With heavy guards at the city gates and strict inspections, the criminals couldn’t escape the city. They hid for two days before finding a weak spot in the city’s defenses on the third night. They slipped out to meet Wu Si, unaware it was a trap set by the Imperial Guard to lure them out and track them to Wu Si’s location, leading to his capture.
“Your plan to follow the trail worked perfectly,” Wei Zhuo praised.
“You’re too kind, Uncle Wei,” Lu Chang replied modestly.
The strategy was Lu Chang’s idea, implemented by Wei Zhuo with everyone’s cooperation.
The prisoners were still in the dungeon. Lu Chang focused on interrogating Wu Si, a tough man who took considerable effort to break.
Wu Si’s confession revealed that Gao Shicai, the current Deputy Magistrate of Jiangning, had been recruiting vagrants into his household for years. Under the guise of servants, he trained about a hundred men as his private army. They usually handled Gao’s shadier business and had connections with bandits and gangs in the Jiangnan area, essentially using official power to nurture evil. Gao then used these forces to serve wealthy merchants and nobles in Jiangnan, accepting bribes and consolidating his power in Jiangning by placing his confidants in key positions.
Wu Si was just a small leader in Gao’s private army, handling some of his dirty work, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. He wasn’t clear about the reasons behind the Jian family robbery case and was only following Gao’s secret orders to hunt down Ming Shu, Zhou Xiuqing, and Lu Chang.
“The master ordered that Zhou Xiuqing and Jian Ming Shu must be eliminated, with Lu Chang as a secondary target. But when we found Zhou Xiuqing’s whereabouts, she had already disappeared, so we turned to assassinate Lu Chang instead,” Wu Si explained.
Besides the two witnesses, Lu Chang was the main investigator of the Jian family case. His death would make the case difficult to solve and warn others against interfering in Jiangning’s affairs.
“So… was it you who took Zhou Xiuqing?” Lu Chang asked.
It wasn’t clear what torture had been used, but Wu Si’s face was pale, and he was sweating profusely. He weakly nodded in response to Lu Chang’s question.
If it wasn’t Gao Shicai’s men who took her, then who?
Lu Chang had a vague suspicion but no concrete evidence.
That person… why did they abduct Zhou Xiuqing?
————
The bright sunlight made those just emerging from the dungeon squint involuntarily.
“Lu Chang, now that all the assassins who came to the capital to kill you have been captured, Ming Shu is temporarily safe. You don’t need to worry so much,” Wei Zhuo advised, noticing Lu Chang’s still furrowed brow.
“Until the Jian family case is fully resolved, I won’t be able to rest easy,” Lu Chang said, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.
Mentioning the Jian family case and Ming Shu’s background made Wei Zhuo sigh. Ming Shu, such a cheerful young girl, had experienced the tragedy of her family’s annihilation at just eighteen. The thought alone was heartbreaking. Even Wei Zhuo, hardened by years on the battlefield, felt angry and sympathetic for her, let alone Lu Chang who had been living with her.
Wei Zhuo understood Lu Chang’s urgency to solve the case but still advised, “The case won’t be solved overnight. Your injuries haven’t fully healed, and you haven’t rested for days because of this. You need to take care of yourself too, don’t make your mother and Ming Shu worry.”
“Thank you, Uncle Wei. I understand,” Lu Chang expressed his gratitude before bringing up another matter. “Although the Jian family case remains unsolved, we have solid evidence of Gao Shicai ordering the assassination attempts. Moreover, his private army recruitment and possession of illegally forged weapons, along with the numerous crimes committed by Wu Si and others under his orders, are enough to bring him to the capital for trial.”
“Yes, I’ll enter the palace with the Third Prince tomorrow to request an imperial decree. You should come along too. No one knows the details of the Jian family case and all its intricacies better than you. So tonight, you’ll need to draft the memorial we’ll submit to His Majesty tomorrow,” Wei Zhuo instructed.
“No problem,” Lu Chang readily agreed, then added, “However, since Gao Shicai has amassed troops at home, he’s unlikely to submit easily. I’m worried that if things go south, he might become desperate… The Jiangning government office lacks manpower, and most are his trusted men, insufficient to handle a conflict.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll order Cao Hai, the Jiangning Garrison Commander, to personally arrest and escort him to the capital. Cao Hai is an old comrade who fought alongside me on the battlefield. With him in charge of the arrest, Gao Shicai won’t escape unless he’s truly planning to rebel,” Wei Zhuo said, his eyes darkening with a hint of fierceness.
Lu Chang nodded, not saying anything more.
Late at night, only a crescent moon hung in the sky. There was no wind, and the summer night was stifling. Lu Chang sat at his desk, drafting a memorial, sweating profusely.
His arrow wound hadn’t fully healed. Ming Shu had wanted to place an ice box in his room, but fearing the cold might harm his bones, he endured the suffocating heat.
Just as he finished the final stroke, there was a knock at the door.
He carefully shook the not-yet-dry memorial and stored it in a drawer before answering the door.
“Why aren’t you asleep yet?” he frowned, seeing who was outside.
It was almost the third watch of the night.
