Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

It was completely dark when the convoy returned to the Inspection Headquarters. Yang Xu led his men to unload the goods and put them into storage, while Xu Xian went to report to Mo Feichang.

Mo Feichang sat under the old locust tree revising his poem, a cup of cold tea beside him. After listening to Xu Xian's report about the post station, he put down his brush, his brows furrowing slightly.

"With the involvement of Gu Dao, things are different now. The tax silver case was originally about corruption in the Ministry of Revenue, and the investigation was about silver. Now the investigation is about Gu, so the nature of the case is completely different."

Mo stood up and put on the coat that was draped over the back of the chair.

"I am going to the palace to meet the Emperor. You stay at the General Headquarters and investigate where the old people at Jingzhou Post Station have gone."

He picked up his brush and added two more lines to the poem, then recited it to himself.

"The silver chest is empty as if washed clean, the traces of poison are as cold as frost. Taxes have turned to ashes, who will ask about right and wrong now?"

After reciting the poem, he folded it up and put it in his sleeve before heading towards the palace gate.

Xu Xian stood there watching his figure disappear at the end of the corridor, feeling somewhat amused.

The tonal patterns in this poem are a bit better than before; at least all four lines rhyme, so it seems Mo Feichang has made progress.

...

That very night, Xu Xian wrote a letter and had Liu Shan deliver it to Jingzhou overnight.

The letter instructed the Jingzhou Inspection Office to cooperate with the Black Cavalry Guards to investigate the whereabouts of all former post station staff. He included a list of all the former post station officials, soldiers, and miscellaneous servants in the letter, which he had found in the Jingzhou County Annals and post station archives before setting off and had written down in his personal notebook.

Liu Shan took the letter and put it in his pocket. "Don't worry, Little Flag Master, it will be delivered on time."

He mounted his horse, and the sound of hooves quickly disappeared into the night.

...

Inside the palace, Emperor Jingyuan remained silent for a long time after hearing Mo Feichang's report.

He sent his maid to summon Eunuch Gao, and the maid went to receive the order.

An hour later, the eldest attendant returned, looking rather unwell. He stood at the entrance of the Imperial Study with his head down, not daring to go inside.

Where is Eunuch Gao?

Daban knelt down:

  

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Gao died in his private residence outside the palace. When the servants found him, he was already cold. Three thousand taels of silver were found in his residence. The silver ingots were engraved with the official seal of the Jingxi Customs. The cause of death was palpitations. The imperial physician examined him and said that there was a problem with his heart meridian and that he died of a normal illness."

Emperor Jingyuan put down his teacup and tapped his fingers three times on the imperial desk.

Palpitations.

Grandpa Gao had a history of heart palpitations, and he vaguely remembered this incident because Grandpa Gao had served him for a few days before being transferred away due to his condition.

But the timing of this heart palpitation occurred precisely after the old staff at the post station had been purged and before the investigation team arrived in Jingzhou...

"Summon the Crown Prince."

...

Shen Chengqian was still somewhat shocked when he entered the hall. He had already heard the news of Eunuch Gao's sudden death on his way here, and his steps were a few paces faster than usual when he entered the hall.

Emperor Jingyuan sat behind his desk, his hands folded on his knees, his gaze sweeping over Shen Chengqian from top to bottom.

"Eunuch Gao transferred all the old staff and erased all records at the Jingzhou post station. These are all official documents from the Imperial Household Department. Eunuch Gao was recommended to the Imperial Household Department by your Crown Prince's residence."

Emperor Jingyuan spoke in a calm tone, as if chatting casually, "I ask you—who ordered Eunuch Gao to do these things?"

Shen Chengqian raised his head and looked directly into Emperor Jingyuan's eyes.

"Your Majesty, I have only just learned of these matters. Although Eunuch Gao entered the Imperial Household Department from the Crown Prince's residence, he directly reports to the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department and has no subordinate relationship with me. I was completely unaware of what he did."

Emperor Jingyuan squinted at Shen Chengqian for a while.

Only the father and son were in the imperial study, and the candlelight flickered.

"Since you were completely unaware, that means you failed to manage your subordinates properly. Failure to manage subordinates properly is a serious offense, so I hereby confine you to the Crown Prince's residence for three months."

