Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 607 - 492: Belongs to None But Li Xuan_1

Chapter 607: Chapter 492: Belongs to None But Li Xuan_1

Zuo Daoxing arrived at the palace in half a moment.

"Your Majesty, there were a total of thirteen people who had contact with the Prince’s sachet. Among them, three were palace maids from the Needlework Department who made the sachet, three were Imperial Physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau, responsible for preparing the medicine for the Prince’s sachet. The remaining ones were eunuchs and palace maids around the Crown Prince."

Kneeling halfway to the ground, with a serious expression, Zuo Daoxing said, "According to their confessions, they all seem to be innocent. I have been subjecting them to brutal torture, with the secret interrogation technique of my Xiuyiwei, I believe there will be results soon."

About these people, he had been questioning them a few days ago.

Although the situation with the ’black datura’ hadn’t been investigated at that time, it didn’t prevent him from starting the investigation in advance.

"What about those two Lamas then? Have their whereabouts been found? What is the situation? Please share the truth, Left Dudu." This was Gao Gu, Cifu, he was on duty at the Wenyuan Pavilion when he got the news, and was able to hurry to the Taihe Palace at the first chance.

His face was pale as paper and his eyes were dark.

He was almost dizzy from the shock of the news—the sudden illness of Crown Prince Yu Jianji was indeed man-made!

Gao Gu knew the consequences. This incident would shake the entire court, and perhaps a bloodbath would happen tomorrow.

What made his heartbeat increase was that the northern Mengwu natives had been severely hit and the situation Jin Dynasty faced had improved tremendously as never before. There is no reason for the Jingtai Emperor to endure it any longer.

Now Gao Gu only hoped the intermittent illness of Crown Prince Yu Jianji was done by those two Lamas.

The so-called notion of Mongolia and Tibet being one entity also showed that the Dharma Kings of Tibet have a close connection with the Mengwu people, who hold relatively similar beliefs and are very close to each other. This could be a ploy of the Mengwu people, deliberately causing chaos in the Jin dynasty before they staged an invasion.

"After Duojicairen and Zaxigongbu entered Tibet, they disappeared without a trace. The Duogan Xiuyiwei Qianhu and the Wusizang Xiuyiwei Qianhu could not find their whereabouts."

Zuo Daoxing looked at Gao Gu out of the corner of his eye: "I found out that Duojicairen and Zaxigongbu have been in the Capital City for several months, and they have been lurking in and out of the Imperial Medical Bureau and around the Prince’s mansion for many times. But what they have done and who they had contact with, I do not know."

The Jingtai Emperor sitting above, couldn’t help but frown, does it mean that there is still no progress currently?

Li Xuan also couldn’t do anything about this. In terms of torture and interrogation, Zuo Daoxing was clearly much more professional than him.

Li Xuan had also mastered some means of interrogation now, especially his ’Shen Kui Lei Yin’, which most people couldn’t withstand his Haoqi assault.

This was incredibly beneficial when used in cases of the Weisuo army’s judge in the Central Army, those criminals would confess as soon as he shouted at them.

But the people arrested by Zuo Daoxing, even after Li Xuan used ’Shen Kui Lei Yin’ to shout at them, it didn’t work.

When it came to interrogation, the Xiuyiwei were even more professional, they could use all kinds of means.

As for Tibet, Li Xuan was even more powerless. The Xiuyiwei were helpless, let alone him.

"Repeated visits to the Imperial Medical Bureau and around the Prince’s mansion?" This was Minister Wang Wen of the Ministry of Personnel, his expression was still as cold as before: "Your Majesty, those who had contact with the sachet of the Crown Prince must be investigated. However, the actions of these two Lamas are suspicious, and they must not be let go.

As far as I know, among the twelve Dharma Kings in Tibet, four are close to our Jin Dynasty. Among them, could we ask the Baolun Dharma King, who is close to the territories of the Jinping Dharma King, to help us arrest these two men?"

"This strategy is inappropriate!"

