Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 297 - 296: Making Amends for Past Mistakes

Around 7:45 PM, Fu Lu returned, bringing along Chief Historian Wen Qiming.

Wen Qiming seemed somewhat complicated in his emotions, a mix of tension and excitement.

Initially, Zhu Yu was a bit puzzled, not understanding why he reacted this way, but after hearing Fu Lu’s explanation, she understood.

"Madam, there are spies from the Pang family even in the prison. When I went there, they were planning to poison Chief Historian’s meal, claiming it was an order from Prince Shuo to make him end his own life!" Fu Lu said to Zhu Yu, "I beat those scoundrels to a pulp and conveniently locked them up in the prison."

Chief Historian had been there for a few days, so he figured out who was loyal inside. It was perfect to have them continue guarding."

Wen Qiming obviously knew Zhu Yu’s identity by now. After Fu Lu finished speaking, he immediately knelt on the ground, "I salute the Princess! If it weren’t for your order to rescue me, my humble life would have ended in that prison today!

My wretched life was saved by the Princess, and Wen can never forget the Princess’s kindness!"

"Chief Historian Wen, there’s no need for that. Although you made a mistake out of self-interest before, you remained loyal to my father, which is what my father valued most, and also what the Holy Emperor values most in employing people." Zhu Yu said with a smile to Wen Qiming, her attitude especially gentle, subtly leveraging Zhu Cheng’s authority and invoking Emperor Jin as well.

Upon hearing these words, Wen Qiming’s back involuntarily straightened.

"Chief Historian Wen, you’ve been by Father’s side for years; you should know which of his subordinates are genuinely loyal to him and which are colluding with the Pang family, correct?" Zhu Yu asked.

"The Princess is absolutely right!" Wen Qiming nodded eagerly, "The Prince is busy with daily affairs and might not notice many things. Moreover, he’s kind-hearted and trusts people without doubt, so when I suspected something in the past, I mentioned it to the Prince several times, but he didn’t pay heed.

However, I never felt at ease with those few people, so I kept an extra eye on them and got a pretty clear handle on their background."

"Then please, Chief Historian Wen, kindly make a copy of the list of these people for me." Zhu Yu indicated an empty side room.

"The Princess is too kind, I am overwhelmed." Wen Qiming quickly bowed.

Fu Lu led him over, and in no time at all, a list came back, handed to Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu looked at the list. She was actually not very familiar with Zhu Cheng’s subordinates, so the names on the list were somewhat foreign to her, and she couldn’t discern much from them.

Still, she examined it carefully and silently weighed the implications of the numbers.

Overall, it wasn’t more pessimistic than she had expected, but not particularly optimistic either.

"Chief Historian," Zhu Yu paused for a moment and then said to Wen Qiming, "secretly gather the trustworthy people, but don’t take any action yet. Send a few spies to probe the movements of the Pang family. Let’s see what they’re planning and then decide how to proceed!"

"Yes, I will not fail your instruction!" Wen Qiming quickly agreed.

"Chief Historian," Zhu Yu took a deep breath, stood, clasped her hands as a man would in salute, and earnestly said to Wen Qiming, "the stability of Shuo Country and the peace of Shuo’s people, I’ll entrust all this to you on my father’s behalf!"

Wen Qiming seemed taken aback by her gesture, quickly returning the salute with a moved expression on his face, leaving with unusually determined steps.

Indeed, Zhu Yu had accurately grasped Wen Qiming’s mindset.

After he quietly left that night, he swiftly followed Zhu Yu’s instructions, gathering manpower in secret and dispatching reliable spies. Within a couple of days, they had thoroughly figured out the movements of those deeply connected with the Pang family.

Zhu Yu instructed him not to alert the prominent key figures, instead starting with the inconsequential small fry, taking them down one by one, secretly imprisoning and watching over them, ensuring that no one else was alerted in the process.

Those detained were interrogated by her in person.

Although she could peel off the façade, Zhu Yu didn’t know how to put it back, but she carried with her the mask made by Lu Qing.

No one in Shuo Land recognized the Golden-faced Imperial Censor of Emperor Jin, and they certainly didn’t know the "Chief Historian Yu" by his side. Zhu Yu dressed in male attire, wearing the skin mask, so no one could discern her identity.

Meanwhile, Fu Lu kept a close watch on Pang Yuzhen and Zhu Ning, the mother and daughter, giving them no chance to do anything foolish again. With the Miao family and Yan Shu grouped together, Zhu Yu felt reassured and busied herself daily with Wen Qiming accompanying her, tirelessly interrogating the secret traitors captured.

Though her initial plan was to target those "insignificant" characters, from each of their mouths, she gleaned snippets of information. When pieced together, these seemingly trivial details were enough for Zhu Yu to organize some valuable intelligence.

She used the information she had compiled to determine her next moves.

In this way, they were busy for over ten days, and with Wen Qiming’s help, Zhu Yu managed to quietly imprison relations of the Pang family and keep the crucial ones under close watch, ready to act at any noticeable difference.

Zhu Yu had never been this exhausted before. Some tasks had to be handled during the day, while others required covert night operations.

Even when she could return to the Prince Shuo Mansion to rest at night, lying in bed brought no peace of mind.

While she was laboring tirelessly, she was relatively safe and successful but had no news of Lu Qing’s situation.

The brief note he had her pass to the Shadow Guard — what kind of plan lay behind those few words was not something that could be thoroughly examined at that time.

Zhu Yu felt that, given Lu Qing’s strategic prowess and skills, he shouldn’t face any issues, yet she couldn’t help but feel a creeping anxiety, suppressing her concerns over the Black Iron Mine situation.

This relentless hustle left her physically and mentally drained, but at the same time, every time she eliminated a "nail" recruited by the Pang family, she experienced a newfound sense of accomplishment.

This sense of accomplishment sustained Zhu Yu day after day.

Additionally, thanks to Pang Yutang’s all-or-nothing gamble after his crimes were exposed — taking most of the capital’s forces — Zhu Yu, with Wen Qiming’s cooperation, was able to quietly detain the Pang family’s supporters as they unearthed them. Replacing them with reliable personnel, they managed to unobtrusively and firmly control the situation in the capital.