Chapter 810 The Case of the Theft of the Orb (Part 1)
Niu Jizong's sister recommended him to solve the case?
No matter how you think about it, this matter seems a bit weird.
This even made Sun Shaozong suspect that she was actually stealing from the palace and setting a trap to trick him into entering the palace in order to avenge her brother.
but……
Since he was going to investigate a case, Sun Shaozong would naturally bring all his men with him - especially since this case was very likely to involve an insider. Since Prince Zhongxin wanted Sun Shaozong to supervise the case, he had no reason to refuse the bailiffs from entering the palace.
Could it be that Princess Niu secretly hid hundreds of soldiers who could shoot arrows at will and kill so many officials and servants?
Therefore, although Sun Shaozong had doubts in his heart, he did not refuse to go to the palace to investigate the case - besides, he had no reason to refuse.
The Left Shaoqing of the Dali Temple was in charge of investigating major cases, and the case of the loss of the Goryeo national treasure in the palace was within his authority no matter how you looked at it.
Now that King Zhongxin has specifically called his name, how could Sun Shaozong not go?
After everything was packed up, he summoned the temple chief Tang Weishan, the deputy temple chief Chen Jingde, the chief constable Huang Bin, and more than 20 yamen runners, and rushed to the Prince Zhongxin's palace in a mighty manner.
The Zhongxin Palace is located near the East Four Archways. It covers a large area, but its location is a bit remote - of course, this is only relative to several other palaces. In fact, it is only separated by an alley from the downtown area.
Seeing the leading carriage stopped in front of the west gate of the palace, Sun Shaozong got off the carriage immediately.
Then a sharp-faced steward of the palace came out from inside, approached Hu Tai and whispered a few words to him, while out of the corner of his eye he kept glancing towards Sun Shaozong.
A prince who is as fat as two people chooses to use a thin butler. Isn't this just making up for what is lacking?
Sun Shaozong didn't have to wait any longer. The two of them exchanged a few words, and then Hu Tai came over with an apologetic look on his face, bowed and said, "I'm so sorry, my prince is too worried about this case, and it's really inconvenient to meet with you, Lord Sun - but you can rest assured that all the responsibilities will be delegated to him, and the investigation will not be delayed."
This is consistent with Sun Shaozong's impression - Prince Zhongxin has rarely met with foreign ministers in recent years, and this time is consistent with his previous meeting.
As for being disrespectful or something...
As a prince, as long as he doesn't have those messy thoughts, let alone Sun Shaozong, a fourth-rank Shaoqing, even if the cabinet minister or the minister were in person, what could they do to him?
Therefore, Sun Shaozong was too lazy to argue and went straight to the point: "In this case, can Hu Changshi take me to the treasury to have a look?"
"Please follow me, sir."
Hu Tai waved his hand and led the way, and Sun Shaozong led Tang Weishan and Chen Jingde to follow closely behind. As for Huang Bin and other yamen runners and constables, they had to be accompanied by the palace guards before they could enter the palace.
Although it is a study, it is a private vault and its location is not secluded. Instead, it is built between the inner and outer courtyards and is the most heavily guarded place.
The surrounding walls are about 15 feet high. There are only some flowers and plants nearby, but no trees.
At this time, outside the wall, there was a guard post every three steps and a sentry every five steps, and there were also several ladders nearby. It was obvious that before Sun Shaozong arrived, the palace was also conducting a self-inspection.
"Hu Changshi."
Before entering the courtyard, Sun Shaozong paused, called Hu Tai, pointed at the surrounding walls and said, "Since we are investigating a case, I will not care about etiquette. It is more appropriate for the guards of the Dali Temple to guard the left side of the wall first. Of course, the palace guards can also supervise from the side."
"Of course I will follow your orders, sir."
Hu Taiyi clasped his fists, then said embarrassedly: "It's just that the prince's private vault is not like other places after all, so please don't bring too many people in, so as to avoid mistakes."
With such a high-level preparedness, even if many people go in, most of them would not dare to steal anything, for fear that there would be too many people and some treasures might be damaged, which would be no joke.
Anyway, just don't let yourself go in alone.
Sun Shaozong nodded in response, called Chen Jingde over first, and ordered him to take people outside to check the wall to see if there were any signs of intrusion.
Then he took Tang Weishan, Huang Bin, and four experienced and prudent yamen runners into the study of the palace.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw a bookshelf attached to the south wall, stuck in the corner at an angle, revealing a large hole more than half a person's height.
