Heartstrings Resonance: The Beloved Princess of the Female Power

When they returned to the mansion, Jing Ba also happened to come back, and he also brought a secret letter. Mu Cheng did not rush to read the letter, but first arranged for someone to find the palace doctor to treat Xiao Si. Without having time to ask Zhang Er and the others about what happened, he returned to the study to read the letter first.

Jing Ba followed Mu Cheng to the study. Mu Cheng frowned as he read the letter. In it, Emperor Qing Zhao claimed that this incident was the result of a collaboration between treacherous officials and Youdu, with the goal of "disrupting the markets in Youzhou, blocking the main thoroughfares in Zhao State, and hindering the prosperity of the national economy and people's livelihood."

He also said that those people should be waiting for an opportunity, and asked him to find the missing person and investigate the matter as soon as possible, and not let the incident break out. He would let him command the troops of the state government.

Jing Ba also handed him a small rectangular box at the right time, and Mu Cheng knew what was inside without opening it.

At this time, Afeng brought lunch again. After eating a few bites, Mu Cheng told the servants to take good care of Xiao Si. If he woke up, they must send someone to the government office to inform him immediately. Then he took Jing Ba, Afeng, and called Zhang Er to leave together.

After they left the Mu Mansion, Mu Cheng asked Zhang Er to give directions to Ajiu and decided to go to the place where Xiao Si was injured to see the situation in person.

Arriving at the courtyard, Mu Cheng found that there was nothing special about it. It was no different from other houses. So he went straight to the well, because An Da had mentioned that there was something wrong with it.

In a corner of the backyard, Mu Cheng found the well. From the outside, it looked no different from an ordinary well, but Mu Cheng felt something was amiss. Zhang Er saw Mu Cheng staring at the wellhead and said, "Captain Xiao thought there was something wrong with this well, so he came back to check it out. He didn't expect to end up seriously injured."

Several people gathered around the well for a long time, but still couldn't find any clues. Then they began to search the entire yard, especially the backyard, where there were signs of fighting everywhere, as if a fierce battle had just occurred. Several people carefully searched every corner, hoping to find some clues, but ultimately found nothing. It's conceivable that these people had already prepared to evacuate at any time.

Mu Cheng returned to the well, squinting his eyes, straining to see clearly. However, no matter how hard he scrutinized, he couldn't detect anything unusual or amiss. He carefully observed details like the flow of the water, the material of the well walls, and the size of the wellhead, trying to find any differences between this well and the others.

A Feng noticed that Mu Cheng had been staring at the well with a frown on his face. He asked tentatively, "Sir, do you want me to go down and take a look?"

Mu Cheng pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement. He then quickly found a thick hemp rope in the backpack in the yard and tied it around Afeng's waist. He told Afeng that if he encountered any danger or needed help, he could pull the rope to signal them so that they could pull him up in time.

A Feng wanted to refuse, saying that he did not need such protection. But seeing Mu Cheng's determined eyes, he had no choice but to accept this kindness. After all, as a servant, one should obey the master's orders unconditionally.

As luck would have it, as Afeng was slowly climbing down the well wall, he accidentally kicked a loose brick. As the brick fell, a half-man-high entrance suddenly appeared in the middle of the well wall. Afeng was surprised to find that this entrance was located precisely out of reach of water, as if it had been designed on purpose.

After entering the tunnel entrance, Afeng cautiously explored forward. The interior of the tunnel was filled with a damp and stale smell. He continued to go deeper into the tunnel while vigilantly paying attention to the movements around him, his ears catching every subtle sound. As he moved forward, the light in the tunnel became dimmer and dimmer, almost pitch black. Afeng had to stop and walked to the exit, whispering, "Sir, can you light a torch for me? It's too dark in here."

Mu Cheng's voice came from above, with a hint of worry: "Afeng, be careful." Afeng nodded, untied the rope around his waist, and continued to walk inside.

At first, due to the lowness of the tunnel, he had to bend his waist to move forward, but after walking for a while, the height of the tunnel gradually increased, and he, a six-foot tall man, could finally walk upright. He quickened his pace.

Soon, he reached a fork in the road. Looking at the tunnels leading in various directions, he couldn't help but feel a surge of doubt. However, at that moment, he suddenly sensed someone approaching. Without hesitation, he extinguished his torch and, following his memory of the way back, quickly headed back. His footsteps were light and swift, making no sound, like a silent gust of wind, as he quickly disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

Shortly after he left, two men holding torches approached where he had been standing. One was thin, the other burly, clearly trackers or tunnel guardians. The thin man looked around, his brow furrowed. "Are you seeing things? There's nothing going on here." His voice was filled with a hint of doubt and unease.

