81: Fan Xian abuses the courtesan! Si Lili escapes!

Chapter 81: Fan Xian Abuses the Courtesan! Si Lili Escapes!

"Lao Xing, Fang Daren has a secret, and Li Yunrui wants to silence his entire family."

"The Shadow Guard has the authority to apprehend assassins in the capital. You should take your men and treat those attempting to silence him as assassins, helping that general avoid the calamity of his family's extermination."

Xing Yusen pondered for a moment, then asked, "Regarding the assassination case, the clues about the weaponry are so obvious. Why isn't the Supervisory Council protecting the witness?"

Li Chang'an smiled, "Lao Xing, Zhu Ge, who is temporarily in charge of the Supervisory Council, is also Li Yunrui's person."

Hearing this, Wang Qinian was utterly dumbfounded, "Zhu Ge, that thick-browed and big-eyed man, is also Li Yunrui's person!"

"Just how much influence does The Eldest Princess, Li Yunrui, have in the court!"

The two in front of him were both trusted confidants of Li Chang'an's direct lineage, so Li Chang'an didn't mind telling them more.

As they advanced to the ninth rank, they would need to make many on-the-spot decisions in the future, and knowing more wouldn't hurt.

"Zhu Ge, the head of the Supervisory Council in the capital; Guo Youzhi, Minister of Rites; Han Zhiwei, Minister of Justice; Yan Xiao Yi, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards; and Lin Gong, Second Young Master of the Prime Minister's Residence."

"In addition, she has a very secret villa in the capital, with over a hundred seventh and eighth-rank experts, and more than a dozen handsome male companions."

"Finally, she also maintains a private army of five thousand outside the capital..."

Even with all that, Li Chang'an hadn't even mentioned Li Yunrui's smuggling from the Imperial Treasury, which made her as rich as a nation.

Hearing Li Chang'an's words, Wang Qinian and Xing Yusen, both ninth-rank experts, were stunned.

Xing Yusen muttered, "My goodness! This is practically rebellion!"

Wang Qinian also couldn't help but exclaim, "Such overwhelming power! She would even have a few chances of success if she rebelled!"

Li Yunrui outwardly supported the Crown Prince, secretly engaged in smuggling with the Second Prince, and at the deepest level, had a deeply rooted relationship with the Crown Prince.

Li Yunrui was Emperor Qing's most powerful tool for wielding power; she had a cooperative relationship with both princes.

Her goal was that no matter who the next emperor was, she would be able to control the greatest power in the Qing Kingdom.

By saving Fang Daren, Fan Xian might be able to uncover the true mastermind.

If Fan Xian knew that Lin Gong was the mastermind behind the Niulan Street assassination, it could ignite conflict between Fan Xian and the Prime Minister's Residence.

To make the two sides irreconcilable, with Lin Ruofu desperately opposing the imperial marriage between Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er—this was Li Chang'an's true objective.

Supervisory Council.

Fan Xian tried to use his Ti Si (Commissioner) token to intervene in the assassination investigation, but Zhu Ge blocked him.

Because Fan Xian was a party to the assassination case, he was not suitable to participate in the investigation.

The two came out of Zhu Ge's room, and Fan Xian became increasingly distrustful of Zhu Ge.

"Zong Zhui, why do I feel that everything Zhu Ge says implies that the mastermind is from Northern Qi and Eastern Yi?"

"Although Cheng Jushu and the assassins are from Northern Qi, and the two female swordswomen are from Eastern Yi, why would these two countries send people to kill me?"

"Since they came to assassinate me, the mastermind should be in the Qing Kingdom court!"

Zhu Ge deliberately led them astray, firstly to cover for The Eldest Princess, and secondly to build momentum for a major war.

If the mastermind was determined to be an enemy nation, this sensational assassination case in the capital could become the fuse for the next Northern Expedition!

Such an outcome was what Emperor Qing wanted to see, and what the Qing Kingdom needed.

