Chapter 393: Chapter 302: The One That Got Away?_2
To get to Tongzhou Pier, one must pass through the city gate he guards. Of course, Du Mingqian knew when Xu Yin left the city. It’s just that occasionally at night, it’s not uncommon for officials to leave the city. If it weren’t for encountering this couple returning in such a state, Du Mingqian wouldn’t have paid much attention.
Pei Zhan poured him a cup of tea: "Before I answer your question, do you want to hear how Princess Rong died?"
"...You know?"
Du Mingqian was stunned.
Pei Zhan pushed the tea towards him and said, watching his breath stop in shock: "Not only do I know, but I also saw it with my own eyes. The one who killed Princess Rong was Xu Yin."
...
Tongzhou Pier had never experienced such chaos.
The ships that originally docked in an orderly manner to load and unload were all forcibly halted after the ships from the Wei Kingdom’s Great General’s Mansion needed to salvage a very important object. But for some reason, the object that should be searched for where it sank was not found, yet General He’s guards stopped all vehicles entering and leaving the pier, checking them one by one?
All the ships lit up their lamps to watch from afar, yet under the pitch-black night, the pier only showed the moving shadows of people, their faces unseen.
He Qunying stood on the steps beside Xu Yin, watching as the guards on both sides took turns going underwater with no results, then looked at the increasingly congested streets due to the carriage inspections, and couldn’t help but say: "Who exactly is this important person, worth such anxiety from you? After being underwater for so long, even if you retrieve them, they’re surely dead!"
"Even if they’re dead, we must find them. Alive, we see the person, dead, we see the corpse!" Xu Yin said in a deep voice, quickly turning and saying, "Didn’t I instruct you to act carefully? How did such a big mess happen at the last moment? Losing this means all our efforts of the past one or two months have been in vain!"
He Qunying frowned: "If I hadn’t been careful, the mistake wouldn’t have happened in Tongzhou. You saw it, we were just a step away from landing, but trouble happened at the crucial moment. Are you certain there wasn’t a leak from your side?"
"No one knows except for Lian Rong; are you saying that Lian Rong can’t be trusted either?" Xu Yin said, glancing at Lian Rong beside him.
Lian Rong’s expression stiffened: "I would never dare!"
He Qunying took a deep breath: "Then there’s no one else. Apart from those on the ship, outsiders wouldn’t know there’s someone hidden on board. If there were to be an issue, it would have surfaced long ago!"
Xu Yin took two steps down, looking at the river reflecting the lights, decisively saying: "If there were no leaks, then someone must have been watching us closely."
He Qunying caught up: "Who could it be?"
Xu Yin’s gaze was profound: "Pei Zhan has never been easy to deal with."
He Qunying’s eyes flickered: "Him?!"
Then he quickly added: "But that day, as per your instructions, I used Ning Pochi’s cause of death as a diversion, and he didn’t suspect anything. Even if you and I interacted, how could he guess that there must be your involvement on this ship? You don’t only have dealings with me, and I don’t just recognize you. Why assume that the ship is necessarily a cover for you?"
Beside him, Lian Rong looked at Xu Yin, who was pursing his lips tightly: "It doesn’t make sense. We acted secretly, and apart from tonight’s operation, have left no traces involving these two ships. There’s no other connection between Pei Zhan and General He, so why is he dedicating so much effort to these two ships?"
Xu Yin, facing the river, remained silent. After a long while, he instructed, emphasizing every word: "If it’s not found where it sank, search along the riverbank. Expand the inspection range as well; if nothing’s underwater, then it must have been kidnapped! And if it was kidnapped, then it must have been Pei Zhan who did it!"
Lian Rong bowed and complied, immediately going down the steps to pass on the orders.
Xu Yin turned to walk up the embankment.
He Qunying followed him into the carriage, pressing: "Who exactly is this missing person? If you keep hiding things, you’ll be playing me, Mr. He, for a fool!"
After speaking, He Qunying’s face darkened.
Xu Yin looked at him: "Did you notice the tattoo on the back of his neck?"
He Qunying frowned: "What kind of tattoo is it?"
Xu Yin took out a piece of paper from his pocket and spread it in front of him: "It’s this. Your Wei Kingdom’s Great General’s Mansion was also involved in the wars against Dayue, you should recognize this?"
Looking at the pattern on the paper, He Qunying’s expression changed abruptly: "Dayue?!"
He straightened his spine abruptly: "The person hidden on the ship is from Dayue?"
"Yes." Xu Yin’s gaze was somber, "He is a person from Dayue. Moreover, he is a member of the Dayue Royal Family."
He Qunying’s face changed drastically. If not for being in a carriage, he would have jumped up in shock at this moment!