Chapter 246 - The Death of Su Zhi (1/2)

The peddler had fled after getting wind of the hunt, but he was not a stranger to the whole city. Though he’d appeared in that area only occasionally, over the years a lot of people had made his acquaintance.

Yao Yi and some other bodyguards soon found out the peddler’s address and went there.

When they arrived, the peddler’s house was in a total mess, overturned furniture scattered all over the ground. There were also chairs and tables badly damaged by sharp weapons. The peddler’s shoulder was hurt. He was clutching the wound, his robes blood-soaked, face full of horror. At the sight of Yao Yi and the others, he gave a start like a frightened bird and loudly implored them to spare his life.

Plainly there had been a fight in this place, and judging from the scene, it’d been a rather intense one. Apart from the peddler’s blood, there was also someone else’s blood.

“What happened?” Yao Yi queried the peddler.

Still in fright, the peddler didn’t dare speak at all.

With a frown, Yao Yi stepped up to the peddler, hit a couple of his acupoints to stop the bleeding and said, “We’re not here to kill you, but I will if you refuse to answer our questions with honesty.”

The peddler was stupefied with shock. When Yao Yi asked him again, he didn’t dare keep silent any longer.

“So–Someone came here to kill me. I dodged. He stabbed my shoulder. And then a man in black suddenly showed up, killed him an–and took his body away.”

Yao Yi knitted his eyebrows. It was understandable that someone wanted the peddler dead, but who would want to save him?

No matter what, they had found the target, and they must drag the mastermind’s ident.i.ty out of him, which meant they needed him to stay alive for the moment.

“Who hired you to spread those rumors?” Yao Yi inquired.

The peddler’s face changed at this question, which showed that he knew exactly what Yao Yi was talking about.

“Speak!” Yao Yi whipped out his sword.

The peddler cried in terror, “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you. Don’t kill me.”

Then he swallowed hard and continued, “Please spare my life, sir. Someone paid me to do that. It was a servant of Su family that hired me to circulate the rumors.”

Su family?

Yao Yi asked, “Which Su family?”

The peddler hurriedly answered, “The family of Su Zhi, the ministry councillor who took office not long ago.”

Su Zhi? Yao Yi’s brow corrugated in a frown. Then he remembered. That was Zheng s.h.i.+’s brother-in-law.

Yao Yi got a general idea of what had happened. A somewhat disgusted look appeared in his eyes and with that he started worrying about the marshal. That d.a.m.n Zheng s.h.i.+ had made mischief once again, and it hadn’t been long since the last time she’d been warned. It seemed that breaking Yuwen Qi’s legs hadn’t been deterrent enough for her. She still dared stir up trouble, and this time her target was Childe Ling, who would definitely get angry when he found out about it.

Alas.

But even so, Yao Yi didn’t dare keep the truth back.

He was just about to take the peddler away when a guard rushed over and reported, “Captain, the imperial palace has dispatched some men to carry out a hunt.”

The imperial palace?

“What’s going on?” Yao Yi was surprised.

“It’s because of the rumor about Old Master Ling. Since the former emperor’s reputation was undermined, His Majesty got angry and gave arrest orders for the initiator of it,” answered the guard.

Yao Yi looked at the peddler, hesitating about whether he should take him away or let him stay.

The peddler asked in a trembling voice. “Whi–Which Old Master Ling?”

Yao Yi looked at him suspiciously. “Old Master Ling Xingzhong. Wasn’t you who started the rumor? How is it possible that you don’t know?”

The peddler yelled, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t start this rumor. That servant of Su family only asked me to spread rumors about the Ling’s Drugstore, and those about Marshal Yuwen’s threat to separate from Lord Yuwen because of Childe Ling. I have nothing to do with the other rumors!”

A frown creased Yao Yi’s forehead. After thinking for a few moments, he instructed, “Take him away.”

“Yes, Marshal.”

…

“It wasn’t them who started that rumor? So there’s someone else involved?”

Ling Zhang was confused. If it wasn’t Su Zhi, which meant Zheng s.h.i.+ wasn’t responsible for that, then who could this person be? Had this person deliberately mixed the third rumor with the former two to mislead people into believing that Su family was behind it?

“That market trader also said that he wasn’t the one who started this rumor.” Yao Yi returned from his trip and said, “Childe Ling, Marshal, His Majesty’s men have already traced it to the couple of women. It won’t be long before they track down that market trader. Given how bad secret-keepers those people are, His Majesty’s men will probably soon come to know what we’ve found out. What should we do with the peddler? Let him return?”

Yuwen Tong kept silent. Clearly there was someone else at work. First they’d started a third rumor mixing it with the former two, and then someone covertly rescued the peddler…

“Send the peddler back. Remember, wait until the arrival of His Majesty’s men to release him lest he get killed.”

“Yes, Marshal.”