Zhu Ge was also leveraging this grand trend to conceal the truth for Li Yunrui and the Crown Prince.

Zong Zhui said with a bitter expression, "Zhu Ge is currently temporarily in charge of the Supervisory Council.

You only have me. Why don't we just wait for Chief Zhu's investigation results?"

Fan Xian said fiercely, "No! Zhu Ge's investigation direction is all wrong."

"Or rather, he only wants to cater to the Qing Kingdom's grand ambition of a Northern Expedition and has no intention of finding out the true mastermind."

"Although Old Zhang and Old Zhao spent little time with me, we were very close. They cannot die so inexplicably!"

"I must avenge them and seek justice for myself!"

Zong Zhui blinked, recalling Chen Pingping's instructions.

Chen Pingping said that if Fan Xian dared to investigate, then cooperate, and let him investigate however he wanted!

Zong Zhui basically confirmed that Chen Pingping valued Fan Xian extremely highly and had very high expectations.

He even suspected that Fan Xian was Chen Pingping's illegitimate son!

Few people in the world knew that Chen Pingping was a eunuch, and those who knew helped him conceal it.

Just as Zong Zhui was about to offer Fan Xian the clue of the Patrol Division general, Fan Xian already had a direction.

"Zong Zhui, the Second Prince's suspicion can be ruled out first; he has no reason to assassinate me."

"It would be quite foolish for him to specifically invite me to dinner and then arrange an assassination."

"When I first arrived in the capital, I was cautious in my actions. Besides my father, I didn't tell anyone about the meeting location."

"There's one more person who knew I would be passing through Niulan Street, and that's the courtesan Ruo Wei!"

Zong Zhui was a bit puzzled, "Why does Young Master feel that the courtesan Ruo Wei is suspicious?

She's just a Brothel girl; why would she assassinate you?"

Fan Xian recalled, "When she was pouring wine for me before, I smelled the scent of poison and aphrorodisiac on her."

"Although it was very faint, I've studied poisons with my Master for many years, so I could smell it as soon as I got close."

"Therefore, this courtesan's identity is definitely not simple; at the very least, she comes from a Jianghu School like Langya Pavilion!"

Zong Zhui said, "Without further ado, Drunken Immortal Tavern isn't far. Let's go take a look first!"

Zong Zhui said this because he was worried that Zhu Ge would get there first, as Zhu Ge had more clues than Fan Xian.

It was just early evening, and the most popular courtesans hadn't started their shifts yet.

Fan Xian, relying on his Supervisory Council identity, directly stormed into Ruo Wei's room. Ruo Wei's face immediately lit up with joy upon seeing Fan Xian's arrival.

"Young Master Fan, Junior Martial Champion, it's been so long. This humble one has missed you terribly."

"That night, you tried so hard to burrow into my arms but then didn't dare to stay overnight. Now you regret it, don't you..."

Fan Xian had indeed burrowed into the girl's arms, and not just burrowed, but burrowed very deeply, because he wanted to smell the medicinal scent!

Listening to the courtesan's words, Fan Xian immediately interrupted, "That night... nothing happened. I'm looking for you now for an urgent matter!"

"What's going on with the poisons and aphrodisiacs on you, and what is your true identity!"

Ruo Wei was, after all, Si Lili's subordinate, and her abilities in all aspects were not very strong yet. She became a little nervous upon hearing Fan Xian's words.

But Fan Xian was anxious! If Ruo Wei was a Northern Qi spy, then Zhu Ge's men would be here any minute.

Ruo Wei smiled charmingly, pressing herself against Fan Xian.

"Young Master Fan, you're so fierce..."

Fan Xian pushed her away, "Zong Zhui, watch the door and guard outside!"

Zong Zhui went outside the door, closing it. Suddenly, a woman's scream came from inside the room!

Each scream was louder than the last, and each more tragic!

Zong Zhui couldn't help but want to go in and see how Commissioner Fan was torturing that little beauty; it sounded exciting!

