Reborn, the daughter of the Marquisate went crazy

In the study, Chu Yuncang stared at the paperweight on the table in a daze, still thinking about the woman that night.

A shadow guard knelt on one knee, sweat already beading on his forehead. He had been kneeling there half an incense stick ago, ready to report on the progress of the investigation, but the Crown Prince, who usually kept his emotions expressionless, frowned and remained silent for a long while.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looks cold and aloof, but in fact he is deep-minded and decisive in killing, and is even more feared by the shadow guards than Emperor Yingtian.

The shadow guard looked at Xie Tingyu, who was sitting below the Crown Prince, for help. Xie Tingyu was also puzzled as to why Chu Yuncang remained silent for so long. He cleared his throat and called softly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Chu Yuncang came back to his senses and turned his gaze to the shadow guard, who immediately reported: "Your Highness, we have verified all the information about Huang Dai and found evidence that he was plotting treason."

Chu Yuncang tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingertips and nodded slightly. The shadow guard hurriedly highlighted the key points and said, "A month ago, Huang Dai ordered people to create a huge stone with the prophecy 'The Emperor of Chu is unjust, the Jiang clan should be the heir' engraved on it.' They buried it in the shallows of the Wulan River outside Jiazhou Prefecture. The plan was to organize the people to dredge the river after the Cold Food Festival, waiting for them to discover the stone. Then, they would spread some inciteful rumors among the people to confuse them and shake the Dongling Empire."

"Huang Dai also recruited two skilled forgers to forge a large number of letters to and from General Jiang. They are currently hidden in his study. We don't know what his plans are."

"Last year, the imperial court issued a decree exempting several southwestern prefectures from taxes, but Huang Dai didn't carry it out. Instead, he increased taxes by 20%, and the whereabouts of the collected tax silver are unknown."

"Huang Dai acted as a protective umbrella for some wealthy families and landlords. Those people bullied men and women, seized fertile land, and committed all kinds of evil. All they had to do was pay tribute to Huang Dai on time. The people complained bitterly, but there was no one to turn to for help."

"..."

The shadow guard spoke for an incense stick before stopping. He was a little nervous after he finished speaking. When they investigated this information, they wanted to kill the scum Huang Dai immediately.

Chu Yuncang's eyes were filled with ice, and a murderous aura emanated from his body. "Such a pest is harming the country and the people. It's a disgrace to Dongling! 'The Emperor of Chu is unjust'? Humph, the court is indeed unjust to nurture such a pest."

Chu Yuncang's eyes darkened as he spoke slowly, "My third brother went to the Ministry of Personnel for training last year. He personally inspected the prefects in the southwest. It's said that he went deep into the countryside to conduct investigations, working tirelessly, and even fell ill from exhaustion. Father even commended him for this."

Chu Yuncang laughed sarcastically, "I remember last year the Jiazhou prefect's assessment was top-notch. How disappointed the people of Jiazhou must be that such a parasite, with such obvious evidence of guilt, could be rated top-notch. My third brother is a man of great reputation. Such a virtuous man, well, very good!!!"

Xie Tingyu frowned slightly. The Third Prince, Chu Yunyuan, had been known for his virtue since childhood. He adopted orphans, provided aid to refugees, and petitioned for reduced taxes and levies, earning praise from the people. His fame had only grown in the past two years, and he seemed poised to rival the Crown Prince. He hadn't expected his reputation to be so unworthy.

Chu Yuncang ordered in a cold voice: "Secretly control Huang Dai and interrogate him severely. Carefully investigate whether the Tongzhi, Tongpan, and Zhixian officials of Jiazhou Prefecture have any accomplices. If they are accomplices, once they are found, they will not be forgiven. In addition, every evil deed done by those protected by Huang Dai must be investigated one by one, and I will not let any of them go!"

"The huge stone buried in Wulan River must be destroyed immediately. Find another stone and engrave Huang Dai's evidence of his guilt on it. Since he enjoys playing these tricks so much, I will give him a surprise."

"Take my imperial edict and go to Lingjiang Prefecture and Yong'an Prefecture to dispatch the garrison troops. They must arrive in Jiazhou Prefecture within one day, otherwise there is no need for them to be prefects."

The shadow guard received the order and left.

In a corner of the study, a wisp of green smoke curled up from the incense burner, but it collapsed the moment it came into contact with the sunlight.

