Seeing that Chen Xuance really had found no clues, Ye Xingge, as the one pulling the strings, could hardly speak plainly. After a moment's thought, he said:
"How could that be? Since Zhang Shunyuan was the contact, he must have communicated with the people above and below him. There isn't a single clue?"
Luo Xuanqing also frowned slightly, though she was not surprised:
"The imperial court keeps a close watch. Spies from the various factions leave virtually no traces, and they destroy letters as soon as they've read them..."
Ye Xingge opened his mouth, thinking:
I know spies are all professionals.
But I deliberately left one yesterday!
Ye Xingge had considered that the Embroidered Robe Agents might not be able to decipher it, but he truly had not expected them to fail to find it. He added:
"This is the only clue. Without it, it'll be very hard to find Yang Tuyan. Lord Chen, have you searched everywhere?"
How could Chen Xuance not know this was a chance to earn great merit? He sighed softly.
"Zhang Shunyuan's residence had 167 books, 94 contracts, and six paintings and pieces of calligraphy. My men searched through them one by one and brought the servants in to check. According to the servants, one copy of the Heaven-Watching Gazette is missing... eh? Do you have something to say, young Brother Ye?"
Noticing that Ye Xingge, who had been listening intently, had suddenly straightened up a little, Chen Xuance turned to ask him.
Ye Xingge remained fairly calm on the surface, but inwardly he was utterly baffled.
What does he mean, one copy of the Heaven-Watching Gazette is missing?
I distinctly used the Heaven-Watching Gazette for my trick last night. How could...
Wait!
Ye Xingge was no fool. He quickly realized that someone must have visited the study afterward and found the clue he had planted...
The yamen could not have taken the intelligence and done nothing, and under normal circumstances, the people from Eight Pillars Hall would not have returned to the scene of the crime.
So the other party could only belong to another faction...
His intelligence had been encrypted, so they probably could not decipher it. Even if they could, it would take a long time, so no one should have beaten him to it yet...
But without the intelligence, how was he supposed to go to Linyang and catch Yang Tuyan?
The source of his intelligence on Jiang Baichuan yesterday had already been rather flimsy. He could hardly claim today that he had also heard Yang Tuyan had a mistress in Linyang...
Come to think of it, whose mistress was it in Linyang again...?
Ye Xingge frowned deeply. Noticing that the two people and the cat were looking at him, he went along with it to avoid giving anything away:
"The Heaven-Watching Gazette? I've heard that people in the jianghu use it to pass messages. The clue must be in it..."
"?"
Wasn't that obvious?
Chen Xuance opened his mouth, but he could hardly say that to the utterly fearless young Brother Ye. He continued:
"That's right. Since the book went missing, it naturally contained a clue, but it's already been taken. There's no trace of it, so there's no way to investigate."
Seeing this, Luo Xuanqing sighed softly.
"Forget it. This isn't our assignment anyway. Let's focus on catching Mantanghong and leave Ruan Jinyu to worry about this. Xingge, come back and finish eating."
How could Ye Xingge still be in the mood to eat? With this turn of events, all his work last night had been for nothing.
But the clue was already gone. He could hardly "find an enemy out of thin air," so for now, he could only continue attending to Luo Xuanqing and the cat while urgently pondering a countermeasure...
Meanwhile.
Beneath a residence in the capital of Great Yan.
A long rosewood table stood in the basement, covered with various books on deciphering codes, as well as texts on the five elements and eight trigrams, astronomy and geography, and so on.
Several people crowded around the table, racking their brains over the secret message they had brought back.
The magnificently dressed An Yurou sat at the head of the table, with a thick booklet before her containing the answers produced by various methods.
But, unsurprisingly, the results were all gibberish, with no information to be found. After a whole night of work, everyone was nearly numb, and they all cursed and grumbled:
"What kind of mad genius came up with this method of passing secret messages? Was there any need to make things so complicated for a lowly lackey? It's not as if these are military secrets..."
"I suspect it's just a smokescreen. There's no solution at all. They're simply playing at mystery to throw the court off..."
"Perhaps Chancellor Li is the spy..."
This was also the first time An Yurou had seen such an outrageous secret letter. She had tried every decryption method from ancient times to the present, even soaking it in water, washing it with acid, and holding it over a fire, all to no avail.
The only clue lay before her. If she could not decipher it and Yang Tuyan was caught by the court first, what followed would be rather troublesome.
