Chapter 16
The commotion at Feng Zijing's residence had barely ended half an hour earlier, and the stench of blood still lingered in the cracks between the bluestone slabs. The old censor, wrapped in a thick fur coat, slumped on a warm couch, his sallow face glaring against the freshly bandaged white bandage on his shoulder. The housekeeper's hand trembled as he held the medicine bowl, the decoction sloshing around the edge.
"Master, your injury... tomorrow morning..."
"Go!" Feng Zijing didn't even raise his eyelids, his voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. "Carry me, carry me to the Golden Palace! Gu Linzhi threw out this bloody bait, and as long as I, Feng Zijing, have a breath left, I will sink this hook into the flesh of those termites!" His skinny fingers dug into the edge of the couch, veins bulging. "Have a sedan chair prepared outside! Send a few more teams of servants, and show me your swords! I want to see which demon dares to come!"
----_
Almost at the same moment the Feng family servants drew their swords and lit torches, in the south of Shengjing City, in the backyard of a shabby shop with only a faded sign that read "Wang's Soup and Noodles," the atmosphere was so tense it could cut someone's heart.
The black crow's shadow fell on the mottled earthen wall, motionless. Kneeling on one knee before him was a soaking wet man. Mud and water mixed with dark red blood dripped from his tattered shorts, forming a small puddle at his feet. He was panting heavily, each breath wetting the blood-soaked cloth wrapped around his chest and abdomen even further.
"...my subordinate, a water ghost... spent the entire night crouching in the ditch at the back wall of Zhao Wenbi's mansion." He lowered his voice to a whisper, each word rasping between his teeth and reeking of blood. "I personally saw... at least three groups of people sneak in! The first group, dressed in black with gold patterns on their cuffs, looked like dogs from the Imperial City Bureau! They pried open the hole under the rockery, and soon a fireball exploded inside, sending black smoke billowing into the sky!"
"The second group, not many, just three, were as slithery as loaches. They took advantage of the chaos and slipped into the fire scene... When they came out, they were carrying a camphorwood box about a foot and a half square! They ran very fast, climbed over the back wall, and left several fresh scratches on the wall... And this!" The water ghost trembled as he pulled out a small oilcloth bag from his arms. He peeled off the layers, revealing a few almost transparent, mud-stained silk threads. "It was hanging on the jujube branch on the wall. I almost missed it!"
Mo Ya twisted the silk threads with his cold fingers and squinted at the broken lantern in the yard that was almost burned out. The wick popped and the light jumped.
"The third group..." The water ghost licked his cracked and bleeding lips, the fierceness in his eyes still lingering. "They're the men of 'Guoshanfeng' Pan Laoguai! This bunch of killers chased the three men with the box like mad dogs! They rushed all the way to the mass grave outside the west city... Pan Laoguai led the team himself, and that lame man ran faster than a rabbit! My subordinates... my subordinates followed behind, and just as we reached the wild forest beside the hillock, we heard the killing inside! The sound of knives cutting bones... Pan Laoguai was yelling, cursing things like 'The box is empty' and 'How dare you play tricks on me'... and then there were screams... My subordinates are good swimmers, and took advantage of the chaos to roll into the stinking ditch under the hillock and save their lives..."
"Empty?" Mo Ya's voice was like a piece of ice falling into a stagnant pool, finally making some echo.
The water ghost nodded heavily, his face twitching in pain as the wound ripped through his body. "Yes! Pan Laoguai's hoarse voice scared the wild dogs on the hilltop! That's what he was scolding! And then... and then there was no more sound. I didn't dare stay any longer, so I crawled out along the ditch..."
Mo Ya didn't ask any more questions. He stood in silence, the dim light from the broken lantern illuminating only half of his rigid face, the other half shrouded in thick darkness. The strands of ice silk twirled between his fingers, making a subtle, tooth-grinding scraping sound. An empty box? Did Pan Laoguai fall? Whose agents were those three "loaches" who led away a pack of vicious wolves with empty boxes? Cao Wushang? Or... the real "yellow bird"?
"That box," Mo Ya said in a dry voice, "what's the style? What's the marking?"
The water ghost tried to recall, his eyes a little blurry from the blood loss. "It was dark, and far away... but... but in that flash of firelight, I caught a glimpse of the corner of the box... it seemed... it seemed like a large piece of paint had been knocked off! The exposed wood was quite new!"
Mo Ya's fingers, which were twisting the silk thread, suddenly paused.
----
"Empty?!!"
In the secret room of the Southern Pacification Office, Cao Wushang's sinister face cracked for the first time with a crack of shock and anger. He suddenly jumped up from the tiger-skin-covered armchair, knocking over a white jade Pixiu paperweight on a small table nearby. The paperweight fell to the cold blue brick floor with a "crack", breaking into two pieces.
"Pan Laoguai and his gang are all dead, and all we get in return is an empty box?! Trash! A bunch of trash!"
