Half an hour later.
Sun Shaozong reined in his horse at a crossroads, his face cold and stern as though carved from stone. His powerful body stood tall and imposing like an iron tower, drawing countless sidelong glances from passersby. Meanwhile, Ruan Rong, who was "rather handsome" herself, received no attention at all.
Ruan Rong was not jealous in the slightest. Her large, watery eyes kept roaming over Sun Shaozong as well, making her seem even more curious than the onlookers.
Although Sun Shaozong had long grown accustomed to probing stares while handling cases, her gaze still made him uncomfortable all over. After a long while, he finally sighed and teased her casually, "My figure may indeed be quite impressive now, but you don't have to stare so intently, do you?"
"Pah! Who wants to look at you?!"
Two crimson flushes instantly rose on Ruan Rong's fair little face. Embarrassed into anger, she spat at him and forcefully turned her head away. Yet before long, unable to suppress her curiosity, she secretly turned back and asked in a low voice, "Brother Sun, if you can't catch the assassins, will you really have to be buried alongside that Ambassador Niu?"
She had originally thought the embassy guards were determined to investigate the matter in order to avenge Niu Yongxin. Only after hearing Feng Xin embellish the entire story of how Sun Shaozong had led the group out of the embassy did she realize that he had actually done it to carve out a path to survival for everyone.
For a time, she was both worried for Sun Shaozong and impressed by his calmness in a crisis and willingness to shoulder responsibility. Without realizing it, she felt a little closer to him, so her form of address changed from "Captain Sun" to "Brother Sun."
Sun Shaozong merely smiled faintly without answering.
No matter what anyone else thought, he certainly would not obediently wait to die.
"Why should you?!"
Though Ruan Rong had received no answer, she still indignantly spoke up for him. "Ambassador Niu was killed at my home, not in the embassy! Besides, Brother Sun, you've worked so hard tracking down the assassins. Even if you have no merit, you've at least put in the effort, haven't you?"
Sun Shaozong smiled noncommittally and followed her lead. "Let's hope the Emperor of Great Zhou thinks the same way you do."
That was what he said, but Sun Shaozong understood that "understandable under the circumstances" was often followed by "yet the crime remains unforgivable." If he could not earn enough credit, those lofty officials in court would likely not show legal leniency to a mere captain like him.
The ordinary guards, on the other hand, might still have a chance to survive.
Ruan Rong was about to say more when a rider came galloping madly from the northwest. From far away, he shouted excitedly, "Sir, sir! We found the fruit peels! We found the fruit peels!"
They found them?!
Sun Shaozong felt a huge weight crash down from his heart. Unable to restrain himself, he threw back his head and laughed three times before spurring his horse forward to meet the rider.
The pedestrians on the road all looked at him as if he were an idiot, clearly unable to understand what was so exciting about finding fruit peels.
Sun Shaozong and Ruan Rong hurried to the dumping ground in the northwest. Inside the wooden fence, the rubbish had been rummaged through and scattered everywhere, while a large pile of Bai Mei shells had been placed in the most conspicuous spot.
The quantity of shells alone showed that they had found the right place.
Sun Shaozong nimbly dismounted and asked the guards beside the dumping ground, "How is it? Can you determine who threw these fruit peels away?"
The lead guard nervously cupped his hands. "Reporting to you, sir, we have already asked the nearby households. But this dumping ground is too secluded, and no one saw which household discarded the peels."
After a pause, he added, "We also asked around. The households in the surrounding two streets and five or six alleys usually all come here to dispose of their rubbish."
Counting on her fingers, Ruan Rong cried out exaggeratedly, "Two streets and five or six alleys? Doesn't that mean there are over a hundred households? How long will it take to find them?!"
The guard gave a bitter smile as well. "Spending more time would be one thing. I'm afraid that searching house to house will alert the assassins. Once they split up and flee, it will be difficult to find them again! And we don't even know what the assassins look like. Even if we really searched them out, we might not recognize them..."
