Chapter 1242 - 918: Father and Daughter Estrangement
Just as Yu Wenye had said before, from the day after the Lantern Festival, the whole of Chang An became restless.
The Left Guard began a massive search throughout the city; every market, every road, didn’t escape their thorough search. Yet even with this, the assassins who had ambushed Pei Xingyuan and then vanished without a trace were still nowhere to be found.
Of course, they also took the owner and staff of the tavern where the assassins had hidden.
The owner had been frightened out of his wits by the event that morning, especially when people rushed out of his tavern to brawl with the court’s people. When captured, he confessed everything without the need for torture. However, he knew very little, as half the city had been out on the long streets the night before, and this tavern was in the busiest section, with at least hundreds, if not a thousand, patrons coming and going. How could he remember so clearly?
By the end of the interrogation, he could only barely recall that these people had all stayed overnight in private rooms drinking.
Yet only after the incident did they inspect those private rooms and find that the food and drinks ordered by those people had barely been touched. It seemed they had planned all along to stay there overnight, waiting for the carriage escorting Pei Xingyuan to pass by.
This raised new questions.
These people stayed in the tavern for an entire night, and they did not cover their faces when they started the fight, clearly unafraid of being seen by others. Were they not afraid of being recognized later?
This question was quickly answered.
Several days later, with no clues found in the city, the Left Guard began searching the outskirts. Soon, in a mountain ditch outside the city, they found several bodies. Fortunately, the cold weather had preserved them, allowing the tavern owner and the escort guards to identify them. They were indeed the assassins who had rushed out of the tavern and fought with them that day.
These people had evidently fled the city after their attack and were silenced here.
They had initially hoped Duke Wushan might bring some good news, but after several days of pursuit, he returned dejectedly to report, having found no trace of Jiang Xian and Liang Youying. After all, with the current war-torn chaos, finding two skilled fighters determined to hide was practically impossible.
The case was at a dead end again.
Yu Wenquan flew into a rage, harshly scolding the Left Guard, severely punishing all the escort guards of Pei Xingyuan, and the tavern owner and staff also received beatings. Duke Wushan’s salary was docked for a year.
After accepting the punishment, Yu Dingxing, enduring his wrath and the occasional throbbing pain from his half-blind eye, and the exhaustion from being jostled on horseback for days, returned home. A maidservant hurriedly served him a cup of hot tea. He took a sip and immediately smashed it to the ground, roaring, "So hot, do you want to burn me to death?!"
The maid, terrified, quickly kneeled, but before she could beg for mercy, Yu Dingxing had already exploded in anger, "Take her away and beat her!"
The maid cried and kowtowed repeatedly, "Master, please spare me, spare me..."
At this moment, someone reported from outside, "The Crown Princess Consort is arriving!"
Normally, Yu Dingxing would promptly go out with the household members to welcome her, but this time, he remained seated in the hall, unmoving, only watching the maid crying and begging at his feet, his face cold and sinister. The household people hurriedly went out to greet her, and soon, Crown Prince Consort Yu Mingyue walked in briskly.
Not until she entered the hall did Yu Dingxing lift his eyes slightly and say coldly, "The Crown Princess Consort has arrived. Please forgive this old official for being unwell and unable to greet you from afar."
Yu Mingyue’s brow furrowed.
She had been having a rough time these days. Ever since Yu Wenqian had returned to question her, though she denied everything, Yu Wenqian did nothing but maintained a cold demeanor. The whole Crown Prince Mansion adjusted their sails to the wind, favoring Lou Liangdi. She regretted deeply, wondering why she had tried to disrupt the case over a momentary quarrel. If she had known someone would assassinate Pei Xingyuan, causing the case to stall, why did they bother acting in the first place?
Now, Yu Wenqian didn’t trust her, and even the Emperor suspected them.
This time, Yu Dingxing was sent out injured to chase Jiang Xian and Liang Youying. Called a task, it was essentially a disguised punishment. Everyone knew the current state of chaos, where those two were rebels of Wanggang Village. If they reached the Eastern Capital, it would be a matter of two armies clashing. How could they possibly be found?
Sure enough, Yu Dingxing endured several days of hardship and had his salary docked. Though it was a mild reprimand, it was a clear slap in the face.
Yu Mingyue returned to the Yu Mansion with a belly full of frustration, intending to discuss with Yu Dingxing, only to find a maid crying tearfully on the ground. She immediately felt a surge of irritation, "What is going on here?"
Speaking, she noticed the shattered teacup on the ground.
Immediately ordered, "Take her away!"
At her word, the household people did not dare delay. The steward immediately brought two young servants, who dragged the maid out of the hall. Soon, heart-wrenching cries were heard from outside the inner gate, and the steward hurriedly had the main gate closed, shutting out the cries.
At this point, Yu Mingyue slowly sat down, looking at Yu Dingxing’s still somewhat ashen face, tentatively asked, "Father, these few days—"
Yu Dingxing coldly remarked, "Thanks to the Crown Princess Consort’s blessing, I haven’t been worked to death yet."
Yu Mingyue quickly replied, "Father, I don’t understand what you mean. It was the Emperor who ordered you to pursue those two rebels. So if you’re tired, it’s for serving the court."
Yu Dingxing bit his teeth hard and said, "Yes, serving the court."
"..."
"But the court never let the injured go on missions before."
Yu Mingyue’s throat tightened; she sighed heavily, "There was no choice in this matter."
Yu Dingxing sneered, "No choice? The Crown Princess Consort had plenty of choices before. Had me interrogate everyone in a village outside the city, ended up releasing Su Qinglan, and put down that Du Ruoming you yourselves had pushed forward. The Princess Qin and the Imperial Grandson remain unscathed. Now Pei Xingyuan is missing, and the Emperor has turned his arrows on me."
Mentioning this, a trace of coldness flashed in Yu Mingyue’s eyes.
She sat there silently for a long time before finally raising her head, lowering her voice to a whisper, and gently spoke, "The ones who ambushed Pei Xingyuan... does father know who they are?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Dingxing was stunned.
In the next moment, he suddenly burst into anger, his eyes reddening, "What does the Crown Princess Consort mean by this!?"