Ming Shu stood at the door, holding two bowls of cold drinks. Her hair was half-undone, and she wore a lotus-colored jacket over a white gauze top, paired with matching Song-style trousers – a cool, casual home outfit.
This style was common among women of the time, not inappropriate, but she wore it with a particular charm.
Lu Chang glanced at her briefly before averting his gaze, suppressing an unusual feeling in his chest.
“You’re not sleeping either?” Ming Shu countered as she entered.
They were temporarily staying at Wei’s mansion, with rooms facing each other. She knew exactly when his light went out.
For three consecutive nights, his candle had burned until nearly dawn, and he rose soon after daybreak, getting barely two hours of sleep. How could she not notice?
She had held back before, not wanting to disturb his work, but she couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Your wound isn’t healed, and you still need to change the dressing daily. You should rest well at night and take care of yourself!” Ming Shu found herself nagging, much to her surprise.
She used to dislike Lu Chang’s fussing, but now she was doing the same.
Lu Chang felt similarly about her concern.
Her nagging actually brought him joy.
“I understand. What about you? Is your head still hurting?” Lu Chang asked after wiping the sweat from his face and neck with a towel.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Ming Shu shrugged, as long as she didn’t try to remember.
“That’s good. Don’t force yourself. I’ve found new evidence, so we don’t need your testimony for now. Just let things happen naturally,” Lu Chang said, sitting at the table and drinking one bowl of the cold beverage in one go.
He hadn’t had a drop of water all night and only now realized how thirsty he was.
Ming Shu pushed her bowl towards him as well. “What new evidence?”
“We’ve captured all the assassins sent this time. It’s enough to prove he ordered the assassination, along with several other crimes. We can interrogate further once we bring him to the capital.”
Though some questions remained, progress was satisfactory. At least they had identified Gao Shicai.
Ming Shu’s eyes lit up. “All caught? Does that mean I can…”
Lu Chang finished the second bowl before responding, “What? Want to go out?”
“Brother… I have a lot of business to attend to at my shop! We’ve been stuck here for three or four days…” Ming Shu moved her chair closer, looking at him pleadingly.
Lu Chang put down the bowl and gazed at her silently. After a moment of mutual staring, Ming Shu felt her face flush under his gaze.
“If you want to go out, change how you address me,” Lu Chang finally said.
“Change to what?” Ming Shu asked.
“Whatever you like,” Lu Chang replied.
Ming Shu glared at him. “Then… Mr. Lu? Brother Zi’ao?”
Lu Chang: “Remove the ‘brother’ part.”
“Lu… Chang…” Ming Shu closed her eyes and took the plunge.
Strangely, though she had called his name easily before, after a few days, she found it difficult to say.
“You’re allowed to go out,” Lu Chang smiled, his fatigue disappearing. “But not alone. Although we’ve caught the assassins, Bao Jifang might have other agents. I’ve borrowed men from Uncle Wei. Take them with you and don’t let them leave your side.”
“I understand!” Ming Shu was overjoyed. As long as she could go out, she didn’t mind being followed. “Thank you, brother.”
“…” Lu Chang remained silent.
Getting her to call him “Lu Chang” once was incredibly difficult.
But this was a problem of his own making.
He had no one else to blame.
The next morning, Lu Chang woke up early and left the residence with Wei Zhuo before Ming Shu even got up.
Ming Shu had stayed up late the previous night, and when she finally rose, it was already late in the day. Lu Chang had arranged for two men to escort her, and they had been waiting outside the garden for quite a while.
The two men were young imperial guards, one named Qiu Ming and the other Pan Shun. They stood straight, wearing light armor and carrying swords at their waists, looking imposing.
Ming Shu hadn’t expected Lu Chang to act so quickly. They had only discussed the matter the previous night, yet he had already made all the arrangements for her by this morning.
“Miss Lu, the carriage is ready. Where would you like to go first?” Qiu Ming asked.
“I…” Ming Shu began to respond, but was interrupted by a voice from behind.
“Miss Lu, a constable is here to see you.” A servant from the Wei residence brought in Ying Xun.
Ying Xun had come to deliver documents to Lu Chang, but finding him absent, he had “coincidentally” come to see Ming Shu instead.
“Constable Ying?” Ming Shu was surprised to see him and quickly realized, “Is there any progress on the case?”
Ying Xun stared at her for a moment before waving the dossier in his hand. “It’s all here.”
Ming Shu reached out to take it, but he pulled it back.
“These are official documents. You can only review them with an officer present.”
He might as well have said he wanted to tag along.
Ming Shu raised an eyebrow. “Then how about I invite Constable Ying to my shop for a cup of tea?”
Ying Xun, still looking very serious, nodded. “Alright.”
“Let’s go then,” Ming Shu said cheerfully, striding forward, with Qiu Ming and Pan Shun following at a respectful distance.
After a few steps, she suddenly turned to Ying Xun and asked, “Constable Ying, does my brother know you accessed these documents?”
“I need to get approval from my superior to access the documents,” he replied, as he had told her before.
“And your superior is…” Ming Shu had a sinking feeling.
“Your brother.”
“…”
So Lu Chang knew everything?!