We can’t rest until this matter is thoroughly investigated and brought to light. How can Zhen’an Division just let this go?
This is a matter that has reached serious proportions.
"So, Brother Xu, are you trying to pull out the radish and bring out the dirt, making the person behind the scenes dread taking action, even if you can’t punish them, so they wouldn’t dare to do such heinous deeds in Tianfeng Prefecture?"
As this thought crossed his mind, Yi Chen’s pupils suddenly constricted!
"A lancholy song turns to laughter, strong wine surpasses a thousand rounds!"
"Brother Xu, are you really playing this big?"
If this speculation were true, Yi Chen would start to understand why he was ambushed on his way.
If Xu Xiaoxun was rely using the Yin Huan Demon Sect as a decoy, linking his death with them to get the attention of the higher-ups at Zhen’an Division.
Then the person behind the scenes must have seen through Xu Xiaoxun’s intentions and tried to make his death look like the work of the Yin Huan Demon Sect.
Killing the envoy sent by them would undoubtedly be a good choice.
Even if the Yin Huan Demon Sect were to clarify the misunderstanding and no fight broke out, the person behind the scenes would have bought precious ti to maneuver.
"They are all wolves."
"If that’s the case, Xu Xiaoxun must have arranged a contingency plan. I just need to wait for the evidence to co to , for the person arranged by Xu Xiaoxun to show up."
"What I need to do now is to show my determination, win the trust of the person arranged by Xu Xiaoxun, and make them believe that I will not compromise with that person behind the scenes."
"If it’s really as such, then the person in Tianfeng Prefecture who could push a governor to such lengths is about to reveal themselves."
"Prince, is it you?"
After much contemplation, Yi Chen picked up his pen and circled the nas of the Prince and Madam Frost heavily with a red pen.
He decided to investigate these two key figures thoroughly.
"Ah, with things like this, I can’t just slack off. All those villains caught must be checked by ; I must provide an appropriate channel for those who want to get in touch with ."
Upon this thought, a certain handso man who intended to shirk his duties and delegate his work felt a sense of helplessness.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just then, a knocking sound ca from the door.
"Co in."
With a creak, the door opened, and Yi Chen looked up to see a bailiff leading a few attendants carrying in a table full of food.
"Officer Yi, you’ve been working hard. This is a little supper my brothers and I put together from the inn."
"You guys, ah, don’t do this next ti."
"By the way, what’s your na?"
"My lord, my na is Xiang Shangguan, and I also have important intelligence to report."
"Sit down and eat, talk while you eat."
Seeing Yi Chen’s resolute attitude, Xiang Shangguan no longer stood on ceremony and started to recount his information.
"My lord, I am a local of Tianfeng Prefecture, and through special channels, I’ve learned sothing that might help you."
"Before Officer Xu’s incident, he had been in contact with an orphan nad Xin Wushuang, who then suddenly disappeared. Soon after, Officer Xu t with disaster. I felt there was sothing fishy about it, so I dug deeper."
"And I indeed uncovered sothing interesting. Previously, Xin Wushuang had a sister, around twelve or thirteen years old, missing for over a year. Xin Wushuang had been constantly searching for his sister. His parents had passed away early, and he and his sister depended on each other, barely surviving with the help of their kinfolk."
"Is anyone else aware of this intelligence?" Yi Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.
"They shouldn’t be. It was inadvertently discovered through my family’s connections. Without those connections, many wouldn’t dare to speak so freely," Xiang Shangguan hurriedly explained.
"So, you think there are spies from Zhen’an Division, which is why you ca to report under the pretext of delivering supper to ."
"By no ans, my loyalty to you is absolute!" Xiang Shangguan imdiately knelt down on one knee,
"I dare not deceive you, my lord. For years, my hotown has been losing a number of people to an unknown force suppressing the matter. Those who investigated faced misfortune; Tianfeng Prefecture is deteriorating day by day, my heart aches, my lord. I wouldn’t have dared in the past, but now I want to contribute."
Determination flashed in Xiang Shangguan’s eyes.
"I’ll keep your service in my heart. Don’t speak of this matter to others, and eat."
…
…
Ming Yue sets to the west, the night cool as water.
