The grass in the factory should be plucked

After Jiang Li and his group arrived in Huai'an, Qiao Xiaoyue was already waiting for them outside the city gate.

Seeing Jiang Li, Qiao Xiaoyue stepped forward and gave him a bear hug: "My Lord, I missed you so much!"

Qiao Xiaoyue's subordinates were shocked. This man was Marquis Jing'an. How dare their leader be so presumptuous?

Jiang Li really liked Qiao Xiaoyue’s enthusiasm and straightforwardness. The two of them hugged each other, like a pair of long-lost little sisters, shouting and laughing.

The Grand Canal Governor Yang Kun also heard that Marquis Jing'an and Jinyiwei Commander Xie would pass by here, so he sent people to guard the city gate.

Hearing that someone had arrived, Yang Kun hurried over and bowed respectfully to Jiang Li: "This subordinate greets the Marquis."

The Governor-General of the Grain Transport System was an official of the second rank and had great power in the local area. He had armed forces under his personal command and a naval camp, so he was generally respectfully called "Grain Transport Commander".

Yang Kun was the general manager of the grain transport, so he was naturally well-informed. He had long heard of the name of this female marquis, so how could he dare to underestimate her?

Jiang Li returned the greeting and said, "Hello, General Yang Cao."

Xie Changan also saluted to Yang Kun: "Greetings, Commander Cao."

Yang Kun quickly helped him up: "Thank you, sir, no need to be so polite."

Yang Kun warmly invited the two to stay in his villa, but Jiang Li politely declined.

"We are leaving the capital in secret, so we don't want to disturb the commander. It just so happens that the owner of the Qiao Tower is here, so we can go to the Lotus Tower."

Yang Kun knew that Lotus Building was also a subsidiary of Longmen.

Once the dragon flag bestowed by the current emperor was hoisted, the Lotus Tower naturally became a place that no one dared to touch in Huai'an City.

"Master Qiao, nice to meet you!"

Qiao Xiaoyue hurriedly stepped forward to greet Yang Kun: "Greetings, Commander Cao."

When she was in the Lotus Tower, she also imitated Jiang Li and always wore a black mask.

Therefore, Yang Kun only found out today that the owner of Lotus Tower, who was deeply trusted by Marquis Jing'an, was also a young girl.

"It is true that heroes emerge from youth, and women are just as capable as men!"

"No, no, thank you for your praise, Marshal Cao!"

After some greetings, Jiang Li and his group, along with Qiao Xiaoyue, returned to the Lotus Tower.

The Lotus Tower is located in a corner of the downtown area of ​​Huai'an City. It looks unremarkable from the outside, just an ordinary blue brick building.

The gate of the building is narrow, only enough for one person to pass through. There is a plaque hanging on the door with the three big characters "Lotus Building" written in vigorous and powerful fonts.

Qiao Xiaoyue brought Jiang Li and others into the Lotus Building through the back door and took out a few masks.

"I've made a rule that you must wear a mask when you enter the Lotus Building."

Jiang Li was amazed: "Yes, you made a good rule!"

Neither party in the transaction knows the other party's identity, which not only ensures the confidentiality of the transaction but also avoids future grievances and disputes.

They put on masks and, led by Qiao Xiaoyue, stepped into the lobby of the Lotus Building.

As soon as you enter here, it feels like you have traveled through time and space and arrived in a completely different world.

The lobby was dimly lit, with only a few oil lamps emitting faint flickering light.

The air was filled with a faint smell of smoke and tea, and had a unique atmosphere of the underworld.

The layout of the building is well-organized. In the center is a huge round wooden table with a map spread out on it. The map is marked with lines and symbols of various colors, indicating the distribution of various important gangs and forces in the underworld.

Around the table, several gangsters were sitting together, talking in low voices.

There are various chairs and coffee tables around for guests to rest and chat.

The second floor is filled with secret rooms. If you want to inquire or sell information to the Lotus Building, you can go directly to the second floor. Each secret room will have a masked deacon to receive you.

Jiang Li and Xie Changan, accompanied by Qiao Xiaoyue, pretended to be guests and curiously visited everything here.

After visiting the lobby and the secret room on the second floor, Qiao Xiaoyue took them to her special secret room.

She said mysteriously, "I just received some great news! If the Marquis doesn't come, I was planning to send him a message."

"What big news?" Jiang Li asked curiously.

Qiao Xiaoyue whispered, "Strange news about the royal family!"

"The late emperor actually had a prince who was living abroad!"

"what?"

Jiang Li and Xie Changan were both surprised.

Qiao Xiaoyue told the information she had obtained one by one.

Not long ago, the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, Yue Zhengjie, secretly reported that a man came to see him with a dragon-shaped jade pendant, claiming to be the emperor's prince who was left behind among the people and his biological mother was Su.

