Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 122: Game of Chess

The assassination of the magistrate was a grave matter, only second in seriousness to the murder of the suspected prince. No, it was perhaps even more serious. After all, Luo Zhenwu was only rumored to be a prince, and the court had never made it clear if it was true or not. On the other hand, the person who had been assassinated this time was a genuine magistrate, a fourth-rank official, and he was even in charge of an important water transport hub. His status was far greater than that of a magistrate in whatever remote area.

This incident symbolized a blatant disregard for authority and an affront to imperial dignity, so no further explanation was needed—this was rebellion.

The Demon Suppression Bureau had established a cordon, locking down the area within ten li of the crime scene. The entire city was filled with tension, and the city’s defense forces were mobilized, sealing off all of the city gates.

Taking advantage of his status, Tang Buqi sneaked into the crime scene together with Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling.

The head of the Demon Suppressing Bureau in Yangzhou was named Gong Chaoqun. He was the middle-aged man who had previously warned Zhao Changhe about the Maitreya Cult’s illusion arts. Despite the seemingly trivial outcome of that incident, he held a high rank within the Demon Suppression Bureau, and he even surpassed Yue Hongling in cultivation level.

There were many people on the Ranking of Man who had reached the ninth layer of the Profound Gate. Meanwhile, those who were at this level of cultivation but were not on the ranking were often referred to as being “close to the Ranking of Man.”

However, in reality, the gap between those at the ninth layer could be massive. After all, even among the individuals on the Ranking of Man with a cultivation at the ninth layer of the Profound Gate, there were differences in rankings, and the gap between those on the Ranking of Man and ordinary ninth-layer martial artists was often even more outrageous the gap between Zhao Changhe and Cui Yuanyang when they were both at the third layer.

For example, it was widely known that half a year ago, Yue Hongling had defeated a ninth-layer martial artist despite being at a lower level of cultivation.

For that reason, the words “close to the Ranking of Man” were really not worth much in general. Chi Li claimed to have killed many who were “close to the Ranking of Man” along his journey, but most of them were probably very far from it.

However, Gong Chaoqun was indeed close to the Ranking of Man, and he was genuinely recognized as such, making him one of Tang Wanzhuang’s highly regarded generals.

Upon seeing Tang Buqi come with Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling, Gong Chaoqun did not say much but subtly nodded to Zhao Changhe. In his mind, Zhao Changhe was a secret agent working for the Demon Suppression Bureau, and the chief had even given him secret instructions for Zhao Changhe. Since Tang Buqi was the chief’s eldest nephew, and he was even accompanied by the renowned heroine Yue Hongling, their presence could be considered a significant aid.

Little did he know that if the magistrate had not died half an hour earlier, they might have become the ones responsible for killing him.

Zhao Changhe, armed with a saber and a bow, had a somewhat displeased expression on his face. He had been looking forward to secretly infiltrating the magistrate’s mansion at night with Yue Hongling, plotting an assassination together. Just the thought of it was both thrilling and romantic, but now someone had beaten them to the punch. Regardless, he couldn’t just curse at the perpetrator either; what they had done could be considered a righteous act, at least from his perspective.

“Uncle Gong, have you discovered anything?” Tang Buqi asked.

“Magistrate Qian was killed by an arrow,” Gong Chaoqun replied. “As he was about to enter the courtyard of his concubine, he was shot in the back of the head by someone on the opposite rooftop. The arrow was extremely powerful, penetrating through the back of his skull. After shooting the arrow, the assassin made a clean escape almost instantly, they ran away before the guards could even gather around. It was an extremely clean and efficient operation.”

Zhao Changhe secretly thought that if he had been the one there, the magistrate would have probably met the same fate.

Gong Chaoqun glanced at the bow that Zhao Changhe was carrying and continued, “The long corridor from Magistrate Qian’s residence to the concubine’s chambers is covered in vines and has low visibility. The moment he paused to enter the door was the best opportunity. The shot was exceptionally well-executed, accurate and ruthless. The perpetrator is undoubtedly someone skilled with a bow and arrow. In fact, I believe they likely have archery skills superior to yours, Young Hero Zhao.”

Zhao Changhe did not find the remark offensive in the slightest. After all, he did not often use the bow and arrow, and he had mainly practiced the saber lately, so there were obviously many people better than him. What crossed his mind at this moment was the memory of the blue-masked assassin who had shot an arrow at him. That arrow had been truly formidable. Without Dragon Bird’s warning, he may have fallen to that arrow.

Could it be that person?

However, others did not know of the blue-masked assassin. Tang Buqi’s first reaction was, “Since they’re skilled with the bow and arrow, could they be a northern barbarian?”

It seemed unlikely for the northern barbarians to be the ones to have killed Magistrate Qian, but Tang Buqi was willing to pin the blame on them. In fact, nobody really knew whether or not Magistrate Qian had dealings with the northern barbarians, so if they spread the story that he was killed by them, both the common people and the imperial court might believe it.

This could be a way to close the case neatly while also potentially bringing more attention to the actions of Chi Li and the other barbarians who were causing trouble in the Central Plains.

