Chapter 249: He Is Not a Good Person

At the mao hour, the sky was already bright.

Gongye Ni clutched a handful of tangled red threads, scrambling out of the No. 7 culvert in Tongqu Ward in a disheveled state.

In the morning light, his expression, usually as cold as ice, rarely showed signs of tension and panic.

“Old Gong! What do we do?”

His colleague, Wang Jar, looked no less panicked than Gongye Ni, and even uttered a rather foolish statement: “Let’s report this to the authorities!”

The Nine Gates Patrol Yamen are the authorities; who exactly are you reporting to?

But Gongye Ni understood what Wang Jar meant; “reporting to the authorities” was a request for reinforcements.

The Patrol Inspection Office was relatively independent, and the only places they could currently turn to for help were the Tianzong Prefecture Yamen, the Vermilion Bird Army, or the Black Tortoise Army.

The Tianzong Prefecture Yamen was responsible for all of Central Heaven, so under the current circumstances, seeking help from the Prefecture Yamen was the most logical choice.

However, the Patrol Inspection Office had almost no personal connection with the Prefecture Yamen, and given the urgency of the situation, Gongye Ni was unsure if they would give their full effort.

If they were to ask the Vermilion Bird Army or the Black Tortoise Army for help, there would be no sufficient justification, as it would rely entirely on personal favors.

The commander of the former, Li Baicheng, was a close friend of their superior, and as for the latter, it went without saying—their superior’s father served as the deputy commander and commander of the C Battalion in the Black Tortoise Army.

Yet, both of them would still need to request permission from their superiors; otherwise, no matter how big the matter was, they could not mobilize troops without authorization.

Gongye Ni was by nature cautious and meticulous. After quickly running through the various figures in his mind, he made a swift decision: “Old Wang, take the men and keep guarding this place! I’m going to find someone!”

7-9 am.

Princess Xingguos Residence.

In the small flower hall, Princess Xingguo and Lin Hansu sat around a table.

Before them were a few small dishes and two bowls of plain congee.

Princess Xingguo seemed to have a poor appetite this morning; she held her spoon and stirred the congee lightly but hesitated to bring it to her mouth.

Seeing this, Lin Hansu set down her chopsticks and asked in a low voice, “Your Highness, is there something weighing on your mind?”

Princess Xingguo snapped back to reality, gave her a calm smile, and sighed with a self-deprecating tone, “Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older. Yesterday, when Lady Dugo brought her children and grandchildren to pay their respects, I actually felt a bit envious.”

“…”

Lin Hansu was slightly stunned. She had been accompanying Your Highness for over a year, yet she had never heard such melancholic words from the woman who wielded power over Great Wu, and she didn’t know how to console her.

The two were much closer now, and after hesitating for a moment, Lin Hansu finally asked softly, “I dare to be bold, Your Highness, why have you never chosen a husband and married all these years?”

Princess Xingguo’s hand holding the spoon paused slightly. After a long moment of contemplation, a faint arc appeared on her lips, “In this world, things don’t always go as one wishes. Some things are far more important than marriage.”

Lin Hansu thought Your Highness was saying that it was “delayed by state affairs,” so she sighed, “You have dedicated half your life to Great Wu, Your Highness; I admire that.”

Hearing this, Princess Xingguo smiled faintly but did not dwell on the topic further, only saying, “That little girl in the Duke of Chu County’s household, her name is Zhao Yan, right?”

“Yes.”

“In your spare time, Hansu, you can bring her and Ruan Ruan to visit the Princesss Residence more often. The residence is cold and quiet; having those two little girls chattering away would actually add some life to the place.”

“Yes.”

Lin Hansu lowered her eyes and replied.

It would have been fine if that person’s name hadn’t been mentioned, but the moment Your Highness brought him up, Lin Hansu felt a wave of annoyance.

Two days ago, Xu Jiuxi personally said at the Tianzong Prefecture Yamen that she had “done that” with Ding Suian for an entire night.

Thinking of the image of the voluptuous and seductive Xu Jiuxi pressing down on the Young Master made her so angry she couldn’t eat.

