bullyxtreme Chapter 13 Blood Alley Remnants - New
Chapter 13 Blood Alley Remnants - New
On the 17th day of the 10th month of the 15th year of Chongzhen's reign, at the third
Tofu Alley.
The alley was as narrow as a cleavage, no more than six feet wide, with towering blue brick walls on both sides, topped with withered yellow foxtail grass, shivering in the cold wind of the early morning.
The ground was made of uneven flagstones, with rainwater from the previous night accumulating in the cracks, mixed with some kind of dark brown, dried stains.
Li Ruolian squatted on the ground, her fingertips gently brushing against the stain.
blood.
It had seeped into the stone's texture, and in the flickering torchlight, it presented a purplish-black, ominous luster.
The amount was small, but the shape of the spray was very special—it was fan-shaped with tiny drag marks at the edges.
Li Ruolian's gaze followed the bloodstains.
The center of the fan was three feet from the west wall, and the drag marks extended seven steps southeast. There was a deeper pool of blood, about the size of a bowl, which had been roughly covered with sand. However, the sand was blown away by the wind, revealing the black color underneath.
"When the carotid artery was severed, the blood splattered, and the victim was dragged after falling to the ground," Li Ruolian muttered to herself. "The dragging distance was seven steps. The injured person was still alive and struggling."
He stood up and raised the torch high.
The alley was very narrow, no more than six feet wide, with walls on both sides more than three zhang high, leaving only a sliver of gray sky overhead.
These alleyways are known as "a narrow passage" in Beijing. They are often the narrow gaps between the back walls of two large houses, rarely visited on weekdays and even more deserted at night.
"Sir," the night watchman, wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded coat, stood at the alley entrance, his lips blue with cold, "This...this is it..."
Li Ruolian didn't turn around: "When did you find out?"
"At the third quarter of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)," the watchman's voice trembled. "After I finished striking the clapper, I passed by this alleyway and saw a light on the ground—it was water. When I got closer, I smelled blood. The blood hadn't dried completely yet, but it had already seeped in."
Were there any people in the alley at the time?
"No, no. It's eerily quiet."
Li Ruolian walked to the pool of blood that had been covered up, squatted down, and used the tip of her dagger to pry away the sand.
Beneath the sand, the bloodstains were half-congealed, sticky like melted syrup. He examined them carefully for a moment, then suddenly probed the tip of his dagger into a crack in the brickwork beside him—
Click.
A soft sound.
One of the blue bricks has become loose.
Li Ruolian's eyes narrowed, and he carefully pried open the bricks with his dagger. Behind the bricks was a hollow wall crevice, filled with dust and cobwebs. He reached in, his fingertips touching something cold and hard.
When it was pulled out, it was a copper tube about the thickness of a thumb.
The copper pipe had scratches on its surface and was stained with dried blood, which shone dark red in the torchlight.
Li Ruolian's heart sank.
He recognized the copper tube—it was a specially made secret message tube from Li Banghua's residence. Yesterday at Shenshi (3-5 PM), the spy he sent to monitor Li's residence reported that he saw Li Banghua's son, Li Qian, leaving the residence with something similar in his arms.
The copper tube is empty.
The letter is gone.
Li Ruolian tucked the copper tube into his sleeve and continued his search. His gaze swept across the ground, the base of the walls, and every corner like a comb. Then, he stopped three steps away from where the copper tube had been found, at a corner of the wall.
There was a clump of withered moss, trampled and in a mess.
But in the gaps between the moss and the base of the wall, a barely noticeable gray-white color, quite different from the blue brick, is visible.
It's paper.
Paper that has been soaked by rain and is now half-dry.
Li Ruolian carefully pried open the crevice with her dagger and pulled out the wad of paper. The paper was mostly rotten, the edges blurred, but the writing in the middle was still barely legible. It had been folded into a small square and stuffed into the crevice in a hurry, with one corner still sticking out.
He unfolded it.
The paper was cheap bamboo paper, the ink was inferior tobacco ink, and the handwriting was the neat and formal official script—it was Li Banghua's handwriting.
