Cen Boqing's guilt was established, cast in iron.
"Qingfu Temple?" Bai Ziqi was visibly taken aback, but he immediately turned to Fu Shanyue. "With this confession in hand, the Crown Prince may issue the warrant to arrest Cen Boqing."
Fu Shanyue nodded and moved to muster the troops.
Bai Ziqi added, "Commander Fan, you go assist him as well."
Fan Sheng stood at once and cleared the cellar in two strides.
Fu Shanyue's gaze flickered slightly, but he raised no objection.
***
Once they had both departed, Bai Ziqi turned his gaze to He Lingchuan. "You take over the rest of the interrogation."
He Lingchuan nodded and ordered pen and paper to be brought down, proceeding to question Wu Kai in detail.
Wu Kai asked for a cup of water, drank it down in one long gulp, wiped his mouth, and began answering He Lingchuan's questions.
It turned out that Cen Boqing's father, Cen Qiao, had long been engaged in the business of hunting demons for their beads. When Wu Kai became his confidant, he had naturally been placed in charge of the trade. After Cen Qiao's death, Cen Boqing took over the family enterprise and continued to leave Wu Kai in overall command.
"Why did Cen Qiao start doing this in the first place?"
"The profits were staggering." Slumping against the wall, Wu Kai lacked even the strength to sit upright. "You have no idea how fast a family of the Cen clan's standing burns through money in Lingxu City... That place is a bottomless pit; no amount of coin is ever enough to cover the expenses. Years ago, the Cen family's shops and estates suffered massive losses. If they hadn't filled the deficit with this revenue, the clan would have fallen into ruin long ago. How would they ever have enjoyed the glory of marrying the Minister of Agriculture's daughter?"
"Marrying the Minister of Agriculture's daughter—didn't that mean marrying into a purse of gold?" He Lingchuan asked, drawing a sharp glance from Bai Ziqi. "Why did Cen Boqing still take the risk of continuing?"
"He mentioned wanting to pull out several times, but the buyer at Qingfu Temple wouldn't allow it."
"Buyer?" He Lingchuan let out a cold laugh. "Or do you mean his superior?"
Wu Kai said in a low voice, "In business like this, you can't simply leave just because you want to."
He Lingchuan gave an affirmative grunt and recorded the testimony on paper.
He wrote very slowly, and a long silence hung over the cellar.
Seeing that He Lingchuan had paused for quite a while, Bai Ziqi finally spoke up. "With whom do you trade the pulp beads at Qingfu Temple, and from whom do you collect the money?"
"A temple keeper surnamed Hu," Wu Kai said. "Twice a year, we meet behind the temple—beads handed over with one hand, cash received with the other. Unless the buying price changes, we exchange not a single word."
"You don't recognize any other buyers?"
Wu Kai shook his head.
"Speak up. Do you recognize any, or do you not?"
"I do not."
Bai Ziqi paused, then asked, "Does the Minister of Agriculture know about what you people have been doing?"
The answer to this question carried massive implications.
"We operated with great secrecy. Neither the Minister nor his lady ever asked about it. Perhaps..." Wu Kai shrugged.
Bai Ziqi was not about to let him brush it aside. "So does the Minister know, or does he not?"
Wu Kai could only reply, "I think... he probably doesn't."
He Lingchuan kept his head down, scribbling notes without uttering a word.
Questions of this depth were better left to the special emissary from Lingxu City; he had no intention of wading into those murky waters.
"Did you provide forged evidence regarding Fu Songhua?"
"Yes," Wu Kai confessed frankly. "Three years ago, Cen Boqing discovered by chance that Fu Songhua, a fugitive who murdered the regional inspector of Bingzhou, was living in the northwestern corner of Baishaqu—not far from the Cen estate, in fact."
"Walk by the river often enough, and your shoes are bound to get wet," Wu Kai said with a bitter smile. "Cen Boqing was always afraid that our deeds would one day come to light, so he had me prepare fabricated evidence. If the affair ever blew wide open, Fu Songhua would take the fall."
