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After receiving the letter from the Seventeenth Prince, the Fourth Prince immediately replied, encouraging him to thoroughly investigate the matter. The Fourth Prince then went to Changchun Garden to report to Emperor Kangxi on the Seventeenth Prince's disaster relief efforts. Emperor Kangxi then wrote a decree and gave it to the Fourth Prince, ordering him to mobilize the southwestern garrison and send it to the Seventeenth Prince as quickly as possible.
Having received Fourth Prince's approval, Seventeen began to intensify his investigation with Duolong. With the New Year approaching, he had no intention of returning. He wouldn't go back to see Fourth Prince or his father until he had a clear understanding of the situation here.
The Seventeenth Prince, in his capacity as Imperial Envoy, went to the prefectures and counties and issued orders to them, instructing them to immediately send people into the villages, leaving no place uninspected, to thoroughly investigate the extent of the disaster. The Emperor Kangxi's edict and the Fourth Prince's approval gave the Seventeenth Prince confidence, and the local officials, seeing that the Seventeenth Prince was serious, no longer passively resisted or feigned compliance.
Seventeen assigned five guards to Duolong to accompany him in investigating the matter. Duolong resolutely refused. First, he dared not use the men Fourth Master had used to protect Seventeen, and second, in order to find clues quickly, he had to disguise himself.
Therefore, Duolong firmly refused the Seventeenth Prince's offer. He went to the county government office to inquire about the true nature of this so-called "fairy nun" organization. It turned out that Magistrate Lou knew about it. He told Duolong and the Seventeenth Prince that the "fairy nun's" church attracted followers by offering prayers for healing and spiritual enlightenment. Seeing that they hadn't done anything illegal, and that their participation was voluntary, and therefore beyond the jurisdiction of the court, he had adopted a laissez-faire attitude. However, after the Seventeenth Prince told Magistrate Lou about the situation in that small village, he felt he could no longer shirk responsibility and immediately pledged to assist the Seventeenth Prince in thoroughly investigating the matter.
Duolong then began a secret investigation into the so-called "fairy," disguising himself as a vagrant and lurking among the beggars in the streets for several days. This was because the county magistrate had said that the vagrants and beggars in the area often disappeared.
Duolong suspected that this so-called "fairy" secret organization must be recruiting members secretly through some illegal means. Some of these people joined voluntarily, some were deceived, and some were coerced.
These were all things that Duolong had learned while mingling among the beggars, which made him even more certain that this "fairy" church must be carrying some unspeakable secret.
After several days of waiting, Duolong was approached by several women on the eve of the Lunar New Year.
"Come with us, and we'll guarantee you plenty to eat and wear, money to earn, and women to hug. Want to come?" A woman in a light purple robe said to Duolong, who was huddled in the corner disguised as a beggar.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. You're just kidding me, aren't you, young lady?" Duolong said, leering at the woman.
"Since you have nothing to offer and nothing to lie about, why don't you come with us? Surely a grown man like you isn't afraid of us women?" the woman provoked.
"Where are you taking me?" Doron asked hesitantly.
"Go to a fairyland. As long as you listen to us, we guarantee you'll live like a god," the woman continued to tempt you.
"I don't believe you. Do you have some bad idea that you want me to do?" Duolong said, wondering whether he should go with them and what would happen if they encountered danger.
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