The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 355 - 303, Suspended for Investigation

Rustling——

The autumn wind from the distant mountains blew into the county government, causing the brilliant golden chrysanthemums beside them to tremble like waves of wheat.

Mr. Zhao Douan stared steadily, his eyes first meeting the bowing figure of the Taicang Magistrate with a peculiar look, which quickly turned calm,

"Do you presume to teach me how to conduct my duties?"

The native Sun Xiaozhun, unable to understand the jargon from another world, responded solemnly,

"Sir, I dare not. I only hope that you will prioritize the 'big picture.'"

"Ah, the 'big picture,'" Zhao Douan seemed to smirk then his face turned displeased,

"Governor Sun, in saying these things, in the end, aren't you just trying to use the big picture to protect yourself?

Do you want me, as the official here, to accept the methods you suggest, to make a show of investigation without delving deeper? But it seems you've misunderstood one thing, here, I am the 'big picture.'"

Sun Xiaozhun looked disappointed and self-mocking, hung his head, and said no more.

At this moment, from outside the courtyard came the voice of Qian Kerou,

"Sir, Governor Gao Lian and Inspector Liu Ji have arrived."

They have arrived quite promptly... Zhao Douan glanced at Governor Sun and instructed,

"Mr. Sun, please go out and explain the situation. Oh, and call Imperial Censor Chen over as well."

Sun Xiaozhun sighed, stepped out of the courtyard,

and after a while,

Imperial Censor Chen Hong, wearing a green robe with silver teeth, entered with a grave expression:

"Mr. Zhao, you asked for me?"

Zhao Douan responded, "Hmm," and communicated with this deputy sent by Yuann Li,

"Mr. Song has gathered evidence from his investigation, and I have already obtained it."

He paused and did not wait for this deputy, who was formally termed as the co-supervising Imperial Censor, to show a surprised expression.

He continued,

"Among the evidence, many clues point to the Linfeng officialdom. I just had a talk with Sun Xiaozhun, and his reaction was quite interesting."

Having followed Yuann Li in the Imperial Court of Supervision, and being astute from years of experience, Imperial Censor Chen curiously asked, "Interesting?"

"Yes," Zhao Douan, with hands clasped behind his back, slowly strolled into the chrysanthemums, as if sailing through a sea of flowers, letting the branches and leaves brush against the hem of his Jinyi robe.

His tone was thoughtful, his gaze distant and profound.

He pondered for a moment before he somewhat mysteriously sighed,

"He gave me quite a big 'pledge.'"

Heh, a fervent rebuttal, seemingly sincere in saying there should be no investigation...

But Zhao Douan knew well, in the corridors of power, one must listen beyond a person's words.

A man who, at this age, could climb from the hardship of Lingnan to the position of Magistrate of Taicang.

Could he really be as straightforward as he appeared?

Unity of heart and expression?

Impossible.

Therefore, that display by Sun Xiaozhun was really not what it seemed on the surface.

Earlier, he deliberately mentioned the relationship between officials of the Capital and local officials, hinting that this case was not just a local matter of Linfeng, but involved bigwigs of the Capital.

His statement that the Linfeng officialdom was corrupt indicated the stance of the local officials and their possible responses.

As for his last phrase 'once launched, it cannot be recalled,' the implication was very clear.

As a civil official and Magistrate, and a scholar who discussed literature with Mr. Song, would he make such a basic error in wording?

'Once launched, it cannot be recalled,' and 'once launched, it cannot be controlled,' mean completely different things.

Just that phrase alone was a clear enough indication.

"This man is reminding me to act quickly, not to delay."

Zhao Douan, looking at the distant mountains, said this oddly.

Then, turning to the puzzled Imperial Censor Chen, he smiled:

"Old Chen, it looks like we need to end this investigation prematurely."

...

In the front hall of the county government.

Sun Xiaozhun expressionlessly met with his hurriedly arriving superiors, briefly explaining the situation.

The refined and scholarly Governor Gao calmly listened and then asked,

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

"What did the imperial envoy say?"

Sun Xiaozhun was about to respond when he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

"All are present, that's good." Zhao Douan, dressed in his splendid Jinyi robe, stepped forward, the Imperial Censor half a step behind him.

As a prominent official, Gao Lian hurriedly stood up:

"Imperial Envoy."

The seemingly good-natured, time-serving Inspector Liu also stood up:

"Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Douan, with a stern face, his gaze sweeping over the government office firmly sealed by the cavalry, finally resting on the three prominent court officials standing before him,

sternly declared,

"Upon my investigation, the corruption case involving Wang Chusheng is extensively linked, with both the accused and the accuser mysteriously disappearing. The clues point to you three. To ensure the investigation is not obstructed, I now, by the authority of the imperial envoy, suspend all your official duties temporarily, retaining your ranks, pending investigation."

Almost without pause, he instructed the Jinyi of Lihua Hall,

"Ke Rou, your next task is to guard these three officials. During their suspension and investigation, they are not to leave the Taicang Prefecture, indeed, it's best not to wander about. Just rest at home or in the government office. All their duties will be temporarily managed by their deputies. Any questions?"

Qian Kerou and other Jinyi bowed, bristling with aggression:

"Understood!"

The hurriedly arrived and hardly settled Gao Lian and Liu Ji looked bewildered, feeling as if they had been blindsided.

Seeing an imperial envoy for the first time and immediately suspended?

Both Gao and Liu turned their heads, looking at Governor Sun, also under investigation.