The kneeling spy lowered his head even lower, almost touching the ground. "Commander... Commander, calm down! I've had people search the scene... the scene, and he's completely dead. Pan Laoguai's own snake-shaped dart was stuck in his heart... The box was thrown in a pool of blood, the lid open, and inside... it was indeed empty! But the inner wall of the box, near the lock, has fresh scratches, as if... as if it was pried open with a sharp weapon in a hurry..."
"Pry it open?!" Cao Wushang's eyes tightened like a venomous snake. "Where's that thing?! Where's the stuff inside?!" He rushed to the spy in a few steps, the cold tip of his boot almost touching his forehead. "Don't tell me, a ghost took it!"
The spy shuddered with fear: "I...I have carefully searched the bodies of Pan Laoguai and his confidants! Nothing! Nothing except some scattered silver and weapons! But...I dug this out from Pan Laoguai's clenched fist..." He spread out his palm tremblingly, and in his palm was a wisteria petal half soaked in blood, almost losing its original color!
Cao Wushang stared intently at the half-broken flower, the evil fire in his chest pounding, almost exploding. An empty box? Wisteria? The clues were completely broken! A surge of rage and a chilling feeling of being played with in the palm of someone's hand gripped him simultaneously.
"Investigate! Dig deep for me!" His voice was hoarse and smelled of blood. "Who the hell was wearing shoes that smelled of purple wisteria at Zhao Wenbi's house last night? Whose men were using ice silk? And those three slippery loaches! I want to see them alive or dead! I want to see who is stirring up this mess behind the scenes! How dare they take food from us..."
Before he could finish his words, a sudden, almost panicked, knocking sound came from the heavy iron door of the secret room! Three long and two short knocks were the agreed emergency signal!
Cao Wuxin's heart suddenly sank, and his anger was forcibly suppressed. He took a deep breath and shouted with a gloomy face: "Get in!"
A spies, sweaty and pale, practically burst through the door and fell to the ground, his voice distorted: "Commander-in-Chief! It's bad! Feng Zijing... Feng Zijing... he's been carried into court!"
"What?!" Cao Wushang's pupils suddenly contracted!
"Just now! The gate of Feng Mansion was wide open! The old guy was wrapped up like a dumpling, leaning in the sedan chair, with blood oozing from his shoulder! But...but that look was as if he wanted to eat someone! Dozens of servants were guarding the sedan chair with shining knives, parading through the streets and heading straight for the imperial city! People on the street...people on the street saw it!" The spy was incoherent, obviously shocked by this desperate posture.
Cao Wushang felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head! This old bastard Feng Zijing had gone mad! He was clearly showing off his determination to show the world how he had insisted on attending court despite being assassinated last night and seriously injured, and how he would die admonishing the emperor! Once this bloody image of a "loyal minister" was revealed in the Golden Throne Hall... how could the emperor pretend?! The fire he had set and the dirty water he had thrown last night not only failed to burn Feng Zijing to death, but instead became the sharpest spear that pierced the old man's heart.
"Gu Linzhi... such a cruel plot..." Cao Wushang's teeth clattered, a cold fear overcoming his rage for the first time. He turned abruptly, his eyes flickering wildly as he looked at the basin of corpse-dissolving water in the corner, still thick and dark red. What would be Gu Linzhi's next move...what would it be?
----
In the prime minister's residence, "quietly watching" in front of the courtyard.
Several old plum trees intertwined their twisted branches, a few stubborn buds already visible on their tips. Gu Linzhi stood at the steps, his hands behind his back, his dark uniform blending almost into the deep shadows of the corridor columns behind him. The sharp chill of the early morning air condensed into a white mist, escaping from his lips.
Mo Ya appeared silently half a step behind him, like a shadow, and lowered his voice in a rigid tone:
"Feng Zijing carried the sedan chair into the palace."
"The water ghost brought back ice silk, which was confirmed to be the same source as the marks on the Zhao residence's wall. Pan Laoguai was killed by the snake-shaped dart, and the remains of wisteria petals were found at the scene. Box 'Number 7' was empty, with fresh pry marks on the inner wall."
"Cao Wushang is getting anxious. The Southern Pacification Division has sent out troops in full force, plundering the entire city in search of 'incense', 'silk', and 'loach'."
Gu Linzhi's gaze fell on the plum blossom, the fullest bud on the branch. His fingertips unconsciously twirled it, as if sensing the power contained beneath the thin petals, ready to break through the bitter cold. He didn't turn around, but simply asked calmly, his voice so calm that not a single wave of emotion could be heard:
"Have you finished engraving the contents of box number three?"
"Yes." Mo Ya lowered his head. "According to the Prime Minister's instructions, the account books, the secret letters, and the replicas of the seal of the Northern Di royal court... are exactly the same. The evidence is as solid as a mountain."
"Hmm." Gu Linzhi finally withdrew his gaze. The plum bud reflected not a single shadow in his bottomless eyes. He raised his head slightly and looked towards the Imperial City. There, a storm of blood, carrying the resolute roar of a wounded old minister, crashed into the Dragon Court.
"Enough bait." His voice was low, like an undercurrent surging beneath the ice. "Time to make your move."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
