Tao Mo sat in the carriage feeling somewhat awkward. His original exclusive seat had been taken by Sang Xiaotu, so he could only sit close beside Gu She.
Gu She’s eyes were closed, and he seemed somewhat sleepy.
Tao Mo stared blankly at his profile, his heart pounding like thunder.
Only when Sang Xiaotu said softly, “My lord, we have arrived,” did he suddenly remember that there was still a third person in the carriage. His face instantly flushed scarlet, and he did not know how much of his foolish, infatuated state Sang Xiaotu had seen just now. He answered awkwardly, rose, and got out of the carriage. When he turned back, however, he saw that Gu She had already woken and was looking at him with a burning gaze.
“Would Young Master Gu like to come sit in the county yamen for a while?” he invited.
Gu She said, “Another day.”
Sang Xiaotu lowered the curtain, cutting Tao Mo’s disappointed gaze off outside it.
Watching the carriage slowly disappear at the end of the street through the chill of the early morning, Tao Mo turned and entered the county yamen.
Behind him, Hao Guozi said, “Gu She really appeared at just the right time today.” Thinking of the way Peng Xiang had entangled them so bitterly, he felt a wave of disgust.
Tao Mo abruptly stopped in his tracks and said in vexation, “I forgot to thank him.”
Hao Guozi said, “It won’t be too late to say it when we go back. In any case, we are living under the same roof now.”
“Who is living under the same roof with whom?” A deep, weathered voice came from ahead.
Hao Guozi looked up in shock and cried, “Old Tao!”
Old Tao slowly walked up to Tao Mo and bowed. “Young Master.”
Tao Mo’s eyes grew hot. He grabbed Old Tao’s arms with both hands. “You came back safely. That is truly wonderful!”
Old Tao said, “I was worried about Young Master the whole way and dared not delay, so I hurried back day and night.”
Hao Guozi said, “Old Tao, you are no longer young. Can your body endure it?”
“Traveling was not much. It was only the draft leaking through the roof that nearly froze me to death.” In truth, Old Tao had seen at a glance that the roof tiles had been shattered by someone using internal force, and after thinking it over, the only person who would hide it from him and do such a pointless thing was Duanmu Huichun.
How could Tao Mo have thought of that layer? Believing that Old Tao had truly been chilled badly, he grew very anxious. “I will immediately invite a doctor to come and take a look!”
Old Tao waved his hand. “There is no need. My body can still hold up.”
How could Tao Mo be willing to listen? He immediately sent Hao Guozi to invite a doctor.
Old Tao could not argue with him, so he let him go.
Tao Mo asked, “Is your former master still well?”
Old Tao silently nodded. After a long while, he said, “Back then, it was I who wronged him. It is rare that he does not bear a grudge and is still willing to spare my life and let me live out my old age in peace.”
“Spare your life?” Tao Mo was startled.
Old Tao realized with a start that he had let something slip and hurriedly patched it over. “I mean, he did not use the contract I signed in the past to bind me and was still willing to let me return to Young Master’s side.”
Hearing this, Tao Mo was also greatly grateful. “This master truly is kind-hearted and generous.”
Old Tao smiled and changed the topic. “Young Master’s learning has improved greatly.”
Tao Mo said, “It is Adviser Jin who instructs me every day. He often reads me popular novels about officials. They truly have been of great help.”
Old Tao still trusted Adviser Jin, and believed that the books he chose would not be too poor, so he nodded. “Where did Young Master just come back from?”
Tao Mo’s steps stiffened slightly. Only after a moment did he say, “These past few days, Hao Guozi and I have been temporarily staying at Gu She’s residence.”
Old Tao deliberately acted surprised. “Oh? When did Young Master become so close with Gu She?”
Tao Mo then said some good things about Gu She, such as how warm-hearted and righteous he was.
Old Tao listened without showing any emotion. Only after Tao Mo finished did he say, “I also heard that Gu She helped his fellow disciples fight a lawsuit against Lu Zhenxue in court?”
Tao Mo was first startled, then after a moment, remembered that Old Tao was referring to the case between the Liang and Qiu families, so he said, “That case has already been concluded.”
Old Tao said, “Gu She is Master One-Hammer’s accomplished disciple. There is nothing wrong with Young Master befriending him.”
Tao Mo vaguely felt uncomfortable hearing this. He befriended Gu She absolutely not because Gu She was Master One-Hammer’s accomplished disciple, but because Gu She was Gu She. But Old Tao had only just returned, and he was not willing to argue with him over this matter, so he merely listened in silence.
“It is only that you must not favor one side and slight the other, and neglect Lin Zhengyong’s disciples.” Old Tao spoke earnestly. “There are no more than two ways of being an official. One is to stand out from the crowd and rise swiftly through the ranks. The other is to take the middle path and preserve oneself through wisdom. Young Master, do you understand what I mean?”
