Pinning down the suspect

When the Ministry of Justice officials heard Eunuch Liu's words, they assumed that he was making things difficult for the young gong surnamed Xu. They were gloating and decided to criticize Xu Qi'an immediately if he said anything wrong, so as to embarrass him.

Scholars are actually quite good at fighting, just not in terms of physical strength.

The officials and constables of the prefectural government adopted a wait-and-see attitude, not caring what clues this reckless gong could provide. But to their surprise, the prefectural governor stopped daydreaming, straightened his back slightly, and adopted a posture of listening attentively.

Lu Qing whispered, "Have you forgotten? Xu Qi'an, the Xu Qi'an from the tax silver case."

After her reminder, the people in the government office suddenly realized who Xu Qi'an was.

No wonder the name sounded familiar; it turns out he's the quick-witted guy who turned the tide in the tax silver case and solved the mystery of the counterfeit silver.

Yes, now it's the Nightwatchers's gong.

No wonder His Majesty appointed him as the head of the Nightwatchers's office. Only then did the officials of the prefectural government truly realize what was going on.

"We have indeed made some progress!" Xu Qi'an nodded.

He didn't want to say it, because the Ministry of Justice and the Prefectural Government were competitors, and there was no reason for him to share clues with these bastards.

But when he noticed the young eunuch taking notes and the uninhibited conversations between the officials from the Ministry of Justice and the prefectural government, Xu Qi'an suddenly realized that this might be an opportunity to make a name for himself.

To show His Majesty the Emperor.

Unsurprisingly, this record was to be submitted to the emperor for review. Imagine, after Emperor Yuanjing finished reading the record, he found that the Ministry of Justice and the local government were actively discussing the case, providing clues, and working hard to solve it, while the Nightwatchers's office remained silent.

What would he think?

Although sharing information was a bit of a loss, the credit has already been recorded.

"Regarding Officer Lü's speculation, I have a few questions," Xu Qi'an and the others looked over, and he spoke methodically:

"I went to Sangbo this morning to check it out. They want to blow up the entire Yongzhen Shanhe Temple and the high platform. The amount of gunpowder needed is extremely large."

"Yes, what's the problem?" Lü Qing had also inspected the site in Sangbo.

"Here's the problem," Xu Qi'an said. "As you just mentioned, gunpowder is a strategic material that the imperial court values highly, and all kinds of secrecy and anti-theft measures are very strict and comprehensive. Smuggling this gunpowder out is difficult enough, let alone erasing the corresponding traces."

What kind of person do you think could do that?

Lü Qing hesitated for a moment. "The Minister of Ministry of Works, or one of the two Vice Ministers."

Everyone was taken aback, even the young eunuch who was taking notes paused.

Xu Qi'an nodded. "If it's the Minister of Ministry of Works and the two Vice Ministers, then everything makes sense. With their skills and abilities, it's not impossible for them to bribe officials in the palace or clerks in the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Rites. But isn't that too stupid?"

Lü Qing frowned. "You mean..."

Xu Qi'an said, "Smuggling such a large quantity of gunpowder, no matter how clean the hands are, will not stand up to scrutiny. I believe that those who can become ministers and vice ministers are not that stupid."

Lü Qing nodded. "Since it wasn't them, then besides the Ministry of Works, where else could they provide so much gunpowder?"

Xu Qi'an asked, "Is it possible that it was brought in from outside the city?"

Lü Qing shook his head. "Leaving aside the outer city, the inner city has an entry tax, and the soldiers guarding the city will inspect the goods. It's even more impossible in the imperial city. Gunpowder is such an obvious thing, how could it be smuggled in? Unless what's being transported in is raw material, not gunpowder."

Lu Qing and Xu Qi'an reasoned away as if no one else was around, and no one else had a chance to interrupt. Eunuch Liu was in no hurry and listened patiently.

The eunuch in charge of taking notes wrote with lightning speed, faster and faster.

What was being transported in wasn't gunpowder, but raw materials. Among the raw materials for gunpowder, sulfur and charcoal weren't precious, especially in winter when the capital city's charcoal consumption was terrifying. But saltpeter was something strictly controlled by the Great Feng. As Xu Qi'an pondered this, a flash of lightning struck his mind.

"Nitrate ore!?" He stared wide-eyed at Lü Qing.

The female constable's delicate face froze for a moment, then she understood and exclaimed, "Nitrate ore!!"

The two men's faces were filled with shock. On the other side, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao exchanged a glance, their expressions changing slightly.

The four of them personally surveyed Mount Huang and discovered saltpeter deposits there.

After calming down, Lü Qing's mind raced with various thoughts, and a new question arose, "If it really was them, then what about the nine missing people?"

Xu Qi'an slowly said, "It's simple, frame someone!"

Then he shook his head. "No, it's to divert our attention and buy us time to escape the capital."

