Chapter 36 The Misty Western Hills (Part 8)

Sun Man's chest heaved, his eyes swirling with shock, anger, lingering fear, and a violent rage at being fooled.

Two idiots! This isn't just nonsense; it's clearly...

Seeing the bewildered and terrified look in his subordinate's eyes, Sun Man swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Yes, she has always been cautious about these matters. Even her trusted confidants only know about their respective parts of the process and have limited knowledge of the overall situation.

They only know how to cover things up and deal with them, but they may not understand what the rats, shadows, and water holes are connected to.

And this is now the reason why they can't see the key, isn't that ironic?

She paced hurriedly in the study, the few lines of text like red-hot needles, piercing her eyes and burning her heart.

Did Ling Wei understand? That Qing Shu spent nearly half an hour turning back, was it really just to get a water pouch? Could it be that he took the opportunity to ask something?

No, not necessarily.

The Fifth Princess is famous in the capital, but she may not have this kind of cunning and keen insight.

But... what if? What if she's not what the rumors say? What if she understood, or even has become suspicious...?

The thought sent a chill down her spine, and the letter's admonition to be "cautious" resurfaced in her mind.

We must not gamble. We must never pin our hopes on a "what if" scenario.

"Someone come here," she stopped, her voice losing its usual calmness but carrying a chill, "tell Du Wen to come here immediately."

When Du Wen rushed over, she was still damp from the night dew. Sun Man didn't say anything, but simply handed her the paper.

Du Wen examined it closely under the light. At first, she was a little puzzled, but soon her expression changed and her fingers trembled slightly.

As Sun Man's most capable deputy, she had handled many clandestine affairs and naturally understood the implications behind these words better than the other two officials.

"My lord, could it be that Her Highness has become suspicious?" Du Wen's voice was somewhat dry. "But everyone says that this Fifth Princess..."

Sun Man raised his hand to interrupt her, without the slightest bit of wishful thinking: "Whether she is truly confused or pretending to be confused, we can no longer continue at the original pace."

Get those people moving immediately to harass the villages near the main road and make a big commotion.

"I will deliver an urgent report on the bandits to the post station first thing tomorrow morning, and request Your Highness to decide on the matter of suppressing the bandits."

She looked at Du Wen and spoke faster: "If she agrees and goes to suppress the bandits herself, or orders Zhao Ying to do so, then perhaps we are overthinking it, and she is still distracted by the bandits. If she makes excuses, or her mind is clearly not on suppressing the bandits... then she must have other plans."

Du Wen understood and immediately nodded: "This subordinate understands, I will make the arrangements immediately."

As Sun Man watched Du Wen turn away, the unease he felt did not dissipate with the decision; instead, it intensified.

"Wait." She called out to her, her gaze fixed on the deep night outside the window. After a moment's hesitation, she said decisively, "Come with me to the inn again."

She wanted to see for herself whether the prince was truly resting peacefully in the post station.

Inside the inn, Shen Zhilan frowned instantly upon hearing the guard's urgent report that Sun Man was requesting an audience outside the courtyard.

A visit late at night is anything but ordinary.

He turned around quickly, his face calm as still water. He made a few quick hand gestures to Yun Qi, whose eyes sharpened. Yun Qi nodded emphatically and turned around without hesitation, climbing out of the back window and disappearing into the night.

He was going to seek help from that hidden contact who might be able to save his life.

Then, Shen Zhilan looked at the guards inside the room and wrote down her instructions on a piece of paper.

One of the guards nodded, drew his sword, and strode toward the courtyard gate. Outside the gate, Sun Man and Du Wen were waiting with two attendants.

The guard opened the side door but did not step aside. He said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency, His Highness has ordered that there are matters to attend to tonight and no guests will be received. Please return."

Sun Man stepped forward, his tone earnest: "I do have a military report that is extremely urgent, concerning the bandits in Xishan and the safety of the people. There can be no delay. Please inform them again!"

The guard remained unfazed: "His Highness has ordered that no one is to disturb him."

Then, a hint of ambiguity appeared on her face, and she lowered her voice, making sure Sun Man could hear her clearly, "His Highness and Young Master Shen... specifically instructed that even the most important matters should be discussed tomorrow."

How could they do something that would disregard even urgent military affairs?

Sun Man's mind raced, but a smile of realization mixed with fear appeared on his face. He retreated and cupped his hands, saying, "So that's how it is. It was my presumption that offended Your Highness's refined taste. I'll take my leave now."

As she turned around, the smile on her face vanished instantly, leaving only a cold gloom.

Du Wen followed closely beside her, lowering her voice: "My lady, it seems that Her Highness..."

"It seems?" Sun Man slowly exhaled a cold breath. "The lights inside are blindingly bright, but there's not a sound of human voices. I told him the military situation was extremely urgent, but the guard was unhurried and offered such ambiguous excuses. Du Wen, think about the prince's words and actions these past two days. Do you believe it?"

Du Wen's heart sank: "Then, she really isn't here?"

Sun Man didn't answer, her pace quickening until she almost jogged back to the carriage. As soon as she got in, she immediately said to the driver, "Back to the manor! Quickly!"

The carriage sped off, and inside, Sun Man no longer concealed his true feelings or hesitated.

"Have those men take the batch of ore from the mine and head immediately to the old site of Xitou Village. If it's a false alarm and no outsiders are found, then under cover of night, move all those shadows inside and clean up all the traces."

If any suspicious persons are found in or near the village, kill them without mercy!

Du Wen gasped, her voice trembling, "My lord! If... if the Fifth Prince is really there..."

“Then we absolutely cannot let her come out alive.” Sun Man turned and stared at her. “Don’t you understand now? If we let her live and find out anything, it won’t just be a matter of us losing our positions!”

She approached Du Wen, her breath brushing against the other's pale face: "Now, we only have a few paths before us."

The best-case scenario is that we're wrong, and the Fifth Princess is actually at the inn. Then it'll be a false alarm. We can immediately hide those who need to be hidden even deeper, and erase all traces of wrongdoing, so we can continue this bandit-suppression charade with her tomorrow.

"But if she really is there, in Xitou Village, then there are only two paths left."

Either we wait for her to return tomorrow with solid evidence, and then we surrender; or…”

She abruptly changed the subject, a chill creeping into her voice: "Either let her 'encounter bandits.' The notorious bandits of Xishan are infamous; they've robbed mines multiple times before, so it's not surprising they have gunpowder for mining."

The Fifth Princess, young and impetuous, insisted on venturing into a dangerous place unprepared late at night. Unfortunately, she encountered a large band of ruthless bandits... The bandits were vicious and armed with gunpowder. Although the Princess fought bravely, her guards were outnumbered and she tragically perished.

She slowly leaned back against the carriage wall, her tone regaining its composure, but it sent a chill down one's spine: "We civil officials are powerless, and after hearing the news, we have done our best to mobilize troops for rescue. At most, we will be accused of failing to protect the emperor and lax supervision, which led to the theft of the mining gunpowder."

"Dismissal from office and confiscation of property are the end of the road. With Master Cai around, there's always a chance for him to make a comeback someday."