If Mo Jiuye were to know, he would say this news came a bit late.
The reason was none other than that the frontier guard commander was worried about being blamed by the Emperor for people sneaking in, so he thought to send someone to find them and wrap up the matter.
He didn't expect that he had dispatched a large number of men, yet was unable to find any traces.
The commander guessed that the intruders had likely already blended into the city. If this matter was hidden any longer and something big happened, he wouldn't be able to get away with it. Thus, he was forced to send someone to the capital to deliver a letter.
When the Crown Prince heard there were intruders at the frontier, he immediately associated it with the strange occurrences at his manor.
"Father, there must be traitors from Da Shun who have snuck in, that's why someone was able to steal from my manor," said the Crown Prince.
The Emperor of Southern Frontier furrowed his brows.
"The messenger who just came from the frontier said they only saw two infiltrators. What ability would two people have to empty out the entire treasury of the Crown Prince's manor?"
Hearing the Emperor say this, it wasn't long before the ministers echoed in agreement.
"That's right, unless those villains were immortals, with the Crown Prince Manor's tight defenses, how could anyone make an entire treasury disappear?"
This angered the Crown Prince.
"Are you saying I'm making things up?"
"This humble official wouldn't dare."
"Humph! I see you're quite bold."
The Emperor of Southern Frontier was already in a terrible mood. Seeing the two argue openly in the hall, he angrily banged on the table.
"Quiet, all of you!"
The Crown Prince and minister exchanged glances then immediately shut their mouths.
At this moment, the Emperor of Southern Frontier also didn't know how to deal with this matter. All he could openly do was dispatch more people to continue the investigation.
After making these arrangements, the Emperor of Southern Frontier impatiently ordered the ministers to disperse. Then he hastily departed.
The Crown Prince had complained bitterly in the hall for so long without any results.
Although his father said he would send more men to continue investigating, it was of no help regarding the many items stolen from his manor.
Because his treasury was robbed, the Crown Prince had overlooked the final affairs of the Fourth Princess.
When he returned to the Crown Prince Manor, the servants came to inquire about the next steps regarding the Crown Prince's Consort's funeral.
Only then did the Crown Prince remember that the final affairs for his Consort had not yet been handled.
Although he did not care for the Fourth Princess of Da Shun, she had, after all, come for a marriage alliance.
Her funeral affairs couldn't be handled too simply. After all, there were many eyes watching from outside. Even if just for appearance's sake, it had to be done properly.
So he impatiently arranged for the servants to handle the subsequent tasks.
At the same time, he suddenly recalled that he hadn't seen the two handmaidens who had accompanied the Fourth Princess for the marriage alliance. Could it be...they were the ones who stole the items from the treasury and absconded?
The Crown Prince suddenly felt he had gained insight into the truth. He ordered further searches for Lan Er and Yu Er's whereabouts...
At this time, within the imperial palace of Southern Frontier.
The Emperor of Southern Frontier returned to his study. After dismissing his entourage, he went behind a large screen.
He pressed a switch to open the door to the secret chamber and entered.
The interior of the secret chamber could be described as luxurious and majestic, with furnishings that did not fall short of his imperial study in the slightest.
Moreover, it had all the necessary living facilities, even the chamber pot was gold-rimmed.
As soon as the Emperor of Southern Frontier entered, he eagerly said:
"Sir, no matter what, you must lend a hand this time."
From his tone, it wasn't difficult to hear how respectful and cautious he was, even carrying a trace of fear.
At this time, a person was lazily reclining on the couch. The Emperor of Southern Frontier's arrival did not compel him to stand.
This person wore an ink-colored hat on his head and women's clothing on his body, but his voice when he spoke was that of a man.
Moreover, his tone made people unconsciously feel impatient.
"What has happened to distress the emperor of a nation to such an extent?"
The Emperor of Southern Frontier still stood respectfully before that person and said, "I just heard the report from the frontier. They said two villains from Da Shun snuck in and still haven't been found.
"Not only that, more strange things happened at the Crown Prince's manor last night. I suspect it has to do with those two villains..."
Hearing the Emperor of Southern Frontier's words roused some interest in the person on the couch. He slowly sat up straight and asked, "Do you mean those two villains have abilities that transcend the Heavens, that they were actually able to empty out the entire treasury of the Crown Prince's manor all at once?"
If this had happened in the past, perhaps he wouldn't have believed such nonsense.
Going back further, the national treasury of Da Shun had been completely stolen clean in one night, and the thief even set it on fire afterwards.
Also, the home of a certain county magistrate of Da Shun had been burgled with the same modus operandi.
Most importantly, just last night he had personally witnessed his own Si Meng Mountain Villa's study emptied out. The few disciples he had left behind were all dead, and Mo Xiuyan had been taken away by someone.
Regrettably, by the time he discovered it, it was already too late and the thief had disappeared without a trace.
