He Nuan strode over and reported to Zhan Feiyu, "Miss, the side room at Hesheng Xuan has been blown up."
Qiu Huai Xin's face was filled with shock, "What?"
In terms of composure, he was inferior to Zhan Feiyu, a young girl. At this moment, Qiu Huai Xin disregarded everything else and looked at He Nuan, asking, "Did someone blow up that room?"
"Yes, the authorities left eight people to guard it, but the four who blew up the room were all masters. They were wearing the cloaks and masks provided by Hesheng Xuan last night. After blowing up the room, the four quickly fled in all directions. The authorities only found discarded clothes and masks in the alleys to the east, south, west, and north."
Lord Qiu had gathered hundreds of soldiers from the previous night at the training ground and then dispatched more personnel to watch. The authorities were short-handed, which resulted in Qiu Huai Xin, the young master of the Provincial Administration Commissioner, still being hungry.
Lord Qiu had also left eight people to guard Hesheng Xuan, but the room had been thoroughly searched. It was just an empty room.
The eight guards had become careless. The morning sun was shining, and the eight of them were sitting in the shade of the wall. Who knew that the accident would happen so quickly? By the time the eight reacted, the room had already collapsed into ruins.
Zhan Feiyu couldn't help but look around the courtyard, her eyes filled with suppressed joy and excitement. It must have been her elder brother who helped her clean up the mess!
He Sheng and He Nuan exchanged glances, and a hint of doubt arose in both their hearts. The Imperial Guard had been watching Hesheng Xuan, and it could even be said that the entire Qianzhong Prefecture was under the surveillance of the Imperial Guard.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible for anyone to bypass the eyes and ears of the Imperial Guard to blow up the room. Furthermore, only this one room was blown up, and it did not even affect the adjacent houses or walls. Such precise craftsmanship made He Sheng and He Nuan suspect that this was the work of the Imperial Guard.
The Great Qing Dynasty's army was also equipped with "flying fire" and "fire arrows." The former was to make gunpowder into a ring shape, ignite the fuse, and then throw it into the enemy's formation with a trebuchet.
The "fire arrow" was even simpler: a gunpowder ball was bound under the arrowhead, ignited, and shot out by archers. It was mainly used to startle horses and disrupt the enemy's cavalry formation.
Therefore, only the Shenbing Camp of the Capital Guard in the Great Qing Dynasty was equipped with flying fire and fire arrows. The Shenbing Camp, with its three thousand soldiers, only obeyed the current Emperor and was responsible for the safety of the capital and the imperial palace.
Thus, even if the enemy mastered some gunpowder, they could not use it to blow up the room at Hesheng Xuan, which would make them a living target, and the authorities would surely investigate to the end.
"I'll send someone to scout ahead," Qiu Huai Xin said in a deep voice. He ignored Zhan Feiyu and strode towards the courtyard entrance. With one incident after another, he didn't know how his father's investigation was going.
Perhaps sensing that Yin Wuyan was in Qianzhong Prefecture, Zhan Feiyu returned to her room in a good mood and continued to eat the wonton noodles she hadn't finished, exuding a leisurely and calm demeanor as if she knew nothing of the outside world.
...
Half an hour later.
The yamen runner who came to deliver the order glanced around warily before saying in a low voice, "Young Master has asked me to inform Miss Zhan that the authorities have found no clues. This inquiry is just a routine matter for the yamen."
Zhan Feiyu thought for a moment and realized that Jiao Lianping had someone leak the outside situation to her. "I understand. Please thank the Young Master for me."
The yamen runner nodded and then dutifully led the way. When Zhan Feiyu reached the court, it was already crowded with people. Not only was Qiu Huai Xin, who had been gathering information earlier, present, but everyone who had stayed in the carriage all night was also there.
She glanced at Lord Qiu, who was sitting in the main seat with a solemn expression, looking down at official documents, and then casually found a spot with fewer people to stand.
"Reporting to the three lords, all the people have arrived," the constable said. As soon as he spoke, Lord Qiu, Lord Ge, and Commander She stopped their low conversation.
The three lords looked up at the crowd standing in the court simultaneously. Even without speaking, the肅殺 (sù shā - solemn and murderous) and imposing aura made people feel intimidated.
After a moment, Lord Qiu withdrew his gaze and said to Lord Ge, who was sitting on the right, "This matter will be presided over by Lord Ge."
