Chapter 123 (2/2)

As they walked and talked, they arrived at the inner court.

Li Yuchun and Yang Feng came up to him and shook their heads. “He’s gone.”

“All the valuable things in the residence have been moved away,” the latter added.

Song tingfeng immediately pulled the old gatekeeper over and held a knife to his neck. He shouted, “”Where’s Zhou chixiong?”

“Baihu master … He, he took Madam, young master and young miss out of the city to visit relatives.”

“Then why did you say he’s sick?”

“Since the hundred-man Lord has instructed me to do so, I, I will do as you say …” The old gatekeeper’s face was full of fear, and his legs were trembling. He didn’t seem to be lying.

“When did you leave?” Xu Qi ‘an asked.

“On the day the ancestral worship ceremony ends …” The gatekeeper swallowed his saliva and begged, “”What, what crime did the Baihu master commit? I didn’t know, I didn’t know …”

Xu Qi ‘an waved his hand, signaling song tingfeng to let him go.

He led his men back into the house and searched every room. Other than some precious antiques, calligraphy, and paintings that had been taken away, all the furnishings in the residence were as good as before.

“Centurion Zhou has escaped!” Li Yuchun said in a low voice.

“It’s still too early to say that.” Xu Qi ‘an looked at li Caiwei.

The Oval-faced beauty actually understood what he meant. She jumped onto the roof and opened her bright eyes, scanning every corner of the Zhou mansion.

She wasn’t looking for someone, but for something else. The focus was on the garden and Ishii.

A moment later, Yan Caiwei jumped off the roof and shook her head,”There’s no corpse hidden in the mansion, and no one has died here recently … Well, it could also be covered up by special means. You guys can dig three feet into the ground and search.”

“There’s no need.” Xu Qi ‘an sighed. it doesn’t matter if we die or escape. This clue is broken.

However, there was an eighty percent chance that he had fled, because the people of the manor had personally seen Centurion Zhou leave with his family.

As he led his men out of the Zhou mansion’s main gate, Min Shan rushed over with a few copper gongs. He didn’t have time to rein in his horse and shouted, “”After the ancestral worship ceremony, Centurion Zhou took a long leave.”

His heart sank when he saw his colleagues ‘gloomy faces.

“He escaped.” Yang Feng let out a breath.

…..

As soon as Xu Qi ‘an left with his men, the Ministry of Justice and the government office rushed to the Zhou mansion. When they saw the collapsed gate, they felt a chill in their hearts.

He summoned the servants of the manor for interrogation and learned that the night watchman had just missed, and Centurion Zhou had long escaped from the capital.

The two men from the Yamen had complicated feelings. They didn’t know if they should be glad or regretful.

…..

Dusk!

Eunuch Liu rushed back to the palace before the city gates closed. With the help of his sons, he changed into casual clothes, took a bath, and was drinking tea before dinner.

A young eunuch hurried in and said in a soft voice, “”Godfather, His Majesty has sent someone to invite you.”

Eunuch Liu pinched the space between his brows and said unhappily, “”I know!”

He took a sip of water and asked his son to change into a robe. He had just stepped out of the door when he suddenly thought of something.

“Bring us the case file, the one we brought back today.”

The young eunuch went back to his room to get it.

He arrived at Jingxin Hall and was led into the hall. He saw Emperor Yuan jing, who was wearing a Daoist robe and had a long beard.

Emperor Yuan jing was neither meditating nor working. He was holding a book in his hand, but his thoughts were not in the book.

Liu Rong, I’ve sent someone to supervise the case. It’s been a day, what have you found? ” Emperor Yuan jing said calmly.

Eunuch Liu’s heart trembled. He had been working in the palace for decades, and even with Emperor Yuan jing’s temperament, the more he behaved like this, the more annoyed he felt.

It was a lie to ask about the case. The Emperor was going to lose his temper.

Eunuch Liu felt a wave of lingering fear, but then he rejoiced. He thought to himself that it was fortunate that he had made preparations in advance, and that he had really gained something today.

“Your Majesty, this is the summary of today’s case. I was just about to show it to you.” Eunuch Liu took out a thin book from his sleeve.

[ PS: I had something to do during the day, so I updated late. Update first and change later. Old rules. See you in this chapter for typos. ]