Chapter 125: The Invisible Hand

"Come here, dig for me!"

After Shen Yu cleared out the Bliss Flowers inside, he had people start digging pits directly in the garden. He found not just one Bliss Flower here, but over a dozen.

Bliss Flowers and Rainbow Flowers are inherently similar, and ordinary people find it difficult to distinguish the difference between the two. Hiding these dozen or so Bliss Flowers among a patch of Rainbow Flowers made it very hard for people to notice.

Besides, who would openly plant Bliss Flowers in their garden? Precisely because of this, it would not arouse suspicion.

"Stop right there! Do you know what kind of flowers these are? These are Rainbow Flowers! A single Rainbow Flower is worth dozens of taels, enough to cover the expenses of you mud-legged peasants for several years. Can you afford to pay for them?!"

"Dig, keep digging!" Seeing the people doing the work hesitate, Shen Yu shouted directly, "If anything happens, I, this official, will take the responsibility. If compensation is needed, I will pay it!"

"You stop right now, my Rainbow Flowers! Shen Hengzhi, you are merely a small Prefect, you have such great audacity!"

"Who do you think you are? You dare to meddle in this official's affairs?"

"My Lord!" At this moment, Gao Cheng, who was nearby, leaned into his ear and whispered, "This is the Head of the Gu Family!"

"Oh, so you are the Head of the Gu Family!" Giving the other party a faint look, Shen Yu did not give him a pleasant expression at all, but instead continued to shout to the few people in the garden, "Ignore him, dig quickly!"

"How bold, are you truly going to make an enemy of our Gu Family?" The threat in the words of the Head of the Gu Family could not have been more obvious, but the only response he received was a cold gaze.

"My Lord, we found something. Ah, My Lord, this..."

Just at this moment, the people from the Lin Family who were digging deeper into the garden suddenly shouted at Shen Yu. Immediately after, a few of them poked at what they had dug up with their hands, and then could not help but scream in terror.

"What did you dig up? Did you dig up human remains?"

"Yes, My Lord, it is human remains!" At this point, the people from Lin Family Town were already trembling as they spoke. Although their Lin Family Town was famously tough, that did not mean they would not be afraid upon seeing such things.

They were just digging a pit; who could have imagined they would dig up these things? Caught off guard, it was only natural for them to be startled.

"How could human remains be dug up? This is impossible, how could this be?" Seeing all this, Old Master Gu looked incredulous, then glanced at the calm Shen Yu, and seemed to understand everything in an instant.

"I understand now, you corrupt official, you are framing us!"

"Framing? You are not worthy!" Looking coldly at the other party, Shen Yu said indifferently, "There are over a dozen Bliss Flowers among the Rainbow Flowers in your Gu Family garden, and Bliss Flowers use human hearts as soil and human blood as nourishment. So, there must be withered bones beneath the Bliss Flowers. Are you unaware of this?"

"Bliss Flowers, this, this..." For a moment, Old Master Gu was in a state of panic. With the stolen goods and the culprit caught, and so many human remains dug up from their garden, they truly could not wash themselves clean even if they jumped into the Yellow River.

"Come here, the Gu Family has planted Bliss Flowers, showing total disregard for human life; their crimes are unforgivable. Arrest everyone in the Gu Family, not a single one is to be let go!"

After saying this, Shen Yu spoke again to the Shadow Guard Gao Cheng beside him, "Gao Cheng!"

"Lord Shen!"

"The time has come to use you Shadow Guards! The Gu Family could hide Bliss Flowers in plain sight in a Rainbow Flower garden; other families might not necessarily refrain from doing the same. I want you Shadow Guards to immediately investigate which other families have secretly planted Bliss Flowers!"

"Also!" Speaking to this point, Shen Yu's gaze turned toward Old Master Gu, a flash of cold light emerging from the depths of his eyes, "Do you have any experts in interrogation among the Shadow Guards? This official wants to know all the information from the mouths of the Gu Family members!"

"Rest assured, Lord Shen, I will go and pass the order now, I guarantee I will not let Lord Shen down!"

The efficiency of the Shadow Guards exceeded Shen Yu's expectations. They took down the Gu Family in the morning, and by the afternoon, the people of the Gu Family had basically confessed. At the same time, intelligence regarding the various families was also gathered.

