Qin Kou'er was not asleep either; she was sitting under the bright candlelight, looking through the account books she had found on Shi Mengjian.

After a long while, she closed the ledger and threw it on the table, then picked up her teacup and took a small sip.

"Master, Shi Mengjian has taken care of things. Shouldn't we send a message to the capital to start working on having our person take over the position of Salt Commissioner?" Jun Yannuo asked softly, standing beside Qin Kou'er.

"What's the rush?" Qin Kou'er gently put down her teacup and said, "The imperial court will not sit idly by while the salt commissioner is murdered without cause. If we step forward too early, it will only arouse suspicion. If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move either. If I'm not mistaken, the imperial edict will be issued soon, and someone will definitely come to Jiangnan to investigate the case."

“Logically speaking, if the Salt Commissioner of Jiangnan gets into trouble, the most likely person to come out and thoroughly investigate is the Governor-General of Liangjiang. I’ve already made arrangements there. But if the capital sends people to investigate, we should also prepare in advance! But will the Emperor make such an arrangement? Isn’t this a bit too much of a fuss?” Jun Yannuo said with some doubt.

Qin Kou'er glanced at him, sighed softly, picked up a string of jade beads beside her, and twirled them one by one, saying, "If Lan Linxue weren't in Yangzhou, this matter would naturally fall to the Governor-General of Liangjiang. But Lan Linxue came, and everything changed!"

The first person he was worried about was Hu Tianyong. Shi Mengjian was the chief steward of his private accounts in Jiangnan, in charge of all the tribute money for everyone under him. He would never easily let Lan Linxue interfere in this matter, even if it meant keeping the accounts. Therefore, he would definitely be the first to suggest to the Emperor that someone be sent from the capital to audit the accounts.

Secondly, the princes in the capital would never let such a good opportunity for Lan Linxue to make a name for herself.

Everyone knows what kind of lousy reputation Lan Linxue has; he's just a spoiled, arrogant brat who relies on his father's high rank. His position as crown prince is entirely due to the emperor's doting affections. The other princes are already green with envy. If he were to gain anything from this, wouldn't his position as crown prince be too secure? Therefore, they will definitely come out and vie for it.

More importantly, whoever solves this case will not only gain immense prestige before the Emperor, but will also have a significant advantage in recommending the next Salt Commissioner. They'd fight tooth and nail for this lucrative position!

Most importantly, there is another person who will definitely take this opportunity to properly support his good-for-nothing son.

Therefore, the final outcome of this matter was that the Emperor personally issued an edict ordering Crown Prince Lan Linxue to thoroughly investigate, and then a prince and a minister were dispatched from the capital to assist. Just you watch, the waters of Yangzhou will soon be murky beyond recognition.

Jun Yannuo nodded in agreement. "Lan Linxue secretly appeared in Yangzhou, and went straight for this ledger. Could it be that he also wants to cause trouble for Hu Tianyong? However, based on our investigation, apart from being strange and acting unpredictably, he doesn't seem to care about the affairs of the court at all."

"Does he look like an idiot to you?" Qin Kou'er sneered. "I didn't expect him to be so good at hiding his true nature; I almost misjudged him. All the information on Lan Linxue must be collected again. I need all his details, from childhood to adulthood, without missing a single detail!"

"Yes!" Jun Yannuo nodded in agreement. "Then what's our next step..."

"Prepare Shi Mengjian's head for me. Since I promised Lan Linxue I would hand him over, I cannot break my word. Although it's just a head, I didn't say I would give him a healthy Shi Mengjian, did I?"

“Yes! What the Pavilion Master says makes sense!” Jun Yannuo said in a particularly cooperative manner.

"He still owes me a foot bath, I can't forget that!" Thinking of everything the two of them had in the warm room, Qin Kou'er's heartstrings twitched involuntarily.

Just then, Mo Hun hurriedly walked in.

"What happened?" Jun Yannuo asked, frowning. Mo Hun's expression was grim; something must have happened outside.

Qin Kou'er also looked up at Mo Hun.

Mo Hun bowed and said in a low voice, "Master, all eighteen of our branches in Yangzhou have suddenly been wiped out. The attackers are very powerful; our men are no match for them at all."

Qin Kou'er's brows furrowed slightly involuntarily, but her expression remained unchanged. "Do you know who it is?"

Mo Hun shook his head. "They are incredibly swift and agile. They are also very adept at dealing with hidden traps and ambushes; our mechanisms were completely ineffective. The hall masters who returned all said they are top-notch experts, highly trained, and definitely not something ordinary martial artists could pull off!"

"Lan Linxue!" Qin Kou'er stood up without hesitation. "How many people have we lost?"

“The first ones who resisted are all dead! Seeing the situation was bad, the leaders led the others to retreat. But there are always forty or fifty brothers left!” Mo Hun’s voice grew colder as he spoke, his hands clenching tightly.

Qin Kou'er actually laughed, the jade beads in her hand spinning even faster. "Fine! I'll make him kneel, and then he'll come back to demand fifty lives! What a clever plan! Too bad he messed with the wrong person!"

"Master, should we send Falcon to deal with him now?" Mo Hun asked immediately, his hands unconsciously stroking the twin swords hidden deep in his sleeves.

Qin Kou'er looked down at the wound on her hand where Lan Linxue had bitten her, and did not answer immediately.

Suddenly, someone came in again to report: "Your Majesty, there is a group of masked men in black moving around us. They intend to attack us and are burying gunpowder around the area."

"Good! Excellent! Eliminate the weeds and leave no one alive! Truly the work of our Crown Prince!" Qin Kou'er said with a smile. "Since he doesn't want to sleep and wants to have some fun, then we should also extend our hospitality. Pass down the order: everyone at headquarters must evacuate immediately and activate the self-destruct devices. Mo Hun, do you know where Lan Linxue is hiding?"

"I know! It's in a big house in Luokou Lane."

"Alright!" Qin Kou'er nodded. "Tell our hall master to get me fifty coffins, put all the brothers' bodies in them, and transport them to Lan Linxue's door. I want to personally deliver a big gift to him!"

"Master, should we take some men and capture all of them?" Mo Hun asked with a sinister look.

Qin Kou'er glanced at him, a strange ruthlessness flashing in her eyes. "To kill someone, you have to kill them in a chilling way to make it effective! Lan Linxue wants to play hardball with us, so I'll show him what real ruthlessness is! I'll let him know that in Yangzhou, only one person is in charge, and that's me!"

After saying that, Qin Kou'er flicked her sleeves and left.