Chapter 556: Brought Out into the Open
The closer they drew to the main city, the more prosperous everything became along both sides of the road.
Tea houses, taverns, eateries, inns, bathhouses, theaters, pleasure houses, and government offices, everything required for daily life and public use was there in abundance.
He Lingchuan even spotted a gigantic tavern by the roadside, five full stories tall, each floor covering several thousand square meters. It was ablaze with light inside, packed with noisy guests and hosts.
Yet even that was not the largest or most magnificent kind of building in sight.
That honor belonged to the temples.
Just behind the main streets, on land worth its weight in gold, He Lingchuan constantly saw temple roofs rising one after another, great and small. The gods enshrined within all bore different titles.
In any case, any god that could establish a name and open a temple in Lingxu City was certainly no ordinary god.
According to Fushan Yue, the nouveau riche and the high nobles were especially fond of donating to build new temples or refurbish old ones. If nothing else, adding an extra temple roof counted for something. If Lingxu City had not forbidden gilded roofs, the place may well have glittered gold from end to end. Such acts not only looked impressive when spoken of, but they also served as a way to ask the gods for continued protection.
“Does it work?”
The moment the question left his mouth, He Lingchuan realized that he had asked something stupid.
Fushan Yue burst out laughing. “The gods do not speak, but sincerity is efficacious!”
Once night fell, another question immediately presented itself: lodging.
If officials from the various monster states or foreign dependencies came to Lingxu City to await imperial command or conduct official business, they usually stayed at the post station, where it was easier for superiors to summon them.
This time, Fushan Yue had come to the capital of his own accord and could choose his lodging freely. Even so, he still opted to stay at an official post station, just in case someone higher up wished to summon him and was unable to find him.
That one small detail was enough for He Lingchuan to know that beneath Fushan Yue’s rough exterior lay a careful mind.
Or perhaps it was simply because there were too many big figures in Lingxu City, and even Fushan Yue did not dare act recklessly here.
Though called a post station, it was where both domestic and foreign envoys and out-of-town officials lodged when they came to the city, so the conditions were excellent indeed. The surroundings were quiet and elegant, the furnishings refined, and the servants smiled with a natural warmth that did not feel forced.
Of course, the post stations themselves were divided into three ranks. Officials from other small states who came to Lingxu City were usually assigned only to second or third-class stations, and no one dared complain.
But as the Crown Prince of Chiyan, Fushan Yue naturally took up residence in the highest class of all, and He Lingchuan got to tag along and enjoy a room there as well.
If the post stations He Lingchuan had stayed in before were like small no-name guesthouses, the sort where the receptionist vanished for no reason half the time, then Lingxu City’s first-class post station was operating on five-star hotel standards.
While his subordinates were busy getting everything settled, Fushan Yue wanted to drag He Lingchuan off for a welcoming drink to wash away the dust of the road, only for the latter to refuse.
“I’ve got something to do.”
What nonsense. Fushan Yue glared. “It’s your first time in Lingxu City. What business could you possibly have?”
“Calling on friends and acquaintances.” He Lingchuan patted him on the shoulder. “I’m being honest here. We’ll drink tomorrow.”
“Fine, fine. Go on then.”
After thinking it over, He Lingchuan first returned to his room, released his eyeball spider up into the rafters, then quietly slipped out through the back gate of the post station. He boarded one of the han carriages and headed for his next destination.
Less than two hours after he left, a guard entered to report:
“Your Highness, a messenger from the Heavenly Palace has come with an order!”
“At this hour?” It’s already so late into the night. Is the Lord Emperor really this anxious?
When Fushan Yue met the messenger, he learned that Star-Plucking Tower was summoning him for an audience that very night.
His decision to stay at the post station had once again proven itself absolutely correct. Fushan Yue straightened his robes and followed the messenger at once.
The other party did not mention He Lingchuan at all.
Young Master He might have counted as an important figure back in Baishajue, but here he was nothing. Bai Ziqi and Fushan Yue alone were enough to present the case to the ruler. As a minor outsider, He Lingchuan did not even qualify to be summoned by the Lord Emperor.
The reason Bai Ziqi had brought him to Lingxu City was simply out of caution, on the chance that one of the powers above might want a more detailed account and find itself unable to locate the Crown Prince’s investigator from Chiyan.
Of course, He Lingchuan knew Bai Ziqi had other motives as well.
* * *
Heavenly Palace, Star-Plucking Tower.