The content is a copy of last night's secret memorial:
"...Zhao Qichang is a remnant of Zhou Yanru's faction. He appears to have retired from public life, but secretly he gathers followers, colludes with powerful figures in Jiangnan, and intends to support the Prince of Fu and join forces with the barbarians to quell the rebellion. His intentions are despicable, and his schemes are utterly wicked..."
The words that followed were soaked in blood and blurred into a blotchy mess of ink.
But that's enough.
Li Ruolian carefully folded the paper, wrapped it in oilcloth, and tucked it away close to his body. He straightened up and looked towards the east end of the alley—where it led to Jinyu Hutong, and beyond that, to the Tonghui River.
"My lord!" Gao Wencai strode in from the alley entrance, his face grave. "We found drag marks and cart tracks at the base of the east wall. The tracks are deep, four feet two inches wide, the wheel track of a cart. The tracks lead towards the Tonghui River."
Li Ruolian nodded: "Send men to search along the river. We need to find them alive or dead."
"Yes." Gao Wencai hesitated for a moment, "And... the third house at the west end of the alley, there's an old woman named Sun who lives alone. She said that around 1:00 AM, she heard short, hurried fighting sounds in the alley, the footsteps of about five or six people. Then someone whispered 'Be clean,' the voice was very hoarse, and her age was hard to tell."
"Five or six people," Li Ruolian repeated, "a handcart. Keep it clean."
He walked out of the alley and came to the relatively spacious Jinyu Hutong.
In the alley, early-rising vendors had already started their fires. The man selling soy milk was adding firewood to his stove, smoke was rising from the pan used to fry dough sticks, and steam was billowing from the steamer baskets for making buns. The cooking smoke mingled with the morning mist, permeating the crisp, cool air.
These vendors were completely unaware that a murder had just occurred in the alley just a few steps away.
Or perhaps, they're pretending not to notice.
Li Ruolian walked up to a stall selling steamed buns.
The stall owner was a pockmarked man in his thirties, who was kneading dough. When he saw Li Ruolian coming over, his hand trembled, and the dough fell onto the cutting board.
"Sir, sir... are you eating steamed buns?"
Li Ruolian didn't speak, but took out a small piece of silver from her pocket and placed it on the chopping board.
"Around the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), did you see a cart coming out of Tofu Alley and heading east?"
The stall owner's eyes darted around: "I...I didn't see it...My son goes to bed early..."
"Think it through." Li Ruolian's voice was calm. "You know what the crime of lying is when the Embroidered Uniform Guard asks you questions."
The stall owner's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.
"Sir, sir... I really didn't see the carriage..." He swallowed hard. "But... but at the second quarter of the hour of Chou, I got up to knead dough, and it seemed... I seemed to hear a 'plop' sound from the east, like a heavy object falling into the water."
He paused, lowering his voice even further: "Then I heard the sound of hooves, very fast, heading north. At least... three or four horses."
Tonghui River.
A heavy object fell into the water.
Li Ruolian looked eastward. In the distance, the Tonghui River revealed a section of its gray channel in the morning mist, like a dead giant snake.
"Where's the cart? Where's the handcart?"
"I didn't hear the car... I didn't hear the car." The stall owner shook his head. "I only heard the sound of water falling and horses' hooves."
Li Ruolian nodded, put away the loose silver, and turned to leave.
The stall owner watched his retreating figure and breathed a long sigh of relief, only then realizing that his cotton-padded coat was soaked with cold sweat.
At the beginning of the Mao hour (5-7 AM), on the banks of the Tonghui River.
The river water had a grayish-green hue characteristic of late autumn, and its current was slow. Withered leaves, vegetable scraps, and broken wooden basins discarded by someone floated on the surface. The banks were piled with debris, emitting the stench of silt and decay.
Six strongmen from the Imperial Guards are downstream using nets to salvage the fish.
The net was a specially made fine-mesh net, which was sunk to the bottom of the river and slowly dragged along the river channel. Half an hour had passed, and they had pulled up a lot of odds and ends—broken shoes, rotten wood, dead cats and dogs—but they hadn't found anyone.
