Chapter 44

Chapter 44

After a night's rest, the couple bathed and dressed, then proceeded to the dining hall one after another. The servants attended to them in an orderly manner, while both Xu Yunqi and Pei Mucheng maintained composed expressions. Xu Yunqi ate silently, while Pei Mucheng occasionally stole glances at his wife without saying much, as if the heated argument earlier had not involved them.

Feeling well-fed and refreshed, Xu Yunqi recalled that she had already saved Xu Rong, and thus there was no longer any need for her to stay. She suggested to Pei Mucheng,

"Third Master, perhaps it's time for me to return to the capital. By staying here, I'm only burdening you with the responsibility of looking after me."

If she guessed correctly, Xun Yunhe must have spoken to Pei Mucheng, resulting in the latter's meticulous attention to her during their journey.

Pei Mucheng's brow furrowed, just as he was pondering an excuse to keep her. At that moment, a guard hurriedly approached from outside,

"Your Highness, Eunuch Xu requests your presence."

Both spouses were taken aback.

If Xu Rong summoned them, it could either be due to a matter at hand or an issue with her wound. Pei Mucheng glanced at Xu Yunqi and said calmly,

"Yunqi, the situation is more complicated than we imagined. I can't bear to let you leave alone. You should come with me for now."

Xu Yunqi gave her husband a quiet glance and, without hesitation, promptly changed to accompany him. Upon arriving at the office, Xu Rong had no pressing matters – it was merely pressure from the capital, urging Pei Muheng to return swiftly to report on his mission. Furthermore, he had divulged some confidential information to Pei Muheng.

Pei Muheng understood that this was the doing of his Twelfth Uncle.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Yunqi took Xu Rong's pulse and examined his wound, adjusting the prescription accordingly. The couple then left the office together. It was almost midnight, a time when Xu Yunqi would usually be asleep. However, she had napped for two hours in the afternoon, so her energy levels were still high. Pei Muheng discussed with her,

"Time is of the essence, and I must find the real culprit soon. The true murderer must be hiding among the refugees from that day. Besides Xu Rong's injury, many guards and eunuchs also perished. I plan to visit the morgue."

Xu Yunqi had no choice but to accompany him.

The guards drove them to the Governor's office, nearing the stroke of midnight. The dozing officer on duty was startled by Pei Muheng's arrival, nearly losing his wits. It wasn't until Pei Muheng entered the morgue that he finally regained his senses, hastily sending someone to notify the higher-ups.

The Governor's office had two separate working areas. The main office, adjacent to the Governor's residence, was where trials typically took place. The other area, used for storing corpses, was situated down a small alley behind the residence. With two courtyards, offices were situated on either side of the entrance, while the main hall stood empty. The bodies were stored in the innermost courtyard.

Pei Muheng and Xu Yunqi, accompanied by around seven or eight guards, passed through the halls and courtyards to reach the inner courtyard. As an imperial envoy, no one dared to obstruct their path. After the guards verified his credentials, they opened the door to let them in.

Upon pushing open the door, a pungent stench assailed them. Instinctively, Pei Muheng drew his wife close to him before softly saying,

"Wait for me outside."

Xu Yunqi gently brushed away her husband's hand and lifted her gaze to meet his steadily.

"Third Master, I have dissected corpses before."

Pei Muheng: "…."

Without waiting for Pei Muheng's response, she took out a handkerchief from her medical kit, covered her mouth and nose, and stepped into the threshold ahead of the shadow guard, Wang Fan.

Pei Muheng stood outside the threshold, silently watching his composed wife. He rubbed his temples, accustomed to her constant surprises. It was fine; he could endure any more shocks.

Knowing that Pei Muheng had a cleanliness obsession, Huang Wei hurriedly found a handkerchief for him and then took a mint water from a guard. Pei Muheng applied some under his nose before covering it with the handkerchief and entering the morgue.

The morgue was guarded by an undertaker, who led Pei Muheng and Xu Yunqi to inspect each corpse one by one.

Pei Muheng's objective was straightforward: to find any clues about the murderer on the bodies.

