Chapter 57
Within Three Days [2]
Yun Qian Yu turns to Hua Man Xi, saying, "All the injured parties suffer from wounds inflicted by swords. The swords are half a cun wider than our regular sword. The wounds of the injured victims are all on the right side, so that means our attacker is left-handed. Right-handed people usually inflicts wound on the left side." Yun Qian Yu shares the discovery she gets from the posthouse.
Hua Man Xi frowns; left-handed.
"There is not much damage on the site of the fight. Look at the gra.s.s; most of it that are stepped on are from the envoys" side. The part that didn"t get completely stepped on are very little; those are the a.s.sa.s.sin"s. That means that the person"s qinggong is very high. Also, look at the markings on that tree"s trunk. It seemed to be left by a left-handed person.
"Left-handed?" Hua Man Xi"s eyes turn dark.
"If it is you, will you be able to attack a 200-people entourage, aided by only four people? So many people are injured but not killed; and you will have to deal with the highly-skilled Bei Tang Ming at that. This is a complicated mission; will you even manage to handle it?" Yun Qian Yu asks him.
Hua Man Xi trains his eyes on the scene, "I will be able to handle it, but I may not be able to execute it as well as he did."
"That means that person"s skill is higher than you by a level."
Hua Man Xi has to admit this; her a.n.a.lysis is pretty accurate.
"There are not that many left-handed people whose skills are higher than yours." A ruthless expression appears in Yun Qian Yu"s face.
Hua Man Xi understands everything now. At this time, Yu Jian speaks up, "Imperial sister, Mo Dai Kingdom"s Princess Long Xiang Luo has a helper who is both left-handed and uses large swords. He has followed her ever since she was little. He does not like to speak and will only listen to her. He is famous for his martial arts skills and his quickness. Long Xiang Luo will bring him with her wherever she goes."
Yun Qian Yu smiles at Yu Jian; he is trying really hard today. Yun Qian Yu has read the list early on, so, when she saw the wounds, she has already suspected Long Xiang Luo.
What she does not know is why Long Xiang Luo wants to harm her. Did they have any resentment towards each other? First, the Xiao Yan poisoning incident. She clearly intends to take her life back then. And now, this. This is clearly done to target her as well. She does not remember offending anyone.
Hua Man Xi speaks up, "Even if it is him, we have no proof. Everything is just speculation on our part. Even though we can use the wounds as proof and even though there are very few swordsman out there who are left-handed, that doesn"t mean that there are no one else but him."
"This is a clever move on her part, she is waging war on me. She is leaving such an obvious trail to show that it is done by her, but there is nothing I can do about it." Yun Qian Yu calmly says.
Hua Man Xi finally gets the entire situation. But what did she do to offend Long Xiang Luo? Long Xiang Luo is so heavy-handed towards her.
"Did you do anything that offended her?"
"I have never even met her!" Yun Qian Yu sighs. She will only know once she meets her.
Hua Man Xi is dumbfounded for a moment before he laughs teasingly, "You have never met her and you already offended her to this degree. You are not only good in speaking, you are also excellent in slighting people!"
Yun Qian Yu narrowed her eyes. Her eyes are originally large and round, and raised at the corner; it is what people called "Peach Blossom Eyes". It is already hard for people to look away from her under normal circ.u.mstances; now that she narrows her eyes, it adds another flavor to the view.
His mouth suddenly feels dry as his heart is filled with ripples of spring.
"I am still not as extraordinary as you who dares to offend people right in front of their faces."
Hua Man Xi"s heart that is originally flying in the color of spring is immediately shot down by her comment.
"I was praising you!" Hua Man Xi quickly tries to flatter her.
"What should we do, imperial sister?" Murong Yu Jian asks in worry as he glares at Hua Man Xi who still has the mood to joke around. He is worried about Long Xiang Luo going after his sister..
"How do you think we should solve this?"
Yu Jian thinks for a while before saying, "I think we can only solve this matter if we find the 7th w.a.n.gye. But where did she hide him? Why can"t we find him no matter how hard we tried?"
