"Lord Jia, we weren't arguing, just bickering... You know, we grew up together as good buddies and often bicker," Pan Ziye said, straightening up.
"It's good that you weren't arguing!" Jia Peng nodded.
"Lord Jia, please have a seat." Leng Yusheng vacated his seat.
Jia Peng was his superior, and it would not be appropriate for him to sit in the guest seat; it was a sign of respect to offer him the main seat.
Although Leng Yusheng was proud and aloof, he still possessed proper manners and etiquette.
"No need to be so formal, I'll take the guest seat," Jia Peng waved his hand.
Although he was Leng Yusheng's superior and held a higher official rank, he knew that this was merely on the surface. In reality, Leng Yusheng was the one in charge, and he was the subordinate.
Therefore, he had always been courteous to Leng Yusheng, treating him with great care, never daring to address him by his given name. Even when they were alone in private, he would refer to him as Young Master Gong instead of Shaoqing.
The same applied to Young Master Bo, Pan Ziye.
Fortunately, neither Leng Yusheng nor Pan Ziye were dissolute young masters, nor were they of the spoiled gentry class. They had never made things difficult for him, caused him any trouble, or used their status to oppress him. On the contrary, they had always treated him with courtesy and respect.
Leng Yusheng nodded gently, not forcing Jia Peng. After all, he had already extended the courtesy; if Jia Peng dared not accept, he would let it be.
After Jia Peng sat in the guest seat, he suddenly sighed, his voice filled with extreme melancholy.
"Lord Jia, what's wrong?" Pan Ziye asked with concern.
"It's all because of Changqing... Young Master Bo, please sit." Jia Peng said this and then, noticing Pan Ziye was still standing, immediately gestured for him to sit.
Pan Ziye thought it might not be appropriate to sit on Leng Yusheng's desk in front of Jia Peng, so he sat down next to Jia Peng.
"What happened to Changqing?" Pan Ziye asked.
"You must have heard about Changqing's house being cleaned out, haven't you? Changqing, perhaps driven mad or confused with anger, came to me, insisting that I dispatch everyone from Dali Temple to help him catch the thief and recover everything that was stolen from him.
He clearly knows that we are currently fully engaged in investigating the national treasury theft case and cannot spare any personnel for his case, let alone send everyone to help him investigate.
Yet, like a persistent beggar, no matter what I said, he refused to leave unless I promised. My pleas were all in vain... In the end, I had no choice but to agree to send people to investigate his case before I could send him away.
Originally, the national treasury theft case had already given me a headache, and with his case added, my headache intensified," Jia Peng said, sighing heavily, his face as sour as a bitter gourd.
Leng Yusheng remained expressionless and silent. Pan Ziye, however, furrowed his brow, showing a hint of amusement.
"Lord Jia, what's so troubling about Changqing's case? His case is very simple. You can just assign a couple of people from below to investigate and help him recover his stolen belongings," Pan Ziye said.
Although everyone at Dali Temple was currently busy investigating the national treasury theft, it hadn't reached the point where not a single person could be spared to investigate other cases. It was still possible to assign a couple of people from below to investigate.
"It's not that simple! From his description, his case is extremely bizarre and perplexing, almost comparable to the national treasury theft case. I fear it will be difficult to identify the culprit and recover the stolen items," Jia Peng sighed again.
"Almost comparable to the national treasury theft case? How so?" Pan Ziye's interest was immediately piqued. He sat up straight, staring directly at Jia Peng.
Leng Yusheng's eyes, as cold as stars, also flashed with a hint of curiosity as he looked directly at Jia Peng.
"Changqing said that his mansion had many guards patrolling at night, but the bizarre and perplexing thing is that not a single guard discovered that all his belongings had been stolen...
His mansion is so large, with so many items. If it were completely ransacked and emptied, it would surely have alerted the guards. The guards would have definitely seen the thieves.
Moreover, to be able to steal and empty all the items from his mansion, it couldn't have been done by just one thief. It would have required at least tens or even hundreds of thieves. So many thieves sneaking into his mansion would surely have been discovered, but they weren't.
Don't you think it's bizarre and perplexing, almost comparable to the national treasury theft case?"
After speaking, Jia Peng reached out and rubbed his throbbing temples. What bad luck had befallen him recently, to keep encountering such bizarre and perplexing cases.
"This is indeed quite bizarre and perplexing, almost unbelievable, just like the national treasury theft case. No matter how you think about it, it seems impossible!" Pan Ziye listened with a look of shock, nodding and sighing.
Jia Peng nodded vigorously, "Exactly. No matter how you think about it, it seems impossible, yet it happened!"
"Could the theft at the Chang residence and the national treasury theft be the work of the same group of people?" Leng Yusheng spoke after a moment of contemplation, posing a bold guess.
"You're saying that the theft at the Chang residence and the national treasury theft might be the work of the same group of people?!" Pan Ziye and Jia Peng immediately looked at Leng Yusheng, exclaiming in unison.
"It's not impossible!" Leng Yusheng nodded gently.
"Indeed. The two cases are quite similar, both bizarre, perplexing, and unbelievable!" Pan Ziye stroked his chin, nodding.
Jia Peng thought about it and found it quite reasonable. His brows furrowed, and he slapped the table, cursing, "If it's the work of the same group, then those thieves are too audacious! After stealing everything from the national treasury, they then went to rob the Chang residence. Truly bold and lawless!"
"Those thieves are truly lawless. They stole everything from the national treasury the night before last, and last night they dared to commit another crime, stealing everything from the Chang residence. I wonder if they will make another move tonight and rob someone else's house?"
Pan Ziye knitted his brows, boldly speculating that the culprits would strike again tonight.
Hearing Pan Ziye's speculation, Jia Peng's face changed dramatically, filled with worry. "No way! Those thieves will still be active tonight?"
"It's not impossible. After all, they have committed crimes for two consecutive nights. It's hard to guarantee they won't continue on the third night," Pan Ziye said.
"What should we do! What should we do!" Jia Peng was extremely worried.
Seeing him about to panic, Leng Yusheng said, "Lord Jia, please don't rush. Rushing is useless. Let's just wait and see."
Pan Ziye immediately chimed in, "Yes! Rushing is useless, Lord Jia. You must take care of yourself...
Look at how haggard you are. Before the case is solved, your health might fail." He looked genuinely concerned.
Jia Peng let out a long, deeply worried sigh, "How can I not be worried!
The Emperor has ordered us to solve the case quickly, apprehend the thieves, and recover all the stolen items from the national treasury. But the thieves are so rampant, and despite the government's city-wide search, they are fearless. Last night they stole everything from the Chang residence, and they might commit another crime tonight.
What do you think the Emperor will do when he finds out? He will definitely blame us for being incompetent, allowing the thieves to be so rampant, and he will be furious.
When the Son of Heaven is angry, it could mean losing our official hats, or even our heads," Jia Peng's face was full of fear and trepidation.
"Lord Jia, don't scare yourself! If the Emperor blames us, I'm here. I'll take responsibility for you. I definitely won't let your official hat be lost, nor will your head be chopped off. At most, you'll just be demoted," Pan Ziye said, patting his chest with a look of righteousness and heroism.