If he had not gone to Si Meng Mountain Villa last night and had instead stayed in the capital city, given how big of a commotion occurred at the Crown Prince's manor, he would have been able to rush over promptly to investigate, instead of losing the best window of time to search for clues like now.
He was already furious because of this matter. And now the Emperor of Southern Frontier had come to ask for his help.
Mr. Si Meng did not immediately respond to the Emperor of Southern Frontier. Instead, he carefully analyzed the similarities between these few incidents.
First, the theft of the Da Shun national treasury. That was on the night before the Mo family's banishment.
According to his subordinates' reports, Mo Jiuye was summoned by Emperor Shunwu into the palace on the day of Mo Jiuye's wedding. Afterwards, Mo Jiuye was carried back home after receiving 50 heavy blows with the plaquer.
As someone who practices martial arts, he clearly understood what receiving 50 heavy blows entailed.
If it had been him instead, after taking those 50 blows, he would have likely been bedridden for at least a month.
Even if Mo Jiuye's martial arts were superior to his own, without lying in bed for at least half a month, it would have been impossible for him to move freely, let alone steal from the highly-guarded national treasury. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like something Mo Jiuye did.
But one also could not completely preclude Mo Jiuye's involvement either.
Next was the matter of that county magistrate's family. Some were injured, others were frightened silly, and a treasury full of items had disappeared overnight.
After an investigation by his subordinates, at that time the Mo family's exiled convoy was right nearby.
It was just that their exact location was not found.
Through these two incidents, even if he didn't find evidence pointing to Mo Jiuye, his intuition told him this was certainly related to Mo Jiuye.
Finally, there was his Si Meng Mountain Villa. One must know, there were quite a lot of items in the underground study. Even if one knew Qinggong lightness skill, one would still need to make several round trips to move everything upstairs.
He had carefully examined the location. At most, there were only two sets of outsiders' footprints.
Moreover, judging by the sizes of the footprints, the two people should have been one man and one woman.
He could conjecture the man to be Mo Jiuye. Mo Xiuyan was in such a sorry state, covered in filth. If Mo Jiuye was not his own brother, upon seeing him perhaps he wouldn't even have wanted to save him.
He just couldn't figure out who the woman could be.
In order to break into his Si Meng Mountain Villa, without formidable abilities one wouldn't even have been able to get inside.
But from his understanding, among the Mo family women there was no one who knew martial arts.
The more Mr. Si Meng thought about it, the more he felt he couldn't grasp the crux of the matter.
If Mo Jiuye were to know, he would say this news came a bit late.
The reason was none other than that the frontier guard commander was worried about being blamed by the Emperor for people sneaking in, so he thought to send someone to find them and wrap up the matter.
He didn't expect that he had dispatched a large number of men, yet was unable to find any traces.
The commander guessed that the intruders had likely already blended into the city. If this matter was hidden any longer and something big happened, he wouldn't be able to get away with it. Thus, he was forced to send someone to the capital to deliver a letter.
When the Crown Prince heard there were intruders at the frontier, he immediately associated it with the strange occurrences at his manor.
"Father, there must be traitors from Da Shun who have snuck in, that's why someone was able to steal from my manor," said the Crown Prince.
The Emperor of Southern Frontier furrowed his brows.
"The messenger who just came from the frontier said they only saw two infiltrators. What ability would two people have to empty out the entire treasury of the Crown Prince's manor?"
Hearing the Emperor say this, it wasn't long before the ministers echoed in agreement.
"That's right, unless those villains were immortals, with the Crown Prince Manor's tight defenses, how could anyone make an entire treasury disappear?"
This angered the Crown Prince.
"Are you saying I'm making things up?"
"This humble official wouldn't dare."
"Humph! I see you're quite bold."
The Emperor of Southern Frontier was already in a terrible mood. Seeing the two argue openly in the hall, he angrily banged on the table.
"Quiet, all of you!"
The Crown Prince and minister exchanged glances then immediately shut their mouths.
At this moment, the Emperor of Southern Frontier also didn't know how to deal with this matter. All he could openly do was dispatch more people to continue the investigation.
After making these arrangements, the Emperor of Southern Frontier impatiently ordered the ministers to disperse. Then he hastily departed.
The Crown Prince had complained bitterly in the hall for so long without any results.
Although his father said he would send more men to continue investigating, it was of no help regarding the many items stolen from his manor.
Because his treasury was robbed, the Crown Prince had overlooked the final affairs of the Fourth Princess.
When he returned to the Crown Prince Manor, the servants came to inquire about the next steps regarding the Crown Prince's Consort's funeral.
Only then did the Crown Prince remember that the final affairs for his Consort had not yet been handled.
Although he did not care for the Fourth Princess of Da Shun, she had, after all, come for a marriage alliance.
Her funeral affairs couldn't be handled too simply. After all, there were many eyes watching from outside. Even if just for appearance's sake, it had to be done properly.
