trap
Yuan Cheng left in a hurry, and Jing Wan didn't even have time to see him off. She only found out about his departure when Lu Chang came back from work the next day and told her.
Fearing she would be upset, Lu Chang was prepared to comfort her further, but he did not expect that Jingwan was already familiar with Yuan Cheng's elusive nature. It was truly surprising that he could stay in Lingnan for so many years.
Instead, she comforted Lu Chang: "That's just how Lord Yuan is, always traveling back and forth without a fixed abode. But don't worry, cousin, you'll have another chance to see him in the future."
The slight disappointment that Lu Chang felt due to Yuan Cheng's departure was immediately soothed by her. Lu Chang smiled calmly and took her hand to have a meal.
Yuan Cheng did not leave alone. Before he left, Feng Sinian, the supervisor of the maritime trade, was imprisoned for embezzlement and bribery. Yuan Cheng took him back to Pingdu with him.
Feng Sinian was a direct descendant of the Feng family, and his long-standing position as the Director of Maritime Trade had allowed him to amass countless illicit gains for the family. However, unexpectedly, he was imprisoned by Yuan Cheng overnight, leaving the Feng family no chance to recover.
Before leaving Lingnan, the old lady of the Feng family, supported by her children and grandchildren, stood in front of Yuan Cheng, her old face sinister: "Lord Yuan, are you not afraid of angering the Attendant-in-Ordinary with your actions?"
Yuan Cheng smiled, his smile as warm as a spring breeze: "Isn't the Feng family afraid of angering me with this action?"
Without saying another word, he led his entourage away on horseback.
On the way north, the group did not dare to delay. Everyone looked at Yuan Cheng, who had a cold expression, and did not even dare to say that they wanted to stop and rest. They continued to travel at a fast pace.
The group was still in Lingnan. Yuan Cheng had a gut feeling that the Feng family would not give up. He was still on their territory. As long as they succeeded, Feng Sinian's matter would be reversed.
Sure enough, when they arrived at the official road in Xie County that evening, the group stopped to rest. After eating some dry rations, Yuan Cheng leaned against the trunk of a large tree to rest. Unlike the others, he did not fall asleep but stared intently at the people opposite him.
Inside the prison van, Feng Sinian had his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
The arrest of Feng Sinian was swift and decisive. Evidence of his corruption was not hard to find. He had done so many filthy things for the Feng family that it was inevitable that he would leave some traces. Moreover, Yuan Cheng had his eye on this Maritime Trade Supervisor as soon as he came to Lingnan.
Two years have passed, and the evidence gathered is enough to cost him his head.
Yuan Cheng initially found the situation troublesome. He thought that if he killed one Feng Sinian, the Feng family would raise another Feng Sinian. Was it worth it to risk becoming an enemy of Yang Fujin just to kill such a corrupt official?
Fortunately, Lu Chang had such an uncle. He didn't know what kind of person Feng Ji was, but if he could use Feng Ji to sow discord within the Feng family, it would be a good strategy.
Who will be appointed as the new Maritime Trade Commissioner depends on Feng Ji's abilities.
Although he was from a collateral branch of the Feng family, he was still a member of the Feng family. Moreover, apart from Feng Sinian, there were several younger members in the direct line of the Feng family. Some were too young and lacked experience, while others were of bad character and unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities. The best choice for the old lady of the Feng family was to select a suitable younger member from the collateral branch to take on the important task.
However, there are many talented people in the collateral branches. If Feng Ji cannot stand out, it means that he does not have the ability to serve as the Director of Maritime Trade!
It's better to be rid of someone like that! But Lu Chang's future path will be difficult.
Yuan Cheng was deep in thought. Although he closed his eyes to rest, he was wide awake. Until a sharp arrow flew toward his brow, every pore of his body seemed to breathe nervously. He opened his eyes and saw only the sharp tip of the arrow.
He was a scholar who had followed Li Muyun for many years, but had only learned simple martial arts. When such a sharp arrow came at him, Yuan Cheng did not think he could dodge it. He closed his eyes, but not to wait for his fate to arrive.
When the arrow was only a finger's length away from his brow, a large scalpel spun and flew in, slicing the arrow in two. However, the falling arrowhead still grazed his brow, leaving a long trail of blood.
The crowd was startled awake by the commotion and grabbed their weapons. More than a dozen men in black jumped out from all sides. After failing to assassinate Yuan Cheng, they went straight to their target and flew to the prison cart to break in the prisoners.
The owner of the greatsword leaped out, wearing a black mask, and stood on the prison cart. He killed one by one, two by two. He was highly skilled in martial arts and had amazing stamina. Before long, half of the people died under his blade.
Yuan Cheng's men were not idle either; they eliminated several assassins, and the remaining few scattered and fled upon seeing the situation.
The murderer left before Yuan Cheng could even call for the owner of the large knife to stop, as he used his light-footed skill to escape.
The subordinate wanted to chase after him, but Yuan Cheng stopped him. He guessed that it should be Lu Chang's man. Although the man was masked, he was as big as a bear. He had seen him in Lu's mansion before.
Regardless, after a fierce battle tonight, he could finally rest. His nerves, which had been on guard for many days, were finally relaxed, and Yuan Cheng finally closed his eyes.
After months of arduous travel, they finally arrived in Pingdu. During this long journey, Yuan Cheng survived three assassination attempts. Even after leaving Lingnan, the Feng family's assassins did not give up. In the most recent assassination attempt, he was stabbed in the shoulder. Since it was not a vital area, he was given a simple bandage and then asked to return to the palace without resting, so as to present the evidence of Feng Sinian's embezzlement and bribery to the emperor.
