Minglong

Chapter 104 This corrupt official must be quite wealthy!
Shashasha~
The river breeze rustles, blowing through the bamboo forest on the river bank.

Gongsun Duan lay under the bamboo leaves with a sword and shield in hand, carefully scanning the river bank for any movement, waiting for prey that might come at any time.

Because we don’t know whether Xie Jinhuan will join the game or when he will join, this kind of squatting work is very boring.

After looking around for a long time, Gongsun Duan did not see any movement by the river. Instead, Zhou Mingan, who was in the house, had not shown up since he last entered the house two quarters of an hour ago.

As time went by, Gongsun Duan couldn't help but have a bad premonition in his heart. After a little consideration, he quietly stood up and walked to the foot of the wall, jumping slightly to check.

As a result, I found that the light in the study was on and the door was open. Standing on the wall, I could only see two legs hanging in the middle of the room...

"hiss?!"

Gongsun Duan's face suddenly changed and he rushed into the room. He saw Zhou Ming'an hanging alone on the beam with his tongue sticking out. He was already dead. His last writing was placed on the table.

The remaining four elite soldiers who were lying in ambush arrived outside the study and were also stunned when they saw this scene.
"what happened?"

"Didn't anyone come over just now? Why did Mr. Zhou die?"

"It seems like he committed suicide out of fear of punishment..."

"Bullshit, how could he possibly commit suicide?!"

Gongsun Duan had just spoken to Zhou Mingan not long ago and he absolutely did not believe that such a corrupt official could commit suicide quietly, but they squatted around the house and did not notice anyone approaching.

The mission of this trip was to lure and kill Xie Jinhuan. The bait was eaten right under his nose, and he would definitely not be able to report back.

Gongsun Duan could only search the house to see if there were any clues.

But after the accompanying imperial guards inspected the area, they all thought that Zhou Mingan had hanged himself. After thinking for a while, they said:
"Whether Zhou Mingan committed suicide or not, he's already dead. How about we get some evidence..."

Gongsun Duan glared, "Catch the thief in the act! Do you know where Xie Jinhuan is? If he's being summoned by the Emperor or the Imperial Preceptor, and you fabricate evidence to claim he's murdered someone, wouldn't that make us the ones who killed him?"

"Uh... that's what the adults said."

"Hurry up and inform Lord Li..."
-
At the same time, in the city.

Big red lanterns were hung outside the gate of Li's mansion. Two guards with swords in hand stood on either side of the steps, watching the carriages and sedans coming and going. There were also guards patrolling around.

Xie Jinhuan was sitting in a restaurant on the corner of the street, with several special dishes in front of him, such as boiled chicken, fish, camel hoof soup, etc., plus a pot of Xinghuachun produced in Jiangzhou, enjoying a delicious midnight snack.

After killing Zhou Ming'an, Xie Jinhuan ignored the five ambushes to avoid unnecessary trouble and went straight back to the city to the next stop - Ligongpu.

Having lived in the capital for many years, he was quite familiar with 'Eunuch Li'. This man was from the side branch of the Hualin Li family. He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the fourth year of Jian'an. He initially worked as a proofreader in the Chongwenguan. After the Jian'an Incident, he seized the opportunity and gained the trust of Emperor Qian, thus rising to prominence.

As for how Li Gongpu became favored, there has been a rumor in the capital for a long time - the emperor could tell what he wanted to eat by smacking his lips, and Li Gongpu would have had it prepared and waiting outside the door.

This rumor is certainly exaggerated, but Li Gongpu is extremely good at guessing the emperor's intentions, and he is indeed unmatched in his ability to lick the emperor's boots. He can secretly do anything without the emperor saying anything, and then take the blame and be scolded or even beaten by the emperor without any regrets.

Things like the Buyun Terrace in the palace, various gardens, and the emperor's favorite calligraphy, paintings, horses, etc. were all arranged by Li Gongpu, and the emperor didn't even have to spend too much money from the inner treasury.

Because he tried his best to let the emperor enjoy everything without letting him get any stain, although Emperor Qian often scolded: "Li Gongpu, Li Gongpu, you really made me suffer", he did not punish Li Gongpu severely, and even demoted his official position to the second rank.

In fact, no one would be willing to kill such a sensible dog unless it was absolutely necessary.

Although Li Gongpu was very greedy, he also understood where his power came from. He never touched the emperor's weak spot, and even the court officials were helpless.

For example, smuggling the immortality powder and burying gamblers alive, if you really look into it, it's nothing more than sacrificing a nephew for the sake of justice.

In order to set up a trap to kill him, they had to first throw Zhou Ming'an out as bait. If he didn't kill Zhou Ming'an, Li Gongpu would not kill him by force and give him a reason to criticize others.

