Cheng Yao found some of his account books and land deeds on the bookshelf, took out paper from her Space to jot down some key information, and then left.
Zhan Haoting continued discussing matters with his advisors in the study until late at night, undisturbed, so Cheng Yao slept very well.
After breakfast, she put on her veil and went out.
The streets were bustling with people, many gathered together discussing the events that had occurred at the Second Prince’s residence.
“I heard all one hundred and twenty people were killed, not even a dog was spared. The entire mansion was a river of blood.”
“No, that’s not right. A mysterious person opened the main gate, and many people from the mansion escaped, shouting all over the streets that the ‘Second Prince’ was going to kill them.”
“Only a few servants managed to escape, but they were later captured by officials and taken to the palace to testify against the Second Prince. With officials from Dali Si, the Capital Prefecture, and Xing Bu protecting them, their lives should be safe.”
“You’re overthinking it. They’re just lowly servants, as insignificant as ants. No one would care even if many more died. It’s only because this matter is too big to suppress that they’re putting on a show. If you don’t believe me, go and ask later—do you think these people are still alive?”
“…”
Cheng Yao clenched her fists tightly.
According to the plot of the original book, these people would all die in the end.
The current situation was the same. If she rashly intervened, the world constructed in the book might collapse, and everyone would vanish into dust.
But these were over a hundred innocent lives! How could she just stand by and watch them perish?
Moreover, if her presence couldn’t change these people’s fates, then what was the point of her transmigrating here? To relive the tragic experiences of the female lead in the original book?
No, she refused to believe this was inevitable!
Since she was here, she would stir things up. If she didn’t turn this place upside down, it would be a waste of her transmigration. At worst, she would die!
Cheng Yao gritted her teeth, her mind racing. After a while, her eyes lit up, and she laughed.
In the book, although Murong Chen wanted to rebel and had already prepared the dragon robe and weapons, he ultimately lacked the courage to take the final step and ended up becoming a traitor.
At this point, he should already have made contact with foreign powers.
If she found evidence and exposed it publicly on the streets, ensuring everyone in the country knew about it, he would surely be nailed to the pillar of shame!
Murong Chen coveted the throne, and the Dog Emperor might turn a blind eye to that—after all, Jiangshan was his family’s legacy, and any son could inherit it. But if Murong Chen betrayed the country, the Dog Emperor would absolutely not tolerate it!
As long as the Dog Emperor didn’t protect Murong Chen, he would be doomed. And once he was dead, killing the servants in his mansion would be pointless—they would surely be released!
She hadn’t had time to sort through all the things she had taken from Murong Chen’s mansion earlier, but there must be evidence of his crimes among them!
Cheng Yao felt reassured. She found a nearby inn, took a seat, requested a private room, ordered a few dishes, and then immersed her consciousness into her Space to search carefully.
By the time the dishes she ordered were served, she had already found some clues among the documents.
Murong Chen was quite cautious. He burned every letter exchanged with the foreign kingdom, and the intermediaries were well-hidden. Unless someone specifically looked for them, they wouldn’t be found.
Fortunately, he had intermediaries. Each time they met, they would present a special token—a bizarre jade pendant carved with a human head and snake body, the totem of the Liuxu Kingdom.
Cheng Yao pulled out this jade pendant and lost all interest in eating. She stored all the food in her Space, put on her night clothes and mask, disguised herself, left some silver, and departed from the place.
Ten miles outside the city, Dawang Slope was a peaceful and tranquil small village.
At the northernmost edge of the village, there was a newly settled household. The head of the family was a burly man nearing fifty, named Geng Qiusheng, who possessed immense natural strength and made a living by hunting, leaving early and returning late.
His wife was thin and frail, with a sallow complexion. It was said she suffered from an illness and rarely ventured outside. The villagers seldom saw the couple, though occasionally they would notice people bringing gifts to visit them.
At first, everyone was quite curious about the pair, but the two kept a low profile—they didn’t go out or engage in idle chatter, preferring to live their own quiet lives behind closed doors. Over time, people grew accustomed to them and stopped paying much attention.
