Chapter 124 Cascadas: Troubles Resurface
"Duke of Anping, do you know why I have called you here?" The Emperor half reclined on his throne, his face full of fatigue. The Imperial Attendant stood by his side, ma.s.saging his shoulders.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. May I know why you called me?" Situ remained calm.
The Emperor stood up with much effort and almost lost his balance. The Imperial Attendant quickly held onto him. Situ watched all this happened and he became even calmer.
"I thought that with the capabilities of your subordinates, there won"t be anything that is unknown to you in the entire Chang"an." The Emperor walked towards Situ with the help of the Imperial Attendant.
Situ immediately bowed. "You are speaking too highly of me, Your Majesty. Chang"an is vast and has many people; how can I know everything that is happening? Also, my subordinates are your subordinates too. Your Majesty should view them as your own people."
"It was just a thoughtless remark of mine, why are you so nervous?" The Emperor smiled and patted Situ"s shoulder. He walked back to his throne and sighed.
"The Imperial Treasurer has died in the Imperial Prison. I have sent someone to take a look. It wasn"t suicide."
"The Imperial Prison has a strong defence, who will be able to enter and kill the Imperial Treasurer?"
"That is what I want to know too." The Emperor spoke calmly, yet the anger was visible underneath the calmness. "Although the Imperial Treasurer received the death penalty, murdering him is unacceptable. Is this person mocking me?" The Emperor raised his hand and smacked his throne with full force.
"Please calm your anger, your Majesty. Please take care of your health." Situ tried to appease the Emperor. "There are many capable officials in court; the truth will definitely be uncovered."
"That is exactly what I am worried about." The Emperor finally sat down. He slowly said to Situ as he knocked his hand on the table, "A criminal is killed in the Imperial Prison. Both the Office of Imperial Clan Affairs and the Judicial Bureau are responsible. Hence, they cannot be involved in the investigation any longer."
"Yes this is right, but" Situ paused, "the Imperial Treasurer is the main culprit of the embezzlement case; I"m sure that there are people who want to kill him desperately. Could it be that someone wants to shut him up for good?"
"I have my questioned this before," the Emperor said truthfully, "by right, the Heir has the biggest suspicion. However, my men have been watching him closely. This isn"t his doing."
"Your Majesty really put in a lot of effort for the Heir." Situ sighed.
The Emperor smiled, "He is my son. I understand him the best. Anyway, the Imperial Treasurer is a 2nd Rank Officer. This case must have someone from the Imperial Family to be in-charge in order to please everyone. However, the Heir has his hands stained in the case, Eighth Prince just came back from his work in the Shanyin Province and the rest of the Princes are either mediocre or too young."
The Emperor suddenly looked at Situ amiably. "I"ve thought it through and reached the conclusion that it is best if you can take charge of this case as a representative of the Imperial Family. I have full faith in your ability and impartialness."
"What abilities do I have to represent the Imperial Family?" Situ frowned, rejecting the order immediately. "Your Majesty has many Princes. There will definitely be someone suitable for the position."
"None of my sons is as capable as you, my Duke. I still trust you the most." The Emperor looked straight at Situ. "I do not wish that you would reject my offer."
The Emperor has spoken. If he continued to reject, he would be defying the Emperor. Situ bowed. "Yes, your Majesty; I will not disappoint you."
"That is how it should be." The Emperor smiled widely as if he was genuinely happy for Situ. "If you managed to settle this case, I will reward you handsomely. You can ask for anything you want. Do not be like last time and ask for nothing again."
"I thank you for your kindness, your Majesty," Situ replied sincerely, "I will definitely figure out the truth behind the case and get my reward."
"Oh?" The Emperor grinned. "Have you finally decided to ask for a reward? Tell me, what is it that you want?"
"I have not accomplished the task a.s.signed to me. I will explain my wish when I have completed the a.s.signment."
"That is true." The Emperor waved his hand in dismissal. "You may leave now."
"Yes, your Majesty."
Once Situ left, the Emperor immediately said to the Imperial Attendant, "Immediately send for the Heir and the Eight Prince. I want to see if my sons are really so vicious."
"Yes, your Majesty." the Imperial Attendant answered.
Once Situ walked out, he received the Imperial Decree and the token signifying his appointment, already prepared by the Emperor. Situ took them and walked towards the Imperial Prison, trying to figure out the Emperor"s intention. The Emperor was certain that I would agree to take on the case. When he reached the imperial prison, Situ first went to look at the corpse of the Imperial Treasurer, the crime scene and then the list of people who were on duty at the time of the murder. He then asked for a report of these evidence before returning to his residence.
It was noon when he arrived at the Palace and now, the dusk was fast approaching. Situ was contemplating the purpose of this decree all the way home. When he entered his residence, someone suddenly popped out and took away his decree, mocking him as he looked at it.
"No vigilance at all. If someone was to a.s.sa.s.sinate you, they would succeed easily."
Situ looked at Gan Qingjia helplessly and went to sit at the small pavilion in the courtyard. He raised a brow. "You are so easy to recognise. Why do I still have to guard against you?"