"Your subject obeys the decree."

Shen Chengqian knelt down and kowtowed, then got up and retreated to the doorway.

"etc."

Shen Chengqian turned around and knelt down again.

Emperor Jingyuan looked at him. "You really didn't know what Eunuch Gao was doing?"

"Your subject truly does not know."

Emperor Jingyuan looked at him for a while, then waved his hand.

Shen Chengqian left the imperial study. Emperor Jingyuan remained silent for a long time, then suddenly chuckled softly.

"Good son, truly my good son."

...

On the afternoon of the third day, Liu Shan sent a fast horse back to the capital, bringing back news that Xu Xian had expected but did not want to hear.

The Jingzhou Inspection Office checked the whereabouts of the former post station staff one by one according to the list given by Xu Xian, and found the residences of all the staff, but they could not find a single person.

Every house was empty. The bowls and chopsticks on the table were still there, and half a pot of cold porridge was still hanging on the stove. Clothes, luggage, and valuables were all left in their original places, and even the money stored at the bottom of the trunk was not taken away.

The neighbors couldn't say exactly when the person left; they only knew that one morning when they woke up, no one was there next door.

Xu Xian sat in the duty room and read Liu Shan's reply twice.

He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling, rearranging all the clues in his mind.

The postal station connection has been completely severed, three million taels of silver have vanished without a trace, all the old associates have disappeared, and the names of those involved in the handover records are blurred...

Yang Xu, who was standing next to him, read through Liu Shan's reply, his expression grave. "That connection is broken too. What do we do now?"

Xu Xian suddenly spoke up, "There's still a chance for things to turn around."

He turned to Zhao Bao, who was guarding the door, and asked, "How did Ji Feng do after he went back?"

Yang Xu was stunned. "When did you send people to monitor Ji Feng?"

"The day we finished interrogating him."

Xu Xian picked up his herbal tea and took a sip. "I sent him back and assigned people to keep an eye on him, both to monitor and protect him, to see if he's being followed or if he'll be silenced."

"Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"You were angry at the time, and knowing this would only alert them."

Xu Xian put down his cup, gestured with his chin towards Zhao Bao, and said, "Tell me, after watching for half a month, what have you discovered?"

Zhao Bao leaned against the door of the duty room, counting on his fingers as if reciting a familiar story.

"Brother Xu, Ji Feng leaves home at dawn every day to report to the Ministry of Revenue, and returns home at dusk. On the way, he buys a bunch of vegetables and occasionally half a pound of meat. After returning home, he doesn't go out again."

"His family went about their daily routines—buying groceries, doing laundry, sunbathing and chatting with neighbors at the alley entrance—everyone seemed happy and content, and there were no suspicious people around..."

"I specifically observed the vendors in the alley, passersby, and visitors to the neighbors' homes. No one was monitoring Ji Feng's house, and I didn't find any unusual signals being transmitted."

Xu Xian stood up and paced back and forth in the duty room a few times, then stopped at the window and looked out at the courtyard, his back to the two men.

"Interesting. Ji Feng's family isn't being monitored, at least not overtly, and there's no sign of them being threatened. So why doesn't he dare to speak up?"

He turned around. "He wasn't trembling like that in the interrogation room, he wasn't faking it! Zhang Hu, has Ji Feng exhibited any unusual behavior? Or any regular behavior?"

Zhang Hu thought for a moment and shook his head.

Zhao Bao suddenly added, "There is one."

Xu Xian turned his head to look over.

Zhao Bao spoke up,

"He goes to the same pastry shop every three days to buy pastries and brings them home. He's been doing this for over half a month, and he's bought from them five times. He's going again tomorrow... What's strange is that the shop is quite far from his home!"

"He clearly lives in the east of the city, where there are many pastry shops nearby, but he insists on walking for more than half an hour to go to the one in the west of the city, going out of his way to find one that's far away."

Zhang Hu muttered to himself, "What's so strange about that? It must be that the food at that shop is better."

Xu Xian glanced at Zhang Shazi speechlessly, then waved his hand, "You two go back first. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to that shop and see just how delicious it is."