Chapter 50 Severe Punishment

Agula clapped his hands, and two guards came forward, carrying a box covered with a red cloth. Agula removed the cloth, revealing a crystal ball that was clear and translucent, with what appeared to be flowing light moving within it. It looked quite impressive.

"This is a mirror from the Western Regions that can reveal the good and evil in people's hearts. Miss Ye, just place the tiger tally on it and you will see the scene inside," Agula said with a smile.

Ye Wanning knew it was definitely a trap, but she couldn't refuse in front of everyone. She walked forward slowly and took out the tiger tally from her sleeve—it was a fake tiger tally that Pei Zhi had specially made for her; the real one had already been taken by the Shadow Pavilion people.

Just as the tiger tally was about to touch the crystal ball, Ye Wanning suddenly noticed a small hole at the bottom of the crystal ball, and something seemed to be flashing inside. A thought struck her, and she pretended to drop it, causing the tiger tally to fall to the ground with a "thud." Ye Wanning quickly bent down to pick it up, simultaneously piercing the small hole with a silver needle.

With a soft "crack," the crystal ball suddenly split open, and a small firework tube fell out, exploding into a green spark in mid-air.

Everyone was stunned. Agula's face suddenly turned ugly: "You..."

"What does the envoy mean?" Ye Wanning stood up and asked coldly, "Using something that can explode to impersonate a treasure—is it an attempt to assassinate His Majesty?"

The emperor's face darkened: "Envoy Agula, you had better give me an explanation."

“Your Majesty, please calm down. This was just an accident. The treasure may have been frightened…” Agula quickly said.

"Is that so?" Ye Wanning sneered. "Then let me see if there are any other 'surprises' among the envoy's other tributes?"

Without Agula's prompting, Ye Wanning ordered her men to search the carriages. Soon, the guards found over a dozen firework tubes identical to those in the crystal ball in one of the carriages, along with several boxes of bows and arrows and daggers.

"Caught red-handed, what else do you have to say?" Ye Wanning said sternly.

Agula knew he had been caught red-handed. Suddenly, he pulled a dagger from his robes and charged at the emperor: "Now that you've discovered us, it's time for us to fight to the death!"

"Protect His Majesty!" Pei Zhi roared, stepping in front of the emperor and engaging Agula in combat. Chaos erupted immediately, with officials scattering to the side and guards rushing to capture the assassin.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ye Wanning grabbed the follower with the plum blossom birthmark: "Tell me, who else is in your gang?"

The attendant was caught off guard by her sudden change of attitude and turned pale with fright. Just as he opened his mouth, a cold arrow struck him squarely in the chest, and he fell to the ground dead.

Ye Wanning looked up and saw that Agula had climbed over the wall and disappeared into the night.

"Chase them!" Pei Zhi roared, and the guards gave chase.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Ye Wanning thought: This is just the beginning. The arrival of the Western Regions envoy meant that a much larger conspiracy was already underway.

With Agula gone, the banquet in the Imperial Garden could not proceed. The Emperor was furious and issued a series of orders: search the city and its inhabitants, thoroughly investigate Agula and his accomplices, and strictly guard the capital.

Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi stayed behind to discuss countermeasures with the emperor.

"What scoundrels! They've got some nerve, daring to attempt an assassination in the Imperial Garden!" The Emperor was furious. "Bring them back and punish them severely!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" Pei Zhi said. "Since Agula dared to do this, he must know his escape route if things fail; he's probably already out of the city!"

"Then what should we do? Just let them get away?" the emperor asked unwillingly.

“Of course we can’t let them get away,” Ye Wanning said. “They must have accomplices in the city. If we start with these people and follow the clues, we might be able to find Agula’s whereabouts.”

The Emperor nodded: "Very well, we'll do as you say. Minister Pei, this matter is entrusted to you. Miss Ye, you will assist me."

"As you command," the two replied in unison.

It was quite late when they left the palace. Pei Zhi escorted Ye Wanning back to the Minister's residence. The carriage traveled along the quiet streets, the only sounds being the clatter of hooves and wheels.

"Guess who's behind Agula?" Ye Wanning broke the silence with her question.

"It's hard to say," Pei Zhi shook his head, "but it's definitely related to the Tantric sect. I had someone investigate the follower who was shot; he was a member of the Tantric sect."

"Esoteric Buddhism..." Ye Wanning murmured, "What exactly are they trying to do?"

"I'm afraid that getting the rubbing of the military tally isn't enough. Judging from the weapons they've prepared, it seems they intend to create some unrest in the capital and take advantage of the situation to do something," Pei Zhi said.

Ye Wanning nodded: "I thought so too. By the way, don't you think that crystal ball is strange?"

"What's so strange?" Pei Zhi asked, puzzled.

"As soon as the crystal ball cracked, I smelled a strange odor, like a drug that could knock people out," Ye Wanning said. "I suspect their plan wasn't just to kill the emperor, but also to drug us, and then..."

“Then take the rubbing of the military tally,” Pei Zhi continued, his expression grave. “Luckily you noticed, otherwise we would have almost fallen into their trap.”

Ye Wanning felt a chill of fear. She had only sensed something was wrong at the time, but she hadn't expected it to be a drug that could knock people out.

“Oh, right, I found this on that attendant.” Ye Wanning took out a small wooden plaque from her sleeve, on which a strange symbol was engraved. “Do you recognize it?”

Pei Zhi took the wooden plaque and examined it carefully. "This is the mark of the Tantric sect. Each branch has a different mark. This one seems to be..." He thought for a moment and said, "It seems to be from the West Mountain branch."

"West Mountain?" Ye Wanning's eyes lit up. "Isn't it very close to Begonia Valley?"

“Yes.” Pei Zhi nodded. “The West Mountain branch is located in a temple near Begonia Valley.”

"I see." Ye Wanning's heart tightened. Could this be the "secret sect stronghold" mentioned in her mother's diary?

“We’ll go to Xishan tomorrow,” Ye Wanning said.

"No, it's too dangerous," Pei Zhi quickly objected. "The Tantric sect must already know we've discovered their whereabouts. Going there would be suicide."

"But……"

“No buts.” Pei Zhi interrupted her. “I will send people to gather information first, and then we will take action once we have a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.”

Ye Wanning knew Pei Zhi was right, so she could only nod and say, "Alright."

Back at the Minister's residence, Ye Wanning lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. She had a feeling something was about to happen, and a deep unease settled in her heart. She picked up her mother's diary, turning to the page where her mother had mentioned Begonia Valley. It read: "The Tantric sect has been active frequently near Begonia Valley, seemingly searching for something. There's a mystery behind the stone tablet in the valley; be careful."