Bai Ziqi kneeled on the ground and reported in full detail the course of his investigation in Baishajue. He was not simply reporting for the Monster Emperor’s ears, but also for the Chief Cloud Envoy, and beyond them, for His Divine Majesty Lingxu.
He had handled the case meticulously. All the physical evidence, witnesses, and suspects connected to it had been brought back to Lingxu City, including the corpses of Fu Songhua, Wu Kai, and Cheng Yu.
The Monster Emperor listened for over an hour, then finally could not help but yawn. “You’re saying Cen Boqing confessed?”
“He did. But Madame Cen brought in a witness who testified that he was only an accomplice. The real mastermind was someone else.”
The Monster Emperor asked again, “It was so hard for you to get Wu Kai to talk. So why was it so easy for Yao Xingning to capture that actor he’d been meeting?”
Bai Ziqi shook his head. “Madame Cen said she was simply fortunate.”
“More likely someone moved behind the scenes and lent her a hand.” The Monster Emperor sounded lazy and casual. “No need to question her on it. She’s scatterbrained enough that she probably doesn’t know herself. Can you still continue investigating this case?”
Bai Ziqi hesitated slightly.
“I fear it reaches very far.”
“Continue investigating, then, but don’t announce the results yet.” The Monster Emperor said slowly, “The Minister of Finance has been coming to me for days to cry his grievances, insisting that his whole family knew nothing of what their son-in-law was doing. And as for the Zhongsun Family, they keep complaining bitterly and demanding that Zhongsun Mou’s whereabouts be investigated. They want him found dead or alive.”
Bai Ziqi said, “They’re involved in the elixir of youth case as well.”
“Heh, Qingfu Temple and everyone inside it went up in flames. Wu Kai is already dead too, which means the physical evidence and the witnesses are both gone. So old man Zhongsun now boldly comes out denying everything, saying he’s never taken the elixir of youth, saying his grandson couldn’t possibly have covered for Cen Boqing in Baishajue by giving false testimony, and that it was all Cen Boqing’s slander. That old fox...” The Monster Emperor gave a soft grunt. “Tell me, during your investigation in Baishajue, did you find any direct evidence that Zhongsun Mou gave false testimony for Cen Boqing?”
Bai Ziqi thought back seriously, then shook his head. “The case made such slow progress in Baishajue, so slow that it nearly became impossible to continue. There was simply no direct evidence tying Zhongsun Mou and Cen Boqing to the crimes. Wu Kai handled matters very carefully. In the courier disappearance case, even the false testimony he provided was personally written and hand-sealed by Fu Songhua himself. Even if we pursue the matter after the fact, Zhongsun Mou could at most be convicted of credulity, negligence, and incompetent case handling.”
Which meant the charge that the Zhongsun Family had privately bought the elixir of youth was still hanging in the air unresolved, while Zhongsun Mou’s disappearance had made them the true aggrieved party on the surface.
“I expected as much.” The Monster Emperor snorted. “And now the Zhongsun Family wants to make trouble for the Cen Family too. Tell me, should they be allowed to?”
“If Mai Xuewen’s ambush and murder of Zhongsun Mou was his own independent action, and not done at Cen Boqing’s instruction, then...”
“Mai Xuewen is still out there at large, and you haven’t even caught a glimpse of his shadow. At this rate, he won’t be showing himself any time soon.”
Bai Ziqi lowered his head. “Your subordinate is incompetent.”
“That’s enough. Forget the Zhongsun Family for now. Continue pursuing the lead Madame Cen provided...”
The Monster Emperor had not yet finished speaking when several red words suddenly appeared on the Heavenly Tome: Kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. Zhongsun’s crimes must not be lightly spared.
For a moment, the entire hall fell silent.
With a few airy words, catastrophe had descended upon the Zhongsun Family.
This was the gods’ will.
Only after a long pause did the Monster Emperor say, “The Zhongsuns have been old ministers of Lingxu for over a century.”
That was a plea for leniency, but the Heavenly Tome gave no response. Clearly, the gods had no intention of retracting their decree.
The private refining and private purchase of the elixir of youth had truly struck a major taboo with them.
The Monster Emperor coughed lightly again. “Even if action is to be taken, it must still be taken according to law. There must be evidence before punishment can be imposed. Let Bai Ziqi continue the investigation, and neither the buyers nor sellers of the elixir of youth will escape. As for punishing the Zhongsun Family, why rush it?”
