The Devil of Scarlet Rain

Chapter 14 - Interrogation (Part 2)

"I have had my people investigate you."

This sentence hung in mid-air as Yin He studied the lady in front of him. Long dark hair scattered messily around her petite frame. If he had not witnessed the incident earlier, he would not have believed that a lady like her would be such a deadly killer.

Meng Yu's expression remained unchanged as she stared back at him without even batting an eyelid. Seeing her stoic expression, Yin He laughed at himself. Looks like it is not going to be easy for him to dig up any useful information from this little lass. A challenge, but he liked it, nonetheless.

He poured a cup of tea for himself, before continuing nonchalantly, "However, the only information I get is that you arrive at Silver Sky Mansion a few months ago. Nothing on the time before Zheng Qing Yao took you under his wing."

Meng Yu gaze was icy as she spoke, "I am honoured that Lord Yin is so interested in my background, but I am just an ordinary peasant. There is no need for someone as prestigious as you to take note of me."

Yin He's lips curled, revealing a mischievous grin as he drawled, "Can't be helped. You piqued my interest greatly, and I am someone who cannot let things go until I get to the bottom of it."

"Oh? I thought your main interest is the Zheng family, and you just want to know whether you can use me against them."

Hearing her words, Yin He tilted his head as he scrutinized Meng Yu with great interest.

"Heh, you are very smart. That was my main intention in the first place. However, what you did today greatly impressed me. After all, not everyone can leave a long trail of bodies in the capital city of Yin like this."

"Oh? Do you want to give it a try then?" Meng Yu voice was filled with chill as her gaze turned murderous.

Yin He let out a sarcastic laugh and took a sip of tea leisurely under Meng Yu's intense gaze. He replied casually without even looking at her, "I am not your enemy. No need to be so hostile."

"How can you be so sure?"

Her words were spoken with hidden provocation, as if hinting at something. Yin He paused briefly as he looked solemnly at Meng Yu. However, the serious facade was quickly replaced with his usual arrogant smirk, and he replied smugly, "We will know very soon."

Meng Yu looked disdainfully at the other person who was always full of himself.

"Do you know Jin Di?" Yin He started questioning again.

"I met him once in the Silver Sky Mansion."

"Jin Di is very loyal to Zheng family. Since you are with Zheng Qing Yao, why did he want to kill you? Not to mention, he even resorted to such under handed method as well." He commented as he tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table.

Meng Yu gave him a side look and answered monotonously, "I do not know. If you are suspicious of anything, you can just send me to the official court. No need to personally interrogate me."

Hearing her reply, Yin He slowly leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand. There was a look of dawning realization on his face.

"Looks like... there are a lot of things that you do not know about the Zheng family."

Meng Yu was quiet as she lowered her gaze in contemplation. Since she did not refute him, Yin He's smile deepened.

"Zheng Qing Yao might not be involved in politics, but coming from a long lineage of royal physician, he has a lot of connection with the inner court. Even if I report you to the official court for your suspicious identity, he can easily forge you a fake identification." He explained as he leaned back onto his chair.

"I am not interested in your fake identity anyway, so why waste my time. Instead, I am more interested in the internal strife of the family. Ah, he must have not told you yet..." He deliberately paused just to see Meng Yu's brow creased impatiently at him. He chuckled again.

"Jin Di is loyal to Zheng family, but his real master is not Zheng Qing Yao. It is his elder sister, Zheng Huo Yan, who is also the current Empress. So, to say, Zheng Qing Yao wants to protect you, but Zheng Huo Yan wants you dead. Don't you think the plot is getting... quite interesting at this point?"

Meng Yu scoffed in irritation, as Yin He spoke of her problem like it was an extremely interesting story plot. However, after hearing his explanation, a lot of things finally made sense to her. Qing Yao's background. The people he kept by his side. Why he was so confident that he could keep his promise to her.

Nonetheless, it was really out of expectation for Zheng Qing Yao to be so closely related to the imperial family. The last thing she wanted was to get involved with the imperial family or the government of the Yin Empire. Unfortunately, she had now attracted a lot of unwanted attention.

"So, it is like this. Your target is not Zheng Qing Yao, but his sister, Zheng Huo Yan."

It is not a question, but a statement. Hearing her words, Yin He looked slightly impressed.

"Looks like you have already deduced who I am."

The empire of Yin and Mo had been nemesis for so long, and both sides had been watching each other like a hawk. It is no surprise that Meng Yu will have some knowledge toward the Yin Empire's internal conflict. Under the reign of the current Emperor, the court was divided into two faction – The Xun and the Yin clan.

Both sides had vastly different stance and view in politics. The Xun Clan had been serving as officials in the court for many generations, but they had never rose to such height of power before. It was all thanks to the current Empress, as they are her maternal family. In another words, the Empress was using the Xun clan to control the power of the court as she cannot openly intervene with politics. Since the paternal family was not active in politics, thus Meng Yu was not aware of the Zheng's family existence.

On the other hand, the other faction was controlled by the Emperor's brother, Prince Yin He, the very same man who was sitting in front of her right now. In fact, she had already recognized him during their first encounter. When the Yin Empire was battling with their external enemies, the internal strife was not that serious yet, thus the Emperor had secretly allowed it in order to keep the power balance in check. However, now that their biggest nemesis, the Empire of Mo had fallen, the internal court battles would definitely get more intense in the future.

Meng Yu rub her temple with hand, as she did not know how she managed to get involved with such meaningless trouble. This felt very much like as if she had just jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Since there were a lot of things that she was not clear about, she could only move one step at a time.

"I do not know why Zheng Huo Yan wants to kill me, but I do not have any interest in the conflicts between you two," Meng Yu finally spoke. She was trying to clarify her stance in this matter, so that Yin He would not keep dragging her into their problem. She did not want to be their pawn nor scapegoat. Yin He was very smart, and he understood her meaning, but he only shook his head at her.

"This is not something up for you to decide. Sometimes you do not go look for trouble, but trouble will still come looking for you." He smiled ruefully at her, before continuing, "Don't you think so, Lady Meng Yu?"