Seeing the leopard through a tube, the strength, influence, and hidden nature of the Shadow Guards were absolutely beyond imagination.

"Lord Shen, it has been clarified; it was the young master of the Gu Family who planted the Bliss Flowers. Someone gave them the seeds to plant, and after the Bliss Flowers bloomed, they would trade them for Drunken Heart Pills."

"This Drunken Heart Pill is refined primarily with Bliss Flowers; it can make people feel as if they have fallen into a beautiful dream, allowing them to forget their troubles, wash away their worries, and make them addicted to it, unable to extricate themselves. The young master of the Gu Family had long since had his mind corroded by the Drunken Heart Pills!"

Sighing softly, Gao Cheng continued, "However, although the Head of the Gu Family did not know about these things, he was perfectly clear about the matter of using human blood to water the Bliss Flowers. Such a thing could not be hidden from others at all!"

"Not only did the Head of the Gu Family know, but everyone in the Gu Family knew as well, yet no one stopped it. That young master of the Gu Family made up an excuse, saying that Rainbow Flowers watered with human blood were more vibrant, and the Gu Family believed him, and even supported him in doing so!"

"The lives of those commoners are worthless in the eyes of these people! Perhaps, allowing the so-called Rainbow Flowers to become more vibrant is their greatest utility!"

"These bastards, they all deserve to die!" A trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and Shen Yu then continued to ask, "What else? Who did they hand the Bliss Flowers to?"

"We Shadow Guards did indeed ask about this, but..."

"What, this person's status is not low, is it?" Upon seeing the other party's expression, Shen Yu understood, and then smiled and said, "If it were an ordinary person, these great families would have swallowed them skin and bone long ago!"

"Indeed, this person's status is indeed not low. After these people started trading Bliss Flowers, they had already secretly investigated. In the end, all the targets pointed to the Dongning Army, so they did not dare to continue investigating and could only trade obediently!"

"Dongning Army? It's them!" Frowning, this result was unexpected yet not unexpected. However, what puzzled Shen Yu was that the matter of the Bliss Flowers was too significant; ordinary people would certainly be careful and more careful, cleaning up all traces.

Shen Yu did not believe that someone like the young master of the Gu Family could investigate all the way to the Dongning Army. Could a bunch of playboys be cheating?

"Also, the matter that you, My Lord, asked us Shadow Guards to investigate has also had results. Besides the Gu Family, the vast majority of the large and small families in Songnan Prefecture are likely not clean; the scope involved is too large!"

"What? More than half of the families in Songnan Prefecture are participating?" Bliss Flowers need human lives to be nourished; with so many families, even if each family only had a few, the total number would be absolutely significant. Shen Yu found it hard to imagine what a huge number that was.

"Bastards, a bunch of sons of bitches!"

"Lord Shen, do not be angry, and even more so, do not act rashly. So many families are involved, and the implications are far-reaching. Once you move against them, Songnan Prefecture will collapse! If it triggers a riot, the ones who will suffer in the end are still those commoners!"

"Then we cannot just let it go!" Shen Yu understood the logic, but his heart felt heavy, "The lives of the commoners are also lives; how can they be easily trampled upon by others!"

"I understand your anger, My Lord, but this subordinate has a question—I don't know if I should say it or not—but don't you think everything has been too smooth?"

Speaking to this point, Gao Cheng raised his head and then slowly said, "From the time we found the Bliss Flowers at the Gu Family until now, some time has passed. By rights, the various families should have reacted long ago and hidden themselves in time."

"But now, we Shadow Guards discovered them with ease, without the slightest obstacle. And Lord Shen, don't you think your visit to the Gu Family earlier was just right, as if someone was deliberately letting us discover the Bliss Flowers there!"

"This subordinate has a faint feeling that there is an invisible hand behind this, pushing us to walk step by step to understand the truth they want to show us!"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Shen Yu naturally understood what Gao Cheng meant. After taking a deep breath, he slowly said, "Then tell me, why would they do this?"

"Lord Shen, this matter involves almost more than half of the great clans and noble families in Songnan Prefecture. These people are not only deeply rooted in Songnan Prefecture, but the power they hold is also immeasurable. Once they learn that you, My Lord, are going to move against them, if they resist to the death or even unite together, I fear..."

"Are you afraid that someone is plotting something? Are you referring to the Dongning Army?"

"Lord Shen, this subordinate just said nothing at all!"