Chapter 27

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and said, "Speak, what was your purpose for breaking into my home at night?"

The thief replied, "Sir, I'm short on cash, so I wanted to rob you for some silver to spend!"

Hu Xiaotian coldly snorted; the thief's arrogance had already stirred his anger. He kicked the thief in the face, sending him sprawling with a bloody face, and then said, "Hang them up and beat them until they tell the truth!"

At that moment, a sudden burst of flames shot up from the northeast direction, startling everyone. Liang Dazhuang exclaimed, "Fire!"

Screams of "Fire!" echoed throughout the area. Hu Xiaotian left four servants to guard the two thieves and led the others to put out the fire.

The fire broke out at the Jiyaxuan pavilion of the Shangshu Mansion, which was Hu Buwei's study. When Hu Xiaotian led people to extinguish the fire, he had already guessed that they might have fallen for a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain. When they were busy catching the thieves, someone else had taken the opportunity to sneak into the Jiyaxuan and set the fire.

Fortunately, the fire was not too large, and with many servants, it took less than half an hour to put out the fire at the Jiyaxuan.

Soon after the fire was extinguished, the Jingzhao Prefecture sent people to investigate the situation. The leader was Murong Feiyun, a female detective who had interacted with Hu Xiaotian a few times. Looking at the ruins of the Jiyaxuan, Murong Feiyun frowned. The security in the capital had been poor recently, with several thefts occurring, but none of the thieves had dared to steal from an official's residence. After all, thieves understood that the common people did not fight against the officials, and if caught stealing from an official's residence, the punishment would be even more severe.

At that moment, a man with a face covered in soot approached her, smiling and revealing a mouthful of white, neat teeth. Seeing this carefree smile, Murong Feiyun finally recognized that the person in front of her was actually the Shangshu's son, Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian had been busy putting out the fire and had not yet washed the soot off his face. He looked like an African brother who had just escaped from a disaster. He bowed to Murong Feiyun and said, "Inspector Murong, we meet again!"

Murong Feiyun had no particular fondness for this fellow, but she was clear about her main purpose for coming and understood that Hu Xiaotian was a victim today. She softly asked, "What happened?"

Hu Xiaotian briefly recounted the events of the night. After listening, Murong Feiyun asked, "Was anything lost?"

This question really stumped Hu Xiaotian. The Shangshu Mansion was so large, and there were so many things in the house. Even if the study had not been burned, he wouldn't have known what was missing, let alone with the study being burned and the scene severely damaged.

Murong Feiyun said, "Hand over the two thieves to me. I will take them to the Jingzhao Prefecture for a thorough interrogation."

Hu Xiaotian had no objections. After all, Murong Feiyun was a professional in this field. He smiled and said, "If there's any progress, I hope you can inform me as soon as possible."

Murong Feiyun nodded.

After a night of turmoil, it was already dawn when Murong Feiyun led a group of detectives away with the thieves. Hu Xiaotian, who had been busy catching thieves and putting out fires, was naturally quite tired. He yawned and was about to go back to his room to rest when he saw the steward, Hu An, approaching with a look of fear. From Hu An's eyes, Hu Xiaotian knew he had something to say. He said in a low voice, "Let's go to my room and talk."

Hu An followed Hu Xiaotian to his room, closed the door, and said fearfully, "Young Master, tonight's events seem to be quite serious."

In Hu Xiaotian's view, they might have lost some property tonight, but as long as no one was injured, other matters were trivial. He smiled and said, "Money is just an external thing; as long as everyone is safe, that's all that matters."

Hu An lowered his voice and said, "Young Master, do you know that the family has the Iron Voucher of Red Letters stored in the Jiyaxuan?"

Hu Xiaotian was startled. The Iron Voucher of Red Letters, wasn't that the legendary pardon? He had read about it in novels before. It was said to be a reward given by the emperor to meritorious officials, and if the official committed a crime in the future, they could use the Iron Voucher to avoid execution. Hu Xiaotian did not know that the Hu family had such a voucher. He had only regained consciousness half a year ago, and his father had never mentioned it to him. Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, the Iron Voucher of Red Letters was not an ordinary thing. Even if their family had it, his father would certainly keep it well hidden and would not let a steward know its location. Thinking about this, Hu Xiaotian said, "I have never heard of any Iron Voucher of Red Letters."

