Chapter 411 - 208: Terrifying Clue! The Beautiful Woman Goes Alone! (Please Subscribe!)
Song Yinghan felt that having the Imperial Decree Department nearby was truly fortunate; otherwise, if they were in the middle of nowhere, he feared he wouldn’t be able to escape from Yuchi, and there might be a bloodbath.
Now things were better.
The Imperial Decree Department had already opened its doors, and compared to other institutions, the Imperial Decree Department was much more stable and adept at handling matters.
Yuchi and Song Yinghan didn’t really need to invite the City Lord of the Imperial Decree Department for a meal; it was mainly because Yuchi didn’t need to develop within Canglan City right now. Inviting the City Lord of Canglan City for a meal would just be a waste of money.
After all, when the time comes to truly develop within Canglan City, it definitely wouldn’t be the Commerce Association inviting the City Lord of Canglan City for a meal, but the other way around.
Even though they weren’t lacking money at the moment, they saved whenever they could. Yuchi didn’t have a great desire for wealth. Otherwise, someone of his age, being the Commerce Association President, should be traveling with a large entourage of servants to maintain appearances.
An exaggerating young man might even need someone to help hold the water when needed.
"Let’s go, see what secrets are inside the Imperial Decree Department."
"Hmm!"
The two entered the Imperial Decree Department discreetly without much effort and found the City Lord of Canglan City.
The City Lord had just woken up, and the strong smell of alcohol lingered in his mouth, suggesting he had drunk quite a bit at noon.
"There’s also a woman’s scent."
"It’s from the rouge brand under our Ziyue Star Pavilion!" Song Yinghan noticed.
Yuchi: "..."
He thought to himself: I should be more careful in the future; Yinghan really has a sharp nose to even detect the brand of the rouge. Can she even tell who made this rouge? More exaggeratedly, can she smell what the creator ate yesterday?
Casual and lighthearted conversations happened in the Imperial Decree Department, leaving little for Yuchi to do.
It was mostly Song Yinghan who talked with the City Lord of Canglan City.
After she explained the purpose of their visit, the City Lord, though somewhat confused, agreed to help, recognizing Song Yinghan’s influence that warranted respect.
"Please follow me."
With the City Lord of Canglan City leading, they arrived at the pavilion where the documents were stored.
Browsing the records of borrowed documents, it wasn’t hard to discover what documents Ling Huzhong had taken during his visits to the Imperial Decree Department.
Knowing what documents he took allows them to try to reconstruct the situation based on his previous investigation.
"Give us the documents; we will investigate," Song Yinghan said.
The City Lord nodded and directed a subordinate to check. Nervously, he told Song Yinghan, "Sir, you’ve already taken the documents previously."
Song Yinghan: "Is that so?"
"Yes." The steward showed the record in his book; indeed, Song Yinghan had taken them earlier.
Yuchi’s gaze drifted over.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Song Yinghan realized she had taken them without knowing: "I just said that on purpose to test your attitude..."
After speaking, she left directly.
Everyone: "..."
Yuchi smiled and nodded to the others, exchanged perfunctory smiles, suggested having a meal together sometime, and also left the Imperial Decree Department.
Things were just as the Imperial Decree Department had said; the documents Ling Huzhong investigated had already been taken by Song Yinghan and were now in the Ziyue Star Pavilion, just previously buried under a mountain of other documents, making it impossible to discern whose document was whose.
"I really didn’t know..." Song Yinghan muttered weakly as she walked down the street.
"I understand," Yuchi nodded, "You’ve already done your best, my beauty."
Song Yinghan cried.
...
And so, things quickly progressed.
After leaving the City Lord’s Mansion in Canglan City, Yuchi and Song Yinghan returned to the Ziyue Star Pavilion. Sure enough, among the countless documents there, they found a few specific ones, detailing the reporters, their residences, and their statements...
With these three points, Yuchi could locate the people who filed the reports at that time.
"If I were Ling Huzhong, after getting the documents, I would start the investigation from the reporting citizens, asking them detailed questions to see if it would reveal where the missing person last appeared, then proceed to the incident location to question nearby individuals..."
"Yes, that’s pretty much the process. Without surveillance here, you still need to follow this procedure to find someone."
With three documents in hand, Yuchi and Song Yinghan embarked on their investigation in the following days.
...
The first document led them to an old man who claimed his grandson was missing. But the old man could provide limited clues, saying only that his grandson went out to play during the day and didn’t return at night, a situation that persisted for seven days until he was never found again, last seen on a certain street.
When Yuchi asked if the old man had sought Ling Huzhong’s help, the old man nodded, explaining that he had indeed encountered Ling Huzhong by chance on the road, and in his anxious state, he asked for help. Unexpectedly, Ling Huzhong agreed to assist and began investigating.