plan
After silently cursing to himself for a while, Su Feng suddenly thought of something, looked up at Zhou Yanzhi, and asked, "Ce'an, since that's the case, did you discover anything during your stay at Nanfeng Pavilion these past few days?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi's expression hardened, and his hand gripping the stone table tightened unconsciously. He said in a deep voice, "Indeed, there is."
"Oh?" Two voices rang out almost simultaneously.
Su Feng immediately became interested, propping his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand, and looking over with a curious glint in his eyes. Xie Xiangsi also unconsciously leaned towards Zhou Yanzhi.
Under the focused gaze of the two, Zhou Yanzhi slowly recounted: "Every night, some unfamiliar faces would appear in the Nanfeng Pavilion. Some were guests, and some were dressed as male prostitutes. Moreover, these people walked very lightly and landed silently, clearly indicating that they were skilled in martial arts."
"Martial arts..." Xie Xiangsi pondered for a moment, then her eyes flashed: "Could it be that those Moon Gazing Powders were smuggled out through their hands?"
Zhou Yanzhi paused, then nodded in agreement: "From my observations over the past few days, it's pretty much true. After all, there are no secret passages inside the Nanfeng Pavilion; goods must use open routes to enter and exit, but..."
He changed the subject, his brows furrowing slightly, "I once followed one of them and found that after they took out the item, they did not leave the city, but instead entered an inconspicuous courtyard. I wanted to approach and investigate, but I found that there were disguised guards outside the courtyard, and the security was tight, so I dared not enter rashly."
Su Feng clicked his tongue and tapped the stone table with his finger. "Hidden so well, there must be something fishy going on!"
Jie Xiangsi nodded in agreement, but a doubt crossed her mind: if Wangyue San really had been hidden in the capital all along, how could the strange fragrance on the Fifth Princess Zhou Yuyi be explained?
After all, apart from Xiangguo Temple, she had always stayed in the palace. No, it's not that she had never left the palace, for example... during the days she chased after Su Feng, during those days... she might have come into contact with Wangyue San.
Since that's the case...
In the blink of an eye, an idea took shape. She turned to face Su Feng, a gentle smile curving her lips, and softly called out, "Lord Su."
The tone of the call was unusually abnormal, making Su Feng's heart skip a beat and alarm bells go off all over her body. She felt that the woman was up to something again, so she replied irritably, "What is it?"
Jie Xiangsi's smile deepened, her eyes sparkling: "It's not a big deal, but I'm afraid only you, Lord Su, know the most about this matter. Therefore, I would like to ask you to answer a small question."
Zhou Yanzhi turned his head and glanced between the two with a puzzled look. Su Feng raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself: What kind of show is Ce'an's willful cousin up to now?
Jie Xiangsi blinked and slowly asked, "May I ask, Lord Su, when you served as the Fifth Princess's 'personal bodyguard,' were there ever times when you were separated from her?"
Su Feng: "..." I knew it wouldn't be anything good!
Upon hearing the words "personal bodyguard," Su Feng sprang to his feet like a firecracker, pointing a trembling finger at Jie Xiangsi, and angrily exclaimed, "What 'personal bodyguard'?! I was merely fulfilling my duty to protect the Fifth Princess! We are completely innocent and have no connection whatsoever! Please don't use such ambiguous terms to describe us!!! And don't tarnish my innocence!!!"
Jie Xiangsi: "..." Is the term "close bodyguard" ambiguous? She felt that the more ambiguous term would be "personal bodyguard," right?
Zhou Yanzhi: "..." Yunyun's reaction seems a bit like an attempt to cover up the truth.
Su Feng had barely finished shouting when he saw the two people opposite him staring at him with a very strange look. Their gaze seemed to penetrate his skin and see through his unease, making him feel a chill down his spine.
He froze for a moment, then snapped angrily, "What are you looking at?!"
A hint of mockery flashed in Jie Xiangsi's eyes as she raised her gaze and said leisurely, "I had no intention of doing this, but Lord Su's agitation has only made people... speculate."
Zhou Yanzhi coughed lightly, suppressing the faint smile on his lips, and explained seriously to Jie Xiangsi: "Yunyun, the reason why my cousin asked you this question is because we smelled a scent similar to Wangyue San on the Fifth Princess."
This kind of smell can only be acquired by being in contact with large amounts of Wangyue Powder for a long time, or by being poisoned by taking Wangyue Powder in a short period of time.
However, the Fifth Princess has been staying at Xiangguo Temple and in the capital for the past month or two. His Majesty has ordered a thorough investigation in the palace, but no trace of the Moon-Gazing Powder has been found. Therefore, she is not a suspect…”
He paused slightly, his eyes becoming serious, "and then it landed outside the palace, and I still cannot be sure what's going on outside the palace."
Upon hearing this, Su Feng realized he had misunderstood, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.
Composing himself, he carefully recalled the time he had spent with the Fifth Princess. After a moment, meeting their questioning gazes, he answered affirmatively, "During those days, the Fifth Princess was indeed always with me and never left alone."
Jie Xiangsi's heart sank. If that's the case, Zhou Yuyi's chances of coming into contact with Wangyue San within the capital are extremely slim. Therefore, the only possibility left is Xiangguo Temple on the outskirts of the capital.
Clearly, Zhou Yanzhi had also thought of this. Their eyes met, and they uttered three words in unison:
"Xiangguo Temple."
