CROWN PRINCE'S CONCUBINE

309 Who’s the Attackers?

Crown Prince should have known that, he had forgotten that the young man sits beside him. LuoXiang holds BaiYing’s hand tightly.

“Do you guys manage to find out know who’s the attacker was?” asked the Crown Prince again.

The young guard nodded.

“Currently, the attacker’s bodies have been sent to BaoYe’s Division forensic room, Master Gu and his men are investigating this case”

Crown Prince thought for a while, he have guessed those people might be Lord JuYu’s people, but, what were they really overwhelmed to the point of leaving their friends at the scene? And, what did JuYu mean by attacking Official’s Kui family from the country’s Logistics section, that official was only at level three, and only dealt with the small number of goods, and not as main goods distribution from outside the palace? The chance of touching the Imperial family member was so small.

LuoXiang turned to XuYi.

“Young Master Xu”

XuYi who heard his name being called immediately answered.

“Yes, Your Majesty”

.....

“From today you are on duty in BaoYe’s forensic and investigator office, I want to know who these people are and moreover their motives, this is your first assignment. Bei”

BeiYau approached quickly.

“Yes, Your Majesty”

“Take young master Xu back to the BaoYue division and tell old man Gu to immediately find out how Officials Kui was related to all the palace logistics, investigate all goods that go in and out under his placard, I think, this is the first thing for BaoYe to investigated, and this is very important, make it a priority for now.”

BeiYau nodded his head bowing quickly.

“Ready Your Majesty, I will carry out!”

...

Investigator BaoYe’s office.

Its headquarters is located around the circle of the Imperial palace, being one of the Emperor’s right hands in investigating critical matters related to the Palace and the officials around the Palace.

BaoYe’s main office has several sections, field officers, who collect evidence outside the headquarters, main investigators who are in touch with field officers and also Forensics, an important part of the investigation because it is the section that collects physical evidence both from the scene and from the victim’s body.

GuYe saw AnHu, a man around his forty as a forensic officer who’s examining several cold bodies that had been in their room since yesterday afternoon, and that time, there was XuYi who was one of the young officers who stood with GuYe watching the examination, some times XuYi raised his hand can’t help to cover his nose, the smell of a rotting corpse that even though it had been placed on an ice-cold stone still smothered him. But the young man looked enthusiastic, his eyes wide open and his hands ready to jot down all the information that the officer AnHu gave them.

Soon after that.

In the main guest office at BaoYe headquarters. BeiYau was already standing in the living room waiting for GuYe and his team’s report. As the second in command after the Crown Prince, BeiYau is in charge of all important tasks from the Crown Prince directly.

“Report Guard Bei, the results do show that some of the victims were killed instantly by sharp weapons, but there were also some victims such as Official Kui and wife who died from poisoning,” GuYe reported, clenching his fists in front of his head.

BeiYau frowned.

“Poisoning? What kind of poison was it?”

“While it’s not known for certain, but from the extent of the damage to the body, the poison clearly attacks the centres of nerve and organs which instantly melt, it’s not just ordinary poison that can be randomly obtained anywhere.”

BeiYau thought for a while, looking at GuYe’s scroll of reports.

Before long the scroll is already in Crown Prince’s hand, who was sitting behind his desk in his study in the Eagle pavilion.

“This fellow, what was he thinking when he left the bodies of his comrades at the scene of their own murder?” said Luo Xiang.

BeiYau who was standing beside the Crown Prince lowered his head.

“Report Your Majesty, what is there a possibility that Lord JuYu intentionally left his men’s bodies there?”

“You think so Bei? But, isn’t this too obvious? What did that person want by insisting that this murder was committed by him? Did he deliberately invite everyone to pay attention to him?” Luo Xiang continued.

BeiYau thought.

“Your Majesty mean, that person probably intends to distract everyone attention?”

“Investigate the movements of JuYu’s men, there must be new people with unfamiliar faces walking around or gathering in the Capital area, we don’t know what this person is planning, but my hunch tells me this may be just the beginning” LuoXiang continued.