No one knew that these two were spies from the Liuxu Kingdom, and this place served as the hideout for their entire organization. The house didn’t shelter just two people but five. Nor could anyone have predicted that three months later, these two would slaughter the entire village, leaving no one alive, not even the chickens or dogs.
For such scum, Cheng Yao would show no mercy.
However, they were highly skilled in martial arts and reacted swiftly. Relying on her Space to appear and disappear unpredictably, Cheng Yao barely managed to subdue, knock out, and tie up four of them.
Geng Qiusheng was actually Han Chinese. He had simply fallen in love with a woman who was a spy for the Liuxu Kingdom and willingly became her lackey, hunting to support the entire group.
Cheng Yao hid in the shadows, waiting until night had fully fallen and Geng Qiusheng appeared. She attempted to ambush him with lightning speed, but he was an experienced hunter with keen perception. The moment she swung her broadsword, he swiftly dodged and countered with a fist the size of a sand pot, aiming straight for her chest.
If that punch had landed, her heart would have been shattered into eight hundred pieces! Cheng Yao broke out in a cold sweat and, with a single thought, vanished from the spot. Geng Qiusheng’s pupils contracted sharply as he frantically scanned his surroundings before instinctively dashing toward the house.
Once a person’s mind is thrown into disarray, their reaction time plummets.
Cheng Yao appeared behind him and slashed him fiercely with her blade. He staggered, on the verge of collapsing, but mustered a surge of ferocity to stand upright again and charged at Cheng Yao once more.
Cheng Yao narrowly avoided the attack, tumbling awkwardly into her Space. This man’s martial skills weren’t as refined as those of the others inside the house, but he was exceptionally ruthless toward himself and possessed immense strength. In the end, it took every ounce of Cheng Yao’s effort to bring him down.
Then, she broke their limbs, dislocated their jaws, and administered anesthetics before hiring an ox cart from the village to transport them into the city.
The next day, the sun shone brightly, yet a shadow of gloom hung over the capital.
Evidence of the Second Prince Murong Chen’s collusion with foreign powers was plastered all over the streets, and the intermediary who had facilitated Murong Chen’s contact with the foreigners had confessed and admitted guilt.
Faced with both witnesses and material evidence, the spies from the Liuxu Kingdom had no room for excuses. They wanted to commit suicide but were unable to move, trapped in a living hell.
In the grand hall, ministers pleaded for Murong Chen to be sentenced to death. Some officials even risked their lives in remonstrance, and if not for the guards stepping in to stop them, they might have dashed themselves against the pillars and perished.
The entire capital was in an uproar. As Cheng Yao walked through the streets, every corner was crowded with people.
The Dog Emperor was currently overwhelmed with troubles and likely wouldn’t have time to focus on Zhan Haoting for the moment, which eased her mind somewhat.
She strolled along, eventually making her way to the “Haoyue” Fabric Store.
This was an asset of the Prince’s mansion, but the real authority lay in Madam Zhan’s hands. It wasn’t profitable, and Zhan Haoting had never considered disposing of it, lest it raise the Dog Emperor’s suspicions.
“Finest Shu brocade, 20% off! Passersby, come take a look! If it’s not good, you don’t pay!”
“Shu brocade clearance sale, a once-in-a-century opportunity! Buying now means guaranteed profit!”
Cheng Yao spotted several shop assistants loudly hawking their wares outside the fabric store from a distance, yet no customers stopped to look. Some passersby even mocked, “Fools! Shu brocade was trendy two years ago, but now it’s outdated. People have seen too much of it, grown tired of wearing it—who would still buy it?”
“Other fabric stores are also clearing stock, offering 30% or 50% off, and even then, few people buy. Yet you’re only giving 20% off? Who do you take for a fool?”
Cheng Yao paused for a moment, and a sudden idea flashed in her mind—Shu brocade?
The book mentioned that on the eighth day after the War King’s wedding, which was three days from now, a fleet of over a dozen cargo ships carrying Shu brocade would catch fire, and all the brocade would be burned to ashes.
When the news spread, the price of Shu brocade in the capital would skyrocket overnight.