Huitong Hall.

Front yard main hall.

"Okay, I understand. I would like to ask Commander Xiao to go back and tell His Highness the Crown Prince for me. I will try my best to investigate the case and give His Majesty a satisfactory explanation. Thank you His Highness the Crown Prince for your trouble."

Hu Fei hesitated for a moment, then clasped his fists at Xiao Qi and said with a smile.

"I will definitely convey it to you in the end."

"By the way, I wonder if Marquis Jiu'an can find any clues?"

Xiao Qi returned the salute and asked slowly.

"Some clues have been discovered, but there has been no progress yet."

Hu Fei said with a wry smile.

"If you don't have a clue for the time being, Marquis Jiu'an might as well ask Commander Luo from the Capital Military and Horse Department for help. There is a mixture of good and bad people in the West Street of the capital, and you may be able to find some clues there."

Xiao Qi hesitated for a moment and then said pointedly.

"Okay, I understand, thank you Commander Xiao for reminding me."

Hu Fei raised his eyebrows and agreed with a smile.

"In this case, the general will take his leave first. He must return to the palace as soon as possible to report to His Highness the Crown Prince. Marquis Jiu'an will stay behind."

Xiao Qi bowed his hands, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Hu Fei watched Xiao Qi leave, frowning slightly and showing a thoughtful expression.

Not long after, the sound of footsteps was heard, and Tang Duo had returned from the backyard.

At the same time, everyone else also returned to the hall.

"How about it?"

Hu Fei looked at Tang Duo and asked calmly.

"When we return to the Marquis of Jiu'an, I have already gone to inquire. The reason why we did not see Ichiro Tokugawa just now is because Kuroda Yoshitaka ordered him to go and appease other people in the mission."

"As for why he was not present when the crime occurred, it was because Kuroda Yoshitaka thought that he had worked very hard on the journey from Japan to the capital, so he was asked to go back to his house to rest. This was also discussed personally when the official went to Kuroda Yoshitaka's place.

It has been confirmed and it is indeed the case.”

Tang Duo cupped his hands and said calmly.

"okay, I get it."

Hu Fei nodded and replied calmly.

Everyone stood there, looking at each other. His Majesty only gave him three days, but so far, no valuable clues have been found, and everyone is a little worried.

"Lord Tang, please send someone to find Luo Ping from the Army and Horse Department in the capital. I have something to discuss with him."

Hu Fei hesitated for a moment, looked up at Tang Duo, and said calmly.

Tang Duo immediately agreed, walked out of the hall quickly, and ordered his men to go find Luo Ping.

After a long time, Luo Ping and several of his men quickly rushed to the Huitong Hall and entered the main hall of the front yard.

"Your Majesty, Luo Ping, has met Marquis Jiu'an!"

Luo Ping walked closer, bowed respectfully to Hu Fei, and said with a smile.

"Commander Luo, thank you for your hard work."

Hu Fei smiled and said slowly.

"It's not hard work. Serving for the imperial court is just a job for a lower official, so why bother!"

Luo Ping waved his hand and said seriously.

"Commander Luo is working hard and working tirelessly. It's not bad. When the time comes, I will definitely say a few good words for you in front of His Majesty."

Hu Fei smiled and said approvingly.

"Then I will thank Marquis Jiu'an first."

"I wonder why Lord Marquis came to see me?"

Luo Ping bowed his hands and asked with a smile.

"I heard that there is a mixture of fish and dragons in West Street. Is Commander Luo familiar with it?"

Hu Fei paused and asked calmly.

"Xiaguan has always been responsible for guarding the capital and is very familiar with every part of the city. There is indeed a mixed bag of good and bad people in West Street, and the underground gangs are intricately connected."

"Why, Lord Marquis, do you think the bandits who sneaked into the Huitong Hall and stole the tributes are hiding in West Street?"

Luo Ping nodded, surprised, and asked tentatively.

"Since there are no other clues now, we can only investigate in this direction first."

