Chapter 11 Human-Faced Dog: Rumors?
In the past month, there has been a frequent occurrence of missing children in and around Beijing.
Li Wanying's attire was still exquisite and luxurious, adorned with pearls and jade, and she was extremely well-groomed, restoring her former noble lady appearance. There was no trace of the disheveled and disarrayed state she had displayed after falling from her horse yesterday.
Hearing Wang Shanyue's sarcasm, she showed some shame and indignation, but she tried her best to suppress it and hide the gloom in her eyes.
She steeled herself and stepped forward. At Li Lian's prompting, she bowed and said in a soft voice, "Yesterday, Wanying was blind and offended you all... I hope you will forgive me for hurting that young girl."
Although her words were pleasant to hear, her tone was somewhat stiff, not to mention her aggrieved and resentful expression. She didn't seem genuinely repentant at all, but rather forced to step forward and admit her mistake.
Tang Yu looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and slowly raised a cryptic smile to her lips.
He stepped forward and “kindly” helped her up, saying, “Oh dear, it’s already rare for Miss Li to be able to bow her head and apologize. We are not unreasonable people.”
Her deliberate touch made Li Wanying's face stiffen instantly, but she dared not retaliate.
"However," Tang Yu said in an overly gentle tone, "it's understandable that Prefect Li's daughter is a bit spoiled. But how can she always run into people as easy to talk to as us? What if she's unlucky in the future?"
She seemed all smiles, yet every word she uttered was barbed.
Li Wanying's face flushed red and then turned pale. She bit her lip, lowered her head, and mumbled, "Yes..."
Just then, Wang Shanyue finished his snack, stood up, and clapped his hands with satisfaction, crumbs falling onto Li Wanying's skirt. He glanced at them, winked, and smiled, "Excuse me, Miss Li."
Li Wanying frowned even more, her expression changed slightly, but she took a deep breath and forced herself to hold it in.
Seeing that he was displeased, Wang Shanyue smiled even more brightly and turned to urge, "A Liang, let's go, it's getting late."
Xiao Fangliang slowly stood up, and before leaving, he glanced at Li Lian indifferently, his tone gentle but with a hint of coldness: "If I hear about today's events again in the future... I'm sure the Director of the Censorate, Lord Lu, would be very willing to investigate."
Li Lian's face turned pale, and cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.
Everyone knows that Lu Ya of the Censorate is ruthless and adept at using torture to extract confessions; he can turn white into black. If things really come to that, you'll be lucky to escape with your life.
He was immediately terrified, bowing and scraping, repeatedly saying with a forced smile, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare... Please take care..."
The three of them didn't even turn their heads back, but walked away nonchalantly without leaving a single word of farewell.
After the group had gone far away, the hall finally returned to calm.
The father and daughter finally breathed a sigh of relief. Li Wanying gritted her teeth and whispered, "These three... they've gone too far!"
Li Lian wiped away cold sweat with his sleeve, glared at him, and hissed, "Shut up! If you hadn't caused trouble yesterday, you wouldn't be in this embarrassing situation today."
Li Wanying had been pampered since childhood, and had never been scolded like this before. Her eyes immediately reddened, she stomped her foot, and turned to go back into the house.
She had only taken a few steps when she suddenly felt an itch on her arm. At first it was mild, but in the blink of an eye, the itch became like insects crawling on her skin, growing more and more intense. It spread from her arm to her neck, and then to her back. No matter how she scratched, she couldn't find the itch or get relief from it.
"Father..." Her face turned pale, and her voice was trembling with tears, "Something's wrong... I feel so itchy..."
Her face was deathly pale, her voice filled with fear, and she couldn't help but scratch, leaving red marks on her fair skin in a shocking sight.
Li Lian was shocked to see this and rushed over to grab her hand to prevent further injury. He shouted anxiously, "Someone! Go and get a doctor!"
