Chapter 156: Nearing the End

Hearing Wang Dazhi speak with such certainty, Zhu Hao found it difficult to simply arrest Wang Dazhi's relative on the spot. Instead, he said, "Commander Wang, this matter involves the lives of two high-ranking officials of a province. It is no trivial matter and must not be handled carelessly. I now order you to go and question that physician immediately, and then have someone inspect the medicine he used yesterday to see if there is any lethal poison in it!"

Knowing that Zhu Hao was offering him a graceful way out rather than arresting his relative directly, Wang Dazhi expressed his gratitude immediately: "Your Highness, rest assured. If this physician is indeed responsible, this subordinate will place righteousness above family and show no leniency whatsoever!"

Nodding upon hearing this, Zhu Hao said, "I am well aware of Commander Wang's loyalty to the imperial court, and I believe you are not someone who would bend the law for personal gain or disregard state statutes. Very well, I leave this matter to Commander Wang to investigate!"

With these words, Wang Dazhi accepted the order and withdrew.

Xiao Jingaogao's sudden and unexpected death left Zhu Hao in no mood to linger in the main hall of the Zhejiang Surveillance Commissioner's Office. He rose, summoned his guards, and returned to his temporary residence to await the outcome of Wang Dazhi's interrogation.

Not long after Zhu Hao returned to the quarters, Wang Dazhi arrived with a battered and bruised man in tow. Glancing at the injured prisoner with slight frowns, Zhu Hao asked, "Commander Wang, what is the meaning of this?"

Wang Dazhi hurriedly dropped to his knees in salute, then answered, "Reporting to Your Highness, this is the physician who treated Master Xiao yesterday. This subordinate questioned him whether he secretly administered poison while treating Master Xiao yesterday, but he stubbornly refused to confess. This subordinate then had the coroner examine the medications he used yesterday. The coroner discovered lethal poison on the external ointment applied to Master Xiao. When this subordinate interrogated him again, no matter how severe the torture, he still refused to admit guilt. Truly at my wit's end, this subordinate has brought him here to be dealt with by Your Highness!"

Nodding slightly, Zhu Hao replied, "It is commendable that Commander Wang understands the greater cause so well. In the future, I will surely memorialize the imperial court regarding this act and petition for your merits to be recognized!"

Having pacified Wang Dazhi, Zhu Hao turned his gaze to the bruised physician sprawled on the ground and demanded, "Confess everything you know truthfully! For the sake of Commander Wang, I can spare your life. Speak! Who instructed you to do this?"

Lying battered on the floor, the physician replied weakly, "Reporting to Your Highness, this humble one received no instructions from anyone, nor did I poison Master Xiao. I beg Your Highness to investigate and clear my name!"

Furious at this response, Zhu Hao gave a cold huff and snapped, "The coroner has already found lethal poison in the medicine you used, yet you still dare to deny it. Do you take me for a fool who wouldn't dare execute you?"

Pressing his forehead against the floor in rapid kowtows, the physician pleaded, "Your Highness, if this humble one had committed such an act, with Your Highness's promise, why would I deny it? But I truly never did it. I am completely innocent! I beg Your Highness to examine the facts clearly!"

Observing the physician's demeanor and listening to his words, Zhu Hao sensed he might not be lying. He asked, "Since you claim you are wronged, let me ask you: how did lethal poison come to be found in your medicine?"

The physician shook his head frantically like a rattle-drum and cried out, "This humble one truly knows nothing of this! I only used ordinary wound-healing powder; it could never contain anything fatally toxic! I beg Your Highness to see the truth!"

Frowning slightly, Zhu Hao found himself momentarily undecided. At that exact moment, a voice drifted in from outside: "He is wrongfully accused. Your Highness need not trouble him."

As the voice faded, Ziyan glided gracefully into the room. Glancing at her, Zhu Hao said, "Ziyan, I am discussing serious matters with Commander Wang. Why did you barge in without my permission? You are growing more and more lacking in manners!"

A charming smile bloomed on Ziyan's face as she replied, "Your Highness, this maidservant was merely afraid that Your Highness might mistakenly execute an innocent man, which is why I came uninvited. Please forgive me, Your Highness. With your usual magnanimity, you surely won't hold this against Ziyan, right?" As she spoke, she flashed a flirtatious glance at Zhu Hao.

Overwhelmed by the charm, Zhu Hao cleared his throat to mask his awkwardness and inquired, "You claim this physician is wronged. What grounds do you have for saying so?"

