfei decide.”
“That’s settled then!” Mingzhu rubbed her hands. “Watch me investigate Teacher Lin’s whereabouts over the past few years meticulously.”
Yuwen Chu challenged her, “Watch me uncover his true identity and show it to you!” He lowered his voice. “I will absolutely eat you!”
Mingzhu glared at him, but he didn’t back down, meeting her gaze. After a moment, Mingzhu blushed first, looked away, and muttered softly, “Shameless.”
Yuwen Chu didn’t bother to argue with her, just smiled and continued to look at his account book.
In the evening, when the people who went to inquire about the news and search for the wolf cubs returned, they brought back three pieces of information. Firstly, the incident of the child being taken away by the wolf was the only one, and there were no other incidents of wolves biting people elsewhere. Secondly, the wolf cubs were indeed found at the time, but because the people were angry, all the wolf cubs were killed. Thirdly, Teacher Lin got off the carriage halfway and disappeared.
Yuwen Chu returned after checking the bodies of the mother wolf and the wolf cubs, and as soon as he entered, he said, “I guess you lost the bet we made. You should prepare yourself. The mother wolf has four breasts that have nursed cubs, but the wolf cubs only have three. I suspect the mother wolf didn’t come to the village out of hunger or being driven out by the pack; it was revenge for the killing.”
Since the Wang family didn’t have any grudges with the wolf, there must be someone living in their house who had a grudge with the wolf. Either this person killed the wolf cub, or they hid it. That’s why the mother wolf came seeking revenge and killed people. I also sent people to search near the Wang family’s house. We’ll definitely find that wolf cub. Just wait and see.”
Even he understood this? Mingzhu couldn’t believe it. “Who said that just because the mother wolf has four breasts that have nursed cubs, there must be four wolf cubs? Maybe one of the wolf cubs has a big appetite and needs to suckle from two breasts? According to Your Highness’s logic, shouldn’t humans give birth to twins every time?”
Yuwen Chu laughed, “If you could give birth to twins, I would be delighted, but I don’t think you have that ability. Don’t worry, if the child doesn’t eat, someone else will.”
Mingzhu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly punched him twice, “You’re going crazy, twisting everything to fit your argument. Can’t you speak properly?”
Yuwen Chu said seriously, “What did I say wrong? I’m just answering Wangfei’s questions, aren’t I? I said there are four wolf cubs, so there are definitely four wolf cubs. If you don’t believe me, let’s bet.”
Thinking of his previous bet, Mingzhu blushed and covered her eyes, “No bet, no bet, you’re a bad person.”
Yuwen Chu laughed and stopped teasing her. They finished dinner together and affectionately prepared to sleep.
The next morning, the guards brought in a dying wolf cub in a cage, saying it was found at the Wang family’s house. When found, the wolf cub was gagged with a cloth and thrown into a cabinet, which happened to be the room where Teacher Lin’s servant stayed.
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