The Next Victim

"I was ordered to investigate the Sangbo case, and after much investigation, I discovered that this case is actually related to Prince Yu," Xu Qi'an said with emotion.

Prince Yu glanced at him, then calmly shook his head. "I've long since retired, so this shouldn't be an attack or slander. Tell me, what's going on?"

Despite saying that, his eyes showed disbelief and contempt. He clearly didn't believe what Xu Qi'an said.

"More than a year ago, a monk named Heng Hui from Qinglong Temple had an affair with a female pilgrim. The two pledged their lives to each other and escaped with a Law Artifact Law Artifact Qinglong Temple that could conceal their presence."

"Because that woman's identity is extraordinary, she wouldn't be able to escape the capital city without carrying a magical Law Artifact to conceal her presence."

Prince Yu, who had been sipping his tea with his head down, suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Xu Qi'an.

Xu Qi'an said, "That monk's name is Heng Hui. Prince Yu may not know his name, but he probably knows women. She is your eldest daughter, Princess Pingyang."

Bang!

Prince Yu crushed the blue-and-white porcelain teacup in his hand, his expression a mixture of agitation and rage. He roared, "Nonsense! Nonsense! Pingyang has been well-educated and reasonable since childhood. How could she possibly elope with a wild monk? Guards! Guards! Drag this scoundrel away and behead him!"

The guards outside the hall rushed in and surrounded Xu Qi'an. He remained calm and looked at his father, who was baring his teeth and brandishing his claws. He felt a pang of emotion, knowing that any father would be devastated by such news.

For Prince Yu, this was merely an appetizer.

After the guards rushed in, Prince Yu, who had been furious just moments before, suddenly deflated, waved his hand, and dismissed the guards.

"Yes, I'm not surprised. Before Pingyang disappeared, I arranged a marriage for her, but she strongly opposed it and even said she had someone she liked." Prince Yu gave a bitter smile.

"How absurd! Marriage is a major life event, decided by parents and matchmakers. How can a woman make her own decisions? How does she know that others aren't deceiving her and have ulterior motives?"

Although I don't agree with the traditional system of arranged marriages, free love is indeed incredibly detrimental to this era. After all, it's no longer like my time when breakups and reconciliations were taken for granted.

Xu Qi'an nodded.

"Upon hearing these words, I flew into a rage and slapped her. Not long after, she disappeared. I thought she must have been kidnapped by that wild man."

"At first, I hated her with a passion that seethed my teeth, hated her shamelessness, hated her for bringing shame to the royal family. But the longer time went by, the more I missed her. I just wanted her to come back, to come back to my side, to call me Father. I didn't care about anything else."

Perhaps you will never see her again.

From the conversation between Heng Hui and the eldest son of the Earl of Pingyuan that night, it's not hard to tell that Heng Hui had died once. If Heng Hui is like this, what about Princess Pingyang, who eloped with him?

That woman faced only three possible outcomes: either she died, or she was taken advantage of.

The third type is a combination of the first two.

"I'm not here to reopen old wounds for Prince Yu, nor to tell you who the man you eloped with Princess Pingyang is," Xu Qi'an said.

Prince Yu was stunned for a moment, then became agitated. He rushed to Xu Qi'an, grabbing his wrist with one hand and pulling at his collar with the other, shouting, "You have news of her? Where is she? Where is she?!"

Xu Qi'an frowned.

"I have lost my composure." Prince Yu released his hands, took a step back, straightened his back, suddenly bowed deeply, and said in a deep voice:

"If Lord Xu can help me find her, I will owe you a tremendous favor. I will definitely repay you in the future."

"I've come here precisely because of this matter: the massacre of the Marquis of Pingyuan's family. Has Your Highness heard of it?"

"Not yet." Prince Yu was somewhat surprised.

"What is the relationship between the Prince and the Earl of Pingyuan?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"He is also one of the nobles, and we used to have frequent dealings. However, the Earl of Pingyuan is ambitious and unwilling to accept his current power. He flirts with civil officials and is disliked by the other nobles," said Prince Yu.

Xu Qi'an nodded and continued, "I heard that the Prince almost entered the Grand Secretariat?"

Prince Yu paused for a moment, then said, "His Majesty did have this idea last year. The cabinet is now under Wang Zhenwen's control. Although there are other factions and Wei Yuan to check and balance it, they can only barely maintain a balance."

"I have powerful nobles backing me, and I'm also a member of the imperial family. His Majesty wants to support me into the cabinet and stir up trouble."

"Emperor Yuanjing is quite remarkable. Although he neglected state affairs for many years and frequently squandered money, he still maintained a high degree of control over the court after more than a decade of neglect. His political skills are truly masterful," Xu Qi'an casually asked.

"The prince is currently recuperating in his residence. Who benefits the most from this?"

"Grand Secretary Wang Zhenwen, and Minister of War Zhang Feng. Ha, those were originally my positions." Prince Yu smiled helplessly.

After saying so much, he could not hide his exhaustion. Xu Qi'an also learned the information he wanted to know, and got up to take his leave.

The young mare, whose hooves moved swiftly, had been ridden by her second uncle for several years and was now being ridden by her nephew. Despite the change in riders, she showed no signs of sadness or melancholy, remaining gentle and happy.

Xu Qi'an's mood was not so light. Based on what Prince Yu said, the elopement of Princess Pingyang and Heng Hui might have been a setup.

If I can't handle you, surely I can handle your daughter?

What methods wouldn't someone involved in politics use? That's highly likely.

