Proud Feather

Chapter 54 Happy Event
It was late at night, and the candlelight popped into a flower, waking up the dozing scholar.

He yawned and asked the servant beside him, "What time is it? Hasn't the young master returned yet?"

The servant opened his sleepy eyes and said, "It's three o'clock in the morning, right? It seems he hasn't come back yet."

The scholar was a little uneasy. Although there was no curfew in this dynasty, there was basically no one outside at midnight. The young master had just gone out to gather information, so why hadn't he returned yet? Had something happened?

Just as I was thinking this, there was a noise outside.

The servant was overjoyed and rushed out of the yard, and sure enough, he saw two people jumping down from the wall.

"Sir, you are finally back!"

The scholar frowned, noticing his eyes: "Where's the gauze covering your eyes? Where did it go? Is your eye okay?"

The young master shook his head: "I just accidentally dropped the gauze, it's okay."

The scholar's intuition told him something was wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to tell his master. So he turned around and scolded the strong man: "Old Wu, look at what you did. You made promises before you left, and this is the result?"

The strong man said naively: "Sir, you are fine. It's just that the princess was cunning and domineering, so she forced us to retreat."

"What?" The first half of the sentence said nothing, but the second half shocked everyone. The scholar asked, "You were discovered? How were you discovered? Didn't you say you would take a look and leave?"

"Don't blame Old Wu. I was impulsive and started a fire to force the witness to confess, so I was found out." The young man had his eyes blindfolded again with the help of the servant. The thin ointment brought a cool feeling, which reminded him of the fierce princess. How could a girl who was only in her teens have such a cold and hard temper?

"Sir!" the scholar cried, "How could you be so impulsive? We sneaked into the capital, and if anyone found out, we'd be in trouble."

He then asked, "Since you have escaped, I believe you have dealt with all the troubles you may have encountered?"

The aftermath... Oh! The young master came to his senses and said, "She might have seen my face. Just in case, let's change places!"

"See..." The scholar almost gasped, "Sir, you...you're always the most reserved one, why are you so reckless today? Oh my God, won't there be wanted posters posted all over the city in a few days? It's over, it's over..."

"Mr. Gongsun!" the burly man interrupted him. "Let's talk about it later. The Jinwu Guards might be here by one in the evening."

The scribe didn't know what to say. He pointed at him angrily and shouted, "Wake up everyone and move to another place!"

……

An hour later, the innkeeper here was called.

After hearing what the Jinwu Guard said, he hesitated and said, "There is indeed a group of foreign merchants living in a separate courtyard behind us. The captain of the guards and the officer described it in a similar way. Their young master has an illness, but he has been hiding from people. We don't know what the illness is."

"What are you waiting for? Take us to have a look!"

"Yes." The innkeeper did not dare to delay and led people to the backyard quickly.

However, the backyard was dark, and when I went in, I found that the house was already empty.

"That's them! Draw their portraits quickly! They're wanted criminals!"
-
The next morning, Jiang Shijun went to the Anguo Mansion to pay his respects: "Princess."

Glancing at the smile on Chu Ling's face, he secretly wondered, "Didn't they encounter thieves last night? Why does the princess seem so happy?"
"Good morning, sir," she asked with a smile. "Have you had your meal yet? My aunt has had fish soup made, and it's delicious. Would you like a bowl, too?"

The princess gave him soup, and he had to eat it even if he was full. Jiang Shijun thanked her and sat down at a separate table to eat with her.

After finishing a bowl of soup, Chu Ling was still smiling. Jiang Shijun pondered for a moment and asked boldly, "Did the princess encounter any happy events?" Chu Ling raised her eyes and said, "Huh?"

"You're always smiling, which is different from before."

The first time Jiang Shijun met the princess, he immediately felt she was different from the rumors. Perhaps due to the devastation of her brother's death, the princess carried a heavy sense of grief and indignation. Although she occasionally smiled, it was always superficial.

But today, the princess smiled very lively and you could feel her joy.

This made Jiang Shijun very curious. What happened last night? Why was the princess not angry even though she was offended?
Chu Ling touched her face and was indeed smiling. She thought for a moment and said, "It's indeed a happy event. I met an old friend."

"Old friend?" Jiang Shijun was even more puzzled. The princess was so young and had never left the palace, so where did the old friend come from?
Chu Ling didn't intend to talk to him any further. Her visit to Xiao Yu was her personal matter, and had nothing to do with the current situation.

"Xiao Lianxiang has confessed. Based on the clues she gave, our chances of finding this Wei Qi have greatly increased."

"Really?" Jiang Shijun was delighted. "What did she say?"

Chu Ling raised his chin, and Qingcha immediately handed over the confession.

The more Jiang Shijun read, the brighter his eyes became. "Great! These aren't hard to find. How many academies are there in the capital? Which academy has monthly exams soon? Which ones are planning study tours? Just check and you'll know!"

"That's right." Chu Ling smiled, "I've already sent someone there, and I'm sure there will be news today."

The Imperial City Bureau finally did something, and in the afternoon, the news was delivered to Chu Ling.

"There are quite a few academies in the capital, and they usually have monthly exams, but they're scheduled for these few days. Then there are the following study tours. There are a few..."

Jiang Shijun counted them one by one: "...These families basically all have students from the Wei family. Both their rankings and nicknames are very private... Princess, I'm afraid it will take some time."

"Let the three judicial departments work together to investigate!" Chu Ling said without hesitation, "The deadline for solving the case is approaching. If they don't want to lose their jobs, they'll have to give it their all!"

"Yes."

The three judicial officials were very conscious. After receiving the order, Gao Mian took immediate action. The Ministry of Justice also sent a large number of personnel. Although the Censorate had no officials, they had hidden lines.

With the help of the Imperial City Bureau's manpower, the suspect was found in just half a day.

"Princess!" Gao Mian came in person to report, "There's a student at Zhiyuan Academy named Wei Shou, the seventh child in his family. He basically fits the clues you gave."

"Where's the person?" Chu Ling asked, "Since you found him, why didn't you bring him here?"

Gao Mian said, "They're going out to study the day after tomorrow. The academy is on holiday for a few days. Professor Wei didn't return yesterday. We're looking for him outside to see if he's staying in a nearby brothel. Does Mr. Jiang have a different opinion?"

Chu Ling looked over.

Jiang Shijun had been frowning. When he heard Gao Mian's question, he pondered, "Princess, I have a question. We have mobilized so many people. Will Wei Qi know the news first?"

Gao Mian's face changed and he blurted out: "Oh no! He might have already run away!"

Although he hadn't interrogated the monks at Dahuai Temple, Lord Gao still had some connections. If the abbot could die, why couldn't Wei Qi escape?

This trip out is a bit exhausting, so I'm writing this late today, so I'll just hit the ground running. Slowly recovering...