Chapter 824 - Chapter 824: Fuming and Slamming the Desk
Chapter 824: Fuming and Slamming the Desk
Editor: Henyee Translations
Without a second thought, Tang Jinghong agreed, “Alright, we’ll proceed with the original plan to transport the seeds tomorrow.”
Meng Shengdong and Qi Kaiming came forward to greet her, “Miss Chu.”
Chu Qingzhi nodded at them, “You’ve worked hard escorting the seeds. No need for formalities.”
“As long as we can deliver them safely, the hard work is nothing. It’s just that now…” Meng Shengdong lowered his head, sighed, full of helplessness.
Chu Qingzhi offered reassurance, “It’s okay, thingswill get resolved.”
Meng Shengdong offered a slight compliment, “With Miss Chu’s help, everything will be fine.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled, “I’ll do my best.”
Tang Jinghong said, “It’s getting late, Qingzhi, you should rest. We’ll talk about other matters tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Chu Qingzhi returned to the room Tang Jinghong had arranged for her, opened the window, and looked out to the backyard.
To avoid startling the snake, she didn’t call anyone over for questioning. It was also a test to see if the parrots could indeed carry out their tasks.
Chu Qingzhi kept her divine consciousness alert, monitoring all directions as she stood by the window, deep in thought.
The third rooster crowed…
Two inn servants pushed a cart out of the back door, seemingly headed to the market to buy vegetables. As soon as they stepped out, two black parrots followed them not far behind.
Chu Qingzhi was quite satisfied, tracking them with her divine consciousness. However, due to distance limitations, she could only follow them for two streets.
But with one parrot on the trail, trained for so long, they shouldn’t disappoint her.
In a room at the inn.
A man in black flew in through the window to report, “Master, Chu Qingzhi has arrived.”
The person in the dark was surprised, “Chu Qingzhi? Isn’t she in Shuiyun County? How did she get here so quickly?”
The man in black bowed his head, “I don’t know.”
The person in the dark took a moment, their tone growing heavier, “What did she do here? Give me the details.”
The man in black handed over a piece of paper, “This paper records everything she did, please review it, Master.”
The person in the dark took the paper and read it carefully, their brow gradually furrowing. Did she see through us, or did she not?
He crumpled the paper into a ball, “Continue to monitor them, especially Chu Qingzhi. The world says Chu Qingzhi is extremely intelligent. I want to see if that’s true.”
The man in black bowed, “Yes, Master.”
In the inn.
Shuang’er returned, gulping down water upon arrival, “Not far from this inn, there’s a man. The man in black went to see him, calling him ‘Master’.”
“Take me there immediately!” Chu Qingzhi decided on the spot.
Shuang’er flew out at once, with Chu Qingzhi following. Shortly, the duo arrived at the man’s room.
Chu Qingzhi touched the teacup; it was still warm. The person hadn’t gone far. She immediately extended her divine consciousness to search.
No suspicious person was found.
They were a step too late; the adversary had already left!
Chu Qingzhi regretfully took to the streets, but then thought, it doesn’t really matter; they were likely to meet again soon.
Though they hadn’t caught anyone, it wasn’t a total loss; at least they confirmed there was a mole!
Chu Qingzhi picked Shuang’er up onto her arm, “Which servant went to tip them off?”
Shuang’er excitedly said, “The taller one.”
Next, two things needed to be done: one was to figure out how Jinghong and the others were drugged with hallucinogens, and the other was to concoct an antidote for the hallucinogens.
The component of the hallucinogenic drug in the blood was very low, yet it had seeped deep into their system, indicating they had been ingesting the drug over a period.
Given Jinghong’s extremely cautious nature, yet being unknowingly drugged, the adversary must have placed the drug somewhere habitual for everyone, but where could that be?
Chu Qingzhi said, “Shuang’er, next I need to investigate where the opponent has placed the hallucinogens, you assist me from the shadows.”
“Okay…” Shuang’er flew into the darkness, vanishing from sight.
On Chu Qingzhi’s way back to the inn, a dozen or so parrots came to report back. Combining the messages from the parrots with what Shuang’er brought back, she formed a rough guess.
The opponent was quite clever; they didn’t directly drug the food but caused a reaction through the interaction of foods to produce toxins in the body.
People have to eat, and someone specifically checked Jinghong’s food before meals. Each food individually had no issues, but once ingested, problems arose. Chu Qingzhi found this interesting; she enjoyed dealing with intelligent people. Upon returning to the inn, Chu Qingzhi called over the taller servant, “Do you want to say it, or shall I?”
The servant feigned ignorance, “Miss, I don’t understand what you’re talking about?”
Chu Qingzhi smiled lightly, a motion of her finger, and a glow entered the servant’s body, “Who did you meet just now?”
The servant’s face changed, “I don’t know him. He just said there was cheap vegetables for me to pick up and even gave me five taels of silver. With such a good deal, of course, I went.”
This further confirmed her guess, but Chu Qingzhi didn’t ask further, unable to extract any valuable information.
At breakfast, Chu Qingzhi finally verified her suspicions. As expected, each food was fine on its own, but combined, they turned into a hallucinogenic drug.
However, the concentration was low and not lethal, nor did it have any significant effect on the body.
Having figured this out, Chu Qingzhi felt relieved. After breakfast, Jinghong and the others continued with the seed transport back to the capital, while she returned alone to Chu’s village.
On the way, Meng Shengdong and Qi Kaiming rode their horses behind Tang Jinghong, murmuring among themselves.
Qi Kaiming incredulously said, “Shengdong, Miss Chu just left like that?”
Meng Shengdong was also puzzled but believed Chu Qingzhi had her reasons, “If she didn’t leave, should she have gone back to the capital with us?”
Qi Kaiming glanced at Tang Jinghong’s back, “Going back to the capital together wouldn’t be bad, look how happy the general was when Miss Chu came.”
Meng Shengdong tugged on the reins, “Miss Chu is busy.”
“But the problem hasn’t been solved. If we transport stones back to the capital, won’t we be seeking death?” What Qi Kaiming really wanted to say was this. Meng Shengdong paused, then said, “The general and Miss Chu must have made other arrangements.”
“I suppose so.” Qi Kaiming, though not entirely convinced, had to believe it, given their general’s unquestioning trust in Miss Chu.
Tang Jinghong, listening to their discussion, pondered what exactly Chu Qingzhi was planning and why she hadn’t informed him.
In a certain civilian house.
The person in the dark, after leaving the inn, came to a civilian house. With Chu Qingzhi’s reputation known far and wide, he had to be cautious, and rightly so. Just thinking that Chu Qingzhi had found the inn he had stayed at shortly after he left sent shivers down his spine.
But that wasn’t the most important part. What mattered was she must have discovered the secret, otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed Tang Jinghong to continue transporting the seeds to the capital.
Chu Qingzhi had ruined his perfect plan in an instant.
The person in the dark, outraged, pounded the table. The next moves had to be even more cautious, or they would surely be caught by Chu Qingzhi.