Chapter 72 Prefect: "Jiangzhou is the territory of Prince Gong."
The next day.
After a night of heavy drinking, the group slept until the sun was high in the sky.
"Bang bang bang—"
Several urgent knocks on the door woke the sleeping group. A maid from the Cui household called out, "Immortal Master? Is the Immortal Master awake?"
Bai Yuheng was sitting at the table reading a book when she heard the noise and waved to open the door, asking, "What's wrong?"
The maidservant, who had likely run all the way there, was sweating profusely from her forehead and nose, and replied breathlessly, "Distinguished guests have arrived at the manor. They specifically requested to see you. The steward said they are from the government office..."
Bai Yuheng frowned, thinking of Xu Huaji who had been sent to Jiangzhou prison. Perhaps they had reached a verdict on the case. She was also a little excited. The compass had not moved for a long time, so she could only rely on Xu Huaji to get some information.
Having thought this through, he put away the books on the table, went outside, and together with the maid, woke the person up.
Half an hour later, after washing up, the group went to the main hall, where a man was sitting in the main seat, and the butler was serving him tea.
"Please have some tea, sir. We've already sent someone to fetch them; they'll be here soon," Uncle Cui explained with a smile. "Our young master was so happy to be back that the master and madam let those young men have a few extra drinks. They drank until the moon was high in the sky. Oh dear, you wouldn't believe it, but these two can't hold their liquor. They drank quite a bit and are very drunk. They're still asleep. Please bear with them."
Butler Cui said a few more nice words, which were soothing and comforting. The anxious feeling of the person who had been waiting for so long was relieved a lot. He waved his hand repeatedly and said, "It's alright, it's alright. He's just a young man. I understand. He doesn't care about anything when he's happy!"
"Uncle Cui!"
The people inside had just finished speaking when they walked in in a large entourage.
Cui Mingcan cupped his hands and said, "Uncle Liu!?"
"Xiao Can is back! Hmm, he's grown stronger," Liu Lei nodded, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "He's also gotten quite tanned. Looks like this trip to the sect was worthwhile!"
Cui Mingcan smiled and offered a few modest compliments.
Liu Lei saw the group of people behind him and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "These must be your fellow disciples, right? They are all truly dashing and extraordinary!"
Bai Yuheng and the others returned the greetings, exchanged a few words, and reminisced about the past before getting to the main topic.
"By the way, Uncle Liu, what brings you here?"
Liu Lei's smile faded slightly as he said, "It's about what happened to you in Yueqing Town..."
His tiny eyes swept over the people in the main hall, and he lowered his voice, saying, "The prefect asked me to invite you over; this matter needs to be discussed privately."
Cui Mingcan nodded: "Okay, we understand. Let's go now."
After saying that, he turned around and exchanged a glance with Bai Yuheng and the others, then turned and walked out of the Cui residence.
The group headed to the Jiangzhou government office in a grand procession. On the way, they happened to run into Zhu He, who was out on business. Zhu He stared intently at Bai Yuheng in the middle of the group, his lips slightly moving as if he wanted to follow them. However, seeing their hurried pace and the middle-aged man in front of them wearing government office uniforms, he could only nod to them, step aside, and stand in place to watch them go.
He stood there for a long time until the servant beside him reminded him, at which point he came to his senses and turned to walk into the Cui residence.
The journey to the government office was smooth, where a man with a beautiful beard, fair complexion, and a slender figure stood before the desk, wielding his brush.
Upon hearing the voice, he looked up and smiled, his eyes crinkling into a smile that resembled that of a woman, if one ignored his thick, dark beard.
"You're here?"
"Hmm." Liu Lei nodded. He poured himself a cup of tea and was about to speak when he saw the prefect quickly put down his brush and hurriedly walk up to the person he had brought back. Without saying a word, the prefect was about to perform a grand salute.
"Your humble servant pays respects to Your Highness, the Wise Prince!"
Liu Lei was startled. A mouthful of tea got stuck in his throat, and his eyes, which were about half a finger's size, widened to the size of a finger.
Liu Lei was unaware that the Prince Xian was there. He had already knelt down, but his mind was still blank. When he came to his senses, he was thinking about whether he had done anything disrespectful to the Prince Xian along the way. His forehead was covered with fine sweat, and his scalp tingled.
Fortunately, although he had been impatient with them for a long time, he did not say anything to blame them, nor did he do anything inappropriate.
What was churning in Liu Lei's heart was unknown to the others. Li Tiankuo stepped forward to help the prefect up and said calmly, "Lord He, there is no need for such formalities. I do not want to reveal my identity while traveling, so please keep it a secret for me as well."
He Si nodded and said, "This humble official understands and will keep it a secret."