The Grand Secretary Chen Xun shook his head: "Minister Wang may not be aware, the Baolun Dharma King only pretends to be respectful, actually he has a hidden military of his own, conspires with the lord of Anburo, with ulterior motives. On the other hand, the Jinping Dharma King, although he always maintains neutrality, upholds righteousness and bases his actions on stability."

"Indeed, this strategy is not appropriate!" Gao Gu knew that this ’lord of Anburo’ was also called Anburo ’General Commander’, the latter was a General Commander conferred by the Court, used to control this ’lord of Anburo’.

This man controlled seven Wanhu domains in Tibet and was extremely powerful, gradually harboring the ambition to annex the whole of Tibet.

At this time, Gao Gu’s expression slightly changed: "What if the Baolun Dharma King is in collusion with Mengwu and decides to kill them directly? Even if the Baolun Dharma King submits to the Court and sends these two people into the Capital, when will this task be completed?

In my opinion, it would be better to send a strong and capable minister to Tibet to handle this matter, and by the way, resolve the recent problems in Tibet."

The Jingtai Emperor couldn’t help but fall into contemplation. He wished he could capture Duojicairen and Zaxigongbu in front of him immediately. But if they relied on the power of other Dharma Kings, it would be quite troublesome.

If Duojicairen and Zaxigongbu really have any problems, who is their mastermind behind them? Is it their teacher, the ’Jinping Dharma King’? The back and forth communications over this large distance will not only waste a lot of time but will also alert the enemy.

Moreover, the recent problems in Tibet have been significant.

After the revolt at Tumu Fort, the Court’s authority was completely lost. Now, control over Tibet has become increasingly weak.

Gao Gu’s suggestion is indeed a good one.

Chen Xun glanced at Gao Gu meaningfully, then bowed to the Emperor and said: "Your Majesty, Shaobao Gao’s method is indeed superior. I recommend that this matter be overseen by Minister of War Yu Jie, accompanied by a cadre of the Xiuyiwei."

Without the slightest hesitation, Minister Yu Jie stepped forward and clenched his fist: "I am duty-bound to accept!"

However, the Jingtai Emperor frowned and then shook his head: "No! I have been planning to reorganise the local Weisuo system recently, especially to investigate the encroachment of the Weisuo’s farmland by local officials. I need Shaobao’s assistance for this.

Even though the Mengwu people have been defeated, the entire prairie can still mobilize 800,000 archers who are coveting my Dynasty. This important place in the Capital City can’t be left without Minister Yu for a moment. Furthermore, Minister Yu has no expertise in handling cases."

Chen Xun’s eyes showed a hint of helplessness.

He recommended Yu Jie precisely because he did not want to see Yu Jie’s influence in the military continue to expand.

This person’s expertise is certainly not in handling cases, but his overpowering martial force alone is enough to suppress the twelve Dharma Kings and five Khans of the Tibetan region, and discourage them from rash actions.

The Xiuyiwei had plenty of skilled investigators, and with Yu Jie as a support, wouldn’t they be able to handle a couple of Lamas?

As for the Capital City, it is currently rife with undercurrents due to the Jingtai Emperor having no heirs. It was only because the Emperor, Yu Jie, the Fumo Venerable, and the Marquis of Guanjun jointly suppressed these undercurrents that peace has been maintained for the past few months.

In Chen Xun’s view, although Yu Jie has a straightforward and loyal character, he was too rigid.

If there was anyone in the capital with whom one could not take lightly, Chen Xun’s first choice would be that Marquis of Guanjun, not Yu Jie.

Although this man was not at the heavenly tier, the role he could potentially play far exceeds that of Yu Jie.

Wang Wen, the Minister of Personnel, also shook his head slightly. Their emperor was not the type to make ambitious gambles. When he valued someone, he would trust them unwaveringly from beginning to end.

Take Shaobao Yu Jie for example - half a year ago, the Emperor unexpectedly intended to appoint Yu Jie’s son-in-law, Yu Jianji, as the commander of Xiuyiwei. What ordinary emperor could do such a thing?

