Chapter 264: Close to the Face and Open Up

Early in the morning, it was drizzling in the capital.

It was just after dawn, and the sky was still gray. Occasionally, pedestrians walked quickly on the street with umbrellas.

There was a deserted scene between heaven and earth.

In the west of the city, a few streets away from the imperial city, there was a quiet alley with buildings lined up.

Most of the people living here were officials in the court. A brick could knock out several fifth-rank officials.

It was still early, and the continuous drizzle was falling. The cold wind was biting, almost piercing the skin, and the doors of all courtyards were closed.

The atmosphere was more and more depressing.

Just outside a house deep in the courtyard, the gate was open, and white paper money was spread on the ground outside the courtyard. The lanterns at the door were changed to white. Through the gate, a huge black and white word "Dian" was seen in the courtyard, which added a bit of horror to the surrounding environment.

Faintly, sobbing sounds came from the courtyard, accompanied by bursts of cursing from time to time.

Zhou Mansion.

Today is the day when Zhou Yao, the son of the Ministry of Personnel, and the only son of Zhou Huiguang, is buried!

As the sky gradually brightened. Several figures began to arrive outside the Zhou Mansion.

There are officials in the capital, friends that the Zhou family has made over the years, or children from various families in the capital...

Over the years, the Zhou family has also made a lot of connections and forces in the capital. Today, many people came to see off the only son of the Zhou family.

Near noon, the sky was still gray. In the Zhou Mansion, mourning music suddenly sounded, mixed with crying, and the voices of the people in the courtyard were intertwined, making the atmosphere indescribably weird.

"Minister Chen Yi of the Ministry of Justice has arrived!"

"The Song family of Zhongzhou has arrived!"

"Minister of the Ministry of Personnel has arrived!"

"..."

With the announcement outside the door, these big figures in the capital who usually appear and disappear gathered here.

"Lord Zhou, please accept my condolences and take care of yourself!"

"Thank you Lord Chen for your concern."

"Lord Zhou, I understand your feelings very well. You must hold on and never condone the murderer!"

The person who spoke was the head of the Song family in Zhongzhou, Song Zhongfu.

Outside the gate, in just a few days, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, who had experienced the pain of losing his son, had lost a lot of weight, but the grief and hatred in his eyes were still burning.

"Lord Song!"

Zhou Yao looked up at Song Zhongfu in front of him, as if he had thought of something.

"You and I have a common enemy!"

Song Zhongfu's eyes were also mixed with some grief and hatred.

Half a year ago, his second son Song Jue was brutally killed for no reason by the prince of Lin in Linzhou, and his body was not found.

So far, the Lin family has not given any explanation.

Although the Song family has some influence in Zhongzhou, it is almost impossible for them to fight against the Lin family. In the past six months, Song Zhongfu tried every possible way to seek justice for his son, but he was powerless.

Watching his son die at the hands of his enemy, but unable to take revenge, is the most painful thing in the world.

Because of this, he understands Zhou Yao's feelings very well.

Hearing this, Zhou Yao also instantly understood the meaning of Song Zhongfu's words, and a trace of hatred quickly appeared in his eyes: "That's right, the murderer must not be allowed to go unpunished!"

"My condolences!"

Song Zhongfu patted Zhou Yao on the shoulder and walked into the yard.

Outside the door, carriages and sedan chairs continued to stop, and figures of officials and aristocratic families continued to appear.

"Uncle Zhou, my condolences!"

Li Qianlin and Gao Wenyang also came. They are good friends with Zhou Huiguang on weekdays and are considered close friends in Beijing.

Today Zhou Huiguang's funeral was held, so they naturally came to see him off.

"Uncle Zhou, don't worry. Uncle Zhou is a family friend. Now that Brother Zhou has been murdered and the murderer is at large, we will never sit idly by..."

"I still don't believe it. Is there no law in this world? Can Prince Lin kill people at will?"

"We will definitely find a way to let Brother Zhou rest in peace!"

Gao Wenyang's tone was low. Li Qianlin on the side remained silent, but he didn't know what he was thinking about, and a little fear flashed in his eyes.

Perhaps he didn't expect until now that Lin Jiangnian would really dare to kill people like this? !

This made him think of his trip to Linzhou half a year ago. At that time, he was full of vigor and didn't take Prince Lin seriously at all.

But what was the result?

Song Jue died quietly!

If he hadn't been prepared, he would have died in Linzhou long ago, right?

Thinking of this, Li Qianlin couldn't help but shudder.

Zhou Yao looked downcast, looking at the two good friends of his son in front of him, and nodded with relief: "Just having you two good friends is enough for my life!"