With no other options, An Yurou could only suggest trying this:
"Copy down the sentences corresponding to 'Li,' 'Yun,' and 'Tu,' including ten characters before and after each. Take one character from each sentence and combine them, pick out the meaningful combinations, then work backward to verify them..."
"..."
The several subordinates hesitated at her words.
After all, this was an exhaustive search. It could be understood as three sets of numbers, with twenty-one in each set, taking one from each to test a three-digit code.
There were more than nine thousand possible combinations, and with the people they had, they could indeed sift through them.
But afterward, they would still have to work backward to verify each one. They also had to gamble that the person who encrypted the message really had hidden it within those three long sentences, and that it lay no more than ten characters to either side. Otherwise, all their work would be for nothing...
"Your method is workable, family head, but it relies too heavily on a gamble..."
"There aren't any other methods. Let's try it first. There are so many of us; surely we can crack it..."
Seeing this, the others could only prepare paper, divide up the work, and attempt a brute-force search...
Back at the inn.
The several small dishes, all enticing in color, aroma, and flavor, were soon polished off by the two people and the cat.
The plump black cat might have eaten too much, for she was walking back and forth around the room to aid her digestion.
After a few cups of wine, Luo Xuanqing's cheeks had once again taken on a flush of rouge. She looked at the young man beside her, who had his head down over his food, and seemed somewhat bored.
"What are you thinking about? You were so talkative just now. How did losing the clue turn you into a silent gourd?"
Ye Xingge had no need to hide anything at this point. He simply shook his head and sighed:
"We finally found a clue, only for it to come to nothing. It's a shame."
"Sigh, that's how investigations go. If there were always clues to follow, how could there still be so many bandits at large?"
Perhaps Luo Xuanqing appreciated Ye Xingge's attitude. She even raised a delicate hand and poured him a cup of wine, as if soothing a child.
"There, there, don't be upset. If you can't catch him, let it go. You're already very capable."
"?"
Ye Xingge blinked, feeling that the great beauty Luo really did know how to flirt.
But if he admitted he could not do it, the black and white paths would join forces to give him a beating the day after tomorrow.
"Let me think it over carefully. Maybe there's a way."
Seeing this, Luo Xuanqing propped her cheek on her hand and thought for a moment before saying:
"Yang Tuyan didn't even make the Third Rank. Even if his movements hadn't been exposed, he couldn't possibly have slipped into the imperial palace. If you really want to ease the court's worries, think about how to catch Mantanghong. That female bandit is terribly overbearing. She's ranked eighth in the Second Rank, rebellious to the core, and she even dared call me a shameless hussy..."
At the mention of this, Luo Xuanqing was visibly a little annoyed.
Ye Xingge knew that the Flower Judge and Luo Xuanqing had always regarded each other as rivals and disliked each other because their lineages, rankings, and statuses were all very similar. He had been about to chat about it casually, but a thought occurred to him, and he asked instead:
"Sister Luo, you're saying Yang Tuyan couldn't possibly have succeeded in assassinating the sovereign in the palace?"
Luo Xuanqing nodded. "Right. The sovereign also practices martial arts and wears protective gear. Even if the sovereign ran about alone, an ordinary Third Rank expert would have great difficulty succeeding. How could Yang Tuyan carry out the assassination? Even if he had a renowned weapon to help him, the chances would be minuscule."
Ye Xingge nodded slightly.
"In that case, there's something to this. Yesterday we found out that Eight Pillars Hall was helping him from behind the scenes. It's such a major faction, so why would it help when it knew the chances of success were slim? It couldn't just be trying to give the sovereign a scare, could it?"
Luo Xuanqing blinked. "That's true. What do you think?"
Ye Xingge moved his stool closer and carefully guided her:
"Eight Pillars Hall wouldn't waste its efforts. If it made a move knowing success would be difficult, that can only mean it wasn't after a successful assassination, but the act of 'assassinating the sovereign' itself!
"Eight Pillars Hall is a band of rebels. Sister Luo, how do you think they could make the greatest use of an 'assassination attempt'?"
Luo Xuanqing considered it briefly. "Naturally, they would frame an important minister of Great Yan. The higher the target's status, the greater the upheaval, and the more opportunities Eight Pillars Hall would have to exploit."
Ye Xingge nodded, putting on a very professional air.
"When investigating a case, you have to 'make bold hypotheses and gather evidence carefully.' Let's start with a hypothesis. If we aim high, who would Eight Pillars Hall most want to frame?"
"Aim high?"
