Chapter 533: Who has the leisure to joke around with you!

"Lord Shen, from today on, Xichuan is handed over to you, and the people of Xichuan are also handed over to you!"

In Anzhou City, the Xichuan Zongfu, after Shen Yu arrived, the former Governor He Yuan immediately held a banquet to welcome him, which also served as the handover, and the entire yamen was stirred into action.

The former Xichuan Governor He Yuan was smiling on the surface, but only he himself knew what he was thinking inside.

Thinking about it, he felt aggrieved; he had been a proper Governor, a big shot in a region, doing whatever he wanted here, and his life had been nothing but comfortable.

But now, just because a young man wanted to build roads in Xiaozhou and needed cooperation here, the imperial court simply gave him the position under his own backside.

If you count it up, Xiaozhou was still part of Xichuan, and Shen Yu was still his subordinate, but now, before the man himself even revealed any intention to drive him away, the imperial court had already eagerly chased him out.

Was there any rule of law left? Was there any reason to be spoken of!

He Yuan was naturally unwilling and resentful in his heart, and might even be grinding his teeth in hatred toward Shen Yu at this moment. But on the surface, he still had to appear magnanimous and joyful.

Because this was a person he could not afford to offend; I am afraid no one in the entire world could afford to offend him.

To put it bluntly, if the man were to take a sword and hack at him right now, he would have to obediently stretch his neck out. Otherwise, there would naturally be people wanting to curry favor with him who would desperately target his entire family.

Since he couldn't afford to offend him, he could only accompany him with a smiling face throughout the city.

The others accompanying them also forced smiles. They knew exactly what kind of temper this Lord Shen had; when that butcher's knife was raised, he never showed the slightest mercy.

The vast majority of them had dirty secrets, and if a real investigation were to be conducted, I am afraid more than half of those present would be gone.

Following such a person with a heavy intent to kill, the good days of the past would be gone forever, and whether one could even keep their small life would depend on the man's mood.

"Rest assured, Lord He, I will govern Xichuan well, you can leave with peace of mind!"

"Then I can rest easy!" Raising his wine cup, He Yuan cursed internally, but on the surface, he still said with great relief, "Come, let us wish Lord Shen a bright future!"

"A bright future?" Raising his wine cup, Shen Yu only gave a faint smile. A bright future? Having reached his current realm, this was no longer what he pursued.

"My Lord!" Suddenly, a Black-Clad Guard from outside walked over quietly, preparing to whisper something in Shen Yu's ear.

However, Shen Yu stopped him with a wave. "Just say it openly. Could there be anything that these lords cannot hear?"

Seeing the Black-Clad Guard come to report, Shen Yu knew the investigation was mostly done and there should be results.

Those tragically dead young women were not bad-looking; even if they weren't the top stars in the major Brothels, their status was definitely not low, so it was easy for the Black-Clad Guard to find out.

The reason Shen Yu wanted to eat and drink with these people was merely to wait for the results; otherwise, who would have the time to play around with them.

The high-ranking officials of Xichuan were gathered here, and Shen Yu wanted to see exactly what the attitude of these people was.

Young women washed out by heavy rain outside the city had been tortured to death one after another, yet their corpses were left in the wilderness with no one asking after them.

Over these years, who knew how many people had died tragically, yet the people before him turned a blind eye to it.

Did they really not know, or were they pretending not to know, or perhaps it was related to one of the people present.

If that were truly the case, he really wouldn't mind seeing blood on the spot to make these people learn a lesson.

"My Lord, my subordinates have already gone to investigate the major Brothels in Anzhou. The identities of the young women who died outside the city have been cleared up, and the people who tortured them to death have also been identified!"

Hearing the words of this Black-Clad Guard, He Yuan's hand trembled involuntarily; he seemed to have thought of something.

At the same time, several people nearby quietly looked at He Yuan, their eyes carrying a somewhat indescribable meaning.

The changes in these people all fell into Shen Yu's perception, and the killing intent in his eyes flashed and vanished.

It seemed they not only knew, but it was also related to them!

"Continue, who did it?"

"My Lord, it is the He Family's young master, He Shaoxiu. Recently, quite a few of the top courtesans in the Brothels have been tortured to death by Young Master He."

"My Lord, this is the testimony, please take a look!" As he spoke, the Black-Clad Guard handed over a stack of testimonies.

Casually flipping through the items handed over by the Black-Clad Guard, Shen Yu's expression grew worse and worse. He knew the perpetrator must have killed more than one person, but he didn't expect so many; this was a pervert, right?

Moreover, the time when the He Family's young master started going to the Brothels to find women was roughly the same as the time he received the order to come to Xichuan to take over as Governor.