Lü Qing nodded slightly. "Yes, that led us to believe that the gunpowder originated from the Ministry of Works, and that spies had been planted within the court. As a result, the focus of the investigation shifted to the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Ministry of Rites, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

Eunuch Liu frowned; he realized he was starting to lose track of their conversation.

Apart from the high-ranking Minister of Ministry of Justice and Prefect Chen, who remained unmoved, everyone else exchanged bewildered glances, equally unable to understand what Xu Qi'an and Lü Qing were saying.

I keep feeling like I've missed watching an episode.

Xu Qi'an shook his head. "In that case, there's still one question that can't be answered: how did they manage to transport the gunpowder to Sangbo?"

Lü Qing said, "It's very simple. Those nine missing officials were either bribed or coerced. I'm more inclined to believe the former."

That makes sense. The Demon Race must have had accomplices to smuggle gunpowder into Sangbo. They couldn't have done it without inside help from the imperial court.

Putting aside the traitors in the imperial court, why did the Demon Race want to destroy Sangbo?

To be precise, they are after the sealed artifact beneath Sangbo Lake. What use would this sealed artifact be to them?

As he was pondering, he heard Lü Qing say, "It seems we've misunderstood something, because I noticed a detail just now."

The spirited female constable stared at Xu Qi'an: "How did the nine missing people—three from the palace, three from the Ministry of Rites, and three from the Court of Judicial Review—smuggle gunpowder in without their colleagues' knowledge?"

Xu Qi'an wasn't very familiar with the procedures of the ancestral worship ceremony and hadn't had a chance to ask the clerks and servants responsible for wrapping things up. But after hearing Lü Qing's words, a thought struck him, "You mean, three people alone couldn't have smuggled gunpowder without their colleagues' knowledge? Yes, why were these nine people deliberately separated? If all nine were from the Ministry of Ministry of Rites, the Court of Judicial Review, or the palace, perhaps it would have been possible."

Lü Qing smiled sincerely, a smile that was surprisingly bright.

What she admired most about Xu Qi'an was his intelligence; he could immediately grasp her meaning. Discussing matters with him was never tiring; instead, it often led to knowing smiles.

Xu Qi'an said, "Therefore, among those who helped them, there must be others, and this person must have the ability to freely enter and leave the imperial city, or to smuggle gunpowder into the imperial city."

At this point, Xu Qi'an and Lü Qing exchanged another glance, recalling a case.

The case of the junior officer of the Golden Guard.

This case occurred the day before the ancestral worship ceremony, and they took it over personally as well.

The junior officer of the Golden Guard was silenced. Before being silenced, he told his wife that he wanted to take the family away from the capital. He happened to be on duty when he died. Xu Qi'an suddenly understood and connected the case of the saltpeter mine and the junior officer Liu Han, and it was not difficult to find out the truth.

The Demon Race drove away the Gray Households in order to mine saltpeter in the Great Yellow Mountain, make gunpowder to destroy the Yongzhen Mountain and River Temple, and release the sealed artifacts in Sangbo.

Gunpowder was used because the palace was heavily guarded and impossible to break into, but gunpowder could be smuggled in undetected.

Whether it's the Director of the Bureau of Astronomy, the female Imperial Preceptor of the Human Sect, or a high-ranking martial artist in the Imperial Guard, they can detect the intrusion of powerful individuals, but they cannot detect gunpowder, an inanimate object.

Liu Han was just a minor officer and didn't have the ability to secretly plant gunpowder in the capital without his superiors' knowledge.

He was just a clerk, and the one who gave the orders was his superior, who also killed him to silence him.

Damn it, the Demon Race's actions are like an old sow wearing a bra, one set after another.

The brothel was packed with customers—but everything was in good order.

Once we arrest and interrogate Liu Han's superior, the commander of the Golden Guard, we'll find out everything!

Xu Qi'an quickly identified a suspicious person: Commander Zhou!

Xu Qi'an stood up and cleared his throat. "Eunuch Liu, esteemed gentlemen, I have some matters to attend to at the Ministry of Works, so I will take my leave now."

He remained calm and spoke in a relaxed tone, "The Nightwatchers, come with me."

Quickly evacuate everyone.

The officials present weren't fools. Although Xu Qi'an acted normally, his repeated changes in expression during his conversation with Lü Qing, and the content of their conversation, though they only half-understood, didn't prevent them from deducing that Xu Qi'an had discovered an important clue.

Everyone immediately looked at Lü Qing.

Lü Qing pretended to be stupid.

Eunuch Liu tapped his finger on the table, urging, "Has Xu Qi'an discovered something? Has there been any progress in the case? Speak quickly!"

Lü Qing thought to herself, "I've done all I could. After all, although I admire Xu Qi'an, we don't have any special relationship, and he's not my fiancé or anything."

Helping him buy some time is already showing great loyalty.

P. S.: This conversation lasted for six or seven hours.