Chapter 782

Jiang the steward, lost in the new gossip, blurted out without thinking: "This wasn't the Empress Dowager's wish—it was the Sun family acting on their own."

After speaking, he realized his mistake and quickly glanced at Pan Yun; seeing her expression unchanged, with a look of sudden understanding, he knew she had guessed it all along.

He might as well stop hiding and said directly: "But the Sun family is the Empress Dowager's maternal clan—if the Marquis of Xiangchang suffers for this, the Empress Dowager will be heartbroken, and the Emperor will suffer too."

"Who would have thought that even from a thousand li away, Commander Jiang could grasp the Emperor's intent? Truly formidable."

Jiang the steward boasted: "Naturally—our lord is deeply favored by the Emperor."

…

"Favored by the Emperor? Pfft," Lu Mingzhe turned and spat an unseemly curse. "Who doesn't know Jiang Jingsong and Song Zhang rose to power only by climbing through Wang Zhen? Without Wang Zhen, who would the Emperor even know Jiang Jingsong is?"

Pan Yun cleared her throat and said: "I really didn't know about this."

Lu Mingzhe turned and glared at her.

Pan Yun spread her hands: "I truly didn't know, so just now, in front of Jiang the steward, I even cursed Wang Zhen—but when I suspected Wang Zhen was forging imperial edicts, he didn't even get angry on Wang Zhen's behalf, so…"

Lu Mingzhe's expression softened. He sneered: "Of course they won't get angry for Wang Zhen—it's not Jingcheng, the Emperor's far away. Why pretend? They may bow and scrape to Wang Zhen on the surface, but inside, they despise him."

Indeed—who among the civil and military officials respected a eunuch?

Pan Yun lifted her teacup, sipped to moisten her throat, and pointed at the items on the table: "These are the evidentiary items Jiang the steward gave me. I've given my testimony too—Lord Lu, you decide what to do with them."

Lu Mingzhe: "…"

He sighed faintly: "Pan Daochang really knows how to pass the buck."

Pan Yun smiled slightly: "Actually, I'm a good person."

Lu Mingzhe stared at her in silence.

Pan Yun wore an innocent expression: "I was approached. If I'd hidden it and just followed his orders, wouldn't that have ruined your case and unnecessarily increased the difficulty of your investigation?"

"If I'd refused, it would've been worse—I might've died without a grave, and they'd have found another way. Alas—then you'd still be caught between two fires."

Pan Yun wore a look of profound compassion: "So why not let me do it? Though I lack the power to save heaven and earth, I possess the virtue to pity mortals. If not me, then who?"

Lu Mingzhe thought her reasoning made sense, and her actions weren't wrong—but…

Why did the hardship always land on him?

He felt Pan Yun hadn't entered hell—clearly, he had. Yet all the good reputation went to her, and he couldn't even deny it.

Lu Mingzhe watched her silently, then after a moment asked: "Pan Daochang, how do you think this should end?"

Pan Yun clapped her hands excitedly: "I actually have an idea."

She cleared her throat twice, apologetically; Lu Mingzhe's heart leapt, and he watched her tensely.

"Don't be afraid—my idea isn't great, but it's exactly what your bureaucratic circles always do." Pan Yun covered her mouth and whispered: "One word: delay!"

Lu Mingzhe leaned forward to listen closely, then straightened up, expressionless, staring at her.

"Pan Daochang, if you have no better idea, you could just keep quiet."

Pan Yun fretted: "How isn't this a good idea? If the Emperor doesn't want us to keep investigating, then we delay. We already have witnesses and evidence—focus our energy now on lifting the maritime ban. After a year or two, when the Emperor has nearly forgotten this, we strike hard again—maybe then we'll uncover the truth."

Lu Mingzhe: "Pan Daochang isn't an official—you can come and go freely, so you can delay. But I can't. Delay even a little, and I fear my official post will vanish."

Pan Yun stared at him in astonishment: "Lord Lu, you don't know how to delay a case? For a case this big, delaying half a year—or even three or five years—is perfectly normal."

Lu Mingzhe frowned at her.

Pan Yun began counting on her fingers: "First, I'll change my testimony. You shift your investigation direction. When they ask for results, you report progress: this month, say the pirate chief named several Japanese pirates involved; next month, say you're verifying those names; the month after, investigate the accounts linking those pirates to the chief…"

Pan Yun leaned closer, her tone laden with meaning: "Lord Lu, the four families are desperately blocking the maritime ban precisely because they profit immensely from smuggling. But to profit from smuggling in these waters, who could bypass the Japanese pirates?"

