The adopted daughter returns with a new face

At dawn the next day, Fang Zhongjing and his son came to Liu's house and asked to see Prince Rong. The housekeeper of Liu's house took them to Prince Rong's room.

"Old ministers Fang Zhongjing and Fang Xiaobao pay their respects to Prince Rong and General Yang." Fang Zhongxia and his son bowed in greeting.

"General Fang, Mr. Fang, there is no need to be so polite. Please take a seat." Mu Rongchen looked at Fang Zhongjing and his son and motioned for them to sit down.

"Xiaobao, you go and guard outside." Fang Zhongjing instructed his son. Fang Xiaobao nodded, turned around, went out and stood guard outside the door.

"Your Majesty, I returned from the city last night. I heard that Your Majesty had arrived, so I came to see you." Fang Zhongxia took out a map from his arms, opened it and put it on the table, saying, "In recent years, official salt has been stolen frequently. I led troops to suppress the bandits several times, but they escaped early. I suspected that there was collusion in the city, so I have been secretly investigating. This is where the bandits are hiding that I and my son secretly found and marked. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Mu Rongchen and Yang Feng heard Fang Zhongjing's words and looked at the places marked on the map. Mu Rongchen thought of the news Yang Feng had gathered last night and ordered: "General Fang, go back immediately to capture Deputy General Guan and Supervisor Liang Ping and the entire government for me. Let Master Fang go to the military camp immediately to mobilize the troops to assemble outside the city and follow me out of the city to suppress the bandits."

"I will do it immediately." Fang Zhongjing was surprised to hear the order from Prince Rong, and left the room with his son. He had only suspected Guan Zizhang and Liang Ping half a year ago, but Prince Rong knew about it as soon as he arrived. It seemed that the emperor had already paid attention to the Shangyang City incident, but he had only made a conscious effort.

"Feng Qing, go and capture Chai Yi immediately and wait for me to come back to deal with him." Mu Rongchen stood up after giving the order.

Yang Feng and Feng Qing also followed their master out and came to the front hall together and took Chai Yi down directly. Liu Da and his wife and their two children were frightened for a moment, and the maids and servants in the hall were confused.

Chai Yi was horrified when he was arrested, and he shouted: "My Lord, what crime have I committed? Why are you arresting me?"

"Lord Liu, please put all of Master Chai's family members in jail. If anyone escapes, they will bear the consequences themselves." After Mu Rongchen finished speaking, he walked to the dining table and sat down to have breakfast, ignoring Chai Yi.

"I will go right away. Madam, please take good care of Princess Nan'an." Liu Da responded and told his wife to hurry out. Even if he was a fool, he would know that Chai Yi was related to the salt thieves, but what he didn't expect was that it would be someone close to him.

Feng Qing took Chai Yi out and went to the government office.

"Prince Rong is very efficient." Lan Rufeng chuckled, feeling somewhat respectful towards this guy.

"Stop talking nonsense, eat quickly and follow me out." Mu Rongchen rebuked the talkative Lan Rufeng and picked up the bowl and chopsticks to eat.

Lin Ruyan said that she had not seen Zhong Yan this morning, and had her breakfast without saying much. Women were not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the court, and even if her husband was a local king, she would abide by her duties.

Liu Da's wife Wang Yan couldn't accept that Chai Yi was still betraying her husband. After Prince Rong and his men finished their breakfast and left, she deliberately asked Princess Nan'an: "Princess, what's the matter with Prince Rong taking Master Chai?"

"Madam Liu, I don't ask about what happens in the court, but His Highness said that there are bandits causing chaos in Shangyang City, which must be related to stealing official salt." Lin Ruyan replied to Wang Yan.

"The master said that General Fang went out of the city several times to suppress the bandits, but these bandits disappeared long ago. It seems that there is an insider in the city. Will this Master Chai be a traitor?" Wang Yan's words were obviously full of anger. She was worried that Chai Yi would implicate her husband.

"Madam Liu, don't worry. Prince Rong will handle this impartially and will never wrongly accuse anyone." Lin Ruyan smiled and comforted Wang Yan, telling her to relax.

