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Chapter 96: Chapter 94: Home Visit
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Alliance is alliance, spy is spy.
The Inspection Department’s target is spies, spies from any court must be caught.
Even if Da Zhen and Da Jing are in alliance, Da Zhen’s spies lurking within Da Jing will not be let off, except possibly being spared at a critical moment.
Da Zhen and Da Jing are now allies, but who knows if they will be in the future, and even if they are, it doesn’t mean there won’t be conflicts.
If a man has no long-term concerns, he must have near-term worries, the Court even more so.
So, catching Da Zhen’s spies won’t be without merit due to the alliance, merit is still calculated by previous standards.
Through those two young servants, each caught a superior contact.
These two superiors are different from the young servants, each has at least four or five subordinates.
Now more importantly, they want to catch the superiors of these two superiors.
They believe that if these two’s superiors point to two people, that’s fine, but if they point to one, it might be a major leader of Da Zhen’s spies in Yujing, or even the general person in charge.
If they can find this person, the merit would be significant, and the whole Inspection Department is motivated, wanting to catch this big fish.
As for whether Chu Zhiyuan can continue to inspect the records of the Inspection Department, there have been no instructions from above, so the old rules followed.
Chu Zhiyuan had brought such a big merit last time, plus his previous act, even after giving him the Flying Dragon Bone, they still owe him a great favor.
So Leng Nanfeng did not specifically bring up the issue of Chu Zhiyuan’s authority.
Thus, Chu Zhiyuan continues to have access to the Inspection Department’s records.
Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Is there any news from the Four Directions Pavilion?"
"The Da Zhen mission’s?"
"Yes."
"Please wait a moment, Your Highness." Ma Tianhe quietly left and quickly brought a pile of records to the desk: "These are from the past few days."
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "I heard the Da Meng mission has come too?"
"The Da Meng mission has reached Liuli Pass; barring any surprises, they could arrive in ten days."
"Nothing happened along the way?"
"Initially, they disguised as a caravan, kept a low profile, and only at Liuli Pass was the peculiarity discovered."
"Sneaking through customs?" Chu Zhiyuan frowned, "Even so, they acknowledged them?"
"The mission includes the Ninth Princess of Da Meng." Ma Tianhe showed a helpless look, "She’s stunningly beautiful, impossible to impersonate, and there’s also a Great Grandmaster for protection."
"Ninth Princess?" Chu Zhiyuan showed curiosity.
Ma Tianhe pondered and softly said, "Please wait a moment, Your Highness."
He quickly brought a record box to the desk, "Here is some information about the Ninth Princess."
Chu Zhiyuan slowly thanked, "Thank you, Minister Ma. I’ll take a look and let you know."
He first checked the news from the Four Directions Pavilion.
Besides the Da Zhen mission, there were missions from two small countries, the Da Lie Dynasty to the east and the Da Jian Dynasty to the northeast.
For Da Jing, Da Zhen, and Da Meng, these two small countries were not worth much attention, unworthy of their regard.
The Da Lie Dynasty, distant over the East Sea, was an island nation, plagued by internal strife and mutual slaughter, its strength greatly diminished, hardly worth mentioning.
The Da Lie Dynasty admired the Da Jing Dynasty, always regarding it as a superior nation.
The Da Jian Dynasty, too, was weak, not worth much mention.
The Da Jing Dynasty didn’t even bother sending people to explore their true conditions; they sent envoys with gifts, and the Da Jing Dynasty would return some in kind.
Chu Zhiyuan scanned over the missions of the two dynasties but found no figures worth noting.
Then came the Da Zhen mission.
Cheng Tianfeng stayed behind closed doors, yet drank a lot and summoned beautiful women from the book halls to accompany his drinking.
According to the record, he called six women in one night, needing female company every night, truly not happy without women.
Is this not hardship training?
Could he have been broken by himself? A shattered pot breaking?
He frowned in deep thought.
Finally decided he must go see for himself.
Of course, before going, he must put down the flying knife, lest the Great Grandmaster snatch it back. n𝚘𝚟pub.𝚌o𝚖
...
Besides Cheng Tianfeng, others in the Da Zhen mission were very active.
The officials of the Da Zhen mission were closely interacting with officials of the Court.
Prince Zhuang met Prince Ying daily, drinking at different taverns in Yujing, accompanied by a group of officials.
Other officials met as well, be it in book halls, taverns, or scenic spots.
Da Zhen’s mission officials were warmly received.
The Inspection Department even recorded their interactions and conversations.
Officials from both sides were scrutinizing various details.
