novelSusiti Chapter 60 Zhou De ran away overnight—who will ride that horse?
Chapter 60 Zhou De ran away overnight—who will ride that horse?
The face painted by the hidden sentry was delivered to Dong Yun at Chenshi.
Charcoal pencil. Thin wooden board. Half a face.
I couldn't see the whole thing when I climbed over the wall under the moonlight, but the outline was clear.
Narrow face. High cheekbones.
The eyebrows curve upwards at the ends. Around thirty years old.
Dong Yun looked at it three times. He still didn't recognize it.
He tucked the wooden plank into his sleeve. He went to the Imperial Household Department. He went through old files.
The list of those who entered the palace in the first year of Jianxing.
The man finished reading. Now it's the woman's turn.
Palace maids. Laundry room. Kitchen. Needlework room. Embroidery workshop.
Turn to page 43.
Stopped.
Needlework workshop. Zhao family. From Jianwei. Entered the palace in the third month of the first year of Jianxing.
He left the palace in July of the same year. The reason—to observe mourning for his father.
Guarantee column.
Liu An.
Dong Yun's finger pressed on that name. He didn't move for three breaths.
It's Liu An again.
—The Imperial Study.
Liu Shan was reviewing the initial draft of the Imperial Academy regulations sent by Qiao Zhou. His pen never stopped.
Dong Yun entered. The wooden board and the register were placed together on the table.
"The woman who climbed over the wall. I've found her."
Liu Shan looked up.
"Zhao Shi. From Jianwei County. She spent four months in the needlework workshop in the first year of Jianxing. Her guarantor was Liu An."
Liu Shan put down his pen.
"Needle Workshop".
"Can sew things."
The hall was quiet for two breaths.
The hidden pocket on Zhou Fu's cuff. The stitching is new.
The stitching is meticulous. It wasn't Zhou Fu who sewed it himself.
Where does she live now?
"I haven't found out yet. They scaled the wall into Zhou De's residence and stayed there for an hour. They climbed back out the same way they came. The sentries followed them for three blocks but lost them."
"Lost them?"
"This guy is pretty skilled. He jumped over the wall and landed silently. He accelerated after turning into the alley. The lookout is a wonton vendor. He can't keep up."
Liu Shan's thumb left an indentation.
"Replace Chen with someone else."
"I have already made arrangements. If they come again tonight—the White Feather Army will take over."
Liu Shan nodded. He pulled a strip of silk from his sleeve. A line of text.
"Investigate Zhao's whereabouts after leaving the palace. Focus on the Jianwei direction. Specifically, check the roster of female workers at Zhao Ping's cloth shop."
He handed it to Dong Yun.
"She spent four months in the needlework workshop. She didn't learn to sew clothes."
Dong Yun accepted it. He didn't leave.
"There's one more thing. Chen San."
"What's wrong?"
"This morning I went out of the palace to buy supplies. When I got to the slope three miles outside the south gate, my horse stumbled and fell."
Liu Shan raised his eyes.
"Left leg. Fractured shinbone."
"Who arranged this?"
"Chen Dao. The slope was watered beforehand. It was watered before dawn. Just a thin layer. You can't see it."
Liu Shan remained silent.
"There was almost a mishap. An oxcart was following behind. The driver got up early, so the people who arrived had to wait an extra fifteen minutes before the water was poured on."
"You made it?"
"We made it just in time. Chen San's horse stepped right into the wet spot. If we had been half a step later—the water would have dried up."
Liu Shan tapped his finger on the armrest.
"The Imperial Household Department personnel have already carried Chen San back. They went through the proper procedures. They reported his injuries and illness, granted him three months' leave, and sent him back to his hometown to recuperate."
"Does Liu An know?"
"Understood. The kitchen manager personally signed the release slip."
"What was the reaction?"
"My hand shook a little when I signed it. The strokes were crooked. I rewrote it."
Liu Shan leaned back in his chair.
His hand was shaking. This shows that Liu An knew Chen San was more than just a menial servant.
"What happens after you sign it?"
"I went back to the kitchen. I closed the door. I stayed there alone for half an hour. When I came out—I went to the stove and heated up a pot of wine. I drank it all by myself. I don't usually drink."
"Didn't they send a message out?"
"No. So far—it hasn't left the kitchen."
Liu Shan tapped his finger on the armrest.
"He's waiting. Waiting to see if it's a coincidence or someone's doing it. If nothing else happens within three days—he'll consider it a coincidence."
He paused for a moment.
"Then let him take it as a coincidence."
Liu Shan stood up and walked to the window.
In the corridor, Zhou Fu was in his usual spot, squatting down and wiping the stone steps.
The movements are the same as yesterday. One after another.
"Where's Zhou Fu? Does he know about Chen San?"
"Not sure. The kitchen staff are gossipy. It should have reached them by now."
"camera bag."
"I checked it this morning. It's still there. It hasn't been touched."
Liu Shan looked at the crouching figure outside the window.
"He's not in a hurry. That means he hasn't received orders to take action yet. The aconite is just a backup plan, not something to be used now."
"When will you use it?"
Liu Shan turned around.
