Chapter 35 The Mystery of West Mountain (Part 7) (Bonus Chapter)

“Shen Zhilan,” Ling Wei looked at him, “you stay at the post station. If there are any unusual developments, you should respond accordingly.”

She turned around and took out a token from a hidden compartment in her bag. The token was heavy in her hand, black all over, with flame patterns on the edges and a powerful "宸" character engraved in the center. On the back were the four characters "如朕亲临" in small seal script.

This was a token of imperial envoy bestowed upon her by Emperor Jinghe when she left the capital, and she rarely showed it to others.

She placed the token in Shen Zhilan's hand, "If you sense anything amiss, take this token to the garrison camp in the west of the city, meet with Zhao Ying, the garrison commander of Fuling County, and order her to immediately proceed to the Xishan Xitou Village area to provide support."

This is the worst-case scenario. If they find nothing tonight but still move the garrison, it would be tantamount to declaring that she intends to investigate thoroughly.

The commotion would spread throughout Fuling County immediately, and Sun Man would receive the news. He might then resort to desperate measures and destroy the evidence.

Shen Zhilan gripped the token tightly, feeling the cold lines on it, and nodded emphatically.

The night was as dark as ink. In the shadows behind the inn's back wall, several figures slipped out silently, like melting drops of ink.

Ling Wei changed into a dark gray fitted outfit with tight sleeves, her long hair tied up tightly. Qing Shu followed closely behind, along with eight bodyguards who were most skilled in stealth and night combat. All of them were dressed in black and masked, revealing only their eyes, which shone with a restrained sharpness.

They didn't go through the gate, or even approach any passageway that might be monitored. Instead, they used the route that Qing Shu had already scouted out during the day, crawling out through the dog hole behind the abandoned woodshed in the backyard, falling into an adjacent sewage alley, and then, under the cover of night, traversing the streets and alleys, avoiding the watchmen and the occasional patrolling county soldiers, and silently approaching the west gate.

The city gates had long been locked, but the city walls were not an insurmountable barrier for these veterans who had fought alongside Ling Wei in the northern border.

The grappling hook, with a damp cloth attached, secured itself to the top of the wall, silencing most of the noise. The group climbed up one by one, crouching in the shadows of the crenellations to observe for a moment. The soldiers patrolling the city wall were yawning as they handed over the duties.

Seizing the brief gap during the shift change, several ropes were lowered outside the city, and the figures quickly slid down, disappearing into the darkness outside the city.

The whole process was quick and efficient, taking less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

At the same time, the study in the prefectural governor's mansion was brightly lit.

Sun Man sat at the head of the table, his plump face revealing little emotion, except for his well-maintained fingers tapping rhythmically on the smooth rosewood armrest.

Standing below were two mining supervisors who had accompanied Ling Wei down into the mine during the day. Since returning from the mine, they hadn't even dared to drink much water before heading straight here to report on the day's events in detail.

From how Ling Wei refused to clear the site, to how she inspected the main mine tunnel and the storage yard, what questions she asked, and how they answered them flawlessly, even down to how many times Ling Wei lingered in a certain place and how long she paused, the two tried their best to recall everything, not daring to miss a single detail.

Sun Man listened with great patience, occasionally interrupting to ask follow-up questions.

"When Your Highness stopped in the scrap yard, what was your expression like? Did you frown? Or did you look around particularly carefully?"

"Your Highness, His Highness merely paused briefly, looked around with a hint of curiosity, and there was nothing particularly unusual about him."

"What was Your Highness's reaction when you first saw that fool?"

"His Highness seemed somewhat surprised at first, but he quickly calmed down and even took the initiative to ask questions."

When the officials spoke of how Ling Wei had shown compassion for them by taking in the orphans and even praised her, they couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. After all, it was always good to make the Imperial Envoy think that they were kind and benevolent.

Sun Man's eyebrows twitched, but he didn't interrupt. He simply raised his hand, signaling to continue.

The two officials secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued the conversation until they reached the point where Qing Shu returned to retrieve the water bag.

Sun Man's fingertips, which were tapping on the armrest, suddenly stopped.

"etc."

"You're saying that the guard went back specifically to retrieve a water pouch? Wasn't that water pouch already given to that fool by His Highness?"

"Yes, yes." The steward swallowed hard. "His Highness is kind-hearted. Seeing that the fool's lips were chapped, he gave him water. Later, Lord Qing Shu said that the water bag was sewn by my mother, so His Highness allowed her to go back and get it."

"How long did it take to retrieve it?" Sun Man asked, his eyes fixed on them.

“About, about a quarter of an hour? Perhaps... two quarters?” The official tried to recall, sweat beading on his forehead. “At the time, we accompanied Your Highness on your journey and did not keep a precise time, but it seemed to take a little longer than a normal round trip.”

"What did the guards say when they returned? Their exact words."

"She said... 'That man was clutching the water bag, huddled in a corner, and wouldn't let go. I couldn't use force at the time, so it took some effort to get it back.'"

Sun Man fell silent. The only sound in the study was the crackling of the candle flame. She stopped looking at the people below and her gaze drifted to the flickering flame.

The two officials were uneasy at her sudden silence, but they forced themselves to continue describing the subsequent inspection.

After saying only a few words, Sun Man suddenly spoke up again, directly interrupting their conversation.

She leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed on the two faces again: "That idiot, what exactly did he say from the moment he appeared until he left? I want to hear his exact words, every single one."

The two men broke out in a cold sweat under her gaze, racking their brains to recall what they had seen, but could only piece together fragmented memories:

"It seems to be something about a big rat gnawing at its hole..."

"You sang brilliantly, didn't you?"

"A mouse bit my ear! It hurts!"

"It seems like he was still muttering about water, water, what was that again?"

They forced ingratiating smiles. The Fifth Princess had come to inspect the mine on a whim, and they were praying that she would leave quickly so as not to be offended by the fool and implicate them. Who would take the words of a fool seriously?

But Sun Man's expression gradually darkened.

She stopped urging them, instead suppressing them with a suffocating silence.

The air in the study seemed to freeze. Large beads of sweat rolled down their foreheads and landed on the smooth floor tiles, but they didn't dare to raise their hands to wipe them away.

"Think." After a long while, Sun Man finally uttered two more words, "Just stand here and think, when will I remember every complete sentence that fool said from the moment he appeared until he left, and write it down on this piece of paper," she pointed to the blank Xuan paper, "when will I leave this door again."

The two men were ashen-faced, yet dared not disobey in the slightest. They could only rack their brains, reminding each other, and even argued in hushed tones because of their hazy memories.

Sun Man sat at the head of the table, like a clay sculpture without incense offerings, watching them struggle in the mire of memories with a blank expression.

Time crawled by, candle tears piled up, and finally, the two managed to cobble together a record, which they presented to Sun Man with trembling hands.

Sun Man took the light piece of paper, his gaze slowly sweeping over the words in reverse order, his eyes gradually widening.

“Big rat…over here…over there…shadow…water…hole…” she repeated in a low voice, each word sharp and icy.

"My lord, this...this is just the ravings of a fool, it shouldn't be taken seriously." An official, seeing her frightening expression, tried to say something to ease the tension.

"Shut up!" Sun Man suddenly shouted, startling the two so much that they almost hugged each other.