Chapter 76: Qu Qingyou

Yanziwu, Shenhezhuang.

The officials all showed puzzled expressions, and the Water Battalion Commander dropped to his knees with a thud: "Your Highness, this subordinate... this subordinate knows."

Everyone's eyes swiveled over at once, not understanding why the battalion commander's reaction was so extreme—was this Shenhezhuang some remarkable place?

The Water Battalion Commander groaned inwardly; he couldn't very well not admit it. Even if Taihu was vast, the navy had sailed its waters and the surrounding river channels over the years, so a water estate that large couldn't possibly have escaped notice entirely.

If he flatly denied it, he'd later be charged with ignorance and dereliction, which would be hard to bear. Better to admit he knew—perhaps there'd still be some room to maneuver.

"You know?" Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes. "Speak."

"Yes, Your Highness." The Water Battalion Commander wiped his sweat and stammered: "Ever since this subordinate took up his post at Taihu, that estate has been there, deep in the reed marshes along the lake channel some dozens of li west of the city. The old soldiers all know the place. They say it's been there for many years."

"Oh?" Zhao Ti's face was expressionless. "Then have you gone to investigate it?"

"This subordinate... this subordinate naturally went to investigate."

"Mm?"

The Water Battalion Commander lowered his head: "Went a few times. Only maids and servants were home, didn't see the estate's master, so this subordinate took his leave."

Zhao Ti gave a cold laugh: "Afraid you only left after pocketing some silver, eh?"

"Ah, that..." The Water Battalion Commander's heart clenched at once.

"This prince won't press you on that." Zhao Ti's lips curved slightly. "Didn't you notice anything amiss?"

"This subordinate... this subordinate never went inside." The Water Battalion Commander pressed his forehead to the ground.

"Didn't even go in?" Zhao Ti frowned.

"Your Highness, the maids there said, said..."

"Said what?"

The Water Battalion Commander said: "Said their household is related by marriage to the great Wang clan in the city. This subordinate saw how exquisite the estate was, its elegant construction, so I didn't go in."

"The Wang clan in the city?" Zhao Ti thought for a moment—the Wang clan of Suzhou, a branch of the Langya line. After the Disaster of Yongjia, some of the Wangs moved to Suzhou; more came during the Jianyan era of later generations, and still more after the fall of the Southern Song. In this dynasty, many Wangs of Suzhou had taken up official posts.

The Water Battalion Commander said: "That maid said the old matriarch was a daughter of the Wang clan. Though she is no longer here, they are still kin. This subordinate figured that since they were relatives of the Wangs, nothing could be amiss, so I never went inside to inspect."

Zhao Ti snorted: "Plenty of people in the world are surnamed Wang. Who knows if they're not impostors? Besides, a daughter married out—who knows how long she's been dead—how can they still lean on her maiden family's name?"

"Your Highness speaks truly. This subordinate failed in his duty, failed in his duty." The Water Battalion Commander lay on the ground, not daring to move.

Zhao Ti said: "Since you know the place, muster the navy tomorrow and go take a look at this estate. This prince has received word that those living there are not decent folk."

"Yes, Your Highness..." The Water Battalion Commander finally breathed a sigh of relief inside, but then immediately thought: if they really seize a few people and he confesses to taking their silver, he'll have a hundred mouths and not one word of defense. His vision went black before his eyes.

Zhao Ti looked at Sun Tong: "Marshal Sun, muster some soldiers tomorrow and requisition some boats. We'll go together."

Sun Tong hastened to assent. Having just misspoke and not been punished, but instead being entrusted with a task, he was suddenly filled with mingled surprise and delight.

He then dismissed the officials. Zhao Ti sat in the hall watching Tong Guan snip the lamp wick, lost in thought.

A year had now passed since the matter at Wuliang Mountain. Perhaps because Grand Empress Dowager Gao Taotao had, for some unknown reason, suddenly rallied briefly before passing, Helian Tieshu of Western Xia had not led the First Class Hall on a mission to the Great Song. Perhaps documents had once been sent, but Gao Taotao, gravely wounded at the time, had refused.

