Chapter 56 A Bold Idea, Thanks to Young Master Su's Guidance...
As if granted a pardon, Ye Lan's tense expression immediately relaxed. She took a deep breath, pondered briefly, and then slowly spoke:
“I’ve been very confused lately. I know perfectly well that the enemy is plotting something in secret. Several spies have already disguised themselves and infiltrated Lingzhou City. There are also traitors in the city who are colluding with foreign powers to help them hide their tracks. But I don’t know where to start. I’m worried every day about not being able to find a breakthrough in dealing with the spies.”
I've been investigating this matter for over two months with no progress. I don't know where the problem lies, or if I'm even looking in the wrong direction. I've used every investigative method imaginable, and I've secretly placed people to keep an eye on any suspicious individuals, but I still haven't obtained any useful information. I feel frustrated and resentful. I've spent so much manpower, resources, and money casting a wide net, only to find it's all for nothing.
"These days I've been patrolling the city every day, ordering the guards to keep a close watch on the city gates, not even letting a suspicious carrier pigeon escape, but we still can't find the spy, the kidnapper, or the mastermind. In fact, Mu Xin has escaped time and again, giving her opportunities to openly provoke the court and bring shame upon His Majesty."
Ye Lan was already extremely embarrassed when she got to this point. She lowered her eyes with a face full of guilt, not daring to look directly at Zhi Lan and Fu Jun.
Upon hearing this, Fu Yun became somewhat puzzled and asked curiously, "Logically speaking, shouldn't murder and kidnapping cases be investigated by the Ministry of Justice? Why is it being investigated by the Commander of the Imperial Guards?"
Zhilan glanced at Fu Jun with a deep look in her eyes and explained in a low voice, "Both of these cases are related to you, and Ye Lan was a fellow participant, so naturally she knows the connection better than the people in the Judicial Department."
That makes sense, doesn't it?
Fu Yun pressed further, "Then why is Commander Ye also in charge of the spies?"
"The matter of espionage is of great importance. Before we have found out whether any officials in the court are secretly involved in colluding with foreign powers and betraying the country, we must not bring this matter out into the open. Otherwise, we may alert them and cause another bloody storm in the court."
Only a year has passed since the last purge of a large number of corrupt, lawless, and bribe-taking officials. The court has barely recovered some strength and cannot withstand another period of turmoil. In such a volatile situation, enemy nations might seize the opportunity to declare war on our country. At that time, it won't be as simple as winning one or two battles; it will be a crisis of both internal and external threats, severely impacting the entire nation, and plunging our people into misery.
Fu Yun understood immediately upon hearing this: due to the great purge after the Empress ascended the throne, there were currently no trusted confidants in the court who could be given important responsibilities.
Zhilan sighed and concluded in a deep voice, "I don't trust anyone else to handle this matter, except for Yelan."
As expected, Ye Lan must have been the Empress's personal guard who had been protecting her since before she ascended the throne, which is why she trusted her so much.
Hearing the Empress's words, Ye Lan felt even more distressed, her face filled with frustration and self-loathing: "Your Majesty entrusted me with such an important task, yet I cannot find out who is colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, nor have I captured a single spy. I cannot even find any evidence to convict the mastermind behind the murder of Young Master Lu's father and the kidnapping of Young Master Su. How can I bear such a heavy responsibility from Your Majesty?"
Zhilan's eyes turned cold, and she said in a low voice, "Nonsense, don't belittle yourself."
Ye Lan's eyes reddened, her expression deeply moved, and she replied in a hoarse voice, "But I have failed your high expectations of me and am not worthy of being appointed as commander."
"You..." Zhilan was about to rebuke him angrily, but when she saw Ye Lan's eyes redden and filled with tears, she finally suppressed her anger.
Ye Lan had never shown such a vulnerable side in front of others, let alone shed tears with red eyes.
Isn't recognizing her loyalty and diligence over the years a sign of valuing her more?
Seeing that the atmosphere between the two seemed to be getting tense again, Fu Yun quickly spoke up to smooth things over: "No matter how much energy a person has, it is still limited."
Zhilan and Yelan both fell silent upon hearing this, subconsciously glancing at Fu Jun with a hint of anticipation in their eyes, as if they wanted to hear what insights he had to offer.
Fu Yun curled her lips into a smile, no longer intending to shy away from the issue, and bluntly stated: "If we were to personally handle every single matter, and the things we dealt with were too numerous and trivial, it would be impossible not to make some small oversights. Perhaps a single small oversight wouldn't have much of an impact, but even water dripping can wear away stone, and an iron pestle can be ground into a needle. When we lack energy, how could oversights not accumulate? By the time you realize that the oversights you've overlooked have unknowingly left behind many, and have already exceeded the controllable range, they will naturally have a significant impact and produce adverse consequences."
A strange light flashed in Zhilan's eyes. She stared at Fu Jun for a moment with an inscrutable expression, but ultimately said nothing.
Perhaps, as Su Zixin said, even if she trusted Ye Lan, it was really too much to ask her to shoulder so many responsibilities, and she was already overwhelmed.
Night Blue's dim eyes gradually brightened, as if the heavy mountain weighing on her heart was beginning to crumble. She gained a brief respite from the cracks in the wall, her only desire being to break free from the shackles binding her.
"Young Master Su, to be honest, I just can't understand why those spies disappeared without a trace after infiltrating Lingzhou City. Did they erase their tracks after entering the city? But as far as I know, every living person leaves a trace of their existence. So how did they manage to disappear without a trace?"
Fu Yun pondered and said, "There are two possibilities. One is that he committed suicide just before you found out, and the other is that it is no different from disappearing, but he is actually alive and well."
