After the fairy disappeared

Chapter 1441 Everyone Suspects

Xue Zongwu has the emperor's protection, and it is difficult to overthrow the Grand Regent through conventional means. Did she simply use a quick, convenient and permanent method?

It’s terrifying when you think about it, everyone is in danger.

In this situation, how could Tianshui City's security not be strengthened? All the major families were also on the alert and sent more people to guard their houses.

Qingyang asked again: "When you go in and out of Youhu Cottage now, is there still someone watching you from behind?"

"Yes."

Since Xue Zongwu's death, Qingyang's men were often followed when they went out to do business, making their movements very inconvenient.

Those were not just sent by King Yao.

This kind of environment is very unfriendly to Qingyang.

If He Xiao, whom King Yao had clearly wanted to protect, suddenly died, others would certainly quickly suspect Qing Yang again. After all, more and more officials knew about her past grudge with He Xiao.

"He Xiao himself said that he was invited by King Yao to watch the ceremony." Qingyang showed a hint of sneer on his face, "King Yao invited him, maybe he came for me. Find out for me first, what exactly do the two of them want to do."

"Yes!" He Yang was about to leave when he heard the sound of flapping wings outside and a brown-backed shrike landed at the window.

He Yang walked over, paid the postage, and then took a small bamboo tube from its mouth.

There was a note inside the bamboo tube. He Yang unfolded it and took a look at it, then handed it to Qing Yang with both hands:

"A message from the Master of Honglu."

The note contained only a few sentences: A month ago, the tiger hook and the woodlice porcupine were captured and taken away by the Black Armor Army at Green Villa, and their whereabouts are unknown.

There is no signature, but there is a red mark.

It only took two breaths to read this sentence, but Qingyang was in deep thought for a long time.

Here are a few meanings:
First, the owner of Honglu told her that he did not kill Xue Zongwu and Qi Yunsheng, but just lost two demon puppets some time ago.

Secondly, Qi Yunsheng's father-in-law and son-in-law were indeed killed by the leader of the Black Armor Army.

Once again, the two demon puppets that were taken away by the owner of Honglu appeared in Xiaotao Villa hundreds of miles away more than a month later and attacked Qi Yunsheng.

The owner of Honglu denied that he was the murderer. Qingyang knew his background and didn't think he needed to lie.

Then there is only one question:
"What did the Black Armor Army do to those two demon puppets?"

Qingyang had some knowledge about the so-called monsters and demon puppets in the past. He knew that a major characteristic of these things was that their physical and mental states were very unstable. Sometimes they were irritable, sometimes crazy, and difficult to control.

Even a strong leader like Duyun suffered a backlash of his soul when he controlled the beast "Chenyuan" to intercept the Great Fire Spirit Torch, and was seriously injured. Even with all kinds of elixirs, it took him a year and a half to recover.

She knew a little about what the master of Honglu was doing. His demon puppets were also unstable, and the demon puppet master had to be nearby to control them.

"After the Black Armored Army took away the two demon puppets, they transported them to Xiaotao Mountain Villa hundreds of miles away by land and sea. How did they do that?" Mangzhou is the hinterland of Yao Country, not some vast mountain. The two demon puppets looked strange, how could they not alert others?

Especially in Yao country, there are many waterways, rivers and lakes. If Yao Kui goes to Mangzhou without taking a boat, he has to take a long detour.

"If we use drugs or magical powers to make the demon puppets fall into a deep sleep, maybe the Black Armor Army can disguise them as tributes and hide them in boxes." He Yang was also thinking, "During that period, there were many teams going to the capital to participate in the birthday ceremony. Disguising them as birthday celebration teams would not easily attract attention."

"Did the Black Armor Army simply put these two demon puppets into Xiaotao Villa and let them kill on their own after they woke up, or can they directly control the demon puppets?"

He Yang replied: "According to eyewitnesses, Qi Yunsheng led his men to the north and passed by the lychee garden of Liangtou Xiaotao Villa. The demon puppet jumped out from the bushes on the side of the road and attacked the team."

Is this a coincidence or a deliberate calculation?

If it is the latter, it means that the Black Armor Army can control the actions of the demon puppets;
Can you control the demon puppet? Hmm...

But as the old saying goes, the first possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, Qi Yunsheng later went to chase the leader of the Black Armor Army and his entire army was wiped out.

"Let's assume that the Black Armored Army can control the demon puppets. Honglu didn't mention it in his letter, which means he has no idea." Qingyang murmured, "Demon puppet masters are very rare. Even if there are more of them in the Shining Gold Plains than elsewhere, Honglu should know about it."

"Honglu didn't say what he was going to do. Ha, so cunning." Did the owner of Honglu want her to help?

At this time, the servant reported that General Chongwu came to visit.

General Chongwu's transfer order has arrived, and he will take up his post in the northern border in a few days.

General Chongwu was suddenly given a great responsibility, and he did not expect that he would become the biggest beneficiary of Xue Zongwu's death. He was very happy. He also knew who had secured this position for him. On the third day after receiving the transfer order, he came to the door with a generous gift to express his gratitude.

There are actually many officials and businessmen coming in and out of this small village on the secluded lake in Qingyang.

Qingyang glanced at it casually and put the gift list aside: "You deserve that position. Yao people are exclusive, otherwise your qualifications are sufficient."

The two of them were already very familiar with each other in Lingxu City, so there was no need for them to be so polite when speaking.

