kingnovel Chapter 1137 Parrot Leg Ring
Chapter 1137 Parrot Leg Ring
A withered leaf slowly fell and landed on Huaijin's shoulder.
Huaijin said, "It's the kid."
Shen Zheng finally dared to exhale the breath she had been holding in for so long.
“Because Father knows that if the boy is not kept here, Mother will follow him.” Huai Jin let the withered leaves slide off his shoulder. “But the boy’s appearance… you have seen it too, it is still ominous.”
For more than a decade, Huaijin accepted the labels that the world had given him.
He is an omen of misfortune, a source of calamity, and a disgrace to the family.
Therefore, whether he went from Dezhou to Jingzhou or finally to Liuyang, he always fulfilled his father's wish and never went out to "show his face." Just like the weeds in this courtyard, he grew silently, unnoticed.
Despite his obedience, his father still treated his mother poorly, so she began to believe in Buddhism and prayed to Buddha to bless "Huaijin".
Gradually, he began to have doubts, and even felt that everything he knew was absurd.
He even agreed with his father's previous actions.
He wondered, why was he the one who survived?
He was confused, he was conflicted, and he thought about ending this absurdity.
But my mother is still alive.
But he also felt that... his mother didn't seem to love him that much, and that there was even hatred in her eyes when she faced him.
Does his mother hate him?
Why do I hate him?
To this day, Huaijin still hasn't figured it out.
Shen Zheng remained silent for a long time before finally looking up into Huai Jin's eyes.
The moment their eyes met, Huai Jin panicked and turned her head away from Shen Zheng's gaze.
Shen Zheng continued to look at him and said, "I cannot praise your handsome appearance, but I do not think you are ugly either. Huaijin, flowers and plants have patterns, trees have rings, this world is too big, and everything unreasonable will eventually become reasonable. The world is vast, you have all your limbs intact, and you are clear-headed and speak eloquently. You should not be confined to this physical body. Of course, I understand that these words from my mouth have a bit of an 'easy talk when you're not in the situation' feel to them, but in any case, a birthmark is a birthmark, a birthmark is just a birthmark. A birthmark is not 'unlucky,' and it will not disgrace the family's honor."
Huaijin can no longer remember how much comfort she has received from childhood to adulthood.
His mother told him not to care about what others thought.
His father told him to learn from women how to apply powder and makeup to cover up the birthmark as much as possible.
Even Huai Zhizhen's aunt hypocritically said that the birthmark was actually not ugly, and that it was actually quite pretty after looking at it for a while.
But no one ever told him, "A birthmark is a birthmark, a birthmark is just a birthmark."
It turns out that a birthmark is just a birthmark.
He raised his head as if possessed, and slowly looked at Shen Zheng.
Shen Zheng stared straight at him and asked, "What about the 'valuable story' you mentioned before? Is this all?"
The news that "Huai Gongwang murdered his son many years ago" is not enough to quickly convict Huai Gongwang.
After all, too much time had passed, and investigating would be time-consuming and laborious, but they didn't have much time left, only three days.
Huai Jin was taken aback by Shen Zheng's bluntness and said after a moment of surprise, "Every parrot in the parrot pavilion wears a leg band, so perhaps that is the answer you are looking for."
Anklet?
Shen Zheng pondered for a moment.
Those parrots did indeed each have a brass ring on their feet, but what was special about them...
"I have examined several of them, and there are no engravings or markings on the rings."
"No?" A hint of surprise flashed in Huai Jin's eyes. He shook his head and said, "No... I hope you will take people to check carefully. There must be some information recorded on the copper ring."
Hearing his confident tone, Shen Zheng frowned slightly. "Why are you so sure? What did you see on that bronze ring?"
After a pause, Shen Zheng looked around the courtyard and asked, "You don't even have a servant in this courtyard. When the guards came to Huai Mansion, you should have been in the courtyard too, right? If that's the case, how did you know that I came for Tingying Pavilion? What else do you know?"
Shen Zheng's tone unconsciously turned stern, and Huai Jin immediately shook his head, "I only know roughly that the parrots in Tingyingxuan are not cheap, but I haven't seen anything on the copper rings. But Huai Zhizhen boasted to me that he has the key to Tingyingxuan, and when Father is not in the mansion, he is the one who helps manage Tingyingxuan. He also said that the leg rings of the parrots in Tingyingxuan were all made by him personally for Father, and each leg ring represents a parrot, so they are special."
As he spoke, Huai Jin looked out of the courtyard, a hint of disdain in his voice: "You may not know this half-brother of mine. The thing that makes him unable to resist showing off to me must not be a small matter. So... there must be some kind of information on those anklets, and only Father and Huai Zhizhen know it."
Shen Zheng understood.
Something unique often contains some kind of information.
Almost instantly, Shen Zheng realized that Huai Jin's guess was correct and might actually be of help to them.
"What do you want?" Shen Zheng knew that Huai Jin wouldn't ask her to say these things for no reason.
Huaijin once again experienced Shen Zheng's bluntness.
He said, "If those anklets can indeed be used as evidence against my father, I hope that Lord Shen will be lenient with my mother."
“I thought you would seek a better future for yourself.” Shen Zheng looked at him and pondered, “If the government judges a case according to the law, and if Liu Manying is unaware of Huai Gongwang’s crimes, then she will not suffer physical pain. Even if Huai Gongwang is sentenced to a heavy sentence, she can still divorce and return to her family.”
Huai Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for informing me, sir."
His mother never concerned herself with household affairs, so he assumed she was unaware of the situation.
"You can wait for news at home." Shen Zheng nodded, stood up, and walked out of the courtyard.
As she approached the courtyard gate, she stopped and turned back, saying, "Whether you know it or not, you and your mother will be appearing in court as witnesses in three days. Be prepared."
Entering the hall?
Huai Jin's heart skipped a beat, and he stood there stunned for a long time, not even noticing when Shen Zheng had closed the door.
As soon as Shen Zheng stepped out of the courtyard, Xu Yunyan led his soldiers to greet her.
Shen Zheng said directly, "Check the leg bands on those parrots carefully."
Xu Yunyan glanced at the courtyard gate and nodded in agreement.
Shen Zheng pondered for a moment, then asked the guards behind Xu Yunyan, "Where was Huai Zhizhen when you arrived today?"
The guard immediately replied, "Reporting to your Excellency, Huai Zhizhen had just returned from outside the mansion at that time. According to him, he went to pick up the calligraphy and paintings that were to be framed, but he did not have any calligraphy or paintings in his hands at that time."
There were no paintings or calligraphy...
Shen Zheng gestured to the guards to lead the way, "To Huai Zhizhen's courtyard."
Huai Zhizhen's courtyard was adjacent to the main courtyard. From the outside, it looked much better than Huai Jin's small, dilapidated courtyard. Courtyards of this standard would not usually belong to illegitimate sons.
As soon as Shen Zheng arrived at the courtyard gate, she heard shouts and commotion inside.
"Isn't this just a new broom sweeping clean? Father is upright and honest, he's not afraid of being investigated at all!"
"They don't even consider that if Father could directly appoint people to official positions, why wouldn't Huaijin even be a student? Why would I have to work so hard to become a scholar?"
"Calm down? How can I calm down! Listen to the birds in the parrot; they're still hungry. How heartbroken Father will be when he comes back and sees them!"