Seeing that people were gradually gathering and discussing, Zong Zhui became furious, "What are you looking at? Haven't you seen such entertainment before? Disperse, disperse..."

A quarter of an hour later, a furious shout suddenly came from the stairwell!

"The Supervisory Council is handling a case, make way quickly!"

Zong Zhui looked down and saw more than a dozen officials from the Department One already ascending the stairs.

"Bang!"

Zong Zhui opened the door, just in time to see Fan Xian saying something to Ruo Wei with a sinister smile.

Ruo Wei's face was pale, drenched in sweat, and her body trembled, as if she had just endured a great battle.

"Young Master, the Department One's people are here!"

Fan Xian sneered, "Perfect timing. We'll leave through the other side!"

At this moment, Ruo Wei cried out, "Young Master Fan, you promised to protect my life and reputation."

Fan Xian shouted from a distance, "If what you said is true, I will never go back on my word!"

The two escaped through the back door, and then heard that the Department One of the Supervisory Council had arrested Ruo Wei and two other popular courtesans.

Zong Zhui asked curiously, "Young Master, did you get any results?"

Fan Xian smiled proudly, "I found out! She and the two courtesans who were just arrested are all Northern Qi spies!"

"Ruo Wei did indeed tell her superior, who is also her Master, Si Lili, about my whereabouts when I passed through Niulan Street!"

"Si Lili had contact with two masked female assassins in white. The female swordswomen's Master is a Young Master, but Ruo Wei and the others didn't see his face clearly."

Zong Zhui praised, "Young Master truly has excellent methods; you immediately dug out the clue about Si Lili!"

Fan Xian continued, "Si Lili is the key to this case; she definitely knows the mastermind behind the assassination!"

"The good news now is that we know about Si Lili earlier than Zhu Ge."

"The bad news is that Si Lili, after learning the assassination failed, has already fled!"

Actually, Zhu Ge knew about Si Lili even earlier than Fan Xian, because The Eldest Princess had already communicated with Zhu Ge.

This branch of spies, including Si Lili, was an open secret to Li Yunrui. With the assassination mission failed, Si Lili, who had met Lin Gong, had to be silenced.

Now that Si Lili had escaped, Zhu Ge had already cast a wide net and begun pursuing her.

Si Lili's subordinates, which included Ruo Wei and the other two popular courtesans, had not met Lin Gong.

However, they were genuine Northern Qi spies, and naturally became Zhu Ge's military achievements.

"Zong Zhui, you are known as the Wing of the Supervisory Council, most skilled in lightness techniques and tracking. Do you think you can catch up to Si Lili?"

Zong Zhui replied, "The city gates are closed tonight. We'll depart tomorrow morning. With our lightness techniques, we should have a good chance of catching Si Lili!"

Imperial Study.

Li Chang'an was called in at the last minute and stood idly, listening to Emperor Qing scold his two sons.

He had just recounted to Emperor Qing the incident of Xing Yusen and Wang Qinian killing the assassins.

After all, neither the Supervisory Council nor the Garrison Division arrived at the scene immediately, so the Shadow Guard's information was the most reliable.

Emperor Qing roared at his two sons, "Who exactly was behind today's assassination!"

Li Chang'an now felt that Emperor Qing was well aware that the true culprit was Li Yunrui.

Few people in the Great Qing Kingdom could mobilize Northern Qi forces, and coupled with the grudge against Fan Xian, it could only be Li Yunrui.

The other old Qin Family, who also held a grudge against Fan Xian, had killed Ye Qingmei back then.

But now, few people knew that Fan Xian was Ye Qingmei's son.

Emperor Qing was using this incident to temper Fan Xian, sharpen the Crown Prince, scheme against the Second Prince, and incidentally keep Li Chang'an busy.

So, Li Chang'an really felt utterly bored.

The Crown Prince and the Second Prince knelt side by side, their expressions very solemn.