"Who designated the source of the intelligence on the eastern imperial eagle route that you planned to frame him with?"
"Cen Boqing."
"Why?"
Wu Kai swallowed dryly. "I only followed orders. I don't know why."
"Now, about Zhongsun Mou," Bai Ziqi continued. "Why did he cooperate with you to fabricate evidence?"
"Zhongsun Mou's grandfather was nearing the end of his lifespan, and his body could no longer absorb ordinary tonics. Cen Boqing directed Zhongsun Mou to Qingfu Temple to seek medicine, using the password 'Prolong life, extend years, and safeguard peace.' After taking it, the old man of the Zhongsun clan gained another ten to thirty years of life."
"This time, when Cen Boqing discovered that the inspector investigating the courier case and the beast-slaying ring was Zhongsun Mou, he used this matter to blackmail him." Wu Kai asked for another cup of water. "Purchasing and consuming the elixir of immortality without authorization is a grave crime in Lingxu City."
"So both the Cen and Zhongsun families are implicated." Bai Ziqi nodded to He Lingchuan. "I'm done questioning. The rest is yours."
He Lingchuan then interrogated Wu Kai regarding the whereabouts of the other beast-hunting teams.
Having come this far, Wu Kai held nothing back, revealing the hiding locations, methods of operation, past hauls, and contact ciphers for the remaining five groups.
Before the ink had even dried on the paper, He Lingchuan handed the confession dossier to Bai Ziqi.
"Emissary Bai, these other five bands of rogue hunters are all operating outside the borders of Chiyan Kingdom."
In short, capturing them was not Chiyan's responsibility, but the duty of this special emissary.
Bai Ziqi took the papers, tucked them away, and stood up. "I'm heading to the Cen estate. Come along."
He Lingchuan naturally had no objection.
The inn was very close to the Cen estate, just a few hundred paces away.
He Lingchuan walked alongside Bai Ziqi, followed by several guards.
Sensing the man studying him deliberately or otherwise, He Lingchuan decided to ask directly, "Emissary Bai, is there something unusual on my face?"
The youth seemed remarkably straightforward, asking something others would never dare to voice. Bai Ziqi offered a gentle smile. "Nothing unusual at all. It's just that you're quite young, yet your manner around Prince Yue seems less like that of a servant to his master and more like that of an equal friend."
"I am not a subject of Chiyan, much less the Prince's retainer." There was no need to hide this; since Bai Ziqi had arrived with Fan Sheng, he must have already heard He Lingchuan's basic background from the Vice Commander of the Tongxin Guard.
This man was exceedingly meticulous and held immense authority. He Lingchuan had felt a peculiar edge in his gaze from the start, so he kept his wits sharp, determined not to slip up in the slightest.
Bai Ziqi remarked, "In my earlier years, I also visited Fu Kingdom. Its rulers and ministers were unremarkable, but its merchants were formidable indeed. In essence, whatever you want, they can procure it for you."
He Lingchuan recalled the Shimen Merchant Guild, as well as the Gan family who conducted exclusive trade with Zhu Erniang, and couldn't help smiling faintly. "Barren mountains and unruly waters breed no meek subjects; we all believe fortune is sought in danger."
"'Barren mountains and unruly waters breed no meek subjects'—well said." Bai Ziqi laughed as well. "Why did Prince Yue appoint you to investigate the courier case?"
"Because I'm a foreigner, with fewer ties and fewer apprehensions," He Lingchuan replied with easy composure. "Otherwise, the moment they crossed paths with Zhongsun Mou, Chiyan's officials would have hit a dead end and abandoned the investigation."
"Not being a meek subject certainly has its advantages," Bai Ziqi mused slowly. "Yet how did Prince Yue know that this case would unravel such far-reaching connections?"
He Lingchuan shrugged. "You'd have to ask him that. I'm a newcomer here and know very little about Chiyan."
"To choose an outsider who knows nothing of the realm to handle an investigation—Prince Yue's methods are truly unpredictable." Bai Ziqi cast a sidelong glance at him. "How did you and Prince Yue meet?"
