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

"Boss, is there anything new recently?" Li Chengfeng asked casually while eating wontons.

The boss was a lean middle-aged man. He smiled and said, "Sir, you are from out of town, right? The biggest news recently is that the emperor is going to Zhenguo Temple to pray for blessings."

Wiping his hands with a towel, he added, "I heard the procession was quite grand."

Li Chengfeng nodded calmly and asked, "Zhen Guo Temple? But it's on the outskirts of the capital?" He took a bite of the bun and chewed it carefully.

"That's right," the boss nodded repeatedly. "That's the royal temple, very popular." He pointed outside the door and said, "Look, many people on this street are going to Zhenguo Temple to burn incense."

Looking in the direction pointed by the boss, Li Chengfeng indeed saw some pedestrians carrying bags and walking in the same direction.

He smiled secretly in his heart, it seemed that his plan of escaping was going very smoothly.

After breakfast, Li Chengfeng paid the bill and left the town with Tiezhu and continued on their journey.

In the next few days, Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu traveled day and night, sleeping in the open air, and finally arrived at a small town in the south of the Yangtze River in the evening of the fifth day.

This small town is called Lin'an. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has beautiful scenery.

The city gate was bustling with people coming and going.

Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu led their horses and entered the city among the crowd.

"Tiezhu, let's find an inn to stay first." Li Chengfeng said in a low voice.

Pulling the brim of his hat down, he hid his face.

Tiezhu nodded in response and led the way to find an inn.

The two walked along the street for a while and found a two-story building called "Yue Lai Inn".

The inn is not big, but clean and tidy.

Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu asked for two adjacent guest rooms and settled down.

"Sir, I'll bring you some hot water."

The waiter's voice sounded outside the door.

Li Chengfeng opened the door. "Thank you."

Placing the basin on the washstand, the waiter bowed and said, "If you have any other requests, please let me know."

Li Chengfeng waved his hand and said, "I'm tired and just want to have a good sleep. Please don't disturb me unless I ask you to."

He hurriedly bent over and left the room. The waiter closed the door while saying, "Okay, I won't disturb you, sir."

Not long after the waiter left, Tiezhu knocked on the door three times, and Li Chengfeng opened the door to let Tiezhu in.

"Sir, a secret letter."

Tiezhu took out a letter from his pocket.

There was no marking on the envelope, just a simple wax seal.

Li Chengfeng opened the envelope and read it carefully under the dim light of the oil lamp. After confirming that the agreed location and code in the letter were correct, he placed the letter on the candlelight and lit it.

Walking to the window, he gently opened it a crack and observed the situation inside and outside the inn.

There were few pedestrians on the street, and only the occasional sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard.

After closing the window, he took out a small bag from his underwear. When he opened it, there was a folded map inside.

Following the description in the secret letter, he found the mark of an old locust tree on the outskirts of the city on the map.

Li Chengfeng pointed to the mark on the map and said, "Tonight at midnight, under the old locust tree on the outskirts of the city. Remember, be extremely cautious and don't reveal your whereabouts."

As night fell, the noise inside and outside the inn gradually died down.

Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu changed into night clothes and sneaked out of the inn under the cover of darkness.

The two walked along the city path towards the outskirts.

I saw a dilapidated temple hidden in the shadows in a desolate forest on the outskirts of the city. The broken walls were covered with vines, which looked particularly gloomy under the moonlight.

Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu approached the ruined temple cautiously, carefully observing the surrounding situation, and only walked in quietly after confirming that there was no ambush.

"Cuckoo, cuckoo."

Tiezhu whistled inside.

"Goo~Goo~"

Hearing the other party's response, Li Chengfeng entered the ruined temple.

The light in the dilapidated temple was dim, and the air was filled with a damp and moldy smell.

A dark shadow hid under the dilapidated statue.

"Meet the Master"

The black shadow bowed to Li Chengfeng.

Li Chengfeng said, "When you're out and about, there's no need for these empty formalities."

"Tell me what you found today."

Tiezhu stood vigilantly at the door, observing the movements outside.

Zhao Sheng pulled out a stack of papers from his pocket and handed them to Li Chengfeng. "This is some evidence I've collected of corruption among officials in Jiangnan. Your Majesty, please review it."

Li Chengfeng took the evidence, looked through it carefully in the moonlight, and frowned.

"Jiangnan has been plagued by floods for years. The imperial court allocated funds for disaster relief, but they were exploited at every level, and very little actually reached the victims."

Zhao Sheng said in a heavy tone, "These officials have enriched themselves and exploited the people. Their crimes are unforgivable!"

Li Chengfeng put down the evidence in his hand, his eyes sharp.

"These evidences must be sent back to the capital as soon as possible."

Zhao Sheng nodded.

The two of them whispered about the next course of action and how to safely send the evidence back to the capital.

Then Li Chengfeng and Tiezhu left the ruined temple and disappeared into the night.

At the same time, Chen Tingshu, as an envoy of the Qing Dynasty, came to Jiangnan with a huge team.

Along the way, officials from all states and counties hosted banquets to entertain them, which were extremely luxurious.

Chen Tingshu drank and had fun along the way, accepted bribes, and some officials even catered to his wishes and sent him beautiful women.

He sat in a gorgeously decorated carriage with a smug look on his face, playing with a crystal clear jade pendant in his hand, which was a tribute just presented by the Suzhou prefect.

"Sir, Yangzhou City is just ahead." The attendant reported respectfully.

Chen Tingshu put down the jade pendant, lifted the curtain of the car, looked at the prosperous city in the distance, and a greedy smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Yangzhou, great. I heard that Yangzhou's skinny horses are famous all over the world..." He rubbed his hands, his eyes full of anticipation.

His behavior throughout the whole process was exactly like a poor bumpkin trying to cheat the rich.

He refused nothing that was offered to him.

Fellow officials couldn't stand his mean behavior and secretly called him a pig.

The officials who flattered him and acted servile to him on the surface also looked disdainful after seeing him off.

"Hmph, even the most stubborn official would be so embarrassed if he came to our place and rolled around in our gentle embrace that I'm sure he'd lose all sense of direction."

"If he accepts our gift, he's tied to the same boat with us. Let's see how he explains it to the little emperor later."

Chen Tingshu walked comfortably towards the disaster-stricken counties.

After Li Chengfeng checked out of the room with Tiezhu, they continued heading south.

That day, the two arrived in Zefeng County.

Zefeng County is located in the upper reaches of the Jiangnan flood area. The water here is relatively calm and the embankments are strong and solid.

The people here make a living by fishing, and every household hangs out to dry their fishing nets and harpoons.

Li Chengfeng and his companion walked to a house and saw a woman weaving a net in the yard.

"This sister-in-law is polite."

Li Chengfeng stepped forward and bowed.

The woman asked them with a puzzled look, "Who are you looking for?"

Li Chengfeng smiled sheepishly and said, "My family is in the seafood business. I heard that the fish in our county are good, so I came here to take a look."