An Xin froze, then turned around abruptly and exclaimed, "What? You want me to go with Father?! When did Father, who was in charge of the granary, become a detective?"
An Youwei said urgently, "Serving the Emperor is the duty of a subject; what is there to distinguish between duties and authority?"
An Xin sneered: "This matter is of utmost importance. If we go, we might lose our lives. Are all the officials in the palace in charge of criminal cases dead?"
An Youwei's face turned pale instantly, and he hurriedly said, "You silly girl, you mustn't say things like that!"
While washing up, An Xin sneered, "Doesn't the Emperor always listen to the Right Chancellor? I'll go ask the Right Chancellor what the meaning of this decree is!"
An Youwei's face turned pale instantly, and he said urgently, "Xin'er, you mustn't! The Right Prime Minister has already shown us great protection, which is a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune. How can we offend him further?!"
An Xin paused and said, "Father, the matter in the north of the city is no ordinary matter. If we are not careful, we may lose our lives. There are so many people in the court, yet they sent you to investigate. It's clear they want to trip us up. If we lose our lives, we can only blame our bad luck. We won't even know who the murderer is. It would be more than just an innocent death!"
It would have been fine if An Xin had gone by herself; she had been planning to go anyway, but the addition of An Youwei made her suspicious!
An Youwei stared at An Xin in shock.
An Xin said coldly, "No wonder the Right Chancellor can control everything. With such a muddle-headed emperor, the world will be doomed sooner or later!"
An Youwei's expression immediately changed drastically, and he said sternly, "This is getting more and more outrageous! How can you say such treasonous things?!"
"It's not just outrageous, it's downright lawless..." A soft laugh drifted over, and An Youwei's body trembled. He looked cautiously towards the door, and when he saw the person outside, his legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud.
"Lord An, there's no need for such formality. Please rise." Yan Zhen's long eyelashes curved, her eyes sparkling with youthful beauty as she looked at An Xin.
An Youwei was flattered, but hesitated to get up.
An Xin sighed and said, "Father, the Right Prime Minister probably has something to say to me. Please go out and wait for a moment." How could the pedantic An Youwei accept her words? It would be best to say such things less often in the future.
Yan Zhen, in a very approachable manner, stepped forward to help An Youwei up. Lu Zhu, mouth agape, stood there dumbfounded, supporting the equally stunned An Youwei as they walked out.
"Bang!" An Xin kicked the door shut and turned around to throw a punch. This punch was accompanied by a fierce wind and suddenly struck Yan Zhen.
"Being audacious is one thing, but to resort to violence at the drop of a hat... No wonder Madam An is worried that you won't be able to get married." Yan Zhen smiled, but casually blocked her fist and patted the top of her head.
An Xin was furious and said, "What do you mean?! The north of the city is so dangerous, yet you send some nobody like the magistrate of Taicang to investigate the case?!"
Yan Zhen immediately grabbed her hand and said, "In such a dangerous place, let alone your father, I would never let you put yourself in danger."
An Xin's eyes flashed, and she abruptly withdrew her hand, saying, "What, has the sky fallen on the once all-powerful Right Prime Minister?"
Chapter Fifty-Three: The Eccentric
It was the same child named Jin'er from before. Her dirty little face only revealed a pair of exceptionally bright eyes, which were looking at An Xin awkwardly.
An Xin nodded.
Jin'er bit his lower lip and said, "Last night I heard some strange noises, like the sound of stones falling into water... When I woke up the next day, my mother was dead..." His red eyes betrayed his forced strength.
An Xin knelt down in front of him and said, word by word, "Tell me everything you heard in detail, don't miss any details."
Jin'er nodded vigorously and said, "Last night the wind picked up. When Mother got up to close the window, I suddenly heard two splashes of water, 'bang' and 'bang'. The sound wasn't very clear in the wind. Other than that, there was nothing else strange." Jin'er rubbed her swollen nose and took a deep breath.
An Xin's gaze turned serious: "Are there any strange people in the village?"
Jin'er blinked and thought for a moment before saying, "A few days ago, a strange person came. He walked with a limp and kept shouting that he wanted to take revenge on the village. Every time this happened, everyone would just laugh it off and not take it to heart."
An Xin's gaze grew increasingly somber: "Where is this strange person?"
Jin'er shook her head: "That strange man has been missing for a long time. No one in the village has seen him these past few days."
An Xin raised her hand and placed it on his head, whispering, "I understand. What you said is very important and very brave."
The child's eyes suddenly reddened, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "Sister... Sister, do people still die in the village? Do you think Jin'er might also die silently like this today?"
An Xin looked at the child, a four or five-year-old child who had little understanding of death. However, after experiencing this huge change, he was suddenly filled with fear of death. It's good to have fear of death, at least he will cherish his limited life.
“Bury your mother and leave this village.” An Xin’s voice softened, and she said calmly, “Leave tonight.”
Fear of the future suddenly welled up in the child's eyes. He had grown up in the village since childhood, and suddenly being asked to leave the place where he was born and raised was not a cause for fear.
With the future uncertain, where should he go from here?
But if he doesn't leave, he might be the next one to die, and he won't even know why...
"Sister..." the child called out to An Xin.
An Xin looked at him indifferently.
Jin'er bit her lower lip and whispered, "I'm scared!"
An Xin's eyes flashed coldly: "What did you say?"
Jin'er shouted, "I'm scared!"
An Xin said expressionlessly, "If you're afraid, stay and wait to die." She was not an easy person to approach, and she never offered kindness indiscriminately. Whenever she had a heart, she would definitely save someone, whether it was a matter of life or death!
Jin'er suddenly held back her tears, but An Xin walked away without looking back.
From a distance, Yan Zhen covered his lips with his folding fan and sighed, "He really has a cold and aloof personality."
Minghe twitched his lips beside the carriage. Judging from this situation, could it be that the lord has taken pity on him... or perhaps the lord has suddenly become benevolent?
Yan Zhen shook his folding fan and said, "This is truly to my liking!"
Minghe stumbled.
An Xin questioned the villagers in detail, and found that about five people had heard the sound of falling into the water. Moreover, every time the sound of falling into the water occurred in the past few days, someone or some poultry would die the next day.