Lose My Heart to the Lovely Kitten Princess - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Hanshan Temple
Cheng Xiaoxiao remembered she and many of her close friends would visit the Qinglong temple whenever the cherry blossoms were in season. They would keep taking photos of the cherry blossoms as they walked and could do it from morning till night.

But this was a thing of the distant past for her now.

Since Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang kept delaying things, if she kept waiting in the form of a cat in this world, it was no different from being a real cat.

“Little fellow, you sure are tough to please. His Highness specially came to Hanshan Temple when he heard the cherry blossoms had bloomed here,” said Xiaowu as he suddenly pushed Cheng Xiaoxiao. But Cheng Xiaoxiao hastily turned to scratch Xiaowu and hissed viciously.

Then she darted into the cherry blossom forest.

Xiaowu glanced at the scratch on his hand before staring at the empty spot.

He suddenly sensed a headache coming on!

“Little fellow?”

Then he gathered his thoughts and quickly chased after her!

Although Cheng Xiaoxiao heard his voice, she ran even more swiftly. She had to shake this irritating guy off!

Chu Yunshen looked at the little fellow on the way home as she stood on her hind legs and looked out the window. She opened the blinds with one paw while she leaned with the other. Her head kept sticking out to see while she purred in satisfaction from time to time.

It seemed it was the right choice to bring her out to relax. See how lively she had become now?

After Chu Yunshen left Cheng Xiaoxiao at the residence, he went to the justice department to interrogate Di Yushu in jail.

Most of the cases at the justice department involved officials working in the capital or royalty.

So there were three kinds of jails in the justice department. Officials from third grade and below would get jailed in the cells right outside, which were no different from average jail cells.

Important court officials higher than the third rank would usually get jailed in each individual cell in the middle row.

These would come with individual beds and toilets.

Royalty would get jailed right at the end. Those cells didn’t resemble jail cells and appeared more like inns.

Di Yushu was merely a fifth grade court official who enjoyed his father’s protection, so he was naturally housed in the normal jail cells.

But because he was the son of the justice department’s supervisor, the jailor did Di Yangze a favor by placing Di Yushu in a private cell in the middle.

“I’m innocent!” said Di Yushu the moment he saw someone entering the jail. He instantly climbed over to the bars and pulled himself up with both hands, and leaned against them as he shouted loudly, “Let me out! I didn’t kill her!”

“What’s with this racket?” said the jailor. He hit Di Yushu with a stick while he leaned against the bars. Then Di Yushu let go of the bars and fell, slumping to the ground.

Di Yushu cringed when he saw the jailor with a stick in his hand. Then he saw Chu Yunshen behind the jailor, and his eyes lit up as he shouted, “Your Highness, I’m innocent! I beg for justice!”

“Your Highness.”

The jailor opened the cell. Then he bowed to Chu Yunshen behind him and gestured for him to enter.

Chu Yunshen strode into the cell with Xiaowu behind him while a jailor came in with a chair.

“Your Highness!” said Xiaowu after placing the chair behind Chu Yunshen.

Chu Yunshen nodded and sat down. Then he turned to look at Di Yushu, who was climbing over.

“Young Master Di, you better answer all of His Highness’ questions honestly! If you try to hide anything this time, not even the gods can save you!” shouted Xiaowu to Di Yushu as he stood next to Chu Yunshen.

Di Yushu knelt by Chu Yunshen’s feet and quickly nodded as he replied, “I will! I will say everything! What does Your Highness want to know?”

Chu Yunshen leaned sideways as he sat in the chair. Then he asked languidly, “Does Young Master Di often go to Hanshan Temple to play chess with Abbott Huike?”

“Huh?” said Di Yushu. He was surprised by Chu Yunshen’s strange question.

Weren’t they here to talk about the case?

Why would it have anything to do with Di Yunshu playing chess with Abbott Huike at Hanshan Temple?

PAH!

Xiaowu unsheathed his sword and pointed it to Di Yushu with a swish.

Di Yushu shrank his head and replied meekly, “After all the things that happened to me, I only wanted to offer incense and pray to Buddha to get rid of this bad luck!”

