[Xu Residence]
"Brother, you're back", Xu Qiaoqiao beamed with a smile as she rushed up to Xu Yicheng to hold his arms.
He was holding a snack bag. He passed it to her as they walked.
She opened it and her smile brightened, "you got me my favorite persimmon cake. Brother, you're the best"
She released his arm and took one out to eat.
Xu Yicheng stopped walking and turned to face her.
"What?" she asked.
"You personally came out early to welcome me home. Is there a problem?" he asked.
"How could there be a problem?" she denied as she took a bite of the cake but she sneaked a glance at him and caught his face that read, 'don't lie'.
She sighed, "all right, I heard Fang Jinghe and Lin Yaotang were arrested and their pharmacies sealed off for selling banned drugs. I was worried something bad had happened to you"
Xu Yicheng smiled, "your brother is very smart. What could possibly happen to me?"
She lowered her voice, "I heard the banned medicine was 'dust sleep'. Father left a lot of that medicine. How did you handle it?"
[Flashback]
"Master Xu, these are all the medicines", Ming yuan said opening a cart filled with several little bottles of the medicine.
Xu Yicheng remained silent as he softly fanned himself.
"What do you think we should do?" Ming yuan asked.
"Get rid of them", Xu Yicheng said with a neutral voice that also carried authority and a sense of finality.
Ming yuan turned to the three servants behind them, "carry the medicines and throw them out"
They rushed forward and lifted up the cart and turned to leave.
"Wait", Xu Yicheng stopped them, "don't throw them away"
Ming yuan paused, "how should we get rid of them, then?"
"Second Prince is on his way to Wei City for the investigation. He would surely investigate all major pharmacies. Throwing away the medicine would be selling ourselves right into his hands"
"Then, what does Master suggest we do?"
There was silence for a while before Xu Yicheng spoke again.
He turned to look at Ming yuan, "I heard Fang Jinghe has sent for a mechanism master for his secret warehouse"
Ming yuan understood immediately. He gave a bow, "I'll get it done"
[End of Flashback]
"Brother, you're amazing. You increased the punishment of the guilty and saved the innocent", Xu Qiaoqiao gave him a thumbs up.
"All right, let's go eat. I'm starving, I haven't eaten all day", Xu Yicheng said.
Xu Qiaoqiao happily held his arm again as she followed him to the dining hall to eat.
"Didn't His Highness invite you for lunch? How come you didn't eat anything?"
"That can't be called a lunch. If I had tried eating, the food would have got stuck in my throat and it would have been counted against me as evidence", he joked.
Xu Qiaoqiao's laughter filled the air and the smile on Xu Yicheng's face widened. His sister's happiness was his happiness.
[Wei Prefecture]
Fang Jinghe was still putting on airs on getting to the prefecture.
"Let go of me. Do you know who I am?" he said shaking himself off the two guards grip.
They let him go once inside.
He adjusted his ruffled clothes as he faced Prefect Wen, "Prefect Wen, what is the meaning of this?"
Prefect Wen stood up, "Master Fang, you should know why you are being arrested. I suggest you admit to your crimes and spare us the trouble"
"What crimes?! I, Fang Jinghe, am well-known for being a reputable and honest business. What crimes do I need to admit to? Absolute nonsense!" he shouted.
"Master Fang, there is no need to shout here", He Rui said walking in.
Everyone bowed but Fang Jinghe was not particularly in a pleasant mood. What he did not know, however, was that He Rui's mood was no better.
"Your highness, I thought we had made things clear at the teahouse earlier. Why did you send them to arrest me for no reason?"
"Master Fang, mind your words. I don't arrest people for no reason", He Rui said looking stern.
"Master Fang, your warehouse was found to contain banned drugs. Do you care to explain yourself?" Prefect Wen asked.
Fang Jinghe turned to face him, "that was obviously planted there to frame me. I don't think I owe anybody here an explanation"
"Is that so? In that case, why did you send for a mechanism master to seal your warehouse right after hearing about His Highness's upcoming arrival?"
Fang Jinghe's expression faltered and He Rui turned to Prefect Wen, "where did you get this information from?"
Prefect Wen with a meeker voice explained, "Actually, Lord Commander Mo had also sent some information to us"
He Rui's jaw tightened but he knew he had to calm down.
"What else did the letter say?"
"It said Master Fang is not guilty of indirectly or directly causing the Prime minister's death"
"You see? You see? I am not guilty. Today, I am going to issue a complaint to His Majesty for pressing false charges against a prestigious family", Fang Jinghe said pointing at Prefect Wen.
"Although you are not found guilty in the prime minister's case, that does not change the fact that you sold banned medicines. That is a grave offense", He Rui said.
Fang Jinghe paused for a bit for speaking up again, "I admit that I did sell a few banned medicines but which pharmacy doesn't? If Your Highness is capable, why not arrest all of them?"
He Rui who had been bottling up his anger inside could not hold it in any longer and sent Fang Jinghe sprawling with a flying kick. Everyone in the room immediately knelt down.
Fang Jinghe who had been hit on the chest coughed up blood. He was lying on the floor like a drenched kitten with all his earlier arrogance gone.
He Rui walked towards him slowly and bent down to look at him in the eye. He held up his collar and lifted his head up. Fang Jinghe who was still panting heavily from the attack was petrified.
"Thank you for your advice. I will not forget to find every single person", he said before standing up.
He turned to Prefect Wen who was still kneeling with his head bowed "take me to see Lin Yaotang"
Prefect Wen immediately stood up, "this way, Your Highness"
[Channing Palace]
"They've found out so quickly?" Lingxi was surprised.
She was watering the flowers in the garden when Qin Yan delivered the message to her.
"Yes, I heard Young master assisted in the investigation"
Lingxi paused on her watering and turned to look at Qin Yan with a bit of worry, "brother is involved?"
"Yes, I heard they sent a message to Young master requesting for assistance"
Lingxi gave a mild sigh in thought before turning back to continue watering.
"He Rui is a man of great pride. Knowing him, he would never ask for assistance, especially from my brother"
"If that's the case, is someone else is working behind the scenes to help?"
"Not necessarily, they may have something to gain from this investigation. It's more like letting others do the work for them"
"Either way, they have figured it out. What's next is for His Highness to find a way to crack Shen Cheng'an", Qin Yan paused and thought for a while, "do you want me to find out who was behind the message?"
"No need. Since they've decided to lend a hand, they'll definitely see it through to the end. Let's wait for them to play their next move"
"Okay"
Lingxi moved on to water the peonies and a thought crossed her mind, ".... letting others do the work and reaping the rewards. Now that I come to think of it, this kind of move seems rather familiar"
Her mind wandered to the masked man she had encountered in the past.
"Do you think it's him?" Qin Yan asked understanding who she meant.
Lingxi paused, 'deceptive fox, is it really you?" she wondered.
"If it's really him, we'll find out soon enough", she said and continued watering the flowers as if nothing had happened.
******
Meanwhile…..
"Your highness, Xiao Huan has done as you ordered. Lord Commander Mo stepped in and the case is progressing smoothly", Jun Jie reported.
"That's good", He Yu nodded.
He was seated in his study reading.
He paused for a second before asking, "what about Shen Cheng'an?"
"They couldn't get anything out of him as you expected"
He Yu closed the book he was reading and sat up straight to look at Jun Jie, "Lin Yaotang is getting what's coming from him. Now..." he said gently tapping the book on the table, ".....it's Shen Cheng'an's turn"