Chapter 121

"You, you've made too much of a scene."

When Wang Qi came to visit Chu Danqing, the first sentence was to tell him to be steady.

After receiving a letter from Xiong Zhigang, Wang Qi was very willing to help Chu Danqing block the pressure from the court.

As a result, before he could even start taking action, Chu Danqing had already made a huge scene.

Before the layout had even begun, Chu Danqing had already been heavily impeached.

"His Majesty was assassinated previously; I suspect it is related to the Shushen spies." Chu Danqing said slowly.

This was the fifth day since he had obtained the imperial edict from Emperor Taichang; with the momentum on his side, the investigation progress was very impressive.

A large number of Shushen spies were uprooted, and from the interrogations of these spies, many people were brought out by following the clues.

Not everyone actively colluded with the Shushen spies; as spies, they had disguised identities and deliberately approached to make contact and build relationships.

And these people were mostly famous figures in the court.

Otherwise, why would the Shushen spies bother with you? It was precisely because you had value that they chose to make contact, so they could extract information.

The impeachment of Chu Danqing wasn't because he made too much of a scene, but because it involved them personally.

They couldn't let Chu Danqing continue the investigation; otherwise, they would be dead.

However, Emperor Taichang didn't make any move; the impeachment memorials were piled to the side and ignored, and he secretly gave Chu Danqing even more support.

It was mainly because Chu Danqing had uncovered too many things that frightened him.

His former Eastern Palace was a sieve, and now the capital was also a sieve.

In Emperor Taichang's view, Chu Danqing was the person who could help him stabilize the country.

"But now the court is in turmoil, and it is not suitable for major movements." Wang Qi sighed.

"Lord Wang, you can request an imperial edict from His Majesty." Chu Danqing didn't intend to give him face anymore.

He said this quite tactfully; after all, Wang Qi was considered to be in the same camp. If it had been anyone else, he would have cursed.

If he couldn't handle the court with bold strokes, the Taichang Dynasty would definitely be destroyed, and the common people would suffer even more.

"Please." Chu Danqing pointed to the door, intending to see the guest out.

He didn't have time to take it slow; cutting the Gordian knot was what he had to do, and the trial mission had a time limit.

"I know Lord Chu is loyal, but the Taichang Dynasty's problems are deep-seated; one should not add fuel to the fire, but rather unravel the cocoon." After Wang Qi finished speaking, he got up and left.

Chu Danqing didn't see him off, but after he left, he continued to read on his own.

About twenty minutes later, a commotion came from outside.

"My lord, it's bad!" A Yulin Guard rushed in, his expression full of anxiety: "Lord Wang Qi was assassinated and died an hour ago."

Chu Danqing stood up abruptly, his expression full of disbelief.

"Was the person caught?" Chu Danqing asked immediately.

"Caught; it's a Shushen person, already locked in the prison." The Yulin Guard answered immediately.

"Report to His Majesty, then take me to the prison." Chu Danqing suspected that the Shushen army had already moved south.

Otherwise, they wouldn't dare to provoke the Taichang Dynasty like this.

Chu Danqing headed to the prison; the Shushen person who killed Wang Qi was still alive and was being interrogated.

The person was muddled, his eyes dull, and saliva was flowing from the corners of his mouth.

Clearly, he was a tough nut to crack and had been drugged directly.

Even after the drug wore off, he would become a fool.

Chu Danqing listened quietly to their interrogation and learned the cause and effect.

The ones who took action were the Qiutan Party; when they learned the news of the Shushen moving south, some of them decisively chose to betray the Taichang Dynasty and defect to the Shushen.

They had lost power in the Taichang Dynasty, so it was better to work from the inside and outside with the Shushen to plot a merit of supporting the new Emperor.

Losing power was worse than death for them.

If they were really asked to die, they certainly wouldn't be happy.

The interrogation took nearly an hour, and Chu Danqing obtained the confession and the list.

Wang Qi's death was the Qiutan Party's "letter of intent."

"Notify the Imperial Guards on field duty to make arrests." Chu Danqing issued the order immediately.

Regardless of whether it was true or false, arrest the people first.

Among the people on the list, many had impeached Chu Danqing.

He was a good person, but he didn't want to have a gun pointed at him.

Chu Danqing was a mentally sound person and naturally had his own joys, angers, sorrows, and joys.

Being willing to help others didn't mean he had no temper or would forgive others without bottom lines.

One must have both the heart of a Bodhisattva and the angry eyes of a Vajra.

Only then could one help others while protecting oneself.

After Chu Danqing finished handling it, he immediately took Wang Qi's verified corpse to see Emperor Taichang.

Emperor Taichang had been waiting for a long time, and when he saw Wang Qi's corpse, obvious sadness flowed from his expression.

"It was me, too impatient, and I harmed my teacher." Emperor Taichang said.

During his time as Crown Prince, it was Wang Qi who protected him.

After ascending the throne, Wang Qi was also the biggest supporter of his new policies.

During his reign, he abolished corrupt policies and actively reformed, intending to set things right.

Without Wang Qi, the difficulty of implementing Emperor Taichang's new policies immediately increased by a large level.

Chu Danqing didn't speak, just had people present the confession and the list.

Emperor Taichang's face changed drastically after reading it.

Now it was truly internal trouble and external aggression.

It had only been five days, and Xiong Zhigang was still on the road.

"This is just a guess, right?" Emperor Taichang really wanted to get a definite answer from Chu Danqing.

