Chapter 31: My Lord, You Must Keep Your Promise
"It may not necessarily be the fifth prince," Fang Chen said lightly.
He had gone to the poetry gathering to see if there were any cultivators around the crown prince, and he discovered that there were none, but that couldn’t really prove anything either.
With this note as confirmation, he could tell that the Daoist from last night didn’t stay for long in the Grand Xia Capital City.
He had seen how the Spirit Blood Codex worked. The practitioners of that technique needed human blood to cultivate. For him to remain in the capital city for such a long time, he had to have killed countless citizens!
"I should be able to fish out some clues regarding this..." Fang Chen muttered softly to himself.
After a moment of brief silence, he glanced at Xu Ge, who had been silently following them since they left the manor, and said, "Take her back to the manor and have Elder Huang keep an eye on her."
Xu Ge promptly approached Goddess Xiao and said with a smile, "Let's go."
"What are you going to do?" Goddess Xiao frowned.
Fang Chen smiled. "What's it to you?"
"I want to follow you." Her eyes flickered unsteadily.
"We have indeed reached an agreement, but it doesn't mean I'll let you follow me everywhere. If you refuse to cooperate, I will send you away from the capital this very instant." Fang Chen said as he got up from his chair, ready to leave.
She fell silent.
Watching her reaction, Xu Ge grinned and nearly exploded with glee. "What? You really think that my lord is marrying into your Xiao Family? Don't forget; you're our hostage now."
"Hmph." Goddess Xiao snorted but didn't talk back. She obediently left with Xu Ge.
In the Hidden Courtyard.
Fang Chen arrived and stood still in place for a brief moment when a figure silently appeared behind him.
The figure bowed respectfully. "My lord, what are your orders?"
"Zhao Sixing, has there been any unusual records in the Grand Brilliance Bureau in the past few years?" Fang Chen turned to look at the man with a faint smile.
The person who came was Zhao Sixing—the bureau head of the Grand Brilliance Bureau. He was the person who sent Yuan Zhuang to capture Fang Chen.
Zhao Sixing's expression changed. Why is the lord asking about records in the Grand Brilliance Bureau?
He thought for a moment and said, "My lord, there are indeed several strange incidents...”
"Tell me."
"Two years ago, someone came to the Grand Brilliance Bureau to report that their sister had disappeared from the minister of rites' manor. She was gone for several years and there had been no news of her. We looked into it, and I found out that his sister was a maid in the minister of rites' manor. I sent Yuan Zhuang over to look deeper into the matter and discovered that his sister might have eloped.”
He continued, "That matter was left unresolved. But not long after, Yuan Zhuang learned that the person who made the report had also disappeared, and they had left behind their ailing mother, who almost starved to death at home. After Yuan Zhuang reported back to me, I felt that something was off. She might have been silenced because of her report, and I got some men to continue their investigation.”
He paused briefly.
"The minister of rites' manor has had several people go missing over the years. That man's sister was just one of them. I reported the matter to Official Shao. After all, he’s the only person with the authority to summon the minister of rites over for an interrogation.”
Fang Chen urged him to continue. “What happened next?”
Tugging at his beard, Zhao Sixing replied, “Official Shao suppressed everything related to the interrogation and concluded that everyone who went missing were thieves who stole from the minister of rites' manor after being tempted by his wealth.”
“His explanation was barely acceptable. After all, it’s not like similar things didn’t happen in your manor...” Zhao Sixing concluded.
“Of all that, which part do you find strange?” Fang Chen asked with a soft smile.
"Firstly, the first person who reported the matter to us was known to be extremely filial. They wouldn’t have disappeared to leave their ailing mother to care for herself. Secondly, Yuan Zhuang’s subordinate was attacked during the investigation process and lost an arm. It seemed as though someone was threatening us from digging any deeper.”
"For the safety of my subordinates, I decided not to pursue the matter. And from then on, I only paid attention to matters at the minister of rites' manor from time to time.”
"Has there been any more incidents of servants disappearing?" Fang Chen asked.
"No, there hasn't been any more of such incidents." Zhao Sixing shook his head. A trace of concern flashed in his eye. "My lord, do you also think that there’s something fishy about this?"
"After you return, have your subordinates investigate every case of missing persons in our Grand Xia Empire in the past six... No, in the past twenty years," Fang Chen said. "Some of the cases may have not involved officials but instead commoners, so they wouldn't have been reported to the Grand Brilliance Bureau. Instead, those cases would be reported to the local magistrates. You should know what to do."
Zhao Sixing's expression turned solemn. Since the lord took an interest in the issue, it shouldn’t be a trivial one. There might be a hidden conspiracy hidden behind the disappearance of those people, and it might even involve the Qingsong Empire! He nodded and turned to leave.
Fairy Yu appeared right after he left.
"My lord, are you done talking to Zhao Sixing? Is it my turn now?”
She had been following Fang Chen the entire time. Not only was her movement technique superb, she also had a way to alter her appearance so that no one could identify her easily.
Fang Chen sighed helplessly. "I don't have any orders for you."
"My lord, who was that maid with you today? Where does she come from?" she asked curiously.
"She’s Goddess Xiao," Fang Chen replied.
She was shocked, and surprise flashed in her eyes. "Goddess Xiao? How did she...?"
"She volunteered to stay as a captive. This way, Marshall Xiao Lang wouldn't take out his anger on the third prince and kill him, since I slaughtered the martial artists of Qingsong and all," Fang Chen said with a smile.
"She probably doesn't know that with the third prince’s schemes, it would be nigh-impossible for anyone in Qingsong to kill him.” Fairy Yu couldn’t help but sneer.
"That's right. His mind is just too sharp. He wouldn’t have remained idle in the past five years he spent in the Qingsong. If he had the intention to return, he would have been back a long time ago.” Fang Chen chuckled. “When he learns about what happened in the capital city, we won’t have to wait long before we see him back here again.”
The crown prince was afraid that Fang Chen would be the one to go and fetch the third prince back, but he truly underestimated his third brother by thinking this way.
Fang Chen was confident that since the third prince chose to remain in Qingsong as a captive five years ago, he would possess the ability to return to Grand Xia as long as he wished.
They had the same intentions. For the sake of the millions of citizens of Grand Xia, neither of them would throw away their life for nothing.
"My lord, you chose to keep Goddess Xiao by your side even though you know all that... Were you captivated by her beauty, perhaps? From what I’ve heard, she isn’t exactly a chaste woman..." Fairy Yu mumbled.
"Someone wants her dead. I owe Marshall Xiao Lang one because of what transpired five years ago at Three World Mountain.” Fang Chen sighed softly. “No matter what, I will ensure she remains alive. When she returns to Qingsong, I would’ve cleared my debt, and we’ll be even.”
"Then... can I also follow you around as your maid? You know... people think I am a prostitute.” She lowered her head. ”It’s not a good feeling...." Her voice had turned as quiet as a mosquito at the end.
Fang Chen waved his hand casually and turned to leave. “We’ll talk about it when you enter the Qi Manipulation Stage.”
"Qi Manipulation Stage?” Fairy Yu's eyes lit up and she waved her fists at Fang Chen. “My lord, you have to keep your promise!”
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