Heng Hui's revenge also indirectly confirms this point.

"Who could it be? Chief Minister Wang? Minister Zhang? Or perhaps both? But here's the question: what does the struggle between the civil service and the nobility have to do with the Sangbo case and the Demon Race?"

"Besides Emperor Yuanjing, who else knows that something is sealed beneath Sangbo Lake?"

"This is bad. Heng Hui's next target for revenge will either be the Grand Secretary or the Minister of War."

Xu Qi'an's heart sank. He spurred his horse and galloped towards the palace at top speed, only to be intercepted at the palace gate.

Is Duke Wei still in the palace?

"They left half an hour ago," the Imperial Guard on duty replied.

Xu Qi'an immediately turned his horse around and left the imperial city. He galloped along the wide streets of the inner city for a long time before finally spotting Wei Yuan's carriage.

Hearing the sound of horses' hooves rapidly approaching from behind, Wei Yuan's guards turned around warily and gripped their sword hilts tightly.

But upon seeing that it was Xu Qi'an, he relaxed his guard.

"Duke Wei, Duke Wei, I have something to report!" Xu Qi'an shouted.

Jiang Luzhong heard Wei Yuan's voice coming from inside the carriage. "Stop the car."

He immediately reined in his horse and stopped.

Xu Qi'an rode his horse to the carriage window and whispered, "Duke Wei, I have urgent news to report."

The car window curtain was lifted, revealing a handsome older man with deep features and graying temples. He frowned and said, "When are you going to correct this habit of giving disjointed reports?"

After complaining about Xu Qi'an, he asked, "What is it?"

"Heng Hui's next target is very likely the Minister of War, or Chief Minister Wang. If anything happens to either of them, you'll be in trouble, Duke Wei," Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

Zhang Mansion.

Minister of War Zhang Feng returned to his residence in a carriage and asked the steward who came to greet him, "Where is Yi'er?"

The butler replied, "He's not up yet."

The Minister of War, his face grim, said, "Have him dress properly and come to my study within fifteen minutes."

The old steward glanced cautiously at Minister Zhang's expression, then took his orders and left.

Zhang Feng returned to his study, took off his robe and handed it to his attendant. He sat on the large chair, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest.

A quarter of an hour was about to pass when Zhang Feng's eldest son, Zhang Yi, entered right on time.

"Dad, what's up?" Zhang Yi's face was slightly pale, and his puffy eye bags and deep dark circles betrayed his status as a master of time management.

"Pack your valuables and leave the capital immediately," Minister Zhang said, uttering words he had carefully considered.

"Ah?"

"Go now!" Zhang Feng's gaze was stern.

"Okay, okay." Zhang Yi had always been afraid of his father, so whatever he said went.

With the help of the servants in the manor, Zhang Yi packed clothes, dry food, gold and silver, and other easily portable items. He then set off towards the outer city with a dozen or so attendants kept by the manor.

When the carriage arrived at the inner city gate, the guards stopped the passengers after asking for their identities.

"His Majesty has decreed that officials of the sixth rank and above, including their families, are not permitted to leave the capital."

At dusk, Chu Caiwei, who had spent the day indulging in pleasure at the Princess's residence, rode her horse to the Xu Residence and knocked on the door of the courtyard.

"Caiwei." Xu Qi'an had already taken off his official uniform and changed into ordinary clothes, which his younger sister Lingyue had sewn for him stitch by stitch.

The younger sister holds the thread, the older brother wears the clothes.

Chu Caiwei took out two porcelain bottles from the deerskin pouch at her waist. "Eat them sparingly, the Power Pills are very expensive, two taels of silver per pill."

One grain is half a month's salary for me. Chu Caiwei is actually a hidden rich woman, with a flat chest at a young age. It doesn't matter if she is the disciple of the supervisor, the main thing is to raise her by myself. Xu Qi'an envies this kind of "rich second generation". Although he has more than 900 taels of gold, he uses that money to buy a house.

"Miss Caiwei, come in and have a cup of tea." Xu Qi'an said with a seductive smile.

Chu Caiwei blushed and spat, saying angrily, "The sun is about to set, and you're inviting me into the hospital now. What are your intentions?"

After saying that, she glared at him, took the reins, and swayed her little bottom as she rode away.

"Hmph, neither breasts nor buttocks, a tiny A cup size, how laughable!" Xu Qi'an rolled his eyes at her retreating figure and closed the courtyard door.

Once the Sangbo case is over, I'll make a makeshift version of chicken bouillon to reward this girl.

After having dinner at the main house and chatting for a long time with the beautiful and refined young woman, Xu Qi'an returned to his small courtyard and practiced breathing exercises in the house for half an hour.

Meow~

Suddenly, he heard a clear, melodious cat meow.

"The door isn't locked," Xu Qi'an said.

The door opened, and an orange cat strode in with elegant steps, its tail held high, its bright orange eyes fixed on him, and it spoke in human language:

What did Luo Yuheng say?

Has Master Jinlian opened the door to some new world? Or does he have some unusual fetish?

Xu Qi'an examined the orange cat and said, "We've obtained the Gathering Yuan Pill."

P. S.: This case took a while to write, mainly because it's so important. It's practically the cornerstone of this book, influencing volumes two, three, and four. I had to extend its length to allow enough space for foreshadowing. Well, almost over, only a few chapters left.

P. S.: By the way, tomorrow's noon update might be delayed until the afternoon or evening. I have to go out in the morning and won't be able to write in the office.