...
Meanwhile, inside the Nanfeng Pavilion.
Several servants quietly sneaked into the room where Zhou Yanzhi had stayed.
They moved with practiced speed and skill, searching the entire room inside and out. They turned over trunks and baskets, squeezed through bedding, and even checked the crevices in the bed.
For a moment, rustling sounds of things being rummaged through filled the room.
After a thorough search yielded no results, the group gathered together. One of them, with a ruthless glint in his eyes, lowered his voice and said, "This Zhou Ce'an is indeed cunning; he didn't leave a single trace."
The other person, who seemed to be the leader, simply waved his hand upon hearing this, his expression calm, seemingly unsurprised by the outcome. He merely sighed and said indifferently, "If he hadn't been so vigilant, he wouldn't have been able to hold onto his position as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Oh well, it doesn't matter. We've already successfully diverted his attention to that secret outpost in the west of the city."
At this point, his expression suddenly hardened, and he ordered, "Send a message to the sentries: if anyone comes to investigate, do not stop them; let them find out the truth."
"yes!"
...
On the other side, inside the courtyard of Dali Temple.
Upon hearing Zhou Yanzhi and Xie Xiangsi utter the words "Xiangguo Temple" in unison, Su Feng frowned and asked in confusion, "You suspect the problem lies with Xiangguo Temple?"
Jie Xiangsi nodded solemnly, "It's not a doubt, it's absolute. Since the suspicions within the palace and the capital have been eliminated, that leaves only Xiangguo Temple in the suburbs of the capital."
Su Feng was still puzzled: "If it really is Xiangguo Temple, then why did they go to the trouble of drawing Ce'an's attention to that courtyard?"
“This…” Xie Xiangsi pondered for a moment and said, “Perhaps it is a deliberate feint, a plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain.”
Zhou Yanzhi tapped his knuckles lightly on the stone table twice, producing a dull sound. His gaze was sharp as he said in a deep voice, "Whether it is true or not, we will know soon enough. Xiangguo Temple must be investigated as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled: "Xiangguo Temple is a royal temple with flourishing incense offerings. Without a solid reason, I'm afraid it will be difficult to investigate further."
Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Zhou Yanzhi's eyes. He slowly took something out of his pocket and placed it on the stone table.
Under the sunlight, the dragon patterns engraved on the Xuanjin token are lifelike, gleaming with a dark golden light.
Amidst their surprised gazes, Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow slightly: "His Majesty foresaw this and bestowed upon me the 'Imperial Decree' here." He tapped the imposing Imperial Decree on the stone table, his tone as steady as a mountain: "As needed for the investigation, it shall be unimpeded, and no one shall dare to obstruct it."
Staring at the imperial edict on the table, the courtyard fell silent for a moment, with only the faint sound of a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves.
Su Feng stared at the token, gasped, and the playful look on his face vanished, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness: "The Emperor's Token... His Majesty actually gave you this?"
He knew the weight of this token; seeing it was as if His Majesty himself were present, allowing him to act first and report later—a special privilege granted by imperial authority.
The depth of the case is probably far beyond what he had imagined.
Jie Xiangsi was also shaken. She looked at Zhou Yanzhi's calm profile and the dark circles under his eyes, and sighed inwardly.
The imperial edict is both the highest authority and a heavy responsibility. If this case cannot be thoroughly investigated, he will be unable to answer to His Majesty.
“Ce’an.” Su Feng composed himself and said seriously, “With this order in hand, it is certainly possible to force our way into Xiangguo Temple. However, the situation inside the temple is unclear. If we act rashly, we may alert them. If they are desperate and destroy the evidence, that would be terrible.”
"Therefore, we cannot force our way in; we must investigate skillfully."
Zhou Yanzhi's fingertips continued to lightly tap the token as his gaze swept over the two men. "Tomorrow, I will go to Xiangguo Temple under the pretext of a routine inspection of the security in the outskirts of the capital by the Dali Temple. With the Emperor's decree in hand, no one will dare to stop me from entering, but the commotion will not be too great, so as not to alert those hiding in the shadows."
After saying that, he looked at Xie Xiangsi and said gently, "Cousin, you are very thoughtful. Tomorrow you will come with me to the temple. On the surface, you will be accompanying family members, but in reality, you will walk around the temple to observe, paying close attention to the monks' daily routines, any unusual behavior of the worshippers, and... whether there is any special smell of incense or herbs."
"Okay." Jie Xiangsi nodded solemnly.
Zhou Yanzhi then looked at Su Feng, his eyes slightly complicated: "Yunyun, you have other important matters to attend to."
Su Feng raised an eyebrow: "What is it?"
"That courtyard in the west of the city," Zhou Yanzhi said in a deep voice, "although it is very likely a feint, we cannot completely let it go. You take a few clever and reliable men and keep a close watch on the perimeter. If there is any movement on the Xiangguo Temple side, check if there is any unusual activity on the other side. If there is, act accordingly and make sure to obtain concrete evidence."
Su Feng understood; this meant he was to keep an eye on any potential "tails" of the enemy. He smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, I, the General of the Central Army, am not just a figurehead."
Zhou Yanzhi nodded, slowly put the imperial decree back into his bosom, stood up, and looked toward Xiangguo Temple, as if he could see the "filth" within.
"Prepare yourselves. I just hope that the results of tomorrow's investigation won't disappoint me."
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