Chapter 704 - 703: They’re Back
But so what?
Huangfu Yuxuan lowered his gaze, a hint of sinister gleam in his eyes. His plan was about to unfold; this plan of killing two birds with one stone could not only eliminate Huangfu Jingchen but also sever several of Prince Zhuang’s arms.
Next, he would just sit back and watch the show!
At the Xia Mansion, Gu Heng desperately chased out, but because he was blocked, he struggled to kill the three blockers before continuing to chase, only to find several corpses in the alley.
The sky was beginning to lighten, leaving a few more traces, but he only saw broken arrows scattered on the ground. Without hesitation, he continued to follow the traces which led to the same result as Huangfu Jingchen’s investigation, finding only a few silenced corpses. Gu Heng nearly gritted his steel teeth.
He must immediately relay this news to Xue Niang.
Someone actually kidnapped the lady!
The opponent moved with planning and had numerous highly skilled martial artists, surely they were not ordinary people.
He must quickly rescue the lady.
There must be clues on those bodies.
Gu Heng returned to the Xia Mansion. Zhuo Pengju, who had a hangover from the previous night, and his two companions also returned. Upon learning that something happened in the courtyard, they hurried to check, only to see a few dead bodies. The faces of Zhuo Pengju and his companions changed immediately.
Zhuo Pengju even raised his hand and gave himself a hard slap.
As an uncle living in the Xia Mansion, he actually allowed Wenjin to be kidnapped. How could they face their elder brother?
They must find Wenjin and bring her back.
Zhuo Pengju looked at Gu Heng and asked, "Tell me, besides these three, how many others were there?"
"Eight more!" Gu Heng’s expression was a mix of cold severity and guilty anger. He had noticed something was wrong, he had chased after them, yet still lost them. It was his incompetence.
He clasped his hands, knelt on one knee, his eyes bloodshot, and said, "There are three bodies in the alley. I followed the trail and found four more inside a house!"
Zhuo Pengju pondered, "You said you were blocked by these three, so those in the alley were not killed by you. Who did it?"
Gu Heng shook his head and said, "I don’t know. When I returned, I carefully checked again along the way. There should be someone else rescuing the young lady. The bodies in the alley should be the work of that person."
Zhuo Pengju and the others exchanged glances. Wenjin being kidnapped made them all anxious. If they hadn’t indulged in drinking, how could they have been out all night? If they had been at the mansion, how could the scoundrels have kidnapped Wenjin?
Thinking of this, Hu Zeqi suddenly said, "Could that person be the young man from last night?"
Zhuo Pengju pondered deeper. They were not indulging; they had attended a gathering at the invitation of their second and third brothers. The fact that the opponent chose this time—was it a coincidence, or had they been keeping an eye on the Xia Mansion?
Anyway, as elders, under their watch, they lost their niece. They must bring her back safely.
Zhuo Pengju instructed, "Guardian Li, contact the brothers from Haotian Village in the Capital City. Master Hu, send word to the Second and Third Village Chiefs, fully inform them of what happened here, and ask for their help!"
Li Linghu and Hu Zeqi responded and immediately went off. Zhuo Pengju then turned to Gu Heng and said, "Let’s go check the scene again for any clues!"
Gu Heng silently nodded.
Just as Zhuo Pengju and his companion were about to retrace their steps, a sudden commotion came from the front yard, followed by someone swiftly approaching.
Zhuo Pengju, seeing who was coming, was both shocked and delighted: "Brother, you’ve returned!"
The two dusty, hurried figures that came were Xia Wanqing and Xia Sichen.
After offering sacrifices to their ancestors, they returned to the Capital City, parted ways with Xia Xiaozhe, and had just arrived at the Xia Mansion when they heard something had happened in the front yard. They hurriedly arrived and were surprised to see Zhuo Pengju. When Zhuo Pengju and his two companions entered the Capital City, Xia Wanqing had already left. The brothers in the front yard had reported Wenjin being kidnapped but hadn’t had time to mention Zhuo Pengju’s matter.
The brothers exchanged a look and, without time for brotherly talk, Xia Sichen anxiously asked, "How did Wenjin get kidnapped? Who did it?"
Zhuo Pengju, extremely ashamed, shook his head.
He briefly recounted the event, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply, apologetically saying, "Brother, I was at the Xia Mansion yet failed to protect Wenjin. I am utterly ashamed. I will plead guilty to Brother once I find Wenjin!"
Xia Wanqing held his hand, solemnly saying, "This has nothing to do with you. You need not blame yourself!"
Xia Sichen squinted his eyes, gritting his teeth and saying, "Taking advantage of Uncle Zhuo’s outing to have a drinking session, they clearly planned to lure the tiger away from the mountain!"
Xia Wanqing scolded, "Don’t speak recklessly!"
Zhuo Pengju, however, focused on the idea that Xia Sichen mentioned luring the tiger away, wondering who did it. Could it be...?
Xia Sichen already stepped in front of Gu Heng, asking, "When you noticed something was wrong and came over, what did you see? What did you hear?"
Gu Heng retold the previous events and then remembered something, saying, "I asked those people who they were. One of them said, ’My princely heir just invited your young lady over as a guest. Why are you chasing so hard?’ I asked who their princely heir was, and the person said, ’My princely heir and your young lady are fond of each other. Do you still need to ask who my princely heir is?’"
Princely heir? Fond of each other?
These two words entered Xia Sichen’s ears, almost making him blurt out a name, but he quickly shook his head. If it really was Huangfu Jingchen, why would he do this?
It seemed someone wanted to splash this affair towards Huangfu Jingchen. Having this clue was enough.
In the afternoon, Prince Zhuang found an opportunity to slip away; the people he sent out had returned.
Having received the exact information, Prince Zhuang smiled. This truly was a good opportunity.
The plan could be implemented. He pondered for a moment, called over the Hidden Guards, and gave them instructions in a low voice.
The Hidden Guards headed off with their orders.
In the early morning, Huangfu Jingchen’s dispatched people returned with news that those masked men seemed to be from Prince Zhuang Mansion, but it couldn’t be fully confirmed yet.
Huangfu Jingchen originally didn’t want to attend Prince Zhuang’s birthday celebration, but since those individuals might be related to Prince Zhuang, it was a good chance to observe. Prince Lu’s son came to invite him to go together, well knowing the enmity due to the assassination attempt on Huangfu Jingchen resulting in Prince Zhuang losing the Crown Prince position. Yet, appearing in a brotherly manner to mediate seems like an attempt to make peace.
Huangfu Jingchen hadn’t considered reconciling with Prince Zhuang. He was just suppressing the matter temporarily to avoid further complications. Since the clue was related to Prince Zhuang, he went.
He seemed carefree and indifferent, but just a moment ago, he had asked Jiang Ning to discreetly investigate several places in Prince Zhuang Mansion.
Though unable to leave, he kept an eye on Huangfu Chi and Huangfu Yuxuan.
Huangfu Yuxuan hid quite well, showing almost no flaws except for very slight microexpressions in his eyes.
Huangfu Chi’s expression showed no changes, but perhaps Prince Zhuang didn’t involve him in this matter.
Huangfu Yuxuan also showed nothing out of the ordinary, yet for some reason, Huangfu Jingchen had a strong intuition that even if Wenjin’s kidnapping wasn’t related to Huangfu Yuxuan, he must be aware of it.
In any case, most of the affair regarding Wenjin likely involved Prince Zhuang and Huangfu Yuxuan.