Chapter 140: Grasshoppers Tied on the Same Rope

Chapter 140: In the Same Boat

Liu Qidao, along with dozens of his personal guards and shadow guards, sprinted at full speed, with the assassins behind them in hot pursuit.

Shadow Eleven said in a low voice, "Lord Liu, we need to split into several groups."

Liu Qidao touched the cloth-wrapped bundle at his belt, then nodded solemnly.

The guards all knew what that gesture meant.

The dozens of men quickly split into three groups, splitting off toward three different forked paths.

The dozens of black-clad men behind them arrived at the fork: "Damn it, they've split into groups. We don't know which path Liu Qidao took."

"We'll have to split up too?"

They hesitated. This mission was critical—the prince had already deployed all their available forces.

They had lost quite a few men during the pursuit. They were about to succeed, but their targets had escaped again.

"Split into three groups and chase them."

"I don't think that's wise. If we split into three, our numbers will be spread thin."

"If we don't split up, we're much more likely to come up empty-handed."

They were divided over whether to split up.

"Split into three groups quickly and chase them. Wasting time here just gives them more time to catch their breath."

The leader split his men into three groups and gave chase.

Liu Qidao knew the journey to the capital would not be easy. The moment he received the news, he packed up all the evidence and mobilized all his household guards.

To his surprise, the Sixth Prince had also assigned ten shadow guards to escort him.

Even so, the Fifth Prince's men were not to be underestimated—they caught up quickly, and they had already clashed several times in fierce battles.

The Fifth Prince had more men, perhaps throwing all his forces into the pursuit.

Whenever Liu Qidao thought of his daughter still waiting for him in the capital, he was moved to tears of joy.

She was his only daughter, the apple of his eye.

His wife had died young. Fearing that a stepmother would treat his daughter poorly, he never took another wife, keeping only two concubines in the household.

But then, when his precious daughter turned fifteen, she suddenly disappeared.

He nearly went mad, searching for her everywhere in secret, until the Fifth Prince brought him a letter in his daughter's handwriting.

He had always refused to be complicit in the Fifth Prince's schemes, never expecting that the man would use such despicable means to coerce him.

Yet, as long as his daughter was alive, he had no choice but to obey the Fifth Prince's orders.

Not only did he embezzle silver, but he also secretly raised the salt tax, colluding with his superiors and subordinates alike.

He didn't want to keep any of the silver for himself, nor could he—he turned it all over to the Fifth Prince.

Now that his daughter had been rescued by the Sixth Prince, Liu Qidao cried out several times, "There is justice in heaven!"

The list and the account books were the most crucial evidence.

Whatever fate befell him, he would accept it. As long as his daughter lived well and he could bring down the Fifth Prince, nothing else mattered.

They had fought several fierce battles and split up at many forks in the road. Finally, this time, luck was on his side again.

The Fifth Prince's men had lost track of them.

But passing through each city was fraught with danger—the Fifth Prince's reach was far greater than they had imagined.

They were all in the same boat; no one wanted to die.

After more than a month of hiding and dodging, they finally reached the capital with great difficulty.

Liu Bingying saw her father, his hair now completely white, and immediately burst into loud sobs.

After more than a month of recuperation, Liu Bingying no longer looked gaunt and skeletal. Her face had filled out a bit, and her complexion had improved.

Liu Qidao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had worried that his daughter had suffered severe harm—that she might have been maimed or poisoned.

Fortunately, the Fifth Prince had believed she could never escape, so apart from starving her and keeping her in darkness, he had not inflicted other cruelties on her.

"Father, you're not even forty yet—how did your hair turn completely white?"

Liu Bingying wept uncontrollably. She knew all too well it was because her father had been tormented by worry day and night that his hair had turned white.

But Liu Qidao, on the other hand, was relieved and smiled instead. The father and daughter talked, laughed, and cried together for a long time.

The next day, unable to bear the anxiety of waiting at the residence, Liu Bingying went to visit Xi Qianyue.

For safety's sake, the two of them had not seen each other in a long time.

After more than a month of recuperation, Liu Bingying's health had recovered considerably. Her face had filled out, with a healthy rosy glow—quite lovely to look at.

Zeng Shi, thinking of how this young woman had been locked up together with her own daughter, held her hand and expressed her deep sympathy.

Liu Bingying's face showed both joy and worry: "Sister Qianyue, my father finally made it to the capital safely. Last night he met with the Sixth Prince. He submitted the memorial today, and I'm so nervous right now."

"The prince has said he will protect your father's life, so rest assured. Besides, His Majesty needs your father as a key witness."

"What's a key witness?"

"It means redeeming oneself through meritorious service—guilty, yes, but also deserving of leniency. His Majesty will surely take that into account. Don't worry too much."

Liu Bingying felt a bit more at ease after Xi Qianyue's reassurance.

"When my father saw me, he burst into tears, and I cried too. We held each other and wept... Being able to come out alive and see my father—I'm so lucky. Sister Qianyue, I owe it all to you."

Liu Bingying's eyes welled up again at the mere mention of it.

Xi Qianyue found it amusing: "How is it thanks to me? It's thanks to the Sixth Prince. If he hadn't brought his men, the two of us would still be rotting in that dungeon, not knowing how long we'd be locked up."

Liu Bingying had become more lively and teased, "Sister Qianyue, are you playing dumb, or are you really that clueless? Why did the Sixth Prince go to such lengths to rescue you? Because you're his beloved. And I just got lucky by association."

Xi Qianyue continued to deny it, but Liu Bingying was adamant.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Ah? Anyone with eyes can see it at a glance. You're right in the middle of it, so you don't dare be sure."

Thanks to the back-and-forth with Xi Qianyue, Liu Bingying's nerves had calmed down quite a bit.

Three days later, word finally came.

The Fifth Prince was confined to his residence.

Of course, it wasn't just confinement—no one was allowed to visit him, and even his food and supplies were managed by the emperor's own people, so he had no way to reach the outside world.

Liu Qidao was also taken into custody by the capital's prefectural office, and for his safety, shadow guards sent by the emperor kept an eye on him.

This big case sent a wave of panic through every household in the capital.

When the emperor learned that the Fifth Prince had amassed wealth in recent years—skimming off two million taels of silver from the salt tax alone—he was furious.

In recent years, there had been both natural disasters and continuous warfare, and even the national treasury held only a little over ten million taels of silver!

But the Fifth Prince loudly protested his innocence and refused to admit guilt.

The Third Prince and the Sixth Prince then assisted the Grand Court in investigating the case, uncovering that the Fifth Prince had not only skimmed from the salt tax but had also sold official titles and disrupted the imperial examinations.

What shocked and enraged the emperor even more was that the Fifth Prince had secretly sent many beauties to officials—not only to exchange favors but also to use these women to grasp hold of the officials' secrets for his own benefit.

When the emperor's wrath is stirred, a hundred thousand corpses may fall.

The Fifth Prince was truly ambitious; he appeared timid and fearful, but in reality, he had both wealth and followers, controlling many officials. Though most were of lower rank, who could say that, given time, he might not infiltrate the higher echelons of power?