The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"Reporting to the Marquis, we have not yet found out."

"The person who made the move has an extremely high level of cultivation, at least far surpassing the guards of our Embroidered Uniform Guard who are protecting the warehouse."

"The thirty Imperial Guards guarding the warehouse were all killed without any chance to resist!"

"Not the slightest sound has occurred."

"This shows that they acted extremely quickly, wiping them all out before our Jinyiwei guards could even react."

After a moment's thought, Li Jingtian said with a solemn expression, "More importantly, even the most experienced veterans of our Embroidered Uniform Guard have not found any clues."

We are currently unable to determine who was responsible.

Is the magistrate of Licheng County a suspect?

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said in a cold voice.

He killed thirty of his Imperial Guards, and no matter who they were, he would bring them to justice as a tribute to the souls of his fallen Imperial Guards!

Let everyone know that anyone who dares to kill his Imperial Guards will be punished no matter how far away they are!

"It should have nothing to do with Yu Wenyuan, the magistrate of Licheng County."

"Yu Wenyuan has always had a good reputation in Licheng County, and he has also been involved in water conservancy projects."

"But even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. We don't have much money, so our efforts to control the floods are just a drop in the ocean."

"His three years as magistrate of Licheng County were the least affected by the Yellow River floods."

Li Jingtian shook his head and said.

Chu Xiu snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, "If it wasn't him, then do you have anyone you suspect?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, there is one."

"Zhao Mingzhang, Assistant Magistrate of Licheng County."

"This person comes from a gentry family in Licheng County and wields immense power throughout the county."

"Most of the businesses in Licheng County are controlled by the Zhao family."

"Yu Wenyuan is ostensibly the magistrate of Licheng County, but the one who truly controls the entire county is Zhao Mingzhang."

"Guo Lingyun, the county magistrate of Licheng County, is one of Zhao Mingzhang's men."

"If someone could kill our Imperial Guards without anyone noticing and then quietly move all the money away without alerting anyone."

"Perhaps only Zhao Mingzhang can do it!"

Li Jingtian gave a wry smile as he spoke.

He naturally knew that Chu Xiu was dissatisfied with the fact that no clues had been found.

Thirty of their Imperial Guards were killed, yet they couldn't find out who was responsible.

In fact, not to mention the Embroidered Uniform Guard, even he himself was furious when he first received the news.

"Zhao Mingzhang?"

"Whose side is this Zhao Mingzhang on?"

Chu Xiu took a deep breath, calmed his anger, and said to Li Jingtian.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, Zhao Mingzhang is a man of Zhao Huaizheng, the Prefect of Jinan Prefecture."

"Zhao Huaizheng was a member of the Zhao family of Yingchuan."

"Although Zhao Mingzhang was not a member of the Yingchuan Zhao clan, he had already clung to Zhao Huaizheng's coattails and attached himself to him shortly after Zhao Huaizheng took office as the prefect of Jinan."

"It is precisely because of Zhao Huaizheng's backing that he has almost completely sidelined Yu Wenyuan."

"If it weren't for Yu Wenyuan's extraordinary talent and the support of the registrar and clerks of Licheng County, which allowed him to barely hold on, Licheng County would very likely have completely become Zhao Mingzhang's territory."

Li Jingtian pondered for a moment, then spoke to Chu Xiu.

"The Zhao family of Yingchuan?"

Chu Xiu nodded slightly and said thoughtfully.

"My lord, I suspect this matter may have nothing to do with Zhao Huaizheng..."

Li Jingtian hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Oh?"

Chu Xiu glanced at Li Jingtian and said.

"Your Excellency, Zhao Huaizheng may not be considered an honest official, but he is extremely supportive of water conservancy projects."

"Yu Wenyuan, the county magistrate, was able to undertake water conservancy projects in Licheng County, which was actually due to the support of Zhao Huaizheng."

“Zhao Huaizheng allocates funds to support this every year.”

