Chapter 57: Who Is It?

  Zhao Che returned to the inner courtyard and pondered for a while about what Meng Tao had said earlier. These people didn't know what they were after, nor did they know who sent them. After thinking for half a day, he couldn't figure out the situation, and his sources of information were too limited. For now, all he could do was to be highly vigilant and counter their moves.

  "Jian Xi, go to the winery and tell your uncle to be more careful, don't let outsiders in and out, and take good care of the winery!" The winery is now a newly planted money tree, can't let others damage it just as it's sprouting, no matter what these people are after, we must pay attention to protection.

  "Second Master, I'm leaving. You mustn't run around wildly. If something happens again, what will we do?" Xi said hesitantly, speaking with concern.

  "I'll go talk to Huang Bo, you can rest assured!" Zhao Chun said, after being beaten himself, this old thing just showed up and then disappeared without a trace, he had to find him to have a word.

  "Second Master, Huang Daquan is not at home, he returned to Beijing several days ago!" Jian Xi said.

  "Why go back to the capital all of a sudden? Are you going to report Mother Nightwalker's situation to Her Majesty? It's better to get rid of her as soon as possible, she's just getting in the way!"

  "Second Master, it would be great if that were the case, unfortunately not!" Xie said with a mixture of joy and regret. He was even more disgusted with Yu Zhu and couldn't wait for her to leave, "I heard that because of the sudden death of the head of the Imperial Secretariat due to illness, he had a good relationship with Huang Da Guan before his death, so Da Guan asked for an imperial edict to return to Beijing for the funeral!"

  "What's going on with the Imperial Censor? The Imperial Censor is dead, and isn't his surname Zhang?" Zhao Zhen furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before a name suddenly popped into his head.

  "Yes, yes, his surname is Zhang, named Zhang Kangguo. Second Master, do you know him? This old man was just over 50 years old, when I was in the palace at that time he was only in the middle book, his body was not bad, how could he die suddenly!" Jian Xi said with some regret.

  "I don't know him, but he shouldn't have died of a sudden illness. It's more like... " Zhao Ye made a throat-slitting gesture as he spoke.

  "Is it possible to assassinate him? He is the head of the two departments, who can kill him?" Jian Xi said disbelievingly. It's no wonder he didn't believe it, as during the Song Dynasty and now, there are roughly two separate systems for military and political affairs, with the Chief Military Commander and the Grand Chancellor (commonly known as the Prime Minister) each being the head of their respective departments, not subordinate to each other. Think about it, a big shot equivalent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US military, the Chief of General Staff of the three armies, being assassinated in peacetime, who would believe it?

  Zhao Ke smiled and didn't say anything else, knowing that Zhang Kangguo wasn't familiar with the Song Dynasty history or remembered every single name because of his past profession. 'Zhang Kangguo's assassination' was a case he had studied before, which was most interesting because the assassin had struck in the heavily guarded imperial palace, killing two related eunuchs to silence them, and then escaped unscathed, making it an eternal mystery. Zhao Ke and his colleagues had attempted to reconstruct the scene at the time, but failed due to the passage of time and lack of data.

  "Second Master, don't think wildly anymore. Why not let the young servants accompany you to fly a kite? It's not good to stay cooped up in the house all the time!" Seeing that Xi Wangye was dazed again, she thought he was traumatized from being beaten and wanted him to take his mind off things.

  "Alright, I'll go find them. You leave early and come back early, don't stay out too late or you'll get nagged to death! And absolutely no more drinking, or you might let something slip!" Zhao Zhan reminded Xian Xi a few times, thinking that since he had nothing better to do, flying a kite would be a nice way to reminisce about his happy childhood.

  Xie smiled and went out to call someone to find the kite that Guo Gong had sent last year, instructing Xiang Xi to bring some snacks, tea, and other utensils, and accompany Wang Ye to the garden. Gui Hua was also busy changing Wang Ye into a short-sleeved shirt. Just as Zhao Chu was about to leave, he thought for a moment and still holstered his pistol at his waist. In these turbulent times, if some reckless person were to burst into the garden, he would be able to protect himself.

  The garden is now a mid-spring scene, with all the flowers and grasses shedding their winter clothes and revealing new greenery. The gentle breeze and warm sunshine make people feel carefree and joyful, making it the perfect time for an outing. However, after waiting for a while, only one of the young servants arrived.

  "Zhao Xin, what about the others?" Zhao Xin asked, panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

  "Second Master, all the vegetables in the greenhouse have been harvested. The person in charge has arranged for us to help out on the construction site. I'm the only one who is temporarily free, but they can't leave right now!" Zhao Xin reported back.

  "You're so young, what can you do? You'll just get in the way!" Zhao Yan said.

  "Second Master looks down on people, Zhao Ren and a few others who are literate follow the supervisor to record the number of workers in each team, how much soil they dug, and how long the canal they repaired!" Zhao Xin said with his chest out.

  "Hehe, you must be useless at everything, or else you'd have something to do!" Zhao Ye teased him.

  "It's not like that!" Zhao Xin stomped his foot in anger, "I'll settle the account. Every early morning, I have to follow the manager to buy food and daily necessities for everyone. Now that everything has been bought, there's nothing else to do. Others rush back to accompany you, but you only know how to bully people!"

