Chapter 24: Chapter 24: The Elder Buries the Younger
The thousand-li horse was indeed very stubborn, but compared to the Cangbai Eagle that could fly, it was still far inferior. Since the latter could be tamed so easily, how could Suxiang possibly be tamed to death?
Before, she believed what Feng Jin said was true, but at this moment, she had some doubts.
“What does Miss mean?”
Zhang Xuan seemed to be completely unaware of the girl’s words, he couldn’t help but stand frozen in place, his lips trembling, his eyes filled with disbelief: “You’re saying… Suxiang, it, it’s dead?”
At this moment, Zhang Xuan’s eyes held a trace of shock, a trace of confusion, a trace of disbelief, and a trace of sorrow… A mixture of emotions that made it apparent he had just heard the news.
“You’re very surprised?” Mo Yanxue frowned.
“Suxiang was very healthy this morning, it even playfully snorted at me, happily sending you off to school with a cheerful face, how could it die…”
His fist clenched, Zhang Xuan’s teeth gritted: “Miss, what exactly is going on?”
Seeing his earnest and sincere words, unlike pretense, and combined with how he effortlessly tamed the Cangbai Eagle just now, Mo Yanxue was also somewhat uncertain and looked back at him:
“Earlier when you came to the City Lord Residence, Feng Jin told me that in order to tame Suxiang, you not only punished it physically but also cut open its abdomen with a blade, leading this thousand-li horse to be unable to endure the physical and spiritual pain and abruptly die after our departure…”
“Miss means to say, I killed Suxiang?”
Zhang Xuan shuddered, hastily shaking his head: “Not to mention that Suxiang had already submitted willingly to me and was my beast pet! Just speaking of how long I’ve raised it and the affection we’ve developed, how could I possibly commit such an inhumane act? Furthermore… if it had really been slashed in the abdomen, Miss Yu wouldn’t have been able to not notice anything during the ride, right?”
“Right, when I rode it, Suxiang ran with so much strength, swift as the wind!” Yu Xiaoyu nodded.
As the rider in question, she had the right to speak.
In the morning, Suxiang was strong and ran with great vigor; it certainly couldn’t have done so if it were hurt.
Mo Yanxue fell silent.
Indeed.
If it had been injured on arrival, and such a large wound at that, even if it feared Zhang Xuan and dreaded the beatings, it couldn’t have hidden the pain.
“I know taming Suxiang and having Housekeeper Feng serve you as a coachman stepped on his face, but surely to frame me, he wouldn’t have killed Suxiang on purpose, would he?”
Zhang Xuan’s teeth gritted, his face a mix of grievance and anger: “I am willing to confront him, and if what he says is false, I hope Miss will stand up for me and clear my wrongful accusation. If this horse truly died because of me, I will devote my life to serve you as an ox or horse, without any complaints.”
“Alright!”
After a moment of thought, Mo Yanxue nodded, then turned to the figure in front of her: “City Lord, my people should have brought over Suxiang’s body by now, could we allow them to come here to confirm the truth of the matter?”
“Of course! Guards, bring over Miss Mo’s people!”
Yu Longqing made a simple motion with his hand.
The young man before him had an extraordinary ability in beast taming, and even as the city lord, he intended to befriend him, so naturally, he was willing to vouch for his reputation over such a small matter.
Accompanied by the guards coming in, before long, Feng Jin, Wu Xiang, and others, pulling Suxiang’s body, appeared within the main hall.
Seeing the thousand-li horse lying motionless on the cart, Zhang Xuan was enraged and his body involuntarily shook, his eyes becoming red-rimmed.
“Suxiang…”
Walking around the horse, he ultimately stopped in front of Suxiang’s belly, Zhang Xuan’s trembling fingers gently lifted the injury, as if searching for something, but after less than a breath, he stopped.
He then touched the head of the horse, his body trembling lightly.
“Suxiang, Suxiang, what happened to you, you can’t die! We’ve struggled and lived together for so many days, I’ve always treated and raised you as my own flesh and blood, I never expected to be sending off the white hair in grief today…”
With a cry, like a cuckoo, Zhang Xuan’s tears streamed down.
“…”
Feng Jin and Wu Xiang were stunned.
They were that close? Why hadn’t they noticed before?
This won’t do, if they let him keep going like this, they’ll really be left with no explanation…
Unable to hold back, Feng Jin hurriedly spoke up, “Stop pretending, it was you who killed it…”
“Pretending?”
Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and looked over, “These past days, who was the one worried it was hot and fetched water to bathe it, who combed its fur to ensure its comfort, who was afraid it would go hungry and added fodder in the middle of the night… It was me! Housekeeper Feng! Even if I’ve offended you, you wouldn’t deliberately kill it just to frame me, would you…”
“Frame? Zhang Xuan, don’t try to turn things around, it’s clearly you who killed it!”
Startled, a flicker of panic was evident in Feng Jin’s eyes.
“I can testify, it’s because of Zhang Xuan’s punishment and abuse that the Suxiang suffered fatal injuries and died…” Wu Xiang chimed in to support.
“Punishment and abuse? You’re talking nonsense…” Zhang Xuan straightened his neck.
“If it wasn’t for your abuse, where did the wounds on Suxiang’s belly come from? How could it have possibly died?”
Feng Jin scoffed, “Zhang Xuan, I advise you to tell the truth. Miss Yu might still spare your life. Otherwise, today will be your day of death!”
“You…”
As if out-argued, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath and turned to look at Mo Yanxue, “Miss, you can’t just listen to his side of the story. Suxiang died after we left. Therefore, whether it died because of me or if Housekeeper Feng deliberately framed me, if there is a witness, they can clear my name.”
“Exactly!” Mo Yanxue nodded.
She hadn’t seen it, but there were thousands at the School gate coming to bid farewell, surely someone saw the whole thing unfold.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xuan said, “I remember Miss Yu’s coachman was also at the scene; he might know what happened after we left…”
“This…”
Feng Jin’s mouth twitched, a foreboding feeling creeping into his eyes, not expecting this guy to come up with a solution so quickly.
“Right, he was indeed there, I’ll have her come over now…” Yu Xiaoyu nodded.
“Miss Yu, is it necessary? He wasn’t there when the Suxiang died…” Feng Jin quickly bowed, trying to dissuade her.
“What’s the matter, are you feeling guilty?” Zhang Xuan scoffed.
“What do I have to feel guilty about?” Feng Jin flicked his sleeve.
“Good!”
Zhang Xuan bowed to Yu Xiaoyu, “Thank you for your trouble, Miss Yu!”
“No trouble at all!”
Yu Xiaoyu nodded, turned, and after a brief order, not much time passed before the coachman who had driven her carriage earlier walked in. He had been indifferent, but when he saw the Suxiang on the cart and Feng Jin, he immediately tensed up.
Zhang Xuan addressed the coachman, “Brother Coachman, you also saw this Suxiang this morning. It was fine all along. Now suddenly I’m told it’s dead, and Housekeeper Feng says it’s because of me. You’ve been with them outside the School the whole time; do you know what actually happened?”
“This…”
After a glance at Feng Jin, the coachman paused, then clenched his teeth, “It’s because of your abuse that the Suxiang couldn’t hold on and died… I saw it clearly, there is no mistake!”
“Is that so?”
Everyone’s eyes fell on Zhang Xuan.