Di Yushu appeared as though he was happily reminiscing at the mention of this. Then his voice calmed down, and he continued, “Then I went to Hanshan Temple to offer incense two or three times. One day as I was leaving, Abbott Huike suddenly called and asked if I could play chess with him the next time. Chess? I stopped playing it ever since my father said I was just a jobless man idling my time away. But now that I have ended up like this, I can do nothing except lie around in bed, so I agreed to play chess with him. Then I went to play chess with him regularly.”

“When I visited Abbott Huike today, he spoke up for you. He could see your true nature through chess playing and vouched for you on his life that you were no murderer.”

“…”

Di Yushu hastily raised his head when he heard this.

No one had ever sworn on his innocence with their lives all his life.

His eyes became slightly wet as he started feeling somewhat emotional.

“Your Highness, please grant me justice!” said Di Yushu while he trembled as he knelt, “Although I’m not as diligent as Yuanbai, I’m no criminal. I only did all that to…”

Then Di Yushu paused before he continued hoarsely, “I only did it to make Dad angry! Since he has been calling me an idler from young, I might as well be one!”

Chu Yunshen lowered his head and looked at Di Yushu. It wasn’t a groundless rumor that Di Yunshu was a good-for-nothing.

When He Yuanbai told Prince Jing about the incident, he sounded like it was pure coincidence that he bumped into Di Yunshu that fateful day.

In hindsight, he was deliberate in many ways.

As though he purposely visited, waited for Di Yunshu, and spotted the soil and grass on his wheelchair on the 26th.

Could He Yuanbai be completely innocent with all these purposeful acts combined?

Chu Yunshen looked at Di Yushu as he knelt by his feet and said slowly, “He Yuanbai said you threatened to seek revenge on Deputy Minister Gu multiple times. What do you have to say about that?”

“Yuanbai? Why would he?” said Di Yushu in surprise with his head raised.

Why would He Yuanbai tell Prince Jing about all the things he said in a fit of anger?

“Did you ever say them?” asked Chu Yunshen with his eyes narrowed as he looked at Di Yushu, who was by his feet.

“Mhm,” admitted Di Yushu gently with his head lowered, “But it was all said in a fit of anger!”

“Oh?” said Chu Yunshen as he glanced at Di Yushu calmly. Then Chu Yunshen stood up and walked to the cell door and said to him with his back facing him, “He was the one who reported the fact that you weren’t at home on the 26th.”

“Your so-called friend, Yuanbai, was also the one who said you murdered Deputy Minister Gu’s daughter,” said Chu Yunshen as he walked out of the cell.

“No! Yuanbai would never say that! I only said all those things in a fit of anger! He knows that!” came Di Yushu’s voice from behind Chu Yunshen. It was inconceivable to Di Yunshu.

Chu Yunshen wanted to find out if Di Yushu knew about the eight trigram formation in Luohun Forest. But judging from the way Di Yushu seemed, Chu Yunshen felt there was no point asking.

With Di Yushu’s intelligence, it was impossible for him to become the mastermind’s lackey.

He would definitely find someone smarter to serve him. If he got someone like Di Yunshu to work for him, Di Yunshu would probably bring the mastermind down before accomplishing anything.

So Chu Yunshen was certain that Di Yushu was framed.

Although he lied, someone might have plotted for him to enter Luohun Forest. The mastermind probably didn’t want him to be a mere scapegoat.

Also, even though he didn’t like the justice department supervisor, Di Yangze, he was loyal to the court.

And Di Yangze’s loyalty must have gotten in the way of someone’s evil intentions!

Chu Yunshen brought Xiaowu to the dungeon after they got home.

“Think carefully. Other than the jade pendant and wheelchair, what other special characteristics do you remember about your client?”

Chu Yunshen sat in the chair as Xiaowu interrogated the assassin with a whip in his hand while he was tied up to a metal pole.

The assassin’s eyes glazed over as he stared at Xiaowu in a daze. After all these days of inhumane torture, he only wanted to die. It was simply too painful!

“JUST KILL ME!” said the assassin hoarsely, “PLEASE KILL ME! PLEASE KILL ME!”

“I can grant you your wish, but you have to tell me what we want to know. Then I will grant you a quick death!” said Xiaowu as he dipped the hooked whip into chili water. Then he whipped it onto the assassin’s festering body with a crack.

“OW!”

In an instant, a huge patch of the assassin’s recently healed scabs got torn off by the hooked whip once again.

“KILL ME!”

The assassin begged for mercy when he saw the whip coming for him again.