Li Tiankuo nodded and said nothing more.
Cui Mingcan peeked out from behind him and asked, "I wonder what business the Prefect has with us?"
He Si asked Liu Lei to offer them seats and pour tea, and then dismissed all other irrelevant people. Only Li Tiankuo and his four companions remained in the room. He Si explained, "Xu Huaji attempted suicide by biting his tongue in prison, but fortunately our guards discovered him in time and saved him, but..."
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat upon hearing this, and they hurriedly asked, "But what?"
He Si sighed, "His tongue is broken and can't be reattached. I'm afraid he won't be able to speak anymore."
After a pause, fearing that he might leave the wise prince with the impression of being a poor guard, he added, "However, he can read a few words, and we are now trying to get him to confess who is behind it all."
Li Tiankuo nodded without saying anything more, then asked something else: "How many years has Lord He been in Jiangzhou?"
He Si paused for a moment, then replied, "It's been six years now, all things considered."
"As far as we know, Xu Huaji and his group have been doing this kind of business for over ten years, and they've even been involved with the mastermind behind the human skin harvesting for several years now. Have you noticed anything amiss while you were in office?"
Cold sweat dripped from He Si's nose, and a chill ran down his spine. His term was almost over, and if all went smoothly, he could return to the capital next year, but...
He Si looked at the boy who was about ten years younger than him and felt uneasy. His thoughts swirled in his chest and finally turned into a soft sigh.
"I was indeed negligent in this matter and am willing to accept punishment." After saying this, he knelt down and kowtowed heavily. He then stood up and said, "It is impossible to say that I was completely unaware, but..." He lifted his eyelids slightly, his hand trembling slightly in his sleeve. He knew that if he spoke of this matter, he would offend that person. But if he did not speak of it, the person in front of him would not allow him to be fooled. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Jiangzhou was the territory of Prince Gong."
He Si gritted her teeth and said what she had to say, then breathed a sigh of relief.
He only said this much, and Li Tiankuo immediately understood.
What Lian wanted to know was that his elder brother wanted to find a different way to win the emperor's favor by offering novel and unusual tributes, which is why he indulged the people below.
Li Tiankuo suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and kept his expression cold. This Prince Gong was truly audacious.
Just as the atmosphere was getting a bit somber, Cui Mingcan glanced at Cen Ying and suggested, "Don't we have a doctor here? Let's go check on him."
Cen Ying silently elbowed him, then smiled and said, "I wonder how badly you're hurt. May I take a look? I hope it can heal you and help you find the real culprit sooner."
Seeing that she had already gone this far, and noticing that the Prince Xian treated them without any reservations, she nodded.
The group was transferred to prison.
Li Tiankuo asked, "What else do you know? Tell me the truth."
His eagle eyes were so real, as if they could see right through people. He was clearly a boy even younger than him, yet he possessed such a formidable presence...
He Sixin thought there was no way to get through this. He had already exposed the person and offended those he could. Now he could only cling tightly to the Prince Xian's ship.
After pondering for a while, he lowered his voice and said in a deep voice, "Three days later is the annual Lantern Festival in Jiangzhou. Lantern makers from all over the prefecture and even from all over the country will gather together. If Xu Huaji really turned those kidnapped people into human skin lanterns, we can start by investigating the person who made the lanterns."
"I have been in the officialdom for many years and have some connections that can help Your Highness," He Si paused and then said, "The Hualien Lantern Festival, which was the first time the festival was officially held, was proposed by her. And the first time a human skin lantern appeared on the market was after she became famous."
He Si then explained the Lantern Festival and Hualien to them.
As the name suggests, the Lantern Festival is designed to showcase the skills of artisans and boost the night market. Since a lantern maker from Hualien appeared one year, many novelties and different lantern shapes have appeared on the market, which are very popular.
As far as He Si knew, Hua Lian had originally fled from the south to Jiangzhou, where she was rescued by a hunter family and settled down there.
This person is generous and outgoing, and enjoys making friends. He has connections with talented and extraordinary people from all over the world, and all his acquaintances are ordinary people.
However, he didn't get to know her well; she was just a woman who loved making friends, so he didn't bother to stop her.
Since the reign of the previous empress, there are few restrictions on women now, and the traditions of that dynasty have been continued.
So, it's nothing unusual or shocking that he just likes to make many friends.
Li Tiankuo understood the meaning behind his words.
"Do you suspect that this Flower Lady is involved in this matter?" Cui Mingcan asked. "My father had a few interactions with her, and I have also met her. She is heroic and valiant, not the kind of treacherous and vicious person he seems to be."
What Cui Mingcan didn't say was that he had seen her scold people who made mistakes, and he still vividly remembered the words she said to him.
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