But Li Wanying was already on the verge of a breakdown from the itching, tears streaming down her face. She struggled to shake off her father's hand, crying and yelling, "Are you all stupid? Stop the itching! Hurry up!!"
The servants looked at each other, but none of them dared to step forward easily, and the scene became chaotic.
By this time, the three people outside the mansion had walked quite a distance.
Wang Shanyue, who was practicing martial arts, had excellent hearing. He vaguely heard commotion inside the mansion. He stopped and concentrated for a moment, then looked back at the vermilion gate in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Fangliang raised an eyebrow. He had no martial arts skills, so he couldn't hear anything. He asked curiously.
Wang Shanyue shrugged and snorted dismissively, "That Miss Li seems to have suddenly fallen ill."
He snorted again, "Serves him right."
Following their gazes, Tang Yu also turned her head to look at the high walls and deep courtyard, without saying a word, a lazy smile appearing on her lips.
That was a little gadget her younger brother invented, called itchy powder.
It's not poisonous, and it doesn't leave any marks, but... it will itch for three days and three nights. Only the Tang Clan can cure it.
It's only three days; it's just a small punishment.
*
After being reprimanded, the efficiency of the Quzhou government office improved dramatically. That very day, they ordered that the beggars be housed in the east wing of the government office, with plenty of food and clothing, and even their tattered clothes were replaced with new ones.
Tang Yu also overheard from the idle chatter of the yamen runners that Miss Li was possessed by some evil spirit, her body inexplicably itchy, and she had scratched herself raw, so she was now too afraid to even leave the house.
After hearing this, she simply smiled and did not say a word.
Now that the government had taken over the matter of the children returning home, the three who had been delayed for two days decided not to linger any longer and set off back to the capital.
Before leaving, Tang Yu was still worried, so she carefully left a few packets of pain-relieving and blood-stasis-reducing powder for Zhizhi and the others, and also slipped them some loose silver.
Xiao Fangliang gently comforted him, "Once we return to Zhongjing, I will send people to investigate the places the children mentioned. Now that the government has taken over, we can rest assured for the time being."
Tang Yu nodded. Although she was still somewhat worried, she knew that the trip was urgent and could not be delayed any longer.
After the group finished packing, their horses trod through the morning mist and continued north along the official road.
During the journey, the topic returned to the strange talk from that night.
"You tell me..." Wang Shanyue, holding the reins, asked thoughtfully on horseback, "Is the 'human-faced dog' that the little girl mentioned real, or is she just scaring herself?"
"I don't know." Tang Yu shook her head gently, then shared her guess: "According to Bing'er, before she fainted, she saw several white dogs with human faces in a daze. But among all the children, only she heard and saw them. I suspect... it might be a hallucination caused by the drug she was given."
She paused for a moment, then said, "As for the later claim that they would be carried away by 'human-faced dogs,' perhaps it's because after the children were abducted, they felt fear in the dark and oppressive environment, which gave these fantasies a certain 'realism.'"
"So that means the human-faced dog is just a rumor?" Wang Shanyue pressed.
“It can’t be generalized.” Tang Yu lowered his gaze slightly, thought for a moment, and replied, “I have another explanation. In the martial arts world, it’s common for people to raise and train wild beasts. If those people really have trained fierce dogs to help them kidnap people, it’s not impossible for them to do so.”
She was not speaking without reason.
The Tang Clan members have always been accustomed to dealing with ingenious and poisonous techniques. Some control snakes, while others control insects. For example, Sister Yiqing's snake can not only find people by their scent, but it can even use hooks to open doors.
"Now that you mention it, it's even more creepy," Wang Shanyue clicked his tongue.
"The martial world is vast, full of extraordinary skills, and naturally there are all sorts of strange and unusual people." Xiao Fangliang closed the book in his hand, looked at Tang Yu with a slight smile, and his gaze was deep.
Tang Yu responded with a fake smile, looked away, and said nothing more.
A moment of silence fell between the three, and the caravan continued on its way, heading towards its final destination, Zhongjing.