The two exchanged greetings with Zhou Yao again, and after comforting him for a while, they also stepped into the courtyard. It was still drizzling in the sky, the air was very wet and cold, and the biting cold wind, and the stone road in the courtyard was full of mud footprints. Under the eaves not far away, children and officials from various families stood or sat in groups of three or two, discussing something.

Many people's eyes fell on the hall, and the atmosphere in the hall was bleak.

Mother Zhou cried bitterly with the help of the servants, fainted several times, and was heartbroken.

The miserable voice moved many people present!

Zhou Huiguang lost his life at a young age, and the Zhou family sent off the old man. How could this scene not make people feel deeply moved and extremely angry?

Some officials with a sense of justice gnashed their teeth and said, "How can the prince of Lin be so vicious? He treats human life as nothing and bullies people too much!"

"How can a savage from a wild land have any regard for etiquette?"

"I don't believe that there is really no king. The son of a vassal thousands of miles away is bullying him, but no one can do anything about him. Is there really no one in our capital?"

"What are you all afraid of? Are you afraid of the Lin family's revenge? Are you allowing him to be so arrogant and domineering?"

"Today's Lord of Zhou, and tomorrow's Lords!"

"..."

There was a lot of discussion and indignation around, many people looked angry, and many people had their own agenda.

Everyone knows that the Zhou family is now in a life-or-death situation with Prince Lin. It is almost impossible for a small Zhou family to shake Prince Lin's Mansion.

Not to mention the Zhou family, among all the civil and military officials in the capital, who could shake the position of Prince Lin's Mansion?

No matter how you mess around in the capital, King Lin holds the military power, has overwhelming power, and sits in the south unmoving. What can you, a small official, do?

Even if the DPRK and China have been discussing the reduction of vassalage for several years, in the end it only remains in words, and no one dares to actually do it?

On weekdays, it's enough to just follow him and scold him, but not many people dare to be this outstanding!

There was probably someone behind the Zhou family this time, someone who wanted to take the opportunity to add insult to injury and target Prince Lin's Mansion. There are also people who sit quietly and watch the tiger fight.

Zhou Yao walked slowly into the courtyard with heavy steps. He stood in front of the hall and looked at the people in the courtyard with a low voice.

"Thank you to all my colleagues, relatives and friends for coming to see my son off today. I, Zhou, am here today. Thank you all..."

Zhou Yao's voice seemed to contain some suppressed emotion. He glanced back behind him and said in a sad tone: "It's a pity that my son's body is still cold and he dies with his eyes open. It's my incompetence as a father that allows my son's murderer to remain free..."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yao's voice was filled with a trace of uncontrollable sorrow: "However, I, Zhou, swear here. Prince Lin killed my son, and I, Zhou, will never give up and seek justice for my son. To sacrifice my son’s spirit in heaven!”

A cold voice, sad.

These words quickly excited many people present.

"Don't worry, Mr. Zhou, we will definitely support Mr. Zhou and never let the murderer go unpunished!"

"We might as well send people to break into the Jiang Mansion, capture Prince Lin, and avenge Mr. Zhou!"

"I'm so angry. Fortunately, that son of a bitch isn't here. If he were here, I would blow his head off with one punch!"

"..."

Just when the crowd was boiling, and everyone was filled with righteous indignation and denounced Prince Lin Wang.

Outside the door, a servant rushed in in a panic.

"Old, sir, no, it's not good..."

The servant stumbled into the yard and ran up to Zhou Yao, hurriedly saying: "Master, Prince Lin...come, come..."

As soon as these words came out, the surroundings were instantly silent. The originally noisy sound suddenly stopped as if someone had suddenly strangled the neck.

The next second, many people's eyes fell on the guy who just said he was going to blow Prince Lin's head off with one punch.

But I saw that the guy's eyes were dull, his expression was shocked, and the smile on his face was stiff.

Really, really coming?

"I, I was joking..."

The smile on this person's face was extremely stiff, uglier than crying. The arrogance he had just moments ago disappeared in an instant, and he slipped into the crowd in despair.

"..."

"Who's coming?!"

When Zhou Yao heard this name, his eyes suddenly became cold and he stared at the servant in front of him.

"Lin, Prince Lin... He, he is just outside the street, Ma, he will be here soon..." The servant stammered.

There was a brief silence in the courtyard, and then an uproar quickly broke out.

"It's too much!"

"How dare he come?"

"He murdered Young Master Zhou and came here today when Young Master Zhou is to be buried. Is he just here to show off? Damn it!"

No one expected that Prince Lin Wang would come here?

How dare you come?

Since the last wedding of the Lu family, the Prince Lin has kept a low profile for several days. It was originally thought that he was hiding in the Jiang Mansion and was acting like a coward because of his identity.