Lu Mingzhe suddenly understood. He whirled to face her, eyes locked on her: "So they really are colluding with sea bandits—they're just dumping all the blame onto the Japanese pirates, diverting our attention to a single knot… but that knot was always the one we needed to untie…"

"It's only a matter of untangling it sooner or later," Pan Yun straightened, smiling lightly. "That's called different paths, same destination."

It was indeed a way to solve the puzzle—but…

"If this involves the Empress Dowager, it's truly hard to investigate."

Pan Yun said: "Not just the Empress Dowager—there's also a prince. If I'm not mistaken, the remaining two are no less powerful or influential."

Lu Mingzhe tensed. He sat down heavily, head bowed, silent.

Pan Yun sat beside him and said: "Lord Lu, if you give up now, I won't mock you."

Lu Mingzhe clenched his fists. After a long while, he said: "Though I'm no good official, I know that sabotaging state policy is treason. If we don't remove this now, if we don't make an example, worse will come. But digging to the root… it won't be easy."

Pan Yun: "Even if you can't catch the mastermind, cutting off his hands and feet—making him dare not reach out again—is still a success."

Lu Mingzhe smiled: "That's exactly my thought."

With aligned goals, both sighed together. Hearing each other, they glanced at one another and couldn't help smiling.

After a moment of shared amusement, Lu Mingzhe looked at the items on the table and nodded: "I'll take the physical evidence. I'll record your testimony too. Later, I'll personally interrogate those sea bandits."

Pan Yun nodded and asked: "By the way, rumors say several sea bandits died—how many exactly? Did the chief survive?"

Lu Mingzhe smiled but said nothing.

Pan Yun raised her hand: "Fine, fine—I didn't ask."

Pan Yun rose to leave, but Lu Mingzhe called out to stop her: "Some villagers have built you a stone shrine by the harbor. I went to see it—it's terribly crude. Daoist Pan, you've rendered great service in suppressing pirates and lifting the maritime ban. The people honoring you with a shrine—the government office should fully support it. So I'll petition the local gentry for donations and build you a proper shrine on the same site. When it's done, I hope you'll grace us with your presence."

Pan Yun's eyes lit up. She said primly: "That's not appropriate, is it? Could we instead build a shrine to my master, Pan Gong? Oh—you don't know my master yet? He's the deity of Mount Sanqing—his name is Pan Gong."

Lu Mingzhe: "…Pan Gong is a god. This is Mazu's sacred ground—it wouldn't be fitting to erect his shrine here."

"Then I—"

Lu Mingzhe studied her from head to toe, then said: "Pan Daochang, you have no such problem. The people are eager to build you a shrine and enshrine your longevity tablet."

Pan Yun understood: "I get it—I'm human, far beneath a god. Worshiping me won't interfere with worshiping Mazu."

Lu Mingzhe smiled: "It's merely the people's heartfelt wish—to pray for your blessings."

Pan Yun was delighted. She laughed: "Then I accept with gratitude. When the shrine is built, I'll definitely come to see it."

"The New Year is coming—this shrine will take time to build. The original stone shrine will remain untouched, to give the people a place of solace. We'll build the new one beside it. I estimate it'll be finished before Dragon Raises Its Head next year."

Pan Yun said: "Next year, if I have time, I'll definitely come to see it." "What are your plans from here, Pan Daochang?"

Pan Yun: "I've handed over the physical evidence and re-recorded the testimonies. Since you're dragging this out, I'll leave first—I have another matter to attend to, and it might open a new angle on this case. So I'll depart Quanzhou tomorrow."

Tomorrow was Little New Year; Lu Mingzhe couldn't reasonably stop her, and secondly, her departure gave him a perfect excuse to delay the case. So he nodded in agreement.

"Tomorrow, I must inspect the counties—I'm afraid I won't be able to see you off, Master Pan."

Pan Yun didn't need him to see her off, but before leaving, she wanted to place a Merit Stone inside her stone temple.

With a Merit Stone inside, she could better absorb the believers' devotional energy and merit.

These things benefited both her and the Spirit Realm immensely.

So upon returning to the Maritime Trade Office, she locked herself in her room, took out the Merit Stone she had already cut twice, measured it, and sliced off a piece as thick as a thumb.

