His son was only seven or eight years old. He thought about what Chen Xiaobei had said, which was very true. If he died, his wife would definitely marry someone else. Otherwise, how could a weak woman survive?
But who knew if taking her child to remarry would be a blessing or a curse?
Seeing his silence, Chen Xiaobei knew his words had worked. "Duobang, to tell you the truth, the Crown Prince and my brother-in-law, Liu Yuanwen, are not dead; they are both alive. If you hand over the antidote, I will report to the Emperor and he will show you leniency and spare your life!"
Hearing this, a flicker of light clearly flashed in Duobang's eyes. After all, when a person thought he was going to die, any glimmer of hope for survival would be exciting.
After a long silence, Duobang slowly said, "The antidote is at the inn. I can take you to get it."
Chen Xiaobei shook his head. "I know you didn't come alone. If you take us, you'll just cause a commotion to notify your men to retreat. But I'm telling you, from now on, the entire Wannian City will be under martial law. Your men won't be able to leave, and we will screen them one by one."
Hearing Chen Xiaobei's words, Duobang secretly felt surprised. This person, though young, seemed to be a master strategist, seeing through his little trick at a glance. He had indeed planned to create a disturbance while taking them to the inn to signal his subordinates to retreat.
But since Chen Xiaobei had exposed this plan, it was meaningless.
However, on the other hand, to have Duobang betray all the men he brought with him, Duobang truly felt reluctant.
Seeing his silence, Chen Xiaobei knew he had guessed the other person's thoughts correctly.
Chen Xiaobei raised his hand and said to Liu Tie and Liu Ce beside him, "Since Duobang is not cooperating, then push him out and behead him. As for the antidote, we can search the inn thoroughly, and we should be able to find it."
Hearing that he was about to be executed, Duobang felt a little flustered.
After all, Chen Xiaobei had hit his soft spot. Duobang suddenly had a strong will to survive. Thinking of his son, he immediately felt that he could not die.
With this thought, Duobang could no longer care about anything else. He vaguely said, "Then I'll tell you the address. You can go get it yourselves. It's in the bundle by my bed."
Seeing Duobang's reaction, Chen Xiaobei smiled. No one was invincible. As long as you found their weakness, defeating them was that simple.
Liu Tie stayed behind with his men to protect Chen Xiaobei. Liu Ce led his men to the inn to apprehend Duobang's accomplices.
At the same time, Chen Xiaobei sent someone to quickly deliver a message to Liu Xiangnan's mansion: the murderer had been caught.
Just then, there was a sudden commotion outside.
Then, the guards at the door ran in and knelt on one knee, saying to Chen Xiaobei, "Reporting to the驸马爷, Captain Zhou Quan has arrived with his men, saying he is here to protect you on the Emperor's orders."
Chen Xiaobei was stunned to hear this. He secretly thought he was lucky. Fortunately, Zhou Quan had arrived a little late. If he had come earlier, his perfect plan would have been ruined, and Duobang would surely have been scared away.
After Zhou Quan came in and explained the situation, Chen Xiaobei nodded. "I knew this wouldn't stay hidden for too long, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Let's go, I'll go and pay my respects to the Crown Prince. And I'll report the capture of the murderer to the Emperor."
Chen Xiaobei and Zhou Quan turned and walked towards the Crown Prince's mansion. At the same time, Liu Xiangnan's mansion received the news that Chen Xiaobei had caught the murderer.
Liu Xiangnan, who was leaning on his chair, half-asleep, immediately perked up. He slapped the table and said, "Good, excellent, truly excellent."
Seeing that Liu Xiangnan's spirits had improved greatly, Liu Kai beside him was also very happy. He quickly poured a cup of hot tea and offered it to him. "Master, please have some tea to moisten your throat. I didn't expect the son-in-law's plan to be so effective, a triumphant victory!" Su Dan Novel Network
Liu Xiangnan took the teacup and took a sip. Just as he was about to speak, Zheng Ke rushed in.
"Master, good news, good news! We have news from Shuozhou."
Saying this, he handed over a small bamboo tube.
Liu Kai took the bamboo tube, opened it, and his eyes widened in astonishment. His hands trembled slightly, and for a moment, he stammered, unable to speak.
Seeing his reaction, Liu Xiangnan became anxious. He looked at Liu Kai and asked eagerly, "Liu Kai, what is it? Say something!"
"Master, the best news ever! Miss, Miss is back! Miss has arrived in Shuozhou."
Saying this, Liu Kai placed the small paper on Liu Xiangnan's desk. Liu Xiangnan took it and read it. On it were two brief sentences: Miss had arrived in Shuozhou, was a little tired, and was resting. She would head to Wannian City in a few days. The signature was Xiao Qing.
Seeing this news, Liu Xiangnan was overjoyed. A relieved expression finally appeared on his face.
With news of Liu Rumei, a great burden was lifted from his heart. The brief excitement overshadowed the grief of losing his son.
Seeing Liu Xiangnan's excitement, Liu Kai also felt a great weight lifted from his heart.
"Master, now you can rest assured. Go get some sleep. Miss will be back soon."
Liu Xiangnan nodded gently. "Write a reply to Rumei, telling her that Chen Xiaobei is about to become the驸马, and ask her to come back soon."
Liu Xiangnan deliberately avoided the issue of Liu Yuanwen's life or death. Liu Kai also knew that if Liu Rumei were told of Liu Yuanwen's death, she would likely go mad and rush back that very night.
Only by saying that Chen Xiaobei was about to become the 驸马 might Liu Rumei not be so anxious.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei also arrived at the Crown Prince's mansion and went to the study to pay his respects to his father-in-law, Emperor Xiao An.
Upon seeing Xiao An, Chen Xiaobei respectfully knelt and kowtowed. "Chen Xiaobei pays his respects to Your Majesty, Long live, long live, long live."
Xiao An raised his hand. "Enough, Chen Xiaobei. Get up. From now on, when there are no outsiders, do not perform such grand ceremonies."
"Chen Xiaobei obeys."
Xiao An did not speak further but looked at Zhou Quan beside him.
"I sent you to protect Chen Xiaobei's safety. Why did you come here in the middle of the night? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
Zhou Quan bowed respectfully. "Reporting to Your Majesty, there is good news, great news! The murderer has been caught, caught!"
Hearing this, Xiao An's eyebrows twitched, and he looked at Chen Xiaobei with a hint of surprise.
Chen Xiaobei clasped his fists again. "Reporting to Your Majesty, it is true. The perpetrator is Duobang, Captain of Qiaobus's guards. He has confessed everything. He was the one who assassinated the Crown Prince and Liu Yuanwen."
Upon hearing this, Xiao An was stunned for a moment, then sighed deeply. "Unexpected, truly unexpected. I didn't expect Jiopusen to go to such lengths, even sending his captain of the guards."
After sighing, he turned to Chen Xiaobei again. "Just now, I sent Zhou Quan to the Liu residence to deliver a message. I heard that you used yourself as bait to lure out the murderer. I was worried about your safety, but I didn't expect this plan to be so effective so quickly."