The Virgin Mary in the Book: I Decide My Life with Two Swords

Cang Yue Nation——Outside the Domain City

As the sun set, the fiery red clouds disappeared. More than a dozen children were rescued by Yelu Zongzhen's imperial doctors. They were curled up, their thin bodies trembling constantly.

Even Duan Peng, the leader of a foreign country, couldn't help but curse: "These beasts, are they still human? They lock children in cages and sell them like animals. This is too much."

Yelu Zongzheng looked at Ye Ling and asked, "You already knew what they were transporting?"

"I came to see you on the first night after your maid died, but you couldn't take action. If I took action in advance, these children would be difficult to take care of. So I asked Bicheng to send a pigeon to Master Li, asking them to meet me outside the domain city today," said Ye Ling.

"Night Envoy" Li Xin walked over and said, "I just interrogated those beasts. This isn't the first time they've bought and sold children. I don't know how many families have been broken up because of them."

"Alas~" Ye Ling sighed: "Take these children back and have the branches spread the news to see if anyone comes to claim them. If no one comes, then just leave them in Langya!"

"Yes, I understand. The government officials should be arriving soon. We should hand these beasts over to the government for punishment! We are civilians after all."

"That's for sure," Ye Ling said as he walked towards the boss of the escort agency.

The boss was still as indifferent as ever: "Langya Pavilion really likes to meddle in other people's business!"

"You call this a private matter? However, I can completely understand your attitude. A person who has no offspring can't experience the feeling of having a child. After all..." Ye Ling deliberately dragged out the tone: "You don't even have any children!"

The boss suddenly looked at Ye Ling in shock: "You...you..."

"Don't be impatient, listen to me." Ye Ling slowly took out the wanted poster she had found in the space in advance: "A eunuch without a name or reason for the wanted poster, but clearly marked that he must be captured alive, interesting."

"That's not right!" Bicheng said, "Sir, he doesn't look like a eunuch. Also, although there's no name or reason for the wanted warrant, it does describe his appearance. Look, it says there's a noticeable knife scar on his left cheek near his ear, and two black moles on his chin."

"That night, I went on a night patrol of the escort team. Besides confirming that they were transporting a child, I also saw him putting on a beard. The reason you had such an exaggerated beard was to cover up your knife wounds and moles."

Li Xin took action immediately and tore off the beard, revealing the other party's true face.

"Is it really this wanted criminal?" Bicheng was surprised.

Ye Ling smiled and handed the wanted order to Li Xin: "Don't forget to ask the governor for the reward money. You can digest it internally. Thank you all brothers for coming to help today."

"This... this is against the rules, right? You were the one who caught the man and you were the one who discovered him," Li Xin said. After all, a reward of 1,500 taels of silver is not a small amount.

"That's all right. Consider it my invitation to tea. It's government money, so thank you for the trip."

"On behalf of my brothers, I would like to thank Envoy Ye," Li Xin bowed.

"We're family, don't be polite. We're going back to the camp over there to hand you over to the government. We don't like dealing with them." Ye Ling said and left.

Yelu Zongzheng said as he walked, "Ye Ling is very good at winning people's hearts."

"Some things just happen naturally. Anyway, I don't need the more than one thousand taels of money. It doesn't matter. There is a long way to go. There will always be a place where I can use others' help. It's the ways of the world!" Ye Ling said.

Yelu Zongzhen didn't say anything else. As for Ye Ling, he seemed to never be able to see through her thoughts. She always took him by surprise, and every day was new.

Soon, the officials arrived. Li Xin took over the work and then came to the camp alone. He got on Ye Ling's carriage and took out a small bamboo tube. "Envoy Ye, there's news from the cabinet. It's for you."

Ye Ling opened the bamboo tube and checked: "Senior Brother really destroyed the Falcon Prison!"

"This matter has spread throughout the martial arts world. Let's see who dares to challenge Langya Pavilion. You can rest assured and escort the Second Prince back." Li Xin said as he took out another bamboo tube: "This is the news from the capital. I have read it. Nangong Hanyi has passed away, and the new emperor is Prince Wen. This result is surprising to many people."

Ye Ling didn't show much emotion, after all, it was expected: "What about the Leng family?"

"The Leng family has risen in power. The new emperor married Leng Qingqing, the granddaughter of the Leng Kingdom, as his empress, and bestowed upon General Leng Aoyun the title of First-Rank National Defense General. This is quite a reward!"

Ye Ling smiled bitterly: "He is even better at winning people's hearts."

"That's right! A general amnesty has been declared. All prisoners without serious crimes will be released and sent home. The people's taxes will be reduced by half for one year and then half for three years. In addition, all other exorbitant taxes will be abolished. Now the people are applauding and are extremely grateful to the new emperor. There are rumors that the Great Eunuch has declared a truce, but this has not been confirmed, so I don't know if it is true. If so, then this new emperor is truly powerful."

"The news is correct. It seems that Cang Yue Nation can be stable for a while." Ye Ling paused slightly and said, "Is there any news from King Beichen?"