Gong Chaoqun’s expression took on a hint of amusement, and he asked Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling, “Both of you fought against the northern barbarians today. Do you have any thoughts on this matter?”

Zhao Changhe said, “What if I told you that a few hours ago, near the foreigners’ market, someone nearly took my life with a bow and arrow?”

Yue Hongling’s expression changed instantly. “Are you being serious?”

“Yes.”

Gong Chaoqun also appeared intrigued by what Zhao Changhe just revealed. He pondered for a moment and said, “If you had truly died from such a misfortunate event, we would definitely have placed the suspicion on foreigners... And if the magistrate were then to be assassinated in the same manner...”

Even though Gong Chaoqun did not continue, everyone understood what he was implying. It was clear that the perpetrator who had killed the magistrate was trying to shift the blame onto the foreigners, specifically the northern barbarians. They had laid the groundwork for tonight’s assassination of the magistrate by shooting at Zhao Changhe earlier, but they had not anticipated that Zhao Changhe would actually evade their attack.

As for why they targeted Zhao Changhe in particular, no one knew for sure. Could it be that they were aware of his identity as a secret agent of the Demon Suppression Bureau?

From this point of view, it seemed that the other party’s motive was rather complex. In any case, it was definitely not just the magistrate’s behavior at the banquet tonight. Originally, Tang Buqi had been a little suspicious of Wan Dongliu and Xuan Chong, but now it did not seem like it was them.

Tang Buqi thought for a while, then lowered his voice and said, “Uncle Gong, how about we just go along with the idea of pinning the blame onto the northern barbarians? It would provide a convenient excuse to eliminate all the barbarians in the area. The one who killed Magistrate Qian did a righteous... uh, I mean, well...”

You wanted to say that they did a righteous act anyway, right? In other words, you want to avoid a thorough investigation.

Zhao Changhe was beginning to appreciate Tang Buqi more and more. Even if this guy lives quite extravagantly, has no fighting experience, and keeps trying to pick a fight with me and provoke a conflict between me and Yue Hongling... at least... Wait, no. Damn it, this guy is horrible!

Yue Hongling spoke up, “If this were an ordinary situation, I would support your proposal. However, this time is different.”

Tang Buqi: “Hm?”

Yue Hongling said calmly, “They tried to kill Changhe.”

Tang Buqi: “...”

Zhao Changhe was left speechless, tears welling up in his eyes. Look, this is a true ally!

Gong Chaoqun asked Zhao Changhe thoughtfully, “What are your thoughts on this matter, Young Hero Zhao?”

Tang Buqi gave Gong Chaoqun a strange look. He wondered why Gong Chaoqun had asked Zhao Changhe twice for his opinion. Just because he calls me nephew doesn’t mean that he’s actually my uncle, does it? Why do you care so much about his opinion?

Zhao Changhe said, “I’m fine with pinning the blame on the northern barbarians, considering the circumstances. However, since they tried to kill me, even if we do officially place the blame on the barbarians, I still must investigate and find out who the real culprit is.”

Gong Chaoqun nodded.

With both the young master of the Tang Clan and the jade token undercover agent in agreement, he also found that framing the northern barbarians had many benefits.

But then, Zhao Changhe added, “Haven’t we overlooked something?”

Gong Chaoqun, being an experienced investigator, immediately knew what Zhao Changhe was getting at. “Are you referring to that concubine?”

“Yes. If what I know is correct, there should be a celestial maiden from the Maitreya Cult by the side of the magistrate. According to the Maitreya Cult’s manner of seducing people, I feel that the magistrate may just look for her every night. In other words, that concubine may very well be that celestial maiden.”

Gong Chaoqun revealed a smile. “Indeed, we have already detained her. She’s also quite unlucky. The magistrate died right at the door of her room, so she couldn’t just run away. If she had, she would have been suspected of assassinating the magistrate and fleeing. She could only stay there helplessly waiting for us to interrogate her. During our interrogation, we immediately found out her actual identity, so it’s really unfortunate for her. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“So, technically, the magistrate died right in front of the celestial maiden’s bed. Can we shift some of the blame onto the Maitreya Cult?” Zhao Changhe mumbled to himself. “We can say that the Maitreya Cult colluded with the barbarians to assassinate the magistrate, intending to launch a rebellion from both inside and outside the empire. The real culprit has already arranged an entire story for the Demon Suppression Bureau. Even the entire army within the city has been mobilized due to the magistrate’s death, and they’re ready to suppress the ‘rebels’ at any time... Meanwhile, the northern barbarians and those from the Maitreya Cult are clueless, thinking that they had nothing to do with the magistrate’s death.”

Tang Buqi was somewhat moved when he heard this. “So the timing of the magistrate’s assassination was actually on purpose? They knew that the magistrate would visit the celestial maiden’s chambers at that time!”

“Mm-hm, it appears to be a well-thought-out move by someone who understands the magistrate’s daily routine.” Zhao Changhe looked at Gong Chaoqun. “The question now is, should the Demon Suppressing Bureau cooperate and accept this ‘gift’ delivered to your doorstep by the enemy?”