"The Northern Expedition. I personally led the expedition. After I left Chengdu, the roads were chaotic. There were too many people, and it was impossible to find the right people."
The hall was quiet for three breaths.
"Therefore, I am not in a hurry. If he doesn't move, I won't move either. The day he makes a move will be the day we close the net."
Dong Yun bowed and left.
—Afternoon.
Jiang Wan's official document has arrived. The third day of the tax inspection in Qianwei.
Zhao Ping's three cloth shops. All accounts were sealed.
Half of the staff were dismissed. Zhao Ping himself was summoned to the county government office for questioning twice.
After the second questioning, Zhao Ping didn't return to the shop. He went directly to the Jianwei Guild Hall.
I waited for an hour.
He came out with a livid face.
The last sentence of Jiang Wan's official document.
"Zhao Ping sold a house in the south of the city today, receiving 80,000 coins. The money was deposited into the Jianwei Guild Hall account that same day."
Eighty thousand coins. That's no small sum.
Liu Shan closed the official document.
Zhao Ping is giving blood transfusions to the guild hall.
What does the association need this money for?
Take the diagram from the hidden compartment. (Vermilion brush)
A new line has been added next to the Jianwei Guild Hall.
Unusual fund movement. 80,000. Whereabouts unknown.
— Night falls.
A piece of silk was passed under the curtain. It bore the inscription "Chen Dao's words."
"Zhou Dezhai. No one will come tonight."
Turn it over.
"But Zhou De himself went out at the hour of You (5-7 PM). He went to the horse market in the north of the city, bought two horses, paid in cash, and led them back to his house."
Two horses.
Liu Shan's thumb fell into the dent.
I'll ride one myself. The other—for whom?
The silk strip was placed under the paperweight.
Dong Yun's men then brought in a message.
"Liu An. Today at dusk, after the kitchen staff finished work, he didn't return to his residence. Instead, he took a detour to the money exchange in the south of the city and withdrew three thousand coins."
"Where did you go after withdrawing the money?"
"Back to my place. Didn't go out."
Three thousand coins. No more, no less. Chen San is gone. The next replacement—needs to be bribed.
Liu An is looking for someone.
Liu Shan pulled a strip of silk from his sleeve. Two lines of text were written on it.
First line: Every person Liu An met afterward. A complete record.
The second line: The day he found a replacement—the day the second Chen San was exposed.
Fold it neatly. Pass the curtain forward.
"Give it to Dong Yun."
The ribbon is gone.
The third draft of the Northern Expedition strategy was still lying on the table.
Zhuge Liang replied today. Just one line.
"Jiang Wei Ke".
Fourth Route. Wei Yan. Deputy General Jiang Wei.
Liu Shan picked up his brush and filled in the blank. He then closed the book and wrote the strategy.
Footsteps passed by the threshold. Lightly. Xiao Shunzi.
Five breaths later. The second footstep. Even lighter.
Zhou Fu.
Liu Shan didn't look up. He tapped his fingers twice on the armrest.
The aconite was still in Zhou Fu's sleeve. He knew it was there.
Zhou Fu was unaware that he knew. It was just left there.
Zhou De bought two horses.
Zhao Ping deposited 80,000 coins into the guild hall. Liu An withdrew 3,000.
Three people. Three things. On the same day.
Someone gave the order.
The order came from the mouth of the fellow who rode a fast horse into the city.
The man saw Zhou De. Zhou De began to move.
The direction of movement—retreat.
They are reeling in the line.
Liu Shan lifted his thumb out of the dent.
The higher-ups felt unsafe. Zhao Ping panicked. The higher-ups panicked too.
The atlas was retracted into the hidden compartment. The cover was pressed firmly.
The wick of the bean lamp had shortened. Liu Shan reached out and flicked it. The flame leaped up half an inch.
The sound of horses' hooves came from afar outside the gate. From the direction of the city gate. There shouldn't be horses at night.
The curtains moved. Chen's message was urgent.
"South Gate. A lone rider exits the city. A fast horse. Heading towards Jianwei."
"Who is it?"
"Zhou De".
Liu Shan's hand froze in mid-air.
Zhou De ran away.
I bought two horses. I only rode one.
The silk strip was turned over. It was placed on the last line.
"Another horse. Still in the house. A bundle is tied to the saddle. The sentries haven't moved."
The bundle. Left for the person who comes later to collect the horse.
Liu Shan stood up. He walked to the hidden compartment of the diagram. It wasn't open. He placed his hand on the cover.
Zhao Shi did not appear at Zhou De's residence tonight.
Zhou De ran away. He left her a horse.
She didn't come to collect it.
This means she still has other things to take care of.
Liu Shan's gaze fell out the window. Towards the corridor. Darkness. He couldn't see anything.
But he knew which room Zhou Fu was sleeping in.
A strip of silk was pulled from the cuff. A line of text.
"Starting tonight, if Zhao appears within three hundred paces of the palace walls—Chen Dao will have full authority to handle the situation."
Stuff it into the gap in the curtain.
The ribbon is gone.
Only one bean lamp remained in the hall.
Those who run away are easy to catch. Those who stay behind are the ones in danger.
[End of Chapter]