Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

Qi Xiao stood under the moon, Bai Xiqiao lit a half-broken incense stick and inserted it into the flower bed, calculating the time.

Waiting was always boring. Taking advantage of the fact that Chi Yue was not in the way, Qi Xiao asked Bai Xiqiao, "What did Lu Xiulin say?"

During the hunting, Bai Xiqiao secretly looked for Lu Xiulin, but there were too many people around and no chance for a detailed conversation. After the dinner, Qi Xiao acted recklessly under the influence of alcohol, and the five city guards were sent out to search the mountain in the middle of the night for Qi Xiao and Tang Ling, which created a perfect opportunity for Bai Xiqiao and Lu Xiulin to avoid being seen and discussed in detail the case of Bai Liu that year.

Later, something happened in Yuanjing City, and they hurried back. Qi Xiao followed His Majesty back to the palace, and then went to the Dali Temple and the Capital Protectorate. It was not until now that he had time to ask.

Bai Xiqiao took a deep breath and said in a muffled voice, "He said that my father's heart and lungs were indeed damaged by an old injury. On the way back to the capital, it was freezing cold, and his cough became even worse... Actually, my father wasn't in good health when he was in Yuanzhou Prefecture, and he even coughed up blood. It's just that I didn't know about it. The emperor ordered it, and my father didn't dare to disobey. He dragged his illness back to Yuanjing in the heavy snow, and then... he died..."

Qi Xiao patted Bai Xiqiao's shoulder gently. Bai Xiqiao understood his comfort and didn't need any more words.

"I'm fine." Bai Xiqiao sighed. "Uncle Lu originally knew very little about the case. After returning to Yuanjing, he pieced together the general outlines after many twists and turns. It's not much different from what Tang Ling described in that memorial. The Xingluo Guard is indeed not to be underestimated. However, what Tang Ling didn't know was that my father was impeached in the first place because the Ministry of Revenue withheld military pay. My father submitted a memorial to the court demanding payment, but the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue jointly impeached him. The staggering amount of military rations and pay the Dingyuan Army had been accruing over the years, and Fenglin Mountain had fought over a hundred battles, large and small, with Qi in a single year, which aroused His Majesty's suspicion. After my father's death, Fenglin Mountain actually quieted down, practically confirming my father's guilt."

Qi Xiao frowned slightly. "Six years ago, the Ministry of Revenue was already under the control of the eldest prince, and the Ministry of War has always been controlled by the Gongsun family. They have joined forces to impeach my uncle, and the benefits must be considerable."

"By the way, you asked me to ask about the Yuanzhou prefect before Lu Xiulin arrived. Shortly after he arrived in Beijing, the then-prefect was imprisoned and executed for corruption. It was said that the military pay from the Ministry of Revenue had not been fully delivered to the Dingyuan Army, and that the prefect had embezzled it. However, many people in the court secretly discussed that the military pay was divided between my father and the prefect, so not much silver was found in the prefect's house, far less than one-tenth of the missing pay in the Ministry of Revenue's account books."

"It's just right. We can use Luo Yu's case to investigate the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War together and get to the bottom of it."

The Ministry of Revenue military pay case was still unresolved, and the officials involved were still detained in the Dali Temple. Several of those sentenced to death were awaiting execution in the autumn. Qi Xiao still had a chance to interrogate these people. However, with Pei Hao sitting in the court in public and Chi Yue following him secretly, it would not be easy to interrogate them.

As the two were talking, the incense was almost burned out. Qi Xiao nodded, and Bai Xiqiao raised his hand and sent out a firework, which exploded into a scarlet flower in the silent night.

Baixi Qiao lit another half stick of incense.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The sound of gongs seemed to wake the entire Yuan capital from its slumber.

Qi Xiao and Bai Xiqiao were standing in the courtyard of Luo Mansion. In less than half a cup of tea, they were surrounded by people from the Jingji Protectorate. White blades with the frost of the night suddenly flashed in front of them.

"Who dares to break into Luo's mansion at night? Capture him!"