Although his rank was the lowest among the three lords, Lord Ge, as the highest official of the Surveillance Commissioner, was the most reasonable person to preside.
Tao Shilang, sitting on the lower left, wanted to speak, but in reality, he was only a fifth-rank official. Lord Qiu did not give him a good look. No matter how angry Tao Shilang was, he dared not openly contradict his superior in public. He could only sit below and listen with a dark expression.
"Bring the shopkeeper of Hesheng Xuan, Jia Guiping, to the court!" With a bang of the gavel, Lord Ge's demeanor completely changed. He had looked like a kind old man with a smile, but now his face was stern, and his eyes were sharp as if they hid knives, making people nowhere to hide.
Shopkeeper Jia had been injured in last night's battle. At that time, so many people were targeting the boxes. To uphold the rules of Hesheng Xuan, Shopkeeper Jia naturally led the guards to resist.
At that time, there were also government officials helping, but they were outnumbered. Shopkeeper Jia was cut on both arms. His face was pale from excessive blood loss, and when he spoke, his lips were dry and cracked, bleeding. He was tired and disheveled, completely lacking the composure he had when speaking from the high platform.
"Jia Guiping, I ask you, when was this room that was blown up built? Who were the craftsmen responsible for building the house? Were there any secret passages leading outside in this room?"
Lord Ge threw out three questions in a row. After the one hundred and two items disappeared out of thin air, Shopkeeper Jia, the guards and employees of Hesheng Xuan were all imprisoned. However, Lord Qiu and the others had too many things to deal with, and they hadn't had time to interrogate Shopkeeper Jia and his group.
Zhan Feiyu stood in the corner and listened. From the time Shopkeeper Jia spoke until the five craftsmen who built the house were found, Lord Ge's interrogation lasted for more than half an hour.
"Jia Guiping, you can step aside for now!" Lord Ge's sharp gaze fell on Zhan Feiyu and the others, and then he said coldly, "Bring the morning's testimonies."
Zhan Feiyu and her group had given their testimonies in the morning and were then placed under house arrest in the rear office of the yamen. Although the testimonies were similar, everyone had stayed in the carriage all night. Some had not slept all night, while others had slept for a few hours. No one had gotten out of the carriage, so the testimonies were basically the same.
The difference was that from time to time, soldiers would bring the confiscated items into the room for storage. Many people lifted the carriage curtains to look. Therefore, the testimonies differed at this point, but when all the testimonies were compared, it could be found that everyone was telling the truth.
For example, at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the sound of the night watchman could still be heard in the distance.
Just then, a soldier was carrying a zitan wood screen. He was probably very tired and stumbled a bit. Those who looked out through the carriage curtains felt their hearts skip a beat.
As long as someone lifted the curtain to look, their testimonies matched. Even the soldier's curse of "damn it" after he steadied himself was heard by everyone, and the testimonies were all the same.
Lord Ge compared the testimonies and questioned them one by one. Zhan Feiyu was placed last. It was unclear whether Lord Ge was questioning them in the order their carriages were parked or if it was intentional.
"Reporting to the lord, I am young and cannot withstand the tossing and turning. Moreover, there were government officials all around, so I fell asleep quickly in the carriage with peace of mind. I only woke up when I heard Young Master Qiu San calling out after dawn and got out of the carriage."
Zhan Feiyu's words seemed flawless. She was the only young girl in the court. Compared to everyone else's tired and ashen faces, she was full of energy. If it weren't in the court, they probably wouldn't be able to stand steadily.
But Zhan Feiyu was spirited now, and listening to her clear, crisp voice, she was indeed young and unafraid. Anyone else would have been unable to sleep last night. Didn't you see Young Master Qiu yawn just now? He was genuinely tired. Otherwise, how could a young master from a noble family behave so rudely in full view of everyone?
"Zhan Feiyu, I heard that your guards are all from the Scholar's Mansion and are top experts. Your carriage was parked at the entrance last night. Are you sure you didn't hear any movement?" Lord Tao suddenly stood up and spoke before Lord Ge could, his gloomy gaze fixed on Zhan Feiyu like a venomous snake. Listening to the tone of his question, it was clear that Lord Tao suspected Zhan Feiyu of lying.
Lord Qiu and Commander She did not speak. Lord Ge merely glanced at Tao Shilang, who was "stealing the show," and then signaled the scribe to continue recording.