Xiaowu yelled as he whipped him, “Think carefully! Did your client have any other special characteristics?”

“OW!” screamed the assassin as he gasped. His face contorted in agony. After some time, he weakly replied, “Special characteristics? Does his demeanor count? Although he sat on the wheelchair with his back facing me, he spoke in a refined manner and seemed well-mannered.”

“Think harder!”

Xiaowu flicked his whip and whipped the assassin until his flesh tore, but that was all he said.

Was his client refined? There was no way Di Yushu came off to appear cultivated.

“Your Highness!” said Xiaowu as he walked up to Chu Yunshen, “He fainted. I’m afraid if we go on torturing, he might not be able to hold up.”

“Mhm,” said Chu Yunshen with his eyes slightly narrowed. He pondered deeply about the assassin’s words before waving for Xiaowu. Then Xiaowu leaned his ear closer to him.

Chu Yunshen said softly to Xiaowu, “Spread the news. Just say that…”

“Yes, Your Highness!” replied Xiaowu when he suddenly understood his plan. Then he nodded and continued, “I’ll go get it done now!”

Prince Jing was a genius!

It was as good as getting the culprit to confess on his own!

The night sky was as dark as ink and so incredibly intense.

At the Shanshen Temple in the suburbs, several silhouettes were running around searching for something.

The soft silver moonlight scattered upon the ground while crickets cried mournfully, and cobwebs filled the roof.

An incomplete shadow cast by the solitary moon seemed both cold and tragic.

“Nothing!”

“I couldn’t find it!”

“Is this source reliable? Is it really here?”

As the men in black talked, a few rays of light immediately lit up the temple, and everything inside became visible.

“What?”

The people hastily turned to look at the light outside the temple. A slender silhouette came walking towards them under the hazy light.

Then they held their breaths and prepared for battle.

“I suggest you surrender. We already have this place surrounded,” said Xiaowu as his lips curved into an evil smile. Then he told the soldier behind him, “Round them all up!”

Prince Jing was brilliant.

The murderer certainly had a guilty conscience.

“Do you think you can catch us?” yelled one of the men in black, “Brothers, snatch it from him! We will fight our way out!”

Then the men in black charged towards Xiaowu.

“KILL!”

Chapter 36: Hanshan Temple
Cheng Xiaoxiao remembered she and many of her close friends would visit the Qinglong temple whenever the cherry blossoms were in season. They would keep taking photos of the cherry blossoms as they walked and could do it from morning till night.

But this was a thing of the distant past for her now.

Since Hei Wuchang and Bai Wuchang kept delaying things, if she kept waiting in the form of a cat in this world, it was no different from being a real cat.

“Little fellow, you sure are tough to please. His Highness specially came to Hanshan Temple when he heard the cherry blossoms had bloomed here,” said Xiaowu as he suddenly pushed Cheng Xiaoxiao. But Cheng Xiaoxiao hastily turned to scratch Xiaowu and hissed viciously.

Then she darted into the cherry blossom forest.

Xiaowu glanced at the scratch on his hand before staring at the empty spot.

He suddenly sensed a headache coming on!

“Little fellow?”

Then he gathered his thoughts and quickly chased after her!

Although Cheng Xiaoxiao heard his voice, she ran even more swiftly. She had to shake this irritating guy off!

Chu Yunshen looked at the little fellow on the way home as she stood on her hind legs and looked out the window. She opened the blinds with one paw while she leaned with the other. Her head kept sticking out to see while she purred in satisfaction from time to time.

It seemed it was the right choice to bring her out to relax. See how lively she had become now?

After Chu Yunshen left Cheng Xiaoxiao at the residence, he went to the justice department to interrogate Di Yushu in jail.

Most of the cases at the justice department involved officials working in the capital or royalty.

So there were three kinds of jails in the justice department. Officials from third grade and below would get jailed in the cells right outside, which were no different from average jail cells.

Important court officials higher than the third rank would usually get jailed in each individual cell in the middle row.

These would come with individual beds and toilets.

Royalty would get jailed right at the end. Those cells didn’t resemble jail cells and appeared more like inns.

Di Yushu was merely a fifth grade court official who enjoyed his father’s protection, so he was naturally housed in the normal jail cells.

But because he was the son of the justice department’s supervisor, the jailor did Di Yangze a favor by placing Di Yushu in a private cell in the middle.

