Li You glanced at the eunuch, and the solemnity in his eyes made the eunuch’s heart sink, causing him to close his mouth.
"Eunuch, speak with caution," Li You said, "Do you realize the weight of the word ’rebellion’? If there is a mistake, neither you nor I can bear it."
The eunuch blushed, having spoken out of turn. It was his fault for overthinking the Emperor’s orders before coming from the capital.
Clearly, the Palace Departnt was supposed to co, so why send a eunuch? Young Li You followed the Emperor in his early battles and has always been one of the most trusted. Yet, now the Emperor is uneasy about his tasks, perhaps because Li You once recomnded Song Xian after returning from Zhenzhou...
Realizing this, the eunuch understood he must keep a close eye on Song Xian, missing nothing.
Upon hearing of Song Xian’s conflict with the Palace Departnt, he spoke in haste and almost gave Li You leverage against him.
Though regretful, how could Song Xian dare to detain the Palace Departnt’s n? He previously persuaded Mr. Li to let Du Dianjian examine the situation first, fearing Mr. Li’s partiality, yet unexpected events ensued.
Without further thought, the eunuch followed Li You through the gates of the ng family.
"Sir."
Chang An, who was about to escort ng Changshu away, saw Li You and looked astonished: "Li... Sir... It’s really you..."
Li You frowned at the scene in the ng family’s courtyard. Regardless of whether it was the ng Family’s people or those brought by Song Xian, all seed to treat it as a grave matter. Even if Song Xian was at fault, there wouldn’t be an imdiate judgnt. Why be so serious?
Li You asked, "What are you doing?"
"It’s Mr. Li."
The steward of the ng family called out joyfully.
Chang An also ca to his senses and instructed, "Go quickly and inform the master and Mr. Song, that those just now were indeed from the Palace Departnt, Mr. Li couldn’t be false."
The steward of the ng family, receiving this news, hurried into the residence.
Li You didn’t bother asking Chang An but walked in to find Song Xian and ng Su.
The eunuch who followed noticed sothing amiss; it seed the steward didn’t believe those were from the Palace Departnt.
Why is this? Why are Song Xian and ng Su so tense? Could it be there’s sothing else inside?
"Song Xian," Li You frowned, "What are you doing? Release Du Dianjian."
Upon seeing Li You in person, Song Xian withdrew his longsword he held.
Cold sweat rolled down Du Dianjian’s forehead: "Mr. Li, Song Xian acted without discernnt, seizing unjustly."
Song Xian remained calm: "Did Du Dianjian not draw a blade on us without questioning first? If we’re talking about starting a fight, Du Dianjian did so first."
Du Dianjian was montarily speechless. In his prior anxiety, his mind went blank. Now, recalling the events, he finally pieced the story together: "It was Governor ng who ant to conceal Song Jiedu, so we acted as we did."
"Is it concealnt, or should we first verify your docunts’ seal?" Song Xian said coolly, "Du Dianjian should clarify."
Du Dianjian, stiffening his resolve, replied, "It was clearly an attempt to cover up."
Song Xian’s gaze grew colder; Du Dianjian felt as if the sword’s edge was pressing against his neck once again, making his hair stand on end. He unconsciously took two more steps toward Li You.
ng Su said, "I have never t this Mr. Du Dianjian, and I only wanted to verify the seal against the docunts to confirm everyone’s identity first."
"Don’t bla Mr. Song and for being cautious, we have no choice at the mont."
Li You spoke in a deep voice, "What exactly are you doing?"
ng Su looked toward the study: "Mr. Li, please allow to report in the study."
The eunuch also wanted to follow Li You inside. ng Su hesitated, looking at Li You, "Sir, this matter is of significant importance. Unless soone trusted by the Emperor, otherwise... we dare not speak much."
The Emperor sent them to investigate Song Xian and ng Su, yet ng Su now blocked him. The eunuch, just about to speak in displeasure, was stopped by Li You, saying, "This is Huang Zhongguan, sent by Du Zheng."
Hearing this, ng Su nodded.
The study door closed again. Du Dianjian stood outside with his people, guarding, still feeling the pressure from Song Xian. He had no inclination to enter the room.
Li You sat down, and ng Su handed over the docuntation about Ah Jing’s case to Li You for inspection.
The eunuch, not knowing what was written on it, only saw Li You’s frown deepening, his face gradually showing a hint of anger and authority.
"Is this true?" Li You finally asked.
The eunuch quickly stepped forward to examine the docunt.
ng Su explained, "This docunt can be verified. Ah Jing and her younger brother have been properly settled. If Mr. Li doesn’t believe it, we can take a boat to that island and see. So corpses are yet to be buried. But if you want to investigate, it’s best to not alert anyone, and secretly proceed, avoiding the garrison."
"Since what happened with Yang Wu, hearing all this... honestly, I’m scared to trust others lightly now," he confessed to Li You.
Li You responded, "So, you suspect even the Palace Departnt’s n are impostors?"
Song Xian interjected, "We just found a clue, yet imdiately, n claiming to be from the Palace Departnt arrived, refusing inspection, drawing blades. If we were to surrender without resistance, we might end up charged with sothing else. Those n already act like lords at sea, if they truly detected our evidence, they would certainly act against us. Pretending to be the Palace Departnt is not impossible."
The eunuch wanted to question Song Xian, but after seeing the docunt, Song Xian appeared to have backing. Moreover, following this inference, Song Xian and ng Su’s reaction seed justifiable.
Song Xian continued, "Otherwise, I would not have confronted Du Dianjian from the Palace Departnt. Though I ca to Yuezhou, I brought no more than three household generals. What could I accomplish by detaining Du Dianjian?"
Li You asked, "You just brought three household generals?"
Song Xian replied, "There are rules in the court; troops cannot leave their frontier post. Mr. Li, you can have soone verify this."
Li You looked at ng Su, "Have you both been eting for this matter?"
ng Su affird, "Song Jiedu first encountered a case, then found discrepancies in the accounts, suspecting sea smuggling. He approached , and upon investigating, we discovered this."
Li You questioned, "Why didn’t you report to the court?"
Song Xian answered candidly, "Before finding clues, we couldn’t speak carelessly. After finding the truth, we dared not report it lightly."
The word "dared" startled Li You: "You..."
Song Xian explained, "Years ago, an entire village was massacred, yet only two deputy generals were transferred. Even if the island’s carnage is discovered, the truth might stop at the Governor of Hai State, unable to reach the court."
Li You fixed his gaze on Song Xian, "You suspect more accomplices?"
Song Xian looked at Li You, "Mr. Li, do you dare to try?"
Li You asked, "Try what?"
"If we indeed uncover a tip-off," Song Xian said, "The truth might never reach the capital."
The eunuch felt a wave of coldness, as if there were places in the realm of Daqi, beyond even the Emperor’s control.
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