Bai Bing Wen had heard about the circulating rumor, but he hadn"t gotten the report about the supposed to be proof. Thus, he didn"t have any preparation beforehand but he didn"t think it would pose him any trouble with such a stupid official. Bai Bing Wen nodded his head in agreement and said, "Sure... let"s go to my study room! We can talk more freely there."
No matter what, Bai Bing Wen still needed to act cordially in front of him, even though he hated the guy.
Once they were inside the study room, Bai Bing Wen asked, "Who are you? What do you want to talk about?" He could see Hong Wen"s eyes were darting around the study room and he had a bad feeling. Why did he look so interested in his study room? It wasn"t like the decoration was unique or luxurious. Bai Bing Wen squinted his eyes.
Hong Wen quickly introduced himself, "This one is Hong Wen --- a representative of the Han Emperor. I come because of the Emperor"s decree that stated that I should investigate Aunt Yue"s disappearance."
Bai Bing Wen nodded his head. "I"ve heard about her disappearance, but why do you come to me?"
Hong Wen carefully asked, "Have you been in contact with her?"
Bai Bing Wen laughed seductively. "Of course not, I don"t even know her before this. My subordinate needed to ask whose courtyard was being burned to ashes..."
"Really?" Hong Wen asked doubtfully. Inwardly, he was sneering and mocking Bai Bing Wen. A guilty person wouldn"t admit it easily ah~! This was getting interesting.
"Why should I lie to you?" Bai Bing Wen pretended to look confused.
Hong Wen tried to test the water once more. "Didn"t Da Ren hear the rumor outside?"
Bai Bing Wen asked interestedly, "Oh...? What kind of rumor?" It was better for him to pretend to be oblivious.
Hong Wen told him about the rumor in details which made Bai Bing Wen"s face darkened, but he deliberately didn"t tell him about the proof. Hong Wen paid attention to Bai Bing Wen"s expression and it looked like the latter really didn"t know about it.
Bai Bing Wen sighed. "How funny! I rarely stepped outside of my place here... Da Ren, I think someone is trying to frame me! Please give this esteemed guest a justice! I came here because of the Han Emperor"s invitation... how could your people dare to slander me like this?" He looked slightly hurt which enhanced his beauty even more.
Hong Wen"s face turned ugly when Bai Bing Wen talked about the Han Emperor. If he directly attacked him, it would mean that he also didn"t give his own emperor a face. Too hateful! Hong Wen still pasted a smile and answered, "Of course! However, I still need Da Ren"s cooperation!"
"Oh... what is it?" Bai Bing Wen asked.
"Can I search this place?" Hong Wen asked politely.
When Bai Bing Wen"s right-hand man heard about Hong Wen"s question, he became angry. He yelled, "How bold of you! How dare you try to search our master"s place?! You really don"t put our kingdom in your eyes, huh?!"
Hong Wen pretended that he was in deep trouble too. "It"s not that I do this on purpose. However, if we want to dispel the rumor, shouldn"t we try to clear it up? If we find nothing here, then everything will be fine. The truth will come out that Da Ren isn"t involved. However, we still need to follow the protocol... Please don"t make it hard for this official!"
"You!" Bai Bing Wen"s right-hand man pointed at Hong Wen angrily.
Bai Bing Wen squinted his eyes and thought to himself, "It seems like this man isn"t fully stupid!" He raised one of his hand, telling his right-hand man to stop talking.
"Oh... so where do you want to search?" Bai Bing Wen asked.
"We can start with this study room..." Hong Wen answered with a cunning smile.
Seeing his smile, Bai Bing Wen suddenly had a bad feeling. Did he have something on me? Bai Bing Wen glanced at his right-hand man and the latter naturally understood what his master wanted him to do. He slowly gave a signal to one of his subordinates and the latter quickly went to search for the clue.
Bai Bing Wen"s right-hand man didn"t dare to leave his master all alone here. He was afraid that his master would be attacked. That was the reason why he didn"t personally go.
Bai Bing Wen answered, "You can... but I don"t want your subordinates to make a mess. Only you and the old man beside you that should do it. How?" The old man that he referred to was Hong Wen"s advisor.
Hong Wen glanced at his advisor and the latter nodded his head. In this matter, they had no other choice. They slowly searched in details one by one and it made Bai Bing Wen even more sure that there was something in his study room. But what...? He didn"t know. It seemed like he was being set up here.
However, Bai Bing Wen didn"t feel afraid at all. If something went wrong, he also had a back-up plan. After all, he knew that it seemed hard to find Aunt Yue --- her trail would have been long gone. He realized that the one who took her away was an expert, but too bad that he couldn"t find out about his ident.i.ty.
Hong Wen started to search each of Bai Bing Wen"s drawer carefully. He found the jade pendant under a pile of scrolls. Hong Wen took out the jade pendant and it seemed like it was the same symbol. At this point, Bai Bing Wen"s subordinates also came with the news --- however, it was already too late, the proof was already being held by Hong Wen.
Bai Bing Wen glanced at the jade pendant in annoyance.
Bai Bing Wen"s right-hand man asked what he should do through a whisper. Bai Bing Wen told him not to do anything, however, once he gave him a secret signal, he would understand what he wanted him to do. His right-hand man slightly nodded his head.
Hong Wen opened the paper that contained the symbol"s picture and compared it to the drawing --- it was exactly the same! He found the clue! Hong Wen looked calm from the outside, but he was actually feeling excited inwardly. He showed to his advisor and the latter nodded his head.
Hong Wen knew that Bai Bing Wen wouldn"t dare to do anything to him, after all, they were staying in the Han Kingdom --- they wouldn"t want to mess thing up. He turned around and asked Bai Bing Wen smugly, "Da Ren... may I ask what is this?!"
Bai Bing Wen took a glance at the jade pendant and shook his head. "I don"t know. That"s not mine! Why don"t you explain to me what it is?"
Hong Wen smirked. "This is the proof that you are the one who kidnapped Aunt Yue!"
Bai Bing Wen narrowed his eyes. "Don"t slander me! This is a serious accusation! Do you want to start a war between our kingdom?!"
Hong Wen sighed. "Da Ren, the proof is here. Why don"t you come with me to the capital and prove yourself to the Han Emperor that you did nothing wrong?"
Bai Bing Wen rolled his eyes inwardly. He didn"t think that he would get justice from this person --- if it was Uncle Qiu, it would be another matter. It seemed like he needed to make the necessary action, besides, there was nothing that he could do here --- except for searching that lovely woman"s trail. He had found out her name --- Yao Ling.
He gave a signal to his right-hand man while sitting on the chair beside him leisurely. The latter would know what to do.