Gao Wencai stood on the shore, his brows furrowed.
Li Ruolian arrived. He didn't turn around, but reported in a low voice, "Sir, we've searched three miles downstream, but found nothing. The current isn't strong; if the body fell in around 1 AM, it shouldn't have been swept away far."
"What about upstream?"
"People from upstream have also been sent there, but there's been no response yet."
Just then, a shout came from the river: "The net has sunk!"
Two strongmen pulled with all their might; the net was heavy, clearly holding a large object. They dragged the net to the shore, where inside was a bulging sack wrapped in hemp rope.
The burlap sack was soaked through with water and dark in color, but you could still tell that it was originally off-white—the kind of coarse burlap sack commonly used in grain shops.
The sack was dragged ashore and untied.
There was a corpse inside.
The young, thin corpse of a student from the Imperial Academy, dressed in a scholar's robe.
Li Qian.
His face was pale, his lips were purplish-black, his eyes were half-open with unfocused pupils, and he still retained the fear and resentment of his dying moments. There was a deep gash on his neck, running from his left ear to his right, almost severing half of his neck bone. The wound was white from being soaked in water, and its edges were rolled up, like a grinning, mocking mouth.
There were no other obvious injuries on his body, but his right hand was clenched tightly, his knuckles twisted from the force, and his fingernails were filled with black mud and... a little bit of cloth.
Li Ruolian squatted down and pried open that cold, stiff hand.
There was nothing in my palm.
But the scraps of cloth under his fingernails were made of the finest lake silk, indigo blue with a subtle pattern—a material that ordinary people couldn't afford.
"Investigate," Li Ruolian said, uttering only one word.
Gao Wencai immediately used tweezers to carefully remove the small piece of cloth and put it into a specially made kraft paper bag.
"And another one." Li Ruolian's gaze fell on Li Qian's feet.
On the left sole of those black cloth shoes, near the arch of the foot, there was a thin, unnatural gap.
He drew his dagger and slashed along the seam.
The sole of the shoe was double-layered, with a thin interlayer in the middle. Inside the interlayer, there was a wad of paper, soaked in blood but still recognizable in shape.
It is another copy of the secret letter.
The handwriting is mostly blurred, but the key parts are still there:
"...Zhao Qichang has already dispatched his personal retainer Zhao Yong northward, carrying a map of the capital region's defenses and a list of troop rotations at the nine border garrisons, intending to present them to Huang Taiji of the Jianzhou Jurchens. Route: Chaohechuan Pass. Time: Around October 20th. The garrison commander may have already accepted bribes; it is advisable to act swiftly..."
After reading it, Li Ruolian folded the paper and put it in her bosom.
He stood up and looked north.
Tidal river.
Zhao Yong.
October 20th.
Today is the seventeenth.
Three more days.
"Collect the body properly and return it to the Li family." He said to Gao Wencai, "Tell Li Banghua that his son... died for his country."
Gao Wencai said in a low voice, "Sir, aren't we going to notify the Shuntian Prefecture? This is, after all, a murder case..."
"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has taken over," Li Ruolian interrupted him. "From now on, this case falls under the jurisdiction of the Northern Garrison."
He turned and walked toward the carriage that was parked not far away.
Gao Wencai quickly followed: "Sir, where are we going?"
"Drunken Immortal Pavilion".
At the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), outside Andingmen, at Zuixianlou.
The building is three stories high, with flying eaves and bracket sets. Two strings of large red lanterns hang in front of the door, and even in the early morning, it exudes an air of extravagant liveliness. This is a well-known den of iniquity in the capital, a gathering place for high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and tycoons. The cost of one meal here could feed an ordinary family for half a year.
Li Ruolian's carriage stopped at the side gate.
He wasn't wearing the flying fish robe, but only a plain indigo robe, looking like an ordinary wealthy man. Gao Wencai followed behind him, also having changed into casual clothes.
