Chapter 227 Gratitude

"Did you really find it?" Cheng Maoming believed Qi Shuo's words without any doubt, but the surprise was so sudden and so huge that he felt like he was dreaming.

Qi Shuo was very calm: "It looks like the person in the portrait. Would you like to go and take a look, Grand Commander?"

Cheng Maoming had no other words to say, so he immediately led his men to Du Qing's residence. When they arrived, one of them said in surprise, "Huh? This place has been searched before."

Cheng Maoming glanced at the Jinlin Guard and asked, "When?"

"It was when we were hunting down the people who had escaped the gang that hid the gunpowder..." the subordinate answered, secretly regretting that he had spoken too hastily.

"A bunch of trash!" Cheng Maoming cursed and strode in.

Chen Mu had been moved to the east room, with a cloth ball stuffed in his mouth and his hands tied tightly.

Cheng Maoming took one look and couldn't help laughing out loud: "Okay, okay, it really is this villain. Take him back to the government office first."

The subordinates they brought responded in unison, stepped forward, pinned Chen Mu down, and escorted him out.

Although Cheng Maoming was anxious, he slowly fell behind and met Qi Shuo who did not follow in.

"Prince, you have really helped me a lot." Cheng Maoming bowed deeply to Qi Shuo.

Qi Shuo still looked calm: "Grand Commander, you are too polite."

"I'm not being polite. I really want to thank you, Prince." Cheng Maoming held Qi Shuo's hand, his tone extremely sincere.

Qi Shuo's eyes fell on the hand, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

There's no need to hold on so tightly.

He pulled his hand away without leaving a trace and said with a smile, "Not only did the villains kill innocent people indiscriminately, they also intended to provoke disputes between the two countries. Their intentions are sinister. Any person from the Great Zhou who cares about their country would do the same, not to mention that I am a member of the royal family."

Cheng Maoming's eyes filled with tears: "I understand."

These polite words are just for show. In the final analysis, Prince Jing is giving him benefits. If he doesn't appreciate it, he would be very ignorant.

"How did the prince discover this person?"

"This is a long story. I'll explain it in detail after the Grand Admiral finishes this."

"That villain—"

Qi Shuo smiled slightly: "Today many people can see that the person was captured by Jinlin Guards."

"Such a great contribution, how can I feel so embarrassed——"

"In my opinion, the credit should go to the Grand Commander. The Jinlin Guards have been hunting this man since a long time ago, and they've put in more effort than the Ministry of Justice, the Five Cities Military Commission, and other government offices..."

Cheng Maoming felt relieved and emotional after hearing this.

Look at the Prince of Jing, he is so good at speaking and doing things at such a young age. If his son could be like him - bah, he has no son.

Cheng Maoming felt sad as he retracted his thoughts.

Why doesn’t he have a son!

Qi Shuo keenly caught the regret that flashed across Cheng Maoming's eyes, and felt a rare sense of confusion: this person's reaction was somewhat different from what he expected.

"Sir, I have to go back and interrogate the villain first, and then report the situation to the emperor. Excuse me."

After saying goodbye to Qi Shuo, Cheng Maoming hurried back to the Jinlinwei Yamen.

The cloth stuffed in Chen Mu's mouth had been removed, and the two hidden fangs were also found.

Cheng Maoming glanced at the man whose hands and feet were bound by iron rings and asked, "What's your name?"

Chen Mu raised his eyelids but said nothing.

Until now, he was still confused about his capture. After much thought, he could only blame it on the person who disguised himself as Du Qing revealing a flaw at some point.

"Why did you kill Princess Yu Liu?"

Chen Mu still didn't speak.

"Don't say it?" Cheng Maoming looked at the prisoner who was as hard as a rock, and he was furious.

Grains

If it weren't for this bastard causing trouble, how could he be so busy as a dog and still worry about being scolded!

"Go and call the teahouse waiters." Cheng Maoming gave the order.

The Jinlin Guards acted very quickly. Soon, several teahouse waiters were brought in, and each of them looked very scared.

Cheng Maoming soothed him gently, "Don't be afraid. I called you here to identify if this person is the suspect we saw that day."

"It's him!" A waiter shouted as he saw Chen Mu.

Another guy also recognized him: "Yes, it's him!"

"Are you sure?"

"No doubt about it, he was the one who went to the back that day."

After receiving the affirmative answer from the teahouse waiter, Cheng Maoming smiled and ordered his men to send the witness out.

"Even if you don't say anything, you will still be convicted." Cheng Maoming took a few steps closer and stared at the expressionless prisoner.

Chen Mu finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "So what if I'm convicted?"

He had never thought he could survive after falling into the hands of the Jinlin Guards. His life had caused such a huge disturbance, it was enough.

Cheng Maoming couldn't help but frown.

This is a tough nut to crack.

"You don't have to tell me, but that depends on whether you can withstand those torture instruments." Cheng Maoming sneered.

Chen Mu glanced at him and sneered.

"Do it."

As Cheng Maoming spoke, screams soon rang out in the torture room.

After an unknown amount of time, the Jinlin Guards' hands were sore from the torture: "Grand Commander, he's passed out."

Cheng Maoming cursed inwardly and had to go into the palace to report the situation to Emperor Tai'an.

The disappearance of Maid Yu Liu could not be concealed for too long. If someone reported it to the Emperor first, he would be in great trouble. Fortunately, Prince Jing had given him such a great achievement, giving him a talisman.

On the way into the palace, Cheng Maoming expressed his sincere gratitude to Qi Shuo.

After hearing the report from the eunuch, Emperor Tai'an knew that there was a new situation in the murder of Princess Lingque. Perhaps nothing good had happened in recent times, and he had a bad feeling. After Cheng Maoming came in and knelt down to apologize, he felt calm.

He wanted to see what else would happen.

"I have received news that a maid named Yu Liu is missing... I am guilty!" Cheng Maoming knelt on the ground and apologized.

Emperor Tai'an reached out and touched the white jade paperweight, took a deep breath, and finally did not throw the paperweight away.

It's okay to kill a few good-for-nothings, but we can't waste the white jade paperweight.

"Why is he missing?" Emperor Tai'an almost gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words.

Cheng Maoming lowered his head and listened, secretly feeling lucky.

Based on his understanding of the emperor, the calmer the emperor appeared, the angrier he became. Fortunately, his amulet had not been used yet.

"The inn is under surveillance day and night, but we haven't seen Maid Yu Liu leave. They're searching the inn right now, and notifying all the city gates to carefully check passersby..."

After hearing Cheng Maoming's report, Emperor Tai'an laughed in anger: "I didn't see anyone come out, and there was no one in the guesthouse. Can a living person turn into a bird and fly away?"

Cheng Maoming wanted to cry.

He thought so too. How could such a living person just disappear?

After secretly glancing at Emperor Tai'an's expression, Cheng Maoming decisively used his amulet: "This humble official has something else to report."

"Speak." When Emperor Tai'an uttered this word, veins popped out on his forehead.

Is there anything else that is worrying you?

Cheng Maoming steadied his voice: "The murderer of Princess Lingque has been caught."