Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 373 Entrustment
Xiao Wang's spirits lifted, and he pressed on, "Were there any rumors related to Crown Prince Renxian?"

An Tong nodded vigorously: "Yes, about seven years ago, I was preparing to smuggle datura from the Western Regions to Chang'an. Before I left, the sorcerer sent me a letter. In the letter, he said that the murder of Crown Prince Renxian twenty years ago was actually orchestrated by the current emperor. He was willing to harm his own brothers in order to seize power. Such a despicable and shameless person is not worthy of being emperor! The sorcerer asked me to find a way to secretly spread this news during the transport of datura, so as to ruin the emperor's reputation and make the court of Daye even more chaotic."

"What about the letter?"

An Tong said bitterly, "The shaman doesn't believe me. Every time he sends someone to deliver a letter to me, I have to read the letter in front of the messenger and then burn it in front of that person."

Is what the shaman said true?

An Tong shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either, since it was just the sorcerer's one-sided account and its veracity could not be verified.

"Is there any other news about Crown Prince Renxian?"

"Gone."

Xiao Wang thought for a moment and then asked, "Fu Hui took datura before his death. Did you make that datura?"

"Yes, it was the sorcerer who ordered me to go to Fu Hui to get something. He also asked me to secretly poison Fu Hui's tea, but he didn't tell me the purpose of doing so."

Xiao Wang grasped the key point and immediately pressed, "You've seen Fu Hui? When?"

"On the night he had his accident, around midnight, when everyone in the inn was asleep, I quietly sneaked in without disturbing anyone. When I found Fu Hui, he looked terrified. There was a lot of food on the table, but he hadn't touched it; it had all gone cold. As soon as he saw me, he clung to me like a lifeline, quickly stuffing a letter into my hand. He told me to give the letter to the shaman immediately and urged me to leave without letting anyone know that I had come to see him. When he wasn't looking, I poured some powdered datura into the teapot on the table, and then left the inn with the letter."

An Tong's words further confirmed Xiao Wang and Yan Ciwan's guesses. The reason Fu Hui was living alone in the inn in the West Market was to avoid someone. His fear and caution were because he was afraid of being found.

Xiao Wang pressed further, "Where is that letter?"

“I originally planned to deliver the letter to the shaman the next day, but I didn’t expect Fu Hui to die early the next morning. The Imperial Guards searched the whole city for people who had been in contact with Fu Hui. I was afraid of getting into trouble, so I didn’t dare to go out and stayed at home for three days. Then, on the fourth night, that woman came to my door.”

The woman An Tong was referring to was Yan Ciwan.

Yan Ciwan's sudden appearance led to the exposure of his identity, resulting in the capture of both him and his wife, and later causing the entire Five Gods Sect to fall apart.

Xiao Wang stared at him: "So that letter is still in your possession?"

“I’ve hidden it. I can tell you the exact location, but you have to agree to one condition.”

Xiao Wang could roughly guess what he wanted, and said directly, "Speak."

An Tong gripped the wooden fence with both hands and said with pleading eyes, "My wife and I don't know when we'll be able to get out. Mei Zi is still young and very weak. I'm afraid she won't be able to support herself in the future. I hope you can help take care of Mei Zi. We don't need a luxurious life. Just find her a safe place where she can have three meals a day and be warmly clothed."

This was no difficult task, and Xiao Wang immediately agreed: "Okay."

"Thank you." An Tong forced a smile. He knew it was dangerous to entrust his daughter to a stranger, but he had no better choice at the moment.

He reached out his hand to Anmei, and Anmei immediately placed her hand in his.

"Aye."

“When we’re not around, you need to take good care of yourself, be good, and don’t cause trouble for others. We will behave well and cooperate actively with the investigation so that we can be released and reunited with you as soon as possible.” Anmei nodded vigorously, indicating that she remembered.

An Tong patted his daughter's head, his eyes filled with love and reluctance.

He turned to Xiao Wang and said in a low voice, "I hid the letter in the rat hole behind the stove. There are also some silver coins I've saved up in that hole. If Xiao Liulang wants them, feel free to take them and spend them. I only ask that you treat Meizi well in the future."

Having asked all the necessary questions, Xiao Wang led An Mei away from the prison cell.

Anmei is not a criminal and does not need to stay in the county government office. Previously, she was too weak and could not find her family, so she had nowhere to go and could only stay in Jingxin Hall to recuperate.

Xiao Wang wanted to take An Mei away, but the clerk did not stop him. He took out a document and handed it over: "We are still sentencing the members of the Five Gods Sect one by one. We may need An Mei to provide testimony. An Mei cannot leave Chang'an before the case is closed. Xiao Liulang is her guarantor. Please sign this document and ask you to protect her safety."

Xiao Wang signed his name on the document as instructed, and then successfully took An Mei away.

They traveled by carriage to the West Market, where they found Anton's spice shop.

The shop had already been sealed off, and there was still a seal on the door, so Xiao Wang couldn't go in. He asked his Uncle Jiu to climb over the wall to find the letter.

Uncle Nine deliberately went around to the vicinity of the back gate, and when no one was paying attention, he used his light-footed skills to climb over the courtyard wall and enter the backyard of the spice shop.

At this moment, Anmei stared at the spice shop in front of her, muttering to herself in a daze, "Is this my home?"

When she was taken away by the sorcerer, her parents were just ordinary merchants from the Central Plains who had recently arrived in Chang'an. Because they had no money, they could only stay at the homes of relatives and could not afford to open such a large shop.

A strong sense of loss and disillusionment washed over her; she felt as if it were a dream, too unreal.

Not long after, Uncle Nine returned. He handed a letter to Xiao Wang and took out a heavy money bag. When he opened it, it was full of shiny silver ingots.

These were all taken out of the rat hole by Uncle Nine.

Xiao Wang put the letter into his sleeve and then handed the money bag to An Mei.

"This belongs to your father; you keep it for him."

Anmei held the heavy money bag, looking at Xiao Wang helplessly.

Xiao Wang had no intention of saying more to her and said directly, "Let's go back."

Uncle Jiu was in charge of driving, while Xiao Wang and An Mei sat inside the carriage.

Anmei was still clutching the money pouch in her hand. She kept her head down and remained silent the whole time.

Xiao Wang took out the envelope and pulled out a thin sheet of Xuan paper. Because of its age, the paper had turned yellow.

He unfolded the letter and read its contents carefully.