Chapter 985: Chapter 832, Human Skin Mask

After questioning the barbarian, Xiao Yeyang immediately entered the palace.

The Emperor, upon hearing that there were two treasure locations, couldn’t help but smirk on his face, “The one in Beijing must be left by the Wan Family.”

“When the Wan Family was ransacked, it was Duke Cheng’en who personally managed it. I remember after the confiscation, the treasury did not receive much. I initially thought the Jiang Family had embezzled the Wan Family’s property, but now it seems that it was not found.”

Saying this, the Emperor looked at Xiao Yeyang, “Do you think the Luo Family knew about the Wan Family’s treasure in advance?”

Xiao Yeyang, “…Your Majesty, I believe they must have known. Duke Cheng’en was capable, and since he did not find the treasure in the Wan Family’s old house, it means that the secret passage is not there.”

“If it’s not in the Wan Family, but there indeed is such a secret passage., combining my recent surveillance and the frequent returns of Luo Qiong to the Duke Residence, I believe the secret passage must be in the Duke Residence.”

The Emperor nodded and scoffed, “In order to please Lady Wan, your grand-Emperor spared no expense in bestowing good things upon the Wan Family, not to mention the wealth they accumulated from plundering everywhere, their amassed fortune must be substantial.”

“The Luo Family…”

The Emperor squinted his eyes.

The Duke Residence was one of the few nobles who had pledged allegiance when he first ascended the throne. He had favored them a lot over the years, yet all this time, they had never mentioned the Wan Family’s treasure. If Xiao Yechi hadn’t returned, were they planning to embezzle this batch of treasure?

The mere thought that the Duke had pledged allegiance with impure intentions from the very beginning made the Emperor’s face turn particularly ugly.

Xiao Yeyang sized up the Emperor’s complexion, kept silent for a long while, then ventured, “Your Majesty, shall we take control of the Duke Residence now?”

The Emperor shook his head, “We must not alarm the enemy. The Duke Residence isn’t going anywhere, we can’t escape. Just secretly monitor and covertly explore the secret passages. The priority is to find Xiao Yechi.”

Xiao Yeyang nodded in agreement, and was just about to leave when suddenly he heard the Emperor ask.

“Did Xiao Yechi really marry the Princess of Tartars?”

Xiao Yeyang nodded, “After the battle in the Northern Frontier, the Tartar Imperial Family suffered heavy casualties and their tribes disintegrated. Xiao Yechi probably married the Princess of Tartars in order to win over the Tartar people for his own use.”

“The barbarians said that Xiao Yechi now has some influence on the grasslands, and his return to Beijing to retrieve the treasures is to develop and strengthen his own power.”

The Emperor’s face was filled with icy resolve, “He is a person who has forgotten his roots, we can’t let him grow strong. We must capture him this time.”

Xiao Yeyang agreed with a nod.

…

The Duke Residence was put under strict supervision, and the Jinling Guard conducted several secret searches, but failed to find the secret passage.

The situation at Jingyun Port wasn’t smooth either; several days passed with no unusual ships entering the port, nor was there any transportation of gold and jewels to this area.

Xiao Yeyang furrowed his brows, “Xiao Yechi must have sensed something was wrong.”

Sun Changze, “We’ve done as the barbarian said, sending Carrier Pigeon Messages to Xiao Yechi every three days, how could he have detected something?”

Xiao Yeyang, “A man in black died earlier, it must have been because the man in black didn’t return that alerted Xiao Yechi.”

Sun Changze, “So, what do we do now?”

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yeyang took Sun Changze back to the Four Seasons Manor.

“The leads on Xiao Yechi’s side are broken, now we must find a breakthrough through Luo Qiong,” Xiao Yeyang told Daohua.

Daohua, “Can I help you with anything?”

Xiao Yeyang, “We’ve lived in the manor for quite some time; it’s time to go back.”

Daohua, “Okay, I’ll let Yuan Yao know.”

The next morning, Xiao Yeyang took Daohua back to Prince Pingxi’s Residence.

…

Chen Courtyard.

Upon hearing that Xiao Yeyang and Daohua had returned to the residence, Xiao Yechen, who had been in good spirits after receiving a new ivory ornament from Prince Pingxi, immediately darkened his face.

Luo Qiong told him that before his mother’s death, she was worried about him and instructed Luo Qiong to help him secure the title of the Prince Residence.

A determined look surfaced on Xiao Yechen’s face; for his mother and for his soon-to-be-born son, he must inherit the title of the Prince Residence.

“Lord Husband.”

Luo Qiong entered the study in a flowing gown, “I had someone stew some silver fungus soup, and I brought a bowl for you.”

Due to her growing belly and the fear that Xiao Yechen would notice something amiss, she had been avoiding him as much as possible lately.

But now that Xiao Yeyang and his wife had returned, she had to take advantage of this period when her father, grieving over her mother’s death, was especially doting on Xiao Yechen, to try to mend the relationship between her father and Pingxi Hall.