Following his words, both Wang Dazhi and the physician turned hopeful gazes toward Ziyan. Taking a subtle breath, Ziyan wore an expression of complex emotions. Just as Zhu Hao began to think she was merely talking nonsense, she sighed and explained, "I know of a poison that can be applied to the surface of the skin without any immediate danger. However, once the person suffers an external wound, this poison seeps from the broken skin into the body, causing the person to die of poisoning. Listening to the situation described by Your Highness just now, it is likely that Master Xiao had such poison smeared on his skin beforehand. When he was subjected to punishment, his skin split open, allowing the poison to enter his body and ultimately lead to his death by poisoning. Because the poison was applied to his skin surface, the external wound powder used by the physician naturally became contaminated with it as well. This easily explains why poisonous components were detected in the physician's medicine."

Astonished by her explanation, Zhu Hao remarked, "Such a poison exists in this world? Truly remarkable. Where did you learn of this, Ziyan?"

Ziyan smiled faintly at him and replied, "That is a secret. Whenever Your Highness is willing to marry Ziyan, I will tell Your Highness everything I know." With a delicate chuckle, she turned and drifted away gracefully.

Shaking his head slightly, Zhu Hao thought to himself, "This girl is getting better and better at bewitching people. One of these days, when I reach my limit, I'll put you in your place and teach you some manners. How dare you bargain with me, hmph!"

Although murmuring inwardly, his face remained impassive as he smiled and told Wang Dazhi, "Commander Wang, since this is how matters stand, this physician has clearly been wronged. You may take him back to recover from his injuries properly."

Expressing his gratitude, Wang Dazhi bowed and withdrew.

After Wang Dazhi left, Zhu Hao mused to himself, "It seems only Li Shoujun remains. I never expected this fellow to conceal himself right until the end. Even though this victory appears mine, compared to the price paid, I have ultimately lost. Once Li Shoujun is captured, the entire officialdom of Zhejiang will truly be left without a leader. The price I paid for this trip to Zhejiang has simply been too high!"

Plunged in these thoughts, his expression darkened. With a faint sigh, he sat down in his chair, lost in thought for a long while.

That evening, contrasting sharply with Zhu Hao's gloomy demeanor, Ziyan was weeping softly in a secluded corner of the courtyard. The charming and smiling persona she had worn before Zhu Hao had completely vanished.

Standing beside her was a man dressed in black. Had Zhu Hao been present, he would have instantly recognized this man as the assassin who had nearly killed him.

Watching her tears, the man in black sighed lightly and said, "Young Mistress, things have already come to this. Please grieve no longer. Your adoptive father in heaven would not wish to see you like this."

Shaking her head stubbornly through her tears, Ziyan replied, "Uncle Wang, it was he who killed my adoptive father. I must avenge him. Right now, obeying my adoptive father's wishes, I am telling him about the poison to gain his trust—not because I agree to his talk of living a life of luxury by his side in the future. I hold no value for such things! What Ziyan must do is win his trust and then seize the opportunity to kill him to avenge my adoptive father! I care not what others say of him; in my heart, without my adoptive father, there would be no Ziyan. I will never forget that it was he who saved me."

The man in black, addressed as Uncle Wang, sighed again and said, "Young Mistress, why must you do this? When Master gave his life, although it was the will of heaven, he also did so out of consideration for your future. If you act like this, are you not rendering his painstaking efforts in vain?"

Stubbornly shaking her head, Ziyan declared, "Uncle Wang, say no more. My mind is made up. If you too wish to avenge my adoptive father, you must follow my lead in all future actions!"

Looking at her, Uncle Wang replied, "Since you, a young woman, are willing to risk everything to avenge Master, how can I, a grown man, shrink back? Rest assured, Young Mistress, whatever you ask me to do, I will walk through fire and water without hesitation!"

With tear-filled eyes, Ziyan nodded at the man in black and said, "Uncle Wang, with those words, my heart is much more at ease. With your help, I will surely succeed in avenging my adoptive father!"

Pausing for a moment, she continued, "Uncle Wang, it is getting late, and this is no place for you to linger. Find a place to hide for now, and we will use secret codes to communicate hereafter. If nothing unexpected happens, by tomorrow morning, the news of my adoptive father's death will be known to all. By then, that scoundrel Zhu Youjian will surely set off to return to the capital. We will seize the opportunity to strike during his journey back and make him pay with his life for my adoptive father!"

Nodding in acknowledgment, the man in black vanished quietly into the darkness.

Looking up at the boundless starry sky, Ziyan recalled fragments of her childhood spent with her adoptive father. She whispered inwardly, "Adoptive father, why did you have to do this? If you had only lived peaceably, I would not have lost you! But though I know not why you did these things, nor whether your actions were right or wrong, I will not let you die in vain. I will make those who caused your death pay with blood! Zhu Youjian, just wait. I will make you regret everything you have done today!"