Chapter 531: Points of Suspicion

Chapter 531: Chapter 531: Points of Suspicion

Earlier, Shen Hao was left waiting when he visited, ignored for a whole day. Now, the situation is reversed—and even worse. Xue Gui spent more than half a day sitting in the tea room at the Jingxi Governor’s Office, only to be told in the end, "Lord Shen may not return today. Lord Xue, please head back."

If he wasn’t coming back, couldn’t you have said so earlier? Why wait until the afternoon, just before the lower emissaries are sent out, to mention it?!

It’s obvious, the Xuanqing Guard is deliberately making Xue Gui look bad. Or rather, they’re refusing dialogue with the Ministry of Justice. Because today, not only did Xue Gui fail to find Shen Hao, he couldn’t find Jiang Cheng either, and the other Thousand Households and Deputy Thousand Households at the Jingxi Governor’s Office don’t have any authority to get involved in this matter.

But compared to Shen Hao’s previous eagerness to seek an audience, Xue Gui is even more anxious now.

Just yesterday, the Xuanqing Guard directly sent a notice to the Imperial City Local Government Office, declaring, "Prince Shou assisted the Xuanqing Guard in luring and capturing the fugitive Qin Xiuyuan," advising the Local Government Office to keep this on record, to avoid any misunderstandings that might tarnish the Prince’s reputation.

This is downright shameless—their eyes wide open while lying. Since when have Prince Shou and the Xuanqing Guard been so close? "Luring and capturing"? They actually dare to say that, utterly shameless!

Most crucially, the Xuanqing Guard strictly followed the regulations of the Local Government Office this time, in accordance with local laws; moreover, thanks to their "clarification," the Local Government Office really should give Prince Shou’s "noble deed" a suitable recognition—at minimum, a commendatory memorial ought to be reported upward, right?

But if it is sent up, Prince Shou will have thoroughly extricated himself from this quagmire, leaving no room for the civil servants to smooth things over. It could even be declared, "The Prince was nearly ruined by the civil servants, only rescued at the last moment by the Xuanqing Guard"—and that wouldn’t be wrong at all.

This ending is completely different from what the civil servants had envisioned. Their original plan was a slap followed by a sweet date, but now, after one slap, the target ran off, and they didn’t even get the chance to offer the sweet date. How can one act both villain and savior now? This can not stand!

Yes, there are seven princes, and it’s possible to pick any one—a matter of initiative for the civil servants, not the princes. But once a prince’s reputation is sullied, that’s no good; even if a prince later garners support, he’ll never get good terms, and playing coy until after the throne is ascended and settling scores then—that’s genuinely terrifying.

No one likes double-dealers, and their fate is always bleak. The civil servants, their minds clever and flexible, surely see this clearly.

So naturally, they panic.

They don’t dare pressure Pang Ban. It’s not yet time to sever ties directly. Thus Xue Gui, the actual agent, is first to be roasted—burning outside, still raw within, the discomfort is extreme.

That’s not all; the Xuanqing Guard’s actions are clearly not simply helping Prince Shou ruthlessly shaft the Ministry of Justice and the civil servant group. They want to seize the core case entirely for themselves. This is seen clearly in Shen Hao’s sudden deployment of an entire Little Banner Battalion from Fengri City to participate in the investigation at the Imperial City.

Why is the Xuanqing Guard so obsessed with taking over this case? They’re not like the civil servant group, who need to clean up after themselves to avoid embarrassment.

Xue Gui suspects: The Xuanqing Guard may have obtained, or know, some inside information about the case—information that could be used for revenge.

No one who offends the Xuanqing Guard ever ends well—but up to now, this has never seemed to come true, so the Ministry of Justice’s higher-ups and the civil servant group’s higher-ups are losing patience. They’ve issued strict orders to Xue Gui to get to the bottom of things and devise a counter-strategy should the Xuanqing Guard try to seize investigational control.

But now, he hasn’t even seen the people. Besides returning, full of frustration, to the Ministry of Justice, Xue Gui has no other recourse. Of course, he ordered his governmental officials to keep close watch on all Xuanqing Guard entrances and exits, and to immediately report if Shen Hao or Jiang Cheng appear.

Yet, Xue Gui’s bold efforts are likely fruitless. Jiang Cheng is hiding at home these days, not intending to go out at all. And even if something urgent arises, it’s just the Ministry of Justice—they wouldn’t dare forcibly summon Jiang Cheng. If Jiang Cheng pays them any mind, he’s as good as admitting defeat.

And Shen Hao? He’s genuinely gone underground—not residing at the Jingxi Governor’s Office garrison, but spending the night in a property secretly acquired by Flying Dragon in the Imperial City, which is also part of the Black Water Plan’s assets. The registered name here is a local merchant from the Imperial City, so there’s no way to trace it back to Fengri City, much less link it to the Xuanqing Guard.

After a Little Banner Battalion soldier moved into the Jingxi Governor’s Office barracks, soon enough some went out disguised, blending into the streets. Only Shen Hao knows how many are hidden and how many are visible, including an unpredictable number of Secret Agents embedded in the Black Water Plan.

Unlike the turbulent mess outside, Shen Hao is now drinking, eating fried little fish, leisurely listening to his subordinates report.

"Lord, the sugar-making master who drowned unexpectedly is named Xu Youwen. He’s fifty-seven, prosperous thanks to his craft—has more money than most small traders around, and is good-natured, hardly ever quarrels with anyone, no known enemies. His only hobby is drinking, but his tolerance and manners are good; in the area, his reputation is excellent.

We went at night to exhume Xu Youwen’s fresh grave and examined the body. It was indeed a drowning, no obvious external trauma, and very little useful evidence."

"What was in the stomach? No discoveries at all?" Shen Hao didn’t believe Xu Youwen’s death was so coincidental.

"Nothing suspicious found in the stomach, just ordinary food residue, and the scent of alcohol."

"Alcohol? Very strong?" Shen Hao continued munching even as they discussed such heavy matters, but it didn’t disrupt his mood. He was just curious how, after days dead, Xu Youwen’s stomach still gave off the smell of alcohol—how strong must that wine be? Could a normal household even afford such potent booze?

"Yes, Lord, very strong aroma."

Shen Hao glanced at Zhang Liao’s subtly changed expression; he realized the man must have recalled that scent. A rotting corpse mixed with the fragrance of alcohol, emanating from the stomach—such a smell would probably make anyone quit drinking on the spot.

"Have you investigated? At present, there are only a few strong liquors in the market—aside from Wuliangye and Immortal Brew, the rest are much weaker. We should be able to trace the source."

"We’ve investigated, Lord. We worked backwards, checking who drank with Xu Youwen that night. They were his usual drinking mates—three or five friends, and they drank ordinary fruit wine from a regular tavern. That alcohol isn’t easy to get drunk on; with Xu Youwen’s tolerance, it’d take five or six jin to even feel tipsy. Plus, according to those who drank with Chen Youwen that night, Chen Youwen wasn’t drunk when he left; the five of them shared less than eight jin, which was less than they usually drank."

Shen Hao put down his chopsticks and smiled, "Drank less than usual yet got drunk? Why didn’t they leave together with Chen Youwen after drinking—weren’t their routes the same? Or did Chen Youwen leave early?"