Chapter 43: The Prey

Hao Mengye led his men outside.

They saw a man lying on the ground, bound with his hands tied behind his back.

At a single glance, Su Yanshu spotted Su Huaishan and exclaimed with overjoyed surprise, "Second Uncle!"

Su Huaishan nodded with a smile, "Yanshu."

He cupped his fists in salute to the Crown Prince, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"General Su, no need for such formality. You must have had a tiring journey."

Su Huaishan glanced at the man on the ground and let out a cold harrumph, "This fellow is the very murderer who harmed Lord Kong's heir. If the Prince of Nanshun hadn't written to ask for my assistance, I wouldn't have been able to capture him."

He then cupped his fists toward Hao Mengye, "Commander Hao, the murderer is here, and his confession is as well. May my nephew be released now?"

Hao Mengye thought to himself that Su Huaishan had arrived with impeccable timing. It seemed the Commander was right—the Su family was indeed restless.

Whether Su Dingqin was released didn't matter much, but Yu Sangsheng had to stay; she still needed to restore that painting.

Yet, if Su Dingqin were to be set free right now, what excuse could he use to keep Yu Sangsheng?

Had it been Su Yanshu demanding the release, he could easily have blocked it. But Su Huaishan was, after all, the brother of the grand general, held considerable prestige within the military, and had brought both the prisoner and a confession.

Clearly, he was thoroughly prepared.

The Crown Prince offered a faint smile, "Congratulations, Commander Hao. You were only just fretting over this matter, and now both the culprit and the confession have arrived. The young general's suspicions can finally be cleared."

Hao Mengye signaled his subordinates to take the confession and skimmed over it casually, "Your Highness is unaware that the Red Dragon Guards operate under strict procedures and formalities—an ironclad rule set by His Majesty."

"As for whether the confession and this man are genuine, my subordinates must still verify them, and the confession must be taken personally once more."

The Crown Prince's smile froze slightly.

Su Huaishan said with displeasure, "Commander Hao, surely you don't suspect that I traveled all this way just to produce a fake witness and write a false confession?"

"I can stake my life on the certainty that this man is genuine. Please release my nephew and that worthless cousin of ours."

Hao Mengye smiled indifferently, "General Su, do not be impatient. I never said this man was a fake. Though such a possibility exists, I trust that General Su would not stoop to that."

"Men, take the prisoner away and interrogate him thoroughly."

"Understood!"

As the Red Dragon Guards stepped forward, the man on the ground turned pale and struggled to his feet.

"I've said everything I should! I'm the one who harmed him, I'm not lying!"

He had no desire to be taken back inside for interrogation; the torture chambers of the Suppression Tower were no different from the eighteen levels of hell.

Glancing back at Su Huaishan, the man hardened his heart and lunged toward the pillars flanking the doorway.

With a loud thud, blood splattered everywhere.

Hao Mengye could have stopped him, but he chose not to.

Only with a dead man would there be no counter-testimony, and without counter-testimony, he could refuse to acknowledge anything.

The scene fell silent as a thick, heavy scent of blood rapidly dissipated...

Yu Sangsheng mixed a shade of red pigment and carefully dipped the tip of her tiniest brush into it.

Just as she was busy at work, Hao Mengye pushed the door open, causing Jin Baobao, who was guarding the entrance, to immediately stand at attention.

Hao Mengye stood in the doorway for a moment, waiting until Yu Sangsheng paused her movements before clearing his throat.

"Commander Hao," she greeted with a curtsy.

"How are things progressing?" Hao Mengye walked in. "Miss Yu, to be frank with you, the situation has taken a turn."

Yu Sangsheng's heart tightened slightly, "What turn?"

"Su Huaishan has returned."

"The Second Master of the Su family?" Yu Sangsheng frowned.

When she first returned, Yu Sangsheng had called Su Huaishan Second Uncle, yet this very Second Uncle had never once given her a pleasant look.

Even allowing her to stay in the manor under the guise of a cousin had been Su Huaishan's suggestion.

If Su Yanshu cherished his own reputation most, and Su Dingqin valued the Su family's prestige above all, then Su Huaishan cared for the entire Su clan.

His entire family was stationed at the border, but every New Year and ancestral sacrificial season, Su Huaishan would return home to pay his respects.

