“Does Lord Tian have anything that cannot be said in the presence of Brother Shan?” Zhong Li asked as she followed Tian You towards the garden.
Tian You shook his head. “This matter is not exactly a secret, but it is indeed not suitable to be discussed in front of Brother Shan, which is why I asked you to come out, Lord Zhong.”
Zhong Li nodded, signaling for Tian You to continue.
“The vehicle Brother Shan used to transact with the culprits was from the yamen,” Tian You said.
“From the yamen?”
“Yes. This has happened more than once while this case was under my charge, and I took it very seriously. To ensure the victim’s losses were somewhat reduced, I decided to use a yamen vehicle.” Tian You frowned slightly as he spoke.
“After Brother Shan and we lost the culprits, the vehicle was returned. The person who cleaned it was my wife’s maid. She said she smelled a peculiar odor in the car.”
A peculiar odor?
Zhong Li knitted her brows.
“Yes, like the smell of lamb stew without the ingredients to remove the gamey scent,” Tian You explained, afraid Zhong Li might not understand.
Zhong Li suddenly had a thought flash through her mind. She looked at Tian You and said, “Is that why you are telling me this privately?”
Tian You knew she likely had an idea. He nodded. “Yes. The Bei Di people are most sensitive and suspicious. I fear Shan Ji might overthink things.”
“Alright, I understand. Let’s head back,” Zhong Li said, and she and Tian You returned towards the inner hall.
Shan Ji had a high tolerance for alcohol and enjoyed drinking. He and Lu Wuxie only reluctantly parted ways and headed to their residences near the hour of Hai.
Lu Wuxie was usually very restrained with alcohol, understanding the principle that excessive drinking leads to harm. While he drank a bit more at the beginning, Lin Jin took over for him afterward.
At this moment, the carriage returning to the posthouse was speeding along. Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie sat in the driver’s position. Inside, Lin Jin was speaking incoherently and practicing drunken martial arts.
Zhong Li had always thought Lin Jin was very disciplined. Seeing him like this now, and with his usual aloofness softened, she couldn’t help but smile secretly.
Hearing the faint laughter beside him, Lu Wuxie couldn’t help but turn his head.
The moonlight spilled onto the woman’s face, her watery eyes like the vast, boundless night sky. As her body trembled slightly, ripples appeared.
He also began to smile, his eyes filled only with her.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Jin inside the carriage seemed to have fallen asleep and had become exceptionally quiet.
Zhong Li also withdrew her smile and looked at the road ahead.
“Prince, you’ve also heard the general situation from Shan Ji. Calculating from when we are to retrieve Shentu Jue’s body parts, it’s the day after tomorrow. Do you have any thoughts?” Zhong Li turned her head to look at the man beside her.
Lu Wuxie leaned back, relaxed, and looked up at the starry sky. “First, tell me what you think of the murderer.”
“A group effort, at least three people. One of them is skilled in dissection, very possibly a doctor or a butcher. Another is likely the mastermind of this group, capable of precisely planning escape routes and having a deep understanding of all victims. Their anti-reconnaissance capabilities are extremely strong. It’s certain that one or more, or even all, of this group are Bei Di people.”
After Zhong Li finished, Lu Wuxie pondered for a moment what she meant by ‘anti-reconnaissance.’ With some understanding, he couldn’t help but ask curiously, “I agree with everything you said earlier. How did you conclude at the end that they are very likely Bei Di people?”
Zhong Li smiled and recounted to Lu Wuxie what Tian You had said outside earlier.
“Prince, you interact with many foreigners. You should know that people of different races have different body odors, partly due to genetic inheritance, and partly due to what they eat daily.”
“What?” Lu Wuxie, who had been listening intently to Zhong Li, was completely baffled when he heard her mention ‘genetic inheritance.’
Zhong Li immediately reacted and quickly corrected herself, “It’s just that different races exhibit different physical characteristics.”
“Oh!” Lu Wuxie narrowed his eyes upon hearing this and said, “Did your teacher, Tang… Thompkins, teach you this too?”
Zhong Li lowered her gaze and nodded.
