The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 346 - 294, Cooperative Search for Missing Person

"Disappeared? Could he have absconded out of fear of his crimes?" Xu Junling was astonished.

"Not that simple. Before and after his disappearance, accusatory letters were sent to the Imperial Court of Supervision, and the official from the Mining Tax Collection Department who was accused disappeared as well," Zhao Douan's gaze was profound.

The Taicang Silver Mine was not just a mine; it also had a smelter.

Locally, it was known as the "Gold and Silver Foundry."

The government office in charge of this area was the "Mining Tax Collection Department."

The one who submitted the "incriminating evidence" to the Capital was an eighth-rank official from the department, surnamed Song, who was also an important witness in the case.

Upon reading the accusatory letter, the Empress immediately ordered officials of Linfeng Road

to arrest the County Magistrate of Taicang County and protect Mr. Song.

But they were a step too late.

"Both men disappeared?"

Xu Junling was even more astonished.

"Could it be that Mr. Song sent out the letter and then his accusation accidentally leaked, coming to the knowledge of the Taicang County Magistrate Wang Chusheng, who silenced him? And only afterward did he flee out of fear of his crimes? Or perhaps he kidnapped him?"

That was the most logical guess.

"There's a possibility,"

Zhao Douan sat with one leg propped up, half-reclining, half-leaning on the chair.

Due to a habit left over from his school days, he gently twirled a pen in his hand as he pondered,

"The answers given by those local officials are exactly what you're guessing."

In the dim and quiet inn room, Xu Junling's eyes glittered with the excitement of being involved in solving a case, playing the role of a detective.

She crossed her arms, supporting her chin with her hand, and strategized for him,

"If that's the case, doesn't the trail go cold? No suspects, no accuser; so next, shouldn't we try to find clues of the fleeing official and attempt an arrest?"

She was a bit excited.

As the daughter of a prince, pampered and privileged, she lacked experience in investigating cases.

It felt like she was playing a murder mystery game…

Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly said,

"Now those cavalry you've gathered are of no use; how about you ask me for help? My Huaian Prefecture's merchant teams span all over, and if Wang Chusheng has indeed fled out of fear of his crimes, he is likely to take the waterways. I, the Commandery Princess, might have some..."

Zhao Douan looked at the young girl with a half-smile, half-serious gaze and said,

"Why the hurry to capture someone?

Who says you can't investigate without catching people?

Have you forgotten what I told you earlier? Her Majesty doesn't care about a mere seventh-rank County Magistrate but is concerned about whether he has bigger backers behind him."

…Xu Junling stubbornly retorted,

"Isn't that all the more reason to catch him? Without catching anyone, how will we know who…"

Zhao Douan slowly stroked the stray hairs on the tip of his brush with his finger and said,

"In the letter sent to the Capital, Mr. Song mentioned that to protect himself in the event of any misfortune, he had made a backup of the evidence and entrusted it to a friend's family.

In other words, I just need to get my hands on that evidence, and I won't necessarily need to catch anyone."

Gulp—

The Commandery Princess's words got stuck in her throat as her eyes widened slightly.

Is that even possible?

She became excited, "Then let's hurry and get it, what are we waiting for?"

"Yawn~"

Zhao Douan suddenly covered his mouth with his hand and smiled,

"It's quite late, after a weary day of travel. As the imperial envoy, I should rest now. I'll retrieve it tomorrow; I'm offering you to stay in my room for the night. Ah, as a matter of propriety, please, Commandery Princess, leave my room."

"…" Xu Junling silently vowed not to get angry and stood up to leave.

Zhao Douan, alone, had limited power and needed the help of the Commandery Princess's followers.

Conversely, she too took a keen interest in the case, and the two struck a temporary alliance seamlessly.

…

…

The night passed without incident.

The next morning, while the "fake imperial envoy" was still at the post station, following Zhao Douan's orders, tangling with local officials to buy time,

Zhao Douan and the entourage of the Commandery Princess took a carriage out of the city, heading toward the "Taicang Silver Mine" on the outskirts.

It was a cloudy day, with the sky covered in clouds.

The carriage had been traveling for over an hour when the mining pit was already visible in the distance.

"Commandery Princess, is that the mining pit? Wow, it's so big…"

Inside the cabin, the maid Lv Shui stretched her neck, pointing towards the distant pit and spoke.

