Chapter 118: The Mediocre Talent Under the Mediocre Prince (Third Update)

Lin Wanmo asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Xu Yuan then recounted the entire experience of this Ghost Wushan journey. Lin Wanmo's willow brows immediately furrowed, and she gritted her silver teeth, saying hatefully, "I knew that Fatty wasn't a good person the moment I saw him!"

Xu Yuan stuffed all the letters into his chest, then picked up a cloth bundle: "I'm going to see Ma Tianshou. You cook first; I'll come back for dinner tonight."

Lin Wanmo acted lazy: "Can we not do it..."

Xu Yuan pretended not to hear and strode out the door.

Ma Tianshou had already learned the full details of this trip from Fu Jingyu and Old Man Yan.

After Xu Yuan arrived, the old lord sighed: "Originally, because you were more familiar with Ghost Wushan, I only wanted you to go along as a guide. Now I am infinitely glad I let you go with us; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable!"

Xu Yuan took out all the letters first: "Please take a look, my lord. These are the letters my second uncle wrote home over the years, and this is the one Zheng Rongkui handed to me. It can be determined that it was forged by Zheng Rongkui."

Ma Tianshou was a sixth-rank literary cultivator and certainly an expert in handwriting. He only glanced at it once before disdainfully tossing it aside: "Fake at a single glance."

Old Man Yan took it, reading as he spoke: "Zheng Rongkui keeps a little ghost; this诡术 originates from Siam. One of the functions of that little ghost is to fulfill the wishes of its sponsor, so forging a letter for him is not difficult."

Xu Yuan asked, "Can you help me contact my second uncle?"

"Rest assured, we will naturally investigate this. Now..." Ma Tianshou paused: "I formally invite you to join the Filth-Exorcising Bureau!"

Xu Yuan no longer hesitated; he clasped his fists and bowed: "Thank you, my lord, for your kindness. This junior is willing. From now on, I will rely on you, my lord, and all the elders for care."

Ma Tianshou laughed heartily, holding Xu Yuan's arms with both hands to help him up: "This case is something the Southern Jiaozhi Office hasn't encountered in ten years. We can't say it's entirely your merit, but you must account for at least seventy percent! As for us old things, we've benefited from your light."

Xu Yuan heard he seemed to imply something else and looked up in confusion, but Ma Tianshou only smiled without speaking.

Old Man Yan said, "The position of Commander at the Southern Jiaozhi Office has always been vacant. Although the old lord has actually been leading the Southern Office's affairs for a long time, he has never been officially confirmed. This time... it is a sure thing."

Xu Yuan hurriedly offered congratulations. Ma Tianshou waved his hand and said, "From now on, we are all one family; no need to be so polite. I am not quite like others; although I also like flattery, I don't like it that much."

Xu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, let's talk about the real matter now." Ma Tianshou's expression turned serious: "Last time I promised you the position of Inspector, but since you established new merit in Ghost Wushan, the position of Inspector is now insufficient. Therefore, this official grants you the position of Deputy Patrol Inspector!"

The highest official of the Filth-Exorcising Bureau in each province is the "Commander." The structure below varies slightly; large provinces have four offices—East, West, South, and North—each with one Commander.

Below the Commander are several Deputy Commanders.

Below that are the Law Keeper and Deputy Law Keeper, followed by the Patrol Inspector and Deputy Patrol Inspector; the Inspector and Deputy Inspector.

Finally, there are the Mountain-Moving Captains and ordinary Captains.

Ordinary Captains are divided into three grades: No Pattern, Single Pattern, and Double Pattern.

Additionally, there are the County Assistants in each county and their subordinates.

There are also positions such as "Handler" and "Treasurer," with ranks varying in level.

Under normal circumstances, when the Southern Office sends someone on official duty, one Mountain-Moving Captain leading several ordinary Captains is sufficient.

Only when a case is tricky does an Inspector step in.

The Inspector is ninth rank, and the Deputy Inspector is deputy ninth rank. The Patrol Inspector is eighth rank, and the deputy is deputy eighth rank.

When Ma Tianshou promised Xu Yuan the Inspector position, he said "deputy ninth rank," which implicitly meant Deputy, though he didn't state it explicitly.

This time is actually the same.

