Bai Ke picked up the medicine bottle on the bedside table again to dress his wound. Hearing what he said, he looked up and asked in confusion, "You mean it's very likely that someone familiar with you did this?"
A Qi nodded. "Yes."
Hearing A Qi say this, Bai Ke carefully recalled the people who might have targeted A Qi, but he couldn't come up with any clues.
"You should rest first. I'll go out for a patrol."
He capped the medicine bottle, got up and walked out. Dan Er walked side by side with him. Dan Er asked, "Do you have any suspects?"
Bai Ke shook his head helplessly. "Not yet. A Qi rarely contacts people outside. The people he knows are basically the same ones I know. There are not too many or too few of them. It won't be that easy to investigate."
The two walked together to the entrance of the Sunlit Hall. Dan Er walked in.
Bai Ke went on his patrol. The investigation of the "Water and Sky in One Hue" incident was very secret. Apart from him and a few of the prince's confidants, no one else knew about it. In any case, he must unmask this mole.
He mustn't let this person disrupt the prince's plan.
Early the next morning, just as the sky was turning faintly bright, Bai Ke came to the entrance of the Sunlit Hall.
Dan Er was guarding the entrance, waiting for the two people inside to get up. Seeing Bai Ke coming, she stepped forward.
"What's up? Have you found out anything?"
Bai Ke shook his head dejectedly. "Not yet. But something has happened outside. Early this morning, people on the street were all talking about the disappearance of Miss Gu."
Dan Er was puzzled. She grabbed Bai Ke's arm and walked outside, for fear that the people inside might overhear their conversation.
"What on earth is going on? Didn't that incident happen several days ago? And I heard that the Gu family had suppressed the news. Why is it suddenly being talked about again?"
Bai Ke shook his head. He didn't know either. It was just that when he went to the blacksmith's shop to pick up the repaired item this morning, he heard many people talking about this matter. It seemed that it was related to their princess.
"Did Miss Gu meet our princess on the day she had the accident?"
Dan Er sighed, looking sad.
"Don't even mention it. Since the princess got pregnant, the prince thought that Shuang Er and I don't know martial arts, so it's always the Dong Xue sisters who accompany the princess when she goes out."
Bai Ke nodded. "Okay, then I'll go and ask them."
Just as Dan Er had said, when Mo Qinghuan didn't go out, Dong Xue and Dong Mei were quite idle. They were chatting in the side room.
Bai Ke walked over and knocked on the door. "Is anyone there?"
Dong Xue stood up, walked to the door and opened it. Seeing that it was Bai Ke, she asked with a smile, "What wind has blown the great Captain Bai here today?"
Bai Ke just smiled faintly. He didn't know much about these two sisters, nor did he know much about their temperaments.
They seemed quite easy to get along with at the moment. "Well, I'd like to ask if Miss Gu met our princess on the day she had the accident?"
Dong Mei walked out of the room, lazily leaning against the door frame. She folded her arms and looked at Bai Ke.
She knew that Bai Ke liked Dan Er, so she suspected that Dan Er might have told Bai Ke about the bad things they had said about the princess. So she asked warily, "Why do you ask this?"
Bai Ke sized Dong Mei up and down, and finally his eyes fell on her face. "Just tell me yes or no."
Dong Xue tugged at Dong Mei's sleeve, then looked at Bai Ke. "Yes, we were at the scene when Miss Gu was taken away that day. Dong Mei went to rescue her, but was beaten back by the other side."
"So it seems that the rumors outside are not unfounded."
Bai Ke turned around and was about to leave. Dong Xue grabbed his arm. "Captain Bai, what's going on?"
Bai Ke looked back at Dong Xue. "Early this morning, it's been spreading all over the streets that the princess is the mastermind behind Miss Gu's kidnapping."
Dong Xue and Dong Mei glanced at each other, both shocked by this news.
Although Dong Mei didn't have a good impression of the princess, she vaguely felt that this matter shouldn't have been done by their princess.
"Let's go out and have a look." She grabbed Dong Xue and walked out.
Bai Ke left the side room of the Sunlit Hall and walked into the courtyard. From afar, he saw A Qi walking towards him.
He sighed and stepped forward to meet him. A Qi came up to him and put his arm on his shoulder.
He shrugged his shoulder to shake off A Qi's arm, with a bit of blame in his tone. "You're badly injured. What are you running around for?"
A Qi smiled and put his arm around his shoulder again. "I suddenly remembered an important clue and wanted to tell you."
Bai Ke was puzzled. He helped A Qi to a table and sat him down. "What important clue?"
"Do you think there might be a mole among us, which is why he knows my itinerary so well?"
Bai Ke nodded upon hearing this. "It's quite possible. But at present, we have no evidence, not even any suspects. So I think we should..."
He pulled A Qi over and whispered the plan he had come up with last night into his ear.
A Qi nodded appreciatively after listening. "Oh, Captain Bai's really smart. This isn't just for show. Okay, let's do it your way."
"By the way, you can't go alone. I have to send someone to follow you secretly so that we can unmask the mole all at once." Just as A Qi was about to go back to his room to lie down, Bai Ke added. A Qi turned his head and looked at Bai Ke. "Who do you plan to send?"
Bai Ke gave a mysterious smile. At this smile, A Qi immediately understood. He raised his hand and punched Bai Ke hard in the chest.
"Come on! You're making me cooperate with A Jiu again. Don't you know he's not talkative? Are you trying to suffocate me?"
Bai Ke patted his shoulder pityingly and comforted him in a soft voice. "A Jiu is highly skilled in martial arts and doesn't talk much. I think you don't know how to cherish such a good partner at all."
A Qi impatiently snorted and turned back towards his room.
Bai Ke found A Jiu and told him the plan. A Jiu just nodded and said "um", without looking up or saying anything else.
A Jiu kept his head down. He would answer when Bai Ke asked a question, but remained silent when Bai Ke didn't.
Bai Ke sensed something was wrong and stared at him intently.
"A Jiu, what's wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?"
He just shook his head.
Bai Ke knew that A Jiu was never talkative, but he had never avoided looking at him like this before.
This made him wary. Involuntarily, he linked A Jiu's strange behavior today with A Qi's injury.
Could the mole be A Jiu?
He shook his head to get rid of this thought. He shouldn't be subjective, but should conduct a reasonable investigation. Maybe A Jiu's strange behavior today was because he had experienced something.