The more he spoke, the more discouraged he became. The guards around him also sank into low spirits. After finally finding a lead, only to have the investigation come to nothing in the end, was truly disheartening.
"Don't worry. They won't get away!"
Sun Shaozong grinned with utter confidence, then issued an order decisively. "Jia Renlu, you and the others go find Feng Xin and the rest first. Then investigate which nearby residences have three courtyards or more. A smaller place couldn't hide more than a dozen assassins!"
Seeing that Sun Shaozong remained so confident, and recalling his remarkable performance along the way, the guards immediately regained hope. They hurriedly accepted the order and split up to find Feng Xin and the others.
After the guards had left, Sun Shaozong shifted his gaze to Ruan Rong. He looked her up and down, then suddenly bowed and said, "I'm afraid I'll need to trouble Miss Rong to lend us a hand later."
"I'll get a chance to help too?!"
Ruan Rong's beautiful eyes lit up. Rubbing her fists together eagerly, she cried, "Quick, tell me! What do you want me to do?"
"Well..."
Sun Shaozong suddenly gave a lecherous chuckle and pointed at her dark blue servant's outfit. "First, take off your clothes."
Ruan Rong's expression changed drastically, but he immediately added with a serious face, "Then change into women's clothing."
Only then did Ruan Rong realize he had been teasing her. Her little face flushed red as she scolded him, half-shy and half-annoyed, "Pah! You rogue!"
Two quarters of an hour later.
"Sir!"
Feng Xin pointed at the row of grand residences diagonally across the street and said, "The wealthy households nearby are all concentrated on this street. There are five residences with at least three courtyards!"
After a pause, he scratched his head in distress. "If we search them all at once, we definitely don't have enough men. But if we search them one by one, we're afraid of alerting the assassins."
"Don't worry. I've already made preparations."
Sun Shaozong smiled mysteriously.
Feng Xin was about to ask what he meant when a horse came clattering around the street corner. Seated on its back was a tall, graceful young woman!
Her brows and eyes were picturesque, her skin whiter than snow. Her long hair fell simply behind her back. Though she wore only a sky-blue coarse cloth dress, she did not look poorly dressed at all. Instead, she possessed a natural, unadorned beauty, like a lotus rising clear from pure water.
As she rode swiftly forward, she gained an added air of valiant grace. The instant she appeared, she drew everyone's attention. When the horse reached them and she neatly leapt down, Feng Xin suddenly cried out, pointing at her. "You... y-you're Miss Rong?!"
"Is Miss Rong something you get to call me?"
Ruan Rong shot Feng Xin an imperious glare. Carrying a medium-sized wicker basket, she walked to Sun Shaozong. Raising a hand to toy with her hair, she asked somewhat shyly, "Brother Sun, does this outfit look all right?"
More than all right. At least eight out of ten men would stare themselves stupid!
Only when she came closer did Sun Shaozong discover that the lovely hair she had kept hidden beneath her cap was naturally wine-red, lending her an exotic charm.
Of course, even more eye-catching was the deep cleavage faintly visible beneath her fair collarbones. The borrowed dress seemed to be rather too loose.
Amitabha!
One must not look upon impropriety!
Sun Shaozong silently recited the Heart Cleansing Mantra several times before barely managing to pull his eyes away from that cleavage. Pretending nothing had happened, he smiled. "It looks fine, but now I'm worried you won't lure out the assassins and will instead lure out some lechers."
"Pah! I think you're the lecher!"
Ruan Rong stomped her foot angrily, but there was little real annoyance on her face. Instead, a trace of shy delight showed through.
Sun Shaozong chuckled as well, but immediately put on a solemn expression and said seriously, "Leave two brothers behind to guard the horses. Everyone else follows my orders. If anything goes wrong, remember to protect Miss Rong first!"
At those words, the joy on Ruan Rong's face deepened even further.
Before you continue