"I believe in Prince Rong, but I didn't expect that there would be someone like Master Chai around the master. It's a little hard to accept it for the time being." It would be strange if Wang Yan could relax her mind. It was strange that there was such a person around her husband and her husband failed to supervise him well.

"As long as we are upright and live up to His Majesty's grace, we'll talk about everything after Prince Rong and the others come back." Lin Ruyan picked up the teacup with a smile.

Wang Yan nodded. Her husband had been honest and self-disciplined all his life. She believed in his character and could only wait for Prince Rong to handle the matter impartially.

Guan Zizhang, the governor of the "Guan Mansion", had just finished his breakfast and was about to leave when the door to his mansion was suddenly kicked open. He saw the general rushing in with a dozen soldiers. He asked in shock, "General, what are you doing?"

"Following the order of Prince Rong, arrest Deputy General Guan." Fang Zhongjing directly announced Mu Rongchen's order and waved his hand to let his men arrest the man.

"General, why does Prince Rong want to arrest Zizhang?" Yu Niang, Zizhang's wife, asked in panic when she saw her husband being captured.

"This general is following orders. Madam Guan can ask Prince Rong herself when the time comes. Capture them all and take them to the government jail to be tried by Prince Rong himself." Fang Zhongjing gave an order and the soldiers stepped forward together and arrested all the masters and servants of the government office.

"Zi Zhang, what did you do?" Yu was so frightened that her face turned pale and she asked her husband anxiously. She was terrified when she saw her children crying and being taken away.

"Zi Zhang, hand over the account book! This general hopes that you will tell the truth and try to leave a way out for your wife and children." Fang Zhongjing persuaded Guan Zi Zhang kindly.

Guan Zizhang knew that the plot had been exposed. He looked at his wife and two crying children who were still young and could not bear it. He said, "General, it's in a secret compartment on the third row of the bookshelf in my study. Please ask someone to get it."

Fang Zhongjing motioned his men to take the road: "Zi Zhang, you have followed me for many years. I hope you can tell the truth. I will ask Prince Rong to spare your brother, sister-in-law and children."

"Thank you, General. As long as Yu Niang and Yi Yi can be saved, it will be Zhiyuan. I will repay you for this kindness in my next life." Guan Zi Zhang knew that his crime was unforgivable and he only hoped to save his wife and children.

"Take them away first!" Fang Zhongjing ordered his men to take away Guan Zizhang and his wife, their two children, and all the servants in the mansion. He waited for his men to bring the account book, and after looking through it, he put it away with a sigh and left.

Wen Qi from the "Liang Mansion" was Fang Zhongjing's other deputy general. He led his men to capture Liang Ping's entire family, scaring the maids and servants in the mansion into screaming in fear.

Liang Ping repeatedly asked Wen Qi why he was arrested. All he got was "Prince Rong's order", which frightened him so much that his legs went limp. Seeing his wife and children crying non-stop, he knew that what he had done was probably exposed, and he regretted it so much that his intestines turned green.

Zhong Yan followed Yan Sai all the way to a cliff twenty miles outside the city. There was a dilapidated temple at the foot of the cliff. He watched Yan Sai enter the temple and did not come out for a long time. He cut a mark on the tree next to him with his sword and followed him in. When he came in, he saw a Buddha statue in the middle of the temple. It was a mess inside, so how could there be any trace of Yan Sai?

"Where did this person go?" Zhong Yan muttered to himself and began to search in the ruined temple. There were cliffs on the left, right and back. It was impossible for this person to disappear without a trace. There must be a mechanism inside. After searching for a while, he finally stopped in front of the Buddha statue. Looking at the Buddha statue covered with spider webs and dust, his eyes fell on the incense burner.

After a careful look, there was not much dust on the incense burner. He stretched out his hand and turned it. With a "click", the Buddha statue slowly moved to the side, and a secret passage appeared in front of him. He was so happy that he drew out his sword and drew an arrow next to the Buddha statue, pointing directly at the incense burner, and stepped down into the secret passage. As soon as he stepped down, the Buddha statue automatically turned back to its original position.