Chapter 128 Leaving the Capital (12) The Ubiquitous Guan Youjun (First Update...)

Before dawn the next day, Yu Qi and Zhang Da went to the dock to board Ding Dacheng's cargo ship to catch up with Jiu Li and the others along the canal. Because they inquired about information along the way, they were delayed for a long time, which caused them to fall behind by two whole days' journey. After four days of sailing, they still had not caught up with Jiu Li and the others' ship.

Fortunately, they learned at a small inn along the way that Jiu Li and his group had lunch there. There were four of them, including Du Zhongxu and Bai, as well as a woman, Guo Xiuzhi, a waiter at the inn.

That afternoon, Zhang Da sat idly by the window of the rear cabin, scratching his chin and wondering, "What is Sister Guo going with? Could it be that she's really going to elope with that boy Du Zhong?"

Yu Qi, standing beside him, adjusted the lid of his teacup and glanced at him dismissively. "You're quite well-informed; you even know about my family's affairs."

Zhang Da picked up his teacup to cover his smile, smacked his lips, and said, "It's not that I like to pry, I just heard it from Lao Feng. To be honest, that Du Zhong kid is really strange. He doesn't like young girls, but he prefers a thirty-year-old widow—tsk tsk, I don't understand what kind of taste he has."

“If you hadn’t recommended Aunt Guo to work at my house, this trouble wouldn’t have happened.” Yu Qi said coldly, then took a sip of his tea, his eyes glancing at him.

Zhang Da put down his teacup and chuckled, "This has nothing to do with me. I didn't know Aunt Guo had this ability. Women, as long as they have a bit of looks, can become a man's nemesis. Speaking of which, my wife is better. Although she's not particularly attractive, she won't cause trouble. It's just that she eats too much. Next year we'll have another mouth to feed. If I slack off even a little, we'll go hungry!"

“You don’t need to complain about being poor. I didn’t ask you to pay for any of the expenses along the way. I even covered your share.”

With these words, Zhang Da felt relieved and wished he could kneel down and kowtow to him! However, a slightly embarrassed look appeared on his face, and he said cheerfully, "Don't worry, sir. Although this matter cannot be considered an official mission, it is still to gather information for Lord Yan. I will report this matter to him when I get back, and I will return the money to you then. Consider it a loan to you for now."

"You, Officer Zhang, owe me quite a bit of money, don't you?"

Yu Qi didn't bother to respond to his words, giving him a cursory glance before turning his head to look through the window screen. He had only been to the capital once in his life, and it seemed as if he had a bad rapport with the city; during those two months, many misfortunes occurred. First, his master died, and later he himself nearly perished in a fire. Now, nearly twenty years later, he was about to return to this familiar place, and he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

But then he thought about it again, and realized that the capital city was also a lucky place for him. If he hadn't gone there, he wouldn't have been able to rescue Jiu Li and have this complicated relationship that had lasted half his life.

Thinking of Jiu Li, she couldn't help but worry again. If Qi Xubai lured her to the capital only to clear Prince Zhao's name, that wouldn't be too dangerous. She feared he might have other motives. Although young, he was ruthless by nature and extremely cunning. Judging from his actions of dismissing the servants and sending away his sister-in-law and niece—seemingly settling his affairs—there must be some desperate measures behind it all.

Suddenly Zhang Da spoke up, "Sir, tell me, given King Zhao's temperament, is it really possible that he might have raped and murdered a palace maid while drunk?"

Yu Qi looked at him, and after a while shook his head, "I don't know King Zhao's character."

"I don't think so. A prince of such high status, why would he choose a palace maid, especially one of Consort Chen's maids? Isn't that just asking for trouble? Didn't you meet him once and talk to him once? Don't you know him well?"

He tilted his head back against the wall and chuckled softly, “I’m not a god, how could I see through someone’s thoughts after just one meeting? Tell me about this case in detail.”

Zhang Da clenched his fist on the table and began to recount: "I heard it from Lord Yan, and even he only knew a limited amount. He said that at the end of last month, there was a banquet in the palace. Prince Zhao was summoned to the palace, and the banquet was held at Qingniao Pavilion, not far from Consort Chen's palace. During the banquet, Prince Zhao got drunk and wanted to take a walk outside the palace to sober up. He didn't return for quite some time. Later, when the banquet was about to end, I heard a eunuch shouting that a palace maid's body had been found in a garden outside Qingniao Pavilion. The palace maid's clothes were disheveled, and she had been stabbed to death in the chest with a dagger. The emperor immediately ordered the guards to search the palace, and they happened to find a dagger on the road near that garden. That dagger was the one that Prince Zhao always carried with him."