He Xiao's origins were a mystery. Fan Sheng didn't know them, nor had Fu Shanyue mentioned them in his memorial.
"A while ago, when the Emperor's Flowing Dew descended, we were both in the wilderness and came to blows over a lump of dew paste," He Lingchuan said, giving a bare-bones summary. "We ended up severely wounding each other, and as the saying goes, no discord, no concord."
"That does sound like something Prince Yue would do." What caught Bai Ziqi's attention, of course, was the subtext behind 'no discord, no concord.'
What kind of temperament and brutality did Fu Shanyue possess? He had killed his own younger brother!
Even Bai Ziqi found him cold-blooded and ruthless.
Only because Fu Shanyue hadn't been able to kill this young man could he have befriended him.
Yet fighting Fu Shanyue to a draw was clearly an extraordinary feat. Why did this youth brush it off so casually?
"I have one more question." Bai Ziqi thought for a moment and decided to cut straight to the point. "Fan Sheng told me that Cen Boqing hired the curse master Cheng Yu to ambush you, only for Cheng Yu to return defeated and coughing blood from the backlash. I've heard of Cheng Yu; he does possess genuine skill. How did you defeat him?"
He Lingchuan replied impassively, "I have a few modest tricks to save my own skin. But I had no power to strike back at Cheng Yu; he was injured solely by the backlash of his own spell."
"What spell did he cast?"
He Lingchuan spread his hands. "He's a curse master, so it was probably some foul hex. Unfortunately, I have no expertise in the craft."
Before Bai Ziqi could probe further, He Lingchuan shifted from defense to offense:
"Just now, you said, 'That does sound like something Prince Yue would do.' It seems you understand the Crown Prince very well."
He Lingchuan had his own secrets and could not afford to be interrogated endlessly.
"We've crossed paths a few times," Bai Ziqi smiled. "As a prince of Chiyan, he studied in Lingxu City for over a decade. As for me, I was selected into Zhaixing Tower at a young age. Being close in age, we associated on several occasions."
*Close in age...* He Lingchuan rubbed his nose.
Right. That fellow Fu Shanyue only looked youthful, but he was actually over forty years old—a peer of Bai Ziqi's.
Monsters certainly enjoyed unique gifts of nature.
"Although the Crown Prince's temper is somewhat... straightforward," He Lingchuan said, choosing his words carefully, though both men knew he meant 'ruthless,' "for a ruler, that hardly counts as a defect. On the contrary, he is astute, vigilant, adaptable, and reasonable. Why does the Chiyan King dislike him so much?"
The Chiyan King had always favored Fu Shanji and had never wanted to make his eldest son the heir.
He Lingchuan knew he would likely never get an honest answer to this from anyone else except Bai Ziqi. Even the tiger demon Jiao Yu, who had traveled with them for so long, spoke in evasive circles whenever the topic arose.
Avoiding taboos concerning superiors was fundamental conduct for any official.
In a rare display, Bai Ziqi fell silent, appearing lost in thought.
After a long while, he finally said, "There should be no harm in telling you. Many in Lingxu City know of it."
Of course, the "many" he referred to were almost certainly confined to the highest circles of power.
He said slowly, "In his youth, Prince Yue devoured his own birth mother!"
He Lingchuan was struck with a sudden shudder.
Yet he did not speak, knowing there had to be more to the tale.
Sure enough, Bai Ziqi glanced sideways to observe his reaction as he continued, "Prince Yue and his brother were born of the same mother, an ordinary commoner woman. Later, the Chiyan King dispatched guards to escort mother and sons back to the palace, but an accident occurred along the way—a terrible accident..."
He did not elaborate further, merely concluding, "Prince Yue ate his mother out of dire necessity. But the Chiyan King cherished that consort above all else. From that day on, a knot remained in his heart, and he could not look upon his son with anything but displeasure."
He Lingchuan murmured, "Now, he likely despises him even more."
Fu Shanyue had just killed his own younger brother. When the aging monarch saw his eldest son now, wouldn't the twin hatreds of a slaughtered wife and a slain child come surging back at once?
Chapter 524