dognovel Chapter 471 Advising at the Risk of One's Life
Chapter 471 Advising at the Risk of One's Life
He strode to Pei Xuan's study and handed him the letter: "Young Master Pei, look! Miss Shi's method is truly a wake-up call!"
Pei Xuan took the letter, read it carefully, and his previously furrowed brows gradually relaxed. Finally, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Miss Shi, your thoughts are truly meticulous!"
"Especially the 'investigation of unusual romantic encounters' part. We were only thinking about investigating the guard's background before, but we didn't expect the rebels to use a honey trap to plant spies!"
"Come, follow me to the Imperial Study to see His Majesty!"
Shen Yanzhou pulled Pei Xuan up, his steps light and quick, the fatigue of the past few days gone by.
Inside the Imperial Study, Shen Yuxi was reviewing reports from the border when the Crown Prince and Pei Xuan entered. He put down his pen and asked, "Has there been any progress in the investigation of the traitors?"
Shen Yanzhou handed over Shi Wanxia's letter, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement: "Father, look! I think the method Miss Shi gave us is feasible!"
Shen Yuxi took the letter and read it word by word. The seriousness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by an approving smile.
When he read the line "mobilize the people to report wrongdoing, and reward them with silver," he couldn't help but nod: "This girl is even more quick-witted than those old ministers in the court!"
“The rebels are hiding in the shadows. Relying solely on the government to investigate will inevitably lead to oversights. Involving the people is the best way to eliminate them completely.”
He put down the letter and looked at Pei Xuan: "Minister Pei, immediately proceed according to Lord Shi's method—you take the lead, and have the people from the Dali Temple conduct a thorough investigation of the palace guards, especially those who have had 'romantic encounters' in the past year;"
"Furthermore, have the Secretariat draft an edict to be posted in all the wards and markets of the capital, as well as in all the prefectures, that anyone who reports a true traitor will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver, without delay."
"Your subject obeys the decree!" Pei Xuan bowed and accepted the order, then turned and strode out.
Shen Yuxi looked at the Crown Prince with satisfaction in his eyes: "Yanzhou, the fact that you thought of asking Miss Shi shows that you know how to recognize and make good use of people."
"This world not only needs loyal ministers and capable generals, but also people like Miss Wanxia who are quick-witted and able to break through difficulties."
Shen Yanzhou nodded, but in his heart he thought of the girl from Chuzhou—when Chuzhou was flooded, she proposed "building dikes and planting mulberry trees at the same time," which solved the plight of the people in Jiangnan.
Now that it's hard to find any rebels in the capital, she has offered such a brilliant plan.
He suddenly felt a sense of anticipation, hoping that after this matter was resolved, he could personally go to Chuzhou to thank her in person.
Meanwhile, in Chuzhou, Shi Wanxia was standing on the banks of the Huai River, watching the people busy reinforcing the dikes.
Shi Qing came up from behind and handed her a cup of hot tea: "Miss, news has come from the capital. His Highness the Crown Prince said that your method is very effective. He has found two suspicious guards and they are interrogating them!"
Shi Wanxia took the tea, gazing at the distant smoke rising from the chimneys, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
She knew this was just the beginning. As long as the emperor and his ministers were of one mind and the people helped them, those rebels hiding in the shadows would eventually have nowhere to hide.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet approaching, she believed that the capital would surely be able to maintain this peaceful world.
A night breeze blew by, carrying the sweet fragrance of rice stalks. Shi Wanxia raised her hand to pull her clothes tighter, silently thinking: Shen Yanzhou, don't let me down.
The chill in the Ministry of Justice's prison was more biting than the night wind of late autumn.
Pei Xuan, dressed in a black official robe, stood in the center of the interrogation room, a confession between his fingers, his gaze as cold as a knife.
Three days ago, following Chong Wanxia's method, he led the people from the Dali Temple to screen the palace guards, and within two days they found seven suspicious people.
