novelAbuy Chapter 067: Farewell
Chapter 067: Farewell
In the seventh year of Shaoxing, Zhijia delivered a secret letter to Wuguo City on behalf of Yue Fei. The recipient of the letter was Zhang Quwei.
The matter was suppressed by the Court of Judicial Review at the time, but the case file still exists. It took me three months to unearth it from the pile of old documents.
Qin Hui's gaze fell on the dossier.
Before his death, Zhijia left behind a list of seven former subordinates who were willing to exonerate Yue Fei.
The roster was divided into seven copies, each with a missing piece of copper coin as a token.
I have reviewed the transaction records of all pawnshops and antique shops in Lin'an, Xiuzhou, and Zhenjiang over the past six months—
Tian Ruyi turned to the last page of the file.
"Between May and August this year, at least three similar copper coins with missing corners circulated in Lin'an City. One was in the Prince of Pu'an's mansion, one was in the old camp in the southern suburbs, and one—was in the Cining Palace."
The signing room was deathly silent.
Wan Qixie's palms were covered in cold sweat. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Qin Hui's face.
But Qin Hui laughed.
He smiled very softly, the corners of his mouth just slightly raised.
"Mr. Tian, thank you for your hard work." Qin Hui stood up, walked to Tian Ruyi, and personally poured him a cup of tea.
"You have been living in seclusion by the river for five years, and I have not visited you because I was afraid of disturbing your recovery. I have no choice but to ask you to come out of seclusion this time."
Tian Ruyi took the teacup, his withered fingers trembling slightly.
This is because tension causes the body to involuntarily become excited.
For someone who has spent their entire life in the intelligence industry, the greatest pain is not danger, but being useless.
Qin Hui gave him an opportunity to use the idle energy he had accumulated over the past five years to fight a battle that everyone thought was impossible. This excited him even more than giving him ten thousand taels of gold.
"Prime Minister," Tian Ruyi put down his teacup, his voice trembling slightly, "I have one more thing to report."
"explain."
"Three days ago, my apprentice spotted two people outside Houchao Gate." He took out a folded portrait from his pocket and spread it on the table.
The portrait shows a man and a woman.
The man was in his early twenties, tall and slender, with a sword at his waist; the woman was only twelve or thirteen years old, with her hair in two buns, and holding a plush rabbit in her arms.
"These two people came from Jiangbei three days ago, avoiding all official roads and checkpoints along the way, only taking mountain roads and abandoned ferry crossings."
They stayed at an inn outside the city for two nights, making a living by writing letters for people. The man was illiterate, so his sister helped him write.
The innkeeper said the man had a faded red rope wrapped around his wrist, suggesting he was a soldier.
Qin Hui looked down at the face of the man in the portrait.
"What's your name?"
"The man's name is Xiao Bieli, and the woman's name is Xiao Jinluo."
Tian Ruyi paused for a moment, then said, "I have checked. The name Xiao Bieli is recorded in the military register of the tenth year of Shaoxing—the vanguard of Yue Fei's army, one of the first officers to charge into the Jin army camp during the Battle of Yancheng."
Qin Hui's eyes narrowed slightly.
"In the eleventh year of Shaoxing, when Zhuxian Town retreated south, he was the only vanguard officer who openly disobeyed orders, leading his 300 men northwards without authorization. His whereabouts are now unknown. His status in the military register is—missing, suspected to have died in battle."
"But he didn't die," Wan Qixie blurted out.
"It seems he not only didn't die, but he's back." Qin Hui's voice was calm. "A vanguard officer of Yue Fei's army who had been missing for two years has returned to Lin'an at this very moment."
His finger slowly traced across the portrait, stopping at the face of the little girl holding the plush rabbit.
"Mr. Tian, you said he brought his younger sister?"
"Yes, her name is Xiao Jinluo."
Qin Hui remained silent for a while, then picked up his pen and wrote a line on a blank piece of paper. After finishing, he put the paper into a wax pellet and handed it to Wan Qixie.
"Tell the person who gave this to you not to touch the man yet, but to arrest the girl first."
Wan Qixie took the wax pellet and was stunned.
"Prime Minister, seize a child—"
"Child," Qin Hui's tone remained calm, "is like the softest part of a tiger's belly."
Wan Qixie did not ask any further questions.
As he left the signing room, he encountered a young eunuch at the door. The eunuch was carrying a food box, which he said was a winter solstice cake sent by the Empress Dowager.
Qin Hui took the food box, opened the lid, picked up a piece of cake, and saw the words "Serve the country with utmost loyalty" printed on it.
He stared at the four characters for a while, then put the cake back in the food box and said to Tian Ruyi, "Send it to the Dali Temple and tell the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards that this is his winter solstice cake for this year."
Tian Ruyi looked at the food box.
"Prime Minister, the interrogation of the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards—"
"No rush." Qin Hui returned to his desk and sat down, picking up his pen again. "Let him eat the cake first."
......
The night wind of the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month blew into the gate of Houchaomen, making the lantern in the old guard's hand sway.
The old soldier hunched his shoulders and moved closer to the brazier, catching a glimpse of two people walking towards him on the official road outside the city gate.
One was tall and the other short. The tall one was a lean man wearing a faded dark outfit with a faded red rope wrapped around his left wrist. The short one was a little girl with her hair in two buns, holding a plush rabbit in her arms, whose ears swayed as she walked.
"Halt, guide."
The lean man pulled a travel permit from his pocket and handed it over.
The old soldier took the travel permit and looked closely at the lantern. It read, "Zhang Erlang, a resident of Qiantang County, who makes his living by fishing and woodcutting, is traveling with his sister Zhang A'luo to Lin'an to visit relatives."
"Why seek refuge with relatives?"
"My uncle runs a herbal medicine shop in the west of the city," the man said, his voice hoarse but his words clear.
The old soldier examined the travel permit twice, but couldn't find any flaws. Just as he was about to let the man pass, he suddenly noticed the red string on the man's left wrist.
The red rope had faded so much that its original color was almost unrecognizable, the edges were frayed, and the knot was tied with three tight knots.
"What is this—" the old soldier pointed to the red rope.
"It was left to me by my mother, and I've worn it for over ten years," the man said calmly.
The old soldier nodded, returned the travel permit to him, and waved for him to pass.
The two walked through the city gate and entered Lin'an City.
The little girl hadn't said a word since entering the city, but suddenly tugged at the man's sleeve.
"elder brother."
"Um."
"When that old man was looking at your red string, your finger moved slightly."
The man did not speak.
"When you twitch your finger, that's when you're ready to draw your sword," the little girl said softly. "Brother, we don't have a sword to draw right now."
The man stopped and looked down at her.
The lantern light from inside the city gate shone on her round face, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling, and the plush rabbit in her arms was slightly deformed from her grip.
"Aro," he said, "I have a knife."
He extended his right hand from his sleeve, but there was nothing in it. Xiao Jinluo looked down at his hand, then nodded seriously.
"Yes, my hand is a knife."
Xiao Bieli withdrew his hand and continued walking forward. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned back to look at his sister.
"Ah Luo, is that osmanthus cake shop still there?"
"Yes!" Xiao Jinluo's eyes lit up immediately. "It's right at the corner of Yujie Street. Do you remember that Sister Shen who bought me two last time? They smelled so good, and they were sprinkled with osmanthus flowers—"
She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence because she saw an expression on her brother's face that she couldn't quite understand.
It wasn't a smile, nor was it a frown; his brows furrowed slightly and then slowly relaxed, as if he had confirmed something in his mind and then convinced himself.