What did you see?

The beggar smiled, held out the bowl in his hand, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

He Liming gave him a piece of paper, and the beggar looked at it and wondered what it was.

He quickly shook his head.

"This is newly issued money by the imperial court. If you dare to refuse it, you are disrespecting the imperial court!"

The beggar quickly grabbed it and said, "It's Sun Si Niang from Yingchun Tower!"

How did you know that?

"Because I often begged for food on the street where Yingchunlou is located, and Sun Si Niang was one of the four beauties of Yingchunlou!"

At this moment, one of the henchmen said, "Boss, Wu Yi does know Sun Siniang. Three months ago, when the brothers went to Yingchun Tower together, he hooked up with Sun Siniang and repeatedly told us that he would redeem her from her servitude!"

He Liming's face darkened, and he immediately ran towards the door.

"Walk!"

He Liming mounted his horse and led his men towards Yingchun Tower.

Yingchunlou was open for business at the time. When the madam saw that the people from the Imperial City Guard had arrived, she hurried over to greet the customers.

"The Imperial City Guard is handling a case; don't cause trouble. Call out Sun Si Niang!"

"Oh my, Fourth Sister's influence is indeed great; the Imperial Guards specifically requested that Fourth Sister accompany them!"

He Liming said coldly, "Bring her out immediately, or I will shut down your Yingchun Pavilion!"

The madam quickly sent someone to fetch Sun Si Niang. Before long, the servant returned and said, "Mama, Si Niang went out this morning and hasn't come back yet."

"What! That brat hasn't come back yet! She told me she'd be back in an hour! Go find her now!"

The madam was completely flustered; Sun Si Niang was her cash cow, and she couldn't let Sun Si Niang get away.

She was anxious and blaming herself, thinking that she shouldn't have let that girl out.

He Liming frowned, a bad feeling rising in his heart.

Where did she go?

“She has been catching a cold lately, and today she said she was going to Daxiangguo Temple to burn incense and pray for a safe return.”

They didn't go to the Great Xiangguo Temple at all!

He Liming then sent someone out to find Sun Siniang, while he himself sat in Yingchun Tower and waited there.

They waited for a whole day, but Sun Si Niang did not return, and the people they sent out also failed to find her.

He Liming went to the Censorate that very night and told Liu Yanzong everything that had happened that day. Liu Yanzong then invited the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

The group agreed that any reports of female corpses being discovered should be immediately reported to the Inspectorate.

Sure enough, on the third day, someone reported to the authorities that a female corpse had been found by the river outside the city.

After examination by the coroner, it was determined that the body had been dead for two days. The madam of Yingchun Tower also came to identify the body. Although it had been soaked in water and deformed, she was still recognized as Sun Siniang.

Damn it! The trail has completely gone cold!

Liu Yanzong felt a headache coming on. At this time, he dared not act on his own and hurriedly went to the palace, intending to report everything to the emperor.

The emperor had just finished discussing with Zhong Shidao, Li Gang, and Zhang Shuye the issue of procuring provisions for Zong Ze and Yue Fei.

Liu Yanzong hurriedly went in and recounted everything in detail.

Zhao Huan asked, "Minister Liu, in your opinion, who exactly is behind this?"

"Your subject is dull-witted."

"Speak quickly!"

"They are spies from an enemy country!"

"Why not say he's the Emperor Emeritus's man?"

"The retired emperor is now living a carefree life in the palace and has no interest in the throne."

"But it cannot be ruled out that someone wants the retired emperor to be restored to the throne."

"Your Majesty, I dare to say that Your Majesty is wise and mighty, a sage ruler unlike any other before or since. Even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of ancient times are but candlelight in Your Majesty's holy radiance! All the important officials of the court today are sincerely convinced of Your Majesty's virtue, and none of them are willing to welcome back the retired emperor."

Although Liu Yanzong's flattery was exaggerated, what he said made a lot of sense.

Zhao Huan had exterminated all of Zhao Ji's former officials, and those who were still alive had already submitted. If Zhao Ji were to be welcomed back, countless more would lose their heads. Even if Zhao Ji followed ancestral rules and did not kill anyone, these people would still be expelled from the court.

Therefore, Zhao Huan's throne is now secure, unless a foreign tribe invades and the Song Dynasty falls.

The saying "when people leave, tea grows cold" is an age-old truth. Zhao Ji has abdicated, and no one will remember him anymore.

Someone is stirring up trouble behind the scenes. Who else could it be but a spy?

The number one enemy of the Song Dynasty at present is the Jin Dynasty.

Some time ago, during the internal war between the north and south of the Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty intervened. It seems that the Jin Dynasty is still unwilling to return the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, or rather, Wanyan Gao always wanted my Song Dynasty.

There are always treacherous subjects trying to harm me!

Do you know the true identity of the spy lurking in Tokyo?

Liu Yanzong said, "I was unaware of this. All of this was arranged by Wanyan Gao's confidants, and no one in the Jin court knew about it."

"Then what should we do according to your suggestion?"

"Your Majesty, I dare to speak frankly: during the reign of the Retired Emperor, not only was the Song Dynasty's military defenses in disarray, but it also failed to guard against spies from enemy countries. The Jin Dynasty's spies infiltrated the Song Dynasty as early as when it allied with the Liao Dynasty to fight against the Liao. To uncover these spies, we must start from the source!"

"You mean you want to dig it up from Wanyan Gao?"

"yes!"

After Liu Yanzong left, Zhao Huan immediately wrote a letter to Sima Junru and sent it to Youzhou, the northern capital, as soon as possible.

The clues to the Jiaozi case completely disappeared after Sun Siniang's death.

The Jiaozi case ended with the execution of the parties involved and the fines imposed on wealthy merchants of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce. Contrary to what some ministers in the court had speculated, many people were not killed.

Zhao Huan could tolerate officials having illicit income and merchants competing within reasonable limits, as long as they did not cross his bottom line.

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