In his eyes, Yu Sangsheng's existence was no different from a stain on the Su clan. Although she carried Su blood, she had not been raised in the household and was nothing more than a wild girl. The glory of the Su family must never be defiled.

Su Zhiyi was the only flawless daughter of the Su family.

Yu Sangsheng drew a sharp breath; Su Huaishan's return to the capital at this moment could bring nothing good.

"Not only has Su Huaishan returned, but he also brought back a man claiming to be the one who harmed Kong Dezhao, clearing Su Dingqin of suspicion."

Yu Sangsheng thought as expected: Su Huaishan would never return without a purpose, and with a single move, he had resolved Su Dingqin's predicament. Once Su Dingqin returned to the estate, she would have no way to remain here.

Yu Sangsheng glanced at the items on her desk, "If Commander Hao trusts me, please let me take these back to the manor."

"No," Hao Mengye refused flatly. "This painting is of paramount importance. Now that we have finally acquired it, it must not leave the Suppression Tower again."

Yu Sangsheng pressed her lips together in silence; she had no other recourse.

"That witness has already dashed his head against a pillar and died. I can delay matters for two more days. Can you finish the restoration in two days?"

When Yu Sangsheng had claimed three days, she was already understating it. At that time, wishing to win Hao Mengye's trust and seize the opportunity, she naturally shortened the timeframe.

Who could have foreseen such complications arising now?

Frowning in silence, she calculated whether she could rush the work by sleeping only two hours a night, when a Red Dragon Guard strode over.

"Grand Commander, someone has delivered a letter."

Hao Mengye opened the letter and read it, his brow gradually tightening.

Jin Baobao stepped closer, her gaze darting toward the letter, "Grand Commander, I know a thing or two about martial arts, and the messenger has an unfamiliar face. How about I deliver the message for you, and you protect my young miss? What do you say?"

Yu Sangsheng pulled her back instantly and shook her head, "Don't talk nonsense."

Hao Mengye glanced at Jin Baobao, looking somewhat thoughtful.

"Pass down the order to investigate thoroughly once more—"

Before he could finish, Yu Sangsheng's gaze swept over the letter in his hand, "Commander Hao, this letter is abnormal."

Hao Mengye turned to look at her, "Abnormal how?"

"May I examine it closely?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Hao Mengye handed the letter to her—she was right here; she could cause no great disturbance.

Yu Sangsheng pointed at two lines of text, "This letter states that tonight, there will be unusual movements at the southern residence."

Hao Mengye nodded, "Indeed. This is a criminal we have been tracking for a long time without managing to capture. There are two residences, one north and one south, and clues regarding him might appear at either."

Yu Sangsheng mused, "With a northern and a southern residence, if one follows the wrong direction, wouldn't it be possible for him to escape?"

"True, that possibility exists."

"The character for 'south' in this letter," Yu Sangsheng picked up a pair of extremely fine tweezers with a drop of moisture on the tip, "has been pasted over."

As her voice trailed off, she applied slight pressure with her fingers and used the tips of the tweezers to peel off a thin layer of paper.

Jin Baobao clapped in admiration, "Young Miss is amazing!"

Hao Mengye raised an eyebrow slightly, "Sharp eyes, Miss Yu."

"Then, in Miss Yu's opinion, should I send men to the northern residence?"

Yu Sangsheng returned the letter to him with a faint smile, "I am dull-witted and understand nothing of grand military strategies, knowing only a few trivial tricks."

"However, if I were in your position, I would still head to the southern residence."

Hao Mengye asked leisurely, "Why?"

Yu Sangsheng held the thin paper bearing the character "south", "Such a trick is actually not very clever. It is only because the light here is somewhat dim that Commander Hao did not look closely enough to notice."

"You are cautious and sharp-eyed; before giving the final order to act, you would surely check repeatedly, at which point you would certainly spot the flaw."

"If you realized the southern residence was a feint, perhaps you would abandon it and head to the northern residence instead. The culprit is shrewd precisely by capitalizing on this common psychology, thus doing the exact opposite of what is expected."

Hao Mengye wore a half-smile, "Do you understand military strategy, Miss Yu?"

"I wouldn't dare claim that, I merely hunt in the mountains often."

A chill flashed through Hao Mengye's gaze—*Commander, are you too just one of her preys?*