Two servants in blue robes stood guard at the side gate. When they saw them coming, they were about to stop them when Li Ruolian showed them a waist token.
The servant's expression changed, and he bowed and stepped back.
The building wasn't open for business yet; the lobby was empty, the tables and chairs gleaming, and the air still carried the lingering stench of last night's feasting. A middle-aged man who looked like a manager hurried over, his face beaming with smiles.
"Sir, our shop isn't open yet, you..."
"Where is Zhou Ming?" Li Ruolian asked directly.
The steward's smile froze: "Master...Master is still resting in the back courtyard. I wonder if you, sir..."
"lead the way."
His tone was calm, yet his words left no room for argument.
The steward hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "Sir, please follow me."
Passing through the lobby and around the corridor, we arrived at a secluded courtyard in the backyard. Several wintersweet trees were planted in the courtyard, but they were not yet in bloom, and their bare branches looked somewhat desolate in the morning breeze.
The steward knocked on the door of the main room: "Master, we have guests."
The sound of clothes being put on could be heard from inside, and after a moment, the door opened.
Zhou Ming was in his early forties, with a round, slightly chubby face. He was wearing a silk bathrobe and looked sleepy, but his eyes immediately cleared when he saw Li Ruolian.
"Lord Li...?" He clearly recognized Li Ruolian, his voice a little tense. "What brings you here? Please come in."
Li Ruolian walked into the house.
The room was luxuriously furnished with rosewood furniture, jade and antiques displayed on the display shelves, calligraphy and paintings by famous artists hanging on the walls, and a faint scent of sandalwood.
"Boss Zhou has such refined taste." Li Ruolian sat down in the armchair. "This courtyard must be quite expensive."
Zhou Mingqian laughed, "Just trying to make a living, just trying to make a living. I wonder what brings Lord Li here so early?"
"I have a question for you." Li Ruolian looked at him. "Where was your cart from Zuixianlou around 1:00 AM on October 16th?"
Zhou Ming's expression changed slightly, but he quickly recovered: "A handcart? Our shop uses a handcart to buy vegetables and meat every day. At 1-3 AM... they should be out of town picking up goods, right?"
Which car?
"It's...it's that one in the kitchen, it's been used for many years."
"Where's the driver?"
"Old Wu, the coachman, is resting in the kitchen. Does the master want to see him? I'll go get him right away..."
"No need." Li Ruolian stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the cart parked in the corner of the backyard. "Is that the one?"
Zhou Ming followed his gaze and nodded, "Yes, yes."
Li Ruolian walked out of the house and came to the cart.
The car was old, with years of accumulated oil and mud on the panels. But upon closer inspection, there were fresh water stains and... a few dark red spots on the axles and wheel hubs.
He squatted down, dabbed a little with his finger, and smelled it.
Bloody smell.
It was very faint, but it couldn't escape his nose.
"Boss Zhou," Li Ruolian stood up and looked at Zhou Ming, who had followed her out, "What did you transport in this truck last night?"
"It's...it's just ordinary meat and vegetables." Zhou Ming's forehead began to sweat. "Sir, what exactly happened?"
"Someone has been murdered." Li Ruolian stared at him. "Li Qian, a student of the Imperial Academy, was murdered in Doufu Lane around 1:00 AM last night. His body was transported to the Tonghui River by cart and dumped there. The cart tracks run from Doufu Lane all the way to the riverbank. The tracks are very deep, and the wheel treads... are exactly the same as the wheel treads on your cart."
Zhou Ming's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed.
"My lord! I'm innocent! I... I stayed in the shop all night and didn't go out at all! The car... the car must have been stolen! Yes, it must have been stolen!"
"Stealed?" Li Ruolian sneered. "Is there no one guarding your backyard at night?"
"There are...there are those on night watch, but...but perhaps they dozed off..."
"Who's on night watch?"
"Yes... I'm Wang Er, a kitchen helper."
"Bring them here."
Wang Er was brought in quickly; he was a simple, honest man in his twenties, looking completely bewildered.
"Where were you around 1 AM last night?" Li Ruolian asked.
