Chapter 108

Upon learning that Chu Danqing had been attacked, the awakened Crown Prince received him and offered comfort.

As a result, before the two of them had finished talking, the captured assassin was killed before he could wake up.

The Crown Prince was furious, and everyone in the Donggong, except for Chu Danqing, had their mental state shattered.

This matter once again alarmed Emperor Taichang.

The most fatal thing was that when Xiong Zhigang met Emperor Taichang, he had just finished talking about the selling of military supplies, collusion with the greenwood, and the destruction of embankments to frame others.

As a result, another participant was actually assassinated; wasn't this just taking a desperate risk to kill to silence the witness?

Immediately following this, the Imperial Yulin Guard took over the whole city, imposing martial law, allowing entry but not exit.

The figures related to the mastermind of the Qiutan Sect were all ordered to close their doors and reflect, and the Crown Prince was given full authority to investigate this matter, with three days to get to the bottom of it.

Investigative Factory Commandant Li Wanwu was to listen to orders under the Crown Prince, with the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate assisting from the sidelines.

Emperor Taichang's logic was simple: if they dared to destroy the river embankment and kill the Crown Prince today, they would storm the palace gate and force the abdication tomorrow.

Once the Crown Prince gained power, he quickly controlled the overall situation and began a comprehensive pursuit of the culprit.

Chu Danqing hadn't done anything, yet his mission progress was soaring.

At the same time, the reputation required for his trial mission went from "Unknown" through "Little Known," until it stopped at "Rising Fame."

【Reputation: Rising Fame (2362/10000)】

And this value was still growing; he estimated that it might level up again before long.

The power of the entire capital was cooperating in the investigation, so intelligence was sent to him every moment, which he then organized and forwarded to the Crown Prince.

His network of contacts was temporarily strengthened to the entire capital.

"Currently, all the evidence points to the Qiutan Sect." Wang Qi said slowly: "Your Highness, this old minister feels we should stop here."

Chu Danqing glanced at his side quest; the direction didn't seem quite right.

He remembered that what he was supposed to investigate was the truth of the Tingji case, which was who the mastermind behind Zhang Zui was.

But now it seemed to have completely veered toward court struggles; no one cared what the truth was, they only thought about striking at political enemies.

However, the Crown Prince seemed increasingly satisfied with him, blindly praising him for handling things steadily.

Mainly because the chemical reaction formed by Xiong Zhigang's report and the assassination by the hostile Dimension Apostle was too fierce.

"Teacher, I feel it is not enough." The Crown Prince said in a deep voice; he naturally did not want to stop at the Qiutan Sect; he also wanted to implicate Noble Consort Zheng and Prince Fu.

Taking this opportunity, he wanted to force Prince Fu to go to his fief, letting Emperor Taichang's idea of deposing the elder and establishing the younger fall through completely.

After going to the fief, a vassal king could not enter the capital without an imperial decree.

"Your Majesty will not agree." Wang Qi said calmly: "Li Wanwu and the Three Judicial Offices are here to escort Prince Fu."

"If you act willfully, you will suffer the consequences."

Emperor Taichang's target was the Qiutan Sect; if they followed the target, it would all be assistance.

The Crown Prince took a deep breath, then looked at Chu Danqing: "Left Guard Commander Chu, do you have any opinions?"

In his mind, Chu Danqing had considerable ability; just a little utilization had created such a great advantage for him; perhaps there were other solutions.

"This... how about starting from Zhang Zui?" Chu Danqing said tentatively.

What opinions could he have? He was just an ordinary person before entering Paradise.

He was neither a strategist nor a military advisor; even an old court minister as calculating as Wang Qi found it tricky, so how could a young man like him talk about a solution?

The Crown Prince felt slightly suspicious; Zhang Zui was just a small character, and previously there were people who wanted to make an issue of his corpse, but now it was of no use at all.

Then, thinking that Chu Danqing's planning, although unconventional, could bring him many gains, he did not question it.

"Left Guard Commander Chu is indeed unconventional." The Crown Prince praised: "I will have someone send Zhang Zui's corpse to the Imperial Feather Guard office; there is no need to be constrained, and you can act as you see fit in case of trouble."

He was looking forward to Chu Danqing bringing him enough surprises.

Chu Danqing only felt a stomachache; there was an unspeakable feeling of a knockoff product being unable to prove it wasn't the real thing.

"Yes, then I will go get busy first." Chu Danqing felt he couldn't stay any longer; otherwise, if he were asked any more heaven-defying questions, he wouldn't know how to answer.

After leaving, he returned to his office, and before he could even sit down, a guard from the Imperial Feather Guard said someone had been waiting for him for a long time.

Chu Danqing certainly wouldn't see them; who knew what the situation was, but they said they were an old friend.

What old friends could he have? Xiong Zhigang could see him at most without needing approval.

Then he realized, could it be Zhao Mingqian? But the other party didn't state their name.

Secondly, it could be other Dimension Apostles.

After thinking it over, he decided to see them.

Upon meeting, the other party introduced himself first: "Zhuo Bufan, disciple of Purple Jade Hermit of the Canluo Sect, greets Lord Chu."

"So, you are the person Brother Zhao is relying on in the capital?" Chu Danqing looked him up and down; the other party's attire was quite strange.

The Jianghu aura mixed with the temperament of an official family, that distinct contrast made him look out of place.

"Exactly. Mingqian left the capital last night, and before leaving, he said that if I had any difficulties, I could seek out Lord Chu." Zhuo Bufan was not at all polite when saying this.