Yu Qi immediately became alert. "Is it a dagger with a ruby ​​and ivory inlaid on the hilt and a curved tip?"

"You even know this? I've never heard Lord Yan mention what the murder weapon looked like. Did Lord Yan tell you behind your back?"

“Since the Qi family’s case was closed, I have never been to the county government office, nor have I seen Lord Yan. How did he tell me this? But when I heard you say that the dagger was something that Prince Zhao always carried with him, I remembered that when I saw him last time, I think I saw him wearing a dagger at his waist.”

"You have such a good memory!"

"He tied the dagger to his belt with a leather cord as a waist ornament. I found it strange at the time. King Zhao was a scholar, so why would he use a weapon as an accessory like a military general? Then I remembered that his biological father, King Ping, had fought many battles and made many achievements. The scabbard and hilt of that dagger were gilded. Judging from the style, it looked like something from a foreign tribe. It was probably a spoil of war that King Ping had seized from a high-ranking figure in the enemy army and later gave to his son. So it was not surprising that his son would wear it with him."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Da nodded repeatedly, "Absolutely! I think the murder weapon is most likely this!"

"But even if King Zhao is of noble status, he should not be allowed to bring a murder weapon into the palace for a banquet. How did he manage to evade the search and bring the murder weapon into the palace?"

"This—" Zhang Da couldn't figure it out, so he just laughed it off. "He's a prince. If he wants to, is there anything he can't do? The guards at the palace gates have to give him face. Do they dare to strip him naked and search him?"

Yu Qi pondered for a moment, then smiled. "You're right. No matter how tight the security is in the capital, as long as people are out and about, they'll consider human relationships and social dynamics. Naturally, there will be times when even the best-laid plans slip up. And what happened afterward?"

Zhang Da rarely received his approval, and he slapped the table twice with pride, becoming more and more excited as he spoke, "Later?! I heard that Prince Zhao was placed under house arrest in his palace the next day and was not allowed to go out. The Emperor sent guards from the palace to guard the palace, and no one, whether inside or outside, was allowed to enter or leave without the Emperor's decree! This was only because the Emperor took care of the father-son relationship of many years; otherwise, with witnesses and evidence, he should have been sent to the Dali Temple long ago!"

Who is currently investigating this case?

"According to Lord Yan, one is Lord Qin, who accompanied Prince Zhao to Nanjing last time to investigate the Qinglian Temple case, and the other is Lord Zou from the Dali Temple. However, Lord Qin was originally a member of the Chen Guojiu faction, and Lord Zou once taught Prince Zhao criminal law, so these two officials often disagreed. Therefore, when Lord Yan received the news, the case had not made any progress."

As he spoke, Zhang Da nodded to himself, "Perhaps you guessed right. This time, Lord Qi—no, Second Master Qi—brought Xiaoyuer to the capital to lead you there to investigate this case."

Yu Qi hesitated before standing up. "That's one aspect, but I'm afraid there are other reasons—"

Just then, a young man brought in a meal from the cargo ship and placed it on the table. Yu Qi glanced at it and saw that there were four dishes, some with meat and some with vegetables. In addition to a dish of fish and shrimp stew that was freshly caught from the river, there was also a bowl of ham stewed with chicken.

The cargo ship was large, and it probably carried some live chickens and ducks. However, the two men were just hitchhiking. The ship owner, surnamed Ding, was extremely hospitable. Not only did he give them the spacious cabin at the stern, but he also treated them to such good food and drink. What's more, the person who delivered the food was not an ordinary boatman or crew member, but the second-in-command of the cargo ship, Ding Dacheng's own brother, Ding Dayong. Such preferential treatment was probably not just because of their status as government officials and clerks.

Ding Dayong said, "After about ten more days of travel, we will reach a large post station called Huailing Post Station. Our boat will need to be repaired at Huailing Post Station for a day. Will that delay your journey?"

The journey to the capital would take about a month. Even if Jiuli and the others were in a hurry, they would need to rest and buy some food at Fengda Water Station. Yu Qi nodded and said, "No problem, we'll do as the host says."

"That's good. Please have your meal."

Zhang Dayi saw that there were two kinds of seasonal vegetables left, picked up his chopsticks and laughed, "You even have chicken and duck on this boat, you've prepared everything perfectly."

Ding Dayong replied, "We stopped at the river station yesterday and bought a few from the postmaster. It's not difficult to get fresh vegetables; we can just buy some from the villages along the way."

