Chapter 142: The Enthusiastic Heir of Prince Jing

Commander Cheng Maoming of the Jinlin Guard had a premonition that he was about to be scolded when he entered the palace, and as expected, he was met with the Emperor's cold face.

"Have you heard about the incident where the eldest Miss Lin was kidnapped during the spring outing?"

The commotion caused by the General's Manor and the Prince Jing's Manor searching for people was quite significant; naturally, the Jinlin Guard had reported the unusual activity. Cheng Maoming hurriedly replied, "Your servant has heard of it."

Emperor Taian gave a cold snort. "For a whole year, incidents have been constant, yet they remain unresolved. Commander Cheng, you truly have disappointed me."

Cheng Maoming immediately knelt to admit his fault, understanding in his heart that the Emperor was dissatisfied with the fact that the Perfected One Mingxin had yet to show any sign of appearing.

But he truly had done his best; he could only blame that Perfected One Mingxin for being too cunning and too good at hiding.

"The key suspect who kidnapped the eldest Miss Lin is to be interrogated by you personally. You must investigate until the truth is brought to light."

"Your servant accepts the decree."

After Cheng Maoming withdrew, Emperor Taian asked Prince Wei, "Did the two young ladies of the General's Manor escape on their own?"

"Yes, they not only escaped but also subdued the two criminals."

Emperor Taian's gaze grew deep. Unsure of what he was thinking of, a smile with little warmth appeared at the corners of his mouth. "They are, after all, daughters of a military family. It is good that they are unharmed. Liu Chuan, send some gifts to the General's Manor to soothe the two ladies' nerves."

This meant he would not pursue the matter of Lin Chan's kidnapping.

Prince Wei breathed a secret sigh of relief.

He couldn't say he liked the eldest Miss Lin yet, but he didn't have a particular fondness for any other young ladies either; he had no desire to go through the motions of a concubine selection process again.

After leaving the palace, Cheng Maoming headed straight for the Shuntian Prefecture Office, where the two criminals were being interrogated.

It was already the second day since the incident occurred, and Cheng Shu had come to the Shuntian Prefecture again to inquire about the progress.

The official actually in charge of the case was a judicial officer surnamed Zhu. His attitude was quite polite, but the progress was disappointing: "Neither of them will speak; we don't have many clues yet."

"They won't speak?" Cheng Shu frowned. "Are you not using torture?"

The corners of Officer Zhu's mouth twitched.

This man wasn't from the Jinlin Guard; he certainly spoke quite fluently about "using torture."

"We have used all the necessary methods, but these two have very stubborn mouths."

"Then the methods weren't applied properly. If they were applied properly, is there any mouth that couldn't be pried open?" Cheng Shu was quite dissatisfied.

Hearing this, the approaching Cheng Maoming couldn't help but glance at Cheng Shu twice, thinking to himself that this young man had potential.

"Officer Zhu, take men to escort those two key suspects here and hand them over to Grand Commandant Cheng to take away," the Prefect of Shuntian, who had accompanied Cheng Maoming, spoke up.

Officer Zhu went to the prison to fetch the men.

Cheng Shu offered his greetings to the Shuntian Prefect and Cheng Maoming.

"This is Cheng Shu, the adopted grandson of the Old Madam of the General's Manor," the Shuntian Prefect introduced Cheng Shu's identity to Cheng Maoming.

Cheng Maoming smiled. "We have met. Young Master Cheng serves in the Imperial City, does he not?"

Whether it was because he had heard the previous conversation or because they shared the same surname, Cheng Maoming felt quite a good impression of this young man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes.

"This junior serves as a guard in the Imperial City." Facing the formidable Commander of the Jinlin Guard, although Cheng Shu restrained his casual nature, he did not shrink back. "Are those two criminals being transferred to the Jinlin Guard for interrogation?"

"Yes." Cheng Maoming patted Cheng Shu's shoulder. "Rest assured, Young Master Cheng, the one thing the Jinlin Guard is not afraid of is a stubborn mouth."

"Thank you, Lord Cheng!" Cheng Shu cupped his hands.

As they left, the Shuntian Prefect gave Cheng Shu a deep look, thinking to himself how strange it was that this boy with such an awkward identity had actually caught the eye of Commander Cheng.

