Chapter 118
118 Making things difficult _1
Xu Qi ‘an soon reached the bottom of the lake. His eyes were like two small light bulbs in the dark.
The bottom of the water was piled with mud. With the foundation of the White marble platform as the center, stone pillars were arranged in a unique pattern, surrounding and protecting the platform in the center.
This seemed to be some kind of formation … Xu Qian guessed in his heart.
In the capital of Da Feng, only the sorcerers of the Directorate of Celestials could set up formations. In other words, the Directorate of Celestials had also participated in the construction of the temple of mountains and rivers.
From this, it could be inferred that other than the current Emperor, the only one who knew sang Bo’s Secret was that old man, the head Warden … So, it was true that the warden was sick? Or was it caused by the collapse of the temple of mountains and rivers in Yongzhen?
Hiss … What secret was hidden here?
The power that was after sang Bo’s Secret, the thief that destroyed the temple of mountains and rivers in Yongzhen, was definitely at the king tier … ‘I’m just a small copper Gong, and I feel like I’ll be dragged into a fight between the gods at any time …’
Even if I can find out the truth, will the royal family tolerate me?
When he thought of this, Xu Qian’s heart felt heavy.
Wei Yuan has already pointed out the way for me. If. encounter any trouble that. can’t solve,. ‘ll inform the Yamen and yang Jinluo … This hint was obvious enough. I was just a pawn to Scout the way, a hunting dog in charge of tracking. If I really can’t, I can just fake my death and leave the capital.”
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, he moved his four limbs and leaned towards the stone pillar closest to him.
The surface of the stone pillar was carved with twisted, strange tadpole-like characters.
Xu Qi ‘an could roughly tell that it was some kind of language, but due to his limited cultural level, he could not interpret it. He firmly remembered a few words.
After checking a few more stone pillars and finding the same words, Xu Qi ‘an’s deep-sea phobia prompted him to leave the dark bottom of the lake.
In the quiet, deep water, he always imagined a pair of cold eyes staring at him from behind, or a huge black shadow appearing in the darkness in front of him.
Xu Qi ‘an came out of the water and returned to the boat. He put the black and gold long knife in his mouth back into the scabbard and used his Qi to steam the lake water.
Wisps of steam rose.
Li Yuchun stared at him in surprise. This kid had advanced to the Qi refining realm in his hands. How long had it been since then? how did his Qi become so dense?
“Your Qi doesn’t look like a newly advanced Qi refining stage.” Li Yuchun asked in confusion.
“I just meditate for four hours a day.” Xu Qi ‘an’s expression was innocent.
“….”Brother spring waved his hand, not willing to continue on this topic. He looked at yang Yingluo and said,”That yang guy is not convinced by you. He came up to us and analyzed the underwater situation just now, and we have some gains. He also said that if your analysis was the same as his, he would be convinced.
“We’re all on the same team, there’s no need to hide.”
The tall and thin Yang Feng smiled and did not refute.
Xu Qi ‘an glanced at the bearded man, Min Shan. He did not speak, but he was staring at Xu Qi’ an, waiting for him to speak.
Xu Qi ‘an rolled his eyes and said,”from the cracks on the platform, we can deduce that the explosion point was in the temple, not underwater.” In addition, the gunpowder was most likely hidden in the temple after the ancestral worship ceremony. It will be less than two hours before the end of the ancestral worship ceremony.”
“If they had hidden in the temple in advance, the smell of gunpowder would have been strong. When His Majesty entered the temple, he would have definitely smelled it. He would only have a chance after the end of the ancestral worship. Arrest all the officers in charge of the closing, the court of judicial Review’s officials, and the Ministry of Rites ‘officials, and interrogate them one by one. Yang yinluo, you’ll handle this.
“In addition, inform the Yamen and ask His Majesty for a few white-robed Celestials to assist in this case. Boss, you do it. En, I need Lady Cai Wei from the Directorate of Celestials to help me.
“Min yinluo, follow me to the Ministry of Works. I want the access records of the gunpowder factory. It’s impossible to smuggle out such a large amount of gunpowder.”
“But before that, we must first take a look at the corpses of the soldiers who were sacrificed,” he added.
The three silver gongs looked at each other and found that this little brother was quite reliable. His tasks were arranged in an orderly manner, his thoughts were clear, and his logic was meticulous. Yang Feng and Min Shan, the two silver gongs, put away their contempt and distrust of him.
If they were in his shoes, they probably wouldn’t have been able to give him such a clear direction so quickly. They would have to think for a long time before they could clear their thoughts.
The bodies were kept in the camp. The Imperial Army took them to a tent and opened the curtain. Inside were corpses covered with white cloth.
The two tents nearby were filled with the same corpses. There were a total of 312 soldiers who were on patrol near sang Bo this time, and all of them had been sacrificed.
Xu Qi ‘an lifted the White cloth and examined the tragic state of each body.
“You can do an autopsy?” Yang Feng saw that he was getting more and more serious and couldn’t help but ask, “”What did you find?”
“I’ve discovered something big,”
“Go ahead,” The three silver gongs perked up, and even the Imperial Army Captain who was leading the way looked over.
I realized that I’m just a small copper Gong, ” Xu Qi ‘an said slowly. I still need the three of you to work hard when I encounter a battle.
All the soldiers had died in the same way, their blood essence sucked dry by some demonic technique. There were no other wounds on their bodies.
