"So what if it's that melody? The only witness is nowhere to be found. Besides, even if that servant of the Shi family were still alive, what could he do besides prove once again that the murderer was Shi Boyin?"
Ju Mu'er didn't know what to say. She had thought about this matter countless times over the past two years. She had considered all sorts of possibilities, thinking about Shi Boyin's injustice, Hua Yibai's death, and Lin Yueyao's grief and helplessness. Of course, she knew that it would be extremely difficult to resolve this matter on her own, but an invisible force had been pressing her. Once she took the first step, there was no turning back.
She had remained silent for two years because she hadn't made any progress, but her marriage to Ryuji changed everything. One move could shake the entire situation. Some things happened, and some things revealed their flaws.
However, all of this was just speculation, and she still didn't understand the most crucial point. So, when Ryuji questioned her so earnestly, she didn't know how to respond.
She thought that she could speak with confidence even in front of the Prefect, but she felt guilty in front of Long Er. She couldn't be sure of anything, yet she shamelessly wanted to appeal to the Emperor.
Ju Mu'er's silence made Long Er sigh. He took her hand under the covers and said, "Mu'er, don't act rashly. Even if it wasn't Shi Boyin who did it, how could someone who dared to wipe out Minister Shi's entire family be an ordinary person? The murderer must be extraordinary, and there might be more than one. The Ministry of Justice has rigorously investigated this case, and the Emperor has personally approved it. Every piece of evidence and every clue must be legitimate and sound, without any flaws. Putting all that aside, think about it: if we were to overturn the case, we would not only have to bring down the Ministry of Justice, but we would also be slapping the Emperor in the face. Besides, you have no evidence, and you can't even convince me."
Ju Mu'er remained silent, a heavy, hopeless pressure pressing down on her heart.
"Promise me you won't act on your own, okay?"
Ju Mu'er didn't know how to answer; she felt very upset.
"Mu'er." Long Er propped himself up, looking at her face: "Mu'er, you are the most intelligent and quick-witted. You must understand the implications of this. How can you, alone, confront the Ministry of Justice? How can you make the Emperor admit that he approved a wrongful conviction and executed the wrong person?"
He used the word "you," not "we."
Ju Mu'er lay there stiffly, feeling her eyes burning.
Long Er stared at her, wondering how she would answer. But Ju Mu'er didn't say, "I can't do it myself, but I still have you." Instead, she said, "Husband, I don't want to be a burden to you."
Long Er frowned. For the first time, he felt that he couldn't be sure what Ju Mu'er was thinking.
"You're not a burden to me. Behave yourself, and don't act rashly unless you have solid evidence and absolute certainty, understand?"
Ju Mu'er nodded, blinked, and forced back her tears.
Long Er thought for a moment, still feeling uneasy, and said, "That's someone else's business. I know you're kind-hearted, but you really can't help him with this. Besides, he's already passed away; nothing you do can bring him back to life. Don't worry about it anymore. Okay?"
Ju Mu'er bit her lip and nodded reluctantly.
Long Er frowned. Had she really listened to what he said?
After a while, Long Er shook Ju Mu'er and asked, "Is there anything else you should tell me?"
Ju Mu'er pretended to be asleep with her eyes closed, and after a long while, she answered with three words: "No more."
That's all? Long Er stared at Ju Mu'er's face. The kidnapping, the robber's sudden death, and today's sudden question about the Emperor... Is that really all?
Author's Note: I didn't write yesterday's chapter well, so I rewrote it today. I'll update another chapter tomorrow to make up for yesterday's work.
I need to work out some details gradually, so for the time being, I'll be updating every two days, starting at 8 PM each day. Thank you for your support.
61. Marital relations are hot and cold at times.
That night, Ju Mu'er didn't know how she fell asleep.
She seemed to have fallen asleep, yet not quite; she seemed to be dreaming, yet not quite. Her head was spinning, her heart heavy. In her hazy state, she felt the person beside her get up. A pang of panic shot through her. Was she going to be left alone? She wanted to grab him, but her eyelids were too heavy; she was too sleepy to move.
Then, she seemed to finally fall asleep.
When Ju Mu'er got up, the sun was already high in the sky, and Long Er was nowhere to be seen. The maid said that the Second Master had gotten up and left early in the morning.
Ju Mu'er felt weak and listless. The maids were surprised by her haggard appearance; she had slept for most of the day, yet she looked as if she had stayed up all night. This morning, the Second Master woke up with a dark face, not at all like someone who had just woken up. The maids immediately became very cautious, afraid of doing something wrong and being scolded.
But Long Er didn't return all day. Ju Mu'er ate her meal by herself and sat in the room in a daze.
