Princess Zhaoling 3
Even though there was considerable grumbling at court, and Xuanyuan Xiao gave Zhaoling no pleasant looks, she was determined to become the Inspection Bureau's chief envoy.
What was more, guided by her belief that Xuanyuan Xiao's unhappiness was her happiness, Zhaoling begged the emperor to have a Phoenix Token made especially for her, one that carried the authority of the emperor's personal presence. Since its holder was both the reigning emperor's princess and the Inspection Bureau's chief envoy, its authority naturally surpassed that of Yang Yunchun's imperially bestowed Heavenly Dragon Token.
The emperor did not yet know that, from this moment on, the phoenix standing above the heavenly dragon was already a sign of what was to come.
Since Xuanyuan Xiao was still needed to protect the emperor, Zhaoling merely remembered his name for the time being, despite his displeasing her, intending to settle the score with him later, after the autumn harvest.
But Zhaoling found an opportunity to deal with another person who had made disparaging remarks about her being a woman.
Shortly after Zhaoling received Feng Qing's reply declaring his willingness to serve her and brought the Inspection Bureau entirely to heel with poison and martial arts, Yang Yunchun reported to her that he had received a secret letter: a murder had occurred in Jade City, and one of the suspects involved was Zongzheng Mingzhu, the legitimate grandson of Chancellor Zongzheng.
Zhaoling laughed. Look, that old bastard Zongzheng had looked down on her for wielding power as a woman, and now hadn't his lifeline been delivered right into her hands?
Thus, just as Zhaoling arrived in Jade City with the Inspection Bureau's people, she saw that Shi Shui had also arrived with people from the Hundred Rivers Courtyard.
Shi Shui looked at the woman standing in front of Yang Yunchun, then glanced at him in some puzzlement.
Yang Yunchun was just about to speak when he saw Zhaoling wave her hand, and he immediately closed his mouth.
Zhaoling looked at Shi Shui and said with a smile, "I am Situ Qingtang, chief envoy of the Inspection Bureau."
Situ was the imperial surname, and Shi Shui needed only to look at the power she now held to know that she was a member of the imperial clan. But the Hundred Rivers Courtyard relied on Li Xiangyi's influence and would not give the imperial family face.
"This is a matter of the jianghu, so it should naturally be handled by our Hundred Rivers Courtyard."
Zhaoling was still smiling, not angry in the least. "We at court gave face to Li Xiangyi. Now that Li Xiangyi has been dead for ten years, even if the Hundred Rivers Courtyard wants to keep trading on his name, not many people will still buy it, will they?
"Besides, Zongzheng Mingzhu, who is implicated in this case, is the grandson of an important court minister. That makes this a court matter. Miss Shi, your Hundred Rivers Courtyard has overstepped."
Shi Shui saw that, though Zhaoling was smiling, she gave the Hundred Rivers Courtyard no face at all. And when the surrounding onlookers heard Zhaoling say that the Hundred Rivers Courtyard relied on Li Xiangyi, their faces all showed some degree of mockery.
Displeased, she said no more and simply swung her whip at Yu Hongzhu. "Zongzheng Mingzhu belongs to the court, but Yu Hongzhu does not."
Zhaoling swung her sword. Although her internal power was still shallow, her sword techniques were exceptionally skillful. In just a few exchanges, she had beaten Shi Shui until she was completely unable to fight back.
She glanced at Shi Shui, who had suffered quite a few sword wounds. "This land belongs to Great Xi. When the lord of Jade City commits a crime, the court will naturally oversee the matter. Your Hundred Rivers Courtyard would do better to take care of its own affairs.
"After all, I hear the traitor who secretly harmed Li Xiangyi is still eating and drinking well at your Hundred Rivers Courtyard. Is that true or not?"
Now that she was a princess, the Hundred Rivers Courtyard could only stand opposed to her. It was a tiger blocking the path of the Inspection Bureau under her command as it monitored the jianghu, so she naturally had to spare no effort in weakening its authority.
