Love letters are not allowed in the exorcism notebook!-Chapter 542 - 120: 911 is a Topic We Can’t Talk About

(In light of the forbidden knowledge in Chapter 119 touching upon some indescribable cosmic filtration mechanisms, I’m unsure when it can be released. The content of this Chapter will be brief. I ask for the lords’ understanding.)

"The matter of the Imperial Jade Seal has to start with the Joshua People’s scheme to obtain the Northern Autonomous Prefecture back then."

"That year, the Joshua People petitioned the Imperial Court, pleading for relocation within the empire and expressing their willingness to pay a substantial amount of money for it. Initially, the court did not wish to entertain this, but due to the state treasury’s shortage of funds, the great military expeditions to the west, and successive years of disaster in the North leading to reduced taxation from the provinces, the situation was akin to cooking without rice, leaving them no choice but to consider it cautiously."

"At that time, the Joshua People had made preparations on two fronts; on one hand, they secretly promoted the eastward expansion of the Rakshasa people, invading the frozen tundra and ice fields of the North, while on the other, they bribed important imperial officials, hoping to push the court to sign an agreement."

"The ice fields and frozen tundra of the North have always been uninhabited, and the court’s attitude towards this matter was very ambiguous, mainly considering the public opinion issues between the court and the political circles. However, at this time, the Joshua People came up with an even more viable plan, which has been from ancient times."

"The value of the Imperial Jade Seal lies in its heritage; it’s different from other seals, as it carries historical continuity. In other words, its importance lies not in the present but in the past. The documents stamped with the Imperial Jade Seal by monarchs of past dynasties retain profound historical value and validity for verification even today."

"If it is possible to use the Imperial Jade Seal to forge a decree from hundreds or even thousands of years ago, issued by a certain emperor, thereby proving the legal residency of the Joshua People in the Northern Land, then it would become logical and seamless now to use this decree as a basis to re-acknowledge the citizenship rights of the Joshua People, providing an explanation both internally and externally to the court."

"However, since our country has always maintained an extremely rigorous attitude towards the recording of historical materials, and there are various documents corroborating each other, presenting a single document clearly is insufficient as evidence and could easily lead to doubts and debates. Thus, the Joshua People, through the intermediation of Shen Jianzhen, reached out to several officials from the Hanlin Academy responsible for organizing documents, pooling efforts to meticulously craft a completely fabricated historical record."

"This plan could have been said to be flawless, as the Hanlin Academy was the highest-ranking historical institution of the Former Dynasty, specifically responsible for compiling histories, drafting imperial decrees, and conserving various historical documents from past dynasties. As long as there were no issues here, even if there were voices of skepticism, they would hold little weight."

"But at the very last moment, when the plan was about to be completed, the Imperial Jade Seal was stolen."

"No one could have anticipated that the Imperial Jade Seal, stored within the Imperial Palace’s Inner Court, could be lost so easily, thereafter disappearing without a trace. Usually, this seal, of greater symbolic than practical value, was left unused, but after its disappearance, any document stamped with the Imperial Jade Seal that was published would have faced predictable levels of doubt."

Having said this, Cheng Xuefei turned her head to look at Wang Yunxiao.

"People think the President is straightforward and tyrannical in conduct, unreasonable, but they don’t realize that it’s precisely this stereotype that leads them to subconsciously overlook the President’s meticulous and careful side. Only those who know the President well understand that the domineering demeanor is just a facade shown to outsiders, and when it comes to important matters, the approach is always subtle and unnoticeable like antelope horns."

"Everyone thought that the President, having founded the Huaqing Society and controlled the media industry, with the power of discourse, thus could call to action and be followed by the masses. Little did they know that before this, the President had already unified the entire Martial Arts World of the Northern Land in the shadows, utilizing the next generation of the North Thirteen Families for her purposes."

"Back then, the Swallow Sect wasn’t very notable in the Jianghu World, but the Sect Leader He Haichuan had formed a sworn brotherhood with Zheng Sanyuan, the successor of White Ape Extending Arms Fist, and Wang Bin, the Chief Escort of the Capital Fuyuan Escort Agency. They had participated in the burning of the Western Church and the Frank Consulate, having deep ties with the President."

"Thus, it’s entirely fair to say that the President had a hand in the disappearance of the Jade Seal. And as the person who facilitated the event, Shen Jianzhen had been ousted from the circle of trusted confidants by the President since that time."

"However, at that time, the President still needed the support of the Reformists, so she didn’t utterly fall out with him. When the new government was established and the President entered the Capital to form the cabinet without bringing Shen Jianzhen along, it was quite telling already."

So that was how it was...

That’s why the old saying goes: the insider knows the ropes, while the outsider just comes for the show.

Wang Yunxiao and the other small fries struggled and fought on the fringes, without figuring out what exactly was going on with the Shen Family. With Eldest Miss Cheng’s explanation, things suddenly became crystal clear.

Simply put – not a confidant, but a partner.

This also explains the Shen Family’s subtle attitude nowadays.

Times have changed.

From the moment the Jade Seal was lost, the Joshua People’s plan to forge historical evidence failed. Even if there were other backup plans at that time, once the Jade Seal was gone for over a decade, everything went cold.

So now, the Shen Family acquiring the Imperial Jade Seal is not only meaningless but is akin to picking up a hot potato.

Shen Jianzhen himself cannot admit to having any relation with the Imperial Jade Seal, or the affair back then.

This has led to misunderstandings among the staff handling the matter, rushing to deliver the Jade Seal back eagerly...

So what is the Shen Family thinking now? It would have been simple to hand over the Jade Seal, yet why create such a mess?

"The Shen Family dares not let anyone investigate; some things may not weigh much off the scale, but once on it, they’re unmanageably heavy," Wang Yunxiao coughed and pulled out a stack of documents from under the table, tossing them in front of Cheng Xuefei, "Regarding what you just mentioned, about the Shen Family nearly reaching their end during the financial crisis, I have a slightly different opinion."

Yan Yu’an glanced at the dense foreign text and numbers on the document, his eyebrows involuntarily creased, "Can we get a brief summary?"

"No problem, you know I started by following the Ma Family’s trail, that fox sent a severed hand to the Ma Family with an address, which is Shen Garden, but Shen Qingxi wasn’t there."

Wang Yunxiao looked towards Cheng Xuefei.

Cheng Xuefei nodded, "Shen Qingxi doesn’t know about these matters of the Shen Family. After Shen Jianzhen handed the Imperial Jade Seal to her, we switched to a safer location."

"No. 124 Qiu Xia Road, Shen Corporation’s Western-Style Mansion?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xuefei frowned, "Where did you hear that from?"

"Someone from No. 124 Qiu Xia Road made a phone call, the voice was that of a middle-aged woman, the servants at Shen Garden call her Nanny Yun."

"You mean Auntie Yun, who serves Shen Qingxi? I know her, is there a problem with her?"

"It’s hard to say if there’s a problem with her right now, but the Shen Family left me a hefty sum to keep quiet as part of their efforts to obstruct the investigation at Shen Garden."

Wang Yunxiao looked at Yan Yu’an, "You didn’t get anything?"

"We did."

Yan Yu’an nodded, "While I was tracking down the lead on Yamazaki Pharmaceuticals at the Dwarf Hut, I also intercepted a substantial amount of money."

"I got nothing, though!"

Ito Hidemi wore a puzzled expression, "I spent the whole morning burning rats in the sewer, and all I got was rat fur!"

Wang Yunxiao and Yan Yu’an immediately shot him a sympathetic glance.

We all have backers, and you, Mr. Ito, you’re just an exchange student.