But they didn't know that the matter was not over yet.
A dog with a human face...it seems to really exist.
*
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, at the Zhongjing Imperial Palace.
Inside the imperial study, wisps of smoke drifted from the incense burner, filling the room with the elegant and refined scent of sandalwood, instantly calming the mind. Yet, Emperor Wen of Chu, after reading the memorial before him, remained stern and cold.
"In the past month, there have been numerous cases of missing children in the capital and its surrounding suburbs, numbering more than a dozen. The Ministry of Justice still has no leads. Furthermore, rumors of monstrous things like human-faced dogs have been circulating."
He gave a cold laugh, slammed the memorial heavily on the desk, closed his eyes as if deep in thought, but the unspoken pressure weighed on the kneeling Minister of Justice beneath the imperial desk.
"It is my incompetence." The Minister of Justice was drenched in cold sweat, trembling on the ground, his voice filled with fear.
"In ten days, the Southern Frontier delegation will arrive in Zhongjing. If such seditious rumors are not put to rest, what will become of the Great Xia's reputation? What will become of its imperial authority?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the air turned so cold it felt like it was about to freeze.
The Minister of Justice was drenched in sweat, yet he did not know how to answer.
He knew, of course, that this case concerned people's livelihoods, and failing to deliver a satisfactory answer could shake public morale. Moreover, it coincided with the arrival of the Southern Frontier delegation in the capital; if anything went wrong and the imperial family lost face, who could bear the responsibility?
Emperor Chu Wen slowly opened his eyes, but did not continue to make things difficult for him. Instead, he turned to look at the young man in black armor in the prince's palace, his eyes unreadable. "Xie Xingzheng."
"Your subject is present."
"You are in charge of the Left Wing of Zhongjing, and your responsibility is to protect the people of the capital region. Since the Ministry of Justice is incompetent, I will entrust this case to you."
He slowly rose, looking down at the man with sharp, piercing eyes. "If this case is not solved within ten days before the Southern Frontier delegation arrives, even if you are a descendant of the Xie family, for your incompetence, I will certainly punish you as well!"
Xie Xingzheng knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice, "Your subject obeys."
When he raised his head, his expression was calm, his eyes were as cold as frost, and there was no fear or worry in his eyes, not a trace of extra emotion.
Emperor Wen of Chu narrowed his eyes and examined the young face before him, but could not find the slightest flaw.
Despite being at an age when youth should be unrestrained and exuberant, he is able to remain so composed...
"Go." Emperor Chu Wen raised his hand, his voice tinged with weariness. "I believe the Xie family will not disappoint me."
Xie Xingzheng bowed and took his leave. As he walked out of the inner hall, he seemed to feel a sense of relief.
How could he not know that the emperor entrusted this case to him seemingly out of trust, but in reality, it concealed a deeper meaning and did not want him to truly solve the case?
The Xie family had served as generals for generations, commanding armies for several generations, making them a renowned military family in the Great Xia Dynasty. He himself had served alongside his father and brothers on the frontier since childhood, fighting on the battlefield. He rose to fame after a battle in the southern border, earning the title of the Great Xia's foremost young general.
So what?
The Xie family's army's bravery, their control of the military, and their popularity and influence among the people—all these accolades are merely superficial glory. They only make the emperor more wary, becoming invisible shackles with a bloody edge, making every step the Xie family takes feel like walking on thin ice.
Ten days was the deadline given to him by Emperor Wen of Chu, and also a trap set for the Xie family.
If this matter is not handled well, at the very least, it would be due to his incompetence; at worst, it would be a sign of the Xie family's power being misplaced, giving the envoy from the southern border a handle to use against them, which would be a disaster that would endanger the dignity of the country.
He looked up at the sky, where thick clouds piled up, completely obscuring the starlight and even the moonlight was barely visible.
Perhaps, heavy rain is coming to Zhongjing.
[Author's Note]
The male lead is coming.
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