Chapter 11: Trouble at the Chancellor’s Residence

Chapter 11: Trouble at the Chancellor's Residence

Days of scrutiny had led to the expulsion of a group of people from the general's residence.

Later, Gao Wenyan suggested a blanket approach: anyone who had been with the Gao family for less than three years should be given some compensation and dismissed.

Though she said this, the number of servants in the general's residence was not large, and turnover was infrequent.

Looking at the list, only about twenty people had joined the general's residence in the past three years.

Gao Wenxi, cautious by nature, was questioning each one individually. If he found no issues, he would give them a bag of silver and let them go.

"Where are you from?"

"From Xiangyang, Young General."

He glanced down at the ledger and noticed it was a cook.

The Gaos usually did not hire new cooks, but two years ago, their old cook retired and returned home, leaving them no choice but to find a replacement.

Gao Wenxi pondered for a moment, then suddenly stood up and halted the day's questioning.

The cook could only watch helplessly as he left, and everyone was ordered to return to the residence for further questioning the next day.

Gao Wenyan also had an inkling and instructed, "Find out who was in charge of the kitchen on the day Zhang Hai died."

Everyone Zhang Hai had interacted with that day had already been questioned, leaving only the lunch meal as the last point of contact.

Although there was no poisoning, it might have carried some information.

Unfortunately, Gao Wenxi had already had all the food checked, and no notes were found.

True to his decisive nature, he immediately ordered Zhang Hai's abdomen to be opened, but found no clues.

Seeing the cook today, they both realized they should focus on the kitchen.

Gao Wenyan's face lit up with excitement; she had a feeling this line of thought was correct.

The cook responsible that day was quickly brought in. He was a familiar face, having served the Gao family for over a decade, and everyone called him Old Cheng.

Upon seeing Old Cheng, the siblings' faces darkened simultaneously.

Gao Wenxi asked, "Old Cheng, were the meals that day prepared by you?"

Still unaware of what had happened, Old Cheng replied, "Yes."

Gao Wenyan pressed, "Did anyone enter the kitchen?"

"Oh, the kitchen is a restricted area; how could we let just anyone in?"

Just as the lead seemed to be fading, Old Cheng suddenly slapped his head.

"Oh! I remember."

"Xiao Zhou helped me with the lunch that day."

Giving a subtle nod, Gao Wenyan casually asked, "Each cook usually handles the meals for a day. Why did Xiao Zhou help you?"

Old Cheng straightened his back proudly.

He chuckled, "I've been here longer; they consider me their mentor. Perhaps he wanted to help."

Gao Wenyan shook her head, sighing at Old Cheng's simplicity.

If someone wanted to take advantage, he might unwittingly lose his head.

She asked, "I remember Old Cheng is from Guangling?"

"Yes."

"Then how could Xiao Zhou, who is from Xiangyang, know how to prepare Guangling dishes?"

Old Cheng paused, then replied, "I wouldn't know."

"But it's normal for cooks to know various styles. Oh! The square cakes that day were made by him; they looked good."

"Did you ask him to make the square cakes?"

He scratched his head. "Not exactly."

"Xiao Zhou said he would handle the desserts, so I didn't specify what he should make."

Gao Wenyan probed further and discovered that only the square cakes were made by Xiao Zhou, and those cakes were among the food sent to Zhang Hai.

She asked Gao Wenxi, "Where is Zhang Hai from?"

Gao Wenxi, already confident, smiled, "Coincidentally, he is from Guangling."

At this point, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed someone used the square cakes to remind Zhang Hai that his family was still in danger.

Gao Wenyan waved her hand, no longer participating in the interrogation of Xiao Zhou. She trusted her brother's methods.

She wore a yellow scarf today, and Zhi Xing was already waiting at the back door.

Chu Xu had mentioned that most people did not know Zhi Xing worked for the government residence, which is why Gao Wenyan felt safe interacting with him.

As they traveled, a fast horse approached from the opposite direction. Recognizing it as a shadow guard from the government residence, Zhi Xing quickly reined in his horse.

"Leader, something has happened to the Chancellor!"

Zhi Xing was alarmed. "What's going on?"

The training ground is in the southern suburbs of the Capital. The General's residence and the government residence start from the west and east respectively, taking two completely unrelated routes.

If compared, the route from the government residence is longer because it must go around Wula Mountain.

Chu Xu had set out half an hour earlier and was attacked when passing by Wula Mountain.

His shadow guard rode at full speed and only now met up with Zhi Xing.

To save time, the three tightened their grip on their horses and galloped toward Wula Mountain.

"While we were fighting the assailants, the Chancellor suddenly suffered a relapse of his old illness and was hit by an arrow, falling off the cliff. He remains missing."

"Additional personnel have been dispatched to search. If there's any news, they will signal immediately."

Zhi Xing's face grew increasingly grave, and he broke into a cold sweat.

He suddenly remembered Chu Ying and hurriedly asked, "What about Miss Chu Ying?"

"Luckily, Miss had just set out. We've already arranged for someone to escort her back to the residence."

At least that wasn't another piece of bad news.

Zhi Xing wanted to send someone to escort Gao Wenyan back, but she refused without hesitation.

"I should contribute my share."

Together, the three arrived at the scene of the fight. Gao Wenyan examined the marks on the ground, confirming the shadow guard's account of the intense struggle.

She noticed one peculiar mark and couldn't help but look at it more closely.

"Did you capture anyone alive?" she asked.

"No, five attackers came, all well-trained assassins, extremely difficult to deal with. When they saw the Chancellor fall, they didn't prolong the fight and withdrew immediately."

Gao Wenyan walked to the edge of the cliff where Chu Xu fell. The marks left by his dagger wound snaked downward, evidence of his attempt to save himself.

Below was a raging river, into which Chu Xu had fallen and disappeared.

Zhi Xing needed to return to the government residence to seal off the news and prepare for other emergencies.

Gao Wenyan decided to enter the mountain with the shadow guard, splitting up to search.

Hearing this, Zhi Xing, disregarding formalities, repeatedly bowed in gratitude. In such a critical situation, every extra pair of hands counted.

Wula Mountain looked simple from the outside, but once inside, its terrain proved complex. Gao Wenyan wandered around, losing her way, and could only continue along the path by intuition.

Gao Wenyan wasn't worried about getting lost. Someone would surely find her eventually; as a capable person, she wasn't afraid of not being found.

Frankly, she wasn't particularly concerned about saving Chu Xu.

If Chu Xu died, it might not be detrimental to her.

If he survived, helping in the search would earn her goodwill, extending to the Gao family.

However, Gao Wenyan turned out to be luckier than she expected.

Not only did she contribute, but she actually found him, solidifying a significant favor.

When she found Chu Xu, he was still unconscious.

He was drenched, and his light-colored robe was stained with blood, now washed pale by the river water.

Gao Wenyan touched his forehead, finding it scorching hot.

Despite being swept by the river to this area, he managed to crawl into this cave for shelter, which made her admire his willpower.

Since he chose to hide, it meant there were pursuers.

Gao Wenyan neither knew Chu Xu's shadow guards nor the way, so the safest option was to wait in the cave for Chu Xu to wake up or for Zhi Xing to find her.