Chapter 121: Cut Through Chaos with a Swift Blade

“You’ve made too much of a mess.”

When Wang Qi came to visit Chu Danqing, his first words were to tell him to calm down.

Upon receiving a letter from Xiong Zhigang, Wang Qi was more than willing to help Chu Danqing deflect pressure from the court.

But before any action could begin, Chu Danqing had already turned things into a full-blown scandal.

Before the plan had even started, Chu Danqing was already heavily impeached.

“The Emperor was previously assassinated—I suspect it involved Suqin spies,” Chu Danqing said calmly.

It had been five days since he received the imperial edict from Emperor Taichang; with the weight of imperial authority behind him, his investigation had made remarkable progress.

Numerous Suqin spies were uprooted, and through their interrogations, a chain of connections led to many others.

Not everyone actively colluded with Suqin spies—they assumed false identities, deliberately drawing close to establish ties.

And these people were mostly prominent figures in the court.

Why would Suqin spies bother associating with you otherwise? Only those with value are targeted, only then can intelligence be extracted.

The impeachment of Chu Danqing wasn’t about the scandal growing—it was because they themselves were implicated.

Chu Danqing must not be allowed to investigate further, or they would be dead.

Yet Emperor Taichang remained silent; the impeachment memorials piled up untouched, and behind the scenes, he gave Chu Danqing even more support.

Mainly because Chu Danqing had uncovered too many things that terrified him.

His former Donggong was a sieve; now, the capital itself is a sieve.

To Emperor Taichang, Chu Danqing was the man who could help him secure his empire.

“But the court is in turmoil now—this is no time for drastic measures,” Wang Qi sighed.

"Lord Wang, you can request an imperial edict from His Majesty," Chu Danqing said, no longer bothering to spare his feelings.

His words were still polite—after all, Wang Qi was at least on his side; had it been anyone else, he’d have cursed outright.

If the court isn’t purged decisively, the Taichang state is doomed, and the people will suffer even more.

“Go,” Chu Danqing pointed to the door, ready to dismiss him.

He had no time for slow, careful steps—swift action to cut through chaos was what he needed; his trial quest had a time limit.

“I know Grand Coordinator Chu is loyal, but the Taichang court is too deeply corrupt to be cleansed by fire—it must be unraveled thread by thread,” Wang Qi said, then rose and left.

Chu Danqing did not see him off; after he left, he quietly resumed reading.

About twenty minutes later, a commotion erupted outside.

“My lord, disaster!” A Yulin Lang burst in, face pale with urgency: “Wang Qi has been assassinated—just fifteen minutes ago.”

Chu Danqing shot to his feet, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Have they caught him?” Chu Danqing demanded immediately.

“Yes, it was a Suqin man—he’s already imprisoned,” the Yulin Lang replied at once.

“Report to His Majesty, then take me to the prison,” Chu Danqing suspected the Suqin army had already marched south.

Otherwise, they would never dare provoke the Taichang court so brazenly.

Chu Danqing traveled straight to the prison; the Suqin man who killed Wang Qi was still alive, being interrogated.

He was dazed, eyes vacant, saliva dripping from his mouth.

Clearly a tough one—he’d already been drugged.

Even after the drug wore off, he’d be a fool.

Chu Danqing stood quietly, listening as they questioned him, learning the full story.

The culprits were the Qiutan Faction; upon learning of the Suqin southward advance, some among them had swiftly betrayed Taichang and defected to the Suqin.

Having lost power in Taichang, they preferred to collude with the Suqin from within, hoping to earn a “merit of enthronement.”

Losing power was worse than death to them.

Yet they weren’t eager to die either.

The interrogation took nearly an hour; Chu Danqing obtained confessions and a list.

Wang Qi’s death was the Qiutan Faction’s blood oath.

“Order the field-duty Imperial Yulin troops to arrest everyone on the list,” Chu Danqing commanded immediately.

Whether true or false, arrest them first.

Many on the list had previously impeached Chu Danqing.

He was a good man—but he refused to be held at gunpoint.

Chu Danqing was a mentally sound man—he had his own joys, sorrows, anger, and desires.

Willingness to help others didn’t mean he had no temper or would forgive without limit.

One must have the compassion of a Bodhisattva and the wrath of a Vajra.

Only then can you help others while protecting yourself.

After finishing his work, Chu Danqing immediately took Wang Qi’s verified corpse to see Emperor Taichang.

Emperor Taichang had been waiting; upon seeing Wang Qi’s body, his expression revealed clear grief.

“It was my haste that doomed my teacher,” Emperor Taichang said.

During his time as Crown Prince, Wang Qi had protected and guided him.

After ascending the throne, Wang Qi remained his greatest supporter in reform.

During his reign, he had eradicated corruption and pushed bold reforms, aiming to restore order.

With Wang Qi gone, the difficulty of implementing his reforms surged dramatically.

Chu Danqing said nothing; he simply had the confessions and list presented.

Emperor Taichang’s face turned ashen after reading them.

Now, internal strife and external threat were both real.

Only five days had passed—Xiong Zhigang was still en route.

“This is just speculation, isn’t it?” Emperor Taichang desperately wanted Chu Danqing to confirm it.

