Qi Bainian's death truly caused a huge uproar in Jiangcheng.

Despite the three charges Miao Shaohua had leveled against him, even those who had begun to doubt him still clung to a sliver of hope, awaiting the results of the court's investigation.

After all, this is the child they raised.

He is now dead, the reason being that he fled to escape punishment and attempted to defect to the Southern Zhou Dynasty by sea, but was burned to death at sea for resisting arrest.

This inevitably leads to many speculations.

Did Qi Bainian really defect?

Or... is he involved in some power struggle?

When the news spread, countless people rushed to the gates of the prefectural government, and many businesses even stopped operating to come and demand that the prefectural government provide the results of its investigation into Qi Bainian's massacre of civilians.

If the evidence is conclusive, they will truly believe that Qi Bainian died as a traitor.

If they are vague, it means the emperor is incompetent and the court is corrupt, and they want to build a statue of Qi Bainian as a saint at the third dock on their own initiative.

If this statue of a saint were erected, it would be a slap in the face to the Miao people, a slap in the face to Zhao Cheng and Yuan Yun, and a slap in the face to the Emperor of Dajing.

At this critical moment, Yuan Yun stepped in to stabilize the situation, promising that the investigation results would be released within seven days and posted publicly throughout the city so that everyone could see them.

Yuan Yun's attitude was also very firm, and she only said one sentence.

The results of the imperial investigation can withstand scrutiny!

Seeing Yuan Yun's confidence, the people's emotions calmed down, and the crowd gathered outside the prefect's mansion gradually thinned out.

Jiangcheng is not far from Yanchuan City. Zhao Cheng sent someone to deliver a message to Deng Fugui day and night, telling him not to delay and to travel light and hurry over.

After the investigation results came out, Yuan Yun was able to stabilize the people of Jiangcheng by relying on her status as the eldest princess of the empire, but some matters within the prefectural governor's office needed to be handled by Deng Fugui, the new head of the prefectural city.

To prevent Qi Bainian's direct subordinates from causing trouble, Zhao Cheng ordered Yuan Fei to keep a close eye on the powerful officials of the prefectural government.

Zeng Peng was the Assistant Prefect of Jiangyang County.

Jiangyang Commandery Commandant, Shang Dongyang.

Liu Ying, Registrar of Jiangyang County.

These three are Zhao Cheng's main targets for surveillance.

"How have the three of them been these past two days?" Zhao Cheng asked after Yuan Fei reported the situation.

Yuan Fei said, "There's nothing unusual. They've been doing what they normally do these past two days. When they drink in private, they complain about Qi Bainian's experiences and even curse their master and young mistress for being tyrannical and cruel, but on the surface, they're still diligently helping the young mistress stabilize the people's emotions."

Zhao Cheng was somewhat skeptical and said, "These three people already held great power. With Qi Bainian's death, the power of the Prefectural Governor's Office was divided among them, further increasing their authority. Doesn't anyone have any thoughts about this?"

"Putting aside the matter of avenging Qi Bainian, isn't there anyone who wants to fill the position of prefect?"

“I can’t see any trace of it,” Yuan Fei said confidently, then added, “However, I’ve discovered something important.”

Zhao Cheng took a sip of tea.

Yuan Fei said, "Prefect Zeng Peng and Prefect Shang Dongyang have a very deep friendship with Qi Bainian. Although they are not sworn brothers, they are like brothers. Registrar Liu Ying was promoted by Qi Bainian. Although he is about the same age as Qi Bainian, he has a teacher-student relationship with Qi Bainian."

Zhao Cheng put down his teacup and said, "Tell me something I don't know."

Yuan Fei quickly said, "I found out that Qi Bainian's personal guards were trained by Shang Dongyang. In addition, Shang Dongyang also trained a group of people, a hundred people, a... hundred-man suicide squad."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng became interested and sat up straight, asking, "A hundred elite warriors? Why didn't Qi Bainian use them when he defected?"

Yuan Fei shook his head and said, "I don't know about that."

At this moment, Yuan Yun was resting in her room, while Zhao Cheng was accompanied only by Zhao Wu and Huang Hua.

Huang Hua interjected, "When Qi Bainian was about to take action against the Miao family at the Third Wharf, his personal guards retreated under the reprimand of the Eldest Princess. I think... perhaps Qi Bainian distrusted Shang Dongyang because of the guards' reaction, and since he was in a hurry when he defected, he didn't take them with him."

“This inference holds water, but it’s no longer important.” Zhao Cheng stood up and said, “Xiao Fei, do you mean that Shang Dongyang might rebel?”

Yuan Fei nodded and said, "Of these three, Shang Dongyang is the youngest. He became a county commandant in his thirties, which is largely due to his relationship with Qi Bainian. He is a fierce general with a volatile temper and a hundred elite soldiers under his command. If he really intends to cause trouble, we must be on guard."

Zhao Cheng said, "This is indeed an important discovery. Xiao Fei, these next few days you just keep an eye on Shang Dongyang, and make sure he doesn't find out."

"Yes! Zeng Peng and the others..."

“The girls from Hongxiu Tower haven’t left yet. I’ve asked them to keep an eye on things secretly.”

"Are they capable?"

Zhao Cheng laughed and said, "Their lightness skills are naturally not as good as yours, but don't underestimate them. I relied on their eyes and ears to obtain intelligence in Yanchuan City."

Yuan Fei was somewhat surprised.

“When you come back to Yanchuan with me, I’ll introduce you to Mother Zheng. You’ll be even more surprised.”

In the days leading up to the court's investigation, Zhao Cheng had already discussed the details of the cooperation with Miao Sui and his daughter. This included the sale of "Immortal Wine" (仙酒). Once the new prefect arrived and the alcohol ban was lifted, the Miao family would become the first major family in Jiangcheng to start selling Immortal Wine.

The Miao family's actions naturally did not escape the notice of the Tu and Lu families. The three families appeared calm on the surface, but the Tu and Lu families had already begun to secretly hinder the Miao family.

Although Qi Bainian has fallen, the Tu and Lu families remain strong, and no business in Jiangcheng dares to go against them. The Miao family is fighting alone.

All businesses in Jiangcheng terminated their cooperation with the Miao family and, under the leadership of the Tu and Lu families, imposed economic sanctions on the Miao family.

Zhao Cheng and Yuan Yun sat in the first seat, watching Miao Sui's mournful face. Miao Shaohua, who was next to them, also looked very unwell, with a young man following behind her.

Judging from the boy's appearance, Zhao Cheng guessed his identity.

Miao Sui sighed, "The Tu and Lu families have gone all out this time. Our Miao family's channels have been cut off, and now we are in dire straits!"

Zhao Cheng said calmly, "Patriarch Miao, don't be in a hurry. Let the bullets fly for a while."

Miao Sui was a little confused and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhao Cheng said, "We must proceed step by step and resolve issues one by one. The Princess has already received the news that the court's investigation results will be delivered to Jiangcheng tomorrow. Once Qi Bainian's matter is settled, we will deal with the Tu and Lu families."

Miao Shaohua interjected, "Will the investigation results really arrive tomorrow?"

Yuan Yun nodded and said, "Don't worry."

Miao Shaohua became even more anxious and immediately knelt down in front of Yuan Yun.

Yuan Yun asked suspiciously, "What are you doing?"

Miao Shaohua pulled the boy behind her to her knees and kowtowed, saying, "After the investigation results are released, the imperial court will convict Qi Bainian. Qi Bainian... he deserves to die! But our child is innocent!"

“This is our only son, Qi Rusong.”

"Please, Your Highness, spare his life!"