A Lesson

Back at the palace, Qin Zhi Hao was doing the final check before the Emperor was going to leave the palace and head over to the city center. As he was giving a few instructions to his men, Pei Zi appeared by his side and whispered something, causing his expression darkened.

After that incident in the harbor, Qin Zhi Hao had instructed his men to keep their eyes on a few groups that he had suspected would be after His Majesty's life. After waiting in the dark for a few days, those suspects had finally made their move…

This was the one day that the Emperor will be going out of the palace. Although he will be heavily guarded, there will be a few openings for those who wanted to take the chance to harm the Emperor or any of the royal members.

Qin Zhi Hao glanced at the Emperor's palanquin and frowned.

He had talked to His Majesty a few times and tried to convince him to change his mind about going to this lantern festival. However, the Emperor was determined to attend this event and showed that he was not afraid of such threats.

In the end, he could only agree to arrange better security for this trip.

After spending a few months in the Capital City beside the Emperor, Qin Zhi Hao was starting to wonder if His Majesty was aware of who was trying to hurt him. But after giving it a long thought, he then started to wonder the reason the Emperor had assigned this task to him.

He really could not understand the Emperor's thinking at all.

"Continue the investigation." Qin Zhi Hao said as he turned to Pei Zi. "His Majesty wanted us to find out the person behind these incidents. We cannot let him down."

"Yes." Pei Zi nodded. He was about to leave when Qin Zhi Hao spoke again.

"Wait."

"Your Highness?"

Qin Zhi Hao tapped his fingers on the hilt of his sword as he planned his next move. Then, he spoke in a low voice. "Send a message to every team and let everyone observe the situation in the capital city."

Pei Zi stared at the prince and nodded. "Yes, Your Highness.

…

When Officer Zhou and his team arrived at the city square, the crowd has begun to dissipate. A few officers were carrying out dead bodies from the scene to be brought over to the morgue.

Officer Zhou Ming stopped one of the soldiers and glanced at the dead body. "What happened here?"

The soldier took a glance at Officer Zhou's outfit and greeted him. "Two men were fighting over a lady. Then one of them accidentally hit someone else and that fight got bigger. Everyone started to push each other and that was how that stampede started. In the end, three people died and ten were badly injured."

Officer Zhou Ming nodded before he let that man leave.

"It seemed that there is nothing for us to do here," Wu Da Hu said.

"I am sure that the morgue will be full of people trying to find out their family by next morning," Han Jing commented. "A day like this is very suitable for anyone to commit a crime."

"Stop saying such things." Wu Da Hu smacked Han Jing on his head. "Such bad luck. I only wish that this day will pass peacefully so that we can return home and have a nice sleep. I don't want to be involved in the aftermath."

Liu Da Wei laughed. Then, he turned to the tall man beside him. "Officer Zhou, what do you think we should do? Should we just stay around or return to the department?"

Officer Zhou shifted his gaze towards the new makeshift tower at the center of the square. At the top of the tower, a big piece of clothes was covering the big lantern. The constructors had put everything together since last night and the Emperor was going to reveal the lantern to the city before he lit it up.

Because this lantern was put up on a tower, those who were in the city were able to see it from far away.

"Let's just stay around," Officer Zhou answered after giving it a thought. "This area was one of the busiest in the city. If anything happened, we will be the first to arrive."

"You are right," Liu Da Wei chimed in. "Even if we return to the department, Chief Zhang Yue was not going to assign us to do anything."

Officer Zhou Ming chuckled. "Just keep your eyes and ears at the watchtower and see what they are reporting next."

"Yes." The other three answered in unison.

The group then decided to go on a separate way and blew on the whistle to warn each other if something happened.

At this time, his eyes caught the sight of a man walking over towards him. His eyes narrowed as he felt something slipped into his hand. As the man passed, Officer Zhou Ming clenched his fist at the paper and walked over the quiet bridge.

He read the message once and threw it into the water. Officer Zhou Ming watched as the paper disintegrated in the water and finally disappeared.

As he lifted his gaze again, a familiar silhouette caught his sight. Officer Zhou Ming left the bridge and tried to catch up with that person. However, before he could reach his side, that person has already disappeared among the crowd.

Officer Zhou Ming heaved a disappointed sigh. At this time, he felt a tug around his waist, and seconds later, that person he was looking for stood in front of him, waving his purse with a smug smile on his face.

"Officer Zhou Ming, were you looking for me?"

The man's expression darkened. Before he could scold that boy, Yu Feng had already tossed his purse towards him and he had to scramble to catch it.

"I thought you said you would never steal money," Officer Zhou Ming said as he raised his head.

"I did not steal it. I returned it to you, didn't I?" Yu Feng raised a brow and laughed. "Officer Zhou, I am merely giving you a lesson. On this day, it will be easier to steal and get away with it. Therefore, you should be very careful. Don't think that because you're dressed like that and was carrying a sword, those thieves are not afraid to steal from you."

"You brat." Officer Zhou slapped Yu Feng hard on the shoulder, and the latter looked at him with an aggrieved expression. "When did you realize that I was here?"

"Not too long ago. With the way you are dressed, how can I not see you in the crowd?" Yu Feng inched closer and whispered. "Don't worry. That bad person had already told me that among the people I've met, I don't have to pretend that I have did not know you."