Chu Danqing shook his head: “I don’t know.”

He had no idea if it was true—but once this was on the table, no one dared treat it as false.

“I give you seven days—clear every Suqin spy from the capital,” Emperor Taichang snapped.

If he didn’t act fast, even his throne would be lost.

“I grant you a personal edict—you may command three thousand troops of the Capital Garrison.”

The Imperial Yulin were not to be lightly deployed—they were primarily responsible for palace security, so only limited numbers could be sent on field duty.

But these three thousand troops of the Capital Garrison were entirely under Chu Danqing’s control.

Still, in operational skill, the Capital Garrison was far inferior to the Imperial Yulin.

They could be ordered to fight and kill—but asking them to investigate was beyond their capacity.

“What if it involves the Jishi Factory and Director Li?” Chu Danqing asked again.

Emperor Taichang fell silent, then said: “Arrest him.”

Emperor Taichang knew which was more important: the Jishi Factory or his throne.

Hearing the answer he wanted, Chu Danqing left immediately, then took the edict and mobilized the three thousand Capital Garrison troops under the Imperial Yulin.

He immediately sealed off the capital and declared martial law.

Then came mass arrests and interrogations.

After a full day of work, once the broad framework and direction were set, all that remained was to wait.

Then Zhuo Bofan arrived.

“Grand Coordinator Chu, Gu Shushi is trying to flee,” Zhuo Bofan said at once.

Gu Shushi was one of the Eight Gentlemen of the Qiutan Faction, its founder and core figure.

Without him, there would be no Qiutan Faction.

He had survived through three Taichang emperors—widely respected and venerable.

Even now, Emperor Taichang had not moved against him.

But upon hearing of Wang Qi’s death, he realized his reputation and seniority meant nothing now.

If he didn’t flee, he was dead.

“Lead the way—stop that old man,” Chu Danqing would never let him escape.

Chu Danqing mobilized a hundred Capital Garrison troops, had Zhuo Bofan guide them, while Zhao Mingqian and Yuan Shanhu watched from behind.

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

How he escaped he didn’t know—but everyone at the city gate had been detained.

Gu Shushi was intercepted before he could flee.

“Grand Coordinator Chu, I’m merely returning to my hometown to visit family—why must you be so aggressive?” Gu Shushi stepped down from his carriage, no longer the proud, vigorous man he once was—he looked frail and ancient.

“The eaves drip water from generation to generation, Grand Tutor Gu—you’ve acted dishonorably,” Chu Danqing said at once. “You enjoyed wealth and glory, yet blocked mine.”

“Do you think that’s fair?”

As Chu Danqing spoke, the Capital Garrison and Imperial Yulin troops moved.

Gu Shushi’s entire family was detained.

“Cough, cough,” Gu Shushi coughed twice, then wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

Suddenly, he swallowed something.

Chu Danqing assumed he had taken poison and moved to act—but Gu Shushi spoke first.

"When I was head of Qiutan Academy," Gu Shushi straightened his back, his entire demeanor transforming from that of an aged, feeble man: "I once trained in martial arts."

His bones cracked and popped; his essence, spirit, and vigor surged, his aura shifting completely.

"In my youth, I fought the Zi Yu Scholar of Can Luo Sect for twelve rounds and barely bested him by a single move." As he spoke, Gu Shushi moved without hesitation.

Chu Danqing smiled and said at once: "A master? Hah."

Dabao lunged forward, his rending claws piercing straight through the opponent’s waist.

Gu Shushi, who had just been boasting loudly, immediately curled into a shrimp-like ball on the ground, writhing and screaming.

Zhuo Bufan’s eye twitched; even though his own master trained in martial arts daily, he would never dare charge a military formation alone.

Gu Shushi did indeed train in martial arts in his youth, but after entering the court, he had no time to practice and long ago let it lapse.

Even Li Wanwu, once a top-tier expert and Provincial Military Commander of the Jishi Factory, has seen his strength plummet severely.

"You have great confidence in your martial skill," Chu Danqing complimented.

Saying this, Dabao lifted Gu Shushi into the air.

Fortunately, he hadn’t used his Spiritual Eye to check Gu Shushi’s dataized stats—if he had, he’d have wasted ten points of mana.

"Send someone to bandage him," Chu Danqing said. A soldier from the Capital Garrison stepped forward to treat him.

Dabao’s Rending Claws inflict not only rending damage but also a bleeding status and corresponding mana damage.

Luckily, it was only his flank that took the blow—if he’d landed a second strike, Gu Shushi would have died.

After the bandaging was complete, they quickly returned everyone to the city.

In addition, Chu Danqing ordered the Capital Garrison to strengthen security at Chengmenkou.

To prevent such high-ranking individuals from escaping again.

"I want to see the Emperor! I want to see the Emperor!" Gu Shushi, now aware of his situation, shouted: "I am a minister of Taichang Pavilion—you have no authority to arrest me!"

"Hey, now you remember you’re a minister of Taichang Pavilion? Why didn’t you rush to declare that when you were conspiring with Su Shen?" Chu Danqing sneered. "Too late."

(End of Chapter)