“This humble official was ordered to investigate the Sangbo case. After extensive investigation, I discovered that this case is related to Prince Yu,” Xu Qi An remarked with a sigh.
Prince Yu glanced at him, shaking his head calmly, “This prince has long since semi-retired. It shouldn’t be a slanderous attack. Tell me, what’s this about?”
Though he said this, his eyes betrayed disbelief and contempt. He didn’t believe what Xu Qi An was saying.
“Over a year ago, there was a monk named Hengui at Qinglong Temple who had an affair with a female worshipper. The two made a secret pact and fled with a magical artifact from Qinglong Temple that could conceal their auras.”
“Because the identity of that woman was extraordinary, without the artifact to conceal their auras, they couldn’t have escaped the confines of the capital.”
Prince Yu, who had been lowering his head to drink tea, suddenly looked up, staring intently at Xu Qi An.
Xu Qi An continued, “That monk was called Hengui. Prince Yu may not know his name, but you should recognize the woman. She was your eldest daughter, Princess Pingyang.”
Bang!
Prince Yu forcefully crushed the blue and white porcelain teacup, his expression a mix of agitation and ferocity. He roared, “Nonsense! Utter nonsense! Pingyang has been well-educated since childhood. How could she possibly elope with a wild monk… Guards! Guards! Drag this scoundrel out and behead him!”
Guards from outside the hall rushed in, surrounding Xu Qi An. He remained calm, looking at the enraged father, feeling only a sense of sympathy. Such news would devastate any father.
For Prince Yu, this was just the appetizer.
After the guards rushed in, Prince Yu, who had been raging a moment ago, suddenly deflated. He waved his hand, dismissing the guards.
“Yes, I’m not surprised. Before Pingyang disappeared, I had arranged a marriage for her, but she vehemently opposed it. She even said she had someone she liked,” Prince Yu said with a bitter smile.
“How absurd. Marriage is decided by parents and matchmakers. How could a mere woman make such decisions herself? How would she know if others weren’t deceiving her or harboring ulterior motives?”
Although I don’t agree with the notion of marriages arranged by parents and matchmakers, in this era, free love is indeed extremely dangerous. After all, we can’t treat casual relationships as a given like in my time.
Xu Qi An nodded.
“When I heard this, I flew into a rage and slapped her. Not long after, she disappeared. She must have been lured away by that scoundrel… That’s what I thought.”
“At first, I was furious, hating her for her shamelessness, for disgracing the royal family. But as time passed, I missed her more and more. I just want her to come back, to return to my side, to call me ‘Father Prince’ again. Nothing else matters anymore.”
…Perhaps, you’ll never see her again.
From the conversation between Hengui and the Earl of Pingyuan’s eldest son that night, it wasn’t hard to hear that Hengui was a person who had died once. If even Hengui was in such a state, what about Princess Pingyang who had eloped with him?
That woman faced three possible outcomes: One, she died. Two, she was forcibly taken by someone.
The third was a combination of the first two.
“I didn’t come here to reopen Your Highness’s wounds, nor to tell you who the man who eloped with Princess Pingyang was,” Xu Qi An said.
Prince Yu was stunned for a moment, then became agitated. He rushed to Xu Qi An in three quick steps, one hand gripping his wrist, the other clutching his collar, “You have news of her? Where is she? Where?!”
Xu Qi An frowned slightly.
“…This prince lost his composure.” Prince Yu released his hands and stepped back. He straightened his back, suddenly bowing deeply, and said in a solemn voice:
“If Master Xu can help this prince find her, this prince will owe you an immense favor. I will surely repay you in the future.”
“I came here precisely for this matter… Has Your Highness heard about the massacre of the Earl of Pingyuan’s family?”
“Not yet.” Prince Yu was somewhat surprised.
“How is Your Highness’s relationship with the Earl of Pingyuan?” Xu Qi An asked.
“He is also a member of the nobility. We used to interact frequently. However, the Earl of Pingyuan is ambitious, and not content with his current power. He’s been cozying up to the civil officials, which has made him unpopular among other nobles,” Prince Yu said.
Xu Qi An nodded and continued, “I heard Your Highness almost enter the Cabinet?”
Prince Yu was silent for a moment, then said, “Indeed, His Majesty had such thoughts last year. The Cabinet is now Wang Zhenwen’s domain. Although other factions and Wei Yuan provide a balance, it’s barely maintained.”
“I have the support of the nobility and am a member of the royal family. His Majesty wanted to support my entry into the Cabinet to stir up the waters.”
Emperor Yuanjing is quite formidable. Although he often neglects state affairs and frequently squanders money, even after neglecting politics for over a decade, he still maintains a high degree of control over the court. His political acumen could be described as consummate… Xu Qi An casually asked:
“Your Highness is now resting at home. Who benefits the most from this?”
“Prime Minister Wang Zhenwen, and Minister of War Zhang Feng… Heh, that was supposed to be my position,” Prince Yu laughed helplessly.
Having said so much, he couldn’t hide his fatigue. Xu Qi An, having learned what he wanted to know, stood up to take his leave.
The horse’s hooves were light and quick. This young mare had been ridden by Second Uncle for a few years, and now it was being ridden by his nephew. Although the rider had changed, it showed no signs of melancholy, remaining as docile and cheerful as ever.
Xu Qi An’s mood wasn’t as light. Based on Prince Yu’s words, it could be deduced that Princess Pingyang’s elopement with Hengui might have been a scheme from the start.
