The old steward’s voice trembled slightly, and it sounded like he was crying.
“I only hope that before I die, I can sort out the rest of Young Lady’s life…” The old man said.
Zhao Xuanjing looked at him with a faint smile. “Those who know and don’t report are guilty.”
The old man panicked. “It’s just me. The Young Lady doesn’t know anything…”
What he meant was clear. Even if he knew it was a crime not to report it, it had nothing to do with Young Lady Pang.
If the noble in front of him did not agree to his request, it meant that he knew it and did not report it. He admitted it. He was already on the verge of death, but this fire murder case might be buried forever.
Zhao Xuanjing sneered.
“I’m afraid you haven’t seen the torture at the criminal division.” Zhao Xuanjing’s face was cold, as if he had no sympathy, “You said that your Young Lady didn’t know, and I have to believe you? If she didn’t know, I’ll bring her to the criminal division and interrogate her properly.”
The old man trembled when he heard that. “I beg you to show mercy! My Young Lady is simple-minded. When she saw you that day, she had a crush on you. She just wanted you to keep her by your side. For you, y-you lose nothing…”
If Zhao Xuanjing was just an ordinary official, he would not agree to make the Young Lady suffer for her life.
However, he had accidentally overheard someone’s conversation before and seemed to hear them mention “Your Highness”.
For someone to be called “Your Highness”, there was no need to guess his identity…
This person was very likely to be the Crown Prince.
If he was the Crown Prince, even if she became his concubine, her position in the future would be extraordinary.
“Zhou Weizong, go and arrest that Young Lady Pang.” Zhao Xuanjing saw that the old man had no remorse, so he immediately made arrangements.
“Wait! Young Lady doesn’t know! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” The old steward felt bitter.
He initially thought that there must be many women around this noble, just like his late master. If he had the chance to have another concubine, he would not refuse…
His young lady was not bad-looking either. Although she was not beautiful, she was very charming.
Who would have thought…
The old man prostrated on the ground. “When this fire murder case happened back then, Master was still around. When he was handling the case, I waited on him by the side. Therefore, I knew some things that others didn’t…”
Seeing that the noble was not persistent in arresting him, the old man heaved a sigh of relief.
Then, he continued, “The person who was hanged back then had the surname Nie and was called Nie Fei. He was from a foreign land. Although he was a student from a humble family and had some talent, compared to the other graduates, he was… ordinary.
“At that time, my Master investigated for a long time, but he didn’t find any clues. That Nie Fei didn’t have any enmity with anyone, and secondly, he had just settled down in Xun County not long ago. He really shouldn’t have been found by his enemies…
“This case was shelved. My Master had always liked poems and songs. Suddenly, one day, Third Madam found a poem from a few years ago somewhere…
“When Master heard the poem, he sensed that something was wrong. He immediately looked at the case file and shouted–I see… At that time, I thought that Master found the cause of the case, but for some reason, he didn’t close the case.”
After the old steward finished his humble words, his head almost hit into the ground.
“Do you still remember the poem?” Zhao Xuanjing asked.
“This little old man has thought about it carefully these past few days, but I can’t remember thoroughly. I only remembered some residual powder… Fragrance, and the moon soul’s. I can’t remember the rest..”
Zhao Xuanjing frowned slightly.
Since this poem could surprise Pang Xiyuan so much, then it was probably not popular. At least very few outsiders knew about it.
Zhao Xuanjing immediately asked Zhou Weizong to check through all the major books.
Especially the poetry collection from the year of Nie Fei’s death, those had to be looked through carefully.
