Gao Laoliu indeed already knew.
According to the agreement, Xiaohuang should pass by the front of one of the three fixed shops every day, but people from those three shops said they hadn’t seen Xiaohuang for two days already.
There are generally two possible explanations for such a situation: one is that he’s already dead and naturally unable to show up.
The second possibility is that although he’s still alive, his current situation is very dangerous, making it impossible for him to follow the original plan.
After receiving Xie Yu’s message, Gao Laoliu felt slightly relieved.
It seems that Xiaohuang is still alive.
Not only alive, but he’s also trying to hide his contact above.
That’s good news.
That kid really has some talent; it would be genuinely difficult to cultivate someone as clever again.
An officer sent by the Kaifeng Prefecture said: “The magistrate said this matter is dangerous; if Master Liu wants to withdraw, that’s acceptable too.”
This isn’t like their previous brawls among ruffians; facing them are remnants of the opposition led by Prince Su, who has far-reaching influence and numerous henchmen everywhere.
Judging by the current situation, it would be hard to wrap things up without a few deaths.
Xie Yu indeed really wanted to cultivate Gao Laoliu’s group; it would benefit both sides.
But fearing death and seeking safety is human nature; he had no right to force the other party to act.
Moreover, if Gao Laoliu and his men were merely submitting temporarily out of fear, it would never last.
To say such words… clearly, the young master still hasn’t fully trusted him yet!
But that’s not surprising.
Or rather, it would be unusual if the other party had no suspicion at all.
Gao Laoliu stroked his beard and smiled. “We all know wealth and honor come from taking risks.”
Even Xiaohuang had kowtowed before leaving.
If something really happened, his mother and younger siblings would become Gao Laoliu’s own mother and siblings!
Rather than hastily declaring loyalty now, it’s better to clearly express one’s demands.
Gao Laoliu was born a ruffian, seeking wealth, power, and protection—perfectly suitable.
Xie Yu wasn’t surprised at all by Gao Laoliu’s response.
But he was genuinely pleased.
Unfortunately, there’s still no news about Xiaohuang.
But this might not necessarily be bad.
Sometimes, no news is the best news.
Judging from the current citywide search intensity, if Xiaohuang were truly dead, it would be impossible for him to remain undiscovered until now.
Knowing he was already being watched, yet still choosing to continue “roaming” outside, the most likely possibility is that he has new, very important findings.
He just hasn’t gathered enough evidence yet and is unwilling to give up.
Moreover, the fact that Xiaohuang was targeted also indicates an issue:
Prince Su is getting desperate.
Or perhaps the evidence Xiaohuang is currently seeking is especially important; otherwise, Prince Su wouldn’t have lost his composure like this.
Meanwhile, in the court, discussions regarding handling the Tian family have turned into heated arguments.
The most contentious point centers around Tian Song.
Tian Song’s two sons serving as officials know very limited information. After receiving that letter, they dared not mention Prince Su again, only claiming they knew nothing, that everything had been handed to them by their old father.
And that old father is still insane.
He did say some vague things seemingly implicating several ministers, but as Prince Su previously said, can you trust the words of a madman?
The interrogation immediately hit a stalemate.
Ma Bing felt secretly regretful, never expecting that madness could suddenly become Tian Song’s shield!
What kind of situation is this!
Xie Yu comforted him: “If he weren’t mad, this current situation wouldn’t have emerged. Don’t dwell on it too much.”
Besides, it’s not like there’s no solution at all.
The emperor somehow found a wandering physician who had previously treated Prince Su, and issued an imperial decree ordering him to treat Tian Song forcibly.
The reason was also sufficient:
“Tian Lao has worked hard his entire life. Now so many misunderstandings have arisen; to preserve his reputation in his later years, we must have him recover and clarify things himself.”
With such words, even the Tian family dared not openly oppose the treatment.
What could they say?
Refusing treatment?
Wouldn’t that imply the old man was carrying a black mark to his death? Could they be hiding something?
The physician now deeply regretted his own greed, having already received so much money from Prince Su’s mansion and not fleeing immediately.
Now look at him, dragged into such a massive affair—would he even survive?
He reluctantly went to examine Tian Song, feeling very troubled.
This madness was too severe!
Mental illness requires mental medicine. Prince Su recovered because he himself was a ruthless person, truly able to forget things he shouldn’t dwell on.
But this old man…
Even if someone had indeed drugged him, it was probably just a trigger; most likely, he frightened himself to madness.
“I’m useless, please, please seek someone more capable,” he knelt down, his head almost wanting to hide in his chest.
The person in charge of this matter was Huo Ping.
For several consecutive days, it had been raining continuously, and the nights grew dark very early.
It was barely the You hour, yet outside was already pitch black.
Lamps were lit early inside the house, casting his already towering shadow onto the wall, almost covering the entire surface.
Occasionally, a slight breeze blew through the window cracks, making the candlelight flicker, causing the shadow to twist like a ghost descending into the world.
The physician stole just one glance initially, then started trembling all over, too scared to look up again.
Huo Ping said in a deep, muffled voice: “Above said, just administer the medicine; keeping him breathing is enough.”
If he could be made to talk, that’s all that mattered; who cares how many more years Tian Song lives afterward?
As he finished speaking, a sudden thunderclap exploded outside, wind abruptly rising, rain pounding against the windows and doors, intensifying.
The physician broke into a cold sweat.
Isn’t this asking me to kill someone?
He was a legitimate doctor!
The kind who saves lives!
Huo Ping pushed the bundle on the table toward him.
