Chapter 1743: Unlucky Year, Hence Robbed by a Thief

"The household has never been robbed!"

Imperial Physician Mu thought it over carefully—there really had been no robbery.

"Could it be a thief within the household?" Chen Chen Guanlou ventured to guess.

Imperial Physician Mu, hearing this, was so startled he looked like who knows what, his face going pale.

"Th-this can't be possible! The storeroom where the poisons are kept requires two keys used at the same time to open the door. One is here with me, the other is with Wenxu. How could Wenxu have stolen from under his own watch?"

"Go fetch Mu Wenxu. Ask him face to face and we'll know."

Chen Chen Guanlou couldn't be bothered to guess, and ordered a jailer to invite Mu Wenxu over.

Mu Wenxu arrived at the office carrying the scent of medicines all over him, and properly paid his respects, behaving obediently as a junior.

"May I ask what matter my lord has summoned me for?"

"Mu Wenxu, I ask you—where is the key to the family storeroom?" Imperial Physician Mu demanded first, his tone harsh and fierce, looking for all the world as if he'd beat the man to death at the slightest disagreement.

Mu Wenxu's face was blank with confusion. "Storeroom key?"

"Yes! The key to the family's forbidden storeroom—where is it?"

"It's on me." Mu Wenxu, still not understanding, obediently fished out the key hanging around his neck.

Imperial Physician Mu stepped forward urgently—the key was genuine.

He pressed on, "The key has been on your person the whole time, never left your body?"

Mu Wenxu nodded blankly. "Never left my body. The matter you instructed, Grandson has kept firmly in mind, never dared to slacken."

Imperial Physician Mu let out a breath of relief at once—as long as Mu Wenxu hadn't stolen from under his own watch. Thank heavens, he hadn't chosen the wrong heir! He waved his hand, signaling the other to withdraw.

"Hold on!" Chen Chen Guanlou called Mu Wenxu back. "Have you ever mentioned the key to anyone?"

"The key? Why would I mention the key?"

"Back when you were on duty at the Imperial Medical Bureau, did you ever chat with people about Imperial Physician Mu, ever reveal that Imperial Physician Mu is skilled with poisons?" Chen Chen Guanlou pressed again.

He thought it over carefully—the biggest oversight was that Mu Wenxu had once served as an imperial physician at the Imperial Medical Bureau for half a year. Young and inexperienced, it was entirely possible someone had pumped him for information.

Mu Wenxu remained blank. "I—I don't remember."

It was something from several years ago; he truly didn't remember. His time at the Imperial Medical Bureau was, for him, like a nightmare—he subconsciously wanted to forget that period. His brain had obliged, and that stretch of experience grew ever more blurred in his mind. Some important matters he still recalled, but what he had said during that time he genuinely could not remember.

"My lord, what has happened?"

"Your household has been robbed." Chen Chen Guanlou felt Mu Wenxu needed to know. Since he was to inherit the Mu family, he couldn't be treated as a child—he ought to shoulder part of the family's responsibilities.

Ah?

Mu Wenxu turned urgently to Imperial Physician Mu. "Grandfather, when was the household robbed? Was anyone hurt?"

"I don't know when it was robbed either. A certain poison I compounded in my earlier years has now turned up on a certain dead man. Sigh…"

Imperial Physician Mu understood Chen Chen Guanlou's intention and decisively told the truth.

Mu Wenxu gripped the key tightly, his expression first blank, then suddenly enlightened, frowning in deep thought. "I thought it over carefully—the key truly never left my body. However, when I was on duty at the Imperial Medical Bureau, I often pulled all-night shifts and was terribly drowsy. Once I slept, I slept like the dead. Whether anyone stole the key to copy it during that time, I cannot be certain."

Chen Chen Guanlou understood in his heart. He said to Imperial Physician Mu, "The matter of your skill with poisons was perhaps known at first to only two or three people. Now, passed from one to ten and ten to a hundred, I reckon everyone who should know already knows. Someone wanting to use poison to harm people, stealing poison from your residence is entirely normal. Exactly when the thief stole the poison can no longer be traced. Old Mu, hurry back and destroy that poison called Red Flower. Just pretend nothing ever happened."

