If not for an important matter to discuss, he would not have been willing to visit Liang Quanbin in his old house, which was like a fire burning.
Thus, he collected his thoughts, his expression becoming more serious than just moments before.
"Uncle Liang, you have been recuperating here for many days and know little of the outside world. His Majesty has sent an imperial envoy specifically to Jinling City, saying he intends to take all the official grain paid by the Directorate of Granaries this year to the southwest for disaster relief."
"What?"
"The imperial envoy has already settled in our county magistrate's yamen, but you are still pretending to be gravely ill to the outside world. How can we receive him?"
Liang Quanbin frowned, extremely suspicious of the imperial envoy's sudden arrival.
He knew how many secrets the Directorate of Granaries held, and so did the Duke of Wei.
How could he allow His Majesty to send an imperial envoy?
He couldn't understand this point, but what Feng Jinlin said next made him suddenly enlightened.
"I heard that the Duke of Wei was assassinated and one of his eyes was blinded by a ruffian."
"What!"
This news shocked Liang Quanbin even more than the arrival of the imperial envoy in Jinling City.
How could this be! How could this be!
He suddenly recalled that the person who killed him was precisely the Duke of Wei's trusted subordinate!
Could it be...
It was Zhu Hong!
Once a suspicion formed in his mind, many things naturally fell into place according to his line of thought.
Seeing his face turn from pale to ashen, Feng Jinlin felt satisfied.
What Liang Quanbin thought for himself was far better than his prompting. Although there was a life-saving "favor," once his own interests were touched, it didn't matter who it was, self-preservation was the paramount principle.
Only after Liang Quanbin's expression shifted from shock to silence, and then to a hint of indignation, did he slowly speak.
"Uncle, Uncle..."
Liang Quanbin snapped back to reality, looking at Feng Jinlin as if he were a lifesaver.
"Who is the imperial envoy?"
"My maternal uncle, Bai Chaoan."
Upon hearing this, Liang Quanbin began to ponder.
The Bai family never took sides, so he wasn't worried about Bai Chaoan having secret dealings with the Duke of Wei.
However, this was not enough for him to present the evidence he held to bring down the Duke of Wei. After all, if he truly did so, he would surely be implicated.
Therefore, he needed to scheme, to make Bai Chaoan believe that he was unaware of the matter, or that he was forced into it.
Only then could he extricate himself.
Even if his position as Director of the Imperial Guard was lost, it would be better than losing his life.
Now, the Duke of Wei must think that Zhu Hong's assassination was his doing, and that was why he sent someone to kill him in anger.
Moreover, he had another pressing concern: based on his understanding of the Duke of Wei, the moment the imperial envoy set out, he would have already begun destroying evidence, and might even try to shift the blame onto him.
So, it would be better to kill him as a scapegoat and destroy the evidence.
Thinking of this, his mind began to stir.
Having served in the Dali Temple for so many years, preserving evidence was his forte.
The Duke of Wei and others must have thought he was dead, so they were recklessly destroying evidence, forgetting that a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Since he dared to board this ship, he naturally had ways to survive if the ship sank.
After careful consideration, he said to Feng Jinlin.
"Do you have a way for me to meet with Lord Bai alone?"
"What does Uncle intend to do?"
"Naturally, there is an important matter to report to the imperial envoy."
"Does it concern the Zhu family?"
"Mm."
The Zhu family, in a way, was destroyed because of Liang Quanbin, so Feng Jinlin pretended to know nothing and said.
"That's right. After all, the Zhu family was once one of the four great families in Jinling City. It is indeed necessary to tell my maternal uncle about the situation. Uncle, rest assured, I will arrange for him to come."
"Thank you, nephew."
After Feng Jinlin left the courtyard, his first reaction was to look for Su Cheng, who was hidden in the shadows. The two found a secluded spot and began to change their clothes.
Since Liang Quanbin's mind was starting to waver, he needed to give him more encouragement.
It was not enough to just talk about the Zhu family's affairs; the most important thing was to bring out the evidence he had hidden and bring down the Duke of Wei!
So, after changing clothes, Su Cheng also put on a human skin mask, which was left by Xu Lin.
He was impersonating one of the Duke of Wei's subordinates, and as long as he didn't speak, there wouldn't be much of a problem.
Therefore, while Liang Quanbin was still contemplating in the courtyard how to speak to Bai Chaoan, the person who had "assassinated" him arrived again.
"It's you!"
When Liang Quanbin saw the person, his eyes were filled with extreme terror.
He wanted to retreat, but it was useless.
He could only sit still, unable to move.
"I... it wasn't me, it wasn't me. I didn't arrange for the Duke's assassination."
He desperately tried to explain, but the other party gave him no chance, and a knife came towards his neck. Liang Quanbin was greatly alarmed.
Instinct made him dodge the blow, but his already healed wound split open again.
As the person raised the knife to kill Liang Quanbin again, he was startled by a scream from behind and turned his head.
It turned out that Cai Ju, who had gone to make tea, had returned and happened to witness the scene, so she cried out in fright.
The teacups fell to the ground, but she did not flinch.
As the person prepared to stab Liang Quanbin again, she leaped forward and blocked him. The knife naturally struck Cai Ju.
"Ju'er!"
Liang Quanbin's eyes were bloodshot, watching the person's fury now more intense than ever!
He immediately pulled a hairpin from Cai Ju's head and stabbed the attacker.
He glared at him fiercely and said, "You are pushing me too far! You are pushing me too far!"
Then, he heard the sound of guards approaching. The attacker, with an injured arm, could not entangle with the crowd. He glanced at Liang Quanbin and then leaped onto the roof, fleeing.
Liang Quanbin held Cai Ju's wound, but the blood gushed out.
Finally, before she could say anything, she breathed her last.
Liang Quanbin watched his beloved die before his eyes while saving him. How could he endure this!
The Duke of Wei was so cruel to him, not only taking his life but also not sparing those around him.
Cai Ju was like this, and it was likely that his son and daughter in the capital would suffer the same fate.
Hatred consumed his thoughts. He could no longer care about anything else. Escorted by guards, he went directly to the county magistrate's yamen.
When Bai Chaoan saw him, there were still bloodstains on his body, and his face was filled with shock.
"What happened to Lord Liang?"
Liang Quanbin, without bothering with pleasantries, immediately stepped forward and knelt on the ground, tears and snot streaming as he cried to Bai Chaoan.
"Lord Bai, if you hadn't come, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to see you."
Although Bai Chaoan was only a third-rank official, he was now an imperial envoy, representing Emperor Qi. Therefore, Liang Quanbin was subordinate to him, and calling himself "xia guan" (subordinate official) was normal.
Bai Chaoan had already communicated with Feng Jinlin. He knew very well why Liang Quanbin had come, but he had to pretend to be completely unaware.
Seeing Liang Quanbin, he immediately helped him up.