He looked at He Lingchuan. "Do you think Wu Kai might have already been murdered by Cen Boqing to silence him, with the claim of heading north being a lie?"
Wu Kai was Cen Boqing's dirty-work man—slaying demons for pearls and all related affairs were likely under his overall management. This man was living proof. Once Cen Boqing realized he couldn't extricate himself from the courier case, would he have simply eliminated this witness?
"Very unlikely." He Lingchuan had been considering that possibility just now. "If Cen Boqing had killed Wu Kai to silence him, he would only need to invent an excuse—say, a stampede by the lake, or an accidental fatal slip. Flimsy though it might be, a dead man is dead. What could you or I do about it? We'd have no choice but to admit he played a better move."
Right after the snail-toad struck at Chaohu Pagoda, He Lingchuan had summoned Fu Shanyue to Baishaqu while having Commander Lu surround the Cen Residence, precisely to race against time and catch Cen Boqing off guard before he could react. Mr. Mai had said Cen Boqing lacked quick wits, and after observing him for days, He Lingchuan agreed. Otherwise, married to the eldest daughter of Beijia's Minister of Agriculture and with military merits to his name, why had his military posts never advanced?
Lacking the talent for decisive action was a fatal flaw on the battlefield.
If he were allowed to go back, wine and dine, and ponder the matter carefully for half a night, he might well grasp the stakes, steel his heart, and have Wu Kai murdered.
"So I'm inclined to believe Wu Kai is still alive, and truly no longer at the Cen Residence."
"Was he really sent to Lingxu City by Cen Boqing?" Fu Shanyue shook his head. "Under such tight time constraints, would they leave in two separate batches? Besides, Wu Kai rarely leaves Cen Boqing's side."
He Lingchuan thought for a moment. "I have another theory: Wu Kai might have fled on his own—right when Commander Lu led his men to surround the Cen Residence, while Cen Boqing was in utter turmoil!"
"Fled..." Fu Shanyue started to laugh, but the more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed. "Your theory... hm. You mean Wu Kai caught on faster than Cen Boqing, feared for his life, and scaled the wall to escape?"
"When disaster strikes, even husbands and wives fly in opposite directions, let alone a master and servant. We can no longer treat Cen Boqing and Wu Kai as a single unit. If Wu Kai stayed, he would either be silenced by Cen Boqing or captured by us. Neither outcome is good, so why not vanish?" He Lingchuan analyzed. "Besides, he knows that the principal culprit we are after is Cen Boqing. He could follow Mai Xuewen's example and fly far and wide."
Fu Shanyue stroked his chin. "There's actually a way to verify this. Jiao Yu—"
The tiger rose, padded over, its tail twitching slightly.
Fu Shanyue asked him, "Did you say earlier that Wu Kai's family is also in Baishaqu?"
Wu Kai had lost his son in middle age, but fortunately, his grandson had always been healthy. This time, his daughter-in-law had brought the boy along to Baishaqu. Mother and son were currently renting a residence in Biandan Lane.
This was a lead delivered by Mai Xuewen yesterday. Jiao Yu had overheard it and sent someone to keep watch, reporting it to the Crown Prince just a moment ago.
"Take some men right now and put them under 'protection,'" Fu Shanyue smiled. "Lest Cen Boqing beat us to the punch."
He Lingchuan gave him a sideways glance. Having not seen him for barely over twenty days, Fu Shanyue had already become quite artistic with his words. He was clearly intending to seize hostages for leverage, yet phrased it as "protection."
The tiger offered no objection, turning around and heading straight out.
Only then did Fu Shanyue turn to He Lingchuan with a serious expression. "To dare swallow even an Inspector whole... that Mai fellow has bigger guts than either of us."
*He only has bigger guts than you; why drag me into it?* Before He Lingchuan could finish scoffing inwardly, Fu Shanyue continued, "Neither the Zhongsun clan nor the Minister of Agriculture will let this go, not to mention that this will most likely alarm the Demon Emperor. We must resolve this swiftly and decisively, gather all the evidence, and nail Cen Boqing's crimes shut. Otherwise, a violent storm will engulf Baishaqu."
Then he saw He Lingchuan reach out a hand toward him. "Hm? What's this?"
"With the case investigated to this point, the truth is practically out in the open. Isn't it time to hand over what we agreed upon?"
"Hey, Cen Boqing hasn't been brought to justice yet, so the case isn't finished!" Despite saying that, Fu Shanyue still reached into his robes, pulled out a brocade pouch, and handed it over. "Here, take it."
He Lingchuan took it and looked inside. It turned out to be a storage pouch with about seven or eight cubic meters of space. Mostly empty, a few materials were piled in a corner.
These were the materials provided for He Lingchuan to upgrade the gold-armored bronze automaton.
There was an ample amount of each item, enough that even if his refining failed, he could make a second attempt.
Fu Shanyue was finally being generous, no longer the stingy prince from their journey back to the capital. He Lingchuan took inventory, then frowned. "One thing's missing... Where is the book that explains the black flood dragon pattern?"
His agreement to investigate the eastern imperial eagle courier case was precisely because of the terms he had struck with Fu Shanyue: besides the materials to upgrade the gold-armored bronze automaton, Fu Shanyue had to help him find a banned book.
The black flood dragon pattern appeared in that book.
"Once this case is settled once and for all, the book will be yours." Fu Shanyue stretched and stood up. "I sneaked into the Imperial Study three or four times before I finally found it. You'd better make my hard work worth it."
He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. Damn it, was his work on this case supposed to be easy?
He had nearly lost his life.
...
Baishaqu was not large, and Biandan Lane was close by. Approximately three-quarters of an hour later, the tiger returned.