Fortunately, the Hundred Rivers Courtyard had a whole pile of handles to seize upon. Just that one sentence was enough to make Shi Shui's pretty face turn pale with fright.
Zhaoling gave Yang Yunchun a look. With Zhaoling keeping him in check, Yang Yunchun dared not show Shi Shui the slightest preferential treatment.
At Zhaoling's signal, he arrested Yu Hongzhu and all the others.
Zhaoling gave Yang Yunchun a special instruction. "Make sure you keep a close eye on Zongzheng Mingzhu. His grandfather has taken such good care of me that I must naturally repay him in kind."
The moment Fang Duobing heard the surname Situ, he hid behind Li Lianhua and muttered, "This wouldn't happen to be that Princess Zhaoling, would it? Li Lianhua, hide me a little."
When he heard Zhaoling say that the traitor who had secretly harmed Li Xiangyi was eating and drinking well at the Hundred Rivers Courtyard, he could no longer contain himself and wanted to step forward and ask what it all meant. But Li Lianhua stopped him. "This one doesn't have a good temper. Even if you have questions, wait until the matter is settled."
Privately, however, he wondered why this person, who was clearly a member of the imperial family, knew so much about what had happened back then. Had the court been keeping an eye on their Sigu Sect and the Hundred Rivers Courtyard all along?
This time, Li Lianhua had stumbled upon the truth by chance. Leaving aside Zhaoling's earlier memories, the emperor really did know exactly what Yun Biqiu had done, for he had planted a spy in the Hundred Rivers Courtyard.
The emperor naturally would not take lightly a force that held great power over the jianghu.
Yu Hongzhu was exceedingly loyal to Di Feisheng. She endured the poison Zhaoling had specially prepared for interrogation for half a shichen before revealing the truth about the mountain behind Jade City.
Zhaoling was in no hurry to deal with Di Feisheng and Jiao Liqiao. After all, Jiao Liqiao still had to collude with Shan Gudao and work toward his ambition.
But Zhaoling thought of Li Lianhua, whom she had seen earlier, and guessed that he would surely go to the mountain behind Jade City. He was her most useful tool for keeping Feng Qing in her grasp, so naturally she could not let him die just like that. She therefore hurried there with her subordinates as well.
Although Shi Shui had left in haste because Zhaoling had exposed the Hundred Rivers Courtyard's secret, Zhaoling arrived in time to save both Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing.
After saving Li Lianhua, Zhaoling was in no hurry to leave.
Yu Hongzhu and her husband had both committed crimes, leaving Jade City without anyone to govern it. Zhaoling stayed there to wait for Feng Qing, intending to find a suitable person among the court officials he had bought off to govern Jade City.
Feng Qing soon arrived in Jade City. After Zhaoling selected a suitable administrator from the list he presented, she had one more matter to discuss with him. "Is Chancellor Zongzheng involved in some sort of collusion with Jiao Liqiao of the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance?"
Feng Qing replied respectfully, "It is Chancellor Zongzheng's legitimate grandson who is in love with Jiao Liqiao and has cooperated with her extensively. Through her, we have also had some contact with Chancellor Zongzheng."
Zhaoling nodded. "Prepare some evidence that they colluded with the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance and intended to rebel. That old bastard is deeply dissatisfied with my control of the Inspection Bureau. I think he has his eye on that juicy piece of meat. Now that I have only just taken power, I'll use the lives of that old bastard and his whole family to deter those who can't stand the sight of me."
Thus, after Zhaoling returned to the capital with Zongzheng Mingzhu, before Chancellor Zongzheng could find a way to clear his grandson of the charges, she had already submitted the testimony of Zongzheng Mingzhu, Yu Hongzhu and the others. She accused the Zongzheng family of joining forces with the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance and intending to seize the throne while the emperor had no sons and the court was unstable.
The moment this was announced, an uproar swept through the court. But the evidence Zhaoling and Feng Qing had prepared together was ample.