Chapter 996

The two exchanged what they had discovered, and dawn was nearly upon them.

Xue Shao didn't feel sleepy, only his eyes were bloodshot; he said, "The Feng family's martial arts matchmaking is the day after tomorrow. I must be there at the hour of Si. Will you come?"

Pan Yun nodded: "I'll go to watch the spectacle. Will you take the stage?"

Xue Shao shook his head: "Before the martial arts matchmaking, we must gather all the evidence of his crimes."

Pan Yun: "So we only have one day left."

Xue Shao: "There's still one night."

True, things can be done at night.

For Pan Yun now, going two or three days without sleep was no issue, but Xue Shao needed to rest a bit.

So as soon as Pan Yun left, he lay down on the bed; Xi Jin half-asleep woke up, turned to look at the young master soundly asleep, and muttered, "The young master is also sleeping in."

Pan Yun returned to her room to meditate, cultivated two full cycles, then went out.

She felt Feng Hongde's estates and granaries still held many points worth probing.

Such massive encroachments on public, official, and private farmland must involve someone trading with him and helping him conceal it.

What did those people want, and what did they gain?

And as for the grain in three granaries, who handled its shipment, and where was it sent?

Was it directly exchanged for cash on the market, or did it go elsewhere?

If we could trace this thread, we might uncover the person backing Feng Hongde.

If the Chaozhou Garrison Commander operates like this, and the Guangdong Military Command knows nothing, who is concealing him—how could they possibly hide it from the Military Command?

If the Guangdong Military Command knows, why do they turn a blind eye? Who did Feng Hongde bribe?

Does the Five Military Directorates know about this?

Since we've already caught the tail, let's follow the vine—she wanted to see just how long the vine was and how extensive its roots.

Even if she didn't pull it up, she had to understand it fully.

And Xue Shao, leveraging his Provincial Graduate status, rose to become Feng Hongde's honored guest and his most desired son-in-law; he not only showed him around his own mansion but also introduced him to Prefect Lin of Chaozhou and other officials.

Within a single day, not only the other suitor candidates in the guest villa, but even the teahouses and taverns of the city knew: Feng Garrison Commander had found his ideal son-in-law—the Xue Wen, the Provincial Graduate who had won first place at the Perfumed Pavilion poetry gathering the day before.

"Is this even a martial arts matchmaking? That Xue Provincial Graduate looks like a frail scholar—he'll get crushed the moment he steps on stage!"

Yuan Zhi was another popular suitor candidate; before Xue Shao appeared, he was the most likely to win the young lady's hand. Rumor had it that the Feng Young Lady had secretly watched him.

There was gossip in the Feng household that the Feng Young Lady was very pleased with Yuan Zhi.

The gambling dens had lowered Yuan Zhi's odds to the minimum, but since Xue Shao appeared, Yuan Zhi's odds skyrocketed, leaving those who had bet on him anxious and unable to withdraw their wagers—now they hesitated whether to scrape together more money to bet on Xue Shao instead.

"He can't win a fight, but will Yuan Zhi even get to step on the stage? If Feng Garrison Commander has already set his sights on Xue Provincial Graduate, he'll have ways to ensure Xue Provincial Graduate wins." "He's just a Provincial Graduate, isn't he? I think Yuan Zhi is better. Feng Garrison Commander is a military officer—he must choose someone with martial skill, so their son can inherit the position, right?"

"Short-sighted! Even if it's hereditary, the grandson can only be a Garrison Commander at best. To rise further, he must go to war and earn merit—but on the battlefield, only real ability matters; otherwise, you won't even know how you died. But if you marry Xue Provincial Graduate, produce several clever sons, and send them through the imperial examinations, you might lift the entire Feng family out of military status and onto a smooth path—better than keeping your head on a belt?"

While everyone was buzzing, Xue Shao met privately with Prefect Lin.

Prefect Lin stood before Xue Shao, drenched in cold sweat.

Xue Shao flipped through the ledgers on the desk and looked at the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing by: "Is this what you uncovered?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard glanced at Prefect Lin, then said: "Prefect Lin knew of my lord's plans. To prevent him from ruining them, we had to act first."

Prefect Lin immediately said: "Lord Xue, I did not inform Feng Garrison Commander. You just saw—he recommended you to me and knows nothing of your true identity."

He sweated profusely, stammering: "These… these things—I had no choice. If I didn't take them, I wouldn't just lose my post as Prefect of Chaozhou—I wouldn't even be able to resign alive."

Xue Shao closed the ledger and asked: "How can a mere Garrison Commander wield such power?"

Prefect Lin quickly complained: "Officials like me are outsiders. Feng Hongde holds military rank here, and even after being transferred elsewhere, he always rotates back within Guangdong and Fujian—no one knows why, but he keeps returning to Chaozhou."

Prefect Lin sighed: "When I took office, he was already Feng Ban Cheng. He's the Garrison Commander, theoretically responsible only for military affairs—but all the gentry and major merchants here obey him. One word from him, and my prefectural office can't collect even thirty percent of the taxes—not to mention sending them to the imperial treasury, we can't even afford to run our own office."

"Without salary, who in my office would do anything? My lord, even if I had talent, without rice or money, what can I do?" Prefect Lin wiped his forehead and hurried to the bookshelf to pull out a copy of the Analects.

In front of Xue Shao and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he peeled open the cover—both saw it wasn't the Analects, but a ledger.

Prefect Lin offered it with both hands: "My lord, please see—this is my record over the years. Everything Feng Hongde gave me, I dared not keep a single coin—I used it all for the people."

Xue Shao opened it.

Prefect Lin cautiously stole a glance at Xue Shao's expression, then hurriedly added: "I know military and civil affairs are separate, and Censorate officials are few and rarely inspect military matters—but since three years ago, I've anonymously reported to the Censorate that several prefectures under the Guangdong Military Command have soldiers on the payroll without serving, and have seized public farmland. Chaozhou was listed first."

Xue Shao: "Anonymous?"

Prefect Lin grimaced: "If I didn't remain anonymous, I wouldn't be alive to meet you now."

Xue Shao closed the ledger and asked: "Did any Censor come to investigate?"

"Three have come in three years—you're the fourth. But…"

Xue Shao cut in: "What happened to them? Did they find anything?"

Prefect Lin lowered his eyes: "The first, Censor Deng, arrived and declared Chaozhou had no issues. Since the report was anonymous, he assumed the accuser was hiding his identity and acting out of personal malice—so it was dropped. Soon after, Censor Huang came—he was here only half a month before he was killed by bandits while investigating a case outside the city. Feng Garrison Commander led troops to exterminate that bandit gang. Last year, Censor Zheng came, investigated for two months, then left—and no word has come since."