All the assassins were captured. Qin Rui and Third Miss hadn't expected Yu Hanjiang and his group to chase them into the woods. They exchanged a glance; after all, Yu Hanjiang was the Perfect of Jiangzhou, and they couldn't very well pretend they hadn't seen them. Qin Rui had no choice but to step forward, cup his fists to Yu Hanjiang, and say, "Lord Yu, may I ask why you have come here?"
"Naturally, I was tracking down the assassin, and we just happened to end up here." Yu Hanjiang noticed that he was dressed in all black, just like the Shadow Guards around him, and immediately understood: "You're also a Shadow Guard?"
Qin Rui nodded: "Yes."
Since the Shadow Guards usually wear black and are masked, they don't know each other, so it's understandable that Long Sen didn't recognize him.
From this perspective, the emperor in the capital was fully aware of everything that happened in Jiangzhou. Perhaps His Majesty had long suspected that there were assassins or intelligence organizations in Jiangzhou, so he had the prince cooperate in staging a good show to lure out all these assassins.
Yu Hanjiang gave Long Sen a wink, and Long Sen immediately flew over and removed the bamboo hats from the assassins' heads—
As expected, they are the girls from Tianxiang Tower.
Aunt Qing was not present. The girls who came to assassinate her today were the same girls who were rescued from prison last night.
I thought Second Miss was careless, leaving Jiangzhou City and going to this remote forest, which was the perfect opportunity to make a move... but I never expected it to be a trap.
Realizing they had fallen into a trap, the girls were about to bite through the poison in their teeth to commit suicide when Long Sen, Mo Xuemin, and Xiao Lou, quick-witted and agile, grabbed their jaws with both hands.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang and said, "I'll remove the poison from their teeth and take them back for interrogation."
Xiao Lou was already an expert at tooth extraction; he'd learned from the Hunter's suicide attempts after failed missions. The girls of Tianxiang Tower stared in disbelief as Madam Yu calmly inserted silk threads into their mouths and deftly removed their poisonous teeth. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Madam Yu had removed all the poisonous teeth from the girls' mouths.
The girls: "..."
Everyone looked utterly hopeless.
Second Miss and Third Miss exchanged a glance and looked at each other blankly.
The terrified Ninth Princess had finally caught her breath and looked at her maid, Qu Wanyue, asking in confusion, "This Madam Yu not only knows how to perform autopsies, but she can also pull teeth? What is her background?"
Qu Wanyue thought to herself, "Our Professor Xiao knows so many things. He can even use Compass to make a brazier. It's a pity that Compass can't be used in this world, so Professor Xiao can only use 30% of his strength."
Meeting the Ninth Princess's curious gaze, Qu Wanyue could only reply evasively, "This subordinate does not know; you'll have to ask Lord Yu."
Princess Ninth looked complicated and didn't dare to ask Yu Hanjiang, "What exactly does your wife do?"
"Thank you for your hard work, Madam." Yu Hanjiang walked to Xiao Lou's side, gently put his arm around his shoulder, and pretended to be a loving couple in front of everyone before glancing at the assassins lying on the ground and saying solemnly, "Take them back to the prefect for questioning."
Third Miss suddenly spoke up: "Wait!"
Yu Hanjiang turned around: " Does Third Miss have any questions?"
Third Miss frowned and said, "We caught the assassins, and I'm taking them back to the Prince's Palace. There's no reason for Lord Yu to take them away!"
Yu Hanjiang looked at her calmly and said indifferently, " Third Miss, have you forgotten that His Highness has entrusted this case entirely to me for investigation and handling?"
Third Miss: "But..."
Yu Hanjiang interrupted her: "As the Prefect of Jiangzhou, I have captured the assassin within Jiangzhou's territory. It is only right that the government should interrogate him. Your Highness does not concern yourself with politics, so please do not trouble yourself with this matter. I will investigate as soon as possible and report back to Your Highness."
Third Miss wanted to speak, but Yu Hanjiang simply waved his hand and said, "Take her away!"
Long Sen immediately cooperated by binding the assassins hand and foot, preparing to escort them back to the Jiangzhou government office.
