Zhao Hu was covered in cold sweat on his back.
He did have a way to launder those silver notes silently and cleanly. But wouldn't that mean he'd completely offend the Prince of Xuan?
Xiao Jingcheng saw right through his thoughts at a glance. "Do you know about the incident that happened some time ago when the crown prince was attacked, went missing, and then his body was found in Dongli Town?"
Zhao Hu was startled.
Dongli Town was a remote and unremarkable place. Such a big incident there was known to everyone.
On the day the body was found, upon hearing the news, he rushed to the scene to watch the commotion.
Because of his notorious reputation in Dongli Town, others dared not get close to him, so he managed to squeeze to the front and got a clear look at the body.
The capital was so far away for them, and the crown prince was like the sun in the sky, dazzling and out of reach. Seeing with his own eyes that the sun in the sky had turned into a rotten corpse left an extremely shocking impression on him.
It turned out that even a noble like the crown prince could die, rot, and stink just like ordinary people.
But why was General Tunri bringing this up?
"Do you know how the crown prince died?" Xiao Jingcheng asked.
Zhao Hu whispered, "How did he die?"
"The crown prince handled a private salt case in Ningzhou. He punished many corrupt officials and confiscated a huge amount of silver. However, he also offended some people because of this. He was jointly besieged by mountain bandits and water bandits and was finally forced to death."
Xiao Jingcheng looked at him. "The crown prince was the legitimate son of the emperor and the empress. His status was extremely noble, and there were so many people supporting him. Yet, he couldn't escape death."
"The Prince of Xuan is just the son of the imperial concubine. He's far inferior to the crown prince. Why are you afraid of him?"
Zhao Hu was shocked. "Boss means..."
Xiao Jingcheng put down the jade bi in his hand. "You should understand that Dongli Town is our territory. He's just a petty prince. Since he can come, we can also make sure he won't be able to leave Dongli Town safely, just like the crown prince."
Zhao Hu, who had been bending over, slowly straightened up. His beady eyes sparkled with a glint.
Yes, even the crown prince had lost his life at the hands of mountain bandits and water bandits. The Prince of Xuan's power and prestige were not as great as the crown prince's. Why should he be afraid of this man?
Zhao Hu stood up from the ground, with a smile on his face. "The boss is still brilliant!"
After reassuring Zhao Hu, Xiao Jingcheng got up and left.
As he walked out of the room, a wave of heat hit him. The air was so stuffy that it was hard to breathe. He looked up at the sky. His sensitive nose caught a whiff of something unusual.
The temperature today was unusually hot, which made him think of the day when the black coffin was buried.
It seemed that there was going to be a change in Dongli Town again.
After thinking for a moment, instead of going back to his room, Xiao Jingcheng took Sang Biao and the other dogs and left the Zhao residence.
...
After leaving Zhao Hu's house, Xiao Yixuan didn't leave in a hurry. He led his guards and wandered around the gambling house, trying to find out some information about the fire that broke out in the gambling house last night.
"Last night? There was indeed a woman who came to the gambling house to look for someone. They quarreled about something, and then the woman slapped the man. They left for a while. Not long after, the man came back to the gambling house and caused a big scene. Then he set the gambling house on fire."
"I saw that man was familiar with Lord Hu and the others. Their relationship seemed quite good. I guess it must be an internal dispute."
"What did he look like? I can't remember clearly..."
"Neither can I. He seemed to be a short and a bit fat guy?"
After asking around, those who had been in the gambling house last night said almost the same thing as Zhao Hu. The only thing was that they all couldn't remember the appearance of the arsonist clearly.
Xiao Yixuan remained expressionless, but his eyes were filled with doubts.
It would be understandable if one or two people couldn't remember the appearance of that man. But how could everyone forget?
That man was the culprit who set the gambling house on fire. They should have a deep impression of him.
And Zhao Hu. Someone had burned down his money - making gambling house, but he chose to let it go and didn't want to make a big deal out of it. It was really strange.
He had been a bit suspicious of Huichuntang before, because Ye Wanmian had also been involved in the burial of the Chen员外.
But now it seemed that Zhao Hu was more suspicious.
Straightening his sleeves, Xiao Yixuan said coldly to Meng Zhao, "Have someone keep a close eye on the Zhao family. Find out who Zhao Hu usually associates with. He keeps so many dogs in his house. It's really suspicious."
Meng Zhao immediately replied, "Yes, I'll send someone to do it right away."
After getting the information, Xiao Yixuan got on the carriage and returned to Liuxiang Tower. He had no idea that one of the guards in the team was quietly knocked out when turning a corner and dragged into a corner.
Xiao Jingcheng quickly changed into the guard's clothes and mingled into the team.
The carriage went straight back to Liuxiang Tower. When Xiao Yixuan got out of the carriage, Xiao Jingcheng deliberately stepped back a bit, so Xiao Yixuan didn't notice his presence.
Just as Xiao Jingcheng was about to follow Xiao Yixuan into Liuxiang Tower, his ears twitched slightly, and he heard the cooing of a pigeon.
Looking up, a snow - white carrier pigeon flapped its wings and flew towards Liuxiang Tower.
Xiao Jingcheng squinted his eyes slightly.
The direction from which the pigeon was flying was exactly the north. And he used to see such pigeons often in the capital. They were usually used for sending messages. And there was exactly a thing like a message tube on the leg of the carrier pigeon in the air.
He had a hunch that this carrier pigeon was coming for Xiao Yixuan and that it was delivering a message from the capital.
Could it be related to that fake corpse?
Since Doctor Wang left with the Prince of Mu, not a single letter had been sent back to Dongli Town. It was almost as if they had cut off contact with Ye Wanmian.
Because of this, Xiao Jingcheng hadn't received any news from the Prince of Mu for a long time. He didn't know if the Prince of Mu had sent the corpse back to the capital yet.
Watching Xiao Yixuan being surrounded by a group of guards and enter Liuxiang Tower, Xiao Jingcheng quietly left the team and circled around to the back of Liuxiang Tower. He looked up at the pigeon still circling in the air.
It seemed to be looking for a place to land.
Most of the carrier pigeons raised by the nobles in the capital were specially trained. They would only land from the air when they saw the target they were delivering the message to, to ensure that the message could be delivered accurately.
Xiao Jingcheng squinted his eyes slightly. He picked up a stone from the ground. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk's as he stared closely at the carrier pigeon in the air, observing its flight path.
The carrier pigeon was really a bit tired after flying for so long. Just as it was about to land on the big tree in the backyard of Liuxiang Tower for a while, Xiao Jingcheng seized the opportunity and threw the stone in his hand.
The stone flew out like an arrow from a bow and hit the carrier pigeon's head precisely. The carrier pigeon fainted before it could even make a sound and fell from the air.
Sang Biao had been eager to move beside Xiao Jingcheng for a long time. Seeing the pigeon being shot down, it waved its four limbs, took a running start, jumped on the tree trunk, and then leaped into the air. It caught the falling carrier pigeon in its mouth.
After landing on all fours, it immediately turned its head and ran towards Xiao Jingcheng.