If they couldn’t deal with you, could they not deal with your daughter?
What methods wouldn’t those who play politics resort to? This possibility was extremely high.
Hengui’s revenge also indirectly confirmed this point.
“Who could it be? Prime Minister Wang? Minister Zhang? Or perhaps both… But there’s a question here: what does the struggle between the civil official faction and the nobility faction have to do with the Sangbo case and the demon race?”
“Besides Emperor Yuanjing, who else knows that something is sealed beneath Sangbo?”
“This is bad. Hengui’s next target for revenge must be either the Prime Minister or the Minister of War.”
Xu Qi An’s heart sank. He spurred his horse, racing at top speed towards the palace. He was stopped at the palace gate.
“Is Lord Wei still in the palace?”
“He left half an hour ago,” replied the Imperial Guard on duty.
Xu Qi An immediately turned his horse around, galloping away from the Imperial City. After riding swiftly through the spacious streets of the inner city for a long time, he finally caught sight of Wei Yuan’s carriage.
Hearing the rapid approach of hooves from behind, Wei Yuan’s guards vigilantly looked back, gripping their sword hilts.
But upon seeing it was Xu Qi An, they relaxed their guard.
“Lord Wei, Lord Wei… This subordinate has something to report,” Xu Qi An shouted.
Jiang Luzhong heard Wei Yuan’s voice from inside the carriage: “Stop.”
He immediately pulled on the reins, bringing the carriage to a halt.
Xu Qi An rode up to the carriage window and said in a low voice, “Lord Wei, this subordinate has urgent matters to report.”
The curtain of the window was lifted, revealing a handsome older man with deep-set features and graying temples. He frowned and said, “When will you fix this habit of reporting in bits and pieces?”
After critiquing Xu Qi An, he asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Hengui’s next target is likely to be either the Minister of War or the Prime Minister. If anything happens to these two, you’ll be in trouble, Lord Wei,” Xu Qi An said gravely.
…
Zhang Mansion.
Minister of War Zhang Feng returned home by carriage and asked the butler who came to greet him, “Where’s Yi?”
The butler replied, “He hasn’t gotten up yet.”
The Minister of War’s face darkened as he said, “Tell him to be dressed and presentable in my study within a quarter of an hour.”
The old butler carefully observed the Minister’s expression before acknowledging the order and leaving.
Zhang Feng returned to his study, removed his robe, and handed it to an attendant. He sat in his large chair, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest.
Just as the quarter-hour was about to pass, Zhang Feng’s eldest son, Zhang Yi, entered right on time.
“Father, what did you call me for?” Zhang Yi’s face was slightly pale, with puffy eye bags and deep dark circles, betraying his identity as a master of poor time management.
“Pack your essentials and leave the capital immediately,” Zhang Feng said, after careful consideration.
“Huh?”
“Go now!” Zhang Feng’s gaze was stern.
“…Alright, alright.” Zhang Yi had always feared his father and did as he was told.
With the help of the servants in the mansion, Zhang Yi packed clothes, dried food, gold and silver, and other easily carried items. He left with more than a dozen bodyguards raised in the mansion, heading towards the outer city.
However, when the carriage reached the gate of the inner city, the soldiers guarding the gate inquired about their identity and then stopped them.
“By imperial decree, officials of the sixth rank and above, including their family members, are not allowed to leave the capital.”
…
At dusk, Chu Caiwei, who had spent a delightful day at the Princess’s mansion, rode her horse to the Xu residence and knocked on the door of the small courtyard.
“Caiwei.” Xu Qi An had already changed out of his official uniform into ordinary clothes, sewn stitch by stitch by his sister Lingyue.
Sister’s thread in hand, brother’s clothes on the body.
Chu Caiwei took out two porcelain bottles from her deerskin pouch at her waist: “Use them sparingly. Great Strength Pills are expensive, one pill costs two taels of silver.”
One pill is half a month’s salary for me… Chu Caiwei is a hidden rich girl, who has an airport at such a young age… It doesn’t matter whether she’s the Supervisor’s disciple or not, the main thing is to raise her… Xu Qi An envied this kind of “second-generation rich”. Although he had over nine hundred taels of gold, that money was for buying a house.
“Miss Caiwei, come in for a cup of tea,” Xu Qi An said with an enticing smile.
Chu Caiwei blushed and spat, “The sun is about to set. Inviting me into your courtyard at this hour, what are your intentions?”
Having said that, she gave him a sidelong glance, then led her horse away, swaying her small buttocks as she walked.
Hmph, flat front and back, small double A, laughable… Xu Qi An also gave her retreating figure a roll of his eyes before closing the courtyard door.
After the Sangbo case is over, I’ll make a simple version of chicken essence to reward this girl.
After having dinner in the main house and chatting with his ethereally beautiful sister for a long time, Xu Qi An returned to his small courtyard and practiced breathing exercises for half an hour in his room.
“Meow~~”
Suddenly, he heard a clear cat’s meow.
“The door isn’t locked,” Xu Qi An said.
The door was pushed open, and an orange cat walked in with elegant steps, its tail held high. Its bright yellow cat eyes stared at him as it spoke in human language:
“What did Luo Yuheng say?”
…Has Golden Lotus Daoist opened some kind of new world door? Or does he have a special fetish?
Xu Qi An scrutinized the orange cat and said, “I’ve got the Qi Gathering Pill.”