Yun Qian Yu looks at Yu Jian who is trying his best to think, "Finding Bei Tang Ming is not hard. What is hard is how we should resolve this issue."
"Do you have a way, imperial sister?"
"When there is a will, there is a way."
"Imperial sister, I really do admire you. You are so calm even at times like these."
Yun Qian Yu frowns, "Actually, I too am pretty nervous inside."
"I cannot see it!" Yu Jian purses his lips.
"Good." Yun Qian Yu pats Yu Jian"s arm.
Hua Man Xi speechlessly watches the two sibling"s playful interaction.
"Are we going to stand here all day? The sun is setting soon and the outer parts of the capital are not safe at the moment." Hua Man Xi speaks up.
Yun Qian Yu looks at the sky, "Where is Long Xiang Luo at the moment?"
Hua Man Xi replies her, "Her entourage has reached Fu Yang City. They should be here by tomorrow night. As for the person, we does not know for sure."
"Imperial sister, you promised the 3rd w.a.n.gye you will find Bei Tang Ming within 3 days. What should we do?" Yu Jian anxiously asks her.
"Do not be nervous. Have you ever seen me promising things I cannot deliver? Since I promised him, I will naturally find Bei Tang Ming within 3 days. Let"s go back to the palace to rest."
Yun Qian Yu is already sure of things she needed to be sure of, so she no longer worries about anything. The only thing that remains is confrontation.
Long Xiang Luo, you are so arrogant. I look forward to meeting you.
Yu Jian and Hua Man Xi are curious as to what she plans next but since she isn"t saying, they can only let it go. The three people ride their horses back to the capital.
Upon entering the entrance gate, they can see the official in charge of the posthouse waiting anxiously below the gate. Seeing Yun Qian Yu coming by, he kneels on the ground, "Your Highness, something happened in the posthouse!"
"Get up and tell me." Yun Qian Yu says as she reins in her horse.
"Two of the heavily injured victims from Jiu Xiao Kingdom have been poisoned. The physicians cannot do anything to save them; they are currently dying. The 3rd w.a.n.gye is making a big ruckus in the posthouse!"
The official"s body is trembling. The kidnapping and attacking of the Jiu Xiao envoys originally does not have anything to do with him but now that some of them are poisoned in his posthouse, the matter becomes his responsibility. If they cannot find the perpetrator and do something to save the victims" lives, his head will be on the chopping block.
The corner of Yun Qian Yu"s lips is raised coldly; how frustrating.
She glances at the official, "Do not worry. You will not die."
She turns her body around and speaks to Hua Man Xi and Yu Jian, "Seems like someone does not want us to sleep tonight."
Yu Jian and Hua Man Xi exchange a look before shrugging to each other.
"Let"s go! Head to the posthouse!"
After saying that, Yun Qian Yu steers her horse and swiftly enters the gate, heading straight to Si Fang Guan.
(TN: In case if you guys don"t remember, Si Fang Guan is the name of the posthouse.)
Even though the sky is already dark, the kingdom"s troops are still lining the streets, searching from house to house. This is their second time searching.
Seeing Yun Qian Yu hastily coming by, they immediately make way.
Even though most of them still does not recognize Yun Qian Yu, they know Murong Yu Jian and Hua Man Xi. In this current time, only one woman can travel side by side with the imperial grandson and Duke Rong"s shizi; Princess Hu Guo.
The three people head straight to Si Fang Guan. After getting off her horse, Yun Qian Yu quickly enters the posthouse.
The official was right about Bei Tang Yun making a ruckus; there are pieces of broken porcelains on the ground. And Long Jin is there, sitting on the sideline while watching the uproar. Seeing Yun Qian Yu walking in, he smiles at her while nodding his head.
Bei Tang Yun freezes for a moment when he sees Yun Qian Yu. Then, he raises his head, saying, "Princess Hu Guo has to give this king an explanation."
