Mentioning the Jingzhao Yin Prefecture, Lord Gu scoffed and said, "If we hadn't received the news and been waiting outside the prison early, Monk Zhiguang would probably have disappeared long ago. How would we have known that there were people from Black Wind Stronghold behind him?"

"Black Wind Stronghold?"

Everyone was startled upon hearing this.

Black Wind Stronghold occupied the treacherous Black Wind Ridge, a strategic location at the junction of several prefectures. It was surrounded by hundreds of miles of interconnected waterways, a dense network of harbors, and mudflats covered with reeds and shrubs taller than a person, capable of concealing countless boats and men—making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Consequently, successive prefectural officials who attempted to suppress the bandits failed, instead suffering heavy losses among their troops.

Later, the emperor was alarmed and issued several imperial edicts to send troops to suppress the rebellion, but they could not defeat the local tyrant Black Wind Stronghold and returned empty-handed.

Fortunately, the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold only robbed people near Black Wind Ridge and rarely caused trouble in the prefecture. Over time, they kept to themselves and the government tacitly accepted their existence, only posting notices along the way to warn travelers to be careful.

Could it be that Black Wind Stronghold has already submitted to Empress Lin and the Crown Prince?

Qin Yuan frowned.

In her previous life, she followed Lin Ziqi to his post, and because the prefecture under his jurisdiction intersected with Black Wind Ridge, she knew some of the inside story.

Black Wind Stronghold didn't just want to seize the mountain and become a bandit king; they had considered accepting amnesty, but unfortunately, they could never reach an agreement with the imperial court.

Officials from neighboring prefectures had all spoken with the leader of Black Wind Stronghold, and the emperor had even sent envoys with imperial wine, brocade robes, and other gifts to read out imperial edicts in front of Black Wind Ridge to offer them amnesty, but all these efforts failed for various reasons.

They just couldn't get that final push in, so they kept putting it off.

After Gu Jinghui pacified the northern frontier, the court became less enthusiastic about offering amnesty. When Lin Ziqi took office, the court officials felt that with peace prevailing throughout the land, Daxing had no need to offer amnesty and rewards to these mountain bandits. Otherwise, the people would follow suit, becoming mountain kings when they gained an advantage and plundering at will, and surrendering when they lost. How could this be tolerated?

However, having suffered many losses in the past, the imperial court was unwilling to mobilize a large army to suppress the bandits again.

After the Crown Prince and Prince Qi passed away, she followed Lin Ziqi to the capital after his promotion. In the following ten years, Daxing, which had enjoyed good weather and abundant harvests, began to suffer from many disasters. First came droughts and floods, then plagues raged. Refugees had nowhere to go, and in various prefectures, many people seized mountains and became kings.

Black Wind Stronghold, located at the intersection of several states, was silently swallowed up by the crowd, and she never heard any news about it again.

Unbeknownst to them, this group had already become entangled with Empress Lin, the Crown Prince, and others, and even had connections with the Yelü people.

Just as he was pondering, Lord Gu said, "It was quite a stroke of luck. The Black Wind Stronghold men were scouting the prison in the Jingzhao Prefecture when they were recognized by a few porters. Do you know why? It was quite a coincidence. Those men were robbed while selling tobacco and silk years ago. Although they survived, they had no money and were ashamed to return home, so they ended up in the capital making a living by doing hard labor. Therefore, they remembered the bandits clearly and sent the message early on. These bandits bribed the jailers to deliver food to that bald monk and pass on the message, hoping to coordinate an attack from the inside. And it just so happened that the little beggar who was waiting at the prison gate overheard it."

"So that's why Third Brother left the manor that night," Gu Baozhu understood. "No wonder we couldn't get any information from the guards."

Qin Yuan frowned: "There's a curfew at night, how did they manage to evade the police..."

