Chapter 95: Marquis Yichun’s Guess
Night was deep and dark.
Marquis Yichun sat before the desk, his usually steady eyes somewhat surprised.
“Ji Ying is missing?” he asked again.
“Yes, Father.”
Chai Yuan was draped in a cloak, wearing nightclothes, clearly having been woken up. He held a lamp in his hand, pointing at the map on the rack.
“Ji Ying received the letter at this location. The postmaster there confirmed that Ji Ying left the post station that very night.”
“No news from here onward.”
“Unclear if it was due to the heavy snow or deliberate concealment, but there are no traces along the way.”
Marquis Yichun looked at the map, his turbid eyes heavy: “No traces are a trace in themselves. This was done by human hands.”
“Was Ji Ying eliminated by the local government officials he was investigating?” Chai Yuan said. “These people are too bold. Do they still think it’s chaotic times where each rules their own? This is aimed at His Majesty…”
“This is aimed at us!” Marquis Yichun cut him off. “It didn’t happen sooner or later, but right when he received my letter and was heading back to the capital.”
Chai Yuan was stunned: “Aimed at us how?”
Marquis Yichun looked at the place where Ji Ying disappeared, his gaze moving along the line previously drawn, which marked the places Ji Ying had passed through since becoming an inspector.
Finally, his gaze settled on one spot.
Lu County.
White Horse Town.
“As expected, it’s related to the White Horse Town matter?” Chai Yuan said. “Someone doesn’t want us looking into White Horse Town?”
Marquis Yichun looked at him: “When Qin Fu said the Empress didn’t know about Lady Yang Tong’s matter earlier, was it that A Feng truly didn’t know, or that Qin Fu didn’t know A Feng knew?”
Earlier, Duke Ding’an had rushed over in the middle of the night because his niece had been attacked, believing it was Father who sent the assassins.
Father thought it was him who did it.
After he explained he didn’t know, Father then thought it was the Empress who did it.
After all, back then because of Lady Yang, when the Empress quarreled with the Emperor, she declared that only one of the Chai clan’s daughter or Lady Yang could live.
Later, though the Yang Family retreated and Lady Yang disappeared from the capital city, for these past ten-plus years, big sister would lose her temper whenever she saw anyone from the Yang Family.
If she knew that Lady Yang’s child was still alive…
She might indeed, in a fit of anger, commit murder.
But when Qin Fu was summoned and questioned, he said the Empress didn’t know Lady Yang had a daughter, just like His Majesty; they had always thought Lady Yang aborted the child.
Could it really be younger sister who did it? Chai Yuan was somewhat hesitant.
Does younger sister really have that much capability? Raising dead soldiers right under their noses?
Those dead soldiers couldn’t be gathered in a day or two; they must have been trained over many years.
The Empress was previously a young lady raised in deep seclusion, and now she is kept in the deep palace, even more isolated from the outside world.
“Father, I actually think…” Chai Yuan thought of something. “It might be His Majesty who did it.”
The Emperor.
Marquis Yichun frowned: “How could the Emperor…”
“Father means to say the Emperor was deeply in love with that Lady Yang?” Chai Yuan said, sneering. “Perhaps a bit when young, but not that deep, otherwise he wouldn’t have married into our family. Later, after achieving success and fame, he did cherish old affections, but he had become the lord of the land under heaven. After being humiliated like that by Lady Yang, the old affections were exhausted. So many years have passed, the rivers and mountains are stable, he is the founding hero, the rear palace is full of beauties. Recalling the past now, I’m afraid only resentment remains. Father, think about it: this old matter, we don’t want to mention it—does the Emperor want to mention it? Doesn’t he find it disgraceful?”
Marquis Yichun was silent for a moment, then said gravely: “I’ve thought of this guess too.”
That night, when Duke Ding’an came to question him about sending assassins to kill that Yang Family child, he drove away the muddle-headed Duke Ding’an and first used Sun Shu’s remnants to cover it up, avoiding attention focusing on the Yang Family daughter.
Then he quietly investigated that night’s events.
The more he investigated, the stranger it seemed.
No traces at all.
Marquis Yichun felt that even if he personally acted, he couldn’t make it this clean.
Besides him, who else would go to such lengths for this Yang Family lady?
Almost no one knew about Lady Yang’s old matters.
Yang Tong had no relations with anyone else; there was no need to specifically eliminate her and her mother.
Related to Yang Tong, besides us and the Yang Family, there’s only the Emperor.
“Even if A Feng truly raised dead soldiers behind our backs, all these matters—gathering intelligence silently, killing without a sound, eliminating traces, time and again—couldn’t be accomplished by her scheming alone.”
“If it was the Emperor…”
Hearing this, Marquis Yichun interrupted Chai Yuan: “Wei Jiao.”