Even if this matter was brought to the court, Li Gongpu would not be able to be punished. After all, what could be said about Li Gongpu at that time?
Xie Jinhuan wanted to assassinate an imperial official. Why did you send a few guards to stop him from killing him?

But if he used an unconventional trick and killed Li Gongpu secretly, the situation would be completely different.

Han Jingchuan and Zhou Ming'an had just died. If Li Gongpu died suddenly again, even if he made the traces perfect, the word "murderer" would still be stuck on his forehead.

Even if the court abides by the law and grants innocence until proven guilty, and he kills someone's beloved dog behind the emperor's back, causing the emperor to become suspicious, can he still continue to survive in Daqian?

Therefore, Li Gongpu could not be assassinated, so he had to use his own method to retaliate against him!
Li Gongpu set up a trap for him, so he had to reverse it and kill with his brain!

Ye Hongshang, as a ghost, couldn't eat with them either, but he still sat across the table, swaying with a small wine glass:

"What are you thinking about? Are you up to something bad again?"

Xie Jinhuan picked up some fresh fish sashimi and drank some wine. "How can you say bad things? I'm just thinking about how to get rid of corrupt officials and clean up the imperial court. Li Gongpu is a special person. He doesn't make big mistakes, but he makes small ones all the time. He is also extremely favored by the emperor. We have to deal with the emperor first, otherwise no matter how we kill him, it will cause a lot of trouble."

"How about burying a scarecrow, putting the emperor's name on it, and creating a witchcraft disaster?"

Xie Jinhuan thought about it for a moment and felt that this method would kill all the people in the Wu League’s Beijing office. Moreover, Li Gongpu had no motive, and there were masters of various religions in the capital. As long as it was not a real curse on the emperor, just burying a straw man would not serve the purpose of framing him.

"We need to first find out the situation of Li Gongpu, the emperor and others. Only with intelligence can we find a chance to take action. When Princess Changning comes tomorrow, we can first inquire about the general situation."

As he spoke, Xie Jinhuan ate heartily, preparing to finish his meal early and go back to practice martial arts with the girl with glasses.

But before he finished his pot of wine, the gate of Li's Mansion suddenly opened, and a group of people came out one after another. Leading them was a thin old man, followed by a guard, and they were talking about something along the way.

From his position, Xie Jinhuan could be sure that the old man should be Huangmen Lang Li Gongpu. He leaned a little behind the window, ate his food and wine leisurely, and looked at him secretly.

Gurgle...

Soon, Li Gongpu boarded the carriage with his entourage and drove towards the outer city. Xie Jinhuan, relying on his third-grade extraordinary perception, could faintly hear angry curses in the carriage when the convoy passed the restaurant:
"Xie Jinhuan must have killed him. Gongsun Duan, that good-for-nothing, squatted right there and didn't even get a single piece of evidence."

"Mr. Li, calm down. Gongsun Duan has personally checked and found nothing suspicious. Zhou Ming'an is indeed as respectable as I am..."

"Bullshit. If he can't understand, just notify the Imperial Observatory and the Red Lin Guard to investigate..."

"Mr. Li, please forgive me for speaking frankly. If Xie Jinhuan can assassinate Zhou Ming'an without anyone noticing, and deal with Mr. Li..." "If he has the guts, then come. I don't believe it..."

……

As the carriage passed the restaurant, the conversation became difficult to hear.

Xie Jinhuan picked up the wine glass and drank it all, with a hint of displeasure in his eyes:
"This old bastard said I didn't dare touch him. If he doesn't believe this, he won't be able to sleep at night."

Ye Hongshang held his cheeks with both hands and pondered for a moment:
"How about chopping off a horse's head and throwing it on his bed to scare him?"

"That's definitely not possible."

It wasn't that Xie Jinhuan couldn't do it, but he felt sorry for the innocent pony. After a little consideration, he turned his gaze to the closed Li Mansion:

"Li Gongpu is out now, he must have gone to Songhe Bay, there are not many people at home. Such a corrupt official must have quite a lot of wealth!"

"?"

Ye Hongshang was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly:

"That makes sense. Let's go in and take a look?"

In order to kill Li Gongpu, Xie Jinhuan had to find a way to set up a plan first to avoid the emperor's suspicion, and he could confiscate his property in advance without worrying about what the emperor thought.

Now we are still short of more than 20,000 taels of silver for the medicinal materials. It is difficult to raise the money in a short time by relying on the donations from fellow Taoists.

There is such a big fat pig like Li Gongpu in front of him. He has a bad reputation for corruption and bribery, but he still dares to say that he dares not take action.