Yue Zhengjie did not dare to delay and immediately reported the matter to the court.

Soon, an imperial edict came from the capital, ordering Yue Zhengjie to escort this man to the capital to meet the emperor and determine whether he was true or not.

"The emperor asked him to come to the capital to find out the truth. What does this mean? Perhaps the late emperor really had a son who was living among the people!"

Qiao Xiaoyue had a gossipy look on her face.

"The previous emperor had few descendants. Why did this prince end up living among the common people?"

Jiang Li was also very curious. It turned out that Nangong Qinghe had an older brother or younger brother, but he had never mentioned it. Could it be that he didn't know about it either?

"Is your biological mother Su?"

Xie Changan looked solemn.

"I heard it is."

Qiao Xiaoyue asked curiously, "Master Xie, do you know anything?"

Xie Changan said slowly: "I once heard my foster father tell me about an old story in the palace."

"Before Concubine Zhou, the late emperor had a favorite concubine whose surname was Su."

"It is said that this Lady Su is extremely beautiful and is the most favored lady in the harem."

"When His Majesty was on his southern tour, he also brought this Concubine Su with him. Halfway through the journey, Concubine Su occasionally felt unwell, and the imperial physician diagnosed that she was pregnant."

"The emperor was overjoyed and promised her privately that if she gave birth to a prince, he would depose the queen and make her the empress."

"Unexpectedly, when the emperor returned to Zhenjiang, Empress Su accidentally fell into the water."

"We even sent out the navy battalion, but we couldn't find any trace of him. No one was found alive, and no one was found dead."

Jiang Li couldn't help but sneer. The late emperor deserved it. He promised the throne to whoever he favored, regardless of whether he could do it or not. This caused endless trouble.

So is Concubine Zhou, and so is Empress Su.

Wasn't it he who was responsible for their tragedy?

"What happened next? Did they just stop looking if they couldn't find it?" Jiang Li asked.

"A month later, a female corpse was fished out from downstream. Her face was unrecognizable, but the clothes she was wearing were exactly what Empress Su was wearing that day."

"That female corpse is also a pregnant woman?"

"Yes, she was more than three months pregnant. Therefore, it is concluded that Madam Su fell into the water and died."

Jiang Li frowned slightly: "If that person is really the prince, then Empress Su must not have died back then."

"Why didn't she return to the palace, but secretly gave birth to a prince outside?"

"Who saved her? And who forged her body?"

Xie Changan said: "The premise of all this is that he is indeed the prince."

"Can we confirm his identity based on a jade pendant alone?" Qiao Xiaoyue asked curiously.

Xie Changan said: "The dragon-shaped jade pendant is a symbol of royal status."

He looked at Jiang Li, "The one the emperor gave you is a five-clawed golden dragon, a symbol of the emperor, while the one the prince gave you is a four-clawed golden dragon."

"This kind of jade pendant comes from the Imperial Household Department. The Imperial Household Department has detailed records of each jade pendant's appearance, texture, year, month, and day, and to whom the emperor bestowed it."

"Whether the jade pendant is real or fake, we can check the files from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and find out."

Jiang Li thought for a moment: "Even if the jade pendant is real, how can it prove that he is the flesh and blood of the emperor?"

"Is it possible that someone picked up this jade pendant when Empress Su fell into the water?"

"This possibility is not impossible."

Xie Changan said, "But this person dared to stand up and say that he is the prince. There should be other witnesses and evidence."

Jiang Li rolled his eyes and said, "It has nothing to do with us anyway, so who cares if he is a prince or not."

Nangong Qinghe has already firmly established himself on the throne. Even if ten or eight more princes emerge, it will not affect the overall situation.

She turned to Qiao Xiaoyue and told her, "While you are here, you must build a good relationship with General Yang Cao."

Qiao Xiaoyue nodded: "Don't worry, Lord, I know what's going on. If there's anything you don't understand, I still have the seniors in the sect to help you."

Both the Lotus Tower and the Peony Tower are led by young disciples, so their senior teachers and masters naturally keep an eye on them.

If someone messes up, not only will I be unable to explain to the Marquis, but it will also show that the disciples of this sect are incompetent.

Of course, each sect must put in its best efforts and fully support its own disciples.

Jiang Li patted her shoulder: "Well, I believe you, just go for it!"

Qiao Xiaoyue was suddenly filled with pride. Since the Marquis trusted her so much, she must do a good job!

Xie Changan smiled secretly. The little Li Nu really deserved the name of a "swindler". With just one sentence "I believe in you", she coaxed these young disciples into working for her wholeheartedly.

Not only did she coax the younger ones, she also attracted the older ones. As long as she tied these young disciples firmly to her pirate ship, their senior masters would naturally be used by her.