The two stood side by side, the atmosphere a little awkward.
Rong Zhi asked, "Zhang Can, when were you replaced by the Bamboo Leaf Green?"
Zhang Can stared into the night distance, lost in memory, his expression turning grim. "Three years ago, when the General fought the enemy at Beigu Gou, provisions were scarce, and reinforcements were long overdue. I was ordered by the General to return to court for aid, but I was ambushed in Jinyuan County and imprisoned for three years, with no one to hear my cries.
Jinyuan County? Rong Zhi's ears perked up at the name. "Do you remember who attacked you then?"
Zhang Can shook his head. "I was drugged in an inn, unconscious. When I woke up, I was in a dark room, and someone brought me a meal each day. I never saw anyone."
Rong Zhi mused. She suspected the Blood Drinking Pavilion might be involved, but it was strange. If someone wanted to impersonate another, they would kill the original to tie up loose ends. Yet, the Blood Drinking Pavilion hadn't.
Could there be another motive?
"Miss Lin, is something troubling you?" Zhang Can, seeing Rong Zhi frowning, turned and asked curiously.
Miss Lin had saved his life. Though he could no longer practice martial arts, he would do his best to help Miss Lin if she had any worries.
Rong Zhi felt Zhang Can was not an outsider and told him everything that had happened these past few days, not sparing her suspicion that Xia Jin might be involved in Feng Shui and metaphysical arts.
Zhang Can replied, "This... I have no leads." The Emperor had strictly forbidden such matters. For a time, even ancestor worship was restricted. While it wasn't as severe now, monks, Taoists, and sorcerers dared not appear openly, let alone use metaphysics at the imperial capital.
Rong Zhi wondered if Zhang Can's ambush in Jinyuan County might be related to Xia Jin's ancestral origins.
"Zhang Can, during your three years in Jinyuan County, did you ever hear of any metaphysical families or sorcerers in that area?"
As she spoke, Rong Zhi felt the question was redundant. Zhang Can had been captured for three years, isolated from the world, and was unconscious when rescued. He wouldn't know anything.
So, Rong Zhi changed her question. "Who rescued you at that time?"
"Chen Xing."
Rong Zhi thought for a moment and said, "I'll go find Chen Xing."
Zhang Can nodded, watching Rong Zhi leave, his expression darkening.
Now, he could not even answer a casual question from Miss Lin, let alone accompany the General into battle. He was truly useless.
It was late at night, but Chen Xing was still awake. He was on guard outside Xia Yunting's door. Only when Rong Zhi approached did she realize Chen Xing was dressed in black, with a black cloth mask, lying prone on the rooftop, almost blending into the tiles. If Rong Zhi hadn't had sharp eyesight, she wouldn't have spotted him.
Rong Zhi called out directly, "Chen Xing, come down. I have something to ask you."
A muffled voice responded, and the burly Chen Xing appeared, just as Xia Yunting opened his door.
He looked at them. "Come in."
"You suspect Zhang Can's abduction is related to Xia Jin?" Xia Yunting found Rong Zhi's speculation hard to believe. After all, Xia Jin had followed the Grand Tutor for many years, and Zhang Can was abducted three years ago. No one would connect these two events.
Rong Zhi replied, "I don't have conclusive evidence yet, it's just a guess."
Chen Xing remained silent, unsure what to say. He had already told her everything he knew last time. No matter how Rong Zhi questioned him now, he couldn't reveal what he didn't know.
"As far as I know, Jinyuan County is just an ordinary small town. The most famous thing about it was a plague. Before the plague, Jinyuan County was somewhat known for its thriving tea business. However, after the plague, the county town was renamed, and this place became even more obscure."
"You said the county town was renamed? What was its original name?" Rong Zhi asked.
"It was originally called Cangzhu County."
Hearing the name, something in Rong Zhi's mind exploded. Countless long-buried memories were instantly unlocked, and scenes from the past flooded into her mind.
Cangzhu County! It was Cangzhu County!
Her eyes lit up. "I know what's going on!"
Xia Yunting looked at her, a glint in his eyes. However, unlike Rong Zhi's sudden realization, Xia Yunting's gaze held a hint of knowing. "You know what's going on?"
"Yes, but I can't be sure yet. I need to see."
Xia Yunting nodded, a confident expression on his face, as if he were certain Rong Zhi would uncover the truth.
Night had fallen, and Rong Zhi returned to her room. The next morning, Dong Mei asked Rong Zhi, Xia He, and Qiu Ju to pool some money. They planned to find the errand boy Dong Mei had bribed before and have him help them escape.