"And it was precisely because of Zhao Huaizheng's support that Zhao Mingzhang was able to support him in this matter, rather than obstruct it."

"We dare not embezzle funds in water conservancy projects."

"Therefore, it is precisely because of the mystery and the lack of any evidence that I find it even more strange."

"It's even more impossible to guess who stole the money from our Imperial Guard's treasury without alerting anyone."

"They really just vanished without a trace!"

Li Jingtian gritted his teeth and said to Chu Xiu.

"Interesting, very interesting indeed..."

"It is impossible for Zhao Huaizheng, the prefect of Jinan Prefecture, to rob the money for water conservancy construction, and it is also impossible for Yu Wenyuan, the magistrate of Licheng County, to rob the money for water conservancy construction."

"Moreover, even if the magistrate of Licheng County wanted to rob the money in the treasury, he would not have the ability to do so."

"It is even more impossible to kill thirty of our Embroidered Uniform Guards without alerting anyone."

"And Zhao Mingzhang, who was most likely to steal the money from the warehouse, also did not have such an ability."

"Unless the person behind him isn't Zhao Huaizheng!"

Chu Xiu said with a playful expression.

"Your subordinate has failed in his duties; please punish me, Your Highness!"

Li Jingtian suddenly knelt down in front of Chu Xiu, and said with a look of shame.

"This has nothing to do with you!"

"You are in charge of overseeing the construction of water conservancy projects by our Embroidered Uniform Guard throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, and besides, you are not even in Jinan Prefecture."

"Your everything depends on the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in Licheng County and even Jinan Prefecture relaying messages."

"If nothing is found in the investigation, it is not your problem, but the problem of the Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Office in Jinan Prefecture."

Chu Xiu waved his hand and said to Li Jingtian.

He was dissatisfied, but it wasn't directed at Li Jingtian.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

Upon hearing this, Li Jingtian breathed a sigh of relief, revealing a look of immense relief, and said with tears of gratitude.

"Get up."

Chu Xiu waved his sleeve and said to Li Jingtian.

"Yes."

Li Jingtian responded and slowly stood up.

"Someone, summon Dugu Yanyu, Murong Qingcheng, Gu Jingfeng, and Yang Jiong to come here and see me."

Chu Xiu said in a deep voice.

The four of them were talents that Chu Xiu had gathered when he left the Myriad Swords Pavilion secret realm.

Each one of them is worthy of being called a peerless genius.

Therefore, Chu Xiu also valued the four of them highly.

of course.

Of the four of them, the most outstanding are naturally Dugu Yuyun and Murong Qingcheng.

"Yes."

Hidden not far away, a Jinyiwei captain acting as a sentry responded and then slipped away.

Not long after.

Dugu Yanyu and his three companions appeared before Chu Xiu and Li Jingtian, knelt down before them, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your subordinates pay their respects to the Marquis."

"No need to be polite, just get up."

Chu Xiu stood with his hands behind his back, speaking calmly.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

Although Dugu Yanyu and the others felt that Chu Xiu was not much different from usual, they could sense that Chu Xiu was suppressing a lot of anger. They were all secretly wondering if something had happened.

"The four of you will accompany me to Licheng County, Jinan Prefecture, Qingzhou."

Chu Xiu said calmly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Dugu Yanyu and the others became solemn and shouted in a powerful voice.

They felt a chill run down their spines. They had joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but their situation was different from Qin Lie's, who had joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Hall of Worship.

They lived directly within the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) compound.

So I also learned a lot about the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

They are extremely familiar with the fact that the Embroidered Uniform Guard is currently undertaking water conservancy projects.

At this moment, Chu Xiu is leading them to Licheng County in Jinan Prefecture, which means that something has likely gone wrong with the water conservancy project!

"Let's go."

Chu Xiu took a step and disappeared from the spot.

Dugu Yuyun and the others used their lightness skills to catch up.