There were ten deceased, each with varying depths of wounds. Some had been pierced through the heart or between the eyebrows by arrows, others died from knife wounds, and a few, only two, succumbed to sword injuries – swift strikes that ended their lives in an instant. Pei Muheng lingered before these two corpses.

That day, as he watched Xu Yunqi tend to Xu Rong's injuries, he had also taken a glance at the wounds and found them strikingly similar.

"Wyunqi, take a look. Could these three injuries have been inflicted by the same person?"

Xu Yunqi handed her medical kit to Wang Fan and took out a pair of forceps, dipping them in alcohol before carefully examining the wounds. Pei Muheng held a lamp for her personally.

She sprinkled a layer of medicine on the wounds, gently revealing the scars beneath. Slowly, she described the shape and depth of each injury to Pei Muheng. As a martial artist himself, his mind involuntarily reconstructed the scene of the assassination attempt.

Xu Rong was injured on his left kidney. The sword must have been plunged in with the left hand, possibly obstructed, hence it didn't penetrate too deeply. It also veered slightly outward toward the wrist. The first corpse had a sword wound straight through its lungs, entering from the right front. The same was true for the other body.

The shape and direction of all three wounds were identical, suggesting that the assassin was left-handed.

With this crucial piece of information, Pei Muheng's spirits lifted. He dispatched the covert agent Wang Fan to investigate left-handed individuals in Yangzhou City while he interrogated the group of refugees under the cover of night.

None of them expected Pei Muheng's midnight questioning. They scrambled to their feet, fumbling to respond to his inquiries.

Half an hour later, the Governor of the Criminal Court, Lord He, hurriedly arrived. Just as he stepped over the threshold, he saw Pei Muheng emerge from the torture chamber, covered in blood. The tall and elegant young man nonchalantly wiped the blood from his hands and gave Lord He a careless smile.

"Lord He, you're here?"

Noticing the unusual expression on Lord He's face, a pang of anxiety struck him, and he hurried forward to pay his respects.

"Your Highness, if you're going to oversee a trial, why didn't you inform this official beforehand? I would have accompanied you."

Pei Murong threw the blood-stained handkerchief at him, then sat down on the main seat, sipping his tea casually. "This prince has already concluded the trial. The truth is now clear."

Lord He almost stumbled. "What? So quickly? Then what did you find out?"

Pei Murong slowly twirled his teacup with his fingers. "Indeed, these vagrants were acting on their own initiative. Look, here are their confessions." He nodded towards the table in front of him.

Lord He swallowed hard, his face turning grim. Swiftly, he stepped forward to examine the confessions. All of them, more or less identical, admitted to committing atrocities without any outside instigation.

Almost choking with anger, Lord He exclaimed, "Your Highness, when all voices are in unison, it often signals something abnormal. Why did you so easily believe them? Bring them back for retrial..."

Upon finishing his words, Lord He noticed the grim expressions on the guards standing by the door.

"What's the matter?" he asked, puzzled.

The guard knelt down with a thud and replied, "In response to Lord He, the Duke... His Highness the Duke had all fifteen vagrants interrogated to death."

There were over a hundred vagrants that day, mostly beggars and ruffians. But these fifteen were soldiers who had disguised themselves and infiltrated the salt field's inner offices. They were the solid evidence for charging the Water Army Admiral's Office.

They were waiting for Pei Muheng to interrogate these fifteen men and frame Two River Governor Qu Weizhen.

Lord He's eyes widened abruptly as he slowly turned around, staring at Pei Muheng in disbelief. Seeing him remain calm and composed, his anger flared up instantly. Ignoring the fact that the Duke was a royal relative, he exclaimed in frustration,

"Duke, you actually had these vagrants interrogated to death so openly? How will you account for this to the court? To the Three Commissions!"

Pei Muheng sat upright, his expression cold. "They've committed numerous heinous crimes, attempted to assassinate the Imperial Envoy of the Palace Eunuch's Office, and planned to incite chaos. Don't they deserve to die? If Lord He is defending them so vigorously, could there be some hidden truth behind these vagrants?"

