Chang'an Xingye Manor.

This villa originally belonged to Liu Wenjing's family, but after Liu Wenjing's two sons plotted a rebellion and were executed, the villa changed hands several times and eventually became the property of a mysterious person.

Yeon Gaesomun sat on a pile of straw, his brow furrowed as he listened to his subordinates' report.

Seventeen men failed to kill Li Jue?

This made him very angry and frustrated.

These were already his most elite assassins!

"My lord, what should we do next?"

"withdraw!"

"Let's temporarily leave this place and head to another mountain villa!"

"promise!"

Yeon Gaesomun bought several mountain villas specifically to serve as his resting places.

In fact, he also owned many houses in Chang'an, but he dared not linger there for fear of being captured by the Hundred Cavalry.

In fact, the current high-ranking officials in Chang'an do not know that he is alive. If they did know that he was alive, they would probably have dug him out long ago.

Yeon Gaesomun evacuated very quickly, completing the evacuation in less than an hour and erasing all traces of their presence.

Of course, this also includes the two peasant women who have been bringing him meals these past few days.

However, he didn't dare to go too far, so he staged a suicide that seemed reasonable and even justifiable.

Little did he know that his overconfidence almost cost him his life!

But that's a story for another time. Yeon Gaesomun, who had moved to a safe place, soon sent a letter to Jangsun Wuji.

The residence of Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji has been behaving himself lately. Even though his own business is being squeezed out of business by Li Jue to the point of near collapse, he hasn't directly clashed with Li Jue. Instead, he's instigating others to cause trouble for Li Jue.

Even so, Changsun Wuji was very careful, and even pretended to be sick to ask for leave and not to attend court.

The reason was simply that he feared Li Shimin would take his anger out on him.

He was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard when he suddenly heard a "thud," like the sound of a sharp arrow piercing a pillar.

Changsun Wuji got up and looked, and sure enough, he saw an arrow stuck in the pillar, its fletching still trembling.

Who is so bold as to use a bow and arrow in their own residence?

As Changsun Wuji hesitated whether to call for guards, he suddenly noticed a letter tied to the arrow. He immediately pulled out the arrow and opened the letter to read it.

"Greetings, Your Excellency, Your servant Yuan Gai Suwen respectfully presents..."

"Since parting from you, my longing for you has grown stronger with each passing day. Recently, this longing has become so intense that it is almost unbearable. I have no choice but to take the liberty of coming to Chang'an to see you. I humbly request your patronage!"

Changsun Wuji was furious after reading the letter, and cursed Yeon Gaesomun in his heart for being shameless.

This letter appears extremely humble, but in reality, it is full of threats!

You must know that Yeon Gaesomun was executed by himself, and now that he has come back to life, His Majesty the Emperor will suspect him first!

Now that Yeon Gaesomun has come to Chang'an to see me, he must have great ambitions.

If I don't cooperate, this guy could get me into huge trouble just by revealing that I'm still alive!

The question is, should I meet this guy or not?

While Changsun Wuji was hesitating, a minor case was reported to the Ministry of Justice by Su Chen, the magistrate of Chang'an County, and then the Ministry of Justice appealed to the Court of Judicial Review.

Recently, a couple from Xingye Village outside the city committed suicide by drinking arsenic. After an investigation by the authorities, it was found that the two had taken the poison voluntarily and there were no signs of struggle or coercion.

After reviewing the document, the Ministry of Justice simply wrote "Understood" as a routine step, and then forwarded it to the Court of Judicial Review for review. The officials of the Court of Judicial Review also wrote "Understood" after reviewing it, and then sealed the case.

However, this case caught the attention of one person: Liu Rengui.

Although Liu Rengui decided to serve Li Jue, he was not transferred to the Eastern Palace, but continued to serve in the court.

Although it was just an insignificant case, it made him sense something unusual.

Since the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, taxes and levies have been light, and the people have lived in peace and contentment. It has become rare to hear of anyone committing suicide because they could not bear to live.

Although the elderly couple in the document had no children, according to the policy previously established by the Crown Prince, they could also live in an orphanage, where government officials would take care of them until their death.

Therefore, when Liu Rengui saw this document, he felt that it was not simple. Even if no one forced them, the two must have been under some kind of pressure to commit suicide by poisoning.

However, this case has already been filed by the Dali Temple, and it is more difficult than climbing to heaven for a mere doctor like him to overturn the case.

Left with no other choice, he took a copy of the case file to Li Jue, hoping that Li Jue could give the two old men justice.

When Liu Rengui arrived at the Prince of Qin's residence, Li Jue was lying in bed, pretending to be asleep.

Although the assassination attempt failed to hit his vital organs, the impact of the crossbow bolt still broke his ribs, leaving him unable to even breathe properly.

After Liu Rengui stepped forward and bowed, he immediately took out the documents.

"Your Highness, I have discovered a suspicious case..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue asked lazily.

"What case?"

"Your Highness, a farming couple in Chang'an County recently committed suicide by poisoning themselves!"

"oh?"

"That shouldn't be the case!"

“In recent years, our Tang Dynasty has not only been prosperous and abundant, but at least every household has had surplus grain. They have no reason to commit suicide.”

"Furthermore, suicide by poison...where would a pair of rural women get poison?"

"Can't you buy poison?"

"Both of them were on the verge of death, yet they still had money to buy poison?"

"Under normal circumstances, farmers who really can't survive will at most hang themselves with a rope; they would never spend money to buy poison!"

Upon hearing Li Jue's analysis, Liu Rengui immediately gave him a thumbs up in admiration.

"Your Highness is wise!"

"I never imagined that Your Highness, at such a young age, would have such a deep understanding of the living conditions of farmers!"

“Your Highness is right. When I was serving in the local government, I also encountered several suicide cases. Most of the deaths in the city were due to poisoning or suicide. In the countryside, most of the peasant women committed suicide by hanging, and it was rare to see anyone taking poison.”

"Firstly, taking poison is painful, and secondly, arsenic is expensive; ordinary families really can't afford it..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue struggled to sit up and gestured for Liu Rengui to hand him the document. Seeing Li Jue in such pain, Liu Rengui immediately looked distressed and said...

"Your Highness, let me read it to you instead..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue lay back down. To be honest, his body was indeed very uncomfortable sitting up.

"All right!"

"Your Highness, according to the case file, the two peasant women borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates and were unable to repay it, so they committed suicide to avoid their debts."

"Interest rates?"

Whose money is being used for usury?

Upon hearing this, Liu Rengui quickly flipped through the documents again.

"This subordinate will look for it..."

However, Liu Rengui searched through all the documents but could not find any information about the usurers.

"Your Highness, it's not written up there..."