Pan Yun tucked the Merit Stone into her sleeve, opened the door, and ran into Cao Jixiang just as he returned to the back courtyard.

Cao Jixiang saw her, his expression softening into warmth: "Master Sanzhu is going out?"

Pan Yun nodded: "Just for a walk."

Cao Jixiang immediately unfastened the money pouch from his waist and shoved it into her hand: "Take this. The New Year's coming—buy yourself some good food and fun things."

Then, thinking again, he pulled off his jade pendant and three rings from his fingers and stuffed them into her hand too: "If it's not enough, ask me again—I still have some money."

Pan Yun: …

She stared up at him, dumbfounded.

Cao Jixiang gazed at her with bright eyes—he was usually composed, but she had only ever seen this look in his eyes when he looked at the Emperor.

And she knew that in his heart, the Emperor was utterly unique—how could he look at her this way?

Pan Yun silently touched the Merit Stone in her sleeve, nodded quietly to him, and accepted the money pouch, jade pendant, and rings.

Even after she stepped past the courtyard gate, his gaze never left her.

Along the way, everyone greeted her warmly.

Far off, Seeing Miao Zhen and the others rushed over like swallows returning to their nest, clinging to her and refusing to let go.

Good. This small Merit Stone in her hand truly had powerful effects. She silently slipped it into the Spirit Realm, and Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He immediately slid off her, grinning foolishly at her.

Pan Yun affectionately patted their heads.

"Little Master Uncle, where are you going?"

"To the seaside. Prefect Lu said the people built a temple for me there."

Xiao Hong heard this and immediately came over: "I'm coming too."

Hong Yan: "Me too."

Pan Yun: "So eager?"

Xiao Hong complained: "You never let us go out at night—we're bored stiff staying in the Maritime Trade Office."

So Pan Yun took them all along, including Xue Shao and Xi Jin: "Perfect. We leave tomorrow—today is our last day of relaxation."

The group strolled to the seaside.

A temple couldn't be built right at the harbor—it had to be set back a distance.

Pan Yun seemed to sense the incense offerings; she led them walking, walking, and the path grew increasingly familiar.

Soon, the group appeared on a widened road, flanked still by shrubs and wild grass, but both sides had been expanded by one zhang, allowing two carts to pass side by side with room to spare.

Everyone turned to look at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun swallowed hard, staring at the bend ahead, murmuring: "Maybe it's just ahead, near the sea—this path is shorter…"

Wang Cong scratched his head: "Should we go take a look?"

The group moved forward, turned the corner, and fell silent.

This was the first place Pan Yun and the others had fought pirates by the sea—Ji Chi Wu Bei, the former master of A Xin, had been crushed beneath Pan Yun's feet here.

The treasure map had also been taken from here.

The place once thick with dark qi now swirled with incense smoke.

The last time they came, only some trees had been cut down to let sunlight in, making it less terrifying.

But the ground was littered with bones; Prefect Lu had ordered them collected and buried on-site.

Besides the large grave Pan Yun and the others had dug, which held many corpses, nearly a hundred scattered graves dotted the area.

And beside a pile of graves stood a stone mound, with a cloth hanging on it reading: "Dedicated to Pan Yun, Master Sanzhu, Eternal Temple."

Candles and incense sticks were jammed all around the stone mound—so many worshippers came that the front clearing was too small, so a separate area had been cleared on the sides for burning incense and candles, now lined with rows of them. At this moment, over a dozen candles still burned, clearly the worshippers had just left.

The group stood before the stone mound, silent.

Before they could react, footsteps came from the end of the path; everyone turned to see a dozen people approaching, carrying baskets.

Among them were men and women, old and young, dressed in thin clothes layered with patches. In the bitter cold, only two wore cloth shoes; the rest still wore straw sandals.

Pan Yun watched silently. As they approached, she stepped back a few paces and observed them.

They walked up, glanced oddly at the group, dared not speak, and set down their baskets before the stone mound.

Some held bowls of rice, others fish, others meat…

One by one, they placed their offerings before the mound, then lit incense and candles.

Holding incense sticks, they murmured: "Please, Master Sanzhu, protect us as we rent a boat and sail out—may our voyage be smooth, may we catch big fish…"

Nearby, another whispered: "Master Sanzhu, please protect me tonight—may I return safely, may I meet no pirates at sea…"

Pan Yun listened silently, her fists tightening slightly.

After planting their incense, they turned and looked at Pan Yun and the others: "Aren't you going to worship?"

(End of Chapter)