She knew that Shi Boyin's case was not simple. Perhaps at the beginning, she and Hua Yibai were blinded by grief and indignation after understanding the meaning of the zither music, and believed that she could do something just because of that passion.
But Hua Yibai's death was like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, extinguishing her enthusiasm and hardening her heart.
They foolishly only saw the injustice, but failed to grasp the meaning of death. How could they not consider that if Master Shi truly died unjustly, then who was the real murderer? If they could wipe out Minister Shi's entire family, surely they could wipe out this group of foolish musicians? Until she could no longer see, her vigilance and suspicion reached their peak.
For the past two years, she has lived in constant fear, carefully considering every decision she makes. She cannot give up investigating this matter, but she also knows that she probably won't find anything on her own. She hasn't sought help from anyone; she dares not trust anyone, fearing for her own life and for the sake of her family and friends.
But two years passed, and nothing terrible happened. She felt somewhat relieved, but she dared not forget. Her intuition told her that someone was watching her, that someone else was also preparing silently. She wouldn't give up, and neither would that person.
Ding Yanxiang's forced marriage changed this seemingly calm but secretly tense situation.
Ju Mu'er sat there blankly, pondering what had happened. She was supposed to teach Bao'er to play the piano today, but she didn't want to move; she had no interest. She felt very sad.
She understood perfectly well that Long Er was right; he saw the stakes even more clearly than she did. She knew he was right, but she still felt disappointed.
Rather than disappointment, I feel bewildered.
She felt that in just one night, a barrier had formed between her and Ryuji. They were very close, yet it was difficult to touch each other anymore. She wondered if Ryuji would distance himself from her because of this, like last night, like this morning, he was acting differently than usual.
He didn't try to be intimate with her last night. She didn't know how other men were, or how other couples were, but her Second Master Long was stern in public and a rogue in private. In front of others, he was a stern and authoritative man who didn't like what they said, but at home, he was a playful and clingy husband.
In the past, no matter what she did, he would always make her lose her mind and submit, being domineering and passionate in bed. But after talking about those things last night, he only told her to go to sleep. She knew the atmosphere wasn't good, she knew the timing wasn't right, but his cold indifference and lack of physical contact left her feeling disappointed and somewhat uneasy.
He got up early that day, but he didn't wake her or make her get up to serve him. Actually, she was blind and couldn't do much, but he just wanted to tease her. After playing with her, he let her go back to sleep.
She was used to it. So his silent departure today made her feel very uncomfortable.
Ju Mu'er felt that she was being guilty and that she cared too much about his reaction, which made her suspicious.
But was she too concerned about him?
What she's worried about now isn't the case, but his feelings for her. Will he think she's trying to use his relationship with the Emperor to achieve her own goals? Will he think she's been using and deceiving him all along?
But isn't she?
Ju Mu'er wasn't sure. For a moment, tears welled up in her eyes. She felt she wasn't like that, she wasn't that bad. She just wanted to find a safe haven, but she didn't mean to hurt him. She just…
She didn't know who she was, and she couldn't think of an excuse to absolve herself. Ju Mu'er wiped away her tears, thinking about how good Long Er was to her, thinking about his stingy and awkward tricks to deal with her, thinking about his childish yet manly tone, thinking about how he really cared about her, and her tears just kept flowing.
Asking the Emperor was a bold probe on her part. She had just naively thought that if the Emperor was a wise ruler, if he hated evil, then if he knew about Mr. Shi's injustice and was willing to reopen the case, then everything would be much simpler.
Although the chances were slim, she still asked.
After asking the question, she regretted it.
Long Er did not return until late at night that day.
Ju Mu'er cried secretly twice in the room. Although it was well past her bedtime, she still refused to go to bed. She lay on the table, waiting for him to come back.
When he comes back, she has no idea what to say to him or how to make him happy. Her mind is blank, but she just wants to wait for him to come back.
But she waited and waited, and eventually fell asleep.
When I woke up, I heard the sound of water.
Ju Mu'er slowly sat up and listened carefully. It was the sound of water; someone was taking a bath in the side room.
Ju Mu'er touched the bamboo cane beside her, stood up, walked to the door of the side room, and called out, "Husband."
The sound of water stopped, and no one answered her.
Ju Mu'er didn't call out again; the sadness that had accumulated in her heart during the day quickly filled her heart once more. He had returned, but he didn't wake her. And when she called him, he didn't respond.
Ju Mu'er stood motionless at the door. She heard the rustling of clothes, as if something had been thrown away. Then Long Er coughed and said, "It's so late, why aren't you asleep?"
It felt like they were just making conversation for the sake of it.
When he entered the room, he naturally knew that she was lying on the table. He didn't wake her up and tell her to go to bed, but instead went in to take a shower. Then he asked her why she wasn't asleep.