Chu Danqing shook his head: "I don't know."

How would he know if it was true or false? But by putting this matter on the table, no one dared to treat it as false.

"I'll give you another seven days, Lord Official; you must clear out all the Shushen spies in the capital." Emperor Taichang was anxious.

If he didn't hurry, he wouldn't be able to keep his own throne.

"I will give you a hand-written edict, and you can mobilize the three thousand Capital Camp troops." Emperor Taichang increased the price.

The Imperial Guards shouldn't be moved lightly; after all, their main duty was to protect the palace, so the number of people sent out on field duty was limited.

But this time, the three thousand Capital Camp troops were different; they were completely controlled by Chu Danqing.

However, in terms of professional ability, the Capital Camp was still inferior to the Imperial Guards.

Letting them follow orders to fight and kill was fine, but asking them to investigate cases was a bit difficult.

"What if it involves the Secret Service Bureau and Commander Li?" Chu Danqing asked again.

Emperor Taichang was silent for a moment, then said immediately: "Arrest them!"

Emperor Taichang could distinguish the weight of the Secret Service Bureau and the throne.

After Chu Danqing heard the answer he wanted, he left directly, then took the hand-written edict and brought the Imperial Guards to mobilize the three thousand Capital Camp troops.

And he immediately sealed off the capital and announced martial law.

Then came the large-scale arrests and interrogations.

After a busy day, once the general framework and direction were set, the rest was just waiting.

Then, Zhuo Bufan came to the door.

"Lord Chu, Gu Shushi is about to escape." As soon as they met, Zhuo Bufan got to the point.

Gu Shushi was one of the eight leaders of the Qiutan Party who called themselves the "Eight Gentlemen," and he was also the founder and core figure of the Qiutan Party.

It could be said that without him, there would be no Qiutan Party.

By now, he had served three Emperors of Taichang, and could be said to be highly respected.

To this day, Emperor Taichang hadn't moved against him.

Now that he heard the news of Wang Qi's death, he understood that his reputation and seniority were useless.

If he didn't escape now, he would be dead.

"Lead the way, intercept this old thing." Chu Danqing naturally couldn't let him escape.

Chu Danqing mobilized a hundred Capital Camp troops, let Zhuo Bufan lead the way, and Zhao Mingqian and Yuan Shanhu kept watch.

When they arrived, Gu Shushi had already left the city with his family.

How he got out of the city, he didn't know, but everyone at the city gate had been pinned down.

Gu Shushi didn't have time to run before he was intercepted.

"Lord Chu, I am just returning to my hometown to visit relatives; why be so aggressive?" Gu Shushi got off the carriage, no longer his usual high-spirited self, looking like a frail old man.

"The eaves drip water, generation after generation; Cabinet Minister Gu, you are not acting kindly." Chu Danqing said immediately: "You enjoyed wealth and honor, but you blocked my wealth and honor."

"Do you think that's appropriate?"

While Chu Danqing was speaking, the Capital Camp and the Imperial Guards had already taken action.

Gu Shushi's family members were all detained.

"Cough, cough..." After Gu Shushi coughed twice, he took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth.

Suddenly, his throat gulped, swallowing something.

Chu Danqing thought the other party had taken poison to commit suicide and was about to take action when Gu Shushi spoke first.

"When I was the dean of the Qiutan Academy..." Gu Shushi straightened his back, and his old appearance underwent a earth-shaking change: "I also practiced martial arts."

The bones in his body crackled, his spirit and energy flourished, and his momentum changed.

"Ziyu Jushi of the Canluo Sect—when I was young, I fought him for twelve rounds and narrowly defeated him by one move." As Gu Shushi spoke, he took action without hesitation.

A smile appeared on Chu Danqing's face, and he said immediately: "A master? Heh."

Da Bao pounced over, and his tearing claws immediately pierced through the opponent's waist.

Gu Shushi, who had just been arrogantly boasting, curled up on the ground like a shrimp, wailing.

Zhuo Bufan, who was on the side, twitched his eyes; even his own master, who had practiced martial arts for many years, wouldn't dare to charge into a military formation alone.

Gu Shushi did practice martial arts when he was young, but after entering the court, he had no time to practice anymore and had long since abandoned it.

Even Li Wanwu, the Secret Service Bureau Commander who was once a top master, had seen his strength decline severely.

"You are very confident in your martial arts." Chu Danqing praised.

As he spoke, Da Bao lifted Gu Shushi up.

Fortunately, he didn't have time to use Spirit Sight to check Gu Shushi's digitized data; otherwise, he would have wasted 10 mana points.

"Someone, give him a bandage." As Chu Danqing said this, a Capital Camp soldier stepped forward to provide treatment.

After Da Bao's tearing claws were activated, they carried tearing damage, a bleeding state, and corresponding mana destruction.

It was fortunate that he only took one hit to the waist; if there had been a second, Gu Shushi would really have died.

After the bandaging was completed, everyone was quickly taken back.

In addition, Chu Danqing also had the Capital Camp people strengthen the security at the city gate.

Lest such high-level figures escape again.

"I want to see His Majesty! I want to see His Majesty!" Gu Shushi also realized his situation and shouted immediately: "I am a Cabinet Minister of Taichang; you have no right to arrest me."

"Hey, now you know you are a Cabinet Minister of Taichang? Why weren't you in such a hurry when you were colluding with the Shushen?" Chu Danqing mocked: "Too late."

(End of Chapter)