Chapter 1651

Wancai Feng's face changed slightly: "Could it be that the King of Yao wants to deal with you?" "Ha, otherwise? Could it be that Zhao Song suddenly had evil intentions? Could it be that Han Zheng wanted to sneak into Old Dong's kiln cave to steal a few specimens?"

He Lingchuan's heart moved, and he suddenly said: "There are two things you must do immediately—do you recognize Han Zheng?"

"I recognize him."

He Lingchuan then took the magic tool "Bili Cave Heaven" from his arms and handed it to Wancai Feng: "He is going to patrol outside the villa this morning; arrange for someone to knock him down and quietly bring him into my courtyard, without letting anyone discover it. This is the first thing."

"Yes, I will have A-Liang handle it."

Just then, a guard reported from outside:

"My Lord, Lord Zhao is here."

Although Zhao Song also lived in Yongquan Shanzhuang, He Lingchuan's courtyard and study were guarded by Benevolent Seeker guards. If he wanted to meet, he had to be announced.

He Lingchuan took out another set of materials from his storage ring and handed them to Wancai Feng, giving him a few quick instructions.

As soon as Wancai Feng heard the content, he knew it was a major matter, so he carefully memorized every word.

"Understand? This is the second thing."

"Understood!"

"Time is tight and the task is heavy; go handle it quickly!"

Wancai Feng turned and left.

He Lingchuan then spoke, inviting Zhao Song to come in.

Zhao Song wasn't here for the first time and was even a bit familiar with the landscape here. He Lingchuan's residence was in the west-central part of Yongquan Shanzhuang; it wasn't the main building originally, but he liked the scenery in the west and it was closer to the villa gate, so he specified to stay here.

Zhao Song originally didn't think much of it; the scenery in the west was indeed good, with flowers blooming in summer and maple and oak trees in autumn, and there was a spring in the courtyard, bubbling with water all year round.

But after receiving the task assigned by the King of Yao, he couldn't help but wonder if He Xiao had any intentions in insisting on living in the west of the villa? The area of this courtyard is not small; he had only walked the middle path before and hadn't stepped into every corner.

He Lingchuan's residence had guards at every moment.

For example, those two rows of dwarf pines near the wall—could they be used as cover to dig a tunnel to the outside? He had already sent a bird demon to turn around in secret, and it really didn't see any abnormalities, and the bird demon always felt that something in this courtyard was staring at it. So, Zhao Song thought that seeing is believing.

He Lingchuan strode out to meet him, full of smiles: "Brother Zhao!"

He was always so enthusiastic.

"I heard that the grand formation for collecting spiritual plasma is done?"

"Done, and debugged; several palace guard brothers came to help."

Zhao Song shook the wine jar in his hand: "It's rare for Brother He to be free; how about I find you to have two cups of wine? This wine is a tribute from Mangzhou this spring; I stole two jars."

"Oh? Good!" He Lingchuan invited him into the house, "How is the situation in the palace?"

"Not very good; it's a bit tense both in the city and in the palace." Zhao Song shook his head, "Everyone is talking about the night of the Imperial Flowing Plasma; sigh, I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse."

The Imperial Flowing Plasma bestowing grace on all living things is of course a good thing, but the timing is a bit unfortunate, just when Tianshui City is overwhelmed.

Human madness + refugee riots; the Yao Court is also uneasy.

He Lingchuan smiled: "After passing this hurdle, everything behind will be smooth sailing."

Why is the Yao Court and Tianshui City overwhelmed? Isn't it because Qingyang is making trouble on the night of the Imperial Flowing Plasma eruption?

Zhao Song took the initiative to find him, so he wasn't polite either, asking about the ins and outs of the numerous high-ranking officials falling from power one after another.

The two chatted enthusiastically and drank a lot of wine. The two jars of wine Zhao Song brought were empty in the blink of an eye, so He Lingchuan told his men to go to the wine cellar to get more, and they continued to drink.

At this time, Zhao Song stood up and rubbed his stomach: "I have to go..."

He Lingchuan pointed backward: "Walk fifteen steps back, turn left."

Zhao Song took the opportunity of finding the latrine to stroll all the way to the back.

Even in winter, this small courtyard was well-maintained. There was a spring in the back courtyard, and people felt the heat steam hitting their faces as they walked over. White steam steamed endlessly on the surface of the spring water, bringing the surrounding small circle of plants to be green and unaffected by the cold.

Zhao Song flew around the back courtyard; the ground was solid soil, without any hollows from digging, unlike having a tunnel.

The shady wall was covered with moss, and the sunny side was mottled with mud and ash; no formations were drawn either.

He went to the latrine and returned, saying to He Lingchuan: "It's too warm in your room; I'm sweating from eating. Shall we go to the pavilion outside to boil wine?"

He Lingchuan naturally wouldn't object: "Let's go."

The two moved the wine table to the outdoor pavilion, brushed off the thin ice on the stone chairs, and chatted while boiling wine.

After eating for a full hour, it was He Lingchuan's turn to rub his stomach and go to the "five-grain reincarnation" (latrine).

Just as he was about to reach the latrine, the mirror hummed: "What the hell did this guy come here for? To test you? He shouldn't know his own weight, right?"

Its master, even when Bai Ziqi came to test him personally, bumped into a wall; what level is Zhao Song, to be able to pry words out of him? "He just took the opportunity of 'five-grain reincarnation' to walk around the back courtyard, and then went to the outdoor pavilion to look down at the four directions." He Lingchuan smiled, "He doesn't seem to be testing me."