So the Western Xia First Class Hall had never come to Jiang Nan.

As for North Qiao Feng, there was no appointment with the First Class Hall either, but the Beggars' Sect assembly should still have been held, and North Qiao Feng's origins should have been revealed. As for how far things had gone—whether he had returned to Shaoshi Mountain, or even reached Juxian Manor—it was hard to say.

And Murong Fu's impersonation of the Western Xia First Class Hall warrior Li Yanzong, and the First Class Hall's appearance in Jiang Nan, had not occurred either.

The timeline had already begun to unravel.

If Murong Fu was home now, he could see about catching him directly. Murong Fu's Wu Gong was baffling—seeming to grow stronger against the strong and weaker against the weak. He wondered if it had something to do with the supreme art of Star-Shifting.

If Murong Fu wasn't home, he wouldn't disturb the situation. He'd hold steady first, finish dealing with the Ming Cult matter, then turn back to act.

After thinking it over, Zhao Ti rested. Early the next morning, the officials came to report.

Then only Sun Tong and the Water Battalion Commander followed him out, and troops were mustered.

Zhao Ti picked a hundred capital garrison troops who were good swimmers. Many of the capital garrison were familiar with the water—several rivers ran through and around Dongjing, and it wasn't far from the Yellow River, so they often went swimming in their off hours.

Sun Tong also picked a hundred state soldiers who could swim, then had the Water Battalion Commander lead the way. They exited the west gate and headed straight for the Taihu waterway.

At the bank, the scenery was lovely—tender willows, red blossoms. The Water Battalion Commander went to arrange the army's boats, and Sun Tong gathered the temporarily requisitioned wooden craft. Each boat carried anywhere from a few to a dozen or so men, roughly four or five hundred in all, and they set off along the river toward Taihu.

The water was calm now, green ripples stirring gently. After several turns, they gradually entered the edge of Taihu—vast misty waves, distant water meeting the sky, as if heaven and water were one color, with no end in sight.

The Water Battalion Commander led the way, the boats steering toward a small inlet. The water grew thick with lotus blossoms and emerald leaves, lovely beyond compare. After winding through for a while and passing a thicket of reeds and wild rice, they came upon a maze of crisscrossing waterways like a chessboard.

After winding along for who knew how long, they spotted a corner of upturned eaves amid the distant willows.

The Water Battalion Commander said: "Your Highness, we've arrived."

Zhao Ti surveyed the scene ahead: "This is Yanziwu, Shenhezhuang?"

The Water Battalion Commander said: "Your Highness, this is Qu Qingyou, the head of Yanziwu. Behind it is Tingxiang Shui Xie, and then comes Shenhezhuang. Qu Qingyou has a maid watching the gate; this subordinate always came here first each time."

Zhao Ti nodded: "Go see if anyone's in."

The small boat pulled closer. The Water Battalion Commander leapt ashore first; Zhao Ti disembarked. Before them stood four or five scattered cottages, delicate and exquisite. On the nearest small cottage were written the two characters Qu Qingyou.

The Water Battalion Commander stepped forward and knocked: "Miss Abi, Miss Abi, are you in?"

There was no sound from within. The Water Battalion Commander knocked several more times, puzzled: "Could she have gone into the city to buy things?"

Zhao Ti said coolly: "Go check the other cottages."

The Water Battalion Commander did as told and knocked on the other cottages—no one in any of them. Zhao Ti thought briefly: "Go to Tingxiang Shui Xie."

They boarded the boat and shortly arrived at Tingxiang Shui Xie—also an elegant, Qu Qingyou place. They went ashore and searched around, but again there was no one.

Zhao Ti recalled that one of these two places was Miss Abi's residence and the other Miss Ahzhu's. Normally they wouldn't both be empty. Since the First Class Hall hadn't come to the Great Song, the matter of their coming south hadn't occurred—so they shouldn't both be away from home.

He said: "To the estate behind."

Shenhezhuang was now very close, almost connected to Tingxiang Shui Xie. They rowed over and went ashore. The estate was very ancient and unadorned, yet utterly silent.