Xuan Wu returned to the manor and reported the hiding place of the black-clad man to Nan Shiying.
"Continue monitoring!"
Once the cockroach hiding in the sewer showed its tracks, it was no longer a slippery loach, but a turtle in a jar. It couldn't stir up any more trouble, but it could expose the Miao Jiang remnants who were rooted deeper and harder to dig out.
Even the Changsheng Sect, which was deeply entangled with the Miao Jiang remnants.
...
The Heavenly Prison.
Mu Baiyu carried a food box to see Lan Yue'er.
Before, Lan Yue'er would ask Mu Baiyu if he had delivered her message to the Lin Yuan Emperor, and if the Lin Yuan Emperor was willing to see her. Later, she stopped asking, as asking yielded nothing.
Mu Baiyu brought Lan Yue'er different dishes each time. Although she had lived in the capital for many years, she had never tasted the delicacies of Lin Yuan before hiding in the Nan Manor. Later, she hid in the palace, and although her living expenses were comparable to those of imperial concubines, she still had no chance to travel outside the palace.
Mu Baiyu didn't know how His Majesty and Jin Mo would deal with Lan Yue'er, and whether she would have another chance to taste these dishes. Therefore, he did his best to let her taste more delicacies.
"What's wrong with you?"
Lan Yue'er, holding a crystal-clear square cake, glanced at Mu Baiyu. After Mu Baiyu opened the food box, he sat on the ground, staring blankly at a corner.
He wasn't talkative before, but he had never been so silent.
Hearing Lan Yue'er's question, Mu Baiyu shook his head and replied, "Nothing!"
Seeing that Mu Baiyu didn't say much, Lan Yue'er didn't ask further. Their relationship wasn't as close as friends, but they had a special emotional connection due to the influence of the蛊 (gu) worm. Even though the蛊 (gu) poison had been resolved, that feeling still remained.
However, both of them knew that their relationship was not controlled by their hearts, but by the poison. Therefore, all Mu Baiyu could do for Lan Yue'er was to deliver meals, and Lan Yue'er's concern for Mu Baiyu was limited to a greeting.
After silently finishing the meal, Mu Baiyu packed up the food box and got up to leave. As he stepped out of the room, Lan Yue'er suddenly called out to him.
Mu Baiyu stopped and turned back.
Lan Yue'er asked, "Is Yin Sila dead?"
"Sorry, I don't know!" Mu Baiyu told the truth. He really didn't know.
Lan Yue'er nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
Mu Baiyu turned and left the Heavenly Prison.
...
The Imperial Study.
Hearing that Mu Baiyu had gone to the Heavenly Prison to visit Lan Yue'er again, Ji Hong didn't pay much attention. It was he who had granted the special amnesty, allowing him to enter the Heavenly Prison to visit at any time.
However, the moment Mu Baiyu entered the Heavenly Prison, all his words and actions would be recorded by the Xuan Guards and submitted.
Today, Ji Hong was not in the mood to bother about what Mu Baiyu and Lan Yue'er had said. Yin Sila was dead, killed by her own people who intended to rescue her. However, this matter had not ended with Yin Sila's death. His Yipin Ju might have a spy planted by Miao Jiang.
"Ying, monitor everyone who appeared at Yipin Ju today."
"Yes!"
The Ying Guard received the order.
...
The reason Xuan Yi could return so quickly was that the Capital Prefecture, Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Justice had jointly taken over the case. As it involved Miao Jiang remnants, no one dared to be negligent. The Capital Prefecture had immediately checked the household registration information of these people and found discrepancies between their registered information and their actual identities.
For people from the underground black market to come to the surface, they needed to purchase identities. However, these identities were only valid for activities in the underground black market. This meant that only the Ministry of Revenue could issue household registration for people like them.
Someone in the Ministry of Revenue was selling household registrations.
Upon discovering this, Dali Temple dispatched its divine constables to investigate.
The Ministry of Justice, on the other hand, immediately issued wanted notices and posted arrest warrants.
Working in conjunction, the Capital Prefecture, Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Justice quickly clarified the sequence of events. After Xuan Yi escorted the bodies to the Ministry of Justice with the constables from the Capital Prefecture, he returned to the prince's manor.
Professional matters should be handled by professional people. Besides, if all matters were taken into one's own hands, how would the spies hidden in the capital dare to show themselves?
...
Ji Jinmo's chest was rather stiff, causing Nan Shiying's neck pain.
She tried to get up but was pulled back into his embrace by Ji Jinmo. She could only glare at him, but Ji Jinmo pretended not to see it. He put one arm around Nan Shiying's waist and the other hand flipped through the memorials on the table.
"By the way!"
Nan Shiying changed her position, resting her neck on Ji Jinmo's biceps, as if she wanted to lie flat on him. After saying so much, she had forgotten the most important thing.
"Master, did Xuan Yi tell you about the manner of Yin Sila's death?"
Ji Jinmo looked down at her, "No!"
"Yin Sila turned into a pool of blood under my feet!"
Ji Jinmo's pupils contracted instantly, "Is it the Ghost Sha?"
Nan Shiying nodded, "It's the Ghost Sha!"
"At that time, the Miao Jiang remnants intended to capture me alive, so I had to take out a sleeping powder and pretend it was poison, sprinkling it around me. I didn't expect that a second after I sprinkled the powder, Yin Sila let out a scream and instantly turned into a pool of blood. The Miao Jiang remnants who were rescuing her thought it was the poisonous powder I had sprinkled, and they dared not step forward, retreating to break through the encirclement."
"Master, whether it was the black-clad man who died in the pharmacy or Yin Sila who died at my feet, don't you think they died at just the right time? I previously speculated that the black-clad man might have self-activated the means left by the Ghost Sha within him, which is why he turned into a pool of blood immediately after uttering the threatening words. But now I feel that perhaps the black-clad man at that time did not commit suicide, but perhaps the Ghost Sha was hidden there, watching and investigating."
"So you mean, the sect leader of the Ghost Sha Sect, Ghost Sha, has already infiltrated the capital?"
Nan Shiying nodded, "Yes!"
"Perhaps today, he is hidden in the dark, watching everything. But compared to his infiltration of the capital, I am more shocked that Yin Sila was controlled by the Ghost Sha!"
"In other words, Yin Sila was controlled by the Changsheng Sect!"
As she dug deeper, Nan Shiying became more alarmed. The Changsheng Sect was like a tree with roots deeply buried in the ground. The trunk and branches above the ground were already dense and flourishing, but little did they know, what was revealed was just the tip of the iceberg, a drop in the ocean.
The shadow of the Changsheng Sect was everywhere.
This feeling was not good.
Nan Shiying thought the Changsheng Sect was like a rat hiding in a ditch, but now she realized they were a behemoth hidden in the abyss.
Nan Shiying finally understood why she had felt that everything was being connected and manipulated before.
It turned out to be the Changsheng Sect!
After Yue Sinan died, she had almost annihilated the Changsheng Sect. She never expected that after several hundred years, they not only did not perish but developed to this extent.
But what did the Changsheng Sect want with all these machinations?
To unify the world?