Chapter 519: Only One Day
This was like a gift from the heavens.
Both men were in disbelief. They exchanged a look and saw the same incredulity in each other’s eyes.
Zhao Chengyin asked tentatively, "Lord Lu, are you here... to provide testimony?"
Lu Yu nodded. "More than that. I also have clues regarding the origins of those assailants."
This time, Zhao Chengyin and Zhang Qian were truly stunned.
"Clues!? My lord, you already know where they came from!?"
Lu Yu’s expression remained unchanged. He simply said, "That is your affair. I am only responsible for providing the information I possess."
Zhao Chengyin was at a loss for words.
So was Zhang Qian.
Their superiors had indeed given them a strict order to have the Shuntian Prefecture handle this case.
But they were completely clueless. Now that Lu Yu had finally arrived, clearly bearing crucial news, why was he acting as if it had nothing to do with him?
But this was no time to worry about such things.
’Solving the case is what matters!’
Zhao Chengyin immediately invited him in. "Lord Lu, please elaborate."
Zhang Qian reacted just as quickly. In that brief moment, he had already prepared a brush and paper and began taking notes off to the side.
Lu Yu glanced over, then quickly looked away.
"Today, at a quarter past 5:00 AM, the Ye Mansion’s carriage was ambushed on Shiyan Street. The leader of the opposing party first killed the driver with a dart, then forced Second Miss Ye out of the carriage."
"There were five assailants in total, dressed in black with black cloths covering their faces. Their skills were extraordinary."
Lu Yu paused.
"You should have already seen the faces of those five men, so I won’t describe them again."
Zhang Qian, who was writing furiously, paused.
He glanced at Zhao Chengyin with a troubled look. When Zhao Chengyin gave him a subtle signal, he tactfully stopped writing.
’Right, this sentence probably doesn’t need to be recorded.’
Zhao Chengyin asked, "Lord Lu, you don’t recognize those men either?"
Lu Yu shook his head.
"None of them are from the Capital City. I have indeed never seen them before. The mastermind likely hired them from outside the city for this assassination."
Zhao Chengyin’s spirits lifted. "How do you know they aren’t from the Capital City, Lord Lu?"
Lu Yu replied, "Their accents."
"Their accents?"
"A southern accent. From around Yizhou and Quan Chuan."
At this, even Zhang Qian couldn’t help but look up, his excitement unconcealed. "Lord Lu, are you certain?"
’This would narrow the search perimeter significantly!’
Lu Yu nodded.
"These five men arrived in the Capital City half a month ago. After arriving, they stayed separately in two different inns. The night before last, four of them met at Qingyang Building. They likely received their orders then to carry out the assassination today."
Zhao Chengyin and Zhang Qian listened, dumbfounded.
’This... this isn’t just simple ’testimony’ anymore, is it?’
Zhao Chengyin couldn’t help but ask cautiously, "It seems... the Bla— Lord Lu, you have already uncovered some information?"
Only seven hours had passed since Ye Chutang’s assassination attempt this morning. For Lu Yu to have gathered so much information in such a short time, there was only one explanation—the other members of the Black Cavalry Guard had also taken action!
’No.’
’That personage took action himself!’
’Moreover—by delivering all the investigation findings so directly, that personage is clearly announcing to everyone that *he* is the one investigating this!’
Sure enough, Lu Yu did not deny his speculation. He only said, "On the day they met, another man appeared. He had a brief meeting with one of them outside Qingyang Building. As long as you find that man, everything will fall into place."
Zhao Chengyin felt like slamming the table in applause.
"Excellent! Excellent! With this lead, the investigation will be much easier! I’ll send my men out at once to find him!"
Qingyang Building was quite famous in the Capital City, and the time was so specific. It was like a beacon of light for them, lost as they were in a fog.
But Lu Yu raised a hand and took something from his sleeve, unfurling it.
"No need to go to the trouble. This is a portrait of the man. You can just look for him directly."
Looking at the portrait, Zhao Chengyin and Zhang Qian fell silent once again.
’...What’s left to investigate? Couldn’t the Black Cavalry Guard just go and arrest the man themselves!?’
Lu Yu said, "He was likely in Disguise at the time, so this portrait is only for reference. However, a person’s physique cannot be faked. You can focus your search on that."
Zhao Chengyin opened his mouth to speak, but then hesitated.
’Even so,’ he thought, ’with a portrait of the man in their hands, how hard could it be to find him?’
Zhang Qian felt that in all his years navigating the ups and downs of officialdom, he had never handled such a simple case.
It was practically a guaranteed success.
He once again omitted a few of Lu Yu’s sentences from his notes, secretly pondering how to phrase his record so it wouldn’t seem like Lord Lu had just thrown the answer in their faces.
But Lu Yu suddenly looked at him. "Record my previous words exactly as I said them."
Zhang Qian was utterly astonished. "Lord Lu?"
Zhao Chengyin was also stunned.
"Doing that... wouldn’t it be inappropriate?"
He glanced at Zhang Qian’s densely filled notes. "If we do this, we’ll probably be able to arrest the man tomorrow—"
"It will be tomorrow," Lu Yu interrupted him.
Zhao Chengyin didn’t react for a moment. "Huh?"
’Didn’t the Eldest Princess give us three days?’
’If the case is closed tomorrow, everyone will know the Black Cavalry Guard got involved!’
’Then—’
Lu Yu placed the portrait on the table.
"Tomorrow, this man must appear at the Shuntian Prefecture."
"Dead or alive."
...
After saying his piece, Lu Yu left, leaving Zhao Chengyin and Zhang Qian speechless for a long time.
After some time, Zhang Qian finally came to his senses and asked with a complicated expression, "My lord, should we do as Lord Lu said?"
In truth, it was a pointless question.
Lu Yu had come on behalf of that personage. His words were that personage’s will.
Zhao Chengyin picked up the portrait.
The ink on it was not yet fully dry, a clear sign it had just been drawn.
’Is this... the power of the Black Cavalry Guard?’
In less than a day, the entire case had been practically solved.
Zhao Chengyin’s heart was filled with a mix of emotions.
"Closing the case this quickly is a good thing. Why wouldn’t we do it?"
Zhang Qian hesitated for a moment. "But if we do, won’t everyone know that the Black Cavalry Guard took action?"
The Black Cavalry Guard’s reputation was indeed formidable, but Shen Yanchuan had been keeping a very low profile since returning to the Capital City.
’At a time like this...’
"Didn’t you just say he didn’t want to act ostentatiously?"
’This doesn’t seem like it, does it?’
Zhao Chengyin’s eyelid twitched.
’How could I have expected this!’
’The Eldest Princess gave us three days! Who would have thought Shen Yanchuan couldn’t even wait a single day!?’
Zhang Qian didn’t know what he was thinking and mused to himself, "In that case, wouldn’t the Hidden Guard have to become a Bright Guard? Wouldn’t the whole world know he’s been protecting Miss Ye?"
’What kind of person would be worthy of so much of his attention? Even the ’debt of saving his life’ probably isn’t enough to explain this, right?’
Zhao Chengyin’s brow twitched.
Zhang Qian rubbed his chin. "My lord, why do I get the feeling that the Princely Heir has wanted to do this for a long time, but just never found the right opportunity?"
’Otherwise, how could he act so decisively, accurately, and ruthlessly?’
’He didn’t even leave us a moment to catch our breath!’
Zhao Chengyin looked up at the ceiling.
"Investigate! Investigate through the night!"