Hu Fan frowned upon hearing this. In those times, a single carriage was already a significant expense, let alone one laden with so many goods.
"Who discovered it, and was the situation thoroughly investigated?"
"A household not far from the south gate. They said the horse had been nibbling on their firewood by the door and refused to leave. They searched everywhere for the owner but found no one, so they brought it to the county yamen."
Hu Fan frowned and followed He Dali to inspect the carriage.
He circled the carriage a few times. "Have you looked? Are there any markings?"
He Dali shook his head. "I've searched everywhere. There are no traces. The shafts are newly made, so it seems it hasn't been used for long."
Hu Fan nodded. "There's only the Chen family's carriage shop in the county town. You," he instructed, "unload the supplies, take the carriage there, and ask if there are any clues."
He Dali nodded, called his men to unload all the supplies, and then led the carriage away.
Before long, He Dali returned in a hurry. Upon seeing Hu Fan, his face was filled with worry. "Sir, I've inquired. According to the shopkeeper at the Chen family's, they haven't sold many carriages these past few days. These likely belong to Miss Liu Ruomei, who bought four carriages at once some time ago."
"Oh, Liu Ruomei bought them? Then why would they be abandoned in the county town?"
"It's like this. According to the Chen family shopkeeper, Liu Ruomei told him at the time that she wasn't buying the carriages for herself but as betrothal gifts for someone's wedding."
"Hmm, that's interesting. Who could be so important to Liu Ruomei that she would go to such lengths?"
He Dali looked distressed. "Sir, do you remember who got married a few days ago?"
Hu Fan slapped his forehead. "Ah, Chen Xiaobei! Yes, Chen Xiaobei got married recently. Right, I also heard them say that the elder ancestor mentioned it was indeed four carriages as betrothal gifts."
At this, Hu Fan's expression turned a little tense. "If Chen Xiaobei really lost his carriage, then this matter is a bit troublesome. Tomorrow morning, send someone to Hetou Village to ask if his family has lost a carriage."
While they were troubled by the carriage, more than a thousand miles away in Jizhou City, unrest was brewing. Just after the third watch, a dark figure quietly landed in the courtyard of Ge Cun's residence.
Ge Cun was still in his study, reading. The dark figure stealthily took out a section of bamboo, poked a hole in the window paper, and blew in a wisp of white smoke.
Soon, Ge Cun in the study slumped over his desk, falling into a deep sleep.
The dark figure silently pushed open the window and drifted in. With a swift movement, he beheaded Ge Cun.
He then tore off Ge Cun's outer robe, wrapped the severed head in it, and the dark figure drifted away.
It took a full half an hour before Ge Cun's subordinates discovered what had happened. Cries and shouts erupted, and Ge Cun's residence descended into chaos.
Soon, Ge Zhuang arrived, and Zhu Meng, who had also received the news, arrived shortly after.
Looking at the headless Ge Cun, Zhu Meng feigned great anger, drawing his sword with a clang and pointing it at everyone present. "Seal the city and apprehend the murderer."
He then approached Ge Zhuang, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "General Ge, please accept my condolences. You handle the funeral arrangements with peace of mind. I, Zhu Meng, swear to find the murderer and offer his head as a sacrifice to General Ge."
Ge Zhuang nodded, his voice choked with sobs. "I know who the murderer is. It must be Xiao Jingyun. I captured his spy two days ago. Alas, my poor brother, before the spy could be interrogated, he was killed by them."
Zhu Meng, of course, understood why Ge Zhuang said this in front of everyone.
He had to play along. Zhu Meng feigned extreme surprise. "Oh, I had never heard General Ge mention this before. Where is this spy? Hurry and take me to him."
Ge Zhuang nodded, wiped away his tears, and led Zhu Meng to find the Lotus Cult leader and the others.
The Lotus Cult leader and the other two had received excellent medical treatment.
Furthermore, the three were housed in separate rooms. Although there were doors connecting the rooms, each person had their own space, and with their leg injuries, movement was inconvenient. They could only communicate by shouting to each other.
The Lotus Cult leader had already gone to sleep but was immediately alerted by the sounds of hurried footsteps outside. A bad premonition gripped his heart. He quickly shouted, "Come on, get up quickly!"
At this moment, Chu Han and the little girl had also been awakened.
The weapons of the few individuals had not been confiscated, indicating Ge Cun's sincerity.
With a bang, the door was kicked open, and Zhu Meng, in a rage, stormed in. With a clang, his sword was unsheathed and pressed against the Lotus Cult leader's neck.
"Tell us where your accomplice is?"
The Lotus Cult leader was dumbfounded by Zhu Meng's abrupt question.
Although he didn't understand what had happened, the Lotus Cult leader knew that something major had occurred.
At this moment, the Lotus Cult leader made a mistake. He thought that since the princess had received no response, she had sent people again. With this thought, he let out a cold snort. "With you lot of useless fools, you think you can capture our accomplice?"
This remark infuriated the subordinates of Ge Cun who had entered with them.
They shouted at Zhu Meng incessantly, "Commander, kill him! Kill him!"
Zhu Meng was not in a hurry. He waved his hand at everyone present. "Everyone, don't rush. We'll kill them eventually, but our urgent priority now is to find General Ge Cun's head."
Hearing this, the Lotus Cult leader secretly rejoiced. *Excellent, Ge Cun is dead. Someone has come to complete our mission for us!* He became even more convinced that these were his people.
With this thought, he burst into laughter again. "Getting Ge Cun's head is very simple. Escort us out of the city, and I will have someone return Ge Cun's head to you."
Zhu Meng understood that the Lotus Cult leader was lying. After all, he was the one who had ordered Ge Cun's death; how could the head be in these people's hands? However, in front of so many people, he had to play along. "Alright, to retrieve General Ge's head, I can let you go. I will send you back tomorrow."
"No, you can't let them go, Commander. You mustn't let them go," Zhang Liao immediately chimed in, playing his part.
Ge Zhuang naturally understood Zhang Liao's intentions and deliberately asked with a stern face.
"Why can't we let them go?"
Zhang Liang clasped his fists. "Commander, these people were captured yesterday. How would they know where the head is? Commander, do not be deceived by them."
"Yes, yes, don't let them trick you," Ge Zhuang seized the opportunity to speak. He then looked at his brother's subordinates present and said emotionally, "Everyone, I understand your grief. My elder brother was killed, and my heart is even more pained. But we cannot be deceived by these people in our search for my brother's head."
"Second Brother is right."
"Second Brother, you tell us, what should we do? We will listen to you."