The burly man also shook his head, his face full of confusion: "It shouldn't be like this, I clearly saw the light. Are we too nervous?" They wandered at the entrance of the tunnel for a while with torches in hand, but in the end they did not find any trace of Afeng.

The thin man chuckled and patted the burly man on the shoulder: "Your eyesight is blurry, isn't it? I work down here all day, and my eyesight is blurry too. When I first came in this morning, I mistook Old Lady Qiu for her daughter-in-law."

Upon hearing this, the burly man let out a lewd smile. "Haha, you must have seen it wrong. You're probably thinking about her daughter-in-law, aren't you?" The two exchanged glances, their eyes filled with mutual understanding. Then, a burst of unbridled laughter echoed through the tunnel. As they walked back, they could still hear the two men making an appointment to go together that evening to visit Old Lady Qiu's daughter-in-law.

Here, after confirming that no one was in the tunnel, Ah Feng quickly restored the wellhead to its original state, ensuring no traces were left. Then, he hurried to find Mu Cheng and reported, "Sir, there is a tunnel below, and I've discovered three or four branching paths."

Mu Cheng heard this, his eyes lowered in thought, and asked: "Do you know the direction of those forks?"

Ah Feng shook his head and replied, "Someone was coming, and I was afraid of alerting the enemy, so I quickly retreated. However, I'm sure one of the tunnels leads into the city."

"Well, let's go back to the government office first." Mu Cheng nodded and decided to go back to the government office first and make plans later.

As soon as they returned to the yamen, they heard reports that Lin Feng and his men had been attacked deep in the black pine forest. The enemy was numerous, estimated at three hundred. The situation was critical, and they requested support.

They had just returned to the yamen, and before they had a chance to rest, they heard reports that Lin Feng and his men had been attacked deep in the black pine forest. The enemy was large, estimated at three hundred men. The situation was critical, and they requested immediate support.

Upon hearing this, Mu Cheng's expression became solemn. He quickly produced his military talisman and handed it to Jing Ba, ordering him to quickly mobilize five hundred elite soldiers to the Black Pine Forest to support Lin Feng and the others. At the same time, he instructed Xi Kun, the general commander of the army, to send troops to block all the roads leading to the Black Pine Forest to ensure that the enemy could not escape.

He wanted to go along, but Afeng and Ajiu stopped him, urging him to stay at the yamen and wait for news, lest the battle situation at the front be uncertain and another incident occur in the rear. Although Mu Cheng was extremely anxious, he also knew that their concerns were justified. He nodded reluctantly and returned to the yamen to wait for news from the front.

However, he didn't want to sit idle, as he was still concerned about the missing person. So, he decided to take Afeng and Shen Yitai directly to the prison to interrogate Liu Shuli.

Inside the cell, Ah Feng quickly brought a table and chairs. Mu Cheng sat outside, his gaze fixed sharply on Clerk Liu. He didn't mince words, but simply asked, "Clerk Liu, let me ask you, why didn't you clearly state in that file that Mr. Chen San was not alone?"

Upon hearing this, Clerk Liu kowtowed and pleaded his innocence: "My Lord, I had no idea it wasn't the same person! I was simply following customary practice and recording Mr. Chen San's name and deeds, and I didn't notice anything wrong. If I knew there was something else going on, I would have reported it truthfully and would never have concealed anything!" As he spoke, tears and snot streamed down his face, and he truly looked innocent.

Mu Cheng laughed in anger. He said, "I read the case file you wrote first, and then listened to the reports of several constables. At that time, I always felt that something was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Everyone else's report matched the case file, but I just couldn't figure out what the problem was. Today I figured it out. It turns out it's Liu Shuli's fault."

Clerk Liu didn't shirk responsibility, admitting self-reproachfully: "It's my fault. I was lazy. When I was copying the files sent from other county offices, I saw Mr. Chen San appeared too many times, and he was missing, so I simply summarized them to save trouble. I deserve to die. I shouldn't have been lazy. It's all my fault. Please punish me, sir." He burst into tears, a look of deep regret.

Seeing him admit it so readily, Mu Cheng knew he had something else to hide, but he didn't ask any further. He asked Shen Yitai, who was standing by, if he had written it down, then had Liu the clerk sign and leave.

After leaving the prison, Shen Yitai asked in confusion, "Your Excellency knew he was hiding something, so why didn't you ask?"

Mu Cheng simply replied, "He admitted it so quickly, so he won't say anything else. Sometimes, once people decide to confess part of the story, they'll keep the rest a secret."

Shen Yitai continued, "How about...?...??To torture him?"

Mu Cheng shook his head: "No need, he has already made up his mind to die. If a person is determined to die, then no matter what means we use, we will not be able to get more truth from him. Besides, I have other plans."

Shen Yitai was puzzled: "How did you know that he was determined to die?"