Cheng Shu watched with his own eyes as the two criminals were taken away by the Jinlin Guard. He walked back with his head down, only to be intercepted on the road.

"Heir?" Seeing Qi Shuo standing alone, Cheng Shu asked casually, "Are you heading out?"

Qi Shuo smiled. "I originally intended to go to the magistrate's office to inquire about the progress, but I didn't expect to run into Young Master Cheng."

Hearing this, Cheng Shu sighed. "I went to ask, but there was no progress at all. However, they were just taken away by the Jinlin Guard just now."

"The Jinlin Guard has taken over?" Qi Shuo pointed to a tea house not far away. "If Young Master Cheng is not busy, let us go to the tea house to talk."

"Sure!" Cheng Shu agreed without hesitation; clearly, the actions of Prince Jing's Manor yesterday had made him feel much closer to the man.

The two sat down in the tea house, and Qi Shuo picked up the teapot to pour a cup of tea for Cheng Shu.

Cheng Shu hurriedly thanked him, and his opinion of Qi Shuo changed once again.

Although the General's Manor and Prince Jing's Manor were close, he had rarely had contact with this Heir. Being of noble birth and physically frail, one would have to treat him like a porcelain doll, and Cheng Shu did not have the patience for such meticulous care.

Now it seemed that, setting aside everything else, the Heir of Prince Jing at least lacked the arrogance typical of imperial descendants in his dealings with others.

"Yesterday, Young Master Cheng said that the larger criminal looked familiar?" After chatting for a few words about the Jinlin Guard taking the men, Qi Shuo turned to the main topic.

Cheng Shu was stunned. "Ah, yes, he did look somewhat familiar, but I thought later that it might just be because the man had a very common face."

"While that is possible, he is, after all, a key suspect in the kidnapping of the eldest Miss Lin. Young Master Cheng, think more carefully to avoid missing a clue."

"I truly cannot remember." Cheng Shu looked helpless. "My memory is quite good; if I had seen him, I should have some impression."

"Perhaps it was just a fleeting sense of familiarity from passing by. Where do you usually frequent, and whom do you usually come into contact with?"

"When I am not on duty, I often drink with friends, so the people I encounter are a bit mixed," Cheng Shu scratched his head. "If I go see those bastards again, maybe I'll remember something."

Qi Shuo stood up. "Then let us go see them again."

Cheng Shu blinked. "Now?"

Was the Heir of Prince Jing always this decisive?

He also stood up, somewhat uncertain. "The Jinlin Guard just took them away; I don't know if we can see them."

"We are the aggrieved party; it is perfectly reasonable to follow the progress."

Cheng Shu nodded, but then felt something was off.

*We?*

He hadn't expected that the Heir of Prince Jing's enthusiasm would lead him to treat the affairs of the General's Manor as his own.

Cheng Shu felt a warmth in his heart and secretly decided to make this man a friend.

As they walked out of the tea house, the enthusiastic young man Qi Shuo finally could not help but ask, "Are the eldest Miss Lin and the others alright?"

Cheng Shu didn't think too much of it and said, "The doctor has seen them; there is no major issue, they just need plenty of rest."

"That is good." Thinking of Lin Hao's chafed palms, Qi Shuo lowered his eyes to hide his surging emotions.

Unaware of Qi Shuo's thoughts, Cheng Shu said casually, "It's just that Ah Hao suffered some superficial injuries; my aunt was so angry she scolded those two bastards for a long time."

"Superficial injuries?" Qi Shuo subtly probed for information. "Yesterday, I accidentally saw the second Miss's right hand wrapped in white cloth; was her hand injured?"

Anger appeared on Cheng Shu's face. "More than that, there are also bruises left from the fight—"

Realizing that such matters were inconvenient to discuss with a man, Cheng Shu stopped the topic in time, only to find that Qi Shuo's expression was somewhat off.

"Heir?"

Qi Shuo slowly curled the corners of his lips, pulling back his outward emotions. "The Prince's Manor has a specially prepared medicinal ointment from the palace that works very well on superficial injuries. I will have my younger sister send two boxes to the second Miss later."

"Thank you, Heir."

"You are too polite, Young Master Cheng." Qi Shuo instinctively glanced in the direction of the General's Manor, his lips pressed tightly together.

He could not wait much longer.