"Ahem~" Sang Hong coughed lightly twice, "Let's not make a fool of ourselves here. Let's go to my room and discuss this."
He then led the group back to their room, while simultaneously arranging for guards to stand watch at a distance outside to prevent eavesdropping.
"Ah Zu, have you found anything?" Sang Hong sat down at the head of the table, gesturing for them to pour their own tea and not to stand on ceremony.
“I’ve already found out who sent the message to the capital.” Zu An was about to speak when Sang Hong stopped him.
He looked at Gao Ying and Pei You and said, "We are on a mission from the Emperor, and you should all understand what that means. I know that you aristocratic families are deeply intertwined, and you even have relatives in Yunzhong County..."
Pei You's expression changed slightly, clearly indicating that the other party was referring to his relationship with Pei Shao.
Sang Hong continued, "But I must ask you all to understand the implications. The situation in Yunzhong County is far more dangerous than you imagine. If we make even one wrong step, we will all perish. Therefore, we must not let a single word of anything we discuss leak out."
Pei You abruptly stood up: "If Lord Sang doesn't trust me, then I won't listen."
As he was about to leave, Gao Ying hurriedly grabbed him, and while persuading him, apologized to Sang Hong: "Lord Sang, you can rest assured, we are not the kind of people who do not know what is important. Let alone the fact that these people in Yunzhong County are just distant relatives, even if they were close relatives, we would not reveal even a little bit of this now."
After being persuaded by him, Pei You also cupped his hands and said, "So that Lord Sang may know, although the Lord of Yunzhong County and I both have the surname Pei, Pei Shao belongs to the lineage of the Duke of Linhai, while I belong to the lineage of the Duke of Julu. Everyone in the court and the public knows that our two lineages have different political views. Although we can't say that we are irreconcilable enemies, we can be described as being at odds. How could I possibly sacrifice my own interests to inform Pei Shao and the others?"
Sang Hong nodded secretly. Pei Zheng, the Duke of Linhai, held the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary and was a key figure in the Qi King's faction. Pei Ming, the Duke of Julu, was the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Although he was at odds with Bi Qi, the father of the Crown Princess, his son Pei Yi, who was also Pei You's father, had an excellent relationship with the Bi family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Pei You as one of the Crown Prince's guards when they entered the secret realm to complete the Crown Prince's examination.
He immediately laughed: "I am also in a position and have to guard against some potential dangers. I didn't mean to target any of you. I hope you nephews won't take it to heart."
Hearing him say that, Gao Ying and Pei You also had a way out, and they both cupped their hands and said, "Of course, of course."
Sang Hong then looked at Zu An: "Zu An, tell me about your gains."
Zuan nodded: "I've found out that the messenger was probably Chen Zhou, the personal bodyguard of the Duke of Yunzhong..."
He then briefly recounted his findings to the group, omitting Pei Mianman's presence.
Sang Hong's eyes lit up: "Great, finding out his identity gives us a breakthrough, and things will be much easier from here on out."
"Have you made any progress over there?" Zuan asked curiously.
“Yes!” Gao Ying said in a deep voice, “We investigated the secluded place where the Duke of Yunzhong disappeared and found a hidden passage.”
Zuan raised an eyebrow: "Didn't the investigation report provided by Yunzhong County say it was a secret room?"
“It’s possible they were trying to hide something, or it’s possible they just couldn’t find it,” Gao Ying explained. “The secret passage’s mechanism was extremely well hidden. If I hadn’t studied mechanical engineering before, I might not have been able to discover it.”
As he said this, a hint of smugness appeared on his face.
"Is it possible that someone else sneaked in through the secret passage to assassinate the Duke of Yunzhong?" Zu An asked, suddenly remembering that he had also secretly gone to the secret passage to meet Bi Linglong, and his face flushed.
“Impossible,” Gao Ying shook his head. “This secret passage can only be opened from inside the room; it’s impossible for anyone to get in from the outside.”
Zu An pondered that the secret passage on Bi Linglong's side was the same: "Where does the other end of the secret passage lead to?"
“Jade Pavilion, a few miles away,” Gao Ying replied.
“Jade Pavilion?” Zu An was taken aback; the name sounded rather improper.
At this moment, Pei You explained with great enthusiasm: "I've already inquired. Jade Pavilion is the largest and most luxurious brothel in Yunzhong County. Every girl there has a full bust, a slender waist, and long legs..."
"Ahem, let's get down to business. There's no need to talk about trivial things," Sang Hong reminded him.
Zu An suppressed a laugh: "Why is the escape route of the Duke of Yunzhong in a brothel? Does he have a lover there?"
He then recalled that Duan Zhengchun had also apparently had his men dig tunnels to the private quarters of women like Gan Baobao, so he could secretly meet with them at night. Could it be that the Duke of Yunzhong also had such a lover?
“It’s unlikely.” Gao Ying shook his head. “Madam Yu was the most beautiful woman in the world back then. All the women in Biyufang combined couldn’t compare to her. With such a beauty in the family, how could she possibly be interested in those ordinary women?”
"Maybe not. Even if you've been eating delicacies like abalone for a long time, you might want to try something different." Zu An thought to himself that Yu Yanluo and the Duke of Yunzhong had been living apart for a long time, so it was uncertain whether he had actually eaten any delicacies like abalone.
The others immediately looked at him strangely, because his wife was also a stunning beauty. Could this be his personal experience?
At this moment, Gao Ying added, "We specifically investigated, and the exit is not in any courtesan's courtyard, but in a desolate backyard. Even the people from Biyu Fang rarely go there. Therefore, the Duke of Yunzhong should only be using a place like Biyu Fang with a large flow of people to hide his whereabouts and make it easier to escape safely if anything happens, rather than having an affair with any courtesan in Biyu Fang."
“Your analysis is good,” Sang Hong said with approval in his eyes. “However, even so, we should still send a few people to Biyufang to investigate secretly, and be careful not to alert them.”
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
