"A Wu, you are too audacious. No matter what, you are still someone from the Dali Temple. To act so disrespectfully, where is the bearing of a Dali Temple official!"
Zhong Li glared, her voice booming, showing no mercy.
The many junior constables guarding outside also heard this and began to whisper amongst themselves.
A Wu's face turned red. He sized up Zhong Li from head to toe, seeing she was wearing an inner shirt, her hair wet, and holding a bar of soap. He knew his earlier transgression, and quickly clasped his hands, saying, "Lord Zhong, it was my mistake earlier. I hope you can overlook my minor offense."
Zhong Li looked at A Wu, casually picked up the outer shirt hanging nearby and put it on, saying, "Since the Prefect has called himself a petty person, I have nothing to be calculative about.
If Your Excellency has nothing else, please leave."
A Wu watched Zhong Li turn back into the inner room and wanted to say something, but he swallowed all his words back.
When the sound of the door slamming shut echoed in the bedroom, Zhong Li finally let out a long sigh and said to the woman nestled in the water bucket, "Come out quickly!"
"Pfft!" Hua Yao emerged from the bucket, her face red and her body dripping with water.
Zhong Li took a dry towel and first wiped Hua Yao's wet hair and cheeks before speaking, "I'm sorry, Yao'er, for letting you be wronged."
Hua Yao changed her soaked clothes while waving her hand, saying, "I don't mind. Being caught by A Wu would at most mean being sent back to the Hua mansion. I'm afraid, if he finds you missing, he'll frame you with some crime and drag you back. Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
Zhong Li smiled and rubbed Hua Yao's slightly dry hair, saying, "Yes, I know you did this for my own good. Thank you, Miss Hua!"
Hua Yao chuckled foolishly twice, then stood up and walked to the window. She quietly opened a sliver of the window. Once she confirmed A Wu had left, she pulled Zhong Li to sit down and said, "Lord Lan has already explained the plan to me. Although I'm not very proficient in disguise, I promise I will try my best to act as you, and won't make mistakes like today's near-slip-up.
The Dali Temple has A Wu, that troublemaker, and the Judicial Inspection Office is now leaderless. We don't know if there are any spies. Now, the only ones we can count on are the Hua family. I've sent a message to my father. He knows we are doing this for the Emperor and is happy to cooperate.
He will find some elites to assign to you later, and he will also help conceal your identity."
"Alright, please thank Old General Hua on my behalf," Zhong Li said.
Hua Yao shook her head, "Although I don't know why the Empress has suddenly acted this way, our Hua family clearly knows who we are loyal to and whose actions are for the good of the people.
Li'er, promise me, you will thoroughly investigate this case."
Zhong Li nodded, her hands gripping Hua Yao's tightly.
Hua Yao took a waist token from her waist and stuffed it into Zhong Li's hand, saying, "This is the Hua mansion's token. Every master in the mansion has one. With this, the people below won't suspect you."
"Good!" Zhong Li nodded and tied the waist token to her sash.
At the same time, a crisp whistle sounded outside the separate residence.
Hua Yao recognized the sound. It was a signal for communication between people of the Hua family.
"Someone from the Hua mansion is here to pick you up. You should go quickly," Hua Yao said.
Zhong Li tidied her small medical kit that she always carried on her back and gave Hua Yao her final instruction, "A Wu is naturally suspicious. It was sheer luck that we fooled him this time. If he deliberates carefully, he might find loopholes. If you can't handle him, go find Lan Heng. No matter how arrogant he is, he will restrain himself in front of Lan Heng."
Hua Yao curled her lips in acknowledgment.
Zhong Li no longer lingered. She turned to the small kitchen, opened the single small window in the room, and as the patrolling Dali Temple constables were not paying attention, she slipped into the adjacent courtyard.
As Hua Yao had said.
Old General Hua had made all the necessary preparations.
As soon as Zhong Li walked out of the small courtyard she was staying in, the Hua family's hidden sentries stationed nearby saw the waist token she wore. They guided her along a winding path, leading her to the Hua family's secret branch waiting for her there.
Lin Jin was still leading them. Behind him were three elites from the Hua family.
Zhong Li had already guessed that Lu Wuxie had started cooperating with the Hua family.
"Miss Zhong," Lin Jin said as he saw Zhong Li, who was wearing Hua Yao's mask, and stepped forward a few paces, clasping his hands.
Zhong Li said, "Lin Jin, spare me these unnecessary courtesies."
Lin Jin straightened up.
Zhong Li then said, "How much do you know about this case of the Jia Te Grass?"
Lin Jin glanced at the three behind him and thought for a moment before saying, "It's like this, the key point of this case currently lies with the missing Madam Tao. Lord Lan had already searched for Madam Tao in Jincheng. You should have already been told the result by Lord Lan."
Zhong Li nodded. Lan Heng's result for her was that he found nothing.
"So, after discussing it, since we couldn't find her within Jincheng, we wondered if she might be outside the city."
Zhong Li felt Lin Jin's analysis made sense and nodded repeatedly, saying, "What was the result?"
Lin Jin's expression sank, "We found... Madam Tao's body in a dilapidated yellow earth house in the poor district of Jincheng."
Zhong Li's body swayed. Although she had already anticipated that Madam Tao was likely dead, the thought of Zhong Wuyou's body not yet cold and his whereabouts unknown, and the wet nurse who took care of him also meeting such an end, filled her with immense anger and guilt.
She deeply regretted not seeing the problem with Wang Zhu back then. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed out late without returning to the separate residence to check on Zhong Wuyou, allowing them to be tricked by others.
"Miss Zhong, please don't be too upset," Lin Jin said, unable to resist stepping forward to comfort her when he saw her like this.
Zhong Li shook her head, indicating she was fine.
"However, we weren't entirely without any gains this time," Lin Jin continued.
"How so?"
"Do you still remember what your neighbor, Sister-in-law Awen, told you at the time?" Lin Jin asked.
Zhong Li thought for a moment and said, "Madam Tao wanted to go to the Dali Temple to find me and see if I had already returned..."
"Yes," Lin Jin nodded. "This statement, at first hearing, seems to have no problem, but upon careful consideration, there are flaws."
With Lin Jin's reminder, Zhong Li's anxious emotions gradually stabilized, and she began to ponder it carefully.
As Lin Jin said, there was indeed a problem here. According to her usual habit when returning to Jincheng from elsewhere, if there was an urgent matter, she would first report to the palace, then return home to pack and rest for a day before returning to the Dali Temple to handle affairs.
If there was no important matter, she would go home first.
But this time, Madam Tao was different. Zhong Wuyou was ill. She didn't wait at the palace gate for her, but instead went to the Dali Temple. What was going on?
"Miss Zhong should have figured it out by now," Lin Jin said unhurriedly when he saw her look of sudden realization. "At that time, someone must have deliberately led Madam Tao to the Dali Temple."
"So, what is this 'gain' you mentioned, Lin Jin..."
"We have already caught this person."