Volume 4: Holy Capital Tribulation Chapter 231: Time is Limited
That evening, the Neiwei Palace was brightly lit.
Xu Zun was standing with his hands behind his back, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, as if thinking about something.
He spent a whole day today, but still failed to visit all seventeen crime scenes.
The holy city was too big, and the officials lived in scattered places, so most of the time was wasted just on the journey.
He could only pick and choose and investigate the suspected victims first.
"Sir..." At this time, Ani appeared behind him with a bowl of soup, "This is the brain-stimulating soup I asked the kitchen to make for you."
"Oh?" Xu Zun raised his eyebrows, looked at the steaming medicine soup, and asked, "Wake up the brain?"
"Yes..." Ani smiled faintly, "I learned it from the Xuanmen. It is made from herbs such as musk, calamus, bezoar, and star gall."
"This..." Xu Zun took the bowl and sniffed it gently.
"What?" Seeing Xu Zun hesitate, Ani pouted her lips, "Don't you dare drink it? Don't worry, there is no poison in it. Do you want... I'll give you a taste first?"
"No..." Xu Zun smiled and clarified, "That's not what I meant. What I need now is a sleeping soup, not a brain-stimulating soup!"
"Sleep aid?" Ani frowned. "Do you want to sleep? Are you not going to investigate the case anymore?"
"Hehe... I am a human being too!" Xu Zun looked at the incredibly beautiful Yuanzhou beauty and actually felt somewhat relieved in his heart.
No wonder people say beautiful women are pleasing to the eyes!
"Then..." Ani said, "I also know a recipe that can help you sleep. Can I make it for you?"
"No need," Xu Zun joked, "As long as you warm the bed for me, I will definitely sleep well!"
Ani blushed slightly and murmured, "It's a pity that I couldn't help you, sir!"
"It's okay," Xu Zun patted Ani's shoulder gently, "I still have six days to waste."
"Sir..." Ani said, "I see you are so concerned about this assassination case. Have you found out anything?"
"Haha..." Xu Zun smiled bitterly, "The case is complicated, my mind is confused, how can I find a clue?"
"Perhaps..." Ani reminded, "The reason why Xuanmen made such a big fuss is to prevent us from finding any clues?"
"Um……"
Xu Zun nodded thoughtfully , feeling that what Annie said made sense.
Ever since he came into contact with this case, he had a feeling that there seemed to be some bigger conspiracy behind Xuanmen's large-scale assassination!
The key to uncovering the conspiracy lies among these seventeen victims.
Therefore, Xu Zun has made up his mind that he must investigate these 17 assassination cases thoroughly in order to get to the bottom of the true mystery of Xuanmen!
…
That night, Xu Zun forced himself to have a good sleep.
The next day, he followed the routine and continued to visit the assassination scenes one by one, remembering the details of each assassination case firmly in his mind.
Xue Guihua, Duke of Liang, Ying Rang, Minister of Works, Li Ren, Duke of Lushan, Han Zhang, Governor of Songzhou, Lian Ge Lao, Minister of the Cabinet, Liu Jin, Minister of the Supreme Court, Cao Ding, Minister of Water Resources, and Xu Chi, Imperial Physician...
These names are deeply engraved in Xu Zun's mind like a brand.
After investigating the assassination scene, Xu Zun went to Bi Sheng, the leader of the Left Pavilion of the Inner Guard, to check the Xuanmen information.
Unexpectedly, there was a mountain of Xuanmen information and it was impossible for him to read it all.
However, Xu Zun was smart. He knew that Bi Sheng was not an ordinary person, so he asked Bi Sheng to answer his questions in person.
Because he had the imperial edict in his hand, Bi Sheng did not dare to disobey the order no matter how eccentric his personality was. He could only be patient and answer Xu Zun's questions one by one.
Through Bi Sheng's answer, Xu Zun roughly understood the origin of Xuanmen and the royal family's attitude towards Xuanmen.
