Mass grave?
It seemed as if some important clue flashed through his mind.
Soon, when Li Linyuan and his men arrived at the scene, they saw hideous and terrifying mummies all over the ground. Their skin was tightly attached to their bones, their eye sockets were sunken, and their mouths were wide open, as if they had suffered a huge blow before death.
"It's her!"
It must be that witch Gu Yanran!
It was obvious that someone had sucked all his blood and essence out of him.
"What?! She is not dead! She has even mastered such evil magic?" The trusted subordinates were shocked.
Li Linyuan nodded. When Qin Yuan asked him to investigate Gu Yanran, he heard that this evil woman was also like this in the territory of Da Chu. In order to improve her skills, she specialized in sucking the essence and blood of men.
Just when Li Linyuan was about to order a search, another person came to report.
"Report!"
"Reporting to the Major General, three more bodies were found in the slums in the east of the city and Xinghua Lane in the south of the city. The cause of death is exactly the same as in this mass grave!"
When everyone heard this, their faces were filled with fear!
Could this witch be able to escape underground?
——
Soon, the news spread throughout the city like wildfire, and all the men were afraid to go out alone.
When some people heard that the evil woman was the Jade Fairy from Yujing Tower, they all gasped in their hearts.
Those noble ladies and children of noble families who had learned skills from Gu Yanran and had contact with her before were all terrified after Gu Yanran's skills were broken.
Song Qingqing threw all the music scores into the brazier overnight, while Chen Zifan begged his grandmother to invite a high monk to perform a ritual to remove the bad luck from him.
In the court, the second prince Qin Xuan and the third prince Qin Chuan and their party attacked Qin Yuan one after another.
"Father!"
Qin Xuan spoke first, pointing his finger directly at Qin Yuan.
"My nephew secretly brought the evil woman from Great Chu to our Great Qin, which resulted in the tragic deaths of 17 civilians. The people in the city are still in a state of panic. This is a grave crime of dereliction of duty!"
As soon as this was said, other ministers followed suit.
"Your Highness is right. This evil woman has wreaked havoc in the capital and harmed the people of Great Qin. Now she has even escaped from the Imperial City Prison. This incident has an extremely bad impact. If we don't investigate it strictly, we may lose the support of the people!"
"The one responsible for guarding the witch this time is the Imperial City Division under His Royal Highness the Grandson. Now that the witch has escaped, there have been heavy casualties. I believe that His Royal Highness the Grandson is to blame!"
The people in the party of the third prince Qin Chuan also nodded and echoed.
"Father, I think that although my nephew has made mistakes, considering his young age, you may give him some leniency, but..."
Qin Chuan pretended to hesitate, then changed the subject.
"It's just that my nephew is now the commander of the Imperial City Department and the general who guards the country. He has a lot of things to do and is inevitably overwhelmed. The witch's escape this time is probably related to the fact that he has too much power and is unable to cope with it.
It would be better to temporarily hand over some military power to the second brother, so that the nephew can concentrate on arresting the evil woman and make meritorious service for his crime."
Qin Chuan's words sounded very high-sounding.
But anyone with ears can hear that he is blatantly trying to seize power.
All the civil and military officials in the court held their breath and cast their eyes towards Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan looked calm, walked out slowly, and bowed, saying:
"Grandfather, I have indeed failed in my duty and I am willing to accept the punishment."
He raised his eyes, slowly swept his gaze over Qin Xuan and Qin Chuan, and continued:
"It was indeed my negligence that the witch escaped, but according to the latest secret report, this witch has fled to the northern border and intends to escape back to Da Chu."
He turned around and suddenly knelt on one knee towards Emperor Qin.
"My grandson requests that I personally lead the troops to the border to arrest the evil woman and uphold the law."
——This move is to advance instead of retreat, to attack instead of defend.
Qin Xuan's expression changed, and he immediately retorted:
"Father! Border military affairs are of great importance. How can we mobilize troops lightly just because of a witch? Moreover, my nephew has just failed in his duties. If I entrust him with an important task, I am afraid..."
"Afraid of what?"
Qin Yuan interrupted coldly, looking directly at Qin Xuan, "Second Uncle, are you afraid that I won't be able to catch him, or are you worried that... after I catch him, he'll ask questions that he shouldn't ask?"
Qin Xuan's pupils shrank and his heart skipped a beat.
Above, Emperor Qin narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth among the people.
Finally, he spoke slowly.
"Approved. We will mobilize our troops today and march north to arrest the murderer."
After he finished speaking, he paused and added meaningfully: "As for the military power, it won't be too late to discuss it after the witch is killed."
In this way, it is equivalent to giving Qin Yuan an opportunity while leaving a back-up plan for checks and balances.
Qin Xuan and Qin Chuan were unable to refute for a moment.
After the court session, the Emperor of Qin summoned Qin Yuan to meet him in the imperial study.
At that time, the sandalwood in the imperial study was burning vigorously. The Qin Emperor's hand holding the red brush paused for a moment on the memorial, and he could not calm down.
“Snap!”
He put the red pen on the imperial desk with a dissatisfied tone.
"Gu Yanran is just a traitorous witch. We can just send the Imperial City Secret Guards to arrest her. Why do we need to mobilize the Changning Army?"
Qin Yuan lowered his eyes, clenched his fists, suddenly lifted his robe and knelt on the ground.
"My grandson is guilty!"
"oh?"
"Then tell me, what is your crime?"
Qin Yuan took a deep breath and said in a steady voice: "My grandson selfishly wants to use this opportunity to catch the murderer and go to Da Chu."
"I failed to report this matter to Grandfather in advance. I acted on my own initiative. I beg Grandfather to punish me."
After saying that, he knocked his head to the ground, with his forehead touching the cold floor tiles.
There was a sudden silence in the imperial study.
The Emperor Qin stared at his back for a long while, then laughed out of anger.
"So, you are going to use the Qin army to help the Chu army eliminate the remnants?"
"Tell me, besides clearing out the White Lotus Sect, what other plans do you have?"
"Grandson dare not." Qin Yuan's back was tense, but a resolute look flashed on his face.
"That evil woman has been causing chaos in Da Chu and Da Qin successively. Maybe there are remnants of the White Lotus Sect in Da Qin. I think if we can eradicate it, it will be considered as eliminating future troubles for Da Qin, not working for Da Chu."
"What a good 'not working for the Great Chu'."
Qin Huang's voice was filled with sneers and dissatisfaction: "Then tell me, after you go to Da Chu, do you plan to find the King of Chu first, or the princess you've been thinking about first?"
This question exploded in the imperial study like thunder, and Qin Yuan's shoulders trembled violently! Even his breathing became disordered.
He lowered his head, his voice still stubborn: "My grandson just wants to find out her whereabouts. It was because of my grandson that she was in danger."
He was blaming himself for Chu Qingluan's disappearance in the hunting ground.
"Now that she has been kidnapped, it would be unkind and unjust if my grandson just sits back and does nothing."
The Emperor of Qin was so angry at his words that he almost laughed, and he slammed the armrest of the dragon throne.
"But you are the eldest grandson of the emperor of the Great Qin. You have a vast country and millions of people on your shoulders! Is the whereabouts of a princess of the Great Chu more important than the stability of the border of the Great Qin?"
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