Chu Danqing naturally felt uncomfortable hearing this; he had said that to Zhao Mingqian.

The other party had pointed out the precision of his long-range attacks on the road and helped him out; if the other party came to ask for help, Chu Danqing would naturally do his utmost.

But Zhuo Bufan was just a stranger who didn't understand any social etiquette and opened his mouth to ask for help; he was certainly unwilling.

Out of face, he would ask what help was needed first; if it was within his ability, he would help.

If it was beyond his ability, then forget it.

"I will do my best; tell me what the difficulty is first." Chu Danqing asked.

"My father, Zhuo Qingsui, is a Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue; he was implicated because of the Donggong Tingji case and was thrown into prison at noon."

"The Tingji matter has nothing to do with my father; he is truly wrongly accused." Zhuo Bufan said hurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Chu Danqing had someone fetch the roster.

After the incident, many people were indeed arrested, and he quickly found the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhuo Qingsui.

Judging from the files, he was indeed innocent, and the reason for his arrest had nothing to do with the Tingji case.

But the problem was that the Tingji case was not the key now; everything was the result of high-level maneuvering.

Unfortunately, Zhuo Qingsui was a bona fide member of the Qiutan Sect.

Getting someone out was not difficult, but for Chu Danqing, it was a question of whether it was worth it.

It was true that he was a good person, but his premise for being a good person was not to endanger himself.

After closing the files and the roster, Chu Danqing said: "It's not difficult, but it's complicated."

"It depends on how you want to save him." Chu Danqing gave two choices: "The first method is that, for the sake of Brother Zhao, I will use my authority to get him out."

"But afterward, he will either have to stop being an official or be caught in the middle."

"The second is the legitimate method: you temporarily listen to my orders, solve this case to atone for your father's crimes, and after the Crown Prince ascends the throne, there will be no shortage of promotions."

Zhuo Bufan was, after all, a disciple of Ziyu Jushi; both his strength and ability were above Zhao Mingqian's.

He had official forces in his hands, and with the assistance of this disciple of the sect leader of the world's largest sect, things would be much more convenient.

"Naturally, the latter. My father has been an honest official all his life; if he knew I saved him through favoritism, how would he conduct himself in the future?" Zhuo Bufan did not hesitate.

"Fine, then I will first bring him out for interrogation to avoid any accidents." After Chu Danqing finished speaking, he quickly arranged for people to bring him out.

Zhuo Qingsui was not an important figure, so there were no waves in the process.

After bringing the person out, he let the father and son meet, while Chu Danqing began to review the intelligence related to Zhang Zui.

It had only been one day, and quite a bit more had emerged; after all, the Zhangyu Guard had also been mobilized, so the gains were certainly not small.

"Suspected to be controlled by Miao Border soul-bewitching techniques?" Chu Danqing couldn't help but smile when he saw this.

That Zhang Zui could accurately lock onto the Crown Prince even with a mental breakdown was highly likely due to a Dimension Apostle's skill or equipment.

So he ignored this point and turned to pursue the source of the Five Stones Powder.

"Ghost Market?" Chu Danqing narrowed his eyes; the Zhangyu Guard had traced the origin of the Five Stones Powder to a place in the capital called the Ghost Market.

It was a place for fencing stolen goods, placing bounties, and a series of illegal activities.

The person behind it was quite mysterious, and the Zhangyu Guard hadn't found the truth.

There was a high possibility it was the current Emperor Taichang.

Otherwise, who would have the ability to hide it from the Zhangyu Guard? Even if it wasn't, it had a connection to the palace.

"Does Lord Chu want to go to the Ghost Market?" After Zhuo Bufan met with his father Zhuo Qingsui, he returned and happened to hear Chu Danqing's low voice.

"A large amount of Five Stones Powder was dissected from the stomach of the Tingji culprit Zhang Zui, and the Zhangyu Guard traced it to the Ghost Market, hence this talk." Chu Danqing explained.

"Then Lord Chu has found the right person." Zhuo Bufan sat down in front of Chu Danqing: "If Lord Chu trusts me, I will go to the Ghost Market to investigate for you tonight."

"I will go with you, and take two Zhangyu Guards for support." Chu Danqing wasn't thinking of being the first to charge, but rather thinking of earning some treasure chests.

It was indeed good to be able to complete the mission while sitting, but the treasure chest income was gone.

Such an illegal black den as the Ghost Market was just right for him to take action and earn extra money.

He didn't care whether it had anything to do with the palace; anyway, for him, Emperor Taichang was also in the hostile camp.

If Chu Danqing didn't take action, would the other party ignore him? It was better to strike first.

"Fine, but Lord Chu, you are carrying a shrine on your back; I'm afraid you won't be able to hide your identity." Zhuo Bufan pointed to the shrine on Chu Danqing's back and said.

Chu Danqing hadn't thought of hiding his head and showing his tail, and said bluntly: "Heh, I'm going openly; do they dare to stop me?"

Now that he was in the limelight and needed reputation, there was no need to hide.

At worst, he would use it as an excuse to wipe out the black market.

"This..." Zhuo Bufan didn't expect Chu Danqing to be so bold.

"Rest assured, it's true that only two Zhangyu Guards will go in with us, but I will have all the Zhangyu Guards on standby, ready to take action at any time to eradicate this so-called Ghost Market." Chu Danqing was well-prepared.

Zhuo Bufan's eyes widened; as expected of the Crown Prince's confidant, he even dared to touch the Ghost Market.

But then he thought, how many people in the world could compare to the Crown Prince in terms of power?

(End of chapter)