Late at night, Dali Temple.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye, dressed in black night-blooming clothes, appeared in the vault where case files were stored.
Because Dali Temple sometimes handled cases that required late-night excursions, similar to modern police investigations, there were no fixed working hours. Therefore, Bai Sheng did not use knockout drugs. If someone were to return suddenly and find everyone drugged, it would be troublesome.
Anyway, at midnight, very few people would be in the vault looking for files. As long as she and Lu Ye were quiet when they entered, it should be relatively safe.
"Hmph hmph, keep watch for us," Bai Sheng said in her mind to Hmph Hmph.
"Don't worry, Master, my pig eyes are practically bulging like ox eyes."
Inside the vault, rows of wooden shelves reached the ceiling, with each compartment filled with various paper file books and ledgers.
This year was the 26th year of Jianhong. Calculating precisely, the Baili family's case should have occurred 21 years ago, which was the 5th year of Jianhong.
The case files were definitely organized by year. Bai Sheng and Lu Ye each held a candle and searched among the rows of wooden shelves for the 5th year of Jianhong. They found the 5th year of Jianhong, but the Baili family's case file was missing.
The two searched meticulously many times, but found no documents related to the Baili family's case.
How could the Baili treason case, which had shocked the entire Great Xia and even the three countries of Yunzhou, have no case file?
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye did not believe it. The two stood between the wooden shelves, quietly organizing their thoughts.
Generally speaking, case files were not discarded, at least not during the reign of the same emperor. Major and important cases' files were even less likely to be disposed of.
If the Baili family's case file was not found here, there were likely two possibilities: one, someone with a guilty conscience had completely destroyed all evidence, making the case vanish like smoke, leaving no trace, and rendering any reversal impossible; or two, someone considered the case file to be too important and had hidden it elsewhere.
The two blew out their candles. In the darkness, Bai Sheng nestled into Lu Ye's embrace and whispered, "Husband, if we can't find the case file, we'll find other evidence. Anyway, the people who framed Grandfather are still alive. If we can't find past evidence, we'll extract evidence from their mouths. There are plenty of ways."
Lu Ye hugged Bai Sheng and softly replied, "Mm, Jiang Pengju has been exiled to the northern border. We'll start with them. I'll set off for the northern border tomorrow. Traveling at full speed, I should arrive in about five or six days."
"I'll go with you," Bai Sheng said in the darkness, tilting her face up to look at him, her eyes shining like stars in the night sky.
"Alright," Lu Ye nodded. "But, my dear, you can't ride a horse with me; it's too strenuous. Give me a spatial bamboo, and I'll take it. You can come out of the spatial realm directly when we reach the northern border."
"As you say, Husband," Bai Sheng said charmingly.
Lu Ye hugged her tightly with affection.
The two entered the spatial realm.
The next day, Lu Ye, riding Black Wind, set off before dawn.
Six days later, according to the agreed time, Bai Sheng thought of Lu Ye's location with her mind and emerged from the spatial realm.
Unexpectedly, Lu Ye was still galloping. Bai Sheng happened to appear behind him, startling him with a scream as she grabbed his waist.
Lu Ye looked back and smiled.
Their robes fluttered in the night wind, and the sound of galloping hooves broke the silence of the night sky.
In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, it seemed as if only the beating of two hearts, tightly clinging to each other, conveyed a sense of security and warmth.
"Husband, why haven't we reached the northern border yet?" Bai Sheng called from behind.
"Soon, my dear, hold on tight!" Lu Ye replied, looking back. He urged Black Wind forward with his legs, and Black Wind whinnied, galloping desperately ahead.
There were still over 20 miles to Xifeng County in the northern border. At Black Wind's speed, they should arrive in less than an hour.
Although Xifeng County was not a desert region, due to low rainfall, the soil was mostly barren yellow earth, and the weather was extremely cold. It looked even poorer than Tasha County.
As they approached the county town, to avoid being remembered, Lu Ye put on a mask, while Bai Sheng, like an Arab woman in her previous life, wrapped herself in a large red headscarf, leaving only her eyes visible.
The county town was very small. The two casually found an inn. They only needed a room as a cover for entering and exiting the spatial realm, not to truly stay at the inn.
The next day, the two headed straight for the Jiang family's place of exile, Langhao Town. Langhao Town was fifty miles from Xifeng County, even more remote and desolate than Xifeng County.
Logically, all members of the Jiang family should be participating in labor service. However, due to the relationship with the Empress and the Crown Prince, they would at most be living a life of leisure here and would not be sent to do labor.
Their assumptions were correct. The quadrangle courtyard where the Jiang family lived was the most luxurious house in Langhao Town. Although it was not very large, it surpassed ninety-nine percent of the residences in the town.
Next to the quadrangle courtyard was a small inn. Within a 200-meter radius, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye took a room at the inn.
The two decided to use the "stony ripple" method to try and trick Jiang Pengju first.
Lu Ye first summoned a swarm of mice using the Snake King Gu and ordered them to keep a close eye on Jiang Pengju without leaving his side.
Then, he prepared a small piece of paper and wrote on it: A mysterious person has begun to reinvestigate the Baili family's treason case.
Guilt is always accompanied by fear; this is an eternal truth.
If Jiang Pengju saw that after twenty years, someone suddenly mentioned a forgotten old case, he would be greatly alarmed and lose his composure.
As long as he reacted, Lu Ye could find some leverage.
After completing this, the two entered the spatial realm.
"Hmph hmph, help me monitor the Jiang family in the adjacent quadrangle courtyard. Report any valuable information you see or hear to me," Bai Sheng ordered.
"Yes, Master," Hmph Hmph quickly perked up.
In the quadrangle courtyard, all the Jiang family members wore expressions of indignation. When they ate breakfast earlier, there was only porridge and steamed buns, with only a few plates of pickled vegetables as side dishes. Was this how people should live?!
There were only two maids responsible for cooking. The maids also felt wronged. The madam had only given them such a small amount for daily expenses. With this large family waiting to eat and drink, having steamed buns and pickled vegetables was already quite good.
Moreover, all the dirty and tiring chores were done by the two maids. Just washing clothes alone took one to two days.
Despite the family's misfortune, the main family members were still unaware of the situation. They all still acted like pampered young masters and ladies, expecting to be served food and clothes at any moment. It was truly outrageous.
If it weren't for the fact that they had worked for the Jiang family for many years and had developed some affection for this family, they would have already quit.
Madam Jiang sighed helplessly and looked at Jiang Pengju, saying, "Don't the Empress and the Crown Prince give us two thousand taels of silver every month? Why has Your Lord suddenly become so frugal? The children have never suffered since they were young. If this continues, I'm afraid their health will not be able to withstand it."