Chapter 2494: Chapter 102: The Reason for Autumn Days (Part 2)

Jiang Wang simply said, "Then I’ll trouble you."

"No trouble, no trouble at all." Zheng Shangming waved his hand, hesitating to speak.

Jiang Wang said, "Brother Shang Ming, feel free to speak your mind."

Zheng Shangming was silent for a moment, then said, "If..."

He hesitated again before continuing, "Have you thought about what you’ll do?"

He didn’t say "if" what, but both understood.

After all, the investigation into the death of Chief Eunuch Feng Gu at the Long Life Palace was initiated by the two of them and Lin Youxie together.

They were well aware of the various changes that occurred in between. They were confident about the important clues in the case. It was in this investigation that they realized they could not become close friends due to differing paths.

The massive shadow never loomed over just Lin Youxie alone.

Some people die, some stay silent, and some do what they can.

’If Lin Youxie was indeed killed by the Current Empress, just like her deceased father and grandfather, Wu Lie, have you thought about what you will do?’

This was the question Zheng Shangming couldn’t bring himself to ask.

The question was too serious and too heavy.

Therefore, Jiang Wang thought seriously for a moment before slowly saying, "Before that result is determined, I don’t know what I’ll do either."

He might have another answer in his heart, but he didn’t need to, nor would he, say it to Zheng Shangming.

Yet even such an answer left Zheng Shangming in silence.

Faced with such a terrifying and enormous shadow, how could your answer be "I don’t know"?

Not knowing implies that there is still a great possibility of impulsive action.

However, facing such an existence, how could you act impulsively? If the Son of Heaven is the great sun on high, then the Queen is the moon passing through the sky, the rest are merely stars, no matter how bright. Even if you are Qi Country’s youngest Marquis, what more can you do?!

But Zheng Shangming understood as well.

This difference between him and Jiang Wang was why he remained silent.

After a long time, he managed to calm his emotions, "I don’t think it’s likely. It could just be that she’s out of touch for now. There are too many possibilities, and I think we won’t easily encounter the worst scenario."

Jiang Wang said, "Indeed. Perhaps she’s just grown weary of Qi Country and wants to distance herself from an old friend like me, wandering the world in silence. It’s not something hard to comprehend."

"That possibility is quite strong," Zheng Shangming tried to keep his tone light. "The Lin arrest officer I know is someone who seems unremarkable on the surface but has significant resolve internally. She might indeed be traveling the world, honing her skills."

People with a green card at their waist rarely make optimistic guesses because they often start from the worst-case scenario.

Both fell silent for a moment.

"Shang Ming," Jiang Wang suddenly said.

"Go ahead," Zheng Shangming looked at him.

Jiang Wang’s voice was unusually earnest, "There can be no result, but you must not deceive me."

Zheng Shangming paused for a moment, nodded seriously, "I understand."

He knew very well that if he cheated Jiang Wang this time, he wouldn’t even be able to maintain a standard friendship afterward.

So he showed caution.

But what he understood more clearly was...

If necessary, he would do it.

This "if necessary" refers to the will of the current Emperor Qi.

This was the path he had chosen long ago.

Apart from that, he’s willing to fulfill the duties of a friend.

To speak of friendship duties only under such restrictions can indeed be considered a kind of sorrow.

Yet, having spent so much effort merely to be a mediocre person, where does he have the right to say ’I don’t know what I’ll do’? He is not the same as Jiang Wang. He must know what he will do, must understand what he can and cannot do.

These musts are not tied to being human.

But they are necessary for the position of Beiyar Commander.

Zheng Shi has stood unwavering for years, and the insight left after his departure, was but the word "loyalty to the sovereign."

...

...

Time moves like a shuttle, the sun and shadows shift.

After the trip to the Imperial City Inspection Mansion, three whole days have passed.

The Triple Punishment Palace has confirmed again that the Heavenly Rule Palace, Underground Palace, and Executioner Palace, the three major Palaces of Law, have no record of Lin Youxie. Lin Youxie never went to the Cliff of Celestial Punishment.

Even a genuine legacy disciple at the Underground Palace named Zhuo Qingru personally wrote a letter to Jiang Wang to confirm this matter.