It turns out that the Xuan Sect did not revive from the ashes, but they had always existed during the hundred years since the founding of the Great Xuan Dynasty, but they had never become a major force.
Just as Tie Jing said, what everyone thinks is the Xuanmen is just some petty thieves who shout slogans and carry out spiritual movements, and they are not worthy of being on the table at all.
The so-called Xuanmen rebels who were caught in the past were just some people like the Chongtian Temple bandits. They joined Xuanmen just to make a living and had no access to the inside story of Xuanmen.
It can also be said that before Xu Zun revealed the secret base of Qinglan Temple, the royal family did not pay enough attention to it.
Therefore, the rise of Xuanmen today is definitely abnormal !
Not only Xu Zun, but even the Queen Mother had already sensed that there must be a master behind this mysterious sect.
It is precisely because of this that Xu Zun has even more reason to believe that Xuanmen’s ultimate goal is definitely not just the assassination at hand.
but……
Xuanmen probably underestimated the ability of Empress Dowager Lin. They thought that this assassination would be enough to cause chaos in the world, but they didn't expect that the Empress Dowager would use it for their own benefit and suppress the crisis with the toughest means in history.
Perhaps, Xuanmen’s so-called “heavenly calamity” operation has been disrupted by the Queen Mother?
Of course, after finally catching a capable man like Bi Sheng, Xu Zun asked him for detailed information about the 17 victims.
This time, Bi Sheng didn't dare to use Xiaoyi to perfunctorily answer Xu Zun's questions. Instead, he answered every one of Xu Zun's questions.
Upon asking, it turned out to be just as Xu Zun had expected. Bi Sheng controlled the highest intelligence department of Daxuan, and the information he knew was indeed different from the rumors outside.
For example, Li Ren, Duke of Lushan, was addicted to refining elixirs and wanted to become an immortal, so he was reprimanded by the empress dowager.
Cabinet Minister Lian Ge Lao's involvement in buying official positions was exposed and he was preparing to retire and return home.
The Holy City Transport Envoy embezzled public funds and enriched himself, and is currently under investigation by the Internal Security Department.
The Songzhou governor Han Zhang was even more outrageous. He liked to steal other people’s wives, and he was actually sued by the emperor...
The Dali Temple Minister Liu Jin also had many stains, and what’s even more interesting is that.
On the day he was murdered, Li Jinlou invited Liu Jin to his home with the purpose of framing Xu Zun for a crime in order to avenge Shangyuan City.
Upon hearing the news, Xu Zun narrowed his eyes slightly and had already developed murderous intent.
He said in his heart, You, Li Jinlou, how dare you plot against me.
Just wait for me. If I, Xu Zun, can't solve the case, then I'll consider you a bit righteous. But if I solve the case, I will never forget you!
…
That evening, news came from the Inner Guard Palace that General Jinghui had sent people to bring Ye Hanchen, the Taoist master of the Southwest Sect of Xuanmen, to the Inner Guard Palace, and Cai Kun and others were stepping up their interrogation.
Now, Ye Hanchen is the only senior figure of Xuanmen who was captured alive, so the inner guards naturally pay special attention to him.
However, Xu Zun had already predicted this. Through chatting and talking with Zi Jian and Fei Shuang along the way, he already knew that these people knew very little.
They are nothing more than tools used by Xuanmen to make money, and they have no idea about the advanced operations of Xuanmen.
Therefore, to capture the Xuanmen rebels, we have to start with the assassination case...
…
On the third day, Chen Taiji, Tie Jing and Dongfang Yaorao dealt with the affairs of their respective units and returned to report to Xu Zun.
The three of them thought that Xu Zun was going to take them around again, but they didn't expect that Xu Zun didn't go anywhere. Instead, he asked them questions for a whole day looking at two maps.
Of these two maps, one is of the Holy City of Mysterious Mystery, and the other is of the Great Mysterious Palace...