Hu An rubbed his hands anxiously and said, "Young Master, the Iron Voucher of Red Letters was passed down from the Mingzong Emperor to the Jingguo Duke, Hu Lao Taiye. Although the Hu family later fell on hard times, the Iron Voucher of Red Letters has been passed down through generations and is treasured by the Hu family. It was only when your father achieved his official rank and revitalized the family that the Hu family flourished. I have been favored by your father and mother and entrusted with important tasks, so your father never kept anything from me. The Iron Voucher of Red Letters was stored in the Jiyaxuan in front of me, and he instructed me that no one should enter the Jiyaxuan under any circumstances. Last night, because of the thieves, I was so concerned about your safety that I neglected the Jiyaxuan... Young Master... I really deserve to die..." Hu An knelt down in front of Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian felt sorry for him, but after hearing his words, he understood his intentions. What do you mean? You were so concerned about my safety that you neglected the Jiyaxuan, so the loss of the Iron Voucher of Red Letters is all my fault? It seems that Hu An knew he could not bear the responsibility alone, so he was trying to gain sympathy from him. However, gaining sympathy is one thing, but you can't blame this on me, can you? Hu Xiaotian felt a bit annoyed and did not let Hu An get up. He sat down in a chair and thought for a moment before saying, "Who else knows about this?"

Hu An knelt in front of Hu Xiaotian and said, "Young Master, only your father and I know that the Iron Voucher of Red Letters is stored in the Jiyaxuan. Even your mother doesn't know. I thought you knew."

Hu Xiaotian cursed inwardly. Hu An, you old man, you're not a good person. This is clearly a move to drag me into the mess. With such a big incident, you feel you can't bear the responsibility alone, so you're dragging me in to share it. However, Hu Xiaotian, though he complained, also understood that he had to take some responsibility for last night's events. If he hadn't made such a big fuss, the entire Shangshu Mansion wouldn't have been alarmed. After all, it was just two thieves, and with the six servants under Liang Dazhuang, they could have handled it. But last night, he was so excited about catching the thieves that he didn't realize they were using a diversionary tactic, and the real target was the Iron Voucher of Red Letters.

Hu Xiaotian said, "The Iron Voucher of Red Letters was a reward from the Mingzong Emperor to my ancestor. So many years have passed, and the emperor has changed, and our family has passed down for many generations. It's hard to say if it still has any effect." He was right; the Iron Voucher of Red Letters was more like a medal. According to the laws of Dakan, even princes were subject to the same laws as commoners and could not avoid punishment, let alone ordinary officials. Besides, in an era where the emperor's word was law, if the emperor wanted to kill you, even a thousand or ten thousand Iron Vouchers wouldn't save you. You would still be executed or your family exterminated.

Hu An said, "Young Master, even if the Iron Voucher of Red Letters can't guarantee immunity from execution, losing it is a capital offense!"

These words woke Hu Xiaotian from his daze. He broke out in a cold sweat. Yes! Losing the Iron Voucher of Red Letters is a serious crime! If the thieves really stole it and the incident became public, it would cause great trouble for the Hu family. The real problem was that his father was in the Eastern Capital with the emperor, and his mother was in Jinling visiting her family. The affairs of the Hu family could only be managed by him, and he had no one to consult.

Hu Xiaotian thought about it and realized that this incident seemed more and more like a conspiracy. The two thieves who broke into his courtyard were likely a diversion to draw everyone's attention. When everyone was focused on catching the thieves, someone else sneaked into the Jiyaxuan, stole the Iron Voucher of Red Letters, and set the fire to destroy the evidence.

Hu Xiaotian paced back and forth in the room, deep in thought.

Hu An did not dare to interrupt him. Since Hu Xiaotian did not let him get up, he had to kneel there.

Finally, Hu Xiaotian stopped and said, "Are you sure the Iron Voucher of Red Letters has been stolen?"

Hu An nodded and said, "After the fire was extinguished, I