Imperial Physician Mu nodded in agreement; he too was in a panic, dreading that Song Wu's death would drag him in.

Chen Chen Guanlou told him to set his mind at ease—he would keep an eye on the Ministry of Justice's progress in the case. The crux of this case was not what the poison was, but who wanted to kill Song Wu, who administered the poison.

Song Wu was already a cripple—killing him would be a dirtying of one's hands.

Under normal circumstances, only an Emperor who'd lost his mind would kill someone.

But…

Emperor Yuanding was, by nature, not quite right in the head. Going mad and throwing fits was routine for him!

So the prime suspect remained Emperor Yuanding.

Just to be safe, Chen Chen Guanlou still invited a brother from the Six Doors to take a look at the Mu residence. After inspection, the Six Doors brother's conclusion was that the thief had most likely entered through the skylight on top of the wall rather than the main gate. In other words, no one had copied the key—the Imperial Medical Bureau had been wrongly suspected.

The group measured the size of the skylight—so small a space that only a child could squeeze in and out.

"A shrinking-bone technique?" Chen Chen Guanlou asked curiously.

"It could also be a dwarf, or an actual child! Judging from the marks on the skylight, it was at least half a year ago. That is, last year. You truly didn't notice anything unusual at the time?"

The Mu family members shook their heads in unison.

If they had noticed anything unusual, how could they have waited until today to learn the residence had been robbed.

Chen Chen Guanlou asked Imperial Physician Mu in a low voice, "Have any other poisons gone missing?"

Imperial Physician Mu's heart tightened. "Besides Red Flower, three other poisons are also missing. This year my luck has truly run against me!"

"Indeed not going smoothly. Go burn some incense at a temple tomorrow." Chen Chen Guanlou believed in metaphysics—the things that had happened to him were mystical enough. The ways of Heaven and fortune were not just empty talk; one had to take them to heart.

Chen Chen Guanlou took out the payment, saw off the Six Doors brother, and took the opportunity to ask him to keep an eye out for any notorious thieves in the jianghu. If the thief could be found, the reward was negotiable.

With the silver in hand, how could the Six Doors brother refuse? Everyone knew Warden Chen was generous—his money was the easiest to earn, as long as the job got done.

"Warden Chen, rest assured. I'll spread the word in the jianghu. Even if we can't catch the person, we can still find a lead or two."

"Excellent! Don't let anyone else know about this—inquire quietly in private."

"I understand! Leave it to me. I know every famous thief in the jianghu. Once we find the person, we'll definitely get a lead. Such a tiny skylight, climbing in without alerting anyone takes some skill. But stealing right here in the Capital City Domain without giving prior notice—very poor manners. This kind of thief must be taught a lesson, made to know the might of the Six Doors!"

Chen Chen Guanlou added another ten taels of silver on top, treating it as wine-and-dish money, inviting the man for a drink.

Both sides were very satisfied.

One praised Warden Chen for his generosity.

The other praised the investigation as capable, calling him a divine detective!

As the saying goes, everyone boosts the flower-decked sedan chair.

After sending the man off, Chen Chen Guanlou beckoned Imperial Physician Mu closer to speak. "You've got eyes on you now. My advice is either destroy all these poisons, or move them somewhere else for safekeeping."

Destroy them—Imperial Physician Mu couldn't bear to! Every one had taken tremendous effort, consuming countless medicinal ingredients, rare flowers and exotic herbs, and endless experimentation to compound. Each one was his heart's blood.

"Move them where for safekeeping?"

"What place could be safer than the Heavenly Prison? As long as I'm here at the Heavenly Prison for a single day, no one will dare come to the Heavenly Prison to steal. Moreover, the Heavenly Prison is patrolled at all times. Even if someone comes to steal, they'd be caught on the spot. It wouldn't be dragged out for half a year before discovering the theft."