"Friend, care for some tea!"
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, startling the bearded man. His neck stiffened as he turned his head to look back, a smiling face appearing before him.
The bearded man shrugged his shoulder, knocking away the hand on his shoulder, and glared with fierce eyes, "Scram, don't disturb my tea!"
The other man was unfazed and casually sat beside the bearded man, pointing at the Xing Manor outside the window. "I see you keep looking at the Xing Manor. What, do you know Xing Weimin, who fled after committing a crime?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
The man smiled again. "Don't know? Then let me tell you something you know!"
The man pointed to his own face and said, "Wang Yuyi of Dali Temple. May I ask if you've heard my name, brother?"
Damn it!
One of Dali Temple's divine constables, Wang Yuyi!
The bearded man abruptly stood up. Wang Yuyi grabbed his wrist, stood up, approached, and whispered into his ear, "Chief Xing Weimin, you truly are cunning. But Old Yuan had set up a tight net around the Xing Manor before he left. I didn't expect you to really walk right into it!"
"Come, let's go to Dali Temple. Or do you want to resist a bit and then be thoroughly beaten by me?"
The bearded man's eyes were filled with fury, but looking at Wang Yuyi's amiable smiling face, he suddenly deflated. He surrendered himself and followed Wang Yuyi to Dali Temple.
...
"Xing Weimin was apprehended?"
Thirteen, following Nan Shiying's instructions, had delivered the news to Xing Weimin that the Capital Prefecture and Dali Temple were about to send people to arrest him, and then followed him all the way.
Xing Weimin was quite clever, but he had underestimated the capabilities of the Three Departments.
However, judging by his actions from the moment he received the news and fled to his capture by Wang Yuyi, he was indeed just involved in selling household registration records and was not a spy planted in Linyuan by the Miao Jiang or the Changsheng Sect.
Nan Shiying grunted and threw away the fruit in her hand. The fruit had a wormhole, and a white, wriggling grub was visible inside. Fortunately, she hadn't seen half a worm.
"Alright, leave the rest to the Three Departments!"
"Yes!"
After eliminating Xing Weimin as a suspect, Nan Shiying shifted her attention away from this case. Compared to the Miao Jiang lead, Nan Shiying was more concerned about the Ghost Fiend Sect Master, Gui Sha, infiltrating the capital.
Linyuan's intelligence network spanned the entire realm, so why was there no portrait of Gui Sha?
"The Ghost Fiend Sect Master has always appeared in a mask, so no one has seen his true appearance."
Ever since the Ghost Fiend Sect emerged thirteen years ago, its master had always worn a ferocious, blue-faced mask. He was inherently suspicious and extremely cautious.
Therefore, to this day, no one had ever seen his real face.
Nan Shiying clicked her tongue. "So even if we know Gui Sha has infiltrated the capital, if he stays hidden, we still won't find him?"
Ji Jinmo nodded. "Not necessarily!"
"Aren't the Three Departments investigating the unauthorized sale of household registration records from the Ministry of Personnel? Why don't we have them put in more effort and check the household registration of all citizens in the capital."
"But what if he's hiding in the black market?"
Ji Jinmo tapped the table, the crisp sound echoing in Nan Shiying's ears, like the tolling of a death knell. "Then we'll flatten the black market!"
...
Upon entering Dali Temple, before any interrogation began, Xing Weimin confessed everything. He clearly detailed how he sold household registration records and where the money went. Following his testimony, the Three Departments summoned a group of people.
After the thorough investigation concluded, the Three Departments compiled the confessions and the entire sequence of events into a memorial and presented it to Ji Hong. Upon seeing that his officials dared to sell household registration records, Ji Hong erupted in thunderous rage.
The Minister of Personnel was demoted by three ranks, and he was ordered to verify the household registration of all citizens in the capital as quickly as possible. Failure to complete the verification within ten days would result in exile to Ningguta for punishment.
The capital had a population of a million. Completing the verification within ten days was practically an impossible feat.
The Minister of Personnel had no choice but to brace himself, begging and pleading, sacrificing his pride and his savings, to secure the help of the Minister of War and the Patrol Battalion.
"Your Highness, Linyuan has not been peaceful lately!"
Ji Wu watched the yamen runners and the Ministry of Personnel officials checking household registration records that occasionally passed by on the streets. The entire capital seemed to be on the verge of an storm. He wondered what Linyuan was brewing. First, the city gates were suddenly sealed and those leaving were rigorously checked. Then, there was news of a Ministry of Personnel official inexplicably disappearing. Following that was an assassination attempt, on the day of which the Three Departments raided the Ministry of Personnel, and the city gates were sealed again. Not even two days had passed, and the number of patrolling soldiers on the streets had suddenly multiplied several times. The yamen runners from the Capital Prefecture and the Ministry of Personnel were all patrolling the streets, let alone the Ministry of Personnel officials going from house to house to check registration records.
Ji Wu observed all this, and an inexplicable sense of unease arose within him.
Now that the princess's marriage was decided, was it necessary for them to wait until after her wedding to return to Dali?
Ji Wu did not dare to reveal his thoughts directly. He knew very well how cold-hearted the person before him, who appeared gentle and amiable, truly was.
His coldness was not aloofness, but an indifference where all things failed to catch his eye or touch his heart. It was a kind of indifference akin to a deity looking down upon the mortal world, viewing people as ants.
Yu Chengxuan held a folding fan, tasted the tea from the Linyuan teahouse, and listened to the melodious singing of the young women performing folk songs. He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Ji Wu. "Are you trying to persuade me to return to Dali immediately?"
Ji Wu pursed his lips, his throat suddenly feeling dry. Although Yu Chengxuan's gaze was calm and gentle, Ji Wu sensed a hidden sharpness and malevolence within it.
Perhaps, in addition to indifference, a hint of madness lay hidden in the depths of his heart.
He did not deny it, for when His Highness asked a question with the answer already in mind, he dared not speak any falsehoods, nor dare to be perfunctory. He merely nodded. "Yes!"
"This subject wishes to persuade Your Highness to return to Dali. This subject believes that Linyuan is not suitable for lingering at present. However, if Your Highness has already made up your mind to stay in the capital, then this subject will not say another word!"
Yu Chengxuan unfurled his folding fan, and the breeze from the fan ruffled the strands of hair at his temples. He suddenly let out a burst of laughter. "Hahaha~"
Ji Wu felt the hair on his back stand on end.
"Very well, as you wish!"
Abruptly, Yu Chengxuan stopped laughing, his eyes fixed on Ji Wu, as if moved by his sincere counsel, he had changed his mind and no longer wished to stay in the capital to witness the ceremony but decided to return to Dali immediately.
Ji Wu opened his mouth, not knowing how to react.
He did not believe that his words had caused His Highness to change his mind. So, what was the reason? Was it the current chaos in Linyuan, or had His Highness achieved what he intended to do? Or had His Highness done something that required him to leave immediately?
Ji Wu could not figure it out, nor could he guess.
From beginning to end, Yu Chengxuan remained like a mystery. Even though he followed him, he still could not see through him.