Chapter 523

"If only he had run off in Tianjin Guard, but he didn't! First, we need to think this through clearly—when the Dongying people came to assassinate us, did he run off first, or did he hide to one side and observe?"

Su Qiao looked at Luo Luo Yangxing as he spoke.

Luo Luo Yangxing lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said: "He most likely didn't run, he observed the outcome. Otherwise, who would have sent a carrier pigeon to the people at Tianjin's White Horse Carriage House?"

"That's right. He didn't run, he saw the whole outcome, and once he knew the assassination had failed, he had to get away. First, he couldn't enter the city, because it was already dark by then, and only the soldiers coming to see Your Majesty were allowed inside—other people weren't permitted in. So he could only stay outside, or ride a horse. Did you find any signs of a horse being lost?"

"No. If you really did have a horse, it would certainly have left traces, but there wasn't a single trace at all!"

377, you didn't find anything?

Luo Luo Yangxing was absolutely certain!

Although their case-solving might not match Su Qiao's, when it came to examining traces, tracking, tailing—that was what the Embroidered Uniform Guard did best.

If they slipped up on something like this, the Embroidered Uniform Guard might as well disband on the spot!

So Luo Luo Yangxing was fully confident.

Su Qiao nodded. "In that case, it means he didn't ride a horse. He didn't ride a horse, and he was carrying a pigeon—one person, not convenient for traveling. Where would he be?"

After Su Qiao's analysis, Luo Luo Yangxing couldn't help but put himself in that person's shoes.

"Mr. Su, if we follow your analysis, the most likely thing is that he had hidden somewhere beforehand—a fairly concealed spot—and only released the pigeon after the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Eastern Depot agents had left, and very likely left that place immediately afterward."

"Yes. First, regarding the pigeon—he definitely hadn't been carrying it in his clothes the whole time, because it would have easily suffocated."

Su Qiao nodded and continued his analysis.

Luo Luo Yangxing likewise expressed his agreement. "If he wasn't carrying it in his clothes, then it means he had a cage for the pigeon, and most likely it was hidden among goods as cover."

"Didn't your Embroidered Uniform Guard pick up on this lead?"

Su Qiao couldn't help but press further.

Luo Luo Yangxing nodded awkwardly and said: "We did mention it, but there were only pigeon droppings and feathers—no pigeon cage was found. At the time, our people assumed it was leftover from someone receiving a message, so they didn't take it seriously."

Su Qiao said nothing upon hearing this.

It was normal to have things left behind, and if they really were that meticulous, the case certainly wouldn't be completely without a lead.

So it only proved that they still needed Su Qiao's help.

"Alright, my lord Luo, no need to be upset. Since we've already worked out so many leads, we should verify them next—we can't let these people get away with it!"

Su Qiao saw Luo Luo Yangxing's awkward and frustrated look, and patted his shoulder with a smile to comfort him.

Luo Luo Yangxing had a good temperament too—he had only been frustrated for a moment, and now quickly adjusted his mood.

He said to Su Qiao: "Mr. Su is right. I'll arrange for people to investigate separately right now."

"Good!"

Su Qiao didn't stay around to wait either.

Who knew how long it would take to get results? If there was no news for a day or two, did he have to wait here for a day or two?

He had better use that time to go home and taste the delicacies Liu Rushi had made.

That's right—Liu Rushi hadn't been painting lately, and had instead taken up researching all sorts of delicacies.

She personally tried making each one—kept the tasty ones, and had the bad ones given to beggars, so it wasn't a waste.

The main thing was, Liu Rushi was clever and deft—her cooking skills were quite good, very inspired, and the odds of ruining a dish were low.

This time Luo Luo Yangxing very respectfully saw Su Qiao out, and even personally arranged for people to escort Su Qiao home.

……

It had to be said, after Luo Luo Yangxing's several rounds of self-purging, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had indeed retained many elite members, and efficiency had greatly improved.

In just two or three days, the people sent out had all brought back results.

Whether good or bad, at least the investigation speed had picked up!

After the reports were compiled, Luo Luo Yangxing notified Su Qiao at the first opportunity.

Su Qiao had only just come out from... and arrived at the Northern Garrison Command once again.

"Already have results?"

Su Qiao sat down, took a sip of tea, and asked.