Lord Gu explained, “No one is allowed to walk during the curfew. The Yelü people claimed that a thief had broken into the hostage's residence and suspected that it was the person who set the fire last time. They used this to delay the patrol camp in the north city. The people from Black Wind Village set fire to the gate of the Jingzhao Yin's residence. The assassins from the Chengen Marquis's residence mingled with the crowd who came out to put out the fire and protected them as they escaped from the city.”

Qin Yuan nodded slowly.

Given how meticulously the other side acted, it's likely that the soldiers at the city gate had already been bribed.

Suddenly, Master Gu said, "What Third Sister-in-law said is true. These people are indeed very useful."

Lord Gu was stunned for a moment, then praised, "Indeed, if it weren't for the lady's suggestion, how could we have gotten the news so quickly? I'm afraid the monk Zhiguang would have been living a carefree life long ago."

The Marquis's residence is now much better informed than before. Storytellers, beggars, street cleaners, porters, and even hangers-on from the capital city send all sorts of news to him.

After Gu Jingcheng found out, he took advantage of his position at the Five Cities Garrison to secretly recruit many low-ranking officials to help him gather information.

The officers of the Five Cities Garrison are of low rank, but they have many superiors and are responsible for a wide range of affairs, such as arresting thieves, maintaining the appearance of the city, checking household registrations, patrolling the streets, and maintaining cleanliness. As a result, they are very well-informed.

With little pay and a lot of work to do, everyone was more than happy to participate.

Gu Baozhu tilted her head to look at Qin Yuan, as if she had something to ask, but Qin Yuan interrupted her: "I once heard that when the eighteen leaders of Black Wind Stronghold swore their oath of brotherhood, they claimed that they would not rebel against the Emperor, nor would they betray Daxing. They were only dissatisfied with the treacherous officials in power in the court and unwilling to be driven by mediocre people, so they took up arms and became kings of the mountains. They vowed to remain loyal to Daxing for life, and that all their actions were to rob the rich and help the poor, and to act on behalf of Heaven. If they were involved in the matter of the former Crown Prince, wouldn't they be breaking their oath and becoming someone's lackeys?"

Mentioning this, Gu Jinghui sighed: "The eighteen leaders of Black Wind Stronghold have long since passed away, and who knows what the stronghold has become. Even if they were still alive, they would be seventy or eighty years old. How could they possibly control their subordinates? With each new emperor comes a new court. Perhaps they couldn't be recruited and instead turned to Empress Lin's faction."

Qin Yuan remained silent, lost in thought.

Gu Jinghui continued, “The Gu family has been operating in the northern frontier for many years and knows very little about the Black Wind Stronghold. Although we are now better informed, our knowledge is limited to the capital. Once we leave the capital, we are powerless. Prince Qi is investigating the Black Wind Stronghold’s background. I have ordered General Jin to lead troops to guard the vicinity of the imperial estate, just waiting for them to give in when they can’t hold out any longer.”

Everyone nodded.

It seems there's no better way.

Gu Baozhu said, "I hope that Prince Qi can find out something soon, and that General Jin can capture the person as soon as possible."

This is naturally what everyone wants.

Once everyone was silent, Old Madam Gu slammed the prayer beads on the table and asked in a deep voice, "Is that all?"

Gu Jinghui hesitated for a moment, lowered his eyes, and stammered, "I've been busy with Monk Zhiguang's matter these days, so... I'll have to put that matter on hold for now."

Still feeling sorry for her son who had been running around these past few days, Madam Gu didn't say anything more.

Lord Gu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at Sixth Master Gu, who abruptly changed the subject: "Mother, Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law, I have something to say... The Xu family sent someone saying that the Xu family claimed they could make a fortune buying pepper, and that they had taken over the pepper from the Persian merchant at a high price through them. Now they've lost most of their money and have no money left, so they can only use pepper to pay off their debts. The Xu family also complained that they've been dragged down, and all their wealth has been invested in pepper. Now they're trapped and have no way out, begging us to stop pursuing this matter out of consideration for our kinship. The magistrate of the Capital Prefecture also asked me to go to the Capital Prefecture tomorrow to sign and close the case. What do you think of this matter..."