Third Miss was dumbfounded—she realized she couldn't argue with Yu Hanjiang at all.
Just as they were about to resort to violence, Second Miss reached out and stopped her irritable third sister, smiling as she said, "Since Father has already handed the case over to you, sir, the Royal Palace should not interfere any further. We'll leave it to you, Lord Yu."
Yu Hanjiang: "You're too kind, Princess."
He nodded to the princess, mounted his horse, and led the group of assassins back to Jiangzhou.
A total of six assassins were captured this time. Yu Hanjiang locked them in the woodshed and assigned Long Sen to guard them personally. He then called Ye Qi over to identify the girls. Ye Qi quickly named the girls. They all had stage names from the brothels, such as Hongmei, Xiangning, and Zitan. Ye Qi didn't know their real names.
Snow Goose and Aunt Qing are not present; perhaps they have other tasks to perform.
Yu Hanjiang called the assassins aside one by one for individual interrogation: "You're from Yan State, right?"
The girl was pale, but refused to nod.
Yu Hanjiang said coldly, " Where did Aunt Qing and Snow Goose go? Who is this 'master' you're talking about? Who's behind it all?"
However, the question went unanswered, like a stone sinking into the sea—since these girls were willing to leave their homes and come to Jiangzhou to do intelligence gathering and assassination work, they must have long since disregarded their own lives.
Yu Hanjiang interrogated them for an hour, but still couldn't get them to talk. Moreover, each girl's eyes were incredibly stubborn, as if they were saying with their eyes, "Don't bother, I won't tell you anything."
Judging from their "ready to die" attitude, these girls all
They have undergone professional training and have been brainwashed. They are Yan State citizens, and sacrificing for Yan State is their honor. Once they hold this mindset, Yu Hanjiang cannot extract any useful information from them.
Yu Hanjiang walked out of the interrogation room with a headache. Xiao Lou could tell from his expression that the interrogation was not going well: "They refuse to confess?"
"Hmm." Yu Hanjiang pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "They haven't said a word, so the leader behind the assassin organization is definitely not Aunt Qing. Aunt Qing is only in charge of affairs in Jiangzhou. Who Aunt Qing's superior is the key we need to investigate."
Mo Xuemin looked anxious: "If they won't talk, should we wait for new clues to emerge, or try to force a confession through torture?"
Ye Qi was taken aback and said, "Torture to extract a confession? Is that possible?"
In ancient times, it was common to use various forms of torture to interrogate criminals. Dungeons contained all sorts of instruments of torture, such as bamboo strips to clamp fingers, iron blocks to brand the body, and iron chains to pierce the shoulder blades...
Ye Qi felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of those blood-stained instruments of torture. He couldn't help but shudder and said, "These girls are only around twenty years old. If we torture them directly, they might not be able to withstand the torture and might give us clues."
Torture is also a method, but Yu Hanjiang is reluctant to take that step.
Although they had all traveled to ancient times, they still held modern views in their minds, and he simply couldn't bring himself to torture these young women with various cruel instruments of torture.
Seeing Yu Hanjiang's furrowed brows, Xiao Lou suddenly said, "I have an idea that might work."
Yu Hanjiang immediately turned to Xiao Lou: "Madam, please tell me."
Xiao Lou said, "You guys remember Liu Qiao's [ Twin ] card, right? It can copy anyone or any animal you see within half an hour. In ancient times, that card was equivalent to a disguise technique, so it should still work. Why not have her copy the appearance of an assassin, blend in with the assassins, and discuss their 'master'?"
Yu Hanjiang: "..."
This is indeed a brilliant idea; it allows us to send Xiao Liu as an undercover agent within the assassin organization.
Thinking of this, Yu Hanjiang immediately asked Lao Mo to call Liu Qiao over.
When Liu Qiao arrived, she indeed told everyone that her [ Twin ] card could be used. So Yu Hanjiang quickly made arrangements, instructing Lao Mo to interrogate the youngest girl and lock her in the study. Liu Qiao took a look and immediately copied the girl's appearance and voice. Then, Yu Hanjiang pretended to have finished the interrogation and had Lao Mo tie her hands behind her back with a rope and take her back to the woodshed.
