C68

Because they had to investigate the case, the local officials arranged a good place for them to stay in the Flower Capital.

After returning to his residence, Yuchi Xuanyuan called over all of the investigators to discuss the matter.

As Yuchi Xuan's personal bodyguard, Yunruo was fortunate enough to stand by his side and listen.

One of the officials looked nervous and kept wiping his sweat, as if he was related to the situation.

Yuchi Xuan could tell at a glance that something was amiss, so he said to the official, "Lord Yang, tell me first, what were you doing last night at the time of the murder?"

When the Lord of Yang heard Yuchi Xuan speak to him, he was so nervous that his entire body could not help but tremble. "Last night …" Your subordinate was at home last night... Sleep at home. "

Hearing this reply, Yuchi Xuan's eyes narrowed dangerously. He slammed the table and said angrily, "Yang Yuanqing, how dare you! You were clearly drinking flower wine at the Drunken Red Chamber last night. Did you think that I would not know!? As the official in charge of the capital of Hua City, you could not have rushed to the scene to arrest the culprit at the first possible moment, what crime should you have committed?! "

Regarding this matter, Yun Ruo Lu also overheard it a little. According to Lord Yang's subordinate's report, they informed Lord Yang at the time of the crime, but Lord Yang didn't mind. It was only when the Shangguan family was burnt to ashes the next morning that they reported it to the Imperial Court.

"At that time, your subordinate had only come to report the fire in the Shangguan family, so I did not pay much attention to it. Your humble servant knows what I'm doing!"

Yun Ruo Lu felt that it was funny that this Lord Yang was trying to find a reason for her to commit a crime. It seemed that he was too impatient to serve as a Prefect.

Indeed, Yuchi Xuan was infuriated by him, and then he continued to attack his subordinates. "This King will give you three days. If you can't find the culprit, then all of you are welcome to meet me!"

"Your Royal Highness, your subordinate has something to report!"

Just as Yuchi Xuan was about to leave, a young official suddenly stood up from the seat furthest away from him.

"Oh? What business do you have with me? "

Although the official looked young, his eyes revealed a shrewd and capable look, and his face seemed to be in a constant state of vigor.

"This matter is of great importance, may I ask Your Highness for a moment to speak!"

Towards such a request, Yuchi Xuan was free to ignore it. However, thinking that it might indeed be related to the case, he replied, "Come to my study!"

Yun Ruo and Yuchi Xuan left together, while the other officials left dejectedly. They only had three days left to live.

On the way back to the study room, Yun Ruo Lu could not hold it in and asked, "My prince, are three days enough? "Perhaps they have already left this place?"

What she meant was, if they just stayed in Flower City, there wouldn't be much of a harvest. Maybe when they were investigating a case here, the organization's people would have already gone somewhere else to commit the crime.

"No, This King has a feeling that they have not left yet!"

Yuchi Xuan was very certain that his hunch wasn't that it originated from an unfounded guess, but from a fact.

Yun Ruo Lu was even more confused, "Is Your Highness sure?"

Yuchi Xuanxuan narrowed his eyes and said while looking at the cloudy sky, "If Ben Wang is not wrong, they probably haven't gotten what they were looking for, so they won't leave this place."

With these words, Yun Ruo Lu was instantly shocked. Now, she was certain that Yuchi Xuan knew many things!

Returning to his study, Yuchi Xuanyuan took out a piece of white paper and began to draw on it. Yun Ruo Lu did not disturb him and stood to the side, watching silently.

She had wanted to ask him if he knew that Xue Er wasn't dead, but every time the words reached her throat, she still couldn't say it.

Not long after, a map appeared on Yuchi Xuan's white paper. Before Yun Ruo Lu could ask what it was, a guard reported from outside. "Reporting to Your Highness, all the flowers have made Lord Huai request for an audience!"

"Send him in!"

Yuchi Xuan put down the pen in his hand and said casually.

The person who had entered was the young official from a moment ago. He bowed towards Yuchi Xuanyuan and introduced himself.

"Hua Du has sentenced Huai An to pay his respects to the Third Marquis!"

Yuchi Xuan raised a hand to indicate for him to be excused, then went straight to the point. "What do you want to report to me?"

Huai An was just about to open his mouth, but he glanced at Yun Ruo who was at the side, and then looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

Yuchi Xuan knew what he was worried about, so he explained, "He's my trusted aide. If you have anything to say, just say it!"

Hearing these words, Yun Ruo's heart was filled with excitement. She had actually gone from being Yuchi Xuan's personal guard to a trusted aide. She didn't even know when Yuchi Xuan had become so trusting of her.

Since Yuchi Xuan had already spoken, Huai An could no longer hesitate and directly said, "Before the Shangguan Family was exterminated, Shangguan Yuan had once asked for a drink with this official and said some strange things. "At that time, this official did not pay much attention to it. He was the one who said it. Who knew that within two days, the Shangguan family was exterminated?"

