Chapter 1653: Now! Immediately! Right now!

At this moment, a Yangshan guard came up from behind, and Wan Qi Feng asked him in a low voice, "Where is Fu Bao?"

"He has already arrived at the location, found the person, and is ready."

The main street was full of people, making it inconvenient to speak plainly, but Wan Qi Feng understood: Wang Fubao had already arrived at the Frost Mountain Villa.

"Alright, let us wait as well."

He was in a large restaurant directly across from the palace gate, having secured a window seat on the second floor.

Currently, the commerce in Tianshui City was exceptionally depressed; only the shops near the royal palace were still operating with any vitality, as consumption here was not significantly affected.

From the moment the evidence collected by He Lingchuan was delivered into the hands of Yuwen Xu, He Lingchuan's plan had officially begun.

In truth, his plan was extremely simple, with only one core idea: disrupt the plans of other factions—

Disrupt Qingyang's plan.

Disrupt Bai Ziqi's plan.

And even disrupt the plan of the Yao King!

Every faction here had prepared their own plans; he only needed to stir things up slightly and introduce variables to trigger a series of marvelous chain reactions.

In this struggle for supremacy, if the Yao King emerged victorious in the end, He Lingchuan would have gifted Yuwen Xu a monumental merit.

If Qingyang and Bai Tan won, then regardless of whether Yuwen Xu handed over this evidence or not, the outcome would be the same.

About an hour later, a squad of palace guards suddenly charged out of the west gate of the palace city, whipping their horses and galloping down the main road, kicking up clouds of dust.

Passersby scrambled to dodge, and the palace guards shouted, "Move aside, move aside! Official business!"

The sound of hooves was like thunder as they sped away.

Wan Qi Feng, sitting in the restaurant, watched this scene and let out a long sigh of relief:

It was done; the most critical step was done! The Master's plan was about to take effect.

He reached into his robe, quietly snapped a thousand-grass knot, and then stood up: "Check, please!"

……

North of Tianshui City, Frost Mountain Villa.

This villa was not merely one of the most high-end inns in Tianshui City; it featured exquisite gardens that used arrays to keep plants green and flowers blooming even in winter, and it also privately contained two scenic spots within the city, which only the villa's distinguished guests were qualified to enjoy.

The panic over food shortages had not spread to the north of the city; the people on the streets remained calm, and the attire and makeup of the high officials and noble ladies remained exquisite; meanwhile, the tranquility and beauty of Frost Mountain Villa remained as always, unaffected by the outside world.

Yet, a loud shout shattered the peace:

"Get lost, get lost, all of you get lost!"

A man ran out of the side gate of Frost Mountain Villa, charging recklessly through the main street.

Two people were knocked flying by him, but he did not look back.

Dozens of palace guards suddenly surged from the street corner, blocking his path. The man immediately turned his head to dive into an alley, but there were figures flickering in the alley as well.

More than a hundred palace guards followed out of Frost Mountain Villa, and the leader pointed at him and shouted, "Surrender now, and I guarantee you'll suffer less!"

The man suddenly grabbed a knife, pressed it against his own neck, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Why are you arresting me! I am Shi Song Wei—the cousin of Commandant Shi Songen! You've arrested the wrong person, you've arrested the wrong person! Shi Songen is my cousin, do you hear me, my cousin!"

"Do you dare to bring Shi Songen here? He could beat the yellow bile out of you!"

Tsk, this guy was shouting names in the street; it was hard to handle. Unfortunately, there was a high rock wall behind him, and his shrill shouting actually created a surround-sound, echoing effect.

"Wei—Wei—"

The palace guard leader said angrily, "Take him down!"

The order from above was to quietly come to Frost Mountain Villa to arrest Shi Song Wei and then take him back for a swift interrogation.

As a result, just as they arrived at Frost Mountain Villa, Shi Song Wei ran to the side gate, avoiding being cornered inside the villa, and now he was howling in the street, alarming who knows how many pedestrians and residents.

The north of the city was a residential area for high officials and nobles; there were quite a few refined residences and mansions near Frost Mountain Villa.

How many people must have heard Shi Song Wei's words? He was too agitated, and as he retreated, he tripped over the stone curb at the side of the road, stumbling.

The palace guard leader seized the opportunity to throw a flying locust stone, knocking the knife from his hand. The others swarmed up, pinned him to the ground, and tied him up securely.

Strangely, after Shi Song Wei was pinned to the ground, he stopped struggling for an instant, his face full of confusion: "What is going on?"

But he immediately began to shout again: "Hey, hey, what, what are you doing?"

The palace guard leader hated his noisiness, stuffed a cloth strip into his mouth, and ordered his men: "Escort him back to the palace, quickly!"

The palace guards threw the captive onto a horse, not daring to linger, and sped away like lightning.

The passersby and nearby residents had not yet figured out what was going on before the palace guards had already gone far away.

They came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

After they left, Wang Fubao emerged from the street corner to follow them.

This pursuit led all the way to the west gate of the Yao Palace.

Wang Fubao saw with his own eyes Shi Song Wei being escorted into the palace by the guards, and only then did he turn, mount his horse, and gallop toward the northern suburbs of Tianshui City.

The Master had said that once Shi Song Wei was escorted into the palace, the Regent Qingyang would not have time to silence him.

This meant that the Master's plan had been successfully launched!

￥￥￥￥￥

The sun was past its zenith; it was lunchtime.

The cook at the Quiet Lake Cottage already understood Qingyang's tastes well and could even prepare several specialty dishes of Lingxu City, with the flavors being almost identical.