The letter also confirmed that there indeed was a genuine legacy quota at the Underground Palace, once promised to the renowned Daqi arrest officer, Wu Lie, to honor his innovations in autopsy methods. Later, this quota was indeed transferred by Wu Lie to someone named Lin Youxie.

But Lin Youxie never reported to the Triple Punishment Palace.

For Jiang Wang, this confirmed news suggested that Lin Youxie indeed had the possibility of going to the Triple Punishment Palace, fitting the plan Lin Youxie described when they parted ways.

This deduction suggests that Lin Youxie’s disappearance is likely against her will.

In other words, Lin Youxie is likely in trouble...

And over at the Beiyaduwei, after three days of investigation, not a single useful piece of information has been relayed back.

With the powerful intelligence capabilities of Qi Country’s green cards, it’s astonishing that no trace of Lin Youxie can be found. After May, she seems to have disappeared entirely from this world...

"The ports, border counties, overseas. We’ve sent people to investigate all..."

"If Lin arrest officer is determined not to be found by anyone, with her skills, it’s possible."

At Wu’an Marquis Mansion, Zheng Shangming carefully chose his words and slowly said, "I mean, perhaps there is such a possibility."

"Alright, I understand, thank you for the trouble," Jiang Wang stood up and said.

Zheng Shangming also had to stand, "Beiyaduwei will not abandon the pursuit. If there’s any news, I’ll inform you immediately."

"Alright. Thank you for the hard work." Jiang Wang’s tone was calm.

Zheng Shangming looked at him but ultimately couldn’t say anything, and thus departed.

During this matter, did Zheng Shangming genuinely look for her? Certainly, he did, even extending the search overseas.

But even Jiang Wang, with his inept investigative techniques, understood that investigating a missing person requires pursuing two lines of clues.

One is the missing person’s trail of action, and the other is the missing person’s social relations. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Zheng Shangming investigated the ports, border counties, and overseas.

Would he dare to investigate the Tian family, which bears a huge suspicion? Would he dare to investigate the Queen?

It’s not even about a thorough investigation, he couldn’t even slightly extend efforts in that direction.

Jiang Wang wasn’t demanding that Zheng Shangming explore into that terrifying shadow; he simply understood after three days of waiting that these were the limits of what Zheng Shangming could do.

Truly, the disappearance of Lin Youxie may not necessarily be related to the Current Empress, as there is no clue to link them together so far. But with such a natural dark wall standing, Zheng Shangming wouldn’t even dare to glance in that direction, ensuring that it would be impossible to derive any results.

So he merely expressed gratitude, saying nothing more.

Utilizing the green card’s power concluded here.

Even approaching Yang Weitong, the new Beiyar Commander, wouldn’t yield any different outcome than involving Zheng Shangming.

Jiang Wang didn’t allow himself time to hesitate or feel disheartened. As soon as he saw Zheng Shangming off, he immediately set out alone.

Without disguise or concealment, he flew straight to Deer Frost County.

In Qi Country’s territory, it was difficult for him to hide from prying eyes, so he openly declared his stance — he would personally search for Lin Youxie.

Indeed, his tracking skills were ordinary, one could say he was completely amateurish.

But other than him, who would dare to seek Lin Youxie before possibly touching the black wall?

Apart from himself, who else would dare to take it seriously, to spare no effort for it?

The last meeting with Lin Youxie was in Deer Frost County, within a seldom-visited dense forest. That time, he was there to search for Shisi.

He asked Lin Youxie for help regarding Zhongxuan Sheng, and Lin Youxie agreed without hesitation, and indeed found the person first, without any leads, rescuing the nearly collapsing Zhongxuan Sheng from Ku Hai.

Now that Lin Youxie is missing, who will find her?

Traversing the dense forest startled flocks of birds.

Their cries were hoarse and grating.

Revisiting the old site today, seeing the slender trees and yellow leaves, it was quite unlike the past day.

The clearing in the forest remained, as did the two opposing horizontal branches.

But the ground was piled with fallen leaves, the branches were bare and old...

All seemed desolate.

Jiang Wang thought, it’s the autumn’s fault.