After Liu Qiao entered the woodshed, she quietly sat down in a corner. An older woman asked with concern, "Xiang Ning, are you alright?"
The girl Liu Qiao copied happened to be named Xiang Ning. She nodded and said, "It's okay."
Another woman asked, "Didn't Lord Yu torture you?"
Liu Qiao shook her head: "No, they only asked me about my master, I didn't say anything."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
An eerie silence fell over the woodshed. Everyone was uneasy, worried that Lord Yu would subject them to various cruel punishments and tortures. Thinking of getting some bloody instruments of torture from the dungeon, some of the girls turned pale and their bodies trembled slightly.
The afternoon passed quickly, but no one came to interrogate them again.
As night fell, everyone's unease reached its peak. Liu Qiao carefully observed everyone's expressions and asked with feigned confusion, "What exactly does Lord Yu mean? He won't let us commit suicide, nor will he torture us. He's just keeping us locked up. Does he intend to starve us for a few days, torture us until we have a mental breakdown, and then interrogate us?"
Someone else said, "Then it would be better to just use torture. What's the point of slowly torturing someone like this?"
Liu Qiao feigned concern and said, "I've heard that Madam Yu has a mysterious background. Not only can she perform autopsies, but she can also use poison. What if she uses that kind of poison that makes us dizzy to paralyze us, and then interrogates us and we confess without knowing it?"
This possibility caused everyone's expression to change.
An older woman said coldly, "No matter what methods they use, everyone must keep their mouths shut and not reveal any information about the organization! Don't forget the oath you swore before your master—anyone who dares to betray their master will die a horrible death and bring ruin upon their family!"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
A young woman choked back tears as she said, " Sister Mei, of course we would never betray our master. I'm prepared to die. I just hope my parents and brother can live a good life in Yan State..."
Liu Qiao probed, " Sister Mei, have you ever seen your master's true face?"
Hongmei shook her head: "No, our master is a mysterious figure. We only follow Aunt Qing's orders and don't need to know anything else."
Liu Qiao frowned slightly in the corner. It seemed that these assassins also had limited information, and their "master" was very good at hiding his identity. In addition to swearing to serve their master, these girls also had their families in the hands of that "master." If they betrayed their master, their relatives far away in Yan State might be implicated. This was why they gritted their teeth and refused to say a word.
This interrogation is unlikely to yield any useful information, and Liu Qiao, who is among them, will only be able to gather very limited clues.
The next morning, Liu Qiao's transformation had ended, but she deliberately wore clothes similar to those of the other girls, kept her head down, and no one around her noticed that her face had changed.
Yu Hanjiang interrogated her first, and Liu Qiao told Yu Hanjiang what she had heard.
After listening, Xiao Lou analyzed carefully and said, " Since the leader of the intelligence organization in Yan State can control the families of these girls, he must have a lot of power in Yan State, or he must be a high-ranking official."
High-ranking officials were either members of the royal family.
Mo Xuemin said in confusion, "But we have absolutely no way of knowing about the situation in Yan State. I've looked through all the books on my bookshelf, but there's no record of the Yan State royal family or court. All I know is that the current emperor of Yan State is around 45 years old and is very ruthless."
Ye Qi scratched his head in confusion: "This shouldn't be the case. Since the secret room involves the three states of Qi, Zhao, and Yan, and we've found out that the assassin organization is entirely composed of Yan State people, if we can't get any clues out of the assassins, surely someone should be providing us with clues?"
Xiao Lou stroked his chin thoughtfully. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "My brother is definitely not dead yet."
Everyone looked bewildered: "Younger brother?"
Yu Hanjiang looked at him in surprise and said, "Does Madam have a younger brother? How come I knew nothing about this?"
Xiao Lou coughed lightly and said, "Actually, I don't know him either. He's my younger brother, which was forced into the plot. When I first entered the Peach Eight secret chamber, a floating window introduced my background—my father is a Coroner, my mother is a divine doctor, and I have a younger brother who is said to be serving in the army on the front lines, but his whereabouts are unknown."
