Southern Beijing, Rice Alley, Imperial Guard headquarters.
The Grand Secretariat, Imperial Temple, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of War, and several other major government offices were all located in this area. At dusk, these offices locked their doors and officials sealed their seals before heading home. Civil officials rode in sedan chairs, military officials rode horses, and high-ranking officials traveled in luxurious carriages—the streets were filled with the powerful and noble.
Mu Baihu and his men were still guarding the Imperial Guard headquarters entrance, straining their eyes but never seeing Wang Daxia emerge. They repeatedly urged the Imperial Guards to release him.
Lu Ying, annoyed by their persistence, made up a lie: “We released him long ago. He’s skilled at sneaking around—somehow he stole a set of our uniforms, disguised himself, and slipped away right under your noses.”
Hearing this, Mu Baihu realized this was indeed something Wang Daxia was capable of doing, so he had no choice but to sound the retreat and return to report.
Wang Daxia was hiding.
After escaping from Lu Ying, he had concealed himself in the Imperial Guard’s stables, which is why the Imperial Guards could never find him.
He had even enjoyed a long, pleasant afternoon nap in a luxurious carriage that was like a small house. When he woke, the evening glow filled the sky, and he heard someone outside saying: “Hurry and harness the carriage—Commander Lu is going home.”
So this was Imperial Guard Commander Lu Bing’s carriage.
Wang Daxia peeked through a crack in the curtains and saw several drivers hitching this luxurious large carriage to five horses.
All five horses were white without a single mixed color. Each horse was worth a hundred gold pieces—riding out on one would bring tremendous face. Actually, even someone like Wang Daxia couldn’t bear to ride them; he’d be satisfied just keeping them for viewing.
At the Imperial Guard headquarters, they were merely carriage horses.
Tsk tsk, what a waste of heavenly treasures! Wang Daxia’s jealousy surged.
After the drivers finished harnessing the carriage and began brushing the white steeds’ manes with brushes, Wang Daxia seized the opportunity to crawl out the window and under the carriage, using several ropes to create a simple net beneath the carriage and crawling into it.
To support a carriage body like a small house required giant wheels. This large carriage had wheels nearly half a person’s height, so there was considerable space between the chassis and ground. Wang Daxia could tie himself under the carriage and hitch a ride to get through this predicament.
It would soon be dark. Once the carriage left the Imperial Guard headquarters, Wang Daxia could find an opportunity to escape from underneath.
The wheels began rolling, and Wang Daxia swayed with the carriage’s vibrations beneath it. Soon the carriage stopped, two people boarded in succession, and the vehicle continued forward.
Wang Daxia’s body pressed tightly against the carriage floor, so he could hear everything happening in the cabin above clearly.
“What did you discover today?” Commander Lu Bing asked.
“Today we thoroughly investigated the guest list of the Sijia Inn across from the Prefectural Yamen, screened out several key suspects, and currently have people tailing them.”
It was actually Lu Ying’s voice!
Why was Lu Ying in Commander Lu’s carriage?
Lu Bing seemed somewhat disappointed: “That’s all?”
Lu Ying: “Father, since you’ve entrusted this case to me, please trust me and give me some time.”
Wang Daxia was shocked: Didn’t they say nephew? How is he calling him father? Lu Bing’s two sons were called Lu Yi and Lu Cai—he’d never heard of a third son!
Could it be… Lu Ying was Lu Bing’s illegitimate child?
It must be so!
No wonder he was so arrogant.
Lu Bing said: “Your direction of investigating the murderer is correct—searching for suspects from inns near the Prefectural Yamen. But this needle-in-a-haystack approach won’t solve the case quickly. You need to work on both fronts. To untie the bell, you need the person who tied it. Since both Qianhu Chen and his son were killed, you need to find someone who had blood feuds with both father and son.”
Lu Ying’s response was somewhat stiff: “I know. My people are investigating the social relationships of the Chen father and son, but there are no results yet.”
Lu Bing said: “My informants already have a lead. Want to hear it?”
“Father! You’re doing it again—” Lu Ying held back, then slammed the table with a bang. “Just this once—never again. I handle my own affairs. Stop always treating me like a child.”
“You’ll always be my child.” Lu Bing took a sip of tea. “Have you heard of Wang Daxia?”
Lu Ying: “How is it him again? He caused a ruckus at our Imperial Guard headquarters today. He has more water in his brain than Shichahai Lake—there’s no way he could have the meticulous, ruthless methods to hide poison needles in a saddle. He can’t be the murderer—he doesn’t have the brains or capability.”
Wang Daxia under the carriage: Thanks a lot!
Coincidentally, the carriage had now left the government compound and was traveling on the main road. Since it wasn’t yet dark, Wang Daxia didn’t dare rashly crawl out from under the carriage to escape.
This was peak time for officials from various government offices to return home, so the roads were somewhat congested, especially when passing through narrow board bridges. To transport this house-like luxurious carriage, all pedestrians on the bridge had to be cleared.
The carriage stopped at the bridge head, waiting for the guards ahead to clear the bridge surface.
When nature calls, horses are the same as people. During this brief waiting period, the middle horse of the five white horses pulling the carriage seized the opportunity to expel waste, accumulating it into a spiraling “small hill.”
Just then, the bridge surface was cleared of pedestrians. The driver raised his whip and urged the horses forward.
Wang Daxia under the carriage instantly collapsed: To hide his form, he had tied himself to the middle position under the carriage, directly aligned with that middle white horse…
Wang Daxia estimated the height of that pile of horse dung. If he was lucky, he might manage to brush past it.
If there was any mishap, he would plunge headfirst into the fresh pile of horse manure, getting a face full of dung.
Wang Daxia chickened out—he didn’t dare gamble.
He still wanted to keep his dignity.
So he cut the ropes and rolled out from under the carriage.
“Who goes there!”
“An assassin!”
“Protect Lord Lu!”
The disheveled Wang Daxia raised both hands high: “Don’t attack! I’m Wang Daxia! I was a guest at your Imperial Guard headquarters all day today! Commander Lu personally received me! If you attack me, you’re not giving Commander Lu face!”