The emperor faked his death? Never mind, I will ascend the throne directly!

The court was arguing fiercely, but outside the court, someone was making moves in secret.

After meeting Liu Xu, Qin Ruzhuo brought the news about the sea shark to Qin Feng, the commander of the Shen Ce Camp.

It turned out that Qin Ruzhuo was actually a relative of Qin Feng. He arranged for Liu Xu to meet with Qin Feng, and the two discussed some things privately.

Qin Feng was a close confidant of the previous emperor. After Li Chengfeng ascended the throne, he had always been dissatisfied with Li Chengfeng's failure to follow the ancestral system, but he just didn't show it.

After this, a rumor spread in the capital that the current emperor was unworthy of his position, was timid, and was afraid of the threat from the King of Northern Frontier, so he did not dare to send troops to fight.

Even ordinary people were talking about it on the streets.

"Have you heard? The King of Northern Frontier didn't show up at the Shengjing Assembly a few days ago. His Majesty is furious and is rumored to be planning to send troops to Northern Frontier."

"What? Your information is too inaccurate. What I heard is that some people in the court want His Majesty to send troops. But our Majesty is afraid of the power of the King of Northern Frontier and is unwilling to go."

"Isn't it? I heard that Chao Shang has been arguing about this for many days."

"I think our Majesty might be afraid."

"What? If we send troops, we'll probably have to collect taxes. If you want to fight, go ahead."

……

When he heard the news, Li Chengfeng was in the study watching the new progress on Feng Rushi's side.

In the imperial study, Song Yuwei reported the rumors she had collected to Li Chengfeng in detail.

"Your Majesty, rumors have been circulating in the capital recently, accusing Your Majesty of being cowardly and afraid to fight the King of Northern Frontier."

"This statement is malicious and intended to shake the morale of the army and the people."

After a long while, Li Chengfeng slowly spoke: "This matter must be handled with caution. Don't alert the enemy."

He looked up at Song Yuwei and said, "You continue to investigate and find out the source of the rumor."

"I obey your order!" After receiving the order, Song Yuwei immediately left the imperial study.

Outside the palace, Song Yuwei gathered several guards who were agile and skilled in disguise.

"Disguise yourself and blend in with the people. Remember not to reveal your identity." She ordered in a low voice.

In the dim alley, the figures of several people quickly disappeared in the crowd.

People were coming and going on the streets, everything was normal.

After Song Yuwei returned to the Left Prime Minister's Mansion.

He immediately summoned several trusted ministers and held secret discussions in the study.

"Recently, rumors unfavorable to Your Majesty have appeared in the capital. You must secretly investigate and identify the person who spread the rumors."

Several ministers accepted the order and left the study.

At the same time, Li Chengfeng secretly summoned Ji Ye.

"I have something I need you to investigate secretly." He told Ji Ye about the rumor and emphasized the seriousness of the matter.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will do my best." Ji Ye took on the task.

Li Chengfeng nodded slightly, indicating that he could leave.

……

In the Shen Ce Camp, Qin Feng learned that Li Chengfeng was secretly investigating rumors, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He called Qin Ruzhuo over and whispered, "Go and tell Liu Xu about this quickly so he can make preparations."

Qin Feng stood on the command platform of the Shen Ce Camp, looking towards the direction of the capital with a gloomy look in his eyes.

"Li Chengfeng, you are still too young after all..."

Qin Feng withdrew his gaze from the direction of the capital and fell on the soldiers of the Shen Ce Camp who were neatly arranged at his feet.

"Pass the order down, strengthen patrols, no one is allowed to act without my order!"

After receiving the order, the soldiers of the Shen Ce Camp immediately took action and strengthened their patrols.

The firelight from the military camp illuminated the night, but it could not produce a single ray of light.

……

It was late at night. Qin Ruzhuo came to the contact point, left the message, and returned home, sitting quietly waiting.

When it was just getting light, Liu Xu slipped into the Qin Mansion.

"Master Qin, what do you want from me?"

After informing him of Li Chengfeng's secret investigation, Qin Ruzhuo told him to hide well and not to be caught by Li Chengfeng.

Liu Xu's expression remained unchanged. He said to Qin Ruzhuo, "Tell Qin Feng that since he has agreed to work with me, he should not think of backing out."

After returning to the base, Liu Xu ordered everyone: "Move the base and destroy all evidence!"

The room was suddenly in chaos, and everyone was busy packing up and destroying documents.

In the brazier, the burning paper made crackling sounds.

Liu Xu's face was gloomy in the firelight.

……

Two days later, in the Left Prime Minister's Mansion, Song Yuwei was discussing the progress of the investigation with several trusted ministers.

"Are there any clues at the moment?" Song Yuwei asked in a calm tone.

A minister stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency, we have secretly sent people to visit several places where rumors are spreading most seriously, and we have discovered some suspicious points."

"According to our investigation, those who spread the rumors seem to be connected to a business in the south of the city."

That trading company is also very famous in the capital, and basically half of the business in the capital has to go through it.

"Qiucheng Commercial Village..."

She had heard of this business, and it seemed to have some complicated power background behind it.

Many officials in Beijing have dealings with this trading company.

Song Yuwei carefully recalled the suspicious aspects of the merchant house while the other adults continued.

"This business had a new owner before. It is said that the previous owner was imprisoned for embezzling money and died of illness in prison not long after."

Another person added, "Not only that, this business was once raided for tax and property violations. But the investigating officials found nothing."

As soon as this was said, Song Yuwei immediately asked, "Who was the official in charge of the confiscation?"

Pulling out evidence from his sleeve, the man pointed to a spot above and said, "This is the then Dali Temple Junior Official, Chen Yousheng, Lord Chen."

"This Master Chen retired to his hometown after what happened back then and passed away there two years ago."

This is strange. Chen Yousheng was always honest when he was an official and never made friends with any faction. How could he be involved in this matter?

Moreover, the court was clear and there was no conflict among officials.

If you want to know the secret, you probably have to investigate this business first.

"Continue the investigation and make sure to find out the connection between this business and the rumors."

"Also, let's see if we can find Mr. Chen's old servants and see if we can get anything out of them." Song Yuwei was a little confused.

But there is not much evidence at the moment, so we can only let them continue investigating.

Song Yuwei sat alone in the study, thinking about the connection behind this.

This business has so many people dealing with it, I'm afraid there are some shady businesses going on behind the scenes.

Perhaps Mr. Chen is a good breakthrough point...

I’m afraid there’s something complicated behind this.