Mingzhe was confused.
And that made him worry.
It made no sense that the Wens would have these books when the Yangs were the ones trying to destroy Mingzhe and Chenzhou.
It was too obvious. The families were closely allied. The moment one of them was suspected, it would lead right to the other.
Lady Yang was not that stupid. She would never allow such a weakness to exist.
Unless it was a trap?
Was Yang using the Wen family as bait for something?
If she were, then any action against the Wens would end up being even worse for Chenzhou.
Mingzhe couldn't risk that. Not until he found a way to neutralize Lady Yang.
"I need to question the Wens," Eirian announced, eyes still locked on the books. There was a bit of a mad glint in her eyes, all this new knowledge. It would be hard for her not to get distracted, but it might give Mingzhe the time he needed.
Chenzhou nodded in agreement. "This seems too impossible to ignore."
Mingzhe shook his head, mind racing. "Perhaps it would be better to exercise caution. If it seems so impossible that the Wens could have these, then perhaps it is?"
Eirian looked up at that, eyes narrowed. Chenzhou's brow furrowed. The rest of the room watched the three of them.
"The Wens could have hidden their wealth."
"This completely?" Mingzhe frowned. "These books cost hundreds of pounds of gold. It would take a dozen men to carry that payment, let alone guard it. Could they hide that on top of the wealth itself?"
Neither Eirian nor Chenzhou looked completely convinced, and Mingzhe wasn't surprised. Neither of them was stupid. They had both survived this long among noble society because of their instincts and their ability to learn from everything that happened to them.
But had they ever dealt with something like this? A grudge that went back so far? Generations working towards the same goal? The Soliel bloodline hadn't even existed when the miasma had started.
Had there ever been another conspiracy like this? To have started so long ago, to be carried on so obsessively. And not in pursuit of a throne or a kingdom, but a simple military estate.
The Camelia was valuable; there was no doubting that, but to go to these lengths?
"How long have the Wens had these books?" Mingzhe wondered. "The Wens weren't even part of the Camelia when the miasma started."
"Maybe they took them from someone who was?" Chenzhou wondered. "That'd be about half the court."
"And another few dozen families that aren't noble," Yuze added.
"They could have taken them as blackmail? Insurance?" Chenzhou speculated.
"And whoever they took it from, didn't take it back?" Why did the Wens have the books? Mingzhe couldn't let Chenzhou or Eirian get too close to the Yangs until he knew. "What if they're just being stolen over and over again?" He turned to Yuze. "How long had the Wens had them? Was there any way to tell?"
Yuze looked thoughtful and glanced at Kai Low. "Honestly, it was pitch black, and we had little light."
"A guard checked the room while we were there." Kai Low added. "It seemed like part of a regular patrol."
Yuze nodded. "If they still check it every night, it seems unlikely they've had it for long."
"Or it just changes owners that often." Chenzhou sighed.
Eirian turned back to the volume in front of her. "Even if they managed to afford these. I don't think they'd be able to afford the magic required. It's significant based on these formulas and would have taken more than one source."
An idea came to Mingzhe. "We should try to trace the origin of one of them. Do you think that would be possible? We could figure out when it came to the Camelia."
Eirian's nose scrunched. "That would take…a long time. A few of these haven't been seen in hundreds of years."
Chenzhou winced. "As useful as that information may be, it doesn't seem like a good use of our time." He gave Mingzhe an apologetic look, but Mingzhe couldn't help but agree.
"It could have been part of the repartitions from the ten-year war?" Mingzhe suggested, desperate.
Chenzhou balked. "You think they came from the tribes?"
"It's possible they had no idea what they were? That they got them from traders." Mingzhe turned to Kai Low.
The Bandri raised an eyebrow. The look of disbelief on his face was answer enough.
"Right."
"Maybe we should move forward with the idea that the Wen somehow managed to purchase them," Yuze suggested. "Or that they stole them."
"You could ask the other noble families?" Mela Vermeer suggested. "Offer immunity if they admit the books were theirs?"
"But whoever used them is most likely responsible for attempting to destroy the Camelia. And Finn's death." Eirian pointed out. "Promising them immunity would be pointless."
Her sister Tayla frowned. "You wouldn't be able to go back on your work either. People don't forget when their leaders do that."
"Then they're useless?" Mela snapped, frustrated.
"Only until we find out who's behind everything." Chenzhou sounded tired, and Mingzhe felt a pang of guilt. "Once we find them, it's enough to convict them."
"What if we put pressure on the Wens?" Yuze speculated. "If it is them, they might make a mistake under pressure. If not, it might make someone else overconfident."
Chenzhou brightened.
Yuze was an excellent strategist, Mingzhe thought. No wonder he'd been the First Eye for so long. "It might be worthwhile to see if we can track whatever else was needed for those formulas? Is there anything that might be easier to track than the books themselves?"
Eirian looked up, thoughtful. "Perhaps. They aren't simple, but I can study them and make a list. Maybe we'll get lucky."
"I don't think we should let the books distract us from the investigation itself," Yuze commented.
"Lord Rong is right," Mingzhe agreed, figuring the more directions they needed to look in, the longer it would take. "You should still push forward with your interviews." He managed a smile that was only slightly bitter. "And make sure you don't tell me about any of it."
Eirian and Chenzhou frowned at that. Unhappy with the reminder that Mingzhe couldn't be part of any of this if they wanted it to be unassailable in court.
~ tbc