Suppressing her unease, Ju Mu'er walked towards Long Er and replied, "I'm waiting for my husband to return."
"Yes, it's a bit late today."
"Is my husband taking a bath?"
"Okay, you go to sleep first, I'll be there in a bit."
Ju Mu'er was already standing by the large bathtub when she heard him tell her to leave, and she felt sad again. She took a breath, telling herself not to overthink, and cautiously asked, "May I scrub your back and massage your shoulders, my husband?"
Long Er seemed to be taken aback for a moment, and then finally replied with "Okay".
Ju Mu'er breathed a sigh of relief, put the bamboo cane aside, and reached out her hand to Long Er.
Looking at her, Long Er sighed inwardly. He took her hand, placed it on his shoulder, and then put the bath towel in her hand. Ju Mu'er became happy and carefully scrubbed Long Er's back.
Long Er's back was a little stiff, which Ju Mu'er found strange. It seemed like he was nervous, or perhaps annoyed. But he had promised to let her rub his back, so what was there to be annoyed about? What was there to be nervous about?
As Ju Mu'er rubbed and moved closer to him, she suddenly realized. He really had been throwing away his clothes, but while he could throw them far away, he couldn't hide the scent of perfume and wine clinging to his hair.
Long Er was wary of Ju Mu'er's keen intelligence, mainly because she had gone to a brothel that day.
He came home so late, assuming she was already asleep, but to his surprise, she was waiting for him at the table. He didn't dare wake her, because he remembered the last time she could tell where he had been just by smelling his scent. So he quietly took a shower, hoping to get rid of the smell before calling her to bed. Unexpectedly, she came in, and not only that, she looked so pitiful and wronged that he couldn't stop her from getting close. So he had no choice but to agree, feeling a little uneasy, hoping that he had washed away the smell after a while.
At this moment, Ju Mu'er's hands suddenly stopped, then she continued rubbing his back, but her movements slowed down. Long Er's heart tightened; she was so close to him, and he suddenly realized how she knew.
Long Er sighed inwardly, turned around and pulled her, wanting to explain to her, but he was startled when he turned around.
She cried.
"Mu'er." Long Er grabbed her hand tightly. How did things get so serious? She was actually crying.
Ju Mu'er lowered her head, but he noticed. She couldn't pull her hand away from his and couldn't hide her tears. She didn't want this; she had wanted to cheer him up, but he ignored her, and she felt terrible. But now she felt even worse.
She upset him, so he went to a brothel and came back so late.
She fell asleep on the table, and when he came back, he didn't even wake her. Did he not want to talk to her anymore? But how could he go to a brothel? How could he look for courtesans?
The more Ju Mu'er thought about it, the more confused she became, and the more tears she shed. In the end, she couldn't hold back anymore and simply burst into loud sobs.
This terrified Long Er. Ignoring his soaking wet clothes, he pulled Ju Mu'er into his arms. Ju Mu'er hugged him tightly back, crying even harder.
"I inspected the shops today. After that, I went to the government office and met with the prefect. I asked him about the missing robber. The man still hasn't been found, and the prefect hasn't been able to find out who impersonated a constable."
As Ju Mu'er listened, she sniffed and quieted down.
"Then I visited some friends in the palace, found some people in the Ministry of Justice, and finally invited a few officials to drink at Rancui Tower. I didn't go home all day just doing these things. I didn't touch any of the girls while drinking at Rancui Tower. It's just that in a place like that, you can't help but get those smells on you."
Upon hearing this, Ju Mu'er pouted like a child, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, looking utterly pitiful.
Long Er pinched her cheek and scolded, "Have you been daydreaming all day? I asked you, and you just sat inside all day, lost in thought, didn't you?"
Ju Mu'er replied with particular grievance, "My husband didn't call me when he went out today."
"You didn't sleep well last night, and you feel groggy this morning. How should I wake you?"
“My husband didn’t even leave me a message, and I’ve been thinking about it all day.”
Long Er coughed twice. He had done this on purpose; he wasn't happy about it either and wanted to give her the cold shoulder. Now that she was using this as leverage, his self-righteousness vanished without a trace. He coughed twice more and said dryly, "Master was too busy today and didn't have time to explain to the servants."
"When my husband came back that night, he didn't call me."
Could he answer that although he hadn't done anything wrong at the brothel, he still felt guilty? Of course not. In fact, such a reaction made Master Long feel very embarrassed. What was he guilty about? He hadn't done anything wrong. But in the end, he could only answer, "I smell terrible, I want to take a shower first."
Ju Mu'er sniffed again, hugged Long Er tightly, and wiped her tears on him.
Long Er sighed, stroked her head, and kissed her forehead.