Coming to his senses, Zhang Xing immediately recognized his own vulgar tastes and instead felt boundless gratitude toward Duke Ma, who had practically saved Zhang Sanlang with his life and posthumous reputation alone.
It was obvious when he thought about it. Duke Ma had been one of the three great dukes of the Northern Office, an imposing figure whose slightest stamp of the foot could send everyone from the Jinwu Guard to the Twenty-Four Directorates trembling... Now he had suddenly died, with such an outlandish, scandalous rumor surrounding his death. Who in the capital could possibly ignore it?
Under such circumstances, a mere Black Sash of the Jing'an Directorate refusing Imperial Uncle Cao's goodwill, though somewhat bizarre, no longer seemed quite so conspicuous.
In fact, Duke Gao's attitude just now had confirmed this. Zhang Xing had expected Bai Yousi's absence to leave him facing an interrogation, but because of Duke Ma's death and this duke's haste to assert his authority everywhere, he had actually let Zhang Xing off so lightly...
Still, speaking of Duke Gao, Zhang Xing did not believe the Crouching Dragon Guard would simply brush this matter aside and ignore it, as that overjoyed duke had claimed.
"Duke Ma was one of the three great dukes of the Northern Office and a close attendant within the palace. This matter falls squarely within the Western Pacification Office's duties. How could we possibly ignore it?"
Sure enough, just as Zhang Xing had expected, Bai Yousi's arrival at Willow Grove, meeting with the Prince of Qi, and inspection of the personnel all passed without incident. Instead, after seeing the prince off and returning, she heard about Duke Ma's death and Duke Gao's remarks and immediately declared that they would take over the matter.
Everyone exchanged looks, and for a moment no