Chapter 33: The Search

Chapter 33: The Search

Since the passage had been sealed off for a long time, the guards of the imperial hunting grounds didn’t search this area, which was how the two managed to escape so easily.

At the imperial hunting grounds, the imperial physician hurried over through the night and had already treated Prince Jing’s injury.

But with his hand tendons severed, even if the wound healed, his hand would be useless.

"Useless! What use are you if you can't even protect a hand? Drag him out and chop off his head!"

Prince Jing was furious, kicking the imperial physician in front of him.

The physician, from the outer ranks of the Imperial Medical Bureau, had come this time to curry favor with the prince, never expecting to walk right into the line of fire.

Ignoring the pain, he knelt and begged for mercy, "Your Highness, spare my life! I will do my utmost to treat you!"

"Take him away!"

"Your Highness..."

The physician, as if mourning his own parents, was dragged out by the guards with a pale face.

Su Wenxuan had just entered and witnessed the scene.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, he bowed and flattered, "Cousin, that physician is just some useless drunk. I've already sent someone to fetch Dr. Lin, who specializes in orthopedics. He'll definitely fix your hand."

"Have the culprits been caught?"

Prince Jing interrupted him, his expression fierce.

Su Wenxuan shrank back, his voice barely above a whisper, "It was dark and windy last night, and he escaped..."

"Useless! All of you are useless!"

Though they were cousins and usually pushed others around together, there was still a clear line between ruler and subject. When Prince Jing was angry, Su Wenxuan was so frightened that he knelt on the ground.

"The thief is injured and won’t have gotten far. The guards have already started searching the surrounding area."

"If you don’t catch him, bring me your head!"

Prince Jing roared, the pain from his severed tendons fueling his anger, his hatred for Wei Xun growing deeper.

Su Wenxuan trembled, prostrate on the ground, "Yes, I will go search immediately!"

......

"Sir, we've already thoroughly checked the surrounding area. Behind the hunting grounds, there’s a village. Usually, hunters come to the mountain but stay on the outskirts. Yesterday, no one from the village went up the mountain, so we can rule them out as suspects."

"Rule them out? Since we haven’t caught the culprit, everyone’s a suspect. Arrest them all!" Su Wenxuan, freshly scolded by Prince Jing, was now fuming and determined to wrongly arrest them rather than let anyone slip away.

"Yes, sir," the guard responded, arranging for his men to make the arrests.

"What about other places?" Su Wenxuan continued to ask.

The guard looked troubled. Su Wenxuan frowned, "What? Is there something you can't say?"

The guard quickly shook his head, "I dare not, sir. There’s also a hot spring villa nearby, owned by the Marquis of Anning. Yesterday, Wei Crown Prince stayed there with his family."

"Oh? Wei Xun?"

Su Wenxuan's expression turned dark. "Let's go and meet him."

As the Deputy Magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture, Wei Xun was envied by all the young nobles in the capital, especially Su Wenxuan.

He and Wei Xun were of similar age and family background, yet Wei Xun had risen to the fourth rank at a young age and was highly favored by the Emperor, while he could only rely on Prime Minister Su's influence to secure a minor seventh-rank position in the Ministry of Revenue.

He didn’t even bother to attend daily roll calls, spending his days loafing with Prince Jing. Their attempts to forcibly take women had been thwarted by Wei Xun, and Su Wenxuan had long been holding a grudge against him.

......

"My lord, Su Wenxuan is coming with his men!"

The estate was only an hour's journey from the hunting grounds, and Su Wenxuan's arrival was expected by Wei Xun.

"Let him in."

No one knew about their secret visit to the hunting grounds last night. The people in the estate thought Wei Xun had gone to bed early with A Yuan.

Even A Yuan only knew that Wei Xun was injured, not where he went.

The night clothes had been burned, leaving no trace of any evidence.

Wei Xun sat in the main hall of the outer courtyard, waiting for Su Wenxuan to arrive.

"Lord Wei seems quite at ease, shirking his duties at Jingzhao Prefecture to relax in this estate."

Su Wenxuan was followed by a dozen burly guards, all crowding into the main hall, while Wei Xun was accompanied only by Changyuan.

The disparity in strength was evident, but Wei Xun didn’t bat an eye, calmly sipping his tea and smiling.

"Lord Su is no different. I’m no match for you, but why has Lord Su brought people to my estate?"

Su Wenxuan, stung by these words, looked displeased. He sat down beside Wei Xun, not waiting for the servants, and picked up a cup from the table and drank.

"Hmph! Last night, Prince Jing was in danger, and the culprit, a vicious criminal, escaped. Naturally, I am here to investigate!"

"Your estate is closest to the royal hunting grounds. The culprit is likely hiding here!"

"Lord Su, be careful with your words. Accusing an imperial official without evidence could get you punished by the Emperor."

Wei Xun's eyes narrowed slightly, his tone calm but laced with a threat. Su Wenxuan's face flushed, almost being intimidated.

"Who's to say I have no evidence! The culprit is injured—a search will reveal it!"

"Lord Su wants to investigate? Then investigate. But if the culprit isn’t found, I will surely report this to the Emperor and let him decide!"

Su Wenxuan was caught in a dilemma. He didn’t doubt Wei Xun—the Wei family was loyal, and the stability of the Zhou dynasty was due to Marquis Wei guarding the borders.

But he couldn’t stand Wei Xun. If it weren’t for Wei Xun's relentless investigations, he and Prince Jing wouldn’t have been forced to the royal hunting grounds, and Prince Jing wouldn’t have been attacked.

"My lord, shall we proceed with the search?"

The guard captain trembled. He had never faced such a situation before. Offending either Wei Xun or Su Wenxuan was out of the question. If they found the culprit, it would be fine, but if they didn’t, Su Wenxuan would surely blame them.

The guard captain was panicked, but his question left Su Wenxuan no room to retreat.

He gritted his teeth and ordered, "Search!"

Even if they couldn’t catch the real culprit, he could frame someone!

The royal guards dispersed into the estate, while Su Wenxuan remained in the main hall, keeping an eye on Wei Xun. Several times he tried to speak, but Wei Xun paid him no mind.

Su Wenxuan felt self-conscious and grew even more resentful towards him.

The manor was not large, and the guards finished their search in half a quarter-hour.

"My lord, we have searched all other areas, but there is no sign of the culprit. However, there is one place we cannot enter."

"What place?" Su Wenxuan straightened up and demanded.

The guard glanced at Wei Xun before replying, "The inner quarters of the marquis's women's quarters."

Wei Xun had anticipated that Prince Jing's men would investigate this far and had instructed his men to guard the inner courtyard.

It was a customary rule not to disturb the female family members during a search. If the prestigious marquis's residence had its rear courtyard searched, it would be a blow to his dignity.

But he had forgotten that Su Wenxuan was a man who rarely followed the rules.

"Lord Wei, Prince Jing's well-being is our top priority, and it is our duty as officials to apprehend the culprit. Surely you will allow the guards to enter the inner quarters?"

"And if I refuse?!"

Wei Xun's expression turned icy, and Su Wenxuan sneered, "Then don't blame me for storming in!"

The concubine Wei Xun had brought must be his beautiful little concubine, whom Su Wenxuan had been coveting for a long time.

Now, he finally had the chance to see her in person, and he was itching with anticipation, even forgetting about the task of capturing the culprit.