For a long while, no new instruction appeared on the Heavenly Tome. That was probably tantamount to silent consent.
The Monster Emperor immediately shifted the subject. “There’s been some progress on Qingfu Temple as well, hasn’t there?”
Day after day, this was all just one difficult problem after another. When one cockroach appears on the table, there’s probably an entire nest hidden inside the house. Zhongsun Mou buying the elixir of youth for the family elder was almost certainly not an isolated case.
So what then? Was Lingxu City supposed to treat it like exterminating vermin and punish every single case the moment it appeared?
How many subjects and ministers would that implicate? And what if the Royal Court of Lingxu City itself was thrown into turmoil?
But in the dictionary of gods who sat aloof beyond the heavens, where would one ever find the phrase “the law does not punish the multitude”?
Bai Ziqi, unaware of the Monster Emperor’s inner thoughts, merely lowered his head and answered, “Yes.”
“And as for the unusual movement of the Generous Pot, what’s your own view of it?” The Monster Emperor had already heard the factual account. Now he wanted Bai Ziqi’s personal judgment.
He glanced toward the divine altar. It sat in utter stillness.
“The two fluctuations in the aura of the Generous Pot, before and after, place both Crown Prince Fushan Yue of Chiyan and Mai Xuewen in the vicinity in terms of time and space,” Bai Ziqi replied respectfully. “This subordinate believes both men should be investigated.”
“With Baoshu King taking the lead, and four or five monster kings submitting memorials one after another... Hmph, now is not the right time to move against people like Fushan Yue. At the very least, not until the elixir of youth case is concluded. Otherwise, the monster kings may think I’m targeting the State of Chiyan.” The Monster Emperor looked at Bai Ziqi. “You should remain courteous toward Fushan Yue.”
“Yes.” Bai Ziqi hesitated.
The Monster Emperor noticed it immediately. “If there is something yet unsaid, then speak!”
“The special envoy the Crown Prince of Chiyan sent to investigate the case, I also find him somewhat suspicious.”
“Oh? The man who kept pursuing the courier case to the end and exposed Cen Boqing?” The Monster Emperor’s tone lifted slightly. “In what way?”
Bai Ziqi did not dare to be careless and answered truthfully, “I can find no connection at all, and there is no evidence, none, not even indirect evidence. It’s simply that... whenever I see him, I feel uneasy.”
“Instinct matters more than evidence.” The Monster Emperor did not think there was anything wrong with that. “In that case, simply summon him and interrogate him directly. For something so small, why even hesitate?”
“This subordinate understands.”
In Baishajue, which was Crown Prince Fushan Yue’s territory, Bai Ziqi had not been able to directly interrogate one of his subordinates. But now that they were back in Lingxu City, most of those concerns had either vanished or become much simpler.
“You may not be able to interrogate Fushan Yue, but you can certainly interrogate one of his men.” The Monster Emperor chuckled. “Isn’t that just perfect?”
“Yes.” After a moment’s thought, Bai Ziqi added, “If neither he nor the Crown Prince of Chiyan is the target we’re looking for, then could His Divine Majesty induce another fluctuation from the Generous Pot?”
There was a saying that things did not happen three times without consequence. If the Generous Pot emitted another fluctuation or two, then Star-Plucking Tower’s difficulty in pinpointing it would be greatly reduced.
The Heavenly Tome gave no answer, which meant the gods themselves were weighing the matter. The two earlier fluctuations of the Generous Pot had been triggered by entirely different causes. No one could say for sure what kind of stimulus would activate it again.
The Monster Emperor sounded uneasy. “And what if it sees through us?”
Slowly, more words appeared on the Heavenly Tome: Mitian is dead. The Generous Pot has instinct but no artifact spirit. Once activated, it cannot stop itself.
“Is that so? Good, then.”
The Chief Cloud Envoy, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said, “His Divine Majesty once said that more than a century ago, many changes took place in the Generous Pot while it was in Mitian’s hands. Someone even witnessed it devour a water spirit with their own eyes. That suggests it has a taste for natural treasures.”
More writing appeared on the Heavenly Tome: the Generous Pot merges the laws of two realms and delights in consuming exotic treasures from both.
The Monster Emperor immediately said, “Very well. Isn’t the sale at Dun Garden of Golden Horn about to begin? Go to the treasury and bring out a divine relic. We’ll use it to test them.”