“I’m innocent!” said Di Yushu the moment he saw someone entering the jail. He instantly climbed over to the bars and pulled himself up with both hands, and leaned against them as he shouted loudly, “Let me out! I didn’t kill her!”

“What’s with this racket?” said the jailor. He hit Di Yushu with a stick while he leaned against the bars. Then Di Yushu let go of the bars and fell, slumping to the ground.

Di Yushu cringed when he saw the jailor with a stick in his hand. Then he saw Chu Yunshen behind the jailor, and his eyes lit up as he shouted, “Your Highness, I’m innocent! I beg for justice!”

“Your Highness.”

The jailor opened the cell. Then he bowed to Chu Yunshen behind him and gestured for him to enter.

Chu Yunshen strode into the cell with Xiaowu behind him while a jailor came in with a chair.

“Your Highness!” said Xiaowu after placing the chair behind Chu Yunshen.

Chu Yunshen nodded and sat down. Then he turned to look at Di Yushu, who was climbing over.

“Young Master Di, you better answer all of His Highness’ questions honestly! If you try to hide anything this time, not even the gods can save you!” shouted Xiaowu to Di Yushu as he stood next to Chu Yunshen.

Di Yushu knelt by Chu Yunshen’s feet and quickly nodded as he replied, “I will! I will say everything! What does Your Highness want to know?”

Chu Yunshen leaned sideways as he sat in the chair. Then he asked languidly, “Does Young Master Di often go to Hanshan Temple to play chess with Abbott Huike?”

“Huh?” said Di Yushu. He was surprised by Chu Yunshen’s strange question.

Weren’t they here to talk about the case?

Why would it have anything to do with Di Yunshu playing chess with Abbott Huike at Hanshan Temple?

PAH!

Xiaowu unsheathed his sword and pointed it to Di Yushu with a swish.

Di Yushu shrank his head and replied meekly, “After all the things that happened to me, I only wanted to offer incense and pray to Buddha to get rid of this bad luck!”

Di Yushu appeared as though he was happily reminiscing at the mention of this. Then his voice calmed down, and he continued, “Then I went to Hanshan Temple to offer incense two or three times. One day as I was leaving, Abbott Huike suddenly called and asked if I could play chess with him the next time. Chess? I stopped playing it ever since my father said I was just a jobless man idling my time away. But now that I have ended up like this, I can do nothing except lie around in bed, so I agreed to play chess with him. Then I went to play chess with him regularly.”

“When I visited Abbott Huike today, he spoke up for you. He could see your true nature through chess playing and vouched for you on his life that you were no murderer.”

“…”

Di Yushu hastily raised his head when he heard this.

No one had ever sworn on his innocence with their lives all his life.

His eyes became slightly wet as he started feeling somewhat emotional.

“Your Highness, please grant me justice!” said Di Yushu while he trembled as he knelt, “Although I’m not as diligent as Yuanbai, I’m no criminal. I only did all that to…”

Then Di Yushu paused before he continued hoarsely, “I only did it to make Dad angry! Since he has been calling me an idler from young, I might as well be one!”

Chu Yunshen lowered his head and looked at Di Yushu. It wasn’t a groundless rumor that Di Yunshu was a good-for-nothing.

When He Yuanbai told Prince Jing about the incident, he sounded like it was pure coincidence that he bumped into Di Yunshu that fateful day.

In hindsight, he was deliberate in many ways.

As though he purposely visited, waited for Di Yunshu, and spotted the soil and grass on his wheelchair on the 26th.

Could He Yuanbai be completely innocent with all these purposeful acts combined?

Chu Yunshen looked at Di Yushu as he knelt by his feet and said slowly, “He Yuanbai said you threatened to seek revenge on Deputy Minister Gu multiple times. What do you have to say about that?”

“Yuanbai? Why would he?” said Di Yushu in surprise with his head raised.

Why would He Yuanbai tell Prince Jing about all the things he said in a fit of anger?

“Did you ever say them?” asked Chu Yunshen with his eyes narrowed as he looked at Di Yushu, who was by his feet.

“Mhm,” admitted Di Yushu gently with his head lowered, “But it was all said in a fit of anger!”

“Oh?” said Chu Yunshen as he glanced at Di Yushu calmly. Then Chu Yunshen stood up and walked to the cell door and said to him with his back facing him, “He was the one who reported the fact that you weren’t at home on the 26th.”