"I...I'm on night duty at the back door," Wang Er stammered, "I've been keeping watch the whole time, I haven't dared to sleep."
"Did you see the cart leave?"
"No...no. The cart has been parked in the yard the whole time, it hasn't moved."
Li Ruolian looked at Zhou Ming.
Zhou Ming's face turned deathly pale, and he was sweating profusely.
"Wang Er," Li Ruolian turned to the helper, "did you hear any noises around 1:00 AM last night? Like... the sound of cart wheels?"
Wang Er thought for a moment: "I think... I think I heard it. But the sound was very faint, as if it came from the alley to the east, not from our courtyard."
"The alley on the east side?"
"It's...it's that alleyway that's separated from our backyard by just one wall. Nobody walks through it usually; it's just piled with junk."
Li Ruolian's eyes sharpened.
"Take me to see it."
That alley was narrower and dirtier than Tofu Alley.
The place was piled high with rotten wooden crates, broken pottery jars, and discarded furniture. The ground was muddy and littered with tire tracks, but upon closer inspection, two fresh, deep tracks could be seen, starting from the base of the back wall of Zuixianlou and extending all the way to the alley entrance.
At the base of the wall, there was a dog hole, half-covered by debris.
The hole was just big enough for a cart to have its wheels removed and pass through alone.
Li Ruolian stood in front of the dog hole and stared at it for a long time.
Then, he turned to Gao Wencai and said:
"Take Zhou Ming away. Seal off Zuixianlou."
Zhou Ming cried out hoarsely, "Your Honor! I'm innocent! I'm the nephew of the Emperor's father-in-law! My uncle is Zhou Kui, the Earl of Jiading! You can't arrest me!"
Li Ruolian turned around and glanced at him:
"You're the one we're after."
Two Imperial Guards stepped forward, lifted the limp Zhou Ming, and dragged him out.
Li Ruolian walked out of the alley and returned to the front hall of Zuixianlou.
The waiters, cooks, and general laborers in the building were all gathered in the lobby, each one as silent as a cicada in winter.
"Around 1-3 AM last night, who saw anyone suspicious near the backyard?" Li Ruolian scanned the crowd. "Speak up, and you'll be rewarded. Keep it a secret, and you'll be punished as well."
A dead silence.
After a long while, a timid voice rang out:
"My lord... I... I might have seen it."
He was a young man, about fourteen or fifteen years old, as thin as a bamboo pole, with large eyes that showed fear.
"explain."
"Last night, around 1 AM, I got up to use the restroom and saw... I saw several figures at the back door, carrying things onto a vehicle. It was dark then, so I couldn't see clearly, but... but one of them was limping, dragging his left leg."
A cripple.
Li Ruolian remembered this feature.
"Is there anything else?"
"And...and...the things they were carrying, wrapped in burlap sacks, long and narrow, looked like...like people." The young man's voice trembled. "I was terrified at the time, I didn't dare to look any longer, and I ran away."
Li Ruolian nodded and said to Gao Wencai, "Make a note of it. Question all the workers one by one. After you've finished questioning them, send them back, but they are not allowed to leave the capital."
"Yes."
He left the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and got into the carriage.
Inside the carriage, he unfolded the copy of the secret letter he had taken from Li Qian's shoe and read it again.
Zhao Yong.
Tidal river.
October 20th.
Three more days.
Zhou Ming of Zuixianlou is the nephew of Zhou Kui, the father-in-law of the emperor.
This means that Zhao Qichang's network is deeper than they imagined. It not only connects with the gentry of Jiangnan, but may also... connect with the palace.
Li Ruolian closed her eyes and rubbed her throbbing temples.
I didn't sleep all night, and exhaustion washed over me like a tidal wave.
But he can't stop.
Li Qian is dead.
The body was thrown into the river from the cart at Zuixianlou.
Zhou Ming has been arrested.
The clues point to a cripple and Zhou Kui, the emperor's father-in-law.
Zhao Yong, meanwhile, is heading north.
Every single thing is like a taut string; if you're not careful, it will snap and trigger a chain reaction of collapses.