"Moreover, his attitude is worth studying." Zhao Song lived in Yongquan Shanzhuang with palace guards for more than two months, and there were no such abnormalities before, "These public officials who receive salaries regularly from the Yao Court were cautious when they first came, but later they were like on vacation in the villa, eating, drinking, or gambling when they were free; why are they suddenly interested in every nook and cranny of the villa?"

The mirror immediately said: "Zhao Song's attitude is the King of Yao's attitude!"

"Not bad, it's likely the King of Yao assigned him a new task."

The mirror immediately became nervous: "What can the King of Yao suspect? He won't suspect you are the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds, right?"

"There are many places the King of Yao can suspect. If he suspected I was the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds, Zhao Song wouldn't be drinking with me, but directly escorting me into the city." He Lingchuan pondered, "The most likely thing at the moment is that he is afraid I will run away. After all, I still owe him a large sum of gold-plating."

The Tianshui Eastward Expansion project has been suspended, and He Lingchuan is idle, so is he planning to slip away? The materials for the Youhu Shanzhuang were all supported for the Tianshui Eastward Expansion project, and his own progress has stalled. At the beginning, He Lingchuan and the King of Yao reached an agreement privately to sell the refined house and then share the profits with the King of Yao, called "gold-plating," but it was delayed for three months.

The King of Yao is probably also worried that the three-month deadline is approaching, and He Xiao might run away with the money.

The mirror made an "ee-ya" sound: "Zhao Song and his subordinates are tinkering around in the villa; could it be that they are looking for a tunnel! Does the King of Yao think you will dig a tunnel to escape?"

It laughed loudly: "Ah ha ha ha ha, this old thing's imagination is really rich; digging a tunnel, ah ha ha ha, digging a tunnel to escape—"

"—Actually, he guessed it right!" The tone took a sharp turn downward.

He Lingchuan couldn't help but laugh; this mirror could always provide him with emotional value.

At this time, Wancai Liang returned from outside and bowed respectfully to him: "My Lord, it's done."

The thing He Lingchuan entrusted him with, he handled it well.

"Go." He Lingchuan pointed to the main building, and he went to find Zhao Song again.

"Now it's Bai Ziqi who can't tolerate you, and the King of Yao who can't tolerate you." The mirror became anxious again, "Hey, then when are you leaving?"

"You should ask, 'when are we' leaving." He Lingchuan knocked on the mirror; it always liked to exclude itself, "I'm waiting for the last signal."

"Signal?"

Wancai Feng left Yongquan Shanzhuang, whipped his horse into the city, headed straight for the Yuwen family, and asked to see Yuwen Xu as soon as he dismounted.

He is He Xiao's retainer, and Yuwen Xu is too familiar with He Xiao, having seen Wancai Feng countless times. After the gatekeeper announced him, he was soon led in.

Yuwen Xu was confirming the position of the formation with the steward; the Yuwen family was also preparing for collecting the Imperial Flowing Plasma. Seeing Wancai Feng come in, he said very casually: "Oh, what does Brother He..."

Wancai Feng clasped his fists and said sternly: "My Lord ordered me to ride fast to deliver an item to Lord Yuwen."

"Brother He has something for me?" Yuwen Xu was slightly surprised and reached out to him, "Bring it here for me to see."

Wancai Feng looked at the steward present and stood still without speaking.

Yuwen Xu then realized something was wrong, waved away the steward and the people in the room, leaving only a personal attendant: "Is that okay?"

Wancai Feng then took out a set of materials and handed them over with both hands.

Yuwen Xu took it and only flipped through it twice before being stunned: "What is this?"

"Evidence." Wancai Feng said word by word, "My Lord said this is evidence that the Shi family of Xin City secretly manipulated empty-shell firms to crazily purchase millions of stones of grain in the three southwestern regions over the past two months!"

As one of the official merchants most trusted by the King of Yao, Yuwen Xu often handled large-scale commodity trading, but hearing this number, he still lost his voice: "Millions of stones!"

Outrageous, truly outrageous!

Millions of stones; even if the allied forces fighting in the west expanded their numbers several times, it would be enough to eat! It could feed the soldiers until they were plump and white.

In the current Yao Nation, which local clan doesn't want to find a way to "crazily purchase grain"? The national grain famine has begun, and Tianshui City, as the capital, is fully protecting supply, which is considered good. The grain famine in other parts of the Yao Nation is even more serious.

But Wancai Feng said "two months ago," when the Yao Nation was still a scene of peace and prosperity. Why did the Shi family buy so much grain? And it was mixed with shocking words like "secretly manipulated" and "empty-shell firms." Yuwen Xu calmed down and read on carefully.

The more he read, the more his heart beat, and the more pleasantly surprised he was! The evidence was quite solid, with receipts for multiple purchases, storage locations, and even letters from the Shi family instructing the empty-shell firms, as well as confessions from the firms!

Let's just say, with this whole set of materials, the Court Guard could immediately arrest the Shi brothers!

Having mixed in the officialdom of the Yao Nation for many years, Yuwen Xu understood the current situation and the King of Yao's state of mind far more deeply than ordinary people.

The evidence sent by He Xiao points to a vivid clue:

The Shi family of Xin City is also a participant in driving up grain prices and fabricating grain famine! To say "participant" is because Xin City is only a small city, and the Shi family is only a local clan. It might be able to call the wind and rain in Xin City, but it is insignificant in the entire Yao Nation.

So the Shi family is definitely not the mastermind, but it is the "breakthrough" the King of Yao has been thinking about!