Lord He shuddered, quickly regaining control of his emotions. He took a deep breath before responding,

"No, Duke, you... Why did you have them interrogated to death? T-this... There's no way to account for this!"

Pei Muheng remained unperturbed as he said, "Letters from the court have been urging me to solve the case as soon as possible. I assume Eunuch Xu has informed you about this. Thus, I hastily conducted an overnight interrogation. Little did I know these people couldn't withstand it. Of course, it was I, the Duke, who interrogated them. I shall take responsibility and ask for the Emperor's forgiveness. There's no need for Lord He to trouble yourself."

If Lord He still didn't understand, then he would truly be a fool.

Pei Muqing seems to be trying to cover up for Qu Weizhen, ensuring that there would be no one left to refute the truth.

Lord He was on the verge of losing his temper.

With no living witnesses, the evidence and testimonies rest in Pei Muqing's grasp. Whether the case is black or white depends entirely on his solitary judgment.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Magistrate He hastened to find the prefect, while Pei Muheng made arrangements to tidy up the aftermath and returned to the palace with evidence and confessions in hand.

Upon hearing the news, the prefect was so enraged that he smashed a teacup on the spot.

"Why would Pei Muqing involve himself in this matter when Prince Qin poses no threat to him?"

In his recollection, Pei Muqing had a deep bond with Pei Xun and should not have disrupted the Prince of Twelve's plans.

Faced with the failure of his mission, he was at a loss on how to account for it to the Prince of Twelve. Meanwhile, he instructed his trusted aide to send a message to the capital while trying to devise a way to keep Pei Muqing occupied, preventing him from returning to the capital swiftly.

The next day, the governor came up with a plan and invited Pei Muqing to the governor's office. When Pei Muqing arrived, he found the courtyard outside the office swarmed with merchants and common folk.

Not only was the entrance congested, but the inner chambers were also packed with officials from all ranks in Yangzhou City.

Xu Yunqi encountered a familiar face here, none other than Jiang Yuhe's father, General Jiang, the commander of Yangzhou's defense. Unfortunately, General Jiang was preoccupied with worry and failed to notice her.

As an imperial grandson, Pei Xun couldn't afford to show any anger, despite his fury. He claimed that the unrest among the refugees originated from the salt administration reform, a proposal initiated by Pei Xun himself, well-known throughout the land. The governor summoned all the city's salt merchants and officials, effectively throwing the problem at Pei Xun's feet.

Pei Xun, who had been searching for an excuse to intervene, found his opportunity. Like a pillow being offered to someone dozing off, he accepted the challenge calmly.

In Yangzhou, Pei Xun was essentially fighting alone. This was the territory of Prince Twelve, Pei Xun, the sole legitimate son, the inevitable crown prince candidate, one whom even Prince Qin didn't dare underestimate, let alone Prince Xi.

No one took Pei Xun too seriously.

On the first day, Pei Xun followed the instructions in the Ministry of Household documents to allocate quotas. No officials paid him any attention, and even the merchants complained bitterly, refusing to cooperate. Everyone was willing to pay silver but not to purchase grain for the border regions.

Three days passed without any progress.

What to do?

Pei Xun quickly devised a strategy: capture the king to subdue the minions, tackling each issue individually.

His earlier leisurely stroll around Yangzhou with Xu Yunqi hadn't been entirely fruitless. He had uncovered the details and factions within the city's salt merchants.

One faction was led by the wealthiest merchant, Jia Hualian, who aligned themselves with the circle surrounding the Prefect; while another faction was headed by the Su Merchants, who held close ties with Governor-General Qu Weizhen of the Two Jiangs.

He first met with Su Shang and handed over the bloodstained arrow to him. Su Shang hurried across to Jinling City under the cover of night. As for who Qu Weizhen was, he quickly realized that Pei Muhang was saving him. Immediately, he sent Su Shang back, instructing him to obey Pei Muhang's every command without question.

Thus, Pei Muqing came up with a plan for Su Shang.

