16 - Late night conversation

Chapter 16 – Late night conversation

According to her estimation, Qiu Dan should not be too late in rescuing him, so Di Jing should not have been taken advantage of by Qin Jikang.

Or else he was taken advantage of, therefore, he came to seek revenge…….

In this sleepless night, footsteps sounded particularly clear outside the prison. She was curious to know who would come to the prison in the middle of the night.

When the lights from the burning torches shone on the face of the approaching person, she felt surprised but it was also within her expectation.

The person who came was Di Jing. She laughed in her heart……she should have guessed it. Since she had fallen into his hands, it would be strange if he did not come to make fun of her!

Di Jing gave an order to the prison guard at the side. “Withdraw.”

The prison guard acknowledged the order and left. Di Jing’s gaze fell on Shangguan Yan and stared straight at her but she did not avoid his eyes and instead returned his gaze.

According to the rules, she is of a lower rank so she should salute him and not just sit there without moving. However, she did not move and with a slight smile on her face, she waited to see what the man would do.

Di Jing swept his gaze over her and noticed that her expression was calm without any trace of anxiety. She also did not show the usual depression found on prisoners and he could not detect any worries or fear on her face.

“You’ve landed in jail and you don’t seem to be worried about yourself at all.” He said solemnly.

“No, that’s incorrect. I’m very worried but it’s only just that I’m pretending to be calm on the surface.” She deliberately put on a frown.

This person only wanted to see the worried expression on her face, right? Well, she will give him the satisfaction.

However, it was just that she did not seem very sincere.

It would be strange if Di Jing would believe her. When they were in the Qin Mansion, he had spent some time with her, so he knew how adept she was in putting on a false front. Now that she is in prison and can remain so calm, it makes him appreciate her very much.

When others humiliate her, she can calmly accept it and when others praise her, she can also show indifference. No matter whether it is humiliation or praise, she does not seem to care and it makes one unable to understand her.

Di Jing lifted the back of his robe and sat down on the floor to face her through the iron bars.

Shangguan Yan’s eyes flashed with surprise. She did not expect him to do this and thought he would show off his official prestige condescendingly.

But why is he doing this?

She could not help but feel puzzled.

“Why did you retain that jade flute?” He asked.

She lifted her eyebrows and realized that he came to the prison in the middle of the night to conduct a private trial!

“That jade flute……” Just as she started to speak, she was interrupted by him.

“Don’t act dumb. Based on your intelligence, you should have guessed that the jade flute was stolen. What was your purpose?”

His tone was a solemn reminder to her that she should speak the truth. Since he had given orders for everyone to withdraw, he was not interrogating her as in the court but wanted to have an understanding of the matter in private. It meant that no other person would know about their conversation and he wanted her to tell him the truth which was the reason why he had placed her in prison.

He wanted the truth from her.

Shangguan Yan’s thoughts suddenly became clear. Perhaps, she had misunderstood him.

At this moment, he had a solemn expression and there was no cynicism on his face. On the contrary, he looked upright and awe-inspiring. He was talking seriously and seemed to be a person who placed importance on the overall situation. Since it was the case, she also corrected her attitude and responded firmly.

“This humble one had indeed guessed the jade flute was stolen goods but did not expect that it would be an item buried with the deceased and robbed from the grave of Lord Tian. I did plan on keeping it and thought that perhaps, I could get to dig up a bigger case with it. I didn’t tell the truth in court and seek forgiveness from my Lord.”

To say that she wanted to investigate further on the case was just to put it nicely. The truth was that she had kept the jade flute then find out if a reward was offered for the return of lost property from the wealthy families.

Of course, she was not so stupid to tell him the truth!

“Your guess is correct. The jade flute is indeed a bait.”

Her eyes brightened and continued with his words. “The grave’s bait?”

Di Jing knew that her thinking has always been quick and thought there was no harm in letting her understand more about the case.

“Lord Tian’s coffin was empty without a corpse.”

“Huh? Really?”

“You are a secret constable and specialized in secret investigations, why didn’t you find out about this?”

Oh, is he making fun of her now?

“No matter how good this humble one is, it can’t be compared with my Lord’s amazing and ingenious calculations. My Lord is wise.” She heaped him with flattery and grinned at him.

Di Jing raised his eyebrows and nodded. “That’s true.”

She snorted silently in her heart and quickly returned to the topic. After thinking for a while, she said. “This humble one would like to make a bold guess.”

“Are you trying to suggest that perhaps Lord Tian did not die?”

“My Lord has the same thoughts as well?”

He did not reply to her question and said. “What is your guess?”

She did not want to beat around the bush and went straight to the point. “There are two possibilities. One possibility is that he is afraid of being killed and silenced, so it’s better for him to ‘die’ first and avoid a calamity. The second possibility is that he has been taken away and the Tian Family is being threatened to keep a secret.”

Di Jing looked at her and said with a meaningful tone. “This officer had underestimated you. You’re very impressive.”