Had this Young Master He heard something? Could it be that those he wouldn't have killed before were other innocent girls, and he only started going to the Brothels after knowing he was coming to Xichuan?

"He Family's young master? Which Young Master He?"

"Replying to my Lord!" As he spoke, the Black-Clad Guard glanced at He Yuan. "He Shaoxiu is the only son of the former Xichuan Governor, Lord He Yuan!"

"A pack of lies!" Hearing the Black-Clad Guard's words, He Yuan was furious, his hair standing on end with rage.

"Lord Shen, this is framing and entrapment. You can go and investigate; Xiu'er is gentle and refined, who in all of Xichuan does not praise him? This is absolutely slander!"

"For these years, I have cracked down on the trafficking of women in Brothels; they are taking this opportunity to retaliate!"

"That's right, Lord Shen!" At this moment, someone nearby immediately echoed, "The Governor has been cracking down on the trafficking of women for years, making the major Brothels hold a grudge; their words cannot be trusted!"

"Well said, we have all seen Young Master He; he is scholarly and humble, it is absolutely impossible for him to do such a thing!"

"Taking the opportunity to retaliate?" Throwing the testimony in his hand onto the table, Shen Yu swept his cold eyes over everyone.

"Their words cannot be trusted, but yours can? Tell me, how much courage do these Brothels have to dare to slander a dignified Governor of a region?"

"This, this, Lord Shen, you also know the principle that when a person leaves, the tea goes cold. I am no longer the Governor, so they can naturally slander me at will!"

"Is that so? Does Lord He really think everyone in the world is a fool? And you lot, all of you telling lies with your eyes wide open!"

Swept by Shen Yu's cold, piercing gaze, everyone trembled subconsciously.

"Fine, you tell me, if it wasn't done by Young Master He, then who exactly did it? So many people have died, surely you all present haven't failed to notice?"

"This, this... My Lord!"

Carefully looking at Shen Yu, one of them whispered, "They were just some Brothel women who died; that shouldn't count for much, right."

"These Brothel women all signed indentures and belong to the private property of the Brothels. If the Brothels don't pursue it, we have no way to act!"

"What a 'no way to act'; I truly never imagined such words would come out of your mouths!"

"What exactly is human life in your eyes? What exactly are the common people in your eyes!"

Trembling in fear at Shen Yu's words, everyone immediately lowered their heads in silence; they knew this Lord Shen was about to lose his temper. And it was rumored that when he lost his temper, he killed people!

The only thing they were thinking about now was: I'm timid, please don't look at me, it has nothing to do with me.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Yu looked at the Black-Clad Guard again. "Continue, is there anything else?"

"Yes, my Lord. During the investigation, my subordinates also heard that there are frequent cases of missing young women in Anzhou City, and this matter has caused public resentment to boil over."

"Although the yamen claims to have found the true culprit, every time they find someone to take the blame and provide an explanation to the public, someone else commits the crime again shortly after."

"Such incidents are repeatedly prohibited but never cease, and there is much criticism among the common people. They say that officials protect one another, and the yamen only finds people to impersonate the culprits to fool them!"

"Nonsense! These lowly commoners are just afraid that the world won't be in chaos; what do they know to be spouting such things!"

"Lord He, those are the common people, not lowly commoners! From this, one can see just how much official authority Lord He usually wields!"

Staring quietly at He Yuan until he felt his skin crawl.

"Where is the Criminal Judge?"

"My Lord, this subordinate is here!"

"As the Criminal Judge, you are in charge of criminal cases, so you are responsible for this matter, right? Tell me, how have you been investigating this?"

"My Lord, this, this..." Kneeling on the ground, the Criminal Judge was covered in sweat, and only then did he speak in a low voice.

"My Lord, this case was indeed investigated by this subordinate. This subordinate, this subordinate discovered that it was a collusive crime, a gang of highwaymen using a Cultivation Method of harvesting yin to replenish yang to improve themselves."

"It is just that their identities are very secretive, and their strength is not weak; the yamen truly lacks the power to catch them, which is why it has been repeatedly prohibited but never ceases."

"Is that so? So, this matter is not your fault then?"

With a cold snort, Shen Yu said nonchalantly, "Then could it be as the common people say, that someone has a guilty conscience and found people to impersonate the culprits!"

As he spoke, Shen Yu looked at He Yuan again, "For example, did Young Master He do it?"

Being looked at by Shen Yu with that kind of gaze, He Yuan shuddered instinctively, and even his smile became much more forced, "Lord Shen, this joke is not funny!"

"Bullshit!" The wine cup in his hand was thrown fiercely onto the ground by him, and shards splashed everywhere.

"Do I look like I am joking with you? Who the hell has the spare time to joke with you!"