"I've studied the Ministry of Finance's documents, and it shows that Yangzhou is linked to Yulin's military granary. I propose that Mr. Su send a trusted aide with a team to cultivate crops near Yulin. Once the harvest is ready, it can be directly transported to the military granary, sparing us the need for extensive labor in long-distance transportation. It would also save the cost of buying and selling. Upon verifying the salt coupons on site, they can proceed directly to the salt fields in Yangzhou to collect their salt."

Owing to the wars at the borders these years and the subsequent migration of people inward, the fourteen frontier provinces have become sparsely populated. This method could also help to reinforce and revitalize these border regions.

Su Shang secretly calculated the situation and wholeheartedly agreed, exclaiming, "Princess Duke's brilliant plan!" Immediately, he gathered his faction of salt merchants and began arranging for them to travel northward one after another.

With half the problem solved, there was still the formidable Jia Huailian left. What should be done about him?

Jia Huailian had received the Emperor's praise before. One couldn't afford to harm the cat for fear of damaging the vase; ordinary tactics wouldn't work on him. Thus, Pei Muhang employed a decoy strategy, writing to the Emperor that Jia Huailian was deeply devoted to the royal favor. Ever since their last audience with the Emperor, Jia Huailian had frequently established charitable institutions among the common folk and built a Longevity Temple in honor of the Emperor, kneeling daily toward the north in the hope of catching another glimpse of the imperial countenance.

Pei Muhang wasn't lying; these were all actions Jia Huailian had taken over the years.

The Emperor issued an edict summoning Jia Huailian to the capital. Jia Huailian was distraught, hastily arranging for a large stone shaped like the Chinese character "shou" (longevity) from Lake Tai to be transported to the capital. With him gone, the merchants of Yangzhou would be leaderless. Taking advantage of this, Pei Muhang targeted each merchant individually, and through some favorable treatment he obtained from Xu Rong, secretly promised certain merchants benefits. As a result, the once impregnable city of Yangzhou was cracked open by Pei Muhang, allowing his plan to exchange grain for trading permits to proceed smoothly.

During this very period, he had finally found the true culprit and rushed back to the capital with evidence in hand.

A month later, on the 20th of July, Pei Mushan and her husband arrived in the capital as scheduled. That very night, Pei Mushan hurried to the palace to meet the emperor.

Xu Yunqi allowed herself to be escorted back to the palace by the guards.

Due to their significant accomplishments during this mission, even Prince Xi and Princess Xi were seated in the main hall to welcome them.

Pei Mushan had been waiting eagerly in the corridor. The moment Xu Yunqi stepped out of the carriage, she rushed over and embraced her tightly.

"Sister, you're back! I was worried you wouldn't make it to my betrothal ceremony!"

Xu Yunqi's face lit up with surprise.

"You're getting engaged? When is it?"

Pei Mushan scratched her head, trying to remember. Silver Apricot, standing by her side, promptly intervened, "Miss Fifth has such a poor memory. It's just two days from now."

With that, she clung to Xu Yunqi's arm and burst into tears.

"Miss, please don't abandon your servant like that again. I feel so pitiful all alone in the mansion..."

Pei Mushan shot her a withering glance and revealed, "Don't believe her, Sister. She's just seeking sympathy in front of you. I've been spoiling her with entertainment and good times every day lately. She's been living it up."

Banyan's face flushed with embarrassment.

Xu Yunqi laughed heartily, looking around the palace, sensing something amiss but unable to pinpoint it. Madam Xie stood on the veranda and called out,

"Sister-in-law, after such a long journey, please come inside and rest. Mother and Father are both waiting for you."

Xu Yunqi didn't dwell on her thoughts and allowed Banyan and Pei Mushan to lead her through the door.

Sure enough, Empress Dowager of Xi and Prince Xi were elegantly seated in the main hall, their positions of authority. From afar, a smile graced the Empress Dowager's cheeks, an uncommon display of warmth.