Why suddenly mention Wei Jiao?
Marquis Yichun looked at him: “Think about it: in all these matters, wasn’t Wei Jiao present?”
Chai Yuan pondered.
“Ji Ying said that at the time, Wei Jiao was in nearby Zhao County investigating Jiang Wangchun’s treason case and even came to White Horse Town chasing the villain,” he said.
“Last time, when the young lady of Duke Ding’an’s Mansion was attacked, Wei Jiao was there too…”
“And at the time, the young lady of Duke Ding’an’s Mansion personally said it was Wei Jiao’s men who killed the villain.”
“Now…”
“Wei Jiao isn’t in the capital city either; he used escorting the Wei Family members as a pretext to go do that matter.”
Chai Yuan said, adding another sentence.
“And it was the clues we provided him.”
Marquis Yichun looked at the map: “Who knows if he really went or used it as cover for something else.”
Wei Jiao is the Emperor’s man.
He works exclusively for the Emperor; no one else can interfere.
“For Ji Ying’s matter, have Ji Ying’s family investigate,” Marquis Yichun looked at Chai Yuan and said slowly. “Withdraw all our men. Wait until Wei Jiao returns; I’ll question him personally before deciding.”
……
…..
Dawn light was faint when a loud sneeze came from the Imperial Study.
Princess Pingcheng, coming to pay respects before school and just reaching the doorway, was startled.
“Father Emperor, did you stay up all night again?” she asked loudly, striding heavily inside. “It’s cold now; staying up makes it easy to catch a chill!”
The Emperor, wearing a cotton robe and sitting behind the desk, was rubbing his nose. Hearing this, he laughed heartily: “No, no, just an itchy nose. It started itching in the middle of the night.”
As he spoke, he sneezed again.
“Probably someone behind my back cursing me.”
Princess Pingcheng chided: “Father Emperor, the common people pray for you not to stay up all night, to keep the dragon body healthy for eternal peace and prosperity under heaven. How can you say this is cursing you?”
The Emperor laughed heartily.
“Princess, rest assured. This servant is watching over His Majesty. His Majesty went to bed early last night,” the eunuch nearby said with a smile. He paused here, then added, “He just got up early to look at the map because something came to mind.”
On matters of state, Princess Pingcheng didn’t ask much and was about to change the subject when the Emperor smiled and spoke first.
“It was I who sent Wei Jiao to handle a major concern,” he said. “He’s probably reached here by now.”
Princess Pingcheng knew about Wei Jiao escorting the Wei Family members, but there was another task. No wonder—she thought Wei Jiao wouldn’t be so kind-hearted.
She couldn’t help but smile: “Father Emperor, rest assured. Wei Jiao will surely carry out your orders perfectly.”
The Emperor nodded with a smile: “This fellow is reliable in his work.” He added here, “Some matters are exasperating, but most are handled well.”
As he spoke, he pointed at the map about to say something…
Princess Pingcheng already advised: “Since Father Emperor trusts him, you should rest more. Don’t get up in the middle of the night anymore.”
The Emperor was somewhat reluctant, wanting to continue talking about it, but seeing Princess Pingcheng didn’t want to hear…
“Isn’t today a rest day? Why up so early?” he asked with a smile, then instructed, “You mustn’t stay up late either. Rest when you should.”
Princess Pingcheng blinked at the Emperor: “I know. I’m just used to it. Even on rest days, I get up early. But smart people don’t study by burning the midnight oil. Father Emperor, remember that too.”
The Emperor laughed heartily again, waving at his daughter: “Off you go.”
Princess Pingcheng paid respects and left.
The Emperor watched his daughter’s back. She was deeply favored by him but never arrogant, always proper in advance and retreat, measured in speech…
He was very pleased, though slightly regretful that she wasn’t like him as a child… so rough.
The thought flashed by, and he chuckled.
Daughters, if she were really like him as a child, that would be too much of a headache.
The Emperor turned with a smile to look at the map.
“Wei Jiao should have arrived by now.”
……
…..
Nearing the Longxi border, it was bitterly cold, especially in the early morning; even the leaping bonfire couldn’t ward off the harsh chill.
Wei Jiao sat by the bonfire and let out a heavy sneeze.
“Captain.” An Embroidered Uniform Guard hurriedly unwrapped the cloak from himself to drape another layer over him.
Wei Jiao raised his hand to stop it, rubbing his nose: “Not cold.”
Another Embroidered Uniform Guard smiled: “Then someone must be talking about the Captain behind his back.”
Wei Jiao frowned: “That doesn’t add up then. How do you only sneeze once? Wouldn’t all these years of mine be wasted? At least it should be sneezing nonstop to look the part.”
