But Fang Yuanping’s question was soon answered.
Night fell completely. Gaojia Town was cloaked in darkness, like a giant beast lurking in the shadows with its mouth wide open, ready to devour anyone in its path.
Eunuch Xu had fully expected that by the time they arrived at Gaojia Town, they would be seeing nothing but ruins.
But what he saw instead was a perfectly intact town.
That caught him completely off guard. His brows furrowed involuntarily.
Seeing his expression, Little Dongzi immediately guessed what he was thinking and leaned over to whisper, “Godfather, did something go wrong?”
Old San and Old Si, however, looked delighted. They rushed up with the others from Qi Wang’s household. “Quick! Our Lord Gao is inside the post station! You must hurry, if you don’t move fast, something might happen to our lord and Miss Qi!”
Qi Wang had sent another of his trusted aides, Li Changshi. He glanced at the silent Eunuch Xu and asked in a low voice, “Eunuch Xu, what do you think?”
Eunuch Xu was still reeling in shock, but hearing the question snapped him back. He smiled and said, “Then hurry, of course! His Highness’s dearest, can’t let anything happen to them.”
Old San and Old Si remembered Gao Qing’s warning well, they knew Eunuch Xu wasn’t trustworthy. So they kept their guard up, and only ever turned to Li Changshi for instructions.
Li Changshi was a classic civil official, he despised arrogant, overreaching eunuchs like Xu.
Since Eunuch Xu himself said to go, Li Changshi took the lead and raised his hand. “Let’s go.”
As they made their way deeper into Gaojia Town, the lanterns burned sparsely along the streets. But the further in they went, the heavier Eunuch Xu’s mood grew.
Gaojia Town was supposed to have already been blown to pieces, so where was Fang Yuanping?
What was he doing?
And now, who knew where to even find him?
Eunuch Xu cast a glance backward and signaled to Little Dongzi with his eyes.
If the town hadn’t been blown up, then Gao Qing might still be alive.
And if Gao Qing was still alive, things were about to get very complicated.
They’d need to be fully prepared.
Little Dongzi gave a subtle nod to reassure him. They had brought enough people. There wouldn’t be any issues.
Meanwhile, Old San and Old Si had already rushed into the post station. The moment they entered, they cried out in shock, “Big Brother!”
Li Changshi heard their anguished shouts and quickened his pace. But once he stepped into the courtyard, he froze in place, utterly stunned. He stood there at the threshold, unable to move.
The courtyard was full of corpses.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and something far fouler.
He had thought the first thing he’d see would be victims of the plague, miserable, dying patients.
But instead, he was greeted by a field of the dead.
Bodies everywhere. Most of those on the ground floor were Old San and Old Si’s men. The two of them recognized familiar faces and cried out in grief as they called their names.
Once they got to the second floor, there were even more bodies, most wearing the uniforms of constables.
Li Changshi remembered how Old San and Old Si had insisted that someone inside Qi Wang’s palace had tampered with the prince’s orders and sent them to Gaojia Town under false pretenses.
Looking at the scene now, it seemed they had been right.
Otherwise, why would the constables fight to the death against Gao Qing’s men? Why would they all die here?
Eunuch Xu’s face, on the other hand, remained calm, as if the scene had nothing to do with him.
Only when Old San and Old Si cried out Gao Qing’s name from upstairs did Eunuch Xu finally move slowly up the steps. On the second-floor hallway, he saw Gao Qing’s corpse.
Tch tch, so Gao Qing really had died.
Good. Just as well.
He sneered inwardly and casually furrowed his brow. “How did it come to this? Lord Gao is here, but what about Miss Qi? Where is she? She isn’t… harmed, is she?”
Old San and Old Si immediately turned and glared at him, their eyes red with fury.
At that moment, a noise came from inside one of the rooms.
Someone was still alive!
Li Changshi’s heart stirred.
Old San and Old Si rushed to the door and pushed it open. “Qiu Mama! You’re alive?!”
Qiu Mama crawled out from under the bed, trembling all over, her face full of fear as she collapsed to the floor.
Old San and Old Si quickly bent down beside her. “What happened?! Qiu Mama, how did our brother die? Where is Miss Qi?!”
Xu furrowed his brows and stepped forward, but Li Changshi moved faster, immediately rushing over and standing protectively in front of Qiu Mama.
“Qiu Mama, do you know what happened?”
Qiu Mama burst into tears. “Li Changshi, save us! The magistrate of Jinxian County, Wang Weiqi, sent assassins after Miss Qi. Lord Gao fought to the death to save her, and told us to evacuate Miss Qi…”
Eunuch Xu’s right eyelid twitched.
If Wang Weiqi was dragged into this, that meant Huang Hongzhong would be next.
And if Huang Hongzhong got pulled in, there was no way Eunuch Xu himself wouldn’t be implicated.
He couldn’t help but take a step forward,
But Qiu Mama suddenly pointed at him. “Eunuch Xu! Why did you send a fake letter to Lord Gao? Why did you have Wang Weiqi send people to kill us?!”
Li Changshi turned back and stared coldly at Eunuch Xu.
Eunuch Xu’s heart dropped. He raised his hand behind his back and subtly gestured at Little Dongzi.
No, these people all had to die here.
Otherwise, when they returned, they’d spread the truth.
Frustration bubbled inside him.
Wang Weiqi was truly useless, how had he botched things so badly?
Leaving behind this much evidence?
The room fell silent. Eunuch Xu put on just the right expression of astonishment. “Qiu Mama, what are you saying? I am nothing but His Highness’s humble dog, wherever he tells me to go, I go. How could I possibly want to harm any of you?”
But Qiu Mama pointed at him and sobbed. “You lie! Before Lord Gao died, he personally questioned the assassin, and the assassin admitted, you sent him!”
At that moment, Little Dongzi had already slipped out to the second floor and released a signal.
Eunuch Xu’s men responded instantly, flooding in from all directions.
Once they were all in place, Eunuch Xu finally stepped over the threshold, wearing a mocking, skin-deep smile. “Qiu Mama, you’ve served in Qi Wang’s palace for many years. I would’ve thought you’d know what can and cannot be said. But it seems you still haven’t learned when to hold your tongue.”
Li Changshi immediately frowned. “You really defied Qi Wang’s orders?!”
Eunuch Xu laughed coldly. “Li Changshi, what’s the use in knowing so much? The more you know, the faster you die. Surely someone’s taught you that before.”
As he spoke, he slowly backed out of the room. “Kill them. Leave that woman inside, the rest, slaughter them all. Make it clean.”
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