NABC Chapter 495: Three Murders
Chapter 495: Three Murders
In the evening, Kang Xiaorong returned to the Kang Mansion. Since Kang Qingyuan cancelled the engagement, he rarely spoke to his father. The relationship between father and son was not harmonious, and the atmosphere of the whole mansion seemed a little solemn. Kang Xiaorong guarded the Xian Palace during the day, and only came back to sleep when it was late at night, and left again before dawn the next day. This indifferent attitude seemed to be an accusation against his father's tyranny. Although he knew it was useless, he still wanted to resist in his own insignificant way.
That night, Kang Xiaorong returned to his room exhausted and could barely open his eyes. It was too late and the maids had already gone to bed. So he washed his face in a basin of water. He had just finished washing his face when he heard light footsteps behind him.
"Who is it!" He turned his head cautiously and found that the person coming was Liu Guang, whom he was familiar with.
"What are you doing here so late?" Kang Xiaorong wiped the water off his hands and stared at the other person warily.
"Actually, I came a long time ago, but you came back too late, so I had to show up so late." Liuguang walked into the room with a smile and sat down casually.
The Kang and Liu families have always been close friends, so Liuguang has been close to Kang Xiaorong since he was a child, and entering his room is like entering his own room. However, since Kang Xiaorong knew that Liuguang was the culprit who destroyed his wedding with Tianning and tried to kill Tianning several times, the relationship between the two became tense.
"Just tell me whatever you want to say. I'm too tired and want to rest early." Kang Xiaorong pinched his sore nose.
Liuguang was not in a hurry to explain his purpose. Instead, he took the initiative and picked up the teapot on the table, poured two cups of tea for himself and Kang Xiaorong, then raised one of the cups and invited Kang Xiaorong to sit opposite him.
Kang Xiaorong didn't welcome him, but due to their past friendship and the complicated relationship between the Kang and Liu families, he couldn't be too neglectful on the surface. He frowned, walked quickly to the opposite side of Liuguang, took the teacup, sat heavily on the chair, and said stiffly: "If you have something to say, say it quickly, don't challenge my patience."
Liuguang sighed softly, smiled and sipped his tea slowly. "How cruel! We were such good friends before."
Kang Xiaorong snorted coldly and said, "If you really want to be my friend, why did you ruin my wedding, why did you kill Tianning twice and three times?"
Liuguang frowned, showing a somewhat wronged expression and replied: "After I knew that you really loved her, didn't I promise you that I would never hurt her again?"
Kang Xiaorong stared at Liuguang painfully and said, "You have changed. You were not like this before."
"You have changed. In the past, you were full of vigor and heroic spirit, and you charmed many young girls. Now you are hesitant and indecisive, and have become a chess piece at the mercy of others. If Tianning had met the you of now, she would not have fallen in love with you." He smiled lightly and looked up at the void in front of him, as if he was recalling the good times that had passed away in the past.
"People go through so many things and they always change." Kang Xiaorong did not refute because he also knew that he had changed a lot.
Liuguang turned to look at him and said, "I think it was Tianning who changed you. She made you more mature, but also made you more pathetic..."
"You came here today just to talk to me about this?" Kang Xiaorong interrupted Liuguang abruptly, making no secret of his intention to drive him away.
"Of course not." Liuguang saw that Kang Xiaorong was angry, so he slowly told the real purpose of his trip, "On the day of your wedding with Tianning, I was the one who planned the mountain ghost tribe riot and ruined your good fortune. So this time I came here specially to compensate you. As long as you do me a favor, I can let you marry Tianning."
"Let me marry Tianning? Can you convince my father?" Kang Xiaorong's intention to expel him was obviously weakened, and he became extremely surprised.
"Don't ask about the method for now, but I will do what I say." Liuguang's smile became more and more mysterious.
Kang Xiaorong's brows were getting tighter and tighter. If it was before, he would have absolutely trusted Liuguang; but now, after having tasted the feeling of being deceived by the other party, he became cautious. He shook his head gently, looked away and said, "I don't trust you anymore..." The voice, half sighing and half feeling, seemed inexplicably sad in the silent night, as if he was speaking to himself, telling himself not to let his heart be influenced by others again.
"If you reject me now, you may never be able to marry Tianning in this life." Liuguang still had that leisurely expression, as if he had seen through Kang Xiaorong.
"Do you really have a way for me to marry Tianning?" As expected, Kang Xiaorong asked again after a brief consideration. His urgent tone proved that he was already tempted.
"You can trust me completely." Liuguang smiled, but still did not explain how he would make Kang Xiaorong marry Tianning.
Kang Xiaorong stared at him for a long time, "What do you want me to do for you?"
"Help me kill General An Chenghuan." He said this and took another sip of tea, not realizing at all that he had just said such a terrible thing.
Kang Xiaorong gasped, and his hand on the table shook violently, causing the teacup on the table to shake suddenly, spilling a few drops of water.
"What did you say?" He couldn't believe it, because the content of the sentence just now could not be connected with Liuguang's calm expression at all.