"My lord," Gao Wencai asked in a low voice from outside the carriage, "Where are we going now?"
Li Ruolian opened her eyes, her gaze sharpening once more:
"Enter the palace."
At the beginning of the Si hour, in the Qianqing Palace.
Li Ce finished looking at everything that Li Ruolian had presented.
A copy of the blood-stained secret letter.
The complete secret letter was retrieved from the sole of Li Qian's shoe.
Bloodstained copper pipe.
Furthermore, the bloodstains extracted from the wheels of the Zuixianlou restaurant matched Li Qian's blood.
The hall was very quiet.
Only the sound of Li Ce's fingers gently tapping on the imperial desk, one tap after another, like some kind of countdown.
"Zhou Kui." He uttered the name, his voice devoid of emotion, "My good father-in-law."
Li Ruolian knelt below, head bowed and silent.
He knew that this matter had touched the most sensitive nerve.
Maternal relatives.
He was also the Empress's father.
"Did Zhou Ming confess?" Li Ce asked.
"No," Li Ruolian said. "He only protested his innocence, saying the car was stolen and he was framed. But the evidence is conclusive, and he can't deny it."
"Where's the cripple?"
"We're investigating. There aren't many people in the capital with a disability in their left leg who can be ordered around by Zhao Qichang."
Li Ce stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window, the autumn sun shines brightly, and the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City reflect a dazzling golden light, magnificent yet cold.
"Have you notified Li Banghua yet?"
"I've already sent someone over," Li Ruolian said in a low voice. "Lord Li... fainted once, but has recovered now, though he's in very poor spirits. He said... thank you for Your Majesty's concern, and that despite the pain of losing his son, he dares not forget the affairs of state."
Li Ce remained silent for a moment.
"Li Qian was given a grand funeral. He was posthumously awarded the title of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and one of his sons was granted an official position at the Imperial Academy."
"Yes."
"Zhou Kui's side." Li Ce turned around. "Don't move for now. Keep an eye on him and see how he reacts."
"Your Majesty..." Li Ruolian raised her head, "Zhou Ming is Zhou Kui's nephew. This case involves the Emperor's father-in-law. If we do not act, I fear..."
"What are you afraid of?" Li Ce looked at him. "Are you afraid the world will say I'm protecting my maternal relatives?"
Li Ruolian lowered her head: "Your subject dares not."
"If Zhou Kui really participated in the treason, I will not show mercy." Li Ce said calmly, "But if he was just implicated by his nephew and knew nothing about it, if I take action against him now, it will force the Empress to rebel and force all the relatives and nobles to rebel."
He walked back to his desk and sat down:
"What Zhao Qichang wants is for me to lose my composure. If I were to launch a major offensive now and purge the maternal relatives, the court would surely descend into chaos. Once the court is in chaos, Jiangnan and Liaodong would seize the opportunity to rise up."
Li Ruolian understood.
What the emperor wanted was not personal vendettas or revenge.
It is about overall stability.
It's about luring the snake out of its hole, and then... catching them all in one fell swoop.
"What about Zhao Yong?" Li Ce asked. "Where is he?"
"According to the itinerary, he should have already passed Tongzhou and should arrive in Miyun by tomorrow at the latest. The Chaohechuan Pass is 120 li northeast of Miyun, so he should be able to arrive before October 20th."
Who is the commander guarding the pass?
"The deputy commander of Miyun is Sun Yingyuan," Li Ruolian said. "His reputation is decent, but... border generals live a life of hardship. If Zhao Qichang bribes him with a large sum of money, it's hard to guarantee he won't harbor rebellious thoughts."
Li Ce nodded.
"Have your men intercept Zhao Yong before the Chao River flows through the area," he said. "He must be alive. His belongings must be complete. If Sun Yingyuan cooperates, there will be no further investigation. If he obstructs..."
He paused:
"Kill them."
"Yes."
Li Ruolian kowtowed and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute," Li Ce called out to him.
Li Ruolian stopped.