Yu Qi turned around and sat down, smiling at him. "Your ship is quite big. I wonder what kind of cargo it carries?"

"Oh, there's a lot more. This time, it's mostly loaded with Hangzhou satin and Suzhou silk, and we'll also bring some other miscellaneous items. Anyway, we shipmen are willing to deliver anything as long as it's not prohibited by the imperial court."

Yu Qi smiled and pondered, "Hangzhou satin and Suzhou silk—this is a big deal."

Ding Dayong wanted to say something, but fearing that saying too much would cause trouble, he swallowed his words, took his leave, and left. He walked around the deck passage to the front cabin and, sure enough, saw his elder brother Ding Dacheng sitting inside talking to someone. He went inside and told him that the food had been sent to the rear cabin, but he didn't see anyone else.

Ding Dacheng nodded while sitting in his chair, then asked, "What is the purpose of Mr. Yu and Constable Zhang's trip to the capital? Is it really to pursue the young master and young lady of the Yu family?"

Ding Dayong said, "I just overheard them outside talking about a major case that has reached the highest levels of society. They said that Prince Zhao killed someone in the palace and was imprisoned in the Prince's Mansion. It seems that they came to the capital because of this case."

"King Zhao was imprisoned for murder? This is truly an extraordinary case—" Ding Dacheng pondered for a moment, then waved to his brother, "Go ahead."

After the man left, two women gracefully emerged from behind the screen. The one in the lead, wearing a white fur-trimmed vest over a long, dark blue satin robe with wide sleeves, and a copper-green skirt, was Guan Youjun. The woman following behind, wearing a dark blue robe, was Niangzhuang. Ding Dacheng immediately stood up to make way. Youjun sat down in a chair, smiled, pointed to the chair next to her, and invited him to sit down. She then leaned forward, placing her hands over the charcoal brazier to warm herself.

Ding Dacheng leaned towards the table and said, "Miss Guan, did you hear what my brother just said? With King Zhao imprisoned, the fate of the world is probably sealed!"

Youjun straightened up and smiled at him, "Manager Ding runs cargo ships, yet you care about important court affairs?"

"Hey, even we cargo shipmen have to watch the government's face. Besides, I often travel the route to the capital. Whatever changes happen in the capital, we naturally have to follow the winds! I heard that Lord Lin, who used to be in charge of the dock inspection, was a guard in Prince Ping's mansion in his early years. Needless to say, he was definitely on Prince Zhao's side. Now that Prince Zhao's mansion is in trouble, who knows who will be in charge of this job in the future? I've been bribing him for many years. If I replace him, I don't know how much silver I'll have to throw in!"

Youjun didn't take it seriously. "No matter who it is, we business people enter this temple and worship the gods here. We don't care what the gods look like. It's nothing. Manager Ding doesn't need to worry about this. Besides, Mr. Yu is in the capital to investigate the case. As long as Prince Zhao didn't kill anyone, he will definitely be exonerated. Whether or not someone will be replaced is still another matter."

Ding Dacheng pondered for a moment, then shook his head and laughed, "Forget it, forget it. For us businessmen, even if it's a big deal, we'll only lose a few coins. Unlike those officials, it's a matter of life and death. But why did you suddenly decide to go to the capital with the goods this time, Miss? We've been doing business for so many years. Don't you suddenly trust me anymore?"

Youjun smiled without saying a word, while Niangzhuang chimed in, "How could that be? If you can't even trust Manager Ding, who can you trust? It's just that we haven't checked on those shops in the capital for two years. Although we don't rely on them for our livelihood, we can't let those people ruin them. We should check on them. Besides, didn't Mr. Yu go there too?"

“Oh, right, right, Mr. Yu is going too, he’s going too—” Ding Dacheng smiled knowingly. “I could tell yesterday when you boarded the boat at the water station, Miss. To be honest, it’s really hard for you to run these businesses. You should find someone to share the burden. When I met Mr. Yu that day, I knew it was true to his reputation. He’s a man of exceptional talent, one in a hundred years! I think this is a match made in heaven. Why don’t you go out and greet Mr. Yu openly? What’s the point of hiding?”

Youjun smiled faintly and did not answer. How could others understand the fun of this "hide-and-seek" between men and women? She believed that Yu Qi could guess that she was also on this ship, just as she could guess that his trip to the capital would be fraught with danger and crisis.

But like him, she didn't voice her opinion. Viewing life and death, love and profit as elusive concepts was both a means of self-preservation and a form of unconventional excitement. Having navigated the business world for over a decade, she had long since grasped a principle: money, power, and love—if treated as a game, one can navigate them with ease.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.