Fortunately, the ministers managed to stop it. Otherwise, who knows what the current situation would be. If Yu Jie held the army in one hand and controlled Xiuyiwei in the other, wouldn’t he have complete dominance over the court? Even the appointment or dismissal of the emperor might then be within his power.

However, Wang Wen was also a beneficiary of the Emperor’s trust. Since the Emperor appointed him as the Minister of Personnel, he has trusted him implicitly. All personnel matters in the court depended greatly on him.

The trust between the monarch and the minister has brought Wang Wen a sense of responsibility, inspiring him to reciprocate this trust.

Wang Wen furrowed his brows: "If Shangshu Yu isn’t suitable, then who in the court is? If we want to suppress the twelve Dharma Kings, handle military and political affairs in the Tibetan area, and excel in handling cases—"

Then his expression changed slightly as he looked at Li Xuan, who was standing among the warriors.

Not just him, but the Jingtai Emperor and several high-ranking ministers in the court also turned to look at him.

Although his martial prowess fell a little short, his ’Tianji Dihe Yin-Yang Knife’ was already renowned throughout the world.

Moreover, there were many high-tier experts by his side.

Li Xuan blinked and then chuckled, saluting the Emperor: "Your servant is willing to go to the Qinghai-Tibet."

Fortunately, the top-tier Art of Doppelganger that Lv Qiluo mentioned, which could rival ’Yiqi Hua Sanqing’, was located in the Qinghai-Tibet area.

Even if this incident hadn’t occurred today, he had been planning a trip to the Tibetan area. He had recently been feeling the pressures of time management and thought that he must learn an Art of Doppelganger no matter what!

In fact, Liudao Division had two Art of Doppelgangers that were at the same rank as ’Yiqi Hua Sanqing’. However, the technique provided by Lv Qiluo had an advantage: it could be used immediately upon acquisition and the initial strength was equivalent to the primary body, without any need for cultivation.

※※※※

Meanwhile, in the Zhuque house of Jinling Liudao Division.

Zhuque Hall Venerable Long Xuhu, whose face bore the signs of decline, placed an Immortal Artifact -which was shaped like a seal stamp, with the handle shaped like the divine bird Zhuque- in front of Qiu Qianqiu.

"Congratulations, Qianqiu. From today onwards, you will be the new Venerable of Zhuque Hall!"

After finishing his sentence, he looked at the Immortal Artifact with mixed feelings: "This artifact was somewhat neglected in my hands. Although my Wood-element cultivation technique could kindle fire to activate it, I have never been able to bring out its full potential. I look forward to seeing the power of the artifact when it is activated by your Juemie Palm."

Qiu Qianqiu accepted the Immortal Artifact with a solemn expression: "I will not let you down."

"I trust you to handle Zhuque Hall. However, I really did not expect Li Xuan to actually pull it off. I originally thought that your succession as hall venerable was likely to encounter many complications."

Long Xuhu sighed, but then he noticed that Qiu Qianqiu’s expression and tone were extraordinarily calm.

His expression changed slightly, "Qianqiu, it seems you are not particularly pleased?"

As soon as he said it, Long Xuhu gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Of course, Qiu Qianqiu would not be too pleased. His situation was completely different from Long Xuhu’s.

In the past six months, Qiu Qianqiu’s cultivation had made rapid progress for an unknown reason. According to Long Xuhu’s estimation, Qiu Qianqiu could attain the heavenly tier within this year, or even the next moment, with just a small insight.

Once he ascends to the heavenly tier, the Liudao Division would have to return everything they owed him in full, and the elders would not be able to suppress that.

"Since Xuan brought this opportunity to me, how can I be not pleased?"

Qiu Qianqiu smiled slightly, his eyes cold as ice: "However, what I am more concerned about now is the people targeting Xuan openly and secretly. And you, venerable, the timing of the appearance of that ’Six-winged Mantis’ was too coincidental, and it happened to restrain you."

Long Xuhu’s face sank slightly, he too had suspicions about this matter.

He was convinced that someone inside the Liudao Division was colluding with enemies from outside. Some people did not want Zhuque Hall to remain in his and Qiu Qianqiu’s hands.