This technique was not something a Qi refining stage cultivator could deal with.
If they really encountered the thief, Xu Qi ‘an could only wave his hand and say, “Charge!
He hid behind.
…..
Xu Qi ‘an brought Min Shan to the Ministry of Works. With the gold Medallion, they were unobstructed.
He looked for the officer in charge of the gunpowder factory and said, “”I want to check the production and usage records of gunpowder in the past month.”
It was easy to fake accounts, and the most common method was to exaggerate the usage. For example, only 200 kilograms of gunpowder was needed to make a batch of artillery shells, but it was written as 300 kilograms in the record.
Another example was when making gunpowder. The raw materials transported could be used to make 200 kilograms of gunpowder, but the amount of raw materials was deliberately written down so that the excess gunpowder could be kept for private use.
But these methods couldn’t withstand investigation, as any crime would have traces.
Xu Qi ‘an didn’t trust the officials of the Ministry of Works, so he sent someone to the Yamen to get his own officials. Dozens of people poured into the Ministry of Works.
This was a cumbersome process with a lot of work, because they had to go to the raw material collection site to collect evidence and verify.
….
After having lunch at the Ministry of Works, Xu Qi ‘an sat comfortably in a big chair, picking his teeth, and watching the officials and gongs busy.
Yang Feng, who was in charge of investigating the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Rites, and the palace, had sent someone back to report.
“The Supreme Court and the Ministry of Rites each have three missing officials. Three of the palace’s officers have also disappeared.” The messenger Gong said.
In the Imperial Palace, the eunuchs of lower status were called bailiffs. They were usually doing odd jobs.
“When did she go missing?” Xu Qi ‘an sat up straight and instantly broke free from her lazy state.
the people in charge of the end of the ancestral worship ceremony have all been detained by the Ministry of Justice and the government. They have refused to hand over the people to us. “Yang yinluo is currently in a stalemate with the people from the Ministry of Justice,” Tong Luo said helplessly.
“You dare to fight with us?” Xu Qi ‘an raised his eyebrows.
Although he had only joined the night watchman for a short time, he had already been infected with the night watchman’s arrogance and arrogance.
Tong Gong explained,”the Ministry of Justice and the government have also received orders from His Majesty to investigate the case.” We’re all carrying the emperor’s orders, so they won’t cut us off. Yang yinluo doesn’t have a Gold Medallion bestowed by the Emperor, so I’ve been sent here to inform you.”
Usually, the position of the night watchman was higher than that of the other Yamen. However, there was one exception, and that was when the Emperor gave an edict.
“Let’s go over and get him!” Xu Qi ‘an was furious.
It was not strange that the Emperor had the Ministry of Justice and the government involved in this case at the same time. Many major cases were jointly investigated by many parties. It was difficult to put all the manpower and resources into one government office to deal with other matters.
The benefits of a joint investigation were obvious, but the disadvantages were equally obvious, and that was to steal credit!
for me, it doesn’t mean that I’ll be fine just because the Sang Bo case is solved. I have to make a significant contribution in this case in order for the Imperial court to pardon me from the death penalty. If I don’t make any contribution,. ‘m afraid. won’t be able to escape the punishment of beheading at the market … I won’t be polite to anyone who dares to stop me from handling this case!”
Xu Qi ‘an did not delay when his life was at stake. He grabbed the black gold long knife on the table, looked at the officials, and said in a clear voice, ”
continue to investigate the case. Check all the production and consumption records of the year. If you find any clues, each of you will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver.
As the organizer, he had the power to give a certain reward, which would be paid by the Yamen.
The eyes of the officers from the Yamen who were on Night Watch were all shining.
Twenty taels of silver was equivalent to half a year’s salary for them.
After leaving the officials behind, Xu Qi ‘an took the silver Gong, Min Shan, and the rest of the gongs and left the Ministry of Works in a hurry. He rode a fast horse and rushed to the Ministry of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice was not far away. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xu Qi ‘an saw the Red Gate of the Ministry of Justice.
The entrance was heavily guarded by two rows of armored soldiers.
Yang Feng and the six gongs were blocked outside and the two sides were in a confrontation.
the Ministry of Justice is investigating a case by decree. Those who are skilled in the Ministry of Justice will be killed without mercy if they obstruct the investigation. The middle-aged officer in the lead held his saber with one hand and scolded the night watchman.
Behind him, dozens of armored soldiers pressed on the hilt of their knives.
Yang Feng’s veins were bulging on his forehead. He had probably never been so aggrieved before. Even a nobody dared to scold him in his face.
Although he was also holding the hilt of his saber, he did not dare to be reckless. The organizer was not here, so he had no right to claim that he was following the Imperial edict to handle the case. It was impossible for the Ministry of Justice not to know that the night watchman was also ordered to participate in this case, but they deliberately stopped him outside.
He was deliberately making things difficult for them.
“Hey!” The middle-aged officer in the lead sneered. With one hand on his saber, he saw a group of Watchmen riding over from a distance.
the Ministry of Justice is on a case. Unrelated people will be killed without mercy for trespassing!
As soon as he finished shouting, he saw the young bronze Gong at the front of the horse pull out the military crossbow at his waist and pull the trigger without hesitation.
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There was another chapter at night. It would probably be a little late. I’ll stop talking and go work hard.