Luo Luo Yangxing nodded and relayed the reports from his subordinates to Su Qiao.

"We investigated everyone in Tianjin city and in the capital who raises pigeons, but this lead is a dead end again!"

"Oh? How so?"

Su Qiao asked curiously, pressing further.

Luo Luo Yangxing shook his head and said: "The Embroidered Uniform Guard checked quite a few pigeon keepers, but none of them are the one we're looking for. The pigeon keeper might be hiding very deep and we didn't find him, or he might have already left Jingcheng."

"Alright, since the pigeon lead turned up nothing, did you find anything during your second sweep around Xiaohuang Village?"

Su Qiao continued asking.

Luo Luo Yangxing's somewhat unsightly expression finally recovered quite a bit. "We really did find some leads."

"Tell me!"

"There was blood on the ground, and we did find some pigeon feathers left behind. Other than that, we didn't find anything."

Su Qiao didn't know what to say upon hearing this—was their sweep clean and accurate, or was their thinking rigid?

Honestly, he wasn't entirely at ease.

"My lord Luo, why don't you take me to have a look? Just hearing you describe it gives me no sense of the scene—it's a bit hard to picture."

In truth, he still wasn't entirely at ease, but Su Qiao had just rephrased it so as not to make Luo Luo Yangxing too embarrassed.

Fortunately, Luo Luo Yangxing understood his meaning, and without any difficulty nodded and agreed.

Then, under the Embroidered Uniform Guard's arrangement and escort, Su Qiao and Luo Luo Yangxing arrived at the place where they had found the traces.

It wasn't very far from Xiaohuang Village—only two li.

The location was fairly close to the edge of the mountain forest; at night, at the very least, the area was pitch black and not easy to spot.

On the ground there was also a large pit, dug out much like a trench.

Inside, dry grass had been spread on top — clearly laid there by the person who had been in charge of keeping watch earlier.

There was also a spot where a fire had been lit.

Because the pit was dug very deep, if one lit a fire in here, at night it couldn't be seen at all — pitch black in the forest, the smoke was practically invisible.

Under such circumstances, Luo Luo Yangxing and his Embroidered Uniform Guard were in fact extremely furious!

This amounted to someone brazenly causing trouble right under their noses, and they hadn't even known — they had let the culprit slip away.

A textbook slap in the face!

Su Qiao had no intention of needling Luo Luo Yangxing; instead his gaze fell on the dry grass and on this dug-out deep pit.

"Did you find anything?"

Seeing Su Qiao say nothing for a long while, instead poking here, looking there.

Luo Luo Yangxing was already very irritable; now out of patience, he felt Su Qiao surely couldn't have found anything either, that coming out was a complete waste of time, and he was just getting angry for nothing.

He noticed Luo Luo Yangxing's tone was off, but he didn't really mind.

He really had found a few useful things.

"There are still some findings."

"Oh?"

Luo Luo Yangxing and the crowd of Embroidered Uniform Guards all turned their eyes to Su Qiao, somewhat surprised and also a little curious.

They had discovered this place quite some time ago.

And had gone back and forth inspecting it several times, without a single clue.

Su Qiao opens his mouth and says he has a lead — surely he's not just stringing people along?

Luo Luo Yangxing still had some composure after all; despite being half in doubt, he still opened his mouth and humbly asked Su Qiao for guidance.

"I wonder what clue Mr. Su has discovered — give the men under me a lesson too!"

Luo Luo Yangxing said, looking at Su Qiao.

378, Trace Analysis!

Su Qiao smiled and pointed at the deep pit as he spoke: "Commander Luo, have you noticed? This pit wasn't dug in any simple way. Having such an idea, and having this kind of time, proves he's been coming here for quite a while — or rather, he ran here at the very first moment to observe."

"Mm, quite right. The assassination lasted into the night, so he had enough time to dig the pit and prepare the dry grass here."

Luo Luo Yangxing said in agreement.

Su Qiao continued his analysis: "He prepared dry grass, and also prepared branches and the like — this proves that as he watched, he had already determined in advance that their side couldn't win. They lost!"

"That makes sense too. If he thought they would definitely win, he wouldn't need to prepare these things — he could just regroup and leave. Otherwise, if the assassination of Your Majesty succeeded, the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Eastern Depot would both go mad; staying here would mean being completely done for and caught!"