“My Lord had overpraised. This humble one is not as good as my Lord, otherwise, this one won’t be sitting inside here and my Lord taking personal revenge.” Finally, she could not control herself and teased him.

So in her eyes, he is such a villain?

Di Jing lowered his face and said. “Do you think that this Officer sent you to prison because of revenge?”

When she heard his tone, she was startled.

Can it be that he has other reasons for putting her in prison?

She could not help but ask suspiciously.

“Did my Lord deliberately put this humble one up as a bait?”

He did not say a word but the corners of his lips curved slightly and he had an unpredictable expression on his face.

In her heart, Shangguan Yan felt extremely happy.

This guy is indeed an upright man and it’s good to know that he has no intention to take revenge.

Once she had no more worries, her brains became active and she started to concentrate on the case.

“Since the jade flute was accidentally sold by the grave robbers and it would certainly make the mastermind feel anxious. Maybe they would feel afraid that we will find clues with this jade flute. Now that my Lord had started a court trial and the news of the jade flute had spread, it will surely lure the person over. Did my Lord imprisoned me just to see whether anyone will fall into the trap?”

As she thought, she analyzed the case and the seriousness she showed was totally observed by Di Jing. He stared at her and his eyes sparkled with a brilliance that no one knew of.

He had read all the information about her many times over without missing a word and he had even investigated her background very thoroughly.

“What is your relationship with the Ninth Prince?” He suddenly changed the topic.

While she was thinking about the case, she casually replied. “Friend.”

“Just ordinary friends?”

“Yes.”

“Does the Ninth Prince know that you are a woman?”

“No.”

“If he doesn’t know, why is he so worried about you?”

“How would I know?” She answered casually. Then suddenly she returned to her senses and looked at him suspiciously. “Why are you asking about the Ninth Prince? Is he related to this case?”

Di Jing sounded unhappy. “He found out you were imprisoned and sent someone to question this Officer.”

She let out a ‘Ha’ and nodded. “That’s indeed his style.”

When he saw her feeling so happy, Di Jing felt unhappy. “The imperial palace is planning to choose a Consort for the Ninth Prince. At most, you can only be his concubine.”

She waved her hand. “I don’t have feelings for him, so I won’t be his concubine.”

Listening to her tone, it seemed she did not have the Ninth Prince in her heart. Di Jing’s unhappiness suddenly disappeared.

“Since I’m the bait, how long do I need to stay in prison?” This is what she is most concerned about. Although she found out that this Lord Di is not taking revenge on her, she is still stuck in prison, and it will be a lie to say she does not care.

“It depends.”

He did not give a clear answer but she could guess that her life in prison should not be too difficult.

“And since you’re in prison, you still have to pretend to look like it.”

She also understood this reasoning.

“You disguised yourself as a man to do business, wasting time without settling down, don’t your Shangguan Family have any opinions?”

“It’s still alright. My family didn’t urge me, so I’m not in a hurry.”

Di Jing’s words may seem like small talk but they harbored meanings. He deliberately discussed the case with her and after a few sentences, he inserted a few questions regarding her private matters so that it was not too obvious and she could not detect his intentions.

She was already twenty years old but yet to marry and he wanted to know the reason why. It was heard that she has someone in her heart but she was not in a hurry to marry and seeing that she is also not interested in the Ninth Prince, he quietly relaxed. The cold and solemn lines on his face softened unconsciously.

“For Old Master Shangguan not to feel anxious and force you, he must be an enlightened person.”

“Who said my Father is not anxious? He is not anxious now because the person I’m engaged to has to observe a three-year mourning period.”

Shangguan Yan had the feeling that talking with Di Jing was like talking to an old friend. After all, both of them had stayed together in the Qin Mansion two years ago and now both of them also know they are also working for the imperial court, treading on the same path. Besides, Di Jing, who was having a talk with her in the middle of the night, did not put on the airs of a superior which gave her a favorable impression of him.

However, she did not realize that the words she just spoke made Di Jing’s expression turn gloomy. It was only because the lights in the prison were not bright and it was not easy to notice the change in his expression.

“Do you think that releasing the whereabouts of the jade flute will really entice the snake out of the hole* ? Won’t the snake be alerted?” She asked.

(Entice the snake out of the hole means to make a bad person do something that will expose his crimes.)

“This is just one of the methods. Once the other party becomes anxious, he will make the next move.”

“That makes sense……….so it means you have other methods?”

He humphed and then asked. “Won’t your fiancé feel anxious about you being in prison?”

“Of course, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Which family are you engaged to?”

“The Pan Family. By the way, did Liu Shan, the one who escaped, leave any clues?”

Di Jing did not answer and instead, he suddenly said. “It’s already late and this Officer is tired. Take care of yourself.”

Huh?

The conversation ended abruptly and he just stood up and left without looking back.

Their conversation ended so suddenly that Shangguan Yan did not react for a while and just watched blankly as he left.

She shouldn’t have said something that made him unhappy, right?