On his way home, Tang Chen stumbled upon the long street where the General's Mansion stood. Unlike its usual solemnity, the street was now filled with an indescribable sense of strangeness. Passersby lowered their heads and quickened their pace, as if lingering even a second longer would put their lives in danger.
Tang Chen stood outside, looking at the charred house and the pools of blood on the ground that hadn't been completely washed away. Lin Feng and the yamen runners were busy around the long street. Tang Chen didn't want to disturb him, but just looked at everything before him, and his head began to ache again.
When she woke up, she thought that everything that happened yesterday was just a nightmare that felt very real to her: "...Can you tell me what happened?"
Wang Yanzhou shook his head slightly, then pulled Tang Chen and walked away. "I don't know exactly what happened. When I found you, the place was already in ruins. Chen Xin is still investigating the specific situation. Just wait patiently for the results."
Hearing this, Tang Chen suddenly had a bad feeling: "Oh right, I just caught a glimpse of Lin Feng. But where is Yan Shaoqing? Such a big thing happened to his family, why is he nowhere to be seen? Also, when the fire broke out yesterday, he was still in the mansion..."
Wang Yanzhou knew that during the six months since he had completely cut off contact with Tang Chen, Yan Shaoqing had visited her whenever he was free. Although they weren't close friends, they were still Tang Chen's few remaining friends. He had originally planned to tell her later, but since she'd asked, he couldn't hide it any further: "He's missing."
"What did you say!"
Wang Yanzhou saw Tang Chen covering his head with his hands in discomfort when he got excited, so he quickly comforted him, "After I found you, I asked Chen Xin to search carefully, but there was no body or trace of you. When Lin Feng and the other sent yamen runners came, they also searched all over the city for his traces, but to no avail."
Tang Chen rubbed his head and asked, "The Princess's Mansion is only a few steps away from the General's Mansion. When they saw the huge fire, they didn't even think of helping to put out the fire?"
Wang Yanzhou said, "I had my doubts at first. But later, according to the investigation by the secret sentries, there was a suspicious person wandering around the well nearby yesterday. And not long ago, they also found a small amount of drugs near the well."
Hearing this, Tang Chen was even more confused. Putting aside the status of the General's Mansion within the court, even if it was revenge from a political enemy, it wouldn't be done so blatantly. "...Such a detailed plan, is it revenge, or is there some other reason?"
Wang Yanzhou had a rough idea of the deeper reasons, but since she couldn't even take care of herself, she shouldn't worry about others. "Let's not talk about this anymore. I'll take you home first. It's getting late."
"……good."
Tang Chen pushed open the courtyard door and looked at the flowers and plants in the yard, as well as the small koi fish swimming freely in the large ceramic vat in the center of the yard. He couldn't help but squint his eyes and stretch lazily: "Ah, it's still so comfortable to be at home! Do you want some tea? I'll go boil some water!"
"I'll help."
The two of them had just started the stove when someone came in from outside and called Tang Chen's name anxiously in the yard. Tang Chen hurried out to see who was the captain of the police under Lin Feng. "Hey, Captain Zhao, why are you here? Have you finished with Lin Feng's matter?"
Captain Zhao sighed and replied, "There are too many things to do, my lord, so I can't leave. Let me come and see how you are doing first."
"I'm fine, everything is fine. How about you guys, how is the investigation going?"
Captain Zhao thought Tang Chen was asking about the case they had handled outside the city. After glancing at Wang Yanzhou, he explained:
"Don't even mention it. I don't know who was so clueless that they actually filed a false report. They said there was a murder on West Mountain and that more than a dozen bodies were found halfway up the mountain. But when they investigated, they found nothing like that."
Tang Chen said, "By reporting a false case and distracting so many yamen runners, who on earth did Yan Shaoqing's family offend?" "Could it be that the little mustache guy did it that day?"
"Thank you for your hard work. How's things going at the General's Mansion?"
Speaking of this, Captain Zhao's eyes were filled with bitter tears. "It has been reported to the court. Madam Yan and the Crown Prince are both missing. By the way, I heard from the Lord that you and Crown Prince Yan are on good terms?"
"A gentleman's friendship."
"It's really unexpected that something like this happened. I'll come and inform you as soon as there's any news about the prince."
"Yes, thank you very much!"
Seeing that Tang Chen was being taken care of, Captain Zhao felt relieved. Thinking that he still had many matters to deal with, he decided to leave: "I still have things to do at the government office, so I'll go back first."
"Hey, wait!"
"Anything else?"
"Wait a moment!"
After saying that, Tang Chen lifted up the hem of her skirt and ran into the house. Not long after, she came out again with a food box.
Captain Zhao swallowed hard, but didn't dare to reach out to take it. "What is this?"
Tang Chen smiled and said, "You guys were so busy rushing back that you probably didn't have time to eat. Here are some snacks. It would be nice to share them with everyone to fill their stomachs."
After listening to Tang Chen's explanation, Captain Zhao subconsciously took a step back. Tang Chen smacked his lips helplessly and explained, "Don't worry, Yipinzhai bought it, I didn't make it."
"Hehe, Xiao Tang is really something. Then I'll take it."
While Wang Yanzhou was boiling water and brewing tea in the kitchen and bringing it over, Tang Chen was sitting on a chair in the main hall, staring down at the small brocade box in his hand in a daze, as if thinking about something.
"What are you looking at?"
Tang Chen looked up at him, then shifted his gaze to the box in his hand: "This is the gift that Young Master Yan asked me to bring to Yue Sheng."
Wang Yanzhou's hand trembled slightly as he poured the tea: "...So what are you going to do with this thing now?"
Tang Chen carefully put the brocade box away and sighed slightly: "What else can I do? I promised him that I would personally deliver it to Yue Sheng."
After thinking for a moment, Wang Yanzhou suggested: "How about I ask Chen Xin to deliver it for you? During this period, how about you return to Qingliang Valley? Everyone misses you."
Tang Chen gently put down the teacup that was just about to reach his mouth and said, "Did something happen? Ever since I woke up this morning, I noticed that you seemed strange."
What Wang Yanzhou was certain of was that Emperor Gan Zhao had set his sights on Tang Chen. If she stayed in Qinghe County, something would happen sooner or later. Their feud had nothing to do with her in the first place, and he felt bad enough letting her get involved and provoked. He didn't want the next blood on his bloodstained shirt to actually come from her. "...You've always been curious about my identity, haven't you? Accompany me back to Qingliang Valley, and I'll tell you."
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