The emperor casually flipped through a couple of pages. He didn't understand the complexities and implications, but when he saw the amount of silver expressed in the text, he was extremely angry: "That Feng Sinian, how dare he embezzle so much money! No wonder the national treasury is empty; this corrupt official has hidden it all in his own home!"
Yang Fujin smiled respectfully: "Your Majesty is absolutely right!" He looked at Yuan Cheng with a kind expression: "Lord Yuan, you must be tired from your journey. Why don't you take a good rest first?"
Yuan Cheng should naturally be the one.
Yang Fujin saw Yuan Cheng out of the Imperial Study. The two walked slowly along the palace road, chatting about how to avoid catching a cold during the many days of rain, neither willing to get to the main topic.
Yang Fujin couldn't hold back any longer. His tone was casual, but it was actually a political infighting: "I have worked with Lord Yuan for decades, and this is the first time I have ever seen Lord Yuan so impatient. He traveled all the way to Lingnan just to arrest Feng Sinian?"
Yuan Cheng smiled and said, "Compared to Yuan Cheng, Lord Yang has always been more composed. But the Princess has been in charge of the Northwest for many years, so why is it that this time Lord Yang wants to take back Her Highness's military power?"
Yang Fujin burst into laughter. It was the first time the palace servants had ever seen this official laugh so heartily: "So that's how it is! I was wondering why Lord Yuan would..."
"The sudden arrest of Feng Sinian—it turns out the adults know about the situation in the Northwest and came specifically to give me a warning!"
Although he was laughing heartily, seemingly chatting happily with his old friend beside him, he was extremely disdainful of Yuan Cheng in his heart: how many people are in the Feng family? If one Feng Sinian dies, he can just find another one. Yuan Cheng can kill them all without end.
His words seemed to express regret over the end of their friendship: "Lord Yuan is not unaware of my relationship with the Feng family, but this action truly saddens me!"
Yuan Cheng stopped and asked with a smile, "Is the coral tree in your room still there, sir?"
Yang Fujin finally dropped his fake smile, the sinister look in his eyes speaking volumes.
Every year, the Feng family would send him rare and precious treasures, which attracted attention in the palace. He only dared to hide those treasures in his home outside the palace. However, he especially liked the coral jade tree, which had a unique appearance and was said to have the effect of prolonging life. So he moved it into the place where he lived in the palace.
"And those South Sea gold pearls, why aren't you wearing them, sir?"
These were all gifts from the Feng family; how could Yuan Cheng know?
"If Yuan Cheng wanted to upset you, he would have presented all these things, along with the evidence against Feng Sinian, to His Majesty long ago. Lord Yang, you still don't understand Yuan Cheng's true intentions!"
Having achieved his goal by saying these words, he walked with much lighter steps, completely ignoring Yang Fujin's wolfish gaze behind him.
As night deepened in the palace, a carriage drove out of the palace and headed towards a residence where wealthy people lived.
A man alighted from the carriage, his entire body wrapped up so that only his short stature was visible. He went straight to the study, where someone was already waiting.
Upon seeing Yang Fujin approach, Feng Ji hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to pay his respects, displaying humility and deference.
Yang Fujin had met this member of the Feng family before. A few years ago, when Feng Sinian delivered gold to Pingdu, Feng Ji was by his side.
At the time, Feng Sinian's words were full of disdain for Feng Ji. Because of Feng's status as a collateral branch of the Feng family, he ordered him around and treated him like a servant.
Yang Fujin was somewhat dissatisfied with how Feng Sinian treated his family members. It wasn't that he was kind-hearted, but he felt that discord and disharmony among family members would inevitably affect the family's interests. However, Feng Sinian was indeed a good dog, so he never gave him any advice.
Feng Ji immediately knelt before Yang Fujin and tearfully recounted Yuan Cheng's various misdeeds in Lingnan. He also angrily denounced Yuan Cheng for imprisoning his brother Si Nian in order to compete with the Feng family for maritime trade, causing the Feng family to lose a major ally.
"Without the help of the government, my Feng family's ships will not be able to sail the seas as smoothly as before. How can we earn gold and silver? How can the Feng family then offer our respects to you gentlemen? Please, Lord Yang, save the Feng family!"
Every word struck a chord with Yang Fujin. He needed the Feng family's money to maintain his numerous cronies in the court. If the Feng family fell, he would also suffer a severe blow.
While he was pondering, Feng Ji presented dozens of account books.
Yang Fujin casually picked up a book and flipped through it. It turned out to be a record of all the money Feng Sinian had bribed the court and local officials every year. His name, Yang Fujin, was even on it!
No wonder! No wonder Yuan Cheng said those things during the day!
He was furious inside, but his face remained impassive as he casually closed the ledger: "What do you mean?"
Feng Ji said, "Brother, you are muddle-headed and have recorded things you shouldn't have. I have no choice but to hand this account book over to you, sir, for your decision!"
"Were these ledgers viewed by a second person?"
Feng Ji said, "After my elder brother's accident, I tortured my family members to find out that Lord Yuan had sent someone to investigate, but he only knew the basics and did not know that there were these account books."
Yang Fujin glanced at the table, looking at the ledgers. Not only his name was on them, but also the names of many officials. With these ledgers, he also had evidence of officials accepting bribes… And that Feng Sinian, seemingly loyal, yet secretly harboring such schemes. Why did he keep these records?
They're just waiting for the crucial moment to extort money from him. How despicable!
Looking at Feng Ji kneeling below him, he knew it was time to change the head of the family.
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