The bundle wasn’t tied, and upon hitting the ground, it made a “huála” sound as it scattered open, revealing a stream of snow-white, intricately patterned silver ingots spilling out.
The silver provided by the government was of the highest quality, shining brightly; under the candlelight, they refracted dazzling reflections, almost blinding.
In many cases, silver notes lack the impact of physical silver.
One ingot rolled to the physician’s side, gleaming brightly, causing his breathing to instantly become heavy.
The man had no other hobbies—he loved silver.
From childhood to adulthood, he remained true to this passion, very focused.
He didn’t mind having more!
Huo Ping’s voice drifted from above: “Do well, and there’s another portion after success. We’ll send you safely out of the city then, never breaking our word.”
The physician’s eyes turned red, barely hearing the second half.
How much silver is this?!
His heart raced as he couldn’t help grabbing the ingot, first biting a corner with his mouth, then sniffing it hard, closing his eyes in ecstasy.
This was the scent!
He decided to go ahead!
“To prevent those with ill intentions from harming Elder Tian,” the emperor directly ordered the originally stationed imperial guards outside to move into Tian Song’s courtyard. One reason was genuinely to prevent Prince Su from desperately killing to cover his tracks; the second was also to monitor the Tian family.
The reason the wandering physician is called a wandering physician is because many of their methods are unorthodox and can be considered brutal.
Since the physician moved into Tian Song’s courtyard, the elder’s madness indeed decreased, but the screams increased.
The imperial guards who went to observe couldn’t bear to listen, thinking it sounded like pigs being slaughtered.
So they simply plugged their ears every time treatment began.
After several days of treatment, there was indeed some effect; Tian Song’s lucid periods clearly lengthened. He even began requesting food and asking for baths.
At this time, Xie Yu also made progress.
The officers who had been searching the city under the pretext of capturing human traffickers caught two suspicious individuals. When they saw the officers, the suspects immediately tried to flee. Unable to escape, they attempted suicide on the spot.
Unfortunately for them, Xie Yu’s men had previously been responsible for palace security and were very familiar with such suicide tactics. With one move, they dislocated both arms and the jaw, making death impossible.
Fearing it wasn’t thorough enough, they secretly brought them back to the Kaifeng Prefecture and invited Wang Heng to inspect them inside and out.
The old man indeed found some poison powder from under their fingernails, which made him somewhat curious: “Are there really so many suicide agents?”
During his time as an imperial physician, he had been fortunate enough never to face a real assassination attempt.
Xie Yu replied: “They might not necessarily be real suicide agents.”
People often have a misunderstanding that those who commit suicide upon capture are suicide agents, but that’s not always the case.
Real suicide agents rely on blind loyalty, cultivated through psychological manipulation, making them very difficult to cultivate.
Most so-called “suicide agents” nowadays are actually coerced, their families held hostage by their masters, leaving them no choice but to die.
Xie Yu, together with Magistrate Song and others, interrogated them overnight. The two initially tried to bite their tongues to commit suicide, but failed.
Another misconception.
Because a person can still live without a tongue!
Trying to die by biting the tongue is difficult; usually, they just bite themselves unconscious from the pain, then a bucket of icy water will wake them right up. Or they might choke to death on their own blood.
But with so many people watching now, they could drink all the blood they wanted, but no one would let them suffocate to death right before their eyes.
Magistrate Song was very familiar with this method.
Smiling happily, he ordered someone to prepare strong saltwater, then pried open the bloodied mouths of the two captives and poured it in. Immediately, agonized screams like those of slaughtered pigs echoed through the prison.
After several days of such torment, one finally couldn’t endure anymore.
He confessed honestly, saying he was indeed a person from Prince Su’s mansion, assigned this time specifically for surveillance.
“We didn’t know the kid’s name either; we just crouched for many days before realizing he acted suspiciously…”
Because he had just bitten his tongue and it hadn’t healed yet, the man spoke with a lisp. Xie Yu and Magistrate Song had to frown and strain to understand him for quite a while.
Yuanpei muttered quietly behind them, “How ridiculous, a suspicious person accusing someone else of being suspicious.”
The lisp-man couldn’t really argue, feeling there might be some truth to it.
“Where did the person you were following go?”
The man spat out some blood and continued with his lisp: “That kid was too good at hiding. We followed him for days but lost him…”
Having lost him, they were too afraid to return and report, so they planned to wander around outside a bit more, hoping to pick up the trail again.
And then… they ended up here.
“Where was the last place you saw him?”
Xie Yu asked further.
The man thought for a moment, “At the marketplace near the eastern city gate.”
Eastern city gate…
Xie Yu quickly calculated in his mind. Did Xiaohuang deliberately head in that direction? Or was it simply to shake off the followers?
If the former, what was there near the eastern city gate?
Could that be a message he left for them?
If the latter, where is Xiaohuang now?
As he was deep in thought, suddenly another “suicide agent” cackled strangely.
Magistrate Song hated such arrogant behavior, kicking him hard, “What are you laughing at!”
The man laughed a few more times, his eyes now filled with poison, brimming with vengeful satisfaction.
“I’m laughing because the officials of Kaifeng Prefecture are no better than this.”
What did he mean?!
He laughed again, probably feeling the situation was already decided, finally shouting under Magistrate Song’s punches and kicks: “I’m laughing because you’ve got the wrong people.”
Prince Su had known about Xie Yu’s secret investigation from the beginning; how could he remain indifferent?
Even if he couldn’t touch Xie Yu for now, wouldn’t he dare target others?
The suicide agent didn’t finish speaking, but Xie Yu immediately understood.
His face instantly turned pale.
“Where is Miss Ma now?!”
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