"However, I suspect that this person is not from the capital. The Emperor's feet are heavily guarded. Once he violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty, he will be punished even more severely. People from the capital would not dare to do such a thing easily."

"So this person should most likely be someone from outside the capital. He may have followed the delegation all the way to the capital. He has been lurking in the dark, looking for an opportunity to take action."

"Commander Lauro will lead a search of West Street to see if anyone outside the capital has sneaked into the city recently. We can release the news. Anyone who provides clues will be rewarded heavily."

Hu Fei thought for a moment, looked at Luo Ping, and said calmly.

"It is my honor to serve the Marquis of Jiu'an for three lifetimes. The Marquis is so polite!"

"Don't worry, I will lead people to thoroughly investigate West Street and find this person!"

Luo Ping bowed his hands and said loudly. After saying this, he immediately left the Huitong Hall and went straight to West Street.

"Sir Tang, since Commander Luo is in charge of West Street, the rest of the city will be left to you. No suspicious persons can be spared."

"Mu Ping, Xiao An, you bring the Jinyi Guards to assist you, don't let go of any corner of the city, and try to find out this matter within three days!"

Hu Fei glanced at everyone present and ordered loudly.

"yes!"

The three of them agreed at the same time and turned around to leave.

After arranging everything, Hu Fei leaned back on the chair, raised his head and drank a cup of tea, slowly closed his eyes, frowned and pondered.

I don't know why, but since the tribute theft case, his right eyelid has been twitching from time to time. He always feels that something bad will happen, and maybe the theft of the tribute is just the beginning.

...

West Street.

Under night.

Hu Fei rode a red horse, led Chundie, Ye Qing and his party to West Street slowly, and stopped in front of a courtyard.

As soon as the news of Hu Fei's huge reward spread, the entire capital was thrown into chaos. People came forward one after another with clues, making the people in the Capital's Military and Horse Department, the Ministry of War and the Jinyi Guards extremely busy.

However, at the end of the day, there were no useful clues. Among them, there were some people who deliberately fabricated information in order to get bounties. After being confirmed, they were all severely punished.

Finally, some breakthroughs were made from Luo Ping, and all the suspicious people in West Street were arrested and imprisoned in this courtyard. Then the news was passed to the Huitong Hall, and Hu Fei was asked to come and interrogate him personally.

"I've met Marquis Jiu'an."

Seeing Hu Fei arriving, Luo Ping, who was waiting at the entrance of the hospital, hurriedly came up to greet him and bowed respectfully.

"Where are the people?"

Hu Fei nodded and asked lightly.

"Inside, Mr. Tang has already started interrogating the others. Some of the leaders of the West Street underground gangs also want Marquis Jiu'an to personally interrogate them."

Luo Ping cupped his hands and answered slowly.

Hu Fei said nothing and walked straight inside.

In a hall in the middle of the courtyard, several middle-aged people were kneeling on the ground. They were all tied up and kneeling on the ground. A person from the Capital Army and Horses Division stood beside them to guard them.

Hu Fei walked slowly into the hall with his hands behind his back, glanced at the middle-aged people kneeling on the ground, walked straight to the end, and sat on a chair.

Luo Ping hurriedly stepped forward, respectfully poured a cup of tea for Hu Fei, and then stood aside obediently.

Although they heard someone entering the hall, several middle-aged people still lowered their heads deeply and did not dare to look up.

"Master Hou, these people are the leaders of some of the more powerful gangs in West Street. If you have any questions, just ask."

Luo Ping pointed to the people kneeling on the ground and said slowly.

"Everyone look up!"

Hu Fei nodded, looked at the people on the ground, and said in a deep voice.

Hearing Hu Fei's words, several middle-aged people hesitantly raised their heads and looked in the direction of the sound.

But it didn't matter. After just one glance, everyone turned pale and hurriedly lowered their heads again. Some people even started to tremble all over.

Although they had never met Hu Fei, they recognized Hu Fei's identity at a glance.

"I see the Marquis of Jiu'an!"
To be continued...