"We didn't catch them. Wu Kai's daughter-in-law and grandson have already fled Biandan Lane."
Fu Shanyue asked in surprise, "Weren't you having men keep watch?"
"Earlier, we could still see them moving about through the window, but when it was time to make the arrest, they were gone." Jiao Yu looked slightly embarrassed. "Turns out there was a secret door in that house leading straight into the rice shop next door."
"No wonder Wu Kai rented that house. Ha, 'rented'—it's probably a property under his control," Fu Shanyue sneered. "The man is indeed cautious."
"What's more, the house was swept exceptionally clean and fumigated with medicinal herbs. Not even a single strand of hair was left behind."
"They couldn't have fled more than two shichen ago and will likely leave the city as fast as possible." Fu Shanyue instructed Jiao Yu, "Lead men to search outward from the West Gate and the North Gate, and dispatch eagle sentries to monitor travelers on the roads."
An eagle's eyes were far sharper than a human's, able to spot quarry from high in the sky.
"Understood."
Just as Jiao Yu turned to leave, a goshawk flew in from outside and landed on a large tree beside Fu Shanyue. "Your Highness, I intended to return with Lord Jiao, but before departing, I saw people entering the house Wu Kai rented for his grandson once again."
"Oh? Who?"
"I tailed them and discovered that the two are guards from the Cen Residence." Although Commander Lu had led men to surround the Cen Residence, it was not a prison after all; servants going in and out to buy groceries or empty nightsoil couldn't be entirely stopped. "Neither returned to the Cen Residence. Instead, they went to the second floor of a shop across the street and shone a mirror toward the manor."
Good grief, they'd even brought out mirror signals. Fu Shanyue thought for a moment, then burst into roaring laughter. "Ah, hahahaha! To think Cen Boqing was outplayed by his own loyally devoted old servant!"
"You were right—Wu Kai wasn't dispatched by him, but absconded on his own. Otherwise, why would Cen Boqing send people to search for his grandson?" Fu Shanyue clicked his tongue twice. "No wonder Cen Boqing looked so awful when I demanded Wu Kai at the Cen Residence! Not only could he not produce the man, but he was used by Wu Kai as a rearguard shield!"
"Our surrounding the Cen Residence also blocked Cen Boqing from sending men out to search for Wu Kai," He Lingchuan remarked mildly. "In a sense, we're Wu Kai's shields too."
Fu Shanyue's laughter stopped abruptly.
"Some things are best left unsaid if we're to remain friends."
"Wu Kai guarded against Cen Boqing as well, showing that this master and servant didn't trust each other as seamlessly as it appeared on the surface. That counts as good news." He Lingchuan knew Fu Shanyue lacked scruples and was entirely capable of abducting someone's grandson. He had not intended to intervene, but now that this simple move had dragged out such complicated ramifications, his interest was piqued. "The bad news is that Wu Kai and his kin didn't flee in a panic. Capturing them probably won't be that easy."
"Why is that?" Fu Shanyue raised an eyebrow. "Can fleeing ever be leisurely? How did you gather that?"
"Wu Kai didn't know Mai Xuewen provided us with leads. In other words, he couldn't have anticipated that you would search for his family, yet he had long prepared to send them fleeing from Baishaqu," He Lingchuan analyzed. "If he could prepare a house with a secret door, he could naturally plan out routes and measures for his family's escape in advance. Ha, he likely arranged usable hands, carriages, and horses long before this—this wasn't a rushed affair. Something with this much premeditation and preparation shouldn't be called fleeing; it's an evacuation."
Looking back at Wu Kai's conduct, everything made sense.
The old man had possessed immense confidence.
Small wonder he hadn't allowed his daughter-in-law and grandson to stay in the Cen Residence, opting to rent a place outside instead. As it turned out, he had been prepared to slip away at any moment.
Fu Shanyue was not convinced. "If Wu Kai truly knew how to prepare for a rainy day, why didn't he send his family away earlier? You and Cen Boqing crossed swords days ago."
He Lingchuan said slowly, "We aren't the only ones he was guarding against."
"Not just us?" Fu Shanyue was clever as well. After pondering for a brief moment, he uttered an enlightened, "Oh. You mean he was guarding against Cen Boqing at the same time?"
"Most likely. And as facts have shown, his precautions were justified," He Lingchuan continued. "Cen Boqing knew his daughter-in-law had brought the boy to Baishaqu to visit. If mother and son suddenly departed ahead of schedule, Cen Boqing would realize Uncle Wu was guarding against him as well."
Fu Shanyue mused with amusement, "What an interesting pair of master and servant. Looking at it this way, if Wu Kai hadn't managed to escape in time, my detaining him would have played right into his hands?"
"Otherwise, for his own safety, Cen Boqing would likely have killed him to silence him the moment he returned." He Lingchuan thought it over. "The fact that he didn't do so earlier shows that Wu Kai was either very important or Cen Boqing had other misgivings. But now that Zhongsun Mou is dead and everything is moving in an unfavorable direction, he might not be able to care about all that."
He paused, then added, "Now that Wu Kai has fled, Cen Boqing won't confess either. If things drag out over the next few days until the special envoy from Lingxu City arrives, the situation could change again. Just as you said, how could the Minister of Agriculture stand idly by while his son-in-law falls into ruin?"
Fu Shanyue crossed his arms. "From what you're saying, didn't I make this trip in vain?"
Securing Cen Boqing's conviction hinged on Wu Kai's confession. Who didn't know Wu Kai was the trusted confidant of the Cen father and son? Only if he confessed would Cen Boqing have no way to escape the net of justice.
Yet right at this critical juncture, Wu Kai had vanished.
Chapter 514