"Li Qing." Li Ce looked at him, his voice softening, "You haven't slept all night, go and rest for two hours. The case needs to be investigated, but you can't afford to collapse."
Li Ruolian felt a surge of warmth in her heart and lowered her head: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I... can manage."
"Even if you can hold on, you should rest." Li Ce waved his hand. "This is an imperial decree."
"...I obey your order."
Li Ruolian withdrew from the hall.
Inside the hall, only Li Ce remained.
He picked up the blood-stained secret letter and read it again.
Li Qian.
Seventeen years old.
Student of the Imperial Academy.
He should have had a bright future, but he died in a dirty alley, and his body was thrown into the cold river.
For what?
For the lands of the gentry? For the money of the merchants? For the power of the ambitious?
Li Ce put down the secret letter and looked south.
Zhao Qichang.
Zhou Kui.
And then there are the countless faces hidden in the shadows.
He knew that from this day forward, this war would no longer be just a power struggle in the court, nor just an economic contest.
It will turn into a real, life-or-death battle.
In the streets and alleys, in the waterways, on the borders, in every corner where the sun doesn't reach.
And he had to win.
For Li Qian.
For all those who die on this road.
And also for this world, which is riddled with holes but not yet completely dead.
October 17th, noon.
Li Ruolian returned to the Northern Garrison Command and lay down fully clothed in the duty room for half an hour.
When she woke up, Gao Wencai was already waiting outside the door.
"Sir, we've found them," Gao Wencai reported in a low voice. "There are three people in the capital who have a disability in their left leg and may be employed by Zhao Qichang. One is a battalion commander from the former Fifth Army, who retired due to injury in the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign; another is a thug from a gambling den in the western part of the city, who became lame in a fight years ago; and the third..."
He paused:
"He was originally the Director of the Military Affairs Department of the Ministry of War, a student of Zhao Qichang. He fell off his horse two months ago and injured his left leg, and has been staying at home on sick leave ever since."
Li Ruolian sat up, her eyes clear:
Which one is the most suspicious?
"The gambling den thugs can be ruled out; he's a local ruffian and wouldn't be of Zhao Qichang's interest. The former battalion commander... I've investigated; after retiring, he opened a martial arts school and maintained close ties with former Beijing garrison troops, but I haven't found any connection with Jiangnan," Gao Wencai said. "Only that Ministry of War official, surnamed Wu, named Zhaoyi, was promoted by Zhao Qichang when he was the Vice Minister of Personnel. He's been on sick leave for the past two months and hasn't left his residence, but the servants who handle the purchasing at his home say they often see people with Jiangnan accents coming and going."
Li Ruolian nodded.
"Keep an eye on Wu Zhaoyi. But don't move yet."
"Yes."
"What about Zhao Yong?"
"Our men have already set up a trail, thirty li away from him, so we won't lose him. We've also dispatched a troop of elite cavalry to ambush him over the Chaohe River."
"Okay." Li Ruolian got up, walked to the basin, and washed her face with cold water.
The cool water stimulated my skin, dispelling the last trace of fatigue.
He looked at the swaying reflection in the copper basin; the face was tired, but the eyes were sharp.
The spider silk has already appeared.
The murder has already occurred.
The investigation has only just begun.
An even bigger storm is brewing simultaneously in the north and south.
He dried his face, straightened his clothes, and said to Gao Wencai:
"Prepare the horses. Let's go to the Li residence."
"Does Your Excellency intend to go in person?"
"Li Qian died because of me," Li Ruolian said in a low voice. "I have to go and give his father an explanation."
Gao Wencai remained silent and nodded.
The two walked out of the duty room.
In the courtyard of the Northern Garrison Command, the autumn wind swirled the fallen leaves, making them dance like a silent, sorrowful dance.
Li Ruolian mounted her horse and gave the reins a shake.
The horses neighed and charged out of the government office, disappearing into the midday sun of October 17th.
Behind him, the government office, symbolizing the highest criminal justice authority of the Ming Dynasty, stood silently.
Like a lurking beast that has just opened one eye.