“Lord Li, where are we going?” Min Shan asked.
“To apprehend the suspects!” Having left the council hall, Li Qi’an had no reservations and stated his intentions directly.
Yang Feng and the other Bronze Gongs looked at Li Qi’an in surprise. Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng had some ideas, as they had been involved in both the saltpeter mine case and the case of the Banner Officer, knowing more than the others.
If Li Yuchun were here, he would probably be able to piece things together too, but he had gone to invite Chu Caiwei from the Astrology Bureau.
“Why hasn’t the chief returned yet? Does it take an entire morning to invite someone?” Li Qi’an frowned, “Has he encountered some trouble?”
Just as they left the Ministry of Justice and mounted their horses, they saw two yellow-clad riders approaching rapidly – it was Li Yuchun and Chu Caiwei in her pale yellow dress.
Li Yuchun explained, “Miss Caiwei wasn’t at the Astrology Bureau, she had gone to the palace. I waited for her at the palace gate for a long time before she came out…”
She went to mooch food from the Princess again, this glutton… Someday I’ll have to give her a taste of my staff… Li Qi’an smiled warmly, “Miss Caiwei, it’s been days since we last met. You’ve grown even more beautiful.”
Chu Caiwei’s oval face bore a sweet smile. She was about to say something when she remembered her status and the surrounding Constables watching. She composed herself and simply grunted an “Mm.”
Time was of the essence, so Li Qi’an kept it brief: “Silver Gong Min, take my golden token to the east gate of the Imperial City and apprehend Centurion Zhou Chixiong.
“The rest of you, come with me to the Zhou residence to make the arrest.”
Since he wasn’t sure if Centurion Zhou was on duty today, they split into two groups.
Li Qi’an’s arrangement made sense. The Imperial City was right under the Emperor’s feet, so conflicts rarely occurred there, and no one dared to cause trouble. But at the same time, one couldn’t just arrest people there on a whim – an official token was needed to clear the way.
So sending one Silver Gong was sufficient.
As for going directly to Centurion Zhou’s home to make the arrest, he might become desperate and resist. Li Qi’an had just used the Heaven and Earth Single Slash technique, severely depleting his combat ability, so he needed two Silver Gongs to accompany him.
…
Meanwhile, Lü Qing was reporting the situation.
“Eunuch Liu, my lords, if I’m not mistaken, it’s highly likely that there are demons involved in this incident.”
This statement caused the officials present to change color, and even Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice frowned.
An official from the Ministry of Justice was skeptical and asked, “What evidence do you have?”
“A few days ago, this lowly official and Lord Li investigated a case in Taikang County involving a demon from Mount Dahuang devouring unregistered households.”
“A demon devouring unregistered households?” Eunuch Liu frowned.
“Yes, in the middle of the year, a demon appeared in the river at the foot of Mount Dahuang and devoured hundreds of local unregistered households. This lowly official and Lord Li jointly handled the case and discovered a depleted saltpeter mine on Mount Dahuang…”
Lü Qing explained the details of the Mount Dahuang saltpeter mine case clearly to the officials present.
This was an excellent way to buy time, as she wasn’t just spouting empty words. The officials listened with rapt attention and didn’t rush her.
“So when this lowly official was discussing with Lord Li earlier, we analyzed layer by layer and discovered that the gunpowder might not have come from the Ministry of Works, but is related to the Mount Dahuang saltpeter mine,” Lü Qing said.
The officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Prefecture looked serious. To think this case involved demons – there were two major demon factions in the Nine Provinces: the demon tribes in the northwest and the Myriad Demon Kingdom in the south.
The southern Myriad Demon Kingdom had been destroyed in the Jiazi Demon Purge, with only remnants barely surviving.
The northwestern demon tribes had allied with the northern tribes to resist Great Qi and the Western Kingdoms.
Which demon force was behind the saltpeter mine?
Eunuch Liu glanced at Prefect Chen, who made a sound of recognition and vouched for his subordinate: “Indeed, this is true. The Prefecture only recently took on this case, and Constable Lü was in charge of handling it at the time.”
Eunuch Liu’s expression darkened: “If we had discovered the saltpeter mine earlier, perhaps the Sangbo incident wouldn’t have happened. Why was the demon devouring people case from mid-year suppressed until now?”
Lü Qing was about to denounce the Taikang County Magistrate for dereliction of duty and disregard for the lives of unregistered households, but a glance from Prefect Chen stopped her.
Old Chen sighed: “The demon was powerful, and the Taikang County Magistrate was in a difficult position.”
Eunuch Liu snorted coldly: “I will report this to His Majesty as it happened.”
Minister Sun spoke up, glancing at Lü Qing: “What did Li Qi’an go to do?”
He seemed to have noticed that Lü Qing was subtly buying time and cut straight to the point, not wanting to let her ramble on.
Hearing this, Eunuch Liu pondered: “Even if the demons had gunpowder, how could they smuggle it into Sangbo past the Great Qi Imperial Army and the palace guards?”
“This involves another case,” Lü Qing answered.
“Another case?” Everyone was surprised. To think the Sangbo explosion case was connected to so many incidents.
Lü Qing said: “The day before His Majesty’s ancestral worship, Jinwu Guard Banner Officer Liu Han died inexplicably at home. Lord Li and I handled that case as well. At the time, Lord Li deduced that he had been silenced, but since there was no connection to the saltpeter mine case, we didn’t make the association.”
A Jinwu Guard Banner Officer silenced… gunpowder smuggled into Sangbo… Everyone present was intelligent, and there was no more confusion.
“So that Li fellow just now…” Officials from the Ministry of Justice and some from the Prefecture suddenly stood up from their chairs.
“Just now, Lord Li recalled this matter and had a sudden realization, which is why he left in such a hurry,” Lü Qing said.
Minister Sun said in a deep voice: “Order the arrest of all Jinwu Guard centurions, quickly!”
With a clatter… everyone stood up and rushed out of the council hall, knocking over chairs without care.
With the case analyzed to this point, it was very clear. Capturing the spy within the Jinwu Guard would be equivalent to achieving the greatest merit.
Lü Qing slowly exhaled, having done her best.
If it were just fair competition, Lü Qing wouldn’t have helped Li Qi’an like this. But his situation was precarious, and this case was his only hope for redemption.
Lü Qing felt that out of friendship, she should help if she could.