Xu Yunqi approached as usual to pay her respects. The Empress Dowager didn't inquire further but asked about Pei Musheng's whereabouts. Prince Xi explained that his son must have gone to the imperial court to meet the emperor, then turned the conversation to Xu Yunqi's experiences in Yangzhou City.

"You're quite bold, just like your father!"

Upon hearing the word "father," Banyan suddenly recalled something, casting a cryptic glance at Xu Yunqi.

The two of them had always shared an unspoken understanding, so Xu Yunqi knew that something must have happened during her absence.

She calmly joined Prince Xi and the others for dinner first. Afterward, she called Xingyang aside.

"What's going on?"

Xingyang pointed to the neighboring residence. "While you were away, Lord Xun met with our madam. From their conversation, it seemed like he wants madam to return to his side..."

Xu Yunqi frowned, planning to head to the side entrance to visit Xun Yunhe at his residence. Seeing her move, Xingyang hastily held her back.

"Hey, come this way!"

"What?" Xu Yunqi was confused.

Just then, Prince Xi stepped out of the main hall with his hands behind his back, chuckling. "Third Sister-in-law, Lord Xun recently renovated his mansion. He said that the partition wall between our two residences was obstructive, so he tore it down and built a pavilion in its place. You should go take a look..."

As Prince Xi spoke, he couldn't help but cover his forehead.

When it came to Xun Yunhe, he was the most cautious and reliable person in the entire capital. He was well aware of what the emperor disliked, and over the years, he had never set foot in the palace except on New Year's Day to pay respects. Now, for the sake of his daughter, he was even willing to get rid of the partition wall.

Xu Yunqi fell silent for a moment, leading Apricot out of the palace and gazing in the direction of the Xun residence. Indeed, the dark screen wall that once separated the two mansions was gone. A small stream had been diverted from somewhere, its clear water flowing gently, with a few green lotus leaves swaying in the evening breeze. Above the waterway stood a triangular roofed pavilion.

Between the triangular pavilion and the surrounding walls, there was still a passage wide enough for carriages to pass through.

With a serious expression, Xu Yunqi led Apricot into the front courtyard of the Xun residence.

The sky was dim, and two palace lanterns hung beneath the eaves of the Xun residence. A gentle autumn breeze wafted out from the open entrance. Xu Yunqi, having just returned from the warm city of Yangzhou, felt a chill and paused in front of the stone lions at the gate. As if expecting her arrival, Xun Yunhe stepped out in a white robe.

Apricot waited for Xu Yunqi in the pavilion, where the Xun family's butler kindly served her some fruit. She leisurely munched on sunflower seeds.

Xun Yunhe approached Xu Yunqi with a warm smile, saying,

"Back already? Was the journey smooth?"

The daily news from Yangzhou was delivered to the cabinet, so he knew everything about Pei Muheng's actions there. However, his daughter was the one thing that made him uneasy.

Xu Yunqi's face had regained its composure. She first bowed to him as a sign of respect before responding, "Why would you look for her?"

The smile on Xun Yunhe's face faded slightly. "If it weren't for her, you wouldn't be here to see your father."

Xu Yunqi understood the implications of those words. After a moment of silence, she sighed and said,

"If you feel lonely, you can remarry and even have one or two more children to raise, filling the void in your heart."

"With your current status, you can marry the woman of your dreams. In truth, my mother was never a suitable match for you. You two shouldn't have been together from the start."

Her grandfather had mentioned more than once that her father had ambitious aspirations, while her mother was content with a peaceful life. They were never meant to cross paths.

Anyone else could say such things to Xun Yunhe without causing him pain, but not Xu Yunqi.

If he hadn't married Qingniang, she wouldn't exist.

How much disappointment did she harbor towards her parents deep down to utter such words?

Xun Yunhe endured the piercing ache in his chest and spoke softly,

"An An, Father won't... Father won't marry again, nor will I have any more children. I've set aside an inheritance for Nianxi, and everything else will be left to you."

"Even if I end up alone until the end of my days, I'll guard this house. No matter how far you wander, when you look back, there will always be a light shining for you, and a pair of eyes watching over you, longing for your return."