Tao Mo’s lips moved. In the end, he could not hold back and said in a low voice, “Gu She and I are only private friends. It does not involve official business.”
That was precisely what Old Tao was truly worried about. He sighed softly, wanted to say something, then held it back and changed the subject. “I heard Young Master Yi Yu came to the county yamen a few days ago?” This news had been passed to him by Duanmu Huichun and was also the reason he had rushed back on horseback. Back then, because of one moment of carelessness on his part, Master Tao had died with hatred in his heart. He did not want such a tragedy to happen again.
Tao Mo said, “He stayed for a few days, then left.”
Old Tao nodded. Duanmu Huichun had already sent people back to make inquiries. If his guess was not wrong, he feared that Huang Guangde had abandoned Yi Yu after using him, burning the bridge after crossing the river, and had forced Yi Yu to come to Tanyang County to seek Tao Mo’s protection.
Seeing Old Tao preoccupied, Tao Mo said, “You have traveled so many days. You must be utterly exhausted. Why not go back to your room and rest a little?” Speaking of going back to his room inevitably made him think of the hole in the roof, so he added, “I will hurry them to repair the roof as soon as possible. Adviser Mu’s room is not damaged. You should stay in his room first.”
Leaving only his own roof perfectly intact—Duanmu Huichun was truly acting without restraint. Old Tao shook his head and turned toward the room Duanmu Huichun had previously stayed in.
He had only walked a short distance when the gatekeeper hurried over from the other side and said, “My lord, Lord Cui says there is a murder case.”
Tao Mo’s heart tightened. He suddenly remembered the case Gu She had mentioned last time and thought to himself: Could it be true?
Unexpectedly, the dead person was not the tyrannical bully he had imagined.
Even more unexpected was that the dead person looked extremely familiar to him.
He turned to look at Hao Guozi.
Hao Guozi did not recognize him at first, but after looking him over for a long while, his expression gradually turned doubtful and shocked. Only after a long time did he murmur, “Wan Feng?”
Seeing his expression, Cui Jiong probed, “My lord knows him?”
Tao Mo nodded. “He is from my hometown.” Not only was he from Tao Mo’s hometown, but through Yi Yu’s connection, they had once sat down together, drinking and talking happily.
Hao Guozi frowned. “Why has he come out too? Could Qunxiang Tower have collapsed? Otherwise, why are all these male courtesans, one after another, leaving the tower where they should be staying and running out?”
Only then did Cui Jiong learn that the deceased was a male courtesan, and his enthusiasm for investigating the case immediately diminished somewhat.
Tao Mo asked, “Where was the body found?”
Cui Jiong said, “It was found in the river. When it was discovered, he was holding onto a piece of driftwood, but he had already been dead for a long time. The fatal wound may have been the arrow wound in his back.”
Tao Mo frowned. “Why would anyone kill him for no reason?”
Hao Guozi said softly, “Could it be Huang Guangde?”
Tao Mo asked, “Why?”
Hao Guozi said, “I do not know many wicked people, and the one wicked enough to take someone’s life is probably him. Maybe he took a fancy to Wan Feng, but Wan Feng refused…” He could not keep making it up. Wan Feng was a male courtesan of Qunxiang Tower; he had entertained countless patrons. How could he suddenly refuse?
“Ah, could it have something to do with Yi Yu?” Once he thought of this, he felt as though he had tugged at the loose end of a thread. “I already thought Yi Yu’s appearance was suspicious. Perhaps he stirred up some great trouble and had no choice but to hide here.”
Tao Mo said, “With no evidence, do not make wild guesses.”
Cui Jiong had been listening with great interest and wished they would drag out a few more suspects, so he quickly said, “Discussing a case is precisely when bold assumptions are needed. We are all people of the yamen, so there is no need to be as cautious as commoners.”
Tao Mo asked, “Where exactly did the incident take place?”
Cui Jiong said, “I have already sent people to search upstream along the riverbank. There should be news soon.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tao Mo saw Adviser Jin hurrying over and quickly went to meet him. “Adviser, why have you come?”
Adviser Jin glanced at the corpse and said in a low voice, “Was this body fished out of the river?”
Tao Mo nodded.
Adviser Jin said, “A few dozen zhang north of here is the neighboring county. I fear this murder case may not have occurred within our county.”
Tao Mo asked in puzzlement, “What of it?”
Adviser Jin said, “A murder case is assigned according to the place where the crime occurred. If this case did not happen in Tanyang County, then it is not ours to take over.”
As he was speaking, a yamen runner hurried back to report, “Lord Cui, this case belongs to the neighboring county.”
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