Chapter 1850

Hu Xiaotian stood aside listening, and when Fu Yuhong finished speaking, he unexpectedly said: "If no intruder was found, could this fire have been set by someone inside?"

Hong Beimo's face turned grim at Hu Xiaotian's remark; this fellow's words were truly over the top, basically saying there was a problem inside the Tianji Bureau. He gave a dry cough, not rushing to refute, but instead suggested to Qiqi: "Your Highness, since the incident has already happened and cannot be undone, we must first ascertain the exact extent of the loss."

Qiqi nodded, then went alone to the Seven Ingenious Pavilion, opening the copper door outside the small building; however, after the great fire, the copper door had warped from heat and its original mechanism was useless, so they had to resort to forceful destruction, and it took nearly an hour to open the door. Hong Beimo had the idle people wait outside, while only he and Hu Xiaotian accompanied Qiqi into the Seven Ingenious Pavilion. This pavilion actually consists of an inner and an outer part, somewhat like a nesting doll: the outward appearance is almost identical, but the materials inside and out are completely different—the exterior is cast refined iron copper, while the interior is an all-wood structure made of ironwood; though wood, it is harder than metal and stone. The two small buildings are not connected, separated by a water channel one zhang wide. This channel circulates inside; at the center of the ironwood tower there is a water channel leading straight to the roof, water is continuously drawn up through the mechanism and then flows down along the roof surface, gathering into the channel, endlessly repeating, making the ironwood tower seem perpetually under a rain shower.

The Seven Ingenious Pavilion was overseen in construction by Hong Beimo, but all its design came from Qiqi; even with Hong Beimo's experience and insight he marveled at its exquisite ingenuity, deeming the pavilion worthy of the phrase "craftsmanship surpassing nature."

Yet the ironwood tower before them had already been reduced to ashes; one must know that ironwood is not easily ignited, and moreover the ironwood used to build the tower had all undergone special treatment, making ordinary methods incapable of setting it alight.

Qiqi gazed at the small tower now turned to ash, her pretty face showing no expression at all.

Hong Beimo asked: "Your Highness, what treasures have you lost exactly?"

Qiqi replied: "Mr. Hong, are you asking this knowingly?"

Hong Beimo felt a bit embarrassed and said awkwardly: "I mean, aside from that skull."

Qiqi said: "That skull was a fake anyway, so what does it matter? Lost is lost; however, part of the content I recorded from the 《Qiankun Kaiwu》 Dan Ding chapter was also inside, and that has burned as well."

Hong Beimo naturally knew Qiqi was hinting at his 《Xuntian Baojian》 matter; he secretly thought this girl must have lost many treasures, seeing her seem somewhat annoyed and angry.

Hu Xiaotian said: "I don't think it was simply burned; this fire was clearly lit from inside. Someone must have sneaked into the tower, packed up all the treasures and stolen them, then set a fire to destroy the evidence so we cannot investigate. Your Highness, I am humble, but I am willing to take charge of a thorough investigation."

"Your Highness need not worry; since the incident occurred in the Tianji Bureau, it is naturally my responsibility to investigate. I will spare no effort to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible and will certainly give you a satisfactory explanation." Hong Beimo, old and scheming, certainly knew that if Qiqi entrusted the investigation to Hu Xiaotian, given Hu Xiaotian's usual disposition, nine times out of ten he would use this affair to turn the Tianji Bureau upside down, and Hong Beimo would certainly not give him that chance.

Qiqi furrowed her brows slightly, after a moment she said: "Very well, then let Mr. Hong handle the investigation."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Hong Beimo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiqi's words were not finished; she continued: "I give you three days; within that time you must provide me with a reasonable explanation."

Hong Beimo, hearing this, felt a headache coming on; he sighed and said: "Your Highness, expecting to clarify this matter in three days is probably not enough."

Qiqi said: "If you think it's insufficient, I can find someone else." She glanced at Hu Xiaotian, who grinned with a gloating expression; although Qiqi did not assign the task to him, she also did not make it easy for Hong Beimo—three days would surely not be enough to get to the bottom of this.

Hu Xiaotian deliberately said: "Your Highness, I think three days won't be enough; even setting aside other matters, just trying to investigate the Tianji Bureau's interior thoroughly is unlikely."

Hong Beimo heard his implication, still suspecting the matter was an inside job at the Tianji Bureau, he calmly said: "Thank you, Prince, for your concern; I will investigate the Tianji Bureau's affairs thoroughly. This indeed seems suspicious; even I, an old man, cannot enter the Seven Apertures Linglong Pavilion, let alone others in the bureau." All mechanisms of the Tianji Bureau were designed by the Yongyang Princess, hence Hong Beimo's statement; he does not believe anyone inside the bureau could solve the pavilion's mechanisms.

The speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart; Qiqi asked: "What do you mean, Mr. Hong?"

Hong Beimo replied respectfully: "Your Highness, please do not misunderstand; I certainly did not question your intention."

Qiqi gave a cold snort and turned to leave.