He paused, then continued, "Thinking about it carefully, the words 'missing' are quite meaningful. If my younger brother isn't an important person, why say he's missing? Why not just make me an only child, or say he died on the front lines?"
Ye Qi said excitedly, "That's right! Since your brother was on the front lines fighting between Qi State and Yan State, it's fine to say he died in battle and his whereabouts are unknown. That proves he's not dead at all."
Liu Qiao said, "According to the usual plot of TV dramas, people who are missing usually appear at the crucial moment."
Xiao Lou nodded: "Besides my brother, don't forget there's someone else on the front lines."
Mo Xuemin suddenly came to his senses: "You mean, the prince's eldest son... Qi Fenghua?"
He suspected something was wrong with the Prince's mansion and thoroughly investigated its intricacies beforehand. Madam Yun had a son and a daughter after marrying the Prince. Her eldest son, Qi Fenghua, was fighting on the front lines with General Who Conquers the West and Yan State, and hadn't returned home for three years. Her eldest daughter, Qi Yiyao, had already been killed. If Qi Fenghua was just a minor character, why create such a character? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just say the Prince had four daughters?
The same logic applies to Xiao Lou's younger brother. His whereabouts are unknown, so he must not be dead. He happens to be on the front lines of the war between Yan State and Great Qi State. They are encountering a bottleneck in their investigation of the Yan State assassin group, and perhaps Xiao Lou's younger brother can provide clues in this regard.
Xiao Lou looked at Yu Hanjiang and said, "I remember that the memories we received after entering the heart room weren't all poured into us at once. Instead, when we saw a person, we would recall past events related to that person, right?"
Yu Hanjiang could also attest to this, nodding and saying, "That's right. When I entered the palace and saw the emperor, I remembered my childhood experience as his study companion and the favor he showed me; when I saw the Ninth Princess, I remembered the marriage arranged by the Former Emperor; and when I went home yesterday and saw my parents and grandfather, I remembered my childhood experiences in Jiangzhou. Many memories are triggered when you see the right people."
Xiao Lou said, "I don't have any detailed memories of this younger brother right now, but I can recognize him immediately whenever I see him... I just don't know what identity he will appear in?"
After careful consideration, Yu Hanjiang speculated, "Could it be the masked man who broke into the prison the night before? A male member of the assassin group?"
Xiao Lou paused, then asked, "Why do you say that?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "If your brother died on the front lines and his body couldn't be found, he would indeed be 'missing.' But obviously, that's not the case for your brother. So, where else could he be 'missing' on the front lines? Think about it, if Yan State can send spies to our side, can't we send undercover agents to Yan State?"
Everyone: "..."
Xiao Lou's eyes suddenly lit up: "If he's going to go undercover, of course he can't make it public. He'll definitely have to forge a new identity, and then his original identity will be 'missing.' What reason would someone who's far away on the front lines have to return to Jiangzhou? This time, following the assassin group and participating in the plan to assassinate the Prefect of Jiangzhou and the Prince is the best opportunity for him to return to Jiangzhou."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement, realizing that the other was right.
Teammates: "..."
The two Hearts geniuses have come up with so many possibilities from just "missing". Their imagination is truly amazing!
Ye Qi was stunned for a moment before he finally understood the analysis from Yu and Xiao. He scratched his head and said, "So, the lady's brother went missing on the front line. It's very likely that he infiltrated Yan State as an undercover agent and recently returned to Jiangzhou, bringing some clues about Yan State?"
Upon closer examination, what identity would the younger brother, who had been missing on the front lines for many years, suddenly appear in Jiangzhou and provide clues to everyone? This possibility, as speculated by Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou, was indeed the most reasonable arrangement.
Yu Hanjiang asked, "Madam, why don't we try 'luring the snake out of its hole' ourselves?"
Xiao Lou nodded in agreement: "Okay, tonight we'll go outside Jiangzhou City and lure my brother out. If he really did infiltrate Yan State as an undercover agent and is using this opportunity to return to Jiangzhou, then he will definitely try to contact his older brother."
******