General Chongwu bowed deeply and said, "Without the help of the Regent, no matter how senior I am, I will not be able to take this position for another twenty years."

Leading troops to defend the northern border of Yao State was a dream he had never dared to think of before, given his background.

His gratitude to Qingyang was beyond words.

"Doing your job well is the best way to thank me."

General Chongwu responded immediately.

Qingyang asked casually: "Where did you come from this time, Mangzhou?"

"No, there are too many people in Mangzhou, so I went to Zhuofu. The journey there is shorter, and food and accommodation are not a problem."

"Zhuoxu?" Qingyang paused with his hand holding the teacup.

Did someone just mention this place? Yes, He Xiao seemed to have said that he took the Zhuowei route.

"That's a relief, thanks to you not being in Mangzhou."

Qingyang only mentioned it casually. General Chongwu saw that she was not interested in this topic, so he quickly smiled and said, "Yes, it would be troublesome if we were in Mangzhou. I'm afraid we won't be able to leave for a while."

This is the time for small talk. Qingyang was originally nonchalant, "Zhuoyu is a small place..."

In a small place, there are not many good inns and post houses, and the rich and powerful will crowd into one or two of them. Thinking of this, she was moved and asked another question:
"Nothing happened there?"

"Compared to Mangzhou, Zhuowei is really peaceful." General Chongwu also used some skills in his speech. The theft of tribute was his own business, and it would be embarrassing to tell others about it. "That night, there was a thunderstorm, and I stayed at the largest posthouse in Zhuowei. There were also many officials and nobles there. I also fought for a table with Fan Shuang, Commander Zhao Song, and the president of the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce, and then-"

Qingyang's eyes fixed, and he raised his hand to interrupt him: "Who from Yangshan Chamber of Commerce?"

"President He of the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce, the Lord invites him to come to Tianshui City to attend the ceremony."

"He Xiao." Qingyang's eyes flickered, "You met him in Zhuoyu."

"Yes, the four of us will sit together in the box, listen to the rain, drink wine, and talk about the war in the Golden Plains. Fan Shuang will treat us."

It seems that He Xiao really stayed in Zhuowei that night, and there was even an eyewitness like Chongwu.

Qingyang nodded.

Just at this moment, another official came to visit. General Chongwu stood up and bowed to Qingyang to say goodbye.

He would definitely be seen if he came to Youhu Cottage, so he shouldn't stay for long.

……

Yaowang Palace.

The palace people were all dispersed and the door was closed. King Yao said coldly to the guard Liu Wu who was kneeling in front of him: "Are you saying that before Lord Xue set off to return home, some of his men did die in Shuangxi?"

"I followed your orders and arrived at Shuangxi County to conduct an investigation. Seven days before General Xue left for home, his accountant Qian Yu was robbed and killed in Shuangxi, the tribute land. Afterwards, someone broke into the document warehouse of Shuangxi County and set it on fire, burning many important documents."

"The accountant was killed?"

"Qian Yu is a servant born in General Xue's mother's family and has been managing General Xue's finances for more than ten years. The Shuangxi County Government said that General Xue has been sending Qian Yu to the county government to check the accounts for many years."

As soon as King Yao heard this, he knew something was fishy: "It seems that Qian Yu knows the accounts between Shuangxi and Xue Zongwu over the past years best. Which documents of Shuangxi County Government were burned?"

Guard Liu bowed his head and said, "These are the income and expenditure books for the past few years. Income, surplus, expenditure, etc. When the fire broke out, the county government saw someone jumping over the wall from the document warehouse, holding a few account books in his hands."

"Kill Qian Yu, steal the account book, and burn the warehouse." Yao Wang's eyes flickered, "Xue Zongwu must have known about it, right? How will he react?"

"General Xue's staff member Tong Huan told me that half of the account books in Shuangxi County's document warehouse were burned, so General Xue was very nervous in the next few days. He ordered Shuangxi County to make up for the lost accounts. He got angry several times and fired several officials."

Yao Wang grasped the key words: "Why is he nervous?"

"Tong Huan said that General Xue was afraid that the royal court would order him to re-establish the accounts!"

"If we rebuild the accounts..." Yao Wang stroked his gray beard and suddenly realized, "Some accounts may not be reconciled. The old ones were burned, and the commissioners who went to Shuangxi can ask for a new account. Yeah, good idea, good idea."

Liu Wu didn't know who he was praising for his "good idea", so he just continued, "General Xue was also very anxious during those days, because the special envoy who was auditing the accounts was about to arrive in Shuangxi."

"Yes, the candidate for this special envoy was suggested by the Qingyang Regent." King Yao chuckled, "The county government's document warehouse did not burn down earlier or later, but it happened to catch fire before the special envoy arrived at Shuangxi. What a coincidence."

"General Xue was still a little uneasy when he set out."

Tong Huan's words were very skillful.

Why was Xue Zongwu so uneasy? He was afraid that there would be problems with the accounts that would be discovered during the audit.

How can a person who has done nothing wrong be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door?

So... King Yao sighed. His beloved minister Xue was brave, wise, and loyal, but he was just a little too greedy.

"So, have Frost Creek finally settled these accounts?"

"It has basically been repaired." Guard Liu replied, "Before General Xue left for home, he sent Tong Huan and his two lieutenants to Shuangxi to supervise the work."