"Tsk tsk," Gan QIngjia pouted and shook the decree in his hand, "you received the decree just when the news of the Imperial Treasurer got released. The Emperor is so thorough with his every move, ordering you to appease the people."
"The Emperor has always been like that; you"ll have to get used to it sooner or later." Situ tapped his finger on the table as he went into deep thought.
Gan Qingjia walked over and asked curiously, "This case should be given to the Princes, why did he give it to you?"
"To represent the Imperial Family." That is the key.
Gan Qingjia"s playful expression immediately become sombre. He leaned closer to Situ and asked softly. "Is the Emperor testing you?"
"He"d started to do so a long time ago." Situ"s gaze landed on the decree laid out in front of him. "It seems like I have to push forward my actions, or it might be too late."
"Shall I do it?" Gan Qingjia suggested, "you can stay away from the limelight."
Situ shook his head. "It is too late now. It was late, from the very moment I"d returned to Chang"an."
Gan Qingjia was silent for a while. "I will take care of everything."
A promise is a promise. There was no regret.
The next day, the death of the Imperial Treasurer spread through Chang"an like wildfire. causing a huge commotion and plans were set in motion. Situ woke early, bringing the necessary doc.u.ments along with him as he headed towards the Feng residence, preparing to go to the Judicial Bureau with Chamberlain Feng to get help. When he reached the Feng residence, Chamberlain Feng was eating breakfast. Situ suggested that he walked around while waiting for the Chamberlain to finish. Naturally, the Chamberlain knew what Situ was trying to do. Yet, he couldn"t find a reason to reject him. Situ slowly walked to where Feng Luodi was staying. Duo immediately appeared.
"General, I am sorry for my mistake." Duo waited for Situ to punished him.
"Please rise, you have done a good job." Situ calmly replied.
"Yes." Duo stood up, surprised. He couldn"t understand what Situ meant, but it must be a good thing since he didn"t get punished.
"Miss Feng has taken her breakfast. She should be playing the zither in the courtyard before leaving the house." Duo spoke of everything he knew before Situ asked.
"Would you like to see her?"
"No need for that." Situ clasped his hands behind his back, listening to the familiar tune. Just a while more. When I"ve completed my task and received my reward, things wouldn"t need to be like this anymore.
Duo remained silent as he watched Situ from the side.
After a short while, the head steward approached and told Situ that the Chamberlain had invited him to the study to discuss the matter before going to the Judicial Bureau. Situ agreed and went off with him. Duo scratched his head before climbing back onto the tree.
In the study of the Feng residence.
"Duke, would you like to hear a piece of advice from me?" The Chamberlain spoke.
"Please do."
"Regarding this case, it would be useless to get anyone from the Judicial Bureau or the Office of Imperial Clan Affairs; we can only conduct our investigation in secrecy."
"You must have some evidence to say this," Situ replied.
The Chamberlain took a roll of bamboo slats and pa.s.sed it to Situ, "I have a responsibility in this case too. I let the Imperial Treasurer die before he"d confessed his crimes, but the Emperor will not believe the evidence I have for now. If you feel that these pieces of evidence are of use, please do use them. If not, you can put them aside."
Situ opened the roll and read the information carefully. He smiled and said to the Chamberlain, "This way, I can settle this case faster."
Chamberlain Feng heaved a sigh of relief and directed Situ to the Judicial Bureau. If he knew that the pieces of evidence he gave would allow Situ to get his reward faster and put him in a difficult position, he might regret his action.
Another sunny day.
Duo leaned on the tree and listened to Feng Luodi playing the zither, wondering when he would be able to hear this music in the Duke"s residence. Feng Luodi had returned the zither to the room and was preparing to leave the house when Scarlet brought Qi Jianqiu in.
"Luodi, I"ve made lots of dishes. Try it!" Qi Jianqiu immediately put a big basket on the table the minute she entered.
Feng Luodi hesitated, "But, I just ate my breakfast."
"I"d guessed as much." Qi Jianqi calmly opened the basket. "So, I"d made just a bit of everything. You can just have a small bite."
Feng Luodi watched as Qi Jianqiu took out plates and plates of dishes. She wanted to run away. Jianqiu bought so many dishes! Even if I just have a bit of everything, I will be so bloated. No wonder my clothes have been getting tighter lately! This is all thanks to Jianqiu. Feng Luodi ground her teeth.
However, Feng Luodi still walked towards the table. As she approached, a strong odour of vinegar hit her in the face.
"How much vinegar did you use?" Feng Luodi covered her nose, "It smells so sour!"
At this moment, Duo, who was in hiding, sneezed. He was afraid of vinegar.
Qi Jianqiu stopped mid-action. She curiously asked Feng Luodi, "Did you hear something?"
Duo immediately covered his nose. This is bad; my reputation for hiding is going down the drain!
Feng Luodi firmly shook her head, "No, you should introduce your dishes."
"Oh." Qi Jianqiu continued her actions, leaving Duo suffering as the smell of vinegar engulfed him in his hiding spot.