Zhao Douan lifted his eyelids, instructing:

"Let's get out and take a look."

The two horse-drawn carriages stopped by the roadside, and everyone got out of the vehicles.

From this spot looking into the distance, one could see a range of mountains.

The summit was covered in red, interspersed with yellow-green.

These were the countless maple trees of Linfeng Road.

Every autumn, a gust of wind would turn each mountaintop bright red.

In the midst of these mountains lay a massive open-pit mine, as if a celestial hammer had pounded a fist into the earth, creating a deep crater.

People standing at the edge of the pit seemed so small in comparison.

"There are the miners inside, right? Geez, they look as tiny as ants."

Within the Commandery Princess's guard detachment, a plainly-dressed, sword-carrying female warrior marveled.

By her side was the brawny man who had once loudly declared his challenge to Zhao Douan.

With a straight saber slung across his waist, he now laughed:

"From this far away, of course, they look tiny. Hey, Master Lv, I remember you're from Linfeng Road, right? Have you ever been here before?"

Next to the man stood the elderly gentleman in plain robes.

After having injured Eunuch Hai with a flick of his finger that day, he had now fully recovered.

As the mountain wind blew, his grey robe billowed like a balloon, and he chuckled nostalgically:

"Indeed I have, but that was more than a decade ago. At that time, the pit wasn't as big as this. When it rained, water would accumulate at the bottom and form a river; the government would even call the nearby townspeople to clear it.

I remember there is also a declined little clan with the surname Song nearby, a scholarly family.

When I passed by long ago, I stayed at the Song family estate for a few days. They even wanted to keep me to be an instructor for their family but I politely refused."

Xu Junling, seeing the mountains bathed in red and the grandeur of the mine, was in an extremely good mood and said with a sweet smile:

"A minor country gentleman wanting to retain Master Lv, that's quite courageous. Surely, they must not have known of Master Lv's reputation in the Jianghu."

Master Lv Qingfeng, out of habit, wanted to boast about himself, but suddenly noticed Zhao Douan beside him, who was quietly observing with his hands behind his back and not saying a word.

He cleared his throat and humbly said:

"Just a minor figure in Jianghu, not worth mentioning."

Throughout the journey, although they had grown familiar with Zhao Douan, they still held a reverent fear for this "Yama Zhao" who held grudges because of the challenge at the arena.

At that moment, the elderly man in plain robes, who was considered a master within the confines of Prince Huaian's Royal Mansion and by extension in the Jianghu, asked Zhao Douan with a smile:

"Mr. Zhao, do you know on which mountaintop the person you are looking for is located?"

While traveling outside, to avoid trouble, they addressed him and the Commandery Princess as master and miss.

Zhao Douan squinted, withdrew his gaze from afar, and looked at the royal mansion's expert with a smile:

"Since you know of that Song family estate, how about you lead the way? The one I'm looking for is precisely that family."

That family?

Xu Junling's eyes widened with surprise, then she smacked her lips, coming to a realization—the sender of the whistleblower's letter bear the surname "Song."

In these parts, clans with the same surname often cluster together.

Mr. Song must be related to this local minor clan. Ah, this also explains why the "evidence backup" was entrusted to someone else.

"Let's go," said Zhao Douan without further elaboration, clapped his hands, and turned back towards his carriage.

Xu Junling and her attendants followed immediately. Before setting off, Zhao Douan had reached a gentleman's agreement with her:

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She could join the investigation, but she must follow Zhao Douan's orders and regard him as the leader.

Now, the group of outsiders were walking along the rugged and uneven country road, circling the edge of the "Taicang Silver Mine" without entering.

Zhao Douan wasn't really interested in the mine.

Besides, there were government officials guarding below, and he didn't want to attract attention prematurely since he had come incognito.

However, he noted Master Lv Qingfeng's mention of the mine pits accumulating water during the rain and betook this to heart.

Perhaps upon returning to the Capital, he could consult with Gongshu Tianyuan to develop an ancient pump.

But this was just a fleeting thought, which he quickly pushed aside.

Yet even though Zhao Douan tried his best to keep a low profile, after they left, there were still laborers at the outskirts of the mine who looked up and whispered among themselves.

One of them quickly set down his burden, slipped on his straw shoes, and sprinted into the distance.

He was preparing to report the news of "suspicious outsiders" to the foreman in exchange for a reward—

apparently, this was a directive passed down by the County Magistrate.