Yi Chen opened the window and fell into deep thought in the presence of the moonlight, Ming Yue.
Still, many people were silently striving for this case.
These people, perhaps crushed by cruel reality, were forced to be slick, to lie low, yet if given the chance, their hearts were still filled with brightness, and their blood had not yet run cold.
According to the secret report from Xiang Shangguan today, Yi Chen felt more and more certain that Xu Xiaoxun must have got hold of sothing, and then there was the disappearing Xin Wushuang.
"Lord Xu, what exactly have you done?"
With a long sigh, Yi Chen closed the window, and the room plunged into darkness, with only the thunder jade still emitting a faint glow.
Crackle, crackle.
The arc light flickered.
One day later, in the main hall of the Stability Bureau, Yi Chen pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back in his chair, the solid mahogany making an overburdened creaking sound.
In front of him on his desk were many case files, especially those of the Huang family, scattered all around.
As he delved deeper into the investigation, he uncovered so interesting aspects.
Grain.
Tianfeng Prefecture was a land of fish and rice.
And the Huang family was the largest grain rchant in Tianfeng Prefecture.
However, the grain that the Huang family had purchased in such large quantities had a gap, neither huge nor small, compared to what they sold.
If one said it was a business strategy of hoarding for high prices, it could, indeed, be justified.
Just hanging in the balance for one year could pass.
But it happened every year.
There was always a stable gap.
It was only because of the painstaking data collection and record-keeping by Xu Xiaoxun over decades that such precise figures were available.
"Could it really be Prince Seven causing trouble behind the scenes?"
"Unfortunately, trying to topple Prince Seven with this little bit of material is simply a pipe dream."
"Just find a scapegoat to say it was done behind one’s back by those below, or to downplay the matter, you’re completely out of solutions."
Just as Yi Chen was starting to get a headache, Qi Yuan ca over with a look of excitent on his face.
"My lord, the investigation has yielded results, great news indeed."
"It turns out the reclusive Lady Shuang, whom Lord Xu kept at ho, is actually Yin Rushuang, a True Disciple of the Shadowy Illusion Demon Sect. We’ve all been deceived. Now, it seems that Lord Xu was surely poisoned by soone close to him, and with this, everything begins to make sense."
"Really?" Yi Chen suddenly stood up, his pupils dilating. Experience new tales on empire
"Absolutely true, after many a surreptitious visit and a stroke of luck, this humble official has obtained solid evidence."
"Good! Good! Good! The Shadowy Illusion Demon Sect dares to act this way; I want to see what they have to say for themselves. Qi Yuan, send a capable head of a thousand households to the Shadowy Illusion Demon Sect and ask for their explanation."
"Brother Qi, I’m going to trouble you a bit more, to report the situation here to Lord Feng and ask him to make a decision."
"For this achievent, Brother Qi, I will surely speak well of you; it won’t be long before that ’deputy’ title is removed from your na."
Yi Chen’s face showed ’surprise and delight’.
After Qi Yuan briskly took his leave with the orders, Yi Chen’s expression suddenly turned cold and detached.
He didn’t doubt the authenticity of the information provided by Qi Yuan.
But still, he felt sothing wasn’t quite right.
It was too coincidental, like the saying, ’a pillow for a sleepy head.’
Qi Yuan must have been investigating Lady Shuang for quite so ti before Yi Chen’s arrival, and today’s unexpected discovery of her real identity made him suspect a setup.
After whispering a few words to Steward Li, it wasn’t long before the news that Xu Xiaoxun was murdered by the Shadowy Illusion Demon Sect and that the court would soon issue a query and declare war on the sect spread throughout Tianfeng Prefecture.
Now, the situation had changed again, but Yi Chen still could not confirm who the culprit was who killed Xu Xiaoxun.
However, he was certain about one thing: Prince Seven was definitely not clean.
Regrettably, this bit of evidence was insufficient to bother him; even Yi Chen could easily think of a hundred ways to cut losses and survive.
What he could do now was only to cut off the trend of people disappearing in Tianfeng Prefecture, yet this was rely a quick fix, not a cure. He couldn’t possibly beco a permanent fixture in Tianfeng Prefecture.
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