Hong Beimo, too, was left embarrassed and discomfited by her outburst, his expression full of awkwardness.

Hu Xiaotian did not rush to follow Qiqi away; he asked Hong Beimo: "What do you think, Mr. Hong?"

Hong Beimo said: "I have been overseeing construction at the imperial mausoleum these days and am not well informed about recent Tianji Bureau affairs." He shifted tone: "Prince, you really shouldn't be asking me; earlier, the Black Tibetan State Master Gangba Duo infiltrated the Tianji Bureau, or was it you who brought them away? Without your guarantee, the Tianji Bureau would surely have investigated their intrusion thoroughly, and perhaps things would not have come to this pass."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Are you blaming me with that remark? Indeed, that day Gangba Duo and the Black Tibetan Princess did enter the Tianji Bureau, but after my investigation I can confirm someone deliberately lured them in; the person who led them there is not only very familiar with the Tianji Bureau, but also likely knows something about the structure of the Seven Apertures Linglong Pavilion."

Hong Beimo said: "Prince, your words are spot on; I don't know whether you can find the person who lured them here."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I myself cannot clear my suspicion in this matter; then I will help you investigate the Black Tibetan side to see whether this incident is related to them."

Hong Beimo said: "In that case, thank you for your trouble, Prince."

At that moment, the leader of the Ying Squad, Fu Yuhong, hurried in; he wanted to say something, but seeing Hu Xiaotian present he hesitated. Hong Beimo said: "It's fine; the Prince is no outsider."

Fu Yuhong said: "Baobao has been found, but…" He paused deliberately there.

Upon hearing Baobao's name, Hu Xiaotian immediately recalled that although today's incident at the Tianji Bureau had been huge, Baobao had not appeared from start to finish; he had thought she was deliberately avoiding them, but from Fu Yuhong's tone it seemed not so, and Hu Xiaotian even suspected Fu Yuhong was deliberately bringing up Baobao in front of him, while Hong Beimo's earlier magnanimity was merely playing along.

Hong Beimo asked anxiously: "How is Baobao?"

Fu Yuhong said: "She has been severely wounded, clinging to life; it looks like the odds are against her."

"Where is she?" Hu Xiaotian could no longer suppress his concern upon hearing this, and shouted the question.

Baobao's condition was indeed critical; she had been struck by a heavy blow damaging her viscera, and her cervical spine was fractured. To inflict such violence on a young woman shows the attacker's ruthlessness. After examining Baobao's injuries, Hu Xiaotian could determine that the assailant did not intend to kill her—otherwise she would already be dead—and he had deliberately left her clinging to life.

Hong Beimo gazed at Baobao lying motionless on the bed, his face full of pity, and he exclaimed indignantly: "Who did this? To deal such a vicious blow!"

Fu Yuhong said: "It was the Black Tibetan State Master Gangba Duo; someone saw it with their own eyes."

Hu Xiaotian silently noted the name Gangba Duo; if true, he would surely repay tenfold, wanting Gangba Duo to wish he were dead to ease his hatred. For him, the urgent priority was not to find the true culprit but to rescue Baobao; he said in a deep voice: "Mr. Hong, please trouble yourself to send someone to the Prince's mansion to fetch Liang Da Zhuang and bring my medicine chest; I will personally perform surgery on Baobao."

Hong Beimo sighed: "I fear there is little hope."

Hu Xiaotian's eyes shone with determined conviction: "As long as there is a sliver of hope, I will give it my all."

Hong Beimo seemed moved by his words, he nodded heavily and said: "Prince, go ahead and act; if there is anything I can do, I will spare no expense."

At this time, the Grand Tutor of Dakang, Wen Chenghuan, was receiving in his mansion the visit of the Da Yong Grand Princess Xue Lingjun; for Wen Chenghuan her arrival was not a good thing, given the current sensitive period and the delicacy of all relations. Today he led a group of senior officials to impeach Hu Xiaotian, but the Yongyang Princess dismissed it without a second thought, showing that the Prince of Zhenhai, Hu Xiaotian, holds an ever more secure place in her heart.

The Grand Princess Xue Lingjun first presented gifts; these were mostly ceremonial items, not specially prepared for Wen Chenghuan, and all senior officials of the Dakang court receive one—for example, Zhou Ruiyuan, who holds the same rank as Wen Chenghuan, has already received one.

However, Wen Chenghuan is different from others; the Da Yong Grand Commander Li Chenghou specially brought him a piece of calligraphy—a handwritten copy of the 《Pusaman》 by the Marquis of Jingguo Li Xuan'gan, who in life was a master calligrapher, and after his death his ink treasures are all the more precious.

However, Wen Chenghuan was still different from others; the Grand Commander of Da Yong, Li Chenzhou, specially brought him a piece of calligraphy, which was actually the handwritten "Bodhisattva Man" by Prince Jingguo Li Xuan'gan; Li Xuan'gan was a renowned calligrapher in his lifetime, and after his death his ink works became even more precious. (To be continued~^~)