The grass in the factory should be plucked

East Factory Yamen.

Xie Changan was leaning back in his chair, flipping through a confession nonchalantly.

"Boss, Concubine Yu is really evil!"

"The eunuch confessed that he was first bitten by a group of rats, and then a group of cats came and either caught the rats or scratched him. The weirdest thing was that the cats and rats chased him together..."

Yin Jiu had a strange expression on his face. "I heard that after Concubine Li died, the cold palace was haunted from time to time. Could Concubine Yu be... possessed by a ghost?"

"Ridiculous!" Xie Changan pinched his brows with a headache, "Ignore this for now, keep watching."

"Yes!" Yin Jiu asked again, "Boss, what should we do with the eunuch? He only has one breath left."

Xie Changan showed disgust on his face: "Chop up this filthy thing and throw it to feed the dogs!"

Yin Jiu took the order and left.

Another factory worker, Wei Yinshi, came in with a cat: "Boss, this is the cat you wanted."

Xie Changan took out a paper bag from his arms: "Let the cat smell this."

Yin Shi took it puzzled and opened it. He found a plant he had never seen before, emitting a unique fragrance.

He did as he was told and held the plant to the cat's nose.

As soon as the cat smelled the scent, it went crazy, rolling all over the ground and rubbing against the plant again and again.

Yin Shi was surprised: "Boss, what is this?"

"Catnip." This was picked by Xie Changan from the cold palace.

He walked over slowly, squatted down beside the cat, picked up the catnip, and called out, "Come here, Li Nu."

The cat came over following the catnip.

Xie Changan's eyes flashed, and he said, "Li Nu, bow."

The cat ignored him and just chased the catnip madly.

Yin Shi stood there dumbfounded, not understanding why the adults suddenly started teasing the cat as if it were a dog.

Xie Changan tried a few more times, "Li Nu, sit down", "Li Nu, stand up"...

The cat turned a deaf ear to it and was only interested in the catnip, paying no attention to the person who gave it the catnip.

When the madness passed, the cat meowed, jumped out of the window, and disappeared without a trace.

Yin Shi couldn't help but say, "Boss, I've only heard of dogs being trained, but I've never heard of cats being trained like this."

Xie Changan pondered in silence. It seemed that catnip could not tame cats. There must be another way?

He waved his hand to let the confused Yin Shi go out, and called over a servant.

"Boss Xu, go check the recent records of people entering and leaving Yuhua Palace."

"Where did he go, who did he meet, and whether there was any large amount of money coming in or going out.

"Don't let anyone know, especially Captain Feng."

Feng Chuan, a hundred households in the Eastern Depot, is a distant cousin of Concubine Zhou and has always been at odds with Xie Changan.

He was a descendant of an aristocratic family, so naturally he looked down on Xie Changan, who came from the common people and had a eunuch as his adoptive father.

"Yes!" Xu Dangtou clasped his fists.

He stepped forward and whispered, "Boss, Captain Feng went to the Ningyang Earl's Mansion yesterday."

"Also entering and leaving the Ningyang Earl's mansion were Zhang Yu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Dai Liangzhong, the secretary of the Ministry of Personnel."

Ningyang Marquis's Mansion was also the home of Concubine Zhou's mother. The purpose of these people going to Ningyang Marquis's Mansion was obvious.

"As a member of the East Factory, he doesn't know how to avoid suspicion and even gets involved in the matter of establishing a crown prince. He is really bold." Xie Changan sneered.

"By the way, has anything been discovered at Minister Jiang's residence?"

Xu Dangtou submitted an investigation document.

"Minister Jiang has one wife and four concubines, three sons and two daughters. Concubine Yu is the second daughter, born to Concubine Fang."

"Mrs. Fang died young. Concubine Yu grew up in a farm in the countryside. She was brought back to the Jiang Mansion when she reached the age of 15. Soon after, she was sent to the palace. She had very little contact with the people in the mansion."

Xie Changan raised his eyebrows slightly, quite surprised.