Sun Xiaozhun gave a self-deprecating smile and spread his hands:

"Imperial Commissioner Zhao already spoke to me, and you all heard it."

Facing a powerful Zhao Douan with cavalry in hand, the three had no power to resist and were quickly "protected" and followed the main force back to the prefecture city.

Zhao Douan lagged behind, and it was then that the Commandery Princess, who had been quiet for a while, approached him.

The two intentionally lagged behind everyone else, and Master Lv and other guards consciously kept a distance.

On Xu Junling's skin, as delicate as silk, there seemed to be a layer of strange glow, just like the peculiar colors in her eyes:

"Do you really have the confidence to solve the case in a few days, relying just on that box of evidence left by Mr. Song?"

Zhao Douan, with a serious expression, shook his head and said,

"Of course, it's not enough. Those are just aids, providing some clues."

Xu Junling's eyes were insightful, as if trying to see through him, and she analyzed calmly,

"Without evidence, arresting a high-level official of Second Rank right away will cause unrest in Taicang Prefecture and even the entire Linfeng official scene once the news spreads. Who investigates a case like this?

Aren't you afraid of chaos below?

Remember, this is not the Capital. These local officials have intertwined influence here. Arresting them might be fine for a short while, but if it drags on, and the people below start causing trouble...

Hisss, you didn't gather two hundred cavalry before entering the city just for this, did you?"

Zhao Douan turned his head to look at the snow-smart, conjecture-prone Commandery Princess.

After about two breaths, he smiled silently:

"The Commandery Princess is thinking too much."

Xu Junling was somewhat unconvinced and complained with a sense of grievance,

"Are you always like this, making yourself inscrutable?"

Zhao Douan, with bold eyes, swept from top to bottom over the Commandery Princess beneath her long skirt, as elusive as clouds and mist, and said with a playful smile,

"When will the Commandery Princess allow this official to see through?"

Xu Junling's eyes widened in frustration and she walked away, stepping briskly. This guy never changes.

Every time he doesn't want to answer her directly, he acts like this.

Zhao Douan laughed heartily, walking in the autumn wind, his gaze calmly detached from emotions, looking at the fiery red mountains, thinking:

The fire here has already started, and deliberately pulling the cavalry back and forth in the open has made enough noise to attract everyone's attention to himself.

"Hopefully things are going smoothly on the other side as well."

...

After the imperial envoy left.

Mr. Song and the survived Wang County Chief finally stepped out of the county government office, looking at each other without words.

"Mr. Song!"

Coach Xie, who was hiding near the county government, walked out distressedly, "Was that just now..."

The old scholar shook his head bitterly and said, "He is an imperial envoy."

The one who broke into the manor was Imperial Commissioner Zhao... Coach Xie's mind buzzed, and he couldn't speak.

...

The imperial envoy returned, re-entering the city of Taicang Prefecture.

Then, an explosive piece of news spread through the city.

Gao, Liu, Sun... all three officials were suspended for investigation.

Outsiders didn't know about the "Real versus Fake Imperial envoy," assuming that the imperial envoy had just visited the Taicang Silver Mine and rounded up Linfeng's top officials upon his return.

Rumors spread causing a general sense of unease.

In the afternoon.

The governor who had calmed the lower officials returned to his temporary residence in Taicang City.

As a high-ranking official, the governor's office was in "Linfeng Prefecture," but he also had a residence in Taicang City for business trips.

This trip was for the case, and since Gao Lian's family did not come with him, there were only a few house servants and maids of the Gao family in the residence.

Attending to his daily needs.

"Master, you've returned so early?"

The servants in the house were surprised to see Gao Lian return.

Gao Lian, uninterested in explaining, simply waved them off wearily and headed straight to the study.

He pushed open the door, this energetically strong, fair-skinned, always immaculate official of the Secondary Second Rank closed the door behind him.

First, he took off his official robe and draped it on a nearby rack. As for the official hat, it had been temporarily confiscated due to the suspension.

As someone from a Jiangnan scholarly family and yet only a second-tier family.

Gao Lian had reached this position largely with the support of his wife, who came from a much more prominent family.

Perhaps for this reason, in the eyes of outsiders, Gao Lian was always known for his demeanor and rarely frequented places of ill repute.

He was stable and reliable, and among the governors of the Nine Roads and Eighteen Prefectures, he was considered to have an excellent reputation.

Anyone who had dealt with Gao Lian could not help but praise his dignified and Confucian manner, always unshakable in major affairs.

At this moment, this "unshakable" Confucian scholar sat in the Taishi Chair, taking out an unsigned secret letter from the drawer, sent from the Capital by Li Yanfu.

The letter contained Li Yanfu's strategies for dealing with Zhao Douan.

Gao Lian lowered his eyes solemnly scrutinizing the words on the paper.

"If he shows an intimidating manner and indicates a thorough investigation aiming to implicate others, make sure everyone in the city, both civil and military, understands that pulling one hair could affect the whole body."

Gao Lian stared for a long time, and from between the lines, he could only extract the golden words, "Make your own problem, everyone's problem."

"Someone come." Gao Lian said calmly.

The servant waiting outside the study came in:

"Master, what are your orders?"

...

Meanwhile.

Ten miles away from the city of Taicang Prefecture, within a certain courtyard.

A member of "Shadow Guard," an organization under the tributor of the Imperial Family, raised in the Jianghu, collecting intelligence and managing affairs for the Empress, caught a descending pigeon.

He took the latest order from the copper tube tied to the pigeon's bright red foot.

It was an order from Zhao Douan.