In the afternoon, a red sun appeared on the horizon.
Dressed in court robes, Li Gongpu boarded his carriage amid a cluster of servants.
His retainer Du Mushan watched the movements along the street cautiously. Only after they set off did he leap onto the carriage and sit beside him:
"According to inquiries by our men, the culprit was the 'Thief Saint,' but we still haven't determined their actual identity or found any trace of the stolen goods being sold..."
Li Gongpu's study had been emptied out. The financial losses were too enormous for him to report to the authorities, so he could only use his connections to investigate in secret.
But just like Zhou Ming'an's sudden death, the theft at the Li Residence had left not the slightest thread of evidence. Everything had simply vanished without explanation.
For Li Gongpu to accept bribes, he was naturally someone who loved money as dearly as life itself. The thought of those precious darlings he had collected for years being packed up and carried away, now fondled and caressed in the hands of some unknown brute, was even harder to bear than being cuckolded. His face was still livid:
"Zhou Ming'an must have been killed by Xie Jinhuan. If he could kill without leaving a trace, he could naturally steal without leaving one too..."
"Huh?"
Du Mushan felt that Lord Li had become so consumed by rage that he had lost his senses. He hurriedly said:
"Leaving aside all the chivalrous deeds Xie Jinhuan has performed in the past, which are plain for all to see, if he went to kill Zhou Ming'an last night, how could he also have come to plunder your treasures?
"Surely he couldn't have killed someone at Pine Crane Bay, then rushed straight to your residence without