Qingyang's diet was primarily light; she did not like overly intense flavors. Thus, there was a dish of "Original Flavor Golden Needles" for lunch today.

Tianshui City produced a type of river fish that fed primarily on snails and other shellfish, giving it a mellow, sweet taste. The cook used three jin of large fish to make a broth, boiling the bones and meat until they dissolved, then filtered out the residue, mixed it with pork bone broth and pigeon broth, added a little milk, and slowly simmered three types of vegetables and mushrooms: golden needles, termite mushrooms, and bamboo fungus.

Golden needles are also known as daylilies.

This dish was served in broth; at first glance, it looked very plain, and upon the first taste, it was mild and peaceful. One had to savor it carefully, and then the umami flavor would suddenly burst forth between the lips and teeth.

Qingyang was nearly two hundred years old; what good things had she not eaten in her life? Her preferences had long since returned from heavy sauces to the original, pure flavors.

However, using golden needles in a dish had an ominous connotation for her. After all, this cook was not a Beijia person and did not understand these taboos.

When people get old, they become more particular.

But the broth was still very good. Qingyang was just about to take another two sips when Yuan Xuan strode in, saying urgently, "Palace Master, Tianshui City has sent a message via water mirror; the Shi family has been arrested!"

He rarely acted so rudely. Seeing his anxious face, Qingyang's heart sank: "The Shi family? Who?"

With such a vague statement, how could she know which Shi family?

Yuan Xuan explained rapidly: "The Shi brothers of Xin City were once subordinates of General Bai, and they participated in the grain collection operations over the past few months. Just now, their cousin Shi Song Wei was arrested at Frost Mountain Villa in the north of Tianshui City and has already been escorted into the palace!"

Participated in grain collection?! Qingyang stood up abruptly: "I clearly instructed Bai Tan not to interfere with the grain collection!"

If he didn't interfere, he wouldn't be investigated.

"That was, that was three months ago, before you gave him the instructions. Later, the Shi family stopped."

"Fool!" Qingyang slapped the table heavily, and the hard wooden table cracked on the spot, falling to pieces.

Details, details—how many times had she emphasized that a thousand-mile dike collapses from an ant hole!

These Yao people were truly unreliable.

She suppressed her anger.

What was the use of just getting angry? The immediate problem was the urgent one: "Is Shi Song Wei an insider?"

"Yes," Yuan Xuan replied. "The Shi brothers are martial men and know nothing about business; the Shi family patriarch and Shi Song Wei manage the family business. Therefore, the grain was actually collected by them."

Qingyang immediately heard that something was wrong: "At a time like this, why would Shi Song Wei be in Tianshui City?"

"That, I am not clear about."

"Who dragged the Shi family out?" Qingyang asked only this, then waved her hand, "Forget it, that is no longer important."

Shi Song Wei had already been caught; investigating this was meaningless. The important thing was what to do next! "Where is he being held? Can he be silenced?"

Yuan Xuan immediately wrote on the water mirror to convey her question.

Before long, a reply appeared on the mirror: "Difficult. Shi Song Wei was not taken to the celestial prison, but sent directly to the Imperial Study!"

Qingyang spat out a hateful "Damn it."

Too many officials had "died accidentally" recently; the Yao King also knew there were spies in the palace, so as soon as he caught someone, he interrogated them personally, giving them no chance to silence Shi Song Wei! In that case, the Yao King would soon know that the Shi brothers participated in creating the Yao nation's grain famine.

"Where are the Shi brothers?"

This time, the water mirror technique took a long time to reply: "Shi Songen is in the east of Tianshui City, and Shi Songyang is in Xin City."

This was bad.

Before Qingyang could speak, small characters appeared on the water mirror one after another:

"People have been sent to find Shi Songen."

Qingyang shook her head: "Silence him!"

At this critical juncture, Shi Songen must die! He must never be allowed to implicate Bai Tan.

The water mirror replied quickly: "Good."

Qingyang stood up and paced quickly twice.

Yuan Xuan had never seen her so solemn. This Shi Songen—the Palace Master didn't even know his name a quarter of an hour ago, yet now he was causing her such great trouble? Qingyang was indeed facing a major problem: the plan she had prepared in advance had been disrupted! Sure enough, ever since the Elixir of Immortality case, her luck had been consistently bad; not a single plan had been executed perfectly.

However, she needed to make a decision immediately! She could not delay.

Qingyang took a deep breath and made up her mind: "Notify everyone, our plan begins!"

If you're going to do it, do it thoroughly; just move it up!

Yuan Xuan looked up in shock, and the water mirror condensed for several breaths before characters appeared: "When?"

"Now! Immediately! Right now!" Qingyang said solemnly, "Not a single moment can be delayed!"

The handwriting on the water mirror was also somewhat sloppy, clearly showing that the person writing was agitated and incredulous: "Why?"

"The Shi brothers have entered officialdom through martial arts for many years and have dealt with countless officials, but their background has always been tied to Bai Tan!"

Regarding the court and background, Qingyang truly saw things more clearly than anyone.

No matter how great the achievements the Shi brothers had made over the years, they always had a brand on them: they were old subordinates of General Bai Tan!

The court officials were divided into factions and were concerned with taking sides. Teacher-student, blood, marriage, and superior-subordinate relationships were all firm bonds that maintained the interests between people and officials.

An official's background could not be easily changed.

Changing it meant betrayal.

From then on, it would be difficult to be accepted by the bureaucratic system.

Therefore, even if the Shi brothers were not caught in the end, the Yao King would eventually become suspicious of Bai Tan! ===== CHAPTER 1654 =====