The Crown Prince prostrated himself, "Although this son may be foolish, he would never be so presumptuous!"

The Second Prince stood up straight, his tone also firm, "This son has an excellent relationship with Fan Xian; there is no reason to kill him!"

Emperor Qing angrily said, "Then tell me, who did it!"

The Crown Prince said, "The culprits are all Northern Qi assassins. This matter should be a Northern Qi conspiracy!"

The Second Prince stiffened his neck and said, "Fan Xian just won the Junior Martial Champion title; it shouldn't be enough to incur Northern Qi's enmity!"

"If Northern Qi truly wanted to kill someone to diminish the Great Qing's prestige, Uncle Prince Yong would be the first choice!"

"Therefore, this son believes this matter was not planned by Northern Qi!"

Li Chang'an couldn't help but say, "Chengze, don't drag this King into it at a time like this."

"This King's Shadow Guard already has two ninth-rank experts. If Northern Qi wants to kill me, Lang Tao himself would probably have to come."

Emperor Qing, however, said, "Chengze makes a good point. Northern Qi absolutely could not have assassinated Fan Xian!"

Li Chengze continued, "Since that's the case, then whoever has a grievance with Fan Xian is the one who did it!"

"A little over a month ago, when Fan Xian entered the capital, someone tried to ruin his reputation. As soon as this son helped Fan Xian's reputation gradually improve, someone tried to take his life."

"The person who wants to kill Fan Xian is the same person who tried to ruin Fan Xian's reputation in the first place!"

The Crown Prince quickly retorted, "How can Second Brother utter such a malicious accusation! You don't realize the power of words!"

"This isolated one sent Guo Baokun to tirelessly help Fan Xian clear his name, but it was merely a failure at the last step."

"The Qing Kingdom Chess Saint's reputation was just one step away from being established, but unexpectedly, Wan'er ruined it."

Li Chengze snorted, "This son suspects that the Crown Prince sending a useless person like Guo Baokun to help Fan Xian was absolutely intentional!"

"Guo Baokun, in both the poetry gathering and the Chess Saint matters, only made Fan Xian's reputation worse!"

The Crown Prince suddenly had a thought; no wonder he wasn't angry when Guo Baokun messed things up. It turned out that subconsciously, he had hoped Guo Baokun would fail!

Li Chang'an stroked his chin, looking as if he had just realized something. The little alpaca was right; the Crown Prince was definitely intentional.

Emperor Qing angrily said, "Enough! I ask you, can killing solve problems?"

The Crown Prince said, "The world is full of troubles, a thousand threads and a myriad of loose ends. How can killing solve them!"

The Second Prince also kowtowed, "This son also believes it cannot."

Emperor Qing said sarcastically, "I think it can!"

"If Fan Xian is an eyesore, kill Fan Xian. If the yamen demands accountability, slaughter the yamen!"

"If Li Chang'an blocks you from killing, you can also slaughter the Shadow Guard!"

The Second Prince immediately said, "Slaughter the Shadow Guard? This son cannot do it!"

The Crown Prince echoed, "This son cannot do it either!"

Emperor Qing was just making a comparison, but he didn't expect his two sons to actually start sizing it up.

"You scoundrels! Do you really have thoughts of killing your Uncle Prince Yong!"

"If I block your path, will you also slaughter the Imperial Guards and kill me too!"

Having learned from his previous misspoken words, the Crown Prince immediately changed his phrasing, "If this son harbors such a thought, may heaven and earth strike him down!"

The Second Prince immediately agreed, "This son feels the same!"

Emperor Qing had lectured them enough. He sighed, "Solving problems by killing is the delusion of heinous villains!"

"Without a benevolent heart, how can one rule the world!"

"You two, you may leave. Prince Yong, you stay!"

His two nephews obediently left. Li Chang'an was somewhat surprised; why was he being asked to stay now?

The Shadow Guard was not responsible for investigating cases, and he had always been very low-key.