How shameless!

Moreover, there were more than just her, Lin Hansu, Chen Hong, and Han Jingru present in the second hall of the Prefecture Yamen; there were also the legal clerks and bailiffs.

Presumably, it wouldn’t be long before the news of the Central Heaven sect leader having an affair with the Duke of Chu County would be the talk of the town.

And Lin Hansu, the “legitimate wife,” was the one who couldn’t see the light of day!

While she was lost in thought, the attendant Eunuch He walked in, “Reporting to Your Highness, Dutou Gongye Ni from the Nine Gates Patrol Yamen has an urgent matter to report.”

“Gongye Ni?”

Because the name was unfamiliar, Princess Xingguo was taken aback, then asked, “What is it?”

“Dutou Gongye says that the Duke of Chu County is missing.”

“Missing?”

In her shock, Lin Hansu forgot protocol and blurted out the question.

Immediately realizing her rudeness, she quickly bowed to Princess Xingguo. The latter waved her hand to indicate it was fine, and then she asked confusedly, “What does it mean that he’s missing? How can a grown man just go missing?”

“Dutou Gongye says that the Duke of Chu County discovered a sect in Central Heaven that was harboring filth, called Wangchuan Ferry. He only took one person with him last night to explore the culverts under the cover of darkness, and he hasn’t returned yet.”

“Ah!”

As soon as Eunuch He finished speaking, Lin Hansu stood up abruptly, instinctively looking at Princess Xingguo with pleading eyes.

The latter’s expression instantly turned grave.

Both of them realized the danger involved.

“Eunuch He, take my seal and mobilize the Vermilion Bird and Winged Tiger armies to seal off all culvert entrances in Central Heaven.”

After giving the order decisively, Princess Xingguo turned to Lin Hansu and said, “Hansu, go in my stead and find the Duke of Chu County at all costs!”

“Yes!”

Lin Hansu started to walk away, and in her panic, she even forgot to bid farewell or bow.

“Wait!”

But just as she reached the door of the flower hall, Princess Xingguo called out to her again. Lin Hansu turned back to see that Princess Xingguo had already stood up, “I will go with you.”

Almost at the same time.

A middle-aged man around forty, wearing a black silk robe, was led by a rough-looking man through a long, winding corridor and into a foul, smoggy underground cavern.

When “Fifth Master” and Fei Rongbao saw him, they quickly hurried forward, bowing and cupping their hands in unison, “Big Brother!”

The middle-aged man nodded slightly in response, then scanned the noisy gambling tables, his brows furrowing.

Seeing this, Fei Rongbao immediately understood and turned to bark, “Break it up, break it up! Get out of here!”

Dozens of men, dressed only in loincloths, fell silent instantly. Seeing the new arrival, they hurriedly gathered the loose silver and paper money from the table and scattered like birds and beasts.

“Big Brother’s” brows relaxed slightly. He pulled an exquisite silk handkerchief from his sleeve to cover his mouth and nose, “Why did you call me here?”

“Fifth Master” smiled obsequiously, “Big Brother, we caught two little thieves last night. I found one of them looking familiar and was worried he might be a Young Master from some noble’s household, so I didn’t deal with him yet and specifically asked you to take a look.”

“Oh?”

Led by “Fifth Master,” “Big Brother” walked to a wooden cage and leaned over to look.

The light in the underground cavern was dim to begin with, and the inside of the wooden cage was filled with heavy shadows. “Big Brother” looked twice at first but didn’t recognize him, though he still had a sense of familiarity.

Fei Rongbao, who was standing to the side, was very perceptive and immediately fetched a torch.

The flickering torchlight dispelled the darkness, clearly illuminating Ding Suian’s face. “Big Brother” squinted to look closely, and the more he looked, the more wrong it felt. Two or three seconds later, his eyes suddenly widened, as if he had recognized who the person was.

“You, how did you bring him in here!”

Because of his excessive surprise, his voice was slightly distorted.

“Big Brother, who is he?”

“Ding Suian!”