  "Alright, alright, you're a big shot, the busiest and most important person on the construction site. Isn't that enough?!" Zhao Ke had no choice but to admit defeat and plead for mercy in front of 'little kid'.

  "Second Master, let's go to the pavilion on top of the mountain! It's windy there and our kite will definitely fly high!" Zhao Xin said excitedly, pulling Wang Ye's hand.

  A group of people climbed the artificial hill, saying that Zhao Zhan was flying a kite. It would be better to say that Zhao Xin was playing with it. His left hand was injured, and he could only use one hand to reel in the string, which made it inconvenient for him to let out or pull in the string. Zhao Xin was anxious, but everything was taken care of by someone else. The 'Butterfly' kite fluttered higher and higher, slowly growing as big as a palm, and his heart seemed to soar into the sky along with it.

  "It's another March 3rd, kites fill the sky, pulling my thoughts and dreams, back to the memories of childhood on March 3rd, there were also kites painted with small birds and that little companion, the kite understands my heart, nodding its head at me, pulling my thoughts and dreams, forever accompanying me"

  Zhao Zhe thought back to his childhood when he would follow his older brother and sister to fly kites during this time of year. His sister would often sing a song, and they would make their own "fart kites" with just a few bamboo sticks and a piece of white paper. He would beg his siblings to let him play with it for a while, and his sister would often give in. Now that she's middle-aged, he wonders if she still remembers her younger brother who went missing all those years ago.

  "Second Master, why are you crying? Is your hand hurting?" Zhao Xin asked excitedly as he suddenly noticed Wang Ye sitting there staring at the kite with tears streaming down his face.

  "Oh no, it's nothing! I just suddenly thought of my family." Zhao Che felt a chill on his face and hastily wiped away a smile.

  "Second Master, I also miss home, but I don't know where my parents are?" Zhao Xin said with a gloomy expression as he sat down next to Zhao Ye.

  "We're almost the same, I have a home but can't go back, and being beaten like this without anyone to tell my grievances to!" Zhao Ze said with a bitter smile, his hands tightly clenched into fists.

  "That whatever book is really hateful, and your mother is also confused, sending such a person" Zhao Xin lightly stroked Zhao E's hand and said, but halfway through, Wang Ye suddenly glared at him, suddenly remembering that his mother was not someone he could discuss, and quickly shut his mouth.

  "You'd better not let that hag hear you say that, or your butt will be in trouble!" Zhao Yan said with a smile, stuffing a piece of pastry into his mouth.

  "Second Master, the kite has fallen!" Upon hearing Feng Xi's reminder, the two of them looked up and saw that while they were busy talking, the wind direction had suddenly changed. The kite was unable to pull its long string and had tumbled down with its tail askew.

  "Stop daydreaming, reel it in quickly!" Zhao Yi shouted while pulling the string with one hand. Zhao Xin also hurriedly wound the string, but no matter how hard they tried, the kite didn't give them any face, flying over the wall, passing several short trees, and heavily crashing into a flower cluster beside the greenhouse.

  "It's all over, it must have crashed to pieces! What a pity for such a good kite!" Zhao Xin watched as the kite fell down, but he was powerless to do anything about it, and said with a sorrowful face.

  "Heh heh, not bad for a second round. They say moths fly into flames, but this 'butterfly' dying in the flower cluster is also a fitting end!" Zhao Che said nonchalantly.

  "Second Master, what's going on?" Zhao Xin asked helplessly, seeing Zhao Che's nonchalant attitude.

  "What's to be done? You ask me, I don't know either now. We'll have to pick it up first and then decide whether to throw it away or fix it!" Zhao Yan said, patting the dirt off his body.

  "Second Master, shall we go look for him?" Xiang Xi stepped forward and said.

  "Never mind, the kite is something we two made together, let's go find it ourselves, and it's a good chance to stretch our legs, I'm all numb from sitting!" Zhao Che pulled along Zhao Xin who was pouting, walking down the mountain along the string. The garden was full of trees and flowers, and the kite string inevitably got tangled in the branches, requiring them to carefully untangle it bit by bit, while also being careful not to scratch their hands on the branches. Zhao Che only had one hand that could move, making it very difficult for him.

  "Damn it, this wicked woman is really hateful. If she cripples my hand, I'll beat her butt into eight pieces." Zhao's hand hurt for a moment, and he cursed, as if only in this way could the pain be alleviated.

  "Second Master, Dian Zheng has arrived!"

  "Where is it? I don't see it?" Zhao Chu hastily closed his mouth and looked around in all directions, but couldn't find it.

  "Haha, Second Master is really bragging. As soon as he heard she came, he didn't dare to make a sound, and still wants to slap her butt eight times!" Zhao Xin said with a smile.

  "Hmph, you dare to mock me? How am I supposed to deal with you when I get back?" Zhao Ze said with a stern face, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly crouched down. "Zhao Xin, how long has it been since you've come to the warm room?"

  "Six days ago! Yes, it was the day you were beaten that we dismantled the warm room, and the next day San Guan Shi arranged for us to go to the construction site, and never came back. What's wrong?" Zhao Xin thought for a moment before answering.

  "There's a bloodstain here, it looks like it was left two or three days ago!" Zhao Yi pointed to a small purple-black mark on a blade of grass and said. Zhao Xin leaned in close, if you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to tell that it was a bloodstain.