There was a ninth-rank imperial guard who suddenly gained a "confidante" in the past six months. The woman would wait for him outside the palace gate every day and would give him gold and silver jewelry.
However, the guard came from a poor family and had a meager salary, so such a "romantic encounter" was already unusual.
There was also a deputy captain of the Imperial Guard who had been asking for leave under the pretext of "visiting relatives" for the past few months, but each time he went to the abandoned garden in the south of the city, and his whereabouts were very mysterious.
At this moment, the one bound to the rack was the deputy captain of the Imperial Guard, his face covered in bloodstains, his clothes already soaked with sweat and blood.
His once defiant gaze finally gave way after enduring three rounds of torture. "Lord Pei... please spare me... I'll confess! I'll confess everything!"
His voice was hoarse, like a broken gong.
"I am one of Rongyang King's men. My contact is Liu Laosan, the accountant at the 'Yuelai Teahouse' in the south of the city. My contact points are also the 'clothing shop' in the west of the city and the dilapidated temple in the northern suburbs..."
Pei Xuan stepped forward, looking down at him with a tone devoid of warmth: "And what else? What did Prince Rongyang ask you to do at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet?"
The lieutenant trembled and hurriedly said, "Yes... we're going to poison His Majesty's wine, and then use the chaos to set off fireworks as a signal to let the assassins lying in ambush outside the palace rush in..."
The clerk recording the notes paused, his pen nearly falling to the ground.
Pei Xuan's eyes flashed even colder as he turned to another guard who was tied to a pillar.
The very man who had gained a "confidante" was now devoid of his former smugness. Seeing the deputy lieutenant confess, he also cried and pleaded, "My lord, I was forced into this! That woman is a subordinate of the Prince of Rongyang. She said that if I didn't help deliver the message, she would kill my wife and children... I really didn't know I was doing anything to harm His Majesty!"
Pei Xuan didn't ask any more questions, turned around and walked out of the interrogation room, the confession between his fingers crumpled.
He hurried toward the East Palace and happened to run into Shen Yanzhou on the way—the Crown Prince had just returned from the capital garrison and had a look of urgency on his face.
"Pei Shaoqing, is there any result?"
Shen Yanzhou came forward, his voice filled with anticipation.
Pei Xuan handed over the confession and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, the interrogation has revealed the whereabouts of the rebels' superiors and contact points. Furthermore, they planned to poison His Majesty at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and even arranged for assassins to ambush him."
Shen Yanzhou took the confession, quickly scanned it, and his face instantly darkened. "How dare you!"
He clenched his fist. "There's no time to lose. I'll go to the palace right now to request an imperial decree for you and the Prince of Xiang to lead troops to capture these people. We absolutely cannot let them ruin the palace banquet!"
The two walked side by side toward the palace. As they walked, Shen Yanzhou instructed, "Prince Xiang has always been calm and composed, and the soldiers of the capital garrison are all elites. You should cooperate with him to make sure that the rebels are wiped out in one fell swoop, leaving no future troubles."
Pei Xuan nodded: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will certainly not fail in my mission."
In less than half an hour, Shen Yanzhou came out of the imperial study with the emperor's decree in his hand.
"Father has given his permission. Go to the Prince of Xiang's residence immediately and ask him to send troops. I have already informed the Beijing garrison, and the soldiers are ready to be deployed at any time."
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Pei Xuan hurried back to the Dali Temple. Just as he arrived at the gate, he suddenly remembered the last words of the deputy commander during the interrogation, and his heart tightened.
Just before the deputy lieutenant was dragged away, he seemed to remember something and hurriedly shouted, "Lord Pei! Prince Rongyang... Prince Rongyang knows that it was Miss Shi from Chuzhou who came up with the idea, and has already issued a kill order."
"They've sent the top assassin organization in the martial arts world, 'Shadow Studio,' and his henchmen to Chuzhou! They say they want to... make sure Miss Shi doesn't live past Mid-Autumn Festival!"