AUBTN -Chapter 124 Let’s Go on a Spring Outing

Su Hewan stood quietly to the side. She tilted slightly, using the cover of her wide sleeve to whisper softly to Shen Jue and Lu Yan beside her.

“His stress reaction is too strong.”

Shen Jue raised an eyebrow slightly. His gaze never left Tuoba Feng as he replied in an extremely low voice, “Stress reaction?”

“When people lie, they subconsciously try to hypnotize themselves by raising their voices and repeating key words. They also use exaggerated body movements to hide their intense guilt.”

She continued calmly: “If he had really killed someone in a drunken impulse, his current reaction should be regret, fear, or the numbness that comes after killing in a frenzy. But the state he’s in right now—there’s only anxiety.”

She paused, her eyes growing sharper.

“He’s not confessing. It’s more like he’s desperately trying to protect a secret. A secret more important than his own life.”

A cold glint flashed across Lu Yan’s eyes when he heard this.

He stepped forward.

“Second Prince.”

Lu Yan’s voice carried not a trace of warmth.

“You say you killed the man, that you stabbed him. Fine—I’ll believe half of that madness of yours.”

He slowly lowered his gaze, looking at the bloodstained curved blade lying at his feet. It was the saber that Tuoba Feng had carried when he entered the embassy inn, and it had been confiscated earlier by the Jinyiwei according to protocol.

“But this blade was confiscated by the Jinyiwei on the very day of the incident and sealed in the evidence room. Twelve hours a day there are officers rotating guard there. Not even a fly could get in.”

Lu Yan suddenly raised his eyes. His gaze was as sharp as a blade as it locked onto Tuoba Feng’s.

“Your saber was confiscated by the Jinyiwei. So how did you get it back?”

Tuoba Feng’s body stiffened abruptly.

The madness that had been driving his earlier shouting seemed to vanish as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head.

He froze.

His eyes darted around wildly. Cold sweat ran down his temples and dripped into the still-wet pool of blood on the ground.

“I… I stole it!”

After choking on his words for a long time, he finally forced out the sentence, craning his neck stubbornly. But his voice clearly lacked confidence and trembled slightly.

“Heh.”

Lu Yan let out a deeply mocking cold laugh.

“Stole it?”

A cruel curve appeared on his lips as he slowly approached Tuoba Feng.

“The Jinyiwei evidence room has three layers of mechanisms and four layers of guards. The key is kept by me personally. You? And you could steal something from there?”

With every word Lu Yan spoke, the pressure from him intensified, forcing Tuoba Feng to retreat again and again until his back slammed hard against the wall, leaving him nowhere to go.

“Speak! Who gave it to you?”

The shout made Tuoba Feng’s face turn deathly pale.

But he could no longer say a word.

His entire body slid down along the wall until he collapsed on the floor, clutching his head with both hands and letting out painful sobs.

“I killed him… I’m the one who killed him… Stop asking… please stop asking…”

No matter how harshly Lu Yan interrogated him, and no matter how Shen Jue mocked him sarcastically from the side, Tuoba Feng was like an ostrich burying its head in the sand—repeating the same line over and over again.

The impatience in Shen Jue’s eyes grew heavier. His slender fingers gently rubbed the jade thumb ring on his thumb, killing intent surging in his gaze.

If not for the fact that this man was a prince, the 108 tortures of the Eastern Depot would have already been applied one after another.

The situation suddenly fell into a stalemate.

The rain outside had stopped at some unknown moment. A damp, chilly wind carrying the scent of withered leaves blew in through the window, making everyone feel increasingly irritated.

“Ah—I can’t take this anymore!”

A wailing cry suddenly broke the suffocating silence.

Yu Qing abruptly jumped up from her chair and stretched lazily without a shred of decorum.

She pulled a long face and exaggeratedly fanned the air in front of her with both hands.

“This isn’t investigating a case at all—it’s basically a staring contest to see who blinks first! My brain cells are dying out here!”

As she spoke, she scooted over to Su Hewan, hooked her arm around hers, and rubbed her head against her shoulder like a kitten begging to be petted.

“Wanwan, look—the sky’s already bright, and the rain outside has stopped. We’ve been cooped up all night. If we keep interrogating like this, the Second Prince won’t go crazy first—we will.”

She blinked those big eyes, her gaze rolling mischievously.

“How about… we go out for a spring outing? Clear our heads! Look at this beautiful spring weather—staying indoors would be such a waste! Maybe if we go breathe some fresh air, we’ll come back with a way to pry open that stubborn clam of a mouth.”

Seeing her shameless act, Su Hewan couldn’t help but laugh. She reached out and tapped her forehead.

“You—this isn’t about investigating the case at all. You just want to go out and play.”

【Help! I want to go out and play!】

Lu Yan’s ear twitched slightly.

He glanced at the girl clinging to Su Hewan and acting spoiled. A trace of helpless amusement flashed through his eyes, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by his usual cold expression.

Just then, a sharp announcement came from outside the door:

“His Majesty’s verbal decree has arrived—”

Everyone’s expressions immediately tightened.

A young eunuch in a blue robe hurried in, holding a bright yellow scroll in his hands, his face solemn.

“Chief Supervisor Shen, Lord Lu.” The eunuch bowed slightly and lowered his voice.

“His Majesty asked this servant to deliver a message. The news of the Eldest Prince’s death has already reached Xifan. This matter concerns the relations between the two countries, and the border situation is unstable. It must be handled with the utmost caution—no grounds for criticism must be given, and under no circumstances may a confession be forced through torture.”

After finishing, the eunuch cast a somewhat fearful glance at Tuoba Feng, who was slumped in the corner.

Shen Jue let out a cold laugh, took the decree, and casually tossed it onto the table.

“Looks like someone hasn’t been idle either,” he said meaningfully, glancing at Lu Yan.

“The news reached Xifan so quickly. Someone’s forcing His Majesty’s hand so he can’t touch Tuoba Feng.”

Lu Yan’s face was as still as water.

“If torture can’t be used, then this case will remain deadlocked.”

It seemed to have become an unsolvable knot.

“In that case…”

Yu Qing’s eyes rolled, and she suddenly raised her voice.

“Then we’ll follow His Majesty’s orders! No more interrogation! Come on, come on—let’s go on a spring outing!”

Su Hewan shook her head helplessly, just about to say something, when Shen Jue suddenly turned around. A strange gleam flashed in his eyes.

He slowly adjusted his sleeves, the corners of his lips curling into a faintly ambiguous smile.

“Miss Yu is right.”

His agreement stunned everyone present.

Even Yu Qing widened her eyes.

【What the hell? The grand eunuch changed his personality? He wants to go out and play too?】

Shen Jue ignored Yu Qing’s suspicious gaze.

He turned to Lu Yan and Su Hewan.

“Since His Majesty asked us to proceed with caution, we must properly entertain these distinguished guests. Keeping them locked in the post house would make Great Wei appear petty.”

“How about we follow Miss Yu’s suggestion and invite the Third Prince, Tuoba Yun, to join us for a spring outing at Fenglin Garden on the outskirts of the capital?”

When Lu Yan heard this, his eyes instantly sharpened, as if he suddenly understood something.

A faint, cold smile also appeared at the corner of his lips.