Like trade exchanges, currency settlements, where to set up markets, how many military systems to set, how many barracks to withdraw on each border, and setting limits on the number of border troops on each side.
Chu Zhiyuan saw the intense confrontations amid their laughter.
Only Cheng Tianfeng remained within the Four Directions Pavilion all day, refusing to let anyone near, leaving everyone wondering what he was actually up to.
Even the female escorts, when asked afterwards, only said it was just light chat over drinks, inquiring about odd news, and market stories.
Chu Zhiyuan clenched his sword-like brows.
Eager to see what Cheng Tianfeng was really doing.
Chu Zhiyuan mused, "Minister Ma, Yao Yue Palace..."
"Your Highness..." Ma Tianhe showed an embarrassed look.
Chu Zhiyuan waved, "Forget it."
It seems he still couldn’t access the news of Yao Yue Palace now.
The Yao Yue Palace, along with the other three Great Sects, were not within his reach, lack of authority likely meant few could see.
Afterwards, he reviewed the news of Da Meng’s Ninth Princess, his expression sternly grave.
——
"Sir." Gao Lingfeng came up, clasping his fists in a salute, his expression solemn: "The Military Suppression Department has acted, expelling the people on the list from Yujing."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded and entered his room.
He glanced at Gao Lingfeng’s tense face, "Minister Gao still has grudges?"
"I wouldn’t dare!" Gao Lingfeng seriously followed him inside.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Let’s see how they perform soon, whether there will be another assassination."
"Even if there is no assassination, they might do something else." Gao Lingfeng was extremely wary and resentful of these reckless and fearless martial arts experts.
They dared boldly and feared no death, valuing their own lives little, how would they value others’, especially carrying high martial prowess, who knows how many innocents might suffer.
Chu Zhiyuan didn’t attempt to persuade him, knowing Gao Lingfeng, although unconvinced and disapproving, would still execute orders, then said: "Nothing unforeseen happened on the way, right?"
"They left quietly, very strange." Gao Lingfeng frowned, "Seemed not to resist, ... could they have already known this news, thus having countermeasures?"
Chu Zhiyuan raised a brow, "Bai Jingrong?"
Gao Lingfeng seriously, "Not impossible."
Chu Zhiyuan pondered deeply behind the desk.
Bai Jingrong could not cause a great stir, but the Yao Yue Palace was uncertain.
Unfortunately, within the Inspection Department, he could not see the Yao Yue Palace’s news, thus relying on the Military Suppression Department’s sources.
This matter concerned his own merits.
If resolved perfectly this incident, he could certainly gain a high-grade merit, likely breaking through the eighth grade to the seventh, or even higher.
Perhaps even the sixth-grade merit.
If plus the spy issue, perhaps he might rise to the fifth grade, should the spy matter fail, paired with the palace poisoning incident, might he rise to the fifth-grade merit?
There was great hope.
To practice the Fourth Layer, marrow refining, Dragon Blood or Dragon Bone might be needed.
Merely relying on his own cultivation progress was too slow.
"Please bring Master Huang over."
"Yes, Sir."
...
Huang Shiron arrived quickly, bringing the latest developments.
All warriors on the list were expelled from Yujing and prohibited from re-entering within a month, or they would be directly sent to the Military Suppression Department’s prison.
These people had already returned separately, not lingering on the outskirts of the capital.
The Military Suppression Department dispatched tracking experts to monitor those grandmasters, preventing any pretense, ready to strike with a counterattack.
Otherwise, the Military Suppression Department would become a laughingstock.
"What about the experts of the Yao Yue Palace, any clues?"
Huang Shiron lightly knit her brows, "Found no traces of Yao Yue Palace experts, they always come and go without a trace, very hard to detect unless they show themselves."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded slowly.
No news was actually the best news.
...
After Huang Shiron left, Chu Zhiyuan led Zou Fang, Gao Jiong, Sun Yanwu, and Ji Dongxiao out of the Ministry of Rites office, moving toward the Four Directions Pavilion.
At the entrance of the Four Directions Pavilion street, they were stopped, but upon reporting his position as Junior Minister of Rites, they were allowed through.
Chu Zhiyuan walked leisurely inside, his Super Sense observing the defense of the Lingshuang Iron Cavalry.
The whole street of the Four Directions Pavilion was enveloped by the Lingshuang Iron Cavalry, forming a cohesive unit, any intrusion was within the striking range of the Lingshuang Iron Cavalry.
The wide street, flat and desolate, was extremely conducive to cavalry charges.
Ensuring the battle strength of the Lingshuang Iron Cavalry remained intact.
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