While interrogating Bu Hua, Xiao Tianchi picked up a portrait of the crown prince they had obtained at the town entrance from the side and unfurled it in his hand.
Although he was a sickly man with a pale complexion, when he cast his eyes down at Bu Hua, the imposing and scrutinizing look in his eyes made cold sweat break out on Bu Hua's forehead.
When Bu Hua first learned that the crown prince had fallen off the cliff and gone missing, he immediately sent the news back to the capital.
This news shocked the court, and the emperor was extremely enraged. He ordered Bu Hua and others to find the whereabouts of the crown prince as soon as possible and at the same time sent people south to investigate the case thoroughly.
After leaving the capital, King Mu and others rode their horses at full speed all the way south. Along the way, they received timely news from Bu Hua and others.
Bu Hua searched one by one the cities and villages along the river at the bottom of the cliff but found nothing until he came to Dongli Town.
Logically, after searching the whole town without finding anyone, he should have left for the next city long ago. However, instead of leaving, he stayed here. He even had portraits of the crown prince painted and distributed them at the city gate, asking the people going in and out to keep an eye out for men who looked similar.
It was as if he was certain that the crown prince, Xiao Jingcheng, was here.
Bu Hua gritted his teeth. In front of the three kings, he took out an object from his bosom and held it out with both hands. "To be honest, this was found by my men in the grass by the river outside the town when I searched here in Dongli Town."
"I remember very clearly that on the day His Highness was attacked, he was wearing this pair of shoes. But I only found one of them, and the other is still missing."
Signaling the eunuch to take the object from his hand, Xiao Tianchi took a look at it in the light. It was a pair of boots that looked low - key but were made of very precious materials. There were not only the hidden patterns of four - clawed green dragons embroidered on them, but also the mark of the imperial clothing workshop on the sole. It was indeed an item from the inner court.
Only the crown prince was qualified to wear clothes embroidered with four - clawed golden dragons in the royal family. This was undoubtedly an item belonging to Xiao Jingcheng.
Moreover, there were many scratches on the shoe, and the sole was extremely worn. The material had become wrinkled because it had been soaked in water. One could imagine what kind of hardships the person wearing it had suffered.
King Xuan and King Ning also noticed the wear on the boots. King Xuan's face changed slightly. "Uncle, this pair of shoes is so badly damaged. Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor..."
Xiao Tianchi coughed heavily twice. His voice was even hoarser than before. "It's just one shoe. Don't jump to conclusions too soon."
Bu Hua then continued, "It was precisely because I found it in the grass by the river that I thought His Highness should be in Dongli Town. Even if he's not here, searching downstream might yield some results. But how exactly to search still awaits Your Highness's instructions."
After all, Bu Hua was only the right guard commander of the Eastern Palace. Although he had a certain amount of power, he couldn't make the final decision. Now that King Mu, King Xuan, and King Ning were here, this case naturally had to be handed over to them.
Xiao Tianchi returned the boots to the eunuch. "General Bu has worked hard these days. It's not easy to have such a discovery. With this clue, I believe we'll soon find the whereabouts of the crown prince."
Zhong Tao, the salt - inspection censor standing beside Bu Hua, spoke up. "Your Highness, the whereabouts of the crown prince is one thing. For now, we need to thoroughly investigate the case of the crown prince's attack. Whether it's the water bandits, the mountain bandits, or the last group of killers, they were all clearly after the crown prince."
"They had a firm grasp of the crown prince's every move. Every response of the crown prince was led by the other side. Obviously, they had planted an informer beside the crown prince. The person behind this actually intended to harm the crown prince. This is undoubtedly an act of rebellion!"
The more Censor Zhong spoke, the more excited he became. His face turned red.
"Such a scourge should be eradicated immediately!"
"Of course." Xiao Tianchi nodded. "We need to find the crown prince and investigate the case. If the mastermind behind this is not exposed, the court will never be at peace."
Although the battle was fierce, they still managed to capture some survivors. They were brought all the way to Dongli Town by Bu Hua and others and were now being held in the dungeon of Tianyuan County's yamen.
Dongli Town was the nearest town under Tianyuan County. If one rode a horse at full speed, it would only take half a day to get to the county from here.
After roughly understanding the current situation, Xiao Tianchi waved his hand and told Bu Hua and others to leave. For a moment, only the uncle and nephews were left in the room.
"My health is not suitable for long - distance travel. The task of interrogating the human traffickers and investigating the case of the crown prince's attack will be left to you two." Xiao Tianchi said to King Xuan and King Ning beside him.
King Xuan stood up and bowed. "Yes, nephew will surely find out the truth and give an explanation to Father and Brother."
King Ning looked at the tired - looking Xiao Tianchi. "Why don't I stay here to accompany Uncle and search for Brother's whereabouts together? This way, we can take care of each other."
Xiao Yixuan was already used to King Ning silently being in his shadow. He originally had no objection to Xiao Tianchi's arrangement and also assumed in his heart that King Ning would go with him. He never expected King Ning to suddenly speak up and want to stay with Xiao Tianchi.
He frowned slightly, and a faint sense of unease welled up in his heart.
Fortunately, Xiao Tianchi refused him. "Searching for someone is not a difficult task. There are the soldiers of the Pei family's army and the guards of the Eastern Palace here. I have plenty of helpers. As for investigating the case of the crown prince's assassination, we don't know who is hiding behind it. It's full of dangers. You two had better act together. Don't lose another one before we even find the crown prince."
King Ning had no choice but to reply, "Yes."
Xiao Tianchi waved his hand, and the two left one after another and walked towards their rooms.
Outside the door, Xiao Yixuan stopped and looked back at King Ning. "Do you really worry about Uncle, or do you not want to investigate the case with me?"
King Ning replied, "I really worry about Uncle's health. Uncle has been coughing more frequently than before."
Xiao Yixuan stared at him quietly for a while and then said nothing more. He pushed open the door and entered the room.
On the other side, after King Xuan and King Ning left, Eunuch Wang, the eunuch who served Xiao Tianchi personally, came back from the kitchen with a bowl of medicine.
"Your Highness, the medicine is still warm. Drink it quickly."
Xiao Tianchi took it. The strong smell of the medicine assailed his nose, but he drank it without changing his expression. "So, what did you find out?"
Eunuch Wang sighed. "General Bu has really been searching every household for the whereabouts of the crown prince these days. He has almost turned the whole town upside down, but still found nothing."
"Because of this, the lives of the townspeople have been greatly affected. They have to be inspected when going in and out, so they have quite a few complaints about General Bu and others. Some even said something extremely disrespectful..."
Eunuch Wang paused for a moment and then continued with difficulty.
"The kind of master has the kind of servant. Since the guards of the Eastern Palace are so overbearing, the crown prince may not be a good person either. If the Great Sheng Empire is handed over to such a person in the future, there will surely be chaos sooner or later. It would be better if he just died and they could choose a new crown prince."