It is not that the old lord deliberately deceived; rather, because Inspectors and Patrol Inspectors often lead teams to handle cases, and Xu Yuan is new to the Filth-Exorcising Bureau and unfamiliar with many procedures, an elder must be found to guide him first. Only after adapting to all aspects can he be officially confirmed.

Seeing Xu Yuan about to bow in thanks again, Ma Tianshou grabbed him: "I already said, no need for such empty rituals. Come, come, everyone sit down, and let's discuss the details of this case again."

Xu Yuan sat down; inside the room, there were only five people: Ma Tianshou, Old Man Yan, Lu Zhengyan, Xiang Qinghuai, and Fu Jingyu.

Song Lu was not on the list.

"Regarding the Mediocre Prince... everyone, share your thoughts." Ma Tianshou started the discussion. Old Man Yan had already been thinking about it on the way and immediately spoke: "We cannot move him, nor is it good to move him. For years, the entire Wang Fu of the Mediocre Prince has been restless. It is said that after the Mediocre Prince was demoted, his health has been poor, so he and those around him are somewhat impatient.

However, the Son of Heaven seems unwilling to kill his own son with his own hands. When incidents occur, he only issues an imperial edict to reprimand, without much substantive punishment, seemingly waiting for... the Mediocre Prince to collapse and pass away on his own."

Although this time there is the personal seal on the contract as proof to nail down Lord Chunyu, even if the Mediocre Prince is implicated, he will most likely just be scolded by an imperial edict from the Son of Heaven.

"Chunyu Wei must die!" Lu Zhengyan said.

The Son of Heaven hates these "treacherous flatterers" who instigate the Mediocre Prince the most.

No one else voiced an opinion. Xu Yuan made up his mind to listen and observe as much as possible during this meeting, speaking as little as possible.

Ma Tianshou snorted: "Even if there were direct evidence, we still couldn't move the Mediocre Prince."

As long as the Son of Heaven does not harbor a desire to kill, the Mediocre Prince's life is safe.

No matter how heinous the crimes he has committed.

Ma Tianshou drank a mouthful of bitter tea, then suddenly angrily cursed: "Chunyu Wei is just a fool who studied books to death! Does he think he is very clever? Hasn't he thought that when the Dragon King of the Grand Canal suffered a great loss of face at Ghost Wushan back then, and so many years have passed, people have finally gradually forgotten this matter. Does the Dragon King of the Grand Canal want the incident at Ghost Wushan to be brought up again?"

Xu Yuan immediately understood: From the Dragon King of the Grand Canal's perspective, "This seat could not solve the problem, yet you solved it. Are your abilities greater than This Seat's?!"

Old Man Yan also realized this, shaking his head: "Chunyu Wei was just a lecturer for the Eastern Palace back then; to put it plainly, he was there to read books to the Crown Prince and explain the meanings within them.

The truly talented ones, such as the Grand Tutor and Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, were killed by the Son of Heaven long ago.

In recent years, the Mediocre Prince's Wang Fu has had constant incidents. The Son of Heaven killed another batch, and those remaining are mediocrities like Chunyu Wei who have high ambitions but low abilities..."

For example, Chen Liangxuan thought highly of himself, but why did the Son of Heaven only demote him to the South Capital instead of directly beheading him?

Naturally, it was because the Son of Heaven felt he was incompetent and could not stir up any waves.

Ma Tianshou took a deep breath and waved his hand forcefully: "Enough, let's not talk about them. Let's discuss the Demon-Extermination Army."

Old Man Yan repeated his previous words, slightly more euphemistically.

Ma Tianshou snorted: "Let's not worry about the future for now. First, let's follow the line of the Widow Yang and investigate him thoroughly! Xiang Qinghuai!"

Patrol Inspector Xiang immediately stood up and clasped his fists: "This subordinate is here!"

"You are in charge. Dig as deep as you can. As long as this official does not say stop, do not listen to anyone else!"

"As ordered!"

Xu Yuan nodded secretly. The old lord intends to dig out as much of the truth as possible before the big shots upstairs react.

He thought again: This case originally belonged to him and Fu Jingyu; why weren't the two of them allowed to continue leading it?

"This is to protect the two of us! Dig deeper... it will make us hated!"

(End of this chapter)