"News arrived from Zhezhou a while ago that Prince Beichen has returned to his fiefdom, Yunzhou, and has been granted the title of King Kaoshan. I never thought Prince Wen had been feigning a serious illness all these years. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, it's terrifying. Before anyone could react, he had already quietly taken control of the government. Even the governor of Yucheng is a member of the new emperor's staff."

"After enduring humiliation and sleeping on straw and tasting gall, he finally succeeded. As long as the Leng family is fine, I will be at peace."

"The matter between you and King Xian is also written off."

"Very good, anything else important?"

"One thing is that the clan leader wrote to me, saying that although Prince Xian is disabled, he still has loyal followers who may seek revenge on you. Also, with the new emperor's ascension, Minister of Rites Han Bing defected, so the emperor didn't reprimand him. The Han family sent people to Zhezhou to bring Prince Xian's wife, Han Yu'er, back to the capital. The clan leader is telling you to be careful of the Han family. Both families are quite powerful, and it's easy to dodge an open attack, but hard to guard against an attack from behind."

Ye Ling nodded: "I understand. It doesn't matter. I've offended more than one or two people anyway. I'm not afraid of the Falcon Prison, so why should I be afraid of them?"

"Also, the Sect Master wants you to send His Highness Yelu off and then return to Langya Pavilion immediately. After all, it's New Year's Eve!"

"Okay, please help me pass a message to my senior brother and tell him that I will rush back before the New Year. Also, is there any news about that thief Di Bin recently? I see that Renzitang has several orders to capture or kill him. I asked your Yue Sishi to keep an eye on him for me."

"Our envoy has already informed all the branches of this matter. You're lucky. He recently appeared in Cangzhou City on the border. News came from there that... this guy's home might be in Cangzhou."

"Great! After searching high and low for something, I finally found it without any effort. We tried to get rid of this guy before the New Year. Several wealthy people came to my senior brother's wedding and told us to capture Di Bin as soon as possible. Some of them have already paid their rewards three or four years ago. These families have relatives who died at Di Bin's hands and they hate him deeply."

"Di Bin is known as the thief because he's always elusive. He used to be a simple thief, but later on he raped and murdered people, committing all sorts of evil. Especially for the five murders he committed, the government has issued bounties over and over again, but no one has been able to catch him. Most of his victims are wealthy people who have made it onto the Langya List, so they've sent orders to Langya Pavilion, hoping we can help them catch Di Bin."

"Cangzhou City, well done! Send the Cangzhou branch a message in advance and let them investigate secretly. Don't alert them. I'll deal with them when I get there."

"Yes, I understand."

As the sky gradually darkened, Li Xin said goodbye to Ye Ling and returned to the city.

On the same night, in the Beichen Palace far away in Yunzhou, Nangong Chen looked at the imperial edict sent from the capital. He didn't say anything, but just smiled.

Xuan Lei and Ying Ren were furious. Ying Ren said, "Why? King Wen? He... He hid it so well for so many years! He deceived everyone, and yet Your Highness treated him so well. He's so ungrateful."

"Your Highness, you can't just let it go like this, right? What qualifications does he have to appoint you as the King of Backers? He just replaced everything without anyone knowing?" Xuan Lei was extremely anxious.

Nangong Chen spoke after a long moment: "He issued a general amnesty and exempted all of my father's harsh taxes. He knows that the people have suffered in recent years, so he reduced taxes next year and halved them for the next three years. His ascension to the throne also means that Da'e will cease fighting with Cang Yue for several years. At least during his reign, Da'e will not initiate war again. Is there anything wrong with such an emperor? Isn't it good? He hasn't forgotten the kindness of this king and has given this king a lot of face. Being a king with a strong support, free and unfettered, isn't it comfortable?"

"Your Highness..." The Kage-nin felt distressed.

Nangong Chen continued, "His ascension to the throne has brought peace to Langya Pavilion and the imperial court. There's no more tension, no more war. The people live and work in peace, and there's peace and prosperity both at home and abroad. What's not to like about that?"

"Your Highness, are we just accepting this?" Xuan Lei asked.

"This prince has never thought of taking that position. I didn't want it before, and I don't want it in the future. The country has not changed hands, it is still in the Nangong family. Don't tell my brother about this. Also, Xuan Lei, send someone careful to take good care of my brother."

"Yes." Xuan Lei looked at his master with a distressed expression.

Ying Ren spoke up, "Your Highness, there's one more thing. Langya Pavilion destroyed the Falcon Prison. They distributed the Falcon Prison's food and property to the nearby people who were persecuted by the Falcon Prison. The people of Weizhou are now even more supportive of Langya Pavilion."

"If you eliminate harm for the people, you will naturally be supported. My father and brother have left Cang Yue Kingdom in ruins, leaving it ravaged. I hope... the new emperor can repair it." Nangong Chen stood up and placed the imperial edict in the cabinet. "It's getting late, and I'm tired. You all should leave. From now on, I will be a truly idle prince."

"Yes." Xuan Lei and Ying Ren bowed and left.

After tonight, the Beichen Palace will have to be changed to the Kaoshan Palace, but this does not matter to Nangong Chen. However, he still needs to spend a long time to get over the matter of King Wen's succession to the throne.