Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 170: Three Days
The imperial palace of Daliang was called Jiankang Palace, also known as Taicheng. Its walls were high, wide and solid, with three layers, inner and outer.

Within the outer palace walls were stationed the imperial guards of the city and various inner court institutions.

Within the second palace wall are central government offices such as the Secretariat and the Yongfu Province where the princes live.

The third wall is the real inner palace. In front is the court, where the main palace Taiji Hall, as well as the East Hall and West Hall are built. In the back is the bedroom, in the middle of which is the Emperor's bedroom-style Qian Hall, also known as Zhongzhai.

It was already late at night, but the lights in the central chamber were still on. The palace servants dared not breathe, for fear of incurring the wrath of the enraged emperor.

Xiao Yan managed to remain calm as he left the Suzaku Gate, but as soon as he returned to his bedroom, he could no longer hold back his emotions and angrily scolded the civil and military officials who had come after hearing the news.

"What are you all doing? So many so-called masters can't catch a dead person!"

"After several months, you failed to catch Donghun Hou, and now Pan Yunu has appeared. Are you good-for-nothings?"

"You are a bunch of rubbish. You have allowed others to provoke me right under my nose! You have made me lose face!"

Xiao Yan has always been known for his magnanimity, and after practicing Buddhism, he has become even more tolerant of anger. But he had such an outburst today, and it was obvious that he was furious.

At this time, the eunuch came in with Chen Qianzhi.

Seeing the real boss coming, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, this kind of supernatural matter should be handled by the Gou Chensi.

"Why are you here so late?" Xiao Yan still had some feelings for his most trusted minister.

"Your Majesty, I went to check Pan Yunu's tomb urgently. It was empty and had been torn open from the inside out." Chen Qingzhi replied calmly, "She must have been summoned out by someone using the corpse-raising technique."

"Who did it?" Xiao Yan asked with a dark face.

"Currently, it is speculated that it is most likely Donghun Hou. The Corpse King is the king of all corpses, so he is naturally proficient in the art of resurrecting corpses." Chen Qingzhi reported.

"It's not a possibility, it's him!" Xiao Yan said with a dark face: "Pan Yunu has said it herself that she is here to issue the challenge on his behalf."

After a pause, the emperor said in a complicated tone: "Only he can wake her up..."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right!" The Chief Censor Jiang Ge stepped out of his class and said in a deep voice, "Everything is because someone released the Duke of Donghun. Didn't the Gouchen Division report last time that the culprit had been caught? I beg your Majesty to kill him first to appease the public anger!"

"We second the motion..." All the ministers echoed the idea, saying that the right thing to do was to calm the emperor's anger first, so as to avoid causing trouble for innocent people.

"Qingzhi, have you finished interrogating those people?" Xiao Yan was also a little moved. He was filled with anger and really needed to vent it.

"Your Majesty, not yet." Chen Qingzhi disagreed, "Moreover, in my humble opinion, they are not the culprits. I have read the report on the case. On the contrary, they are heroes who stopped the tomb robbers."

"It was the fight between the two sides that destroyed the seal, which led to the escape of Donghun Hou. But morally and logically, this is all the responsibility of the tomb robbers. How can we put the blame on them?" Chen Qingzhi argued:

"Besides, they are the only ones who have come into contact with the Donghun Hou after his transformation. This will be very helpful in finding him. I am just thinking of asking the emperor to temporarily transfer them to join the team that hunts down the corpse king."

"Your Majesty, you can't do that," Jiang Ge and other civil servants objected, "What if the two of them escape?"

"I can act as a guarantor for them." A gentle and elegant voice said.

"My Lord..." Jiang Ge and the others looked at His Royal Highness in shock. They didn't expect him to speak for the two little thieves. "You all don't know that on that day in Bailuzhou, Princess Yongkang accidentally stepped on air and fell off the boat. She was saved by these two people." The prince smiled and explained, "They saved Her Royal Highness and didn't take advantage of the chaos to escape. Instead, they waited for the people from the Gou Chen Division to come. So I think they can still be trusted."

"Yes." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had a high prestige among the civil servants, so Jiang Ge and others had no objections.

"But brother, they seem to have another case on their hands, right?" Danyang Yin, the second prince Xiao Zong spoke at this time. He had a big face, thick eyebrows, and thick lips, and he didn't look like the handsome and elegant prince at all.

"Really?" the prince asked softly.

"The murder of the magistrate of Changxing County in our province was also committed by them, right?" Xiao Zong looked at Chen Qingzhi.

"Yes." Chen Qingzhi nodded and said, "But there are powers to follow. The most urgent task is to capture Donghun Hou and Pan Yunu immediately. As for the magistrate of Changxing County, the court has announced that he died of illness..."

"It's easy to say, but he is the county magistrate who guards the pasture on behalf of the emperor. He can't die in such an unclear way!" Xiao Zong sneered and said, "You, the Gou Chen Division, are deliberately trying to protect those two traitors!"

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. I just think that right now, there is nothing more important than capturing Donghun Hou." Facing the second prince's criticism, Chen Qingzhi said calmly:

"Although our dynasty has been established for more than 20 years, there are still a large number of remnants of the previous dynasty, especially in Jiankang City. I don't know how many frustrated people are waiting for this opportunity to join us in the rebellion and vent their hatred!"

After a pause, he said firmly: "So since Donghun Hou has appeared in the capital, we must arrest him as soon as possible to minimize the negative impact!"

He was indeed a close minister who had served Xiao Yan for thirty years, and his words touched the emperor's heart.

Xiao Yan raised his hand to end the argument, and looked at Chen Qingzhi steadily and said, "Let's do as you wish. Solve the case within three days. If you catch Donghun Hou and that bitch, those two guys can atone for their crimes. If you fail to catch them, you will be held responsible as well."

"Yes, I obey your order." Chen Qingzhi responded calmly.

"Everyone, leave." Xiao Yan waved his hand in annoyance, and the ministers respectfully took their leave and filed out.

~~
Coming out of the front hall, the ministers all breathed a sigh of relief.

The anger and pressure of the founding emperor were too great.

The Gou Chen Si also had the responsibility of monitoring all officials. This was a semi-public secret, so Chen Qingzhi's relationship with the civil and military officials was quite distant.

Only the Palace Attendant Zhu Yi and a few other old friends in the palace were still on good terms with him.

Zhu Yi walked with Chen Qingzhi and asked softly, "Is three days enough?"

"It's very tight. If Donghun Hou takes action, there is still hope. If he doesn't, there is no hope at all." Chen Qingzhi said, "But I guess since the other party is so arrogant, they will take action soon."

"Yes, the tone is so high, and then suddenly there is no movement, wouldn't that be a joke?" Zhu Yi said with a smile: "As long as you have confidence, I won't help you to get back on track."

"Your Majesty, we still have to smooth things over." Chen Qingzhi smiled awkwardly and said, "We always have to prepare for the worst."

"Haha, okay." Zhu Yi chuckled and walked out of the palace gate side by side with him.

(End of this chapter)