"Why should bengong explain anything to you? w.a.n.gye should be the one giving Nan Lou Kingdom an explanation. Everything was fine before we came, but once we did, so many things happened. Our Nan Lou Kingdom"s soldiers are currently overworked and have not even rest. You people, on the other hand? What is with this poisoning drama? Bengong really does not know what you are after, restlessly chasing after trouble like that."
Hua Man Xi wants to give Yun Qian Yu an applause. He only has one word for the way she distorts everything: "Respect."
Murong Yu Jian"s anxious heart immediately calms down; his imperial sister is so imposing!
"You- You fraud! Your Nan Lou Kingdom is the one having bad intention!"
"Bengong think the real "fraud" here is the 3rd w.a.n.gye. Will we Nan Lou Kingdom be so stupid as to poison people in our own place?"
"You! The truth is right in front of our eyes! You people only dares do to things but does not dare to admit it!" Bei Tang Yun is so upset that his chest is heaving up and down rapidly.
"Truth? What truth? Has the 3rd w.a.n.gye caught the perpetrator? Are you sure it is our Nan Lou Kingdom"s people?"
"This is your land, how can this king simply catch the person?"
"So you still know you are in Nan Lou Kingdom! Looking at the way you act, bengong thought you mistook this as your own home!" Yun Qian Yu glances at the broken pieces of china.
Bei Tang Yun looks at the pieces on the ground in embarra.s.sment, "This king was just anxious!"
"The "3" in front of w.a.n.gye"s name represents your seniority, not your age." Yun Qian Yu icily says.
Bei Tang Yun is at a loss of words.
"The 3rd w.a.n.gye should follow the example of Mo Dai Kingdom"s Crown Prince." Yun Qian Yu glances at Long Jin.
Long Jin raises his eyebrows. He is originally there to watch the show, but even he got included in the end.
"Crown Prince Long Jin has been here for a couple of days. He follows our rules well and never got into any trouble. He never encounters a.s.sa.s.sins or got poisoned either. The Crown Prince"s karma is good. He is a very kind person. Even if his houyuan is engulfed in a fire, he would have still come here to comfort you."
(TN: The houyuan is the back courtyard where the family, wives and concubines of ancient people lives.)
The more Long Jin listens to her, the more out-of-taste her words become. What does she means by his houyuan being caught on fire? His houyuan is far back in Mo Dai Kingdom!
The corner of Bei Tang Yun"s lips uncontrollably shakes after listening to Yun Qian Yu. This yatou does not give anyone face, not even Long Jin.
"Oh, I didn"t know princess cares this much about this prince"s houyuan." Long Jin laughs as he looks at Yun Qian Yu.
"The Crown Prince misunderstood me. It is this houyuan, not that houyuan."
The flash in Yun Qian Yu"s eyes makes Long Jin"s heart tightens a little.
Yun Qian Yu then turns to speak at the official in charge of the posthouse, "What are you standing there for? Write down the destroyed items in your registry book. Then, let the 3rd w.a.n.gye look at it. Once he is done with his temper tantrum, ask him for compensation."
"w.a.n.gye, bengong needs to look at the poisoned victims. If you haven"t finished venting, feel free to go on." After saying that, she adds on a little more, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you this. The person who kidnapped the 7th w.a.n.gye has high qinggong. He is a swift, left-handed swordman. There are not a lot of people like him out there, it should be easy to find him."
After that, she gives Long Jin a particular glance before walking away to check on the poisoned people.
Long Jin"s expression crumbles upon hearing Yun Qian Yu. He excuses himself from Bei Tang Yun and returns to the posthouse a.s.signed for Mo Dai Kingdom"s envoys.
After hearing Yun Qian Yu, Bei Tang Yun thinks of something and looks at Long Jin"s back profile in suspicion. After thinking for a moment, he orders a servant to deal with the compensation thing and quickly follows Yun Qian Yu.
As Yun Qian Yu walks towards the chamber where the injured victims are, she asks the official, "Did you find out who poisoned them?"
Serene: Chapter 57 is sponsored by Teresa!