Lu Wuxie continued to scrutinize her. After a while, he looked in the direction of Luohua Street and said, “Lord Zhong, please continue.”
“That’s all. My concern now is for the day after tomorrow. In what capacity should we interact with this group?” Zhong Li said with a worried expression. Since there was a mastermind among them, they would have to hide their identities to capture them all.
Lu Wuxie thought for a moment. “I have a good idea, but… Lord Zhong needs to agree.”
Zhong Li looked at him in confusion.
Lu Wuxie curved his lips and flicked the horsewhip, urging the carriage to go faster.
Two days later.
Zhong Li was dressed in Yingzhou attire, her head lowered, appearing as a demure young wife following behind Lu Wuxie.
She had previously known that Yingzhou clothing was cumbersome and imposed many restrictions on women. It wasn't until she wore it herself that she realized how uncomfortable these so-called restrictions were. The skirt wasn't quite a skirt, nor was it quite a qipao. With every few steps, she felt she was about to fall, especially without an undergarment. She felt utterly awkward.
“Hurry, Madam! It won’t be good if we miss the appointed time,” Lu Wuxie stopped and looked at the woman behind him. Seeing her like this, he reached out and pulled her into his embrace.
Zhong Li’s cheeks flushed slightly from his sudden affectionate gesture. If Lin Jin, who was following behind the two, didn’t know their relationship had long since soured, anyone else would have seen them as a young couple newly married.
“Husband…” Zhong Li blinked her eyes, forced out a few tears, and then looked up at Lu Wuxie. “I don’t know if my elder brother is still alive. If not for your company, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Upon hearing Zhong Li call him, Lu Wuxie instinctively lowered his gaze. He thought he had impersonated Shangyuan Hong quite well. Now, seeing Zhong Li acting so docile and having such a timid, pitiable appearance, he felt a mix of amusement and tenderness.
They had not been idle during their two days at the posthouse. To avoid arousing suspicion from the criminals, they first studied Yingzhou etiquette and language, and then, like during the Beichuan Gang incident, they pretended to be a couple.
He was fine; Yingzhou etiquette did not impose many restrictions on men. However, it was difficult for Zhong Li. Her way of walking, her attire, and her personality were all contrary to his. For half a day, she even considered giving up. Fortunately, she persevered, though the dark circles under her eyes made her look even more haggard.
“This letter says they want us to go to the Linzhou Inn at Chenshi, where someone will contact us. I believe they won’t harm the hostage,” Lu Wuxie said, reciting his prepared ‘lines’ to comfort Zhong Li.
Zhong Li nodded, clutching Lu Wuxie’s sleeve and looking timidly at her surroundings.
The two of them hurried into the carriage. With Lin Jin raising the whip, the carriage sped towards the northeast.
At the same time, in the shadows.
“Did you check? Are they okay?” a deep male voice sounded from a stationary carriage not far from the posthouse.
“Boss, we checked. The information from the yamen is accurate. Yesterday, a Yingzhou couple from Jincheng did indeed arrive in Linzhou. We just didn’t expect Shangyuan Hong to have such a good-looking wife!”
“Hmph!” Hearing the other person speak, the man opened his closed eyes and glanced at him disdainfully. “Are you taken with her?”
“This… hehe!”
“Shentu Jue’s surname is Shentu. Shangyuan Hong sounds like he’s not from the same family. If there’s any connection, it must be through marriage. Stupid!” the man scoffed.
The person opposite him blushed and dared not speak.
“We are going to get money from the Shentu family. I investigated, and the information from Jincheng says the Shentu family is a major household in Yingzhou. This deal might even be bigger than the Shan family’s.”
“So, we’ll be set for three years?”
The man looked at the other person as if he were an idiot. “It’s not certain we’ll get it yet. Of course, if the money is right, and you fancy that little lady, bringing her along isn’t impossible.”
The accomplice opposite beamed upon hearing this. “Hehehe…”
“Alright, silly smiles don’t fill stomachs. Send a message to those on the other side, telling them to proceed as planned.”
“Okay!” The person replied and took out a flare from his懷, shooting it into the sky.