“Your so-called friend, Yuanbai, was also the one who said you murdered Deputy Minister Gu’s daughter,” said Chu Yunshen as he walked out of the cell.

“No! Yuanbai would never say that! I only said all those things in a fit of anger! He knows that!” came Di Yushu’s voice from behind Chu Yunshen. It was inconceivable to Di Yunshu.

Chu Yunshen wanted to find out if Di Yushu knew about the eight trigram formation in Luohun Forest. But judging from the way Di Yushu seemed, Chu Yunshen felt there was no point asking.

With Di Yushu’s intelligence, it was impossible for him to become the mastermind’s lackey.

He would definitely find someone smarter to serve him. If he got someone like Di Yunshu to work for him, Di Yunshu would probably bring the mastermind down before accomplishing anything.

So Chu Yunshen was certain that Di Yushu was framed.

Although he lied, someone might have plotted for him to enter Luohun Forest. The mastermind probably didn’t want him to be a mere scapegoat.

Also, even though he didn’t like the justice department supervisor, Di Yangze, he was loyal to the court.

And Di Yangze’s loyalty must have gotten in the way of someone’s evil intentions!

Chu Yunshen brought Xiaowu to the dungeon after they got home.

“Think carefully. Other than the jade pendant and wheelchair, what other special characteristics do you remember about your client?”

Chu Yunshen sat in the chair as Xiaowu interrogated the assassin with a whip in his hand while he was tied up to a metal pole.

The assassin’s eyes glazed over as he stared at Xiaowu in a daze. After all these days of inhumane torture, he only wanted to die. It was simply too painful!

“JUST KILL ME!” said the assassin hoarsely, “PLEASE KILL ME! PLEASE KILL ME!”

“I can grant you your wish, but you have to tell me what we want to know. Then I will grant you a quick death!” said Xiaowu as he dipped the hooked whip into chili water. Then he whipped it onto the assassin’s festering body with a crack.

“OW!”

In an instant, a huge patch of the assassin’s recently healed scabs got torn off by the hooked whip once again.

“KILL ME!”

The assassin begged for mercy when he saw the whip coming for him again.

Xiaowu yelled as he whipped him, “Think carefully! Did your client have any other special characteristics?”

“OW!” screamed the assassin as he gasped. His face contorted in agony. After some time, he weakly replied, “Special characteristics? Does his demeanor count? Although he sat on the wheelchair with his back facing me, he spoke in a refined manner and seemed well-mannered.”

“Think harder!”

Xiaowu flicked his whip and whipped the assassin until his flesh tore, but that was all he said.

Was his client refined? There was no way Di Yushu came off to appear cultivated.

“Your Highness!” said Xiaowu as he walked up to Chu Yunshen, “He fainted. I’m afraid if we go on torturing, he might not be able to hold up.”

“Mhm,” said Chu Yunshen with his eyes slightly narrowed. He pondered deeply about the assassin’s words before waving for Xiaowu. Then Xiaowu leaned his ear closer to him.

Chu Yunshen said softly to Xiaowu, “Spread the news. Just say that…”

“Yes, Your Highness!” replied Xiaowu when he suddenly understood his plan. Then he nodded and continued, “I’ll go get it done now!”

Prince Jing was a genius!

It was as good as getting the culprit to confess on his own!

The night sky was as dark as ink and so incredibly intense.

At the Shanshen Temple in the suburbs, several silhouettes were running around searching for something.

The soft silver moonlight scattered upon the ground while crickets cried mournfully, and cobwebs filled the roof.

An incomplete shadow cast by the solitary moon seemed both cold and tragic.

“Nothing!”

“I couldn’t find it!”

“Is this source reliable? Is it really here?”

As the men in black talked, a few rays of light immediately lit up the temple, and everything inside became visible.

“What?”

The people hastily turned to look at the light outside the temple. A slender silhouette came walking towards them under the hazy light.

Then they held their breaths and prepared for battle.

“I suggest you surrender. We already have this place surrounded,” said Xiaowu as his lips curved into an evil smile. Then he told the soldier behind him, “Round them all up!”

Prince Jing was brilliant.

The murderer certainly had a guilty conscience.

“Do you think you can catch us?” yelled one of the men in black, “Brothers, snatch it from him! We will fight our way out!”

Then the men in black charged towards Xiaowu.

“KILL!”