Although Concubine Yu was born out of wedlock, Minister Jiang was a third-rank official in the capital, and the concubine's daughter in his family was one of the most noble ladies in the capital.

Shouldn't she be raised in seclusion and educated well? Why would she be thrown into the countryside and ignored?

"It turns out that Lady Yu grew up in the countryside, no wonder she has such a lively personality." Xu Dangtou said with a smile.

Xie Changan snorted and said calmly: "There must be something hidden in this. Have you found it?"

Xu Dangtou hurriedly reported back: "I heard that Concubine Yu and the old lady of the Jiang family have conflicting horoscopes. After Concubine Yu was born, the old lady fell ill and could not get up."

"After receiving the advice of a senior monk, Concubine Yu was sent to the farm to be taken care of. The old lady gradually got better."

"It's just some shady tricks in the backyard." Xie Changan sneered, "Isn't Aunt Fang extremely beautiful?"

"Yes, it is said that Lady Yu looks very much like her mother."

Xu Diantou said, "Mrs. Fang is the daughter of a wealthy family in Jiangnan. She brought a large dowry when she entered the Jiang Mansion."

"After Concubine Yu was sent away, Concubine Fang became depressed and died soon after."

These secrets of the rear house are not within the scope of Dongchang's attention.

Xie Changan lowered his eyes and flipped open the documents on the table with his slender fingers.

"First withdraw the people from the Jiang Mansion and check the Yuhua Palace. Also keep an eye on the Yong'an Palace."

"Yes. I am resigning."

After finishing the official documents in hand, Xie Changan went to Silijian to meet Liao Wuyong, the governor of the Eastern Depot.

Liao Wuyong was the eunuch who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department and concurrently served as the governor of the Eastern Depot. He could be said to be the number one eunuch.

Even Lord Shen would greet him with a smile, "Lord Governor."

He was about fifty years old, with a fair face and no beard, and an elegant appearance. Although he was a eunuch, he had a body as straight as a pine tree due to years of martial arts training, and his brows showed majesty without anger.

Xie Changan stepped into the room and saw Liao Wuyong sitting at the tea table, taking tea, brewing, shaking the incense, and dividing the tea. The series of actions were as smooth as flowing water, and the room was filled with a faint tea fragrance.

He took a step forward and bowed respectfully: "Meetings, foster father."

Liao Wuyong raised his head, a trace of relief flashed in his eyes: "Changan, you came at the right time. I just got a can of Guzhu tea. You can try it. How does it taste?"

Xie Changan sat down as he was told, took a sip of the fragrant tea, and praised it, "It's pure and sweet, and the fragrance lingers on your teeth and cheeks. It's really a good tea."

Afterwards, he reported to Liao Wuyong all the intelligence that the East Factory had collected in recent days.

Liao Wuyong looked solemn: "The dispute over the succession in the court has become more intense."

Xie Changan added: "Yesterday, Captain Feng went to the Ningyang Earl's Mansion and met with Zhang Yu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Dai Liangzhong, the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, and others."

Liao Wuyong frowned and said in a deep voice, "How dare he interfere in the matter of establishing a crown prince? He simply doesn't take the rules of the East Factory seriously!"

Xie Changan asked: "How does foster father plan to deal with him?"

After Liao Wuyong pondered for a moment, he slowly said, "Let's ignore him for now. We'll make a decision after the dust settles on the crown prince."

At present, it seems that the Second Prince has a good chance of winning, so it is not advisable to offend Concubine Zhou now.

It won’t be too late to deal with Captain Feng after the overall situation stabilizes.

If they want to catch him by the braid, it will be easy with the methods used by the East Factory.

He turned to Xie Changan and gave him a serious warning.

"Chang'an, you must remember that the East Factory is only loyal to the emperor. The appointment of a crown prince is a major event of the court, and we cannot interfere."

“It’s important to stay awake and not get involved.”

Xie Changan responded respectfully: "Father, your teaching is correct. I will definitely keep it in mind."