Chapter 603 The Man in the Portrait

The death of Prince Duan suddenly made the capital quiet.

Although the prince was not the emperor, the people had to mourn for half a month... During this half month, all entertainment activities were prohibited, the red-light districts were closed, and the people were not allowed to wear hats and women were not allowed to wear jewelry.

That is, men were not allowed to wear hats and women were not allowed to wear jewelry, in order to pay tribute to the memory.

However, this incident did not affect Ning Chen.

Prince Duan was a prince, and he would be buried in the imperial mausoleum, which would be handled by the Ministry of Rites.

Ning Chen was focused on the Spring Examination.

But this did not mean that he did not care about Prince Duan.

He was now considering whether to hand over the evidence that Prince Duan was the mastermind behind the Shenxian powder case to Geng Jing, and then Geng Jing would present it to His Majesty.

There were many benefits to handing it over.

For example, Prince Duan would be given an evil posthumous title... There were three types of posthumous titles for princes after their death: beautiful posthumous titles, ordinary posthumous titles, and evil posthumous titles.

Once an evil posthumous title was given, he would not be allowed to enter the imperial mausoleum, would be infamous for thousands of years, and his family would be confiscated.

A large amount of silver is needed to build Xuanwu City.

Half of this silver will be paid by Daxuan and the other half by Wuguo.

Wuguo is not as rich as Daxuan.

So, he promised the empress that he would pay the half of Wuguo.

Prince Duan has amassed countless wealth. If his property is confiscated, then even if this silver is not enough to build half of Xuanwu City, it will be almost enough.

But Ning Chen is not sure whether the task of confiscating Prince Duan's house will fall on his head... He is now presiding over the Spring Examination, and it is highly unlikely that the confiscating of his property will fall on him.

If so, it would be meaningless to hand over this evidence.

Another point is that Prince Duan is a prince after all. Will His Majesty destroy the evidence for the sake of the royal family's face?

The debt is settled when a person dies. With the character of Emperor Xuan, it is highly likely that Prince Duan will not be allowed to bear a bad reputation after his death. After all, he is his own brother.

However, this is not necessarily the case. The Queen and Prince Fu were involved in the case of the Fairy Powder Case, which involved the conspiracy to usurp the throne. Emperor Xuan may not necessarily tolerate it.

Of course, there are also advantages to not handing it over.

That is to let this matter pass quickly.

Zi Su knew the method of poisoning Prince Duan, Geng Jing also knew it, and there was no guarantee that other people would know it.

If His Majesty knew that Prince Duan was murdered, he would definitely order a strict investigation.

Once the investigation leads to Zi Su, no one can save Zi Su unless he rebels.

Ning Chen rubbed his eyebrows and smiled bitterly.

Although Prince Duan is not a good-for-nothing, he is still very capable of making money.

Zi Su has cut off his financial resources.

What Ning Chen is not sure about now is whether Zi Su murdered Prince Duan because Prince Duan had committed many evil deeds, or whether she had always known that the real culprit behind the destruction of her and Yudie's family was Prince Duan?

Just when Ning Chen was having trouble making a decision, Gu Yichun walked in.

"Your Majesty, Cui Yukang, a centurion of the city defense army, wants to see you!"

Ning Chen restrained his thoughts and said, "Let him in!"

Gu Yichun went out and brought Cui Yukang in.

"I see you, Your Highness!"

"How is the solution?"

Cui Yukang hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, some students still refuse to live in the inn you designated... and they say it's imprisonment."

Most of those students come from aristocratic families, and the relationships behind them are complicated, so it's not easy for them to force them.

Ning Chen frowned slightly, "Didn't you explain the pros and cons to them?"

"I did, but some students don't take it seriously at all!"

Ning Chen's face sank slightly, and he said, "Pass on my order. If you don't want to live in the inn designated by me, you will be disqualified from the imperial examination."

Cui Yukang hesitated for a moment and said, "If so, I'm afraid it will damage Your Highness's reputation."

Ning Chen waved his hand, "It doesn't matter, do as I say... If they don't accept it, let them come to me."

Cui Kangkang leaned over and clasped his fists, "Yes!"

"Okay, go and get busy!"

Just as Cui Yukang left, someone from the Supervisory Department came.

Geng Jing asked him to go to the Supervisory Department.

At this time, he was asked to go to the Supervisory Department because there should be some progress in the case of Shen Wanzhou and Zhou Anshi.

Ning Chen rode his beloved Diao Chan to the Supervisory Department.

After Ning Chen left, Yudie also went out.

She carried a food box and went to the clinic to deliver food to Zi Su.

The clinic was very busy, so Yudie did not disturb Zi Su. She chatted for a few words, put down the food box and left.

After leaving the clinic, Yudie was about to get on the car, but suddenly stopped again.

She turned her head and looked at a small stall selling flatbreads across the street.

Jiang Daniu, who was accompanying her for protection, asked curiously, "Miss Yudie, what's wrong?"

Yudie looked at a middle-aged man eating flatbreads under the awning next to the stall, thinking.

She felt that this person looked very familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere? But she couldn't remember for a while.

Just at this moment, the middle-aged man eating flatbreads looked up, then lowered his head and continued to eat.

Yudie turned her head and took a look. This person was not looking at her just now, but at the clinic.

Suddenly, Yudie's eyes lit up, and she remembered who this person was?

She had helped Ning Chen draw a portrait a few days ago.

This middle-aged man was exactly the person in the portrait.

Although his clothes and appearance were not the same as Li Gui's description, she was good at painting and had learned the art of disguise in the Ghost Shadow Sect, so she could distinguish the true from the false.

She was 80% sure that this person was the one in the portrait.

"Brother Jiang, go and bring the man who was eating the dumplings here. Be careful, don't let him run away."

Jiang Daniu was slightly startled, then nodded, and then walked across the street.

The middle-aged man who was eating the dumplings suddenly stood up and walked away in a hurry.

It seemed that he also noticed Jiang Daniu walking over.

"Brother Jiang, catch him."

Yudie shouted.

Jiang Daniu shouted in a deep voice: "Stop!"

The middle-aged man not only did not stop, but ran away.

Jiang Daniu ran after him.

The middle-aged man turned into an alley.

This alley is connected in all directions. When Jiang Daniu chased him to the end of the alley, the middle-aged man had disappeared.

He looked around but couldn't find him. He could only come back first and said with shame on his face: "Miss Yudie, I am incompetent and lost him!"

Yudie was a little disappointed.

If he could catch this person, he would definitely help Ning Chen.

On the other side, after Jiang Daniu left, the middle-aged man came out from behind the pile of debris in the middle of another alley.

He spitted to express his disdain for Jiang Daniu.

He touched the short beard on his chin. He had disguised himself, so how could he be recognized?

It seems that he can't show up again recently.

He quickened his pace and prepared to leave.

But suddenly, his steps stopped... because in front of him, a man in black appeared at some point.

The other party leaned on the sword with both hands and looked at him coldly.

The middle-aged man looked at him vigilantly, "Who are you?"

"I am Ning Chen..."

The middle-aged man sneered, "Impossible, I know Ning Chen."

"I am Ning Chen...'s senior brother!"

The middle-aged man: "..."

Even if you are Ning Chen's senior brother, you are not Ning Chen after all, do you need to be so arrogant? The middle-aged man complained in his heart.

Xie Siyu said coolly: "Follow me!"

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment and asked: "Where are you going?"

"Idiot, of course I'm going to see Ning Chen."