Leaving Behind

Upon inquiring, Wei Zhi initially intended to ask about Bai Qi. However, he discovered that the Jinshi scholar from the first year of the Dazhen era had not been relocated but had passed away in the second year of Dazhen.

He died while in office while suppressing bandits.

Wei Zhi, who had previously worked in the Ministry of Justice, relied on the intuition honed through case adjudication, which told him that this was not normal.

Therefore, he set aside the task of investigating the Jianwei Dam and instead turned his attention to investigating Bai Qi.

Two years had passed, and the records of the Jianwei Dam showed no significant findings. He knew there must be issues with the dam, but without evidence, everything was in vain.

So, he turned to investigate Bai Qi.

Surprisingly, everyone who had been around Bai Qi had died, including not only his subordinates but also some local officials. The county magistrate, He Ziyun, and his eldest son died alongside Bai Qi in their pursuit to suppress bandits.

Wei Zhi encountered resistance when investigating Bai Qi, a resistance even greater than what he faced when investigating the Jianwei Dam.

For instance, when he wanted to examine the records of the Jianwei Dam in Yizhou Prefecture, they readily provided them without any hindrance. When he wanted to meet the laborers who had built the dam, no one stopped him.

When he tried to inquire about Bai Qi from some old acquaintances, he encountered repeated hindrances, and those questioned evaded his inquiries.

Clearly, he had seen the case files and various notes left by Bai Qi during his tenure. However, overnight, the yamen of Shu County caught fire, burning all those records.

It was precisely because of this series of actions that he knew he was on the right track.

So, he immediately dispatched individuals to Bai Qi's hometown in Longzhou to locate his family.

During this period, he was involved in flood relief efforts in Yizhou. By the time the people sent to Longzhou returned, the relief work was already half done.

Only then did he realize that the person he was looking for was actually in Yizhou Prefecture.

Upon hearing two refugees mention that Mianzhou was also severely affected by the disaster, he seized the opportunity to come here.

In Jiannan Road, Yizhou, every move he made was closely watched. It was impossible for him to visit the Liu family directly.

While in Bazhou, he was still contemplating what excuse to use to visit Qili Xiang in Luojiang County. When Mr. Bai also arrived there, he took the opportunity to call him for a conversation.

Thinking that if he went to Luojiang County, Mr. Bai and other gentry would politely invite him to rest at home for a while, he would definitely agree.

The result was even better than he expected.

Although it was already dark, Mr. Bai suddenly dismissed his close follower, leaving Wei Zhi to contemplate.

Unexpectedly, there was a surprise waiting for him in Qili Village.

The returning guards reported that a group of people had arrived at Qili Village before them. However, for unknown reasons, they unexpectedly got into a conflict with the local villagers and were subsequently arrested.

Wei Zhi's visit to Qili Village this time had two main purposes: firstly, to meet the three arrested individuals and, ideally, to take them away; secondly, to have a conversation with Mrs. Liu.

The fact that they were so afraid of him investigating Bai Qi indicates that Bai Qi must have something in his possession that they fear.

Wei Zhi suspected that these items were in the possession of Bai Qi's family.

But all Mrs. Liu handed over to Wei Zhi were two family letters and two signed testimonies.

Frowning, Wei Zhi asked, "Apart from these two family letters, did Bai Qi leave anything else behind?"

"How could my son bring such things back home and cause trouble for us?" Mrs. Liu said. "At that time, he was alone in his position, and my grandson was young and couldn't travel far, so we stayed in our old home in Longzhou."

This was troublesome.

Wei Zhi asked, "Does the old lady have any other clues? Think about it, where would he hide things?"

Mrs. Liu shook her head and said, "I really can't think of anything."

Mr. Bai glanced at Mrs. Liu and lowered his head.

Wei Zhi sighed and said, "I want to see those three individuals."

Mrs. Liu immediately had Daji take Wei Zhi there.

As soon as they left, Mr. Bai asked, "Auntie, if we don't speak, even if Mr. Wei sees those two people, he will still know about the existence of Zhou Yin and his wife." "Why should we keep it from him?"

"Can we trust Mr.?" Wei?

"At least ninety percent."

"But I have so many lives hanging in the balance." "Even if it's ninety-nine percent, I dare not take this risk," Mrs. Liu said. "He knows that there is such a couple, but he definitely wouldn't guess that it is Zhou Yin at this moment."

"Then..."

"Let's wait a little longer," Mrs. Liu said. "Let's wait a bit longer." After all, he's not in a hurry to leave, is he?

Wei Zhi could also sense that Mrs. Liu didn't completely trust him, but after a moment of contemplation, he also understood.

When he emerged from the guest courtyard, Wei Zhi remained silent.

His accompanying guard couldn't help but ask, "My lord, does Mrs. Liu know who that couple is?"

Wei Zhi sighed, "She may know, but she definitely didn't get anything from Bai Qi, and she doesn't even know where it is."

"In that case, what should we do?" Without physical evidence, we have no way to confront the Prince of Yizhou and the others.

"Yes, without physical evidence, whether she trusts us or not is not important," Wei Zhi said. "These three witnesses are of little use, just like chicken ribs." "It's a pity to discard them, but they're not very useful either."

The key still lies in what Bai Qi possessed. But Bai Qi is already deceased, so where could he have placed things?

Wei Zhi frowned and said, "Perhaps the person who understands Bai Qi the most in this world is that old lady." Convincing her to speak is much more challenging than getting those three prisoners to talk.

"Then..."

"But we're not in a hurry." We have plenty of time. "We'll just stay a few more days."

The guard agreed.

Wei Zhi said he would stay, of course, but not here. After all, both Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Zheng were widows, and Bai Shanbao was young. Therefore, Wei Zhi and his guards stayed at Mr. Bai's house as his friends.

Mrs. Bai and Mrs. Bai didn't suspect anything at all. They welcomed them warmly and even planned to hold a welcoming banquet, persuading them to stay a few more days.

Wei Zhi readily agreed.

Mrs. Bai instructed her grandson, Bai Erlang, who had just returned from school, to go next door and call his cousin, as well as Manbao. If she is here, please bring her over as well. "It's been two or three days since I saw those two kids, and I miss them."

Bai Erlang said, "They asked for leave." "They just went to school today."

He was slightly dissatisfied and muttered, "Grandma, they have been requesting leave all this time." It seemed like they were not good students at all.

Mr. Bai glared at him, feeling frustrated, and said, "Yesterday, Shanbao and Manbao spent the whole day in the study. You should go to school." "What have you learned?"

Bai Erlang didn't believe it and muttered softly, "Who takes leave and still studies…"

Wei Zhi watched and laughed, asking, "Is Shanbao Mrs. Liu's grandson?"

"Yes, a very clever and bright child," Mrs. Bai proudly praised Bai Shanbao. There was no way around it. Was her eldest grandson not here, so her nephew was considered a grandson instead?

After praising Bai Shanbao, she then casually complimented their second son, saying, "Our Erlang is also very obedient and filial."

But she didn't mention anything about his intelligence.