So he impatiently arranged for the servants to handle the subsequent tasks.
At the same time, he suddenly recalled that he hadn't seen the two handmaidens who had accompanied the Fourth Princess for the marriage alliance. Could it be...they were the ones who stole the items from the treasury and absconded?
The Crown Prince suddenly felt he had gained insight into the truth. He ordered further searches for Lan Er and Yu Er's whereabouts...
At this time, within the imperial palace of Southern Frontier.
The Emperor of Southern Frontier returned to his study. After dismissing his entourage, he went behind a large screen.
He pressed a switch to open the door to the secret chamber and entered.
The interior of the secret chamber could be described as luxurious and majestic, with furnishings that did not fall short of his imperial study in the slightest.
Moreover, it had all the necessary living facilities, even the chamber pot was gold-rimmed.
As soon as the Emperor of Southern Frontier entered, he eagerly said:
"Sir, no matter what, you must lend a hand this time."
From his tone, it wasn't difficult to hear how respectful and cautious he was, even carrying a trace of fear.
At this time, a person was lazily reclining on the couch. The Emperor of Southern Frontier's arrival did not compel him to stand.
This person wore an ink-colored hat on his head and women's clothing on his body, but his voice when he spoke was that of a man.
Moreover, his tone made people unconsciously feel impatient.
"What has happened to distress the emperor of a nation to such an extent?"
The Emperor of Southern Frontier still stood respectfully before that person and said, "I just heard the report from the frontier. They said two villains from Da Shun snuck in and still haven't been found.
"Not only that, more strange things happened at the Crown Prince's manor last night. I suspect it has to do with those two villains..."
Hearing the Emperor of Southern Frontier's words roused some interest in the person on the couch. He slowly sat up straight and asked, "Do you mean those two villains have abilities that transcend the Heavens, that they were actually able to empty out the entire treasury of the Crown Prince's manor all at once?"
If this had happened in the past, perhaps he wouldn't have believed such nonsense.
Going back further, the national treasury of Da Shun had been completely stolen clean in one night, and the thief even set it on fire afterwards.
Also, the home of a certain county magistrate of Da Shun had been burgled with the same modus operandi.
Most importantly, just last night he had personally witnessed his own Si Meng Mountain Villa's study emptied out. The few disciples he had left behind were all dead, and Mo Xiuyan had been taken away by someone.
Regrettably, by the time he discovered it, it was already too late and the thief had disappeared without a trace.
If he had not gone to Si Meng Mountain Villa last night and had instead stayed in the capital city, given how big of a commotion occurred at the Crown Prince's manor, he would have been able to rush over promptly to investigate, instead of losing the best window of time to search for clues like now.
He was already furious because of this matter. And now the Emperor of Southern Frontier had come to ask for his help.
Mr. Si Meng did not immediately respond to the Emperor of Southern Frontier. Instead, he carefully analyzed the similarities between these few incidents.
First, the theft of the Da Shun national treasury. That was on the night before the Mo family's banishment.
According to his subordinates' reports, Mo Jiuye was summoned by Emperor Shunwu into the palace on the day of Mo Jiuye's wedding. Afterwards, Mo Jiuye was carried back home after receiving 50 heavy blows with the plaquer.
As someone who practices martial arts, he clearly understood what receiving 50 heavy blows entailed.
If it had been him instead, after taking those 50 blows, he would have likely been bedridden for at least a month.
Even if Mo Jiuye's martial arts were superior to his own, without lying in bed for at least half a month, it would have been impossible for him to move freely, let alone steal from the highly-guarded national treasury. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like something Mo Jiuye did.
But one also could not completely preclude Mo Jiuye's involvement either.
Next was the matter of that county magistrate's family. Some were injured, others were frightened silly, and a treasury full of items had disappeared overnight.
After an investigation by his subordinates, at that time the Mo family's exiled convoy was right nearby.
It was just that their exact location was not found.
Through these two incidents, even if he didn't find evidence pointing to Mo Jiuye, his intuition told him this was certainly related to Mo Jiuye.
Finally, there was his Si Meng Mountain Villa. One must know, there were quite a lot of items in the underground study. Even if one knew Qinggong lightness skill, one would still need to make several round trips to move everything upstairs.
He had carefully examined the location. At most, there were only two sets of outsiders' footprints.
Moreover, judging by the sizes of the footprints, the two people should have been one man and one woman.
He could conjecture the man to be Mo Jiuye. Mo Xiuyan was in such a sorry state, covered in filth. If Mo Jiuye was not his own brother, upon seeing him perhaps he wouldn't even have wanted to save him.
He just couldn't figure out who the woman could be.
In order to break into his Si Meng Mountain Villa, without formidable abilities one wouldn't even have been able to get inside.
But from his understanding, among the Mo family women there was no one who knew martial arts.
The more Mr. Si Meng thought about it, the more he felt he couldn't grasp the crux of the matter.
