“When we went to see Klaus, did I do anything that made you suspicious of me?” Decius asked.
“No. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t you. Do you remember what I did before we walked into the house?” Zhang Heng asked.
“You were looking around, looking at the people in the corridor… Oh, you saw Andrea’s man,” Decius said.
“I don’t know who those people are, and I’m not even sure what their purpose is. But my southeast city friends told me that those guys have been following us for some time, and the murderer killed Amidio a few minutes before we arrived. In other words, someone realized that we were about to uncover the truth. So, they hurriedly killed Amidio to prevent him from talking to us. Here comes another problem.”
“Even if they were following us, how did they know our movements so well?” asked Zhang Heng in return.
“Have you been suspecting me since then? Was that why you made something up and told me that Amidio was likely to leave evidence behind?”
“Well, this isn’t something I made up. The likelihood of something like this happening is very high,” Zhang Heng said.
“Aren’t you afraid that I’d find the evidence he left behind and hide it from you?” Decius could not help but ask.
“We were in the same room, my friend. Do you think you can hide anything from me?” Zhang Heng sighed.
Decius was rendered speechless.
“The only remaining question that bothers me now is—how deeply you involved in this matter?” Zhang Heng looked at Decius. “I’m tending to think that there’s an agreement between you and Andrea. However, your understanding of the whole thing is limited. As the situation developed, your shocked expressions didn’t seem faked—unless you are an outstanding actor, of course.”
“I think your childhood experience contributed a bit to your acting career. However, you are still not good enough to deceive me. When we saw Amidio’s body, the fear and shock you presented in front of me were real. Therefore…” Zhang Heng snapped his fingers, “…I was a little surprised that you did not hesitate to hide my necklace afterward.”
Decius finally spoke up after staying silent for a long while. “You only know me by hearsay. You don’t know what my actual life is like. If I get the opportunity to take my beloved one and leave my family, you can be sure I’ll be taking it.”
“Before you can do all that, though, you’ll be needing chips to bargain with Andrea. And why are you so sure that you won’t end up like Amidio?” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows. “I’m also curious about the promise that Andrea made to you. How did he make you side with him?”
“He told me that as long as I don’t get involved in this matter, he would provide me with a stable and decent job when it’s all over. So that my wife and I can move out from here,” Decius explained.
“That sounds good. It’ll help if you did what he said. Leave the necklace alone, stay by my side, and continue to play the role of Watson,” Zhang Heng sincerely replied.
“But I want more. I want to achieve greatness and become a senator. When that time comes, I’ll be able to lift my head high in front of my father and that b*stard brother of mine! If that necklace is important physical evidence left behind by Amidio, I have my bargaining coin to negotiate with Andrea.”
Decius clenched his fists.
“Your courage is commendable,” Zhang Heng praised before turning around and denouncing him. “Unfortunately, you don’t have a brain.”
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“…”
“Well, I probably understand your position in this matter. Let us solve the ore matter together.” Zhang Heng clapped his hands.
“Are you going to confront Andrea?” Decius asked.
“Amidio is dead. If you were Andrea, would you admit that you were the mastermind?”
“I probably won’t,” Decius said truthfully.
“Yes. Even if you and I confronted him together, he will not admit to anything. And strictly speaking, all he told you was not to be nosy. He didn’t instruct you to do anything. Besides, you just took the necklace spontaneously.”
“Then how are you going to convince him to restart the Binota Mine?”
“After knowing who the mastermind behind this whole incident is, it isn’t that hard getting the mine to resume operations. I don’t need him to admit that he did it. I just need to take advantage of his weakness. Let him have a taste of his own medicine.” Zhang Heng smiled. “It’s better that you stay oblivious to the details of the plan. You can continue fulfilling your agreement with Andrea. Don’t be nosy.”
“I… don’t quite understand.” Decius looked a little confused. “Are you not going to hold me accountable for this matter?”
“Yes. You’ve been my Watson for a while, after all. It’ll do me no good to hold you accountable,” Zhang Heng said. “Be also rest assured that even if Andrea knows that I’m going against him, I won’t make you look suspicious. But from now on, you’ll have to update me on any news you receive. I might have something for you to do later on. You want to join the Senate, right? Maybe I can help you.”
…
After knowing who the mastermind was, Zhang Heng immediately formulated a counterattack plan. But before that, the was one important thing he needed to do, and that was to make this an even more chaotic affair by dragging someone into it.
Early the next morning, Zhang Heng visited the senator, Divo Braille.
Divo Braille was still very cautious. Since he remained neutral in the Senate, he had heard about a group of people who were against the new emperor that just inherited the throne.
Hence, in adherence to his consistent attitude of not offending anyone, he welcomed Zhang Heng, the new emperor’s advisor, into his house. However, he didn’t seem too enthusiastic. They chatted for a while in the front hall, where Zhang Heng proposed that they head to the study to examine Braille’s collection. Feeling that it would be inappropriate to reject Zhang Heng’s request, Braille agreed, and the two proceeded to the study room.
Soon, Zhang Heng got bored. Hence, he took the initiative to say goodbye to Divo Braille.
Divo Braille was relieved. He then sent Zhang Heng to the front hall and watched him leave his domus.
Zhang Heng headed straight to Cobb’s residence on the city’s outskirts, spending a long time there. It made Andrea, who had been secretly monitoring Zhang Heng’s whereabouts, very nervous. He knew that Divo Braille was Cobb’s largest buyer.
Earlier, he had asked Amidio to negotiate with Cobb. He was willing to help Cobb pay the liquidated damages of the mine, and in addition to that, pay an additional sum of money to Cobb. However, the mine was only a small part of Cobb’s business. His main income source was still his farm. If Divo Braille got involved and used his identity as the largest buyer to pressure Cobb, Cobb would probably reveal the contents of all his transactions.
But Andrea still did not think that he was doomed. After all, the cunning Divo Braille had stayed neutral for a long time. It’d made no sense for him to stick his nose into this matter suddenly. Of course, Andrea was not afraid of Divo Braille. After all, Andrea was just an executor that worked for someone even more powerful. Otherwise, Andrea, a small aedile, would never dare to challenge the emperor.
And Divo Braille would not transgress them either. Otherwise, from tonight, he’d be clutching Commodus’s thigh tightly. Andrea thought perhaps Zhang Heng was just trying to scare him.
Another day passed, and Andrea received bad news. Last night, the sewer pipe in the area under his jurisdiction had been damaged by an unknown person.