Luo Xuanqing answered without hesitation:
"Chancellor Li Yuntu!"
"Huh?"
Ye Xingge's expression froze.
Luo Xuanqing said with every appearance of conviction, "Chancellor Li is the foremost of all officials. He carries all the provinces of Great Yan on his shoulders. If the sovereign grew suspicious of him and removed him, Eight Pillars Hall wouldn't be the only ones beating gongs and drums. Later Zhou and Western Shu could celebrate the New Year along with them..."
"..."
Ye Xingge opened his mouth, thinking:
No, that's aiming a little too high...
I'm the one framing Chancellor Li, not Eight Pillars Hall...
To bring the subject back, Ye Xingge lowered his voice a little more.
"Everyone knows that if important figures like Chancellor Li, General Cao, or Duke Wang were framed, it would cause a huge uproar. But those people aren't fools. They're all on guard against spies, so it would be too hard to succeed. Hmm... let's look at this another way!
"If Eight Pillars Hall wants to frame someone, it first has to be 'feasible.' We don't know whom they want to frame, but when Yang Tuyan reached Yongzhou Prefecture yesterday, he didn't cross the river straight into the capital. He disembarked in Hexi, and his subordinate was also in Dahe Town. Doesn't that run a little counter to his goal?"
Luo Xuanqing propped her cheek on her hand and pondered briefly.
"It does count as a small point of suspicion."
"Good."
Ye Xingge continued patiently guiding her: "Then let's assume for now that Yang Tuyan stayed in Hexi to make arrangements because he had something to do. Wouldn't that matter very likely be connected to the assassination attempt and the framing of a court official?"
"Right."
"Then which person in the Four Counties of Hexi could be connected to a pillar of the court, and, after the assassination attempt, could drag that person down with them, causing the greatest upheaval and serving Eight Pillars Hall's interests?"
That had already narrowed the field considerably, but unfortunately, this was Yongzhou Prefecture. Luo Xuanqing thought back briefly.
"There are quite a few nobles in the Four Counties of Hexi. With the sovereign's birthday at the end of the month, there are dozens who can enter the palace to offer congratulations. And as for people whose involvement in an assassination attempt could cause a major uproar, hmm... Chancellor Li's nephew, Duke Wang's nephew, the minister of war's maternal relatives, Imperial Uncle Cao of the Cao family..."
Hearing the name "Imperial Uncle Cao," Ye Xingge felt a weight lift from his heart and continued patiently guiding her:
"Now let's use the 'process of elimination.' Chancellor Li's nephew is the head teacher at a private school, so he couldn't possibly get close to the sovereign. If the minister of war assassinated the sovereign, his entire family would be executed at most; Great Yan's foundations would be hard to shake. As for Imperial Uncle Cao and Duke Wang's nephew... Sister Luo, which one do you think is more likely to be framed?"
Luo Xuanqing picked up the cat and set her on her lap, rubbing her plump head.
"Duke Wang's nephew is a garrison commandant in Muyang. Even if Eight Pillars Hall slipped Yang Tuyan into the garrison office, he couldn't leave his post without military orders. As for Imperial Uncle Cao..."
Thump, thump, thump...
Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door again.
Ye Xingge had reached the crucial moment. Seeing Noble Consort Luo's red lips moving, with the answer about to come out, only for her to be interrupted, he instantly bristled and turned toward the door!
Then Chen Xuance's hurried voice called from outside:
"Lord Luo?"
Ye Xingge was taken aback. He rose and went to the door.
"Lord Chen, what brings you here? Have you found the clue?"
Outside the door, Chen Xuance's broad-browed, large-eyed face was full of shame and self-reproach. He even looked as though he could hardly bear to face Ye Xingge.
Seeing this, Luo Xuanqing frowned.
"What is it? Have you confirmed that Mantanghong has escaped?"
"No."
Chen Xuance clenched both fists, looking as though he wanted to cut his own throat in apology. Through gritted teeth, he said:
"Just now... Commander Ruan went to the Shunyuan Pawnshop and found a clue to Yang Tuyan..."
"Ah?!"
Ye Xingge had been worrying that their conversation would be sidetracked, but those words snapped him fully alert. He looked at Chen Xuance in disbelief, wanting to speak but stopping himself, his eyes saying something along the lines of:
What the fuck do you mean, Ruan Jinyu found a clue?!
Where did he find a clue?!
You've scared me twice while I was eating one meal. Are you messing with me on purpose?