Although Xia He and Qiu Ju were still worried, there was no other option at the moment.
During the day's work, they were distracted and didn't notice when Rong Zhi left.
Rong Zhi quietly searched the General's manor, finally stopping in a corner of the backyard. She looked at the hard, packed earth and quickly sensed something was amiss.
This was a patch of overgrown weeds, rarely touched by the sun. The soil elsewhere was relatively soft, but only this area near the wall was hardened.
The grass here also grew strangely. This was neither the rear garden nor a place frequented by people. If it were wild grass growing naturally, it would be sparser. Yet, the weeds here were incredibly dense.
It was as if... as if someone had deliberately planted them there.
Rong Zhi dug with her hand, quickly scraping her skin. The earth was too hard to move.
Despite this, Rong Zhi caught a faint, foul odor – the smell of a corpse.
Her suspicion grew stronger. She then searched other areas and found similar spots in three other corners of the manor.
All had incredibly hard earth, emitting a faint corpse odor, though some areas lacked the dense weeds.
Other areas showed no such phenomenon.
After searching the entire manor, Rong Zhi's initial guess was confirmed. Her suspicions were indeed correct.
Without delay, she went to find Xia Yunting.
"Confine those girls and don't let them die." This was the first thing Rong Zhi said upon seeing Xia Yunting. He didn't seem surprised. "Why?"
"Do as I say first, and I'll explain later."
Xia Yunting smiled. "There needs to be a reason. Imprisoning people without cause will only arouse suspicion."
Rong Zhi asked, confused, "What do you plan to do?"
That night, the entire General's manor was ablaze with lights. Dark guards darted through the courtyard, shouting, "Catch the assassin!" The entire estate was in chaos. This unknown assassin had severely wounded Xia Yunting, a feat never before accomplished. Previously, no matter how many assassination attempts Xia Yunting had faced, he had emerged unharmed, with only the assassins perishing. Yet this time, Xia Yunting was injured, proving the assassin's formidable skill.
After half the night, the assassin remained unfound. Thus, Steward Xia Jin summoned all the maids and servants in the manor.
"The General was attacked, and the assassin is nowhere to be found. The General suspects an inside job. Everyone stop what you are doing!"
Xia Jin's expression was grim as he said this. The guards of the General's manor were Xia Yunting's trusted men, so he wouldn't suspect them. However, the maids and servants were arranged by him, the steward. If an assassin were found here, it would mean he had failed in his duties.
Still, he wasn't worried. He was confident that everyone who had entered the manor was beyond reproach. Even if those four had issues, they certainly weren't assassins. Xia Yunting would find nothing.
With this thought, Xia Jin's expression softened. He stepped back, allowing Chen Xing to lead a group to inspect everyone.
Xia Jin had been confident, but after a round of inspection, Chen Xing suddenly pointed at several people. "Confine them all!"
Xia Jin's face darkened instantly. He glanced at the group – nine people in total, men and women, but all ordinary maids and servants. Wait, those four were among them. Could it be that Xia Yunting had discovered something?
Even if Xia Yunting hadn't discovered anything, if the people he chose were problematic, he would still be held accountable for poor management.
Chen Xing was efficient, and in a moment, he had the group bound and escorted to the dungeon.
The dungeon in Xia Yunting's residence was personally constructed by his men, and its guards were Xia Yunting's trusted confidantes. Outsiders had no way of getting in.
Indeed, Xia Jin was considered an outsider.
If Xia Yunting kept them imprisoned for too long, his plans would be thwarted.
Xia Jin quickly intervened. "Chen Xing, is this a misunderstanding? They don't have any martial arts skills, how could they be the ones who attacked the General?"
Chen Xing glared. "Are you questioning me?"
Xia Jin immediately fell silent. Chen Xing, much like the General, was terrifying when angry, and more importantly, quite suspicious. If he said too much, he might end up being suspected himself.
He could only allow Chen Xing to confine these people and find another way later.
Chen Xing led his men into the dungeon, with each person confined separately. Rong Zhi then left with Chen Xing and went directly to Xia Yunting's room.
"Now, can you tell me the reason?"
Xia Yunting sat behind his desk, propping his head with his hand, a smile on his face, showing no sign of injury.
Rong Zhi sighed. "To deceive everyone, such a grand spectacle was created. That's quite something."
Xia Yunting replied, "It's always better to be cautious."
At this point, Chen Xing tactfully withdrew and closed the door, likely to stand guard outside.
Rong Zhi sat before Xia Yunting and got straight to the point. "Xia Jin's ancestral home originally had a metaphysical family that excelled in corpse control. Those four girls were merely vessels for controlling the corpses."