That evening, the Neiwei Mansion was brightly lit.
Xu Zun, with his hands behind his back, was looking up at the bright moon in the sky, thoughtfully.
It took him a whole day today, but he still couldn't visit all seventeen crime scenes.
The Holy Capital is too big, and these officials live in scattered places, so most of the time is wasted just traveling there.
He could only be selective and investigate the suspected victims first.
"Sir..." At this time, Ani appeared behind him with a bowl of soup, "This is the refreshing soup I asked the chef to make for you."
"Oh?" Xu Zun raised his eyebrows, looked at the steaming medicinal soup, and asked, "Xingnao?"
"Yes..." Ani smiled faintly, "I learned it from Taoism. It is made from musk, calamus, bezoar, star gallbladder and other medicinal materials."
"This..." Xu Zun took the bowl and smelled it gently.
"What?" Seeing Xu Zun's hesitation, Ani pouted, "Don't you dare to drink it? Don't worry, there is no poison in it. Do you need it... I'll give you a taste first?"
"No..." Xu Zun smiled slightly and clarified, "That's not what I meant. What I need now is a sleep-aid soup, not a brain-refreshing soup!"
"Sleep aid?" Ani frowned, "Do you want to sleep? The case...is not being investigated?"
"Haha...I am a human being too!" Xu Zun felt a little comfortable looking at this incredibly beautiful Yuanzhou beauty.
No wonder people say beautiful women are eye-catching!
"Then..." Ani said, "I also know a recipe that can help you sleep. Can I give it to you?"
"No need," Xu Zun joked, "As long as you are willing to warm my bed, I will definitely be able to sleep soundly!"
Ani blushed slightly and murmured: "It's a pity that I couldn't help you!"
"It doesn't matter," Xu Zun patted Ani's shoulder gently, "I still have six days to squander."
"Sir..." Ani said, "I see that you care so much about this assassination case. Have you found anything?"
"Haha..." Xu Zun smiled bitterly, "The case is complicated and my mind is confused. Where can I find the clue?"
"Perhaps..." Ani reminded, "The reason why Xuanmen made such a big noise is just to keep us from finding a clue?"
"Um……"
Xu Zun nodded thoughtfully, feeling that what Ani said made sense.
Ever since he came into contact with this case, he had a feeling that there was some bigger conspiracy hidden behind this large-scale assassination in Xuanmen!
The key to finding out the conspiracy lies among the seventeen victims.
Therefore, Xu Zun has made up his mind that he must investigate these seventeen assassinations in order to gain a glimpse of the real mystery of Xuanmen!
…
That night, Xu Zun forced himself to have a good sleep.
The next day, he continued to visit the assassination scenes step by step, keeping the circumstances of each assassination firmly in his mind.
Xue Guihua, the Duke of Liang, Ying Rang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Li Ren, the Duke of Lushan, Han Zhang, the governor of Songzhou, Cabinet Minister Lian Ge Lao, Liu Jin, the minister of Dali Temple, Cao Ding, the Prime Minister of Shui, Xu Chi, the imperial physician...
Each of these names is like a brand that is deeply rooted in Xu Zun's mind.
After checking the assassination scene, Xu Zun went to Bi Sheng, the leader of the inner guard Zuoge, to check Xuanmen information.
Unexpectedly, there was a mountain of Xuanmen information, and it was impossible for him to read through it.
However, Xu Zun had a quick mind. He knew that Bi Sheng was not an ordinary person, so he asked Bi Sheng to answer his questions in person.
Because he had the edict in hand, Bi Sheng did not dare to resist the edict no matter how unconventional his temper was. He could only be patient and answer Xu Zun's questions one by one.
Through Bi Sheng's answer, Xu Zun roughly figured out the origin of Xuanmen, and also understood the royal family's attitude towards Xuanmen.
It turns out that this Xuanmen was not resurrected, but that they had always existed during the hundreds of years since the founding of the Daxuan Dynasty, but they had never become a phenomenon.
As Tie Jing said, what everyone thinks of Taoism is just some petty thieves shouting slogans and engaging in spiritual movements, and they have no real role to play.
The so-called Xuanmen rebels caught in the past were just figures like the Chongtian Guan gangsters. They joined Xuanmen just to make a living and had no access to the inside secrets of Xuanmen.
It can also be said that before Xu Zun revealed the secret base of Qinglan Temple, the royal family did not pay enough attention to it.
Therefore, Xuanmen’s current rise is definitely abnormal!
Not only Xu Zun, but also the Queen Mother had felt that there must be an expert commanding behind this Xuanmen.
It is precisely because of this that Xu Zun has more reason to believe that Xuanmen's ultimate goal is not just the assassination in front of him.
but……
Xuanmen may have underestimated Queen Mother Lin's ability. They thought that this assassination would be enough to cause chaos in the world, but unexpectedly, the Queen Mother used a move to "use it for me" and suppressed this assassination with the strongest means in history.
A crisis.
Perhaps Xuanmen's so-called "Heavenly Tribulation" operation has been disrupted by the Queen Mother?
Of course, it was not easy to catch a capable person like Bi Sheng, and Xu Zun asked him for detailed information about the seventeen victims.
This time, Bi Sheng no longer dared to use that little skill to deal with the situation, but answered Xu Zun's questions without hesitation.
Upon questioning, it turned out that as Xu Zun expected, Bi Sheng controlled Daxuan's highest intelligence department, and the news he knew was indeed different from what was rumored by the outside world.
For example, Duke Li Ren of Lushan was addicted to alchemy and wanted to become an immortal, so he was reprimanded by the Queen Mother.
It was revealed that Cabinet Minister Lian Ge was involved in buying an official position, and he was preparing to retire and return home.
The transfer envoy of the Holy Capital enriched his own pockets and embezzled public funds, and is currently under investigation by the internal security.
Han Zhang, the governor of Songzhou, was even more outrageous. He liked to steal other people's wives, and he was actually accused of imperial indictment...
Liu Jin, the minister of Dali Temple, also had many stains, and what’s even more interesting is that.
On the day he was killed, the reason why Li Jinlou invited Liu Jin to his home was to arrange a crime for Xu Zun in order to avenge Shang Yuancheng.
Hearing the news, Xu Zun narrowed his eyes slightly and already had murderous intent.
He said in his heart, "How dare you, Li Jinlou, to plot against me."
Just wait for me. If I, Xu Zun, can't solve the case, then you will be considered righteous. But if I solve the case, I will never forget you!
…
In the evening of the same day, news came from the Inner Guards Mansion that General Jing Hui had sent people to take Taoist Master Ye Hanchen of Xuanmen Southwest Road into custody in the Inner Guards Mansion, and Cai Kun and others were intensifying their interrogation.
Nowadays, Ye Hanchen is the only high-level Xuanmen figure who has been captured alive, so the internal guards naturally pay special attention to him.
However, Xu Zun had already predicted that, through the heart-to-heart conversations he had with Zi Jian and Feishuang along the way, he already knew that these people's knowledge was limited.
They are just tools used by Xuanmen to make money and do not understand the advanced operations of Xuanmen at all.
Therefore, to arrest the Xuanmen rebels, we have to start with the assassination case...
…
On the third day, Chen Taiji, Tie Jing and Dongfang Yaorao handled the affairs of their respective units and returned to Xu Zun to report.
The three of them thought that Xu Zun was going to take them around again, but they didn't expect that Xu Zun didn't go anywhere. Instead, he looked at two maps and asked them questions for a whole day.
These two maps, one is for the Holy Capital Xuanmiao City; the other is for the Daxuan Palace...