While Sun Shaozong was looking at the bookshelf and the entrance to the private library, he was also keeping an eye on Hu Tai's every move out of the corner of his eye.
Hu Tai walked quickly to the entrance of the private vault and pointed at a bookshelf beside him and said, "There is a mechanism on this bookshelf that needs a key to open. There are no signs of damage on it. I think it was opened by a clever method."
Sun Shaozong also walked closer and, under Hu Tai's guidance, carefully examined the keyhole on the bookshelf.
This is a mechanism disguised as a table clock. There is a keyhole for winding the spring on it, and the keyhole for opening the secret door is hidden under the dial. The keyhole can only be exposed by removing the clips around the dial one by one.
According to Hu Tai, the order in which the four buckles are removed cannot be wrong, otherwise the bell will ring loudly and alert the patrolling guards.
Seeing that there were no signs of damage on the clock, Sun Shaozong asked Hu Tai for the key, inserted the key halfway in and turned it to the left, then pushed the key deeper and turned it right twice. The bookcase then creaked and slowly moved back to its original position, blocking the entrance to the private vault tightly.
After repeating the same process, the bookcase was slowly moved to the corner.
Then he tried the wrong operation method again, and as expected, the bell rang loudly, making the person's ears buzz.
Obviously, this mechanism is functioning normally.
Sun Shaozong held the key in his palm and looked at it back and forth, asking, "Is there anyone in the mansion who knows how to open this private vault?"
Hu Tai smiled bitterly, "To be honest, there are about ten people in the mansion who know where this private vault is - but only the princess, the princess Wu, and the newly favored Liu Duren know how to open it."
In other words, the only ones who openly knew the complete method of unlocking it were King Zhongxin’s two wives.
This looks more and more like a trick to lure someone into a trap.
However……
Sun Shaozong glanced at Hu Tai. This rather gentle and refined chief official of the palace did not look like a death warrior at all - if there was a fatal device in the private vault, Hu Tai would most likely not be spared.
However, just in case, Sun Shaozong decided to act cautiously, so he raised his voice and ordered: "Tang Sizheng, Captain Huang, you two follow Hu Changshi into the private vault first, I will close this entrance from the outside, and see if there is a way to open it from the inside if the thief hides in the private vault in advance."
Tang Weishan and Huang Bin had no doubts and agreed immediately.
Hu Tai seemed to have thought of something, but he just smiled bitterly and did not raise any objections.
Just like that, the three of them crouched down and went into the private vault one after another.
Speaking of which...
The person who designed the entrance to the private vault must have a grudge against King Zhongxin, right?
With his fat body, it would probably be difficult for him to enter and exit the private vault.
Soon, Tang Weishan was heard shouting from inside: "Sir, you can close the door now."
It seems that there is no mechanism inside that will be triggered once you enter.
The next step is to find a way to keep Hu Tai outside, let Huang Bin keep a close eye on him and not allow him to touch anything, and then go in to investigate.
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong closed the warehouse door with the key and waited for a while. As expected, he got the response that "it cannot be opened from the inside".
Only then did Sun Shaozong reopen the entrance to the private vault.
Hu Tai, Tang Weishan and Huang Bin followed suit.
Except for Hu Tai, the other two looked a little dazed, obviously shocked by the rare treasures inside.
Hu Tai bowed to Sun Shaozong and said, "Sir Sun, would you like to go in and take a look now?"
Sun Shaozong was just about to nod in agreement and use the excuse he had already thought of to keep him in the study, but he suddenly shrugged and took a few deep breaths.
Then he couldn't wait to ask, "Is it spiced?"
Hu Tai was stunned, nodded in confusion, and further explained: "The several eternal lamps inside use special lamp oil. The fragrance emitted when lit is stronger than ordinary spices."
Sun Shaozong immediately asked again: "Is the night-shining pearl usually placed in the box or outside?"
"It is placed on a soft table the size of a palm, and is usually uncovered."
This time it was Huang Bin who answered. Apparently, although he was in shock, he still completed the most basic investigation.
"In that case, I will not go in."
Sun Shaozong smiled and said to Hu Tai, facing his surprised look, "Master Hu, please ask someone to find some hunting dogs."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hu Tai's eyes lit up. He responded loudly and rushed out to find the skinny manager.
In just a quarter of an hour, several hunting dogs were brought in front of Sun Shaozong.