“Report, Your Majesty, my men managed to follow some strangers on the north side of the city, but in an instant, those people disappeared, they were well-trained people and seemed to have planned everything carefully, and according to master Gu, after investigating all the activities of the Officials Kui during the few months to the last few days, Officials Kui has been spending more time at home, their daughter has just given birth to the family’s first grandchild, and in the past few weeks, Officials Kui has been transferring his job to other officials due to requests for time off from work, Lord Mu himself who’s approved it, and according to official Mu, if all the order placards or seals belonging to Officials Kui are in the logistics office, not in his residence, and it is also a palace regulation forbidding all third-level officials and below to bring home the stamp unless on an external assignment, “explained BeiYau.

LuoXiang stroked his chin.

“Then, it useless to attack the house if they were looking for the placard and stamp, and could this be related to the banquet that the palace will be held in two days’ time? But even though this is a huge banquet, foreigners without a letter of invitation or special pass stamp from the palace cannot enter the capital’s territory as their please.”

“Your Majesty, about this matter, Master Gu said he couldn’t confirm because he needed data on guests who are invited to the banquet, and this will be difficult to obtain because as far as to know, all the guest lists are secure by Secretary Liu, as Her Majesty the Quee’s right-hand man.” BeiYau continued.

LuoXiang pulled the scroll of documents reading to the end.

“The Queen Mother might provide her guest list if asked, but, could there be a suspicious person on the guest list? All the guests were handpicked by His Majesty the Emperor, as well as the Emperor’s advisors, so the chances of an intruder getting in are very slim, Master Gu might have to pay attention to the entertainment and escort departments who enter the palace, for sure, if that person takes the opportunity at a time like this, lord JuYu must have ears around the Palace.”

“And another thing, Her Majesty the Queen’s banquet is not something that is spread throughout the country for such a long period of time, and this lord JuYu, must have planned his moves long ago, long before we even set out for the Medicine Valley.”

BeiYau furrowed his brows in thought, as what the Crown Prince’s said, seeing the mercenary’s movements, of course, they didn’t appear within a day or two of planning, they were well structured and coordinated, and not just any random villages boys, that the man picks out.

“And, has master Gu managed to find out who this JuYu really is?” asked the Crown Prince.

BeiYau lowered his head back.

“Report Your Majesty, Master Gu is very wise and knowledgeable, he can recognize anyone just by his name, however, Master Gu admits that he has never heard of a person named JuYu, judging by his name, JuYu can be a pseudonym, hearing what a man’s physical appearance looks like, Master Gu’s first guess would most likely be JiFu, a former general who was expelled from the capital twenty years ago”

LuoXiang stroked his chin.

“JiFu, I’ve never heard of that name, if it’s a violent act why not just be punished? Why did they kick him out?”

“Report, Your Honor, if the guess is true, Jifu is one of the generals who participated instrumental in ousting bandit groups of Numen when the big attack accrued, but because he was too stubborn, the state decided to grant him an early retirement, and expel Jifu back to his village”

“I Just found out about this Bei, has the country not recorded the existence of this person in history?”

“Unfortunately, it is no, Your Majesty, because of his actions, JiFu was very dishonourably removed from his post and had to walk to his hometown, which is located, about thousands of miles, somehow the fate of that person, no one recorded this on the book, that’s what happened when I had asked Master Gu about this before”

“This is so troublesome, if it really is JiFu it is not weird that he holds such a big grudge, takes off his official’s clothes, palace emblem, dresses up like a commoner, by only carrying a shabby bag and walking towards back home, that is the lowest punishment of any high ranking official, it seems, this may be the same person, then, how did Master GuYe find out about this matter? While the books don’t record his whereabouts”

“Report, Your Majesty, at the time of that incident, Master GuYe was one of the junior officials in the logistics office, and at that time, Officials Kui had also taken up his post in the record-keeping department, most likely, Officials Kui knew this person so well, that also one of the reasons why Master Gu sure that this person might be JiFu”

“So it is very likely that Officials Kui and his wife died of poisoning at the first time before these people killed a whole family, but what does that mean by going to the officials Kui? If his goal is revenge, this person is going too far on planning this just to kill a whole family at once.”

#######