"Due to the heavy rain, many buildings in the palace collapsed. If we trace it back, it is all An Chenghuan's fault. I heard that Hua Rong has teamed up with the Criminal Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and has obtained a lot of evidence of An Chenghuan's corruption and bribery. Now that the heavy rain has stopped, their next step will probably be to impeach An Chenghuan."
"Isn't that great? Once An Chenghuan falls, the power of the An family in the palace will be greatly weakened. My father and your father will be very happy." Kang Xiaorong laughed coldly. Now he no longer has much ambition for the kingship. Since his relationship with Huarong gradually became distant and he was no longer bewitched by her, his desire became weaker.
"But do you think Huarong will succeed?" Liuguang changed the subject and asked sharply.
Kang Xiaorong was suddenly stunned and lowered his head to think.
Before he could come up with an answer, Liuguang said, "I think Hua Rong is a bit too hasty this time, and it is very likely that she will lose everything. Her goal is to seek revenge on the An family, and the enemy is only the people with the surname "An". But if An Chenghuan is really impeached, it will affect other aristocratic families related to the An family, such as the Sun family of Dean Wenhua. Hua Rong is weak alone, and even if the evidence is conclusive, how can she be a match for the clans behind the An family? Her current actions have made too many enemies and taken too big a move, and in the end she is just a moth flying into a flame and destroying herself."
Kang Xiaorong listened quietly, and a layer of cold sweat had already seeped out of his back unconsciously. Thinking carefully, Liuguang was indeed right.
Liuguang paused, then continued, "Actually, this matter is very simple. Hua Rong just wants revenge, right? Isn't it enough to just kill An Chenghuan? Once An Chenghuan dies, not only can Hua Rong fulfill her wish, but other clans involved in the corruption case will also be relieved and will not unite to commit suicide. For the court, it is also a good thing to have one less corrupt official - this is a chivalrous act to uphold justice."
An act of justice? Kang Xiaorong smiled coldly. But assassination is assassination after all. Even if An Chenghuan deserves to die, he should die with honor.
Kang Xiaorong of Liuguang Sword was a little hesitant and continued to persuade, "Even if you don't love Huarong anymore, you can't just watch her commit suicide, right? Killing An Chenghuan will, firstly, help me weaken the An family, secondly, help Huarong save her life, and thirdly, help you marry Princess Tianning. It's a three-pronged approach with only benefits and no harm. What are you hesitating about?" His deep eyes stared straight at Kang Xiaorong's face.
Kang Xiaorong turned his head away stiffly, staring at the wall in front of him, thinking, hesitating, weighing, and unable to make a decision. But Liuguang was not in a hurry, just looking at him quietly, observing the subtle changes in his facial expression. In fact, the fact that Kang Xiaorong did not refuse outright was enough to prove that he had wavered.
Liuguang put down the teacup and stood up. Before leaving, he pulled out a dagger decorated with a ghost face pattern from his belt and placed it on the table. "If you have thought it through, use this knife. This is the weapon of the Mountain Ghost Clan. After the deed is done, everyone will think it was done by the assassins of the Mountain Ghost Clan, and no one will suspect you. You have three days to think about it. If you still haven't done it after three days, I will assume that you have given up."
After leaving these words, Liuguang turned and left the room, leaving Kang Xiaorong with a stiff body.
In the empty room, cold wind rushed in from the door, bringing a chill to the heart.
Kang Xiaorong sat there blankly, his eyes looking straight ahead, for the entire night...
Three days later, Hua Rong came to Xian Palace to deliver food to Ji Anni and brought big news.
As soon as she placed the tray on the table, Hua Rong said in a hurried tone: "Your Majesty, something big happened in the palace. The chief minister An Chenghuan was assassinated in his own residence yesterday. He was stabbed in the vitals by a dagger engraved with a ghost face pattern. He died on the spot, and his blood was all over the bed."
Ji Anni was so shocked that she almost jumped up. She nervously grabbed Hua Rong's hand and asked, "Who did it?"
Hua Rong shook her head and said, "I don't know, but judging from the weapon, it should be an assassin from the Mountain Ghost Clan."
"An assassin from the Mountain Ghost Clan?" Ji Anni frowned, feeling vaguely unbelievable.
"I also think that this was very deliberate. If he was really an assassin, why didn't he assassinate the emperor?" Hua Rong's usually calm face now showed a bit more solemnity.
"Hua Rong, haven't you already obtained a batch of evidence and wanted to bring down An Chenghuan?" The timing was so coincidental that Ji Anni couldn't help but connect the two things.
Hua Rong sighed and said, "Yes. I don't know if someone is helping me or if someone wants to harm me..."
At this time, they did not expect that something even more terrible would happen that very night.
General Kang Qingyuan was also assassinated. He died in his bed in the middle of the night. A mountain ghost tribe dagger was stuck in his chest, and the dagger was decorated with a ghost face pattern.
Both the murder weapon and the method of committing the crime were exactly the same as when Ahn Sung-hwan was killed, and everyone believed that the two murders were committed by the same person.
When Kang Xiaorong learned the news of his father's death, he suddenly knelt down on his knees, held his head and fell to the ground, letting out a heart-wrenching roar, tears of regret streaming down his face.
It was not until then that he finally understood that the "method" that Liuguang had kept secret in order to make him marry Tianning was to directly take his father's life.