Ye Lan was somewhat confused, her eyes showing a look of bewilderment: "What do you mean by that? If it's no different from disappearing, then how do you know they're still alive and well?"
Fu Yun said confidently, "Of course we'll hide it!"
Zhilan and Yelan both glanced at him, their eyes conveying the message: "Nonsense, do you even need to tell me?"
Fu Yun twitched the corner of her mouth and replied quietly, "The kind of hiding I'm talking about is different from the kind of hiding you think of."
"Oh?" Both Zhilan and Yelan were intrigued and asked in unison, "What's the difference?"
Fu Yun suggested, "One way is to scatter and hide everywhere, and the other way is to gather together and hide."
Zhilan glanced at Fu Jun with a silent look, and said irritably, "If you're sneaking into the city, how can you hide together? With so many people around, wouldn't you be more easily exposed? If you're going to tell me, just say it already, why are you being so mysterious?"
Fu Yun shrugged: "I was just trying to guide Commander Ye's thinking in a direction she hadn't considered before. Maybe that'll help her grasp the key point?"
Zhilan didn't continue to refute, and looked at Yelan: "Well? Have you come up with any ideas?"
Ye Lan looked embarrassed and shook her head in shame.
However, this time she did not fall into self-doubt, but took the initiative to ask Fu Yun for advice: "Young Master Su, in your opinion, in the case I just mentioned, what oversights did I fail to notice, but which had a significant impact and directly led to a deviation in the direction of the investigation?"
Seeing that Ye Lan couldn't recall the point she had suggested, Fu Yun stopped guiding her and instead posed a question directly: "Have you ever considered that these spies, after entering the city, weren't scattered in different places, but instead gathered in some unexpected place?"
“Impossible.” Ye Lan immediately shook her head: “If they were really gathered in one place, it would be impossible for us to completely miss them. Places where people gather will usually attract the attention of people in the surrounding area.”
Fu Jun countered, "What if someone were to meet them as soon as they entered the city, and then hide them in a cellar or secret room and take good care of them? If they don't show up on their own, how would you find them?"
Zhilan and Yelan were both taken aback upon hearing this, clearly neither of them had considered the possibility of raising animals in captivity.
“Let’s talk about the future.” Fu Yun’s expression became more solemn. “They only need to wait for the right moment, then launch a full-scale attack, catching you completely off guard. With us caught off guard, they can coordinate with their comrades waiting outside the city to storm in. You will have to protect the safety of the people in the city while also gathering troops to counterattack their invasion. At that point, will you, besieged inside the city, have a better chance of winning, or will the well-prepared enemy have a better chance of winning?”
Ye Lan's pupils dilated, and a cold sweat broke out on her back. After a moment, she glanced at Zhi Lan with difficulty and saw that His Majesty's eyebrows were furrowed and his face showed a solemn expression, clearly agreeing with Young Master Su's words.
If it weren't for Young Master Su pointing this out today, she would never have been able to forgive herself when she truly faced being attacked from both sides.
She said with lingering fear, "Thanks to Young Master Su's reminder, I never dared to think so boldly before, and almost made an irreparable mistake."
Fu Yun shook his head, and considering that some things couldn't be stated directly, he said ambiguously, "My analysis may not be correct, and you will need to verify it."
He spoke with such certainty because, in the original story, not only did Su Fuyun collude with foreign powers for power, but Su Tan was even more ruthless. To gain recognition from enemy countries and obtain trading rights and supreme power and status, she not only colluded with foreign nations but also provided them with silver to purchase weapons, ruthlessly inducing them to attack her country, single-mindedly plotting to kill the Empress and destroy the Nü Kingdom. At that time, she would be the unparalleled, incredibly wealthy merchant tycoon of the Nü Kingdom.
It has to be said that, driven by her own selfish desires, her conscience was completely devoured by her ambition.
Based on what Su Zi mentioned earlier, Su Tan has been frequently receiving close friends late at night recently, so it's not hard to guess that she has begun to collude with foreign powers and commit treason.
"By the way, I heard from the servants of the Su family that the Su family head, Su Tan, has been behaving strangely lately. You can focus your investigation on her."
Ye Lan nodded, a determined light shining in her eyes: "Thank you for your advice, Young Master Su. I will handle this matter as quickly as possible to prevent them from having any opportunity to take advantage of me."
Fu Yun thought for a moment and remembered something else: "Also, I don't know if you've heard, but the head of the Su family and the head of the Wang family are mortal enemies in private. In the last kidnapping incident, besides the head of the Wang family, you can also try to see if you can find out anything from Su Tan."
Ye Lan felt a surge of gratitude and sincerely thanked him, "I understand, Young Master Su. Thank you for your honesty. You have really helped me a lot."
Fu Yun smiled slightly: "It's just a small suggestion, no need to be polite."
Ye Lan said no more. Now that she had a direction, she was full of energy and looked at Zhi Lan with burning eyes: "Your Majesty, I know what to do."
Zhilan smiled slightly, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes: "Get up!"
She glanced indifferently at the corpse on the ground: "Bring the police in and find out the assassin's identity as soon as possible, and who ordered him?"
"yes!"
Ye Lan respectfully responded, stood up from the ground, and walked towards the door.
The investigators quickly returned to the restaurant lobby. After a brief examination of the body, the coroner told Zhilan directly, "Master, there are signs of poisoning in this person's internal organs. I need to take her back to the Investigating Department for a detailed autopsy."
Zhilan pondered for a moment and then agreed.
The police officers carried the body away, and Ye Lan left with them.
Just as Zhilan was about to take Fuyun to find a clinic for treatment, the waiter arrived late, leading a middle-aged woman carrying a medicine box, just before the two of them stepped out of the restaurant.
"Sir, I've called the doctor."
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