After a moment's silence, Xie Tingyu spoke up, "It's easy to eliminate Prefect Huang Dai, but it's hard to defend against the Southwestern garrison. If the Southwestern troops riot, and Nan Jing seizes the opportunity to attack again, it could lead to disaster."

Chu Yuncang nodded: "I have sent a pigeon to my father, requesting support from the Northwest Army. Brother Tingyu can also send a message to General Jiang first, asking him to prepare in advance!"

Xie Tingyu nodded, his expression slightly solemn. He pursed his lips and said, "Regarding the matter of the strange Taoist priests, I sent people to stake out the ruined temple for a few days, but the Taoist priests didn't show up. I also sent people to investigate inns and guild halls in the city, but found no clues."

"I believe that no one and no thing in this world can appear out of thin air without leaving any trace. Therefore, I guessed that these Taoists who could appear and disappear so mysteriously were most likely locals, so I sent people to investigate the nearby Taoist temples."

"The most famous Taoist temple in Jiazhou Prefecture is the Lingxiao Temple on Nanming Mountain. Its abbot, Taoist Qingyang, is a direct disciple of the Imperial Master, Taoist Lingxuan. It's said that Lingxiao Temple is extremely effective and often performs charitable deeds, resulting in a large number of worshippers."

"In fact, the abbot of Lingxiao Temple and the prefect Huang Dai are very close. Huang Dai often organizes banquets to connect Lingxiao Temple with the wealthy families in Jiazhou Prefecture. Lingxiao Temple pays Huang Dai no less than ten thousand taels of silver every year as a tribute. And Lingxiao Temple, under the guise of performing rituals, often helps those wealthy families do dirty things."

"Lingxiao Temple is so strange. Those strange Taoists are most likely from Lingxiao Temple. I wanted to go to the temple to investigate, but I don't know why Lingxiao Temple has been closed to visitors recently."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yuncang frowned slightly and said, "How could such a small Taoist temple thousands of miles away from Shengjing City actually be connected to the Imperial Master!" He sighed, "The Imperial Master is definitely not a good person. It's a pity that as my father grows older, he believes more and more in those supernatural things and relies more and more on the Imperial Master."

Suddenly, Xie Tingyu remembered another thing he had found out: "I also found out something horrifying. About five years ago, every year, several young girls who went to Lingxiao Temple to pray and burn incense would disappear."

"Most of these girls came from humble backgrounds. When their families went to the government office to sue Lingxiao Temple, the temple was always able to produce witnesses and evidence that the girls had safely left the temple. Since the girls were indeed missing, Lingxiao Temple would give these families some silver as compensation under the guise of charity. Because of this practice of repaying kindness with kindness, Lingxiao Temple became even more prosperous. Occasionally, there were a few families who refused to give in, but Huang Dai found a reason to throw them in jail, and they never dared to make trouble again."

Chu Yuncang narrowed his eyes slightly. "I remember a similar case occurred in Shengjing City a few years ago. The girl involved was the legitimate daughter of Lord Yang, the Left Vice-Minister of the Censorate. She was mischievous by nature and slipped out of the mansion in maid's clothes to play. After visiting Xuanjing Temple, she disappeared. Lord Yang loved this daughter very much and she went to my father to complain many times. My father ordered the Dali Temple to conduct a thorough investigation into the case."

"How could such a coincidence happen?" Xie Tingyu pressed on, "Did the Dali Temple find those girls?"

Chu Yuncang shook his head and sighed, "The Dali Temple investigated for months but found no clues. Lord Yang went on a mad spree in court every day, impeaching the Dali Temple's chief judge. My father was so annoyed that he reprimanded the Dali Temple for its poor handling of the case and demoted the chief judge by half a rank. Lord Yang, unable to bear the loss of his beloved daughter, retired that year. However, since then, no similar case has occurred in Shengjing City."

Xie Tingyu asked doubtfully, "Could it be that this Xuanjing Temple is also related to the Imperial Master?"

Chu Yuncang's eyes darkened. "Not only is it related, but the connection is quite profound. Before becoming the Imperial Preceptor, Taoist Lingxuan practiced Taoism at Xuanjing Monastery for several years and even served as its abbot." He paused. "If Brother Tingyu hadn't happened to discover the missing girl from Lingxiao Monastery, I'm afraid no one would have connected this matter with the Imperial Preceptor. I immediately sent a message back to the capital to keep a close eye on the Imperial Preceptor..."