If he doesn't go into the house to take a look, eat and take some things to collect some interest first, how can he repay Li Gongpu for going out at night to find evidence of his guilt?
Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan didn't even bother to eat. After watching the convoy go away, he paid the bill and stood up, walked to the opposite street, bypassed the guards, and climbed over the wall...

……

The autumn moon is in the sky.

The luxurious mansion was completely silent, with only a few servants moving around in the front house.

Because the lord was away, in order to prevent the women and children in the mansion from having affairs, most of the guards were patrolling the outer house. The doors and windows of the main house by the lake in the back house were closed, and only one guest was patrolling the courtyard and corridors.

Xie Jinhuan moved cautiously around the sentry post and reached the main courtyard like a ghost in white, observing from the roof.

In order to cooperate, Ye Hongshang also changed into a red tights and covered her face with a red veil. From the side profile, she looked like a hot female agent. After a brief investigation, she hooked her finger.

buzz~
A dragonfly sleeping on a nearby treetop was startled and flew into the garden outside the wall, landing in the bushes. It flapped its wings wildly, making a "sizzling" sound.

"Ok?"

The retainer standing in the pavilion frowned, listened carefully, then raised his sword and flew into the garden, carefully looking for the source of the sound.

Xie Jinhuan took this opportunity, flipped down from the eaves, and landed in front of the door of the main house. After making sure there were no traps, he quietly entered.

Click~
After the subtle sound of the door closing, there was nothing unusual in the lakeside courtyard.

Ye Hongshang stood in the elegantly decorated room, took a quick glance, and raised his eyebrows:
"Yo~ I think you've collected enough money for the herbs."

"Yeah?!"

Because the room was dark, Xie Jinhuan took a moment to adjust himself before carefully checking the room in the dim moonlight.

As a result, even though he was quite experienced, he was still a little surprised at this moment.

Not to mention the screens, calligraphy and paintings, furniture, etc. in the room, just the carpet in the middle of the room was made of tribute shipped from the Western Regions. Judging from the embroidery and workmanship, it is not surprising that it is the same style as the one in the imperial study. The emperor got one for each.

The vases and other items were all imperial porcelain, and they all looked like gifts from the emperor. Even in the landlady's Wuwei Pavilion, he had only seen one or two pieces, but here in the Duobao Pavilion, they were filled to the brim!
Xie Jinhuan took a quick look and felt like he had won the jackpot with one shot.

However, in order to kill Li Gongpu, Xie Jinhuan first searched for evidence in the study.

It turned out that Li Gongpu was just a lapdog. Although he was corrupt and accepted bribes, he did not do anything that would touch the emperor's bottom line. There was no evidence in the room, and all the documents were basically related to the emperor's eating, drinking and having fun.

For someone like Li Gongpu, even if he fabricated evidence, the Chilin Guards and the county government would not dare to break in and search, and it would be easy to expose themselves.

After taking a quick look around, Xie Jinhuan tiptoed to the tea table, pulled out the blanket embroidered with the Qilin, and expertly wrapped it up before beginning to appraise the treasure:
"A colorful glass lamp made by Longyun Valley? How much of the people's blood and sweat must have been embezzled from them..."

"Tsk tsk! This bracelet is made from seeds from the Bodhi tree at Tiantai Temple. No wonder I'm not afraid of ghosts knocking on my door in the middle of the night..."

"Huh?! The calligraphy from the Shuangsheng Ye Temple is authentic, but it's such a waste of talent in the hands of this old bastard..."

"Oh my god, the painting 'A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains' by the demon Chen Tong, with its vibrant colors from afar and the silent waters up close, is also an authentic one, and now it belongs to me..."

……

Ye Hongshang floated in front of him and found that Xie Jinhuan packed up the treasures like the back of his hand. He did not take gold, silver or jade, but only picked out calligraphy and paintings, even the inkstone and paperweight. He could not help but raise an eyebrow and comment:

"You only pick the ones you like. Li Gongpu will be furious when he comes back."

"You ask for a hammer and you get a hammer. I didn't want to touch him tonight, but he said I didn't have the guts."

After Xie Jinhuan and others took down all the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, they swept through the treasures displayed in the Duobao Pavilion. They took not only the valuable ones, but also those that Li Gongpu often wiped, played with, and placed in the center, even if they were not very valuable.

As for whether these things can be sold, it is not important. What is important is that Li Gongpu is gone!
Xie Jinhuan was a little sad that he couldn't take some big items away.

If only he had a storage ring or something, he would roll up all the carpets and take them away today to give Li Gongpu a big surprise...

After completely emptying the main house, Xie Jinhuan looked around with a large package weighing over a hundred pounds on his back to make sure nothing valuable was left behind. He then had his ghost wife check it again to avoid leaving any clues, and then quietly left the room...

(End of this chapter)