Chapter 61 The Master is Absent

As the Sixth Prince exposed Qing Yi's identity, everyone knew that it was the Northwest Prince's men who killed people on the streets of the capital. The more the news spread, the more outrageous it became. When Qingqing came out to look for Qing Yi, there were already rumors in the streets that the Northwest Prince Chu Qingyu had killed people in the street.

When Qingqing first heard this, she thought the person was sick and talking nonsense, but it turned out that there was more than one person saying this. When she arrived at the place where everyone said the accident happened, Qingyi had already been taken away by the government, and the dead little beggar had also been carried away and handed over to the government's coroner for an autopsy.

When Qingqing heard that Qingyi was arrested by the government, she was terrified and ran back to the palace quickly to deliver a letter to her master.

"Master, master!" Qingqing was already a little impatient. Her voice came before she arrived.

"Qingqing, what's wrong? Why are you so unruly?" Manager Lin happened to see this and couldn't help but scold her. As a maid, she was shouting and yelling without any manners in the palace. How could it be so disgraceful!

"Ah, Steward Lin, I know I was wrong." Qingqing quickly stopped and apologized. Although this old man is just a steward of the palace, he has a lot of experience and is pedantic and has many rules.

"What happened? The young prince is not in the palace. I don't know what happened, but he was just hurriedly summoned to the palace by the emperor." said Chief Steward Lin.

"Ah, the master is not here? What should I do?" Qingqing was dumbfounded.

"What happened?" Manager Lin saw Qingqing's panic and guessed that something had happened.

"...Mr. Qing...Mr. Qingyi..." Qingqing didn't know what to say and hesitated.

"Huh? Tell me quickly, girl!" Manager Lin asked anxiously.

"I just went out to look for Master Qingyi, and heard that he seemed to have been arrested by the government!" Qingqing finally told the reason.

"What? He was arrested by the government? Why?" Manager Lin was also shocked.

"I heard that a little beggar was killed."

"Murder? Is this... true or false?" Manager Lin was even more shocked when he heard that someone had been killed.

"I heard... that's what everyone said. Now some people are saying that the Little Prince of the Northwest killed someone in the street. I asked around and found out that what they were saying was that the Little Prince of the Northwest's men killed someone in the street, and then he was caught by the constable and taken to the government office in the capital." She narrated the incident lightly and quickly.

"Why would he kill people for no reason?" Manager Lin murmured.

"Manager Lin, when will the master come back? Please think of a way to rescue Master Qingyi?" Qingqing said anxiously.

"The Emperor must have something urgent, otherwise why would he summon the young prince back into the palace when he has been out of the palace for less than half a day? Don't worry, I will send someone to find out what is going on with Lord Zhang at the Beijing government office. I believe that if he knew that Young Master Qingyi is from the Northwest Prefecture, he would not resort to punishment!" After all, Steward Lin has lived in the palace for many years and has considerable ability to handle affairs.

"No..." he muttered softly. He was not worried that the government would punish Qing Yi, but he was worried that the people in the Beijing government office would provoke him and the brat would tear down the government office.

After thinking about it, there was no other way. Not everyone could enter the palace, so it was impossible to send a letter to the little prince. Qingqing was getting restless and had to follow the people arranged by Chief Steward Lin to go to Lord Zhang in the Beijing government office to see how Qingyi was doing.

In the capital of the Great Chu, routine cases were handled by the capital government, while those involving officials would be transferred to the Dali Temple.

"Sir, a murder case has just occurred in the capital. The suspect has been arrested. Can we bring the case to court for trial?" Captain Wang reported to Sir Zhang.

At this time, Lord Zhang was enjoying a drink and admiring the dancers' beauty. His good mood was ruined by this humorless captain. He frowned and said, "Since this is a murder case, let the coroner perform an autopsy and put the murderer in jail first. I will punish him tomorrow when I am free."

"Yes, but sir..." Captain Wang hesitated.

"What else? Can't you see I'm busy? Leave immediately!" Lord Zhang took a sip of the wine handed to him by the dancer and impatiently drove her away.

"Sir, it is said that the murder suspect is the man of the Little Prince of the Northwest." Constable Wang was an honest man and explained the relationship in detail.

"Who do I care who he belongs to? Anyone who kills someone should be executed!" Lord Zhang spoke passionately and righteously, but suddenly changed the subject and asked doubtfully, "You, tell me again, whose owner is he?"

"It is said that he is the man of the Northwest Prince Chu Qingyu." Captain Wang said again.

"What...what? How...why did you capture his people? Isn't this causing trouble for me?" Lord Zhang pushed away the beauty beside him and no longer had the heart to drink and watch the dance.

"How could I just ignore it when I saw him killing someone in public?" Captain Wang didn't think he had done anything wrong. This was his duty.

"Oh, you, you! How do you know that he is the man of the little prince of the Northwest? Did he say so himself?" Lord Zhang sighed repeatedly. He was just a small official in the capital. He just had to make a living and keep his head. He couldn't afford to offend anyone.

"That's what the Sixth Prince said." Captain Wang answered truthfully.

"Sixth...Sixth Prince? He saw it too?" Lord Zhang looked even more worried. If no one knew about it, he could just give the young prince of the Northwest a favor and release the man secretly. But now that the Sixth Prince knew about it, how could he release the man so easily?

"Yes." Captain Wang responded.

"Hurry up..." Lord Zhang was about to say something when he heard someone come to report that Xue An, son of Uncle Xue, wanted to see him.

"Please come in!" When Lord Zhang heard it was Xue An, he wondered why he was here. The two of them didn't usually interact much, but he was of noble status, the Queen's nephew, so it would definitely be a good thing to get close to him.

Zhang sir hurriedly straightened his clothes and sat upright in the main seat, a smile on his face, welcoming Xue An's arrival. A moment later, Xue An strode in with a square step and a swagger, followed by several followers.

"Mr. Xue, I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. I hope you will forgive me!" Lord Zhang quickly stood up and bowed.

Xue An waved his hand casually, sat down on the chair, and said, "Master Zhang, there's no need to be so polite. I heard that your government arrested a murderer today, and he's the son of the Northwest Prince. Is this true?"

Lord Zhang's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Oh no!" How could this news spread so quickly that even Xue An knew about it?

He smiled apologetically and said, "It is true, but I haven't investigated thoroughly yet and am planning to deal with it tomorrow."

Xue An sneered and said, "Master Zhang, this case cannot be delayed. There are rumors everywhere that the young prince of the northwest killed someone in the street. If we don't deal with it in time, I'm afraid it will damage the young prince's reputation."