“Ding Suian? The Ding Suian who killed Third Brother, the newly titled Duke of Chu County?”

“Yes.”

“Fifth Master” and Fei Rongbao looked at each other in dismay.

Killing people was not a difficult task for them. But they had never killed a Duke of the dynasty before!

Having a noble title carried a great deterrent effect on people like them who engaged in shady business.

If a high-ranking imperial official were to die inexplicably in their place, there was no telling what kind of turmoil it would cause.

This trouble was something Fei Rongbao dared not shoulder alone.

He reacted quite quickly, immediately asking the middle-aged man in the black silk robe, “Big Brother! What should we do?”

The middle-aged man no longer cared about covering his nose. He leaned in again to inspect him closely, and after confirming there was no mistake, he said decisively, “What else can we do! Since he delivered himself to our doorstep, we can’t be blamed! As it happens, this person is an enemy of the Heir Apparent and our Master. Second, send someone to the Prince’s Residence to ask the Heir Apparent if he wants to come and watch the execution!”

“Good!”

If the Heir Apparent and the Master had any interest in watching the execution, then it would be time for them at Wangchuan Ferry to show off their skills and display various novel torture methods.

If they had no interest, then this Duke of Chu County would be granted a quick death.

Perhaps fearing Ding Suian’s past reputation for ferocity, the middle-aged man in black felt uneasy. He looked at Ding Suian again and finally discovered the source of his unease, “How could you be so careless! Hurry, get iron chains and lock him up!”

“Big Brother, don’t worry. He’s been drugged with the ‘Lost Immortal Powder,’ which Lord Linping specifically bestowed upon us to facilitate our operations.”

“You idiot! This kid is currently at the Astral perfection realm. If he wakes up, the few of us here won’t be enough for him to kill on his own!”

“Yes.”

“Fifth Master” shrank his neck after being scolded, but he didn’t dare to retort. He waved his hand and randomly summoned a lackey to pass on the order.

A short while later, the lackey found some iron chains and bent down to crawl into the wooden cage.

The middle-aged man in black felt slightly relieved. He then turned his gaze to the dozen or so wooden cages placed side by side, containing young girls and boys, and whispered into Fei Rongbao’s ear, “Second Brother, this batch of ‘finished goods’ and ‘young goods’ can’t be sold anymore. Let’s kill them all later.”

“Big Brother.”

Fei Rongbao was clearly reluctant and whispered, “There are four pairs of young male and female ‘goods’ in here that were prepared to be presented to Lord Linping, and the others already have buyers.”

“We can’t worry about that now. We already let his name slip just now.”

The middle-aged man was very thorough in his thinking.

Just now, in his shock, he had spoken Ding Suian’s name, and they had all heard it.

Once the matter of killing a Duke of the dynasty was leaked, even with the Heir Apparent and Lord Linping above them, they might not be able to protect the few of them.

“Alright!”

Fei Rongbao agreed, albeit painfully.

The middle-aged man glanced into the wooden cage next to him and saw several young girls and boys sneaking fearful looks at him. He suddenly smiled kindly, “Don’t be afraid. Today, I’ll send you all to wealthy mansions where you’ll eat well and live well every day.”

Hearing this, everyone hurriedly lowered their heads, daring neither to look at him nor to make a sound.

Only one little girl, born with a pair of big eyes and a dirty face, held onto the wooden bars with both hands and stared straight at him.

The middle-aged man became interested for a moment and squatted down, saying, “Little girl, do you want to eat something delicious?”

The girl looked at him for a while longer, then suddenly said, “You are not a good person!” Having said that, she raised her hand and pointed, “This brother is a good person!”

“Hahaha~”

The middle-aged man laughed out loud and instinctively looked in the direction her finger was pointing.

He saw that the lackey, who was holding the iron chains and squatting in front of Ding Suian, had maintained his position for a long time without moving.

Just as the middle-aged man was about to ask, Ding Suian, who had been blocked by the lackey, suddenly tilted his body, revealing his head, and grinned at the little girl, “Niuniu, you have a great eye for people! These things that are no better than pigs and dogs are indeed not good people~”