As soon as Huai An finished speaking, Yuchi Xuan looked at him excitedly, while Yun Ruo Lu's heart was also slightly moved. It was just that they all knew, perhaps Huai An knew some important clues.

"What did Shangguan Yuan tell you?"

Shangguan Yuan was the eldest son of the Shangguan family, and many Shangguan family matters were handled by this Shangguan Yuan, so he was basically the pillar of the Shangguan family.

Other than Shangguan Yuan, the Shangguan family had four other sons and two daughters, both of whom were still young and hadn't been married off. The other four sons also had their own merits and were helping their eldest brother look after the family business.

Huai An recalled while he spoke, "This humble subject doesn't remember it too clearly, because we were all drunk at that time. We only heard Shangguan Yuan mention a letter from his mouth."

It seemed that the Shangguan family received a letter before their family was exterminated. Perhaps this letter could solve the truth behind the riddle.

"What letter?" What else do you know? " Yuchi Xuan asked anxiously.

"At that time, Shangguan Yuan said something about the rise and fall of the Shangguan Family, the revival of the country, and so on. That's right! He also mentioned one place, which is the mine of his clan!

Huai An smacked his head and finally recalled an important point.

"Mine …!"

Yuchi Xuan and Yun Ruo said at the same time, thinking, why didn't they think of this!

"Huai An, investigate this case with this duke. If you succeed in solving this case, this duke will definitely credit you with a great merit!"

"Many thanks to Your Highness, this humble subject will do everything in my power to assist Your Highness!"

Huai An said excitedly. In the usually peaceful Flower City, this was indeed a good opportunity to build a career.

Yuchi Xuan, Yun Ruo Lu, and Huai An rode their horses to the mines ten miles outside of the city. Because the Shangguan family was exterminated, the miners who were working here were afraid that they would not get their wages, so they started causing trouble. However, in the end, they were suppressed by the soldiers sent by Yang Yuanqing.

The group of miners were all resting in groups of seventy to eighty, unwilling to work or leave.

This was because many people here had worked here for most of their lives. If they left, they would not know where they should go or what they wanted to do.

After observing the situation for a while, Yuchi Xuan and Yun Ruo Lu found nothing special, so they dismounted from their horses and walked among the workers, inquiring about the situation.

"It's the Prince!" It's the Third Marquis! "

One of them, with his keen eyes, recognized Yuchi Xuan and excitedly shouted at everyone.

When the others heard that the prince had arrived, they swarmed towards him like a swarm of bees. Yun Ruo Lu had thought that they were trying to rebel, but all of the workers had knelt in front of Yuchi Xuan and begged him to avenge their wrongdoings.

Yuchi Xuan knew very well that these miners were innocent, so he told them, "Everyone, rest assured that I will definitely investigate the Shangguan Family's annihilation. The mines here are temporarily under the control of the imperial government, so you can rest assured that the imperial government will not treat you unfairly! "

It didn't matter to them who was in charge of the mines. They only cared if they had food or if they could get paid for it.

Only after receiving Yuchi Xuan's promise did these people finally relax a bit. Some of them even began to take the lead and start working.

Yuchi Xuanxuan and Yun Ruo split up in search of clues regarding the Shangguan Family being exterminated.

The mine floor was a mess. Other than rocks and wood, there was nothing special about it.

Yun Ruo Lu walked alone as she looked around. She originally wanted to go into the well to have a look, but there was still a certain amount of danger if she didn't have safety measures, so she temporarily gave up on this idea.

Just as Yun Ruo Lu was strolling around but still couldn't find anything, she suddenly saw an aunt who was cooking nearby wiping away her sweat with a piece of high-quality pink silk cloth.

Yun Ruo was curious, she walked over and asked, "Auntie, can I borrow your silk handkerchief to take a look?"

The aunt didn't mind. Once Yun Ruo Lu said that, she passed it to her and continued to seriously light the fire.

Yun Ruo Lu held the scarf and looked at it carefully. She found that these silk scarves were not only made of high quality material, it was impossible for the mining aunt to buy it for such a high price. Furthermore, the color alone was not suitable for this aunt.

Thus, one could imagine that the original owner of the silk scarf must have been someone else.

"Auntie, can you tell me where you got this silk scarf?"

Hearing Yun Ruo Lu's question, she smiled and said, "Previously, young master brought a young lady to the construction site. That young lady accidentally dirtied the handkerchief and left it by the river not far away. When I went to wash clothes, I saw that such a good thing was lost, so I decided to wash it by the river and use it."

Girl? This was the Shangguan family's origin, why would Shangguan Yuan bring a girl here? Besides, which young miss had the leisure to come to such a dirty place to play? There must be a problem!