"The King of Chu is coming for a secret visit. Let's see who dares to move!" Bai Xiqiao shouted loudly, scaring all the palace soldiers.

Qi Xiao and Bai Xiqiao did not carry any weapons with them. The officer in charge saw that they were dressed in black and looked very dignified. He had just heard that King Qi Xiao of Chu had won the prize of the Baiyan Mountain hunting and was in the limelight. If he was really the King of Chu, he could not afford to offend him. Otherwise, impersonating a royal relative was a capital crime. Who would dare to do that?

But what was the King of Chu doing here in the dead of night? Wasn't it said that he had come during the day?

The people of the Jingji Protectorate were hesitating, but Qi Xiao spoke first: "Don't worry, you guys surround yours. We'll wait for ours."

Less than half an incense stick had burned when the Five City Guards arrived and rushed into the inner courtyard. The leader had seen Qi Xiao from afar several times but had never met him. However, he recognized Bai Xiqiao, who was Lu Xiulin.

"Your humble servant pays respects to His Majesty the King of Chu." Lu Xiulin knelt, and then everyone in the yard knelt.

"It's okay, forget it." Qi Xiao waved his hand, asked Bai Xiqiao to light some incense, and said to the official from the Jingji Protectorate, "Tell Cao Weishan to come see me when he wakes up."

The officer shuddered with fear. He was in charge of guarding the Luo residence, but he hadn't even noticed anyone had entered until the fireworks exploded. His immediate superior, Cao Weishan, was likely to be held accountable, and he certainly couldn't expect a lighter punishment.

As Qi Xiao stepped out of the courtyard, the police ran towards Cao Weishan's mansion from the back door of Luo Mansion. Now the only way for him to save his life was to wake up Cao Weishan and go to see the King of Chu immediately!

Qi Xiao left the Luo Mansion and was escorted back to the same guildhall by the Five City Guards. Meanwhile, Zong Sheng, in the space of half an incense stick, crossed Qinghuafang. At the neighboring Pingxiangfang, he encountered patrols from the Five Capitals and Commandant Yao Yishan. The Five Capitals were far more numerous and powerful, having previously clashed with Yao Yishan during the hunt, so Zong Sheng saw no need for another fight. So, Zong Sheng was escorted back to the same guildhall by the Five Capitals, arriving just a moment after Qi Xiao.

Halfway through the Yin hour, the four people gathered again in Yangxi Zhai. Qi Xiao sighed deeply and sat quietly waiting. Zong Sheng brought a cup of hot tea to help Qi Xiao relieve his fatigue.

After a while, Chi Yue finished drawing the map and spread it in front of Qi Xiao. The map was a map starting from Luo Mansion in Qinghuafang and extending to the east and south.

Qinghuafang is close to the Imperial City to the north, and the Dali Temple is also close to the north. Luo Mansion is on the main street, and to the west is Chongmingfang, where there are sentry posts of the Five City Guards. Neither of these two directions is a good option. Therefore, Chi Yue initially planned to pursue the enemy in two directions, southeast and north.

Chi Yue pointed at the Luo Mansion and said, "At midnight, Zong Sheng and I fled in two separate directions, southeast. The red circles indicate the locations where checkpoints have been set up tonight, and the black dots are the previously fixed checkpoints. It's clear that the manpower has been more than doubled. Especially since Pingxiangfang has many high gates and dense checkpoints, it's not surprising that Zong Sheng would be discovered. And I went east to Xuanzhengfang, which is adjacent to the East Market. The roads and streets there are much more complex, making it easier to hide. Once you pass Xuanzhengfang and enter the East Market, you'll be like a fish swimming in the sea, nowhere to be found."

Chi Yue drew the route he took at night on the map and cleverly avoided all the checkpoints until Baixi Bridge set off fireworks at Luo Mansion. Chi Yue just happened to enter the East Market from Yuexuanzhengfang quietly.

Bai Xiqiao scratched his head. "Now that your theory has been confirmed, how do we capture this assassin from the sea?"

Chi Yue laughed and looked at Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao deliberately didn't respond and waited for Chi Yue to speak.