Unexpectedly, he took the initiative to come to Zhou Huiguang's house today on the day of Zhou Huiguang's funeral.

What does this mean?

Close to the face and open up? !

"How many people did he come to?"

Zhou Yao's face turned pale.

"Two, two people..."

The servant's figure trembled: "He seems to have only one maid with him!"

Good guy!

Many people took a breath.

Prince Lin Wang is so brave!

Dare you come to your door with a maid?

Are you really not taking them seriously?

Is he really not afraid of death?

Aren't you afraid that the crowd will beat him to death?

Zhou Yao's face was livid and his brows were deeply furrowed.

"Master, do you want to drive him away?" the servant asked.

Zhou Yao was silent for a moment, then his eyes were cold and he looked up at the door coldly: "No, let him come!"

It was still raining lightly in the sky, and the rainwater washed away the bluestones in the courtyard.

Just when everyone in the courtyard looked at the door, two figures slowly appeared outside the door.

The first thing that catches the eye is a black umbrella.

Under the black umbrella, two figures appeared. One in front and one behind, one master and one servant.

What caught everyone's attention was a young and handsome face with sharp edges and sharp eyebrows. Wearing a black robe, it seems to set off today's atmosphere, but it also makes her temperament more elegant.

Just one glance made many people present gasp in amazement.

What a handsome man!

He is Prince Lin? !

Among the people present, there were those who had seen the prince of Lin at the Lu family wedding last time, and there were also those who saw him for the first time. But when they saw the figure in front of them, they were all shocked.

This wild rumor in the capital is really wild!

This handsome and elegant man in front of him, especially the black robe, made him more mysterious.

Seeing such a beautiful man in person, it was still shocking.

In an instant, the noisy courtyard was quiet again.

Silence.

Between heaven and earth, there was only the sound of cold wind and drizzle.

The young man in black robe under the black umbrella stepped over the threshold and stepped into the courtyard. He looked straight ahead, his expression calm and indifferent, stepped on the bluestone slabs, and walked slowly.

Behind him was a young and beautiful woman in the same black dress. Her delicate appearance gave people a very cold chill, and she did not look away. Jingjing held an umbrella and followed Lin Jiangnian step by step.

The two walked one after the other in everyone's sight, turning a blind eye.

At this moment, the two gave everyone the illusion that they were a talented man and a beautiful woman, like a couple of gods.

Is this person really the prince of Lin?

Is the stunning woman behind him really just his maid? !

Many people were stunned and stared at the scene in front of them.

In such a quiet and strange environment, Zhou Yao stood in front of the hall with a gloomy face, watching the murderer who killed his son approach and stop.

"Master Zhou!"

Lin Jiangnian raised his eyes slightly, looked at Zhou Yao in front of him, and bowed slightly.

Zhou Yao stared at him, hatred suddenly emerged in his eyes at this moment: "What are you doing here?!"

Lin Jiangnian said calmly: "I heard that Mr. Zhou's funeral is today, this prince came to see him off and wanted to burn incense for Mr. Zhou!"

"Are you worthy?"

Before Zhou Yao could speak, an angry voice came from the side.

A young man stared at Lin Jiangnian with fierce eyes: "You killed my cousin, and now you have the face to come to see him off and burn incense?!"

"Do you really think that there is no one in my Zhou family?!"

Lin Jiangnian's expression did not change, and he looked at this person: "Who are you?"

"Zhou Ruijin, Zhou Huiguang's cousin!"

Zhou Ruijin said coldly: "You killed my cousin, and now you take the initiative to come to my door, you are too much!"

Lin Jiangnian said lightly: "Mr. Zhou was not killed by this prince."

"The evidence is conclusive, and you still want to quibble?!"

Zhou Ruijin said coldly: "Stop talking nonsense, die!"

As soon as the voice fell, Zhou Ruijin's eyes suddenly showed murderous intent. He suddenly jumped up, with a sharp breath, and he suddenly rushed towards Lin Jiangnian with his toes, punching Lin Jiangnian's head.

The speed was so fast that it arrived in the blink of an eye.

So that almost no one present reacted, and no one expected Zhou Ruijin to suddenly attack!

Many people were shocked.

At such a close distance, how could the prince of Lin defend himself? !

Will he really die here?

"Swish!"

Something cold flashed.

"Bang!"

A dull sound sounded, and a figure flew backwards.

"Puff!"

Zhou Ruijin fell heavily in the yard, spitting blood, his pupils widened, staring at the front in disbelief.

In the front view, Lin Jiangnian was still standing there, motionless.

The maid behind him also stood there, holding an umbrella in one hand, and the other hand was quietly put back under the sleeve, staring at him with cold eyes, without saying a word.

There was still light rain in the sky.

All around, it was still eerily quiet!

…