Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2849 Master Qingsong 67.0
“That’s for sure. After all, the reward is one hundred taels of silver. No matter what the trade, that’s a big deal, right? It’s right to be cautious.” Song Yaojia smiled and said, “Besides, they haven’t completely dispelled their suspicions about Gongsun Yue and Master Qingsong, otherwise they wouldn’t have chosen to hold the ritual three days later.”

"Is there any special significance to this three-day period?" Shen Cha asked Song Yaojia, resting her chin on her hand, looking at her with great confusion. "Isn't this a good day?"

“This decision has nothing to do with whether the date is auspicious or not. They just want to prove that these two people truly believe in them, and not that they are setting them up.” Song Yaojia smiled. “So, they arranged for a few henchmen to keep an eye on Gongsun Yue and Master Qingsong, including their residence, to see who they have been in contact with and what they are doing in these few days.”

"That's a good idea, but if those two can be so easily targeted, then all their hard work in this life has been for nothing." Shen Cha couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Of course, this doesn't apply if they deliberately let themselves be targeted."

“They were definitely being watched on purpose. Even if they didn’t notice, their guards wouldn’t have kept it a secret. Besides, they’re very perceptive, right?” Song Yaojia nodded. “Let me continue. They agreed to meet at the residence in Jinyang Ward three days later. Gong Sheng and Gong Wu received the deposit and left first. They didn’t want to stay here and arouse unnecessary suspicion. They both felt uneasy and wanted to leave sooner to put their minds at ease.”

"Feeling at ease?" Jin Miaomiao raised an eyebrow. "You want to go back as soon as possible to discuss countermeasures, right?"

“Yes.” Song Yaojia smiled. “However, they didn’t know that the moment they left the teahouse, Gongsun Yue’s guards had already followed them. Although these guards weren’t as elusive as the Shadow Guards, they were still quite good at surveillance, especially the small fry. They could easily handle them, so they found their lodgings. What surprised them was that the Gong family and the Ma family’s teams were all living together. They had rented three adjacent courtyards, and all the teams were living there.”

"It would be easy to wipe them all out in one fell swoop!"

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia nodded. “Of course, just like I said, if we follow them, they will definitely follow us too. After Gongsun Yue made all the arrangements, he left the teahouse with Master Qingsong. They didn’t go straight back to Jinyangfang, but strolled around outside and bought some snacks before going home. Along the way, they kept receiving signals from the guards.”

"Should we tell them they're being followed?"

"Not only that, but while they were shopping, they were constantly told to slow down so that the people keeping watch wouldn't lose them." Song Yaojia smiled helplessly. "Walking and stopping all the way was indeed quite tiring."

“But…” Shen Cha hesitated for a moment, “Even if they follow them to Jinyangfang, it will be useless. That place is the territory of the Qingliu faction. They’re acting so suspiciously, won’t they get caught red-handed?”

"That's right, most of the families there are from scholarly families."

“Not only that, if I remember correctly, Jin Yi, the judge of the Ministry of Justice, lives right next to Gongsun Yue.” Shen Cha saw the ambiguous smile that flashed across Song Yaojia’s face. “Didn’t Gongsun Yue inform them in advance?” “Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “Before leaving the teahouse, Gongsun Yue arranged for his guards to go back and inform the neighbors, including Jin Yi from the Ministry of Justice, as well as Ning Zhou and Yan Chen from the Court of Judicial Review, to pretend they didn’t see anything and let the people keeping watch in.”

“Wait a minute, Your Highness. These people from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review can’t exactly be considered upright officials, can they?” Jin Miaomiao said, expressing her confusion. “Why are they staying in Jinyang Ward?”

"They themselves are not from the purist faction, but they come from the purist faction. The fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers of these three were all from the Hanlin Academy, and Yan Chen's grandfather was even an imperial tutor. They were the purest of the pure."

"Huh?" Jin Miaomiao was taken aback. "Then why would they...? Very few scholars would choose the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review instead of the Hanlin Academy, right?"

“It’s not absolute, it mainly depends on what you like, right?” Shen Cha stroked her chin. “I remember the previous Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the one from the early years of the Emperor’s reign, was also from the Qingliu faction. I heard that he loved criminal law since he was a child and aspired to become the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.”

“These three are the same. I thought they would enter the Hanlin Academy like their elders, but who would have thought that they would be obsessed with criminal law and interrogation? One of them entered the Ministry of Justice, and the other two entered the Dali Temple. They all did things related to criminal justice.” Song Yaojia spread her hands helplessly. “I thought their families would object, but I didn’t expect that their elders not only did not object, but were also very supportive.”

"It's not like we're going against the grain, so there's no reason to oppose it, is there?"

"That's true."

“However, all three of them are impartial and ruthless. In their hands,” Shen Cha sighed softly, “a confession is more important than anything else.”

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia nodded. “So, Gongsun Yue was afraid that his plan would be ruined by the three of them, so he informed them in advance. It was because he gave them advance notice that the boy from the Gong family who was in charge of keeping watch was able to follow them to Jinyang Ward and Gongsun Yue’s residence, and watched the two of them enter the house. There were five of them in total. Two of them went back to deliver the message, and the remaining three stayed behind to continue keeping watch.”

"Didn't they notice that the houses in that area are all unusual?" Jin Miaomiao asked, puzzled. "Although they all have black doors, the atmosphere is clearly different from ordinary houses!"

"None of them are locals from the capital, so they couldn't figure out the intricacies of this place or notice anything unusual. Although the courtyard was a bit unusual, they assumed it was a wealthy family's residence and had no suspicions whatsoever. The messenger who went back said the same thing—they must be rich, otherwise why would they so readily hand over a hundred taels? They even said that this family is very wealthy, and they could swindle them out of even more money without batting an eye." Song Yaojia smiled helplessly and said, "The guards responsible for watching them were also very frustrated when they heard what they said. They were still thinking of continuing to extort money from the nobles and the Imperial Advisor; they must have a death wish."