Lucky Farmer Girl: I rely on metaphysics to support my family

Chapter 822 Testing
The trouble on the War King's side is neither too big nor too small.

Last time, Princess Anas of the Southern Desert was incredibly audacious and dared to poison the future Princess Consort of the Kang Prince. Although it was not fatal, the Emperor was furious and confined the princess to the post station, and launched an investigation into spies from the Southern Desert.

The way the Southern Desert Princess was dealt with was proposed by the War King, so the Emperor naturally left the matter of spies to the War King to handle.

The War King had been planning this for a long time and was recently clearing out several important spies that the Southern Desert had planted in and around the capital. He had made great gains and the operation was going exceptionally smoothly at first.

However, an unexpected mishap occurred just as they were about to close the net.

"Your Highness," Zhan Yi flashed into the study and knelt on one knee, "the operation has failed."

The War King looked up at Zhan Yi and said in a cold voice, "Explain yourself."

Zhan Yi hurriedly replied, "We were following the plan to capture the contact point of the person in charge of the Southern Desert spy operation. The other party resisted stubbornly and was seriously injured by us in the fierce battle. We had already captured him, but we were ambushed by unidentified people on the way to the prison."

Upon hearing this, the War King raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Zhan Yi quickened his pace and continued, "The enemy's martial arts style is bizarre, their methods are ruthless, and their target is clear: the spy we captured. We lost four skilled fighters, and that person was silenced. Crucially, their body was stolen, leaving no survivors. But fortunately, we intercepted a small section of hollow copper tube containing half a tattered piece of parchment, but no one can decipher the symbols on it."

As Zhan Yi spoke, he presented a sealed copper box with both hands.

The War King took it, opened the bronze box, and took out the half of the bloodstained parchment.

The edges of the paper are irregular, as if it were torn from a larger map or document.

The surface is covered with distorted, non-textual symbols painted in dark red paint.

The War King looked at the parchment in his hand, his voice turning cold: "Unidentified individuals, capable of accurate interception and killing, and even snatching people and corpses from our hands."

Upon hearing his master's words, Zhan immediately dared not utter a sound.

The War King continued unhurriedly, "Either there's been a slip-up within our ranks, and our operation has already been leaked; or the enemy has forces in the capital that we haven't yet grasped, or even..."

The War King did not voice all his concerns, namely that besides the high-ranking official in the court, there might be a third-party force.

Either possibility is extremely tricky and frustrating.

The War King glanced at the War King below and said in a chilling tone, "Investigate! Thoroughly investigate all personnel involved in this operation, including those providing external support, leave no one out. Do everything in your power to trace the origins and whereabouts of that unknown force."

The War King glanced at the parchment in his hand and pushed it forward, saying to Zhan Yi, "Make several copies of this. Send one copy to the Director of the Imperial Observatory and another to the Academician of the Hanlin Academy, ordering them to secretly consult ancient texts to identify the origin and meaning of these symbols. Remember, it must be kept secret, and the source must not be revealed."

"Yes!" Zhan Yi quickly replied.

The War King suddenly appeared and stopped Zhan Yi from leaving, adding, "Also, Princess Nanmo, although she is under house arrest, her supervision needs to be doubled."

This matter may be more complex than she has made it out to be.

Zhan Yi accepted the order and withdrew, and the study returned to silence. Zhan Wang put down the parchment, rubbed his temples. This matter was truly a headache. What exactly did the corpse thief want to do? Did the corpse hold some secret?
Upon thinking this, the War King immediately stood up and said to the guards at the door, "Prepare the carriage and go to the post station."

He had to meet with the princess who was under house arrest. Some questions needed to be addressed in person.

The number of guards at the post station was several times greater than usual. Upon seeing the War King arrive in person, the guard commander hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects. "How is the princess today?" the War King asked as he walked inside.

"Your Highness, the princess has been staying at home since she came. Apart from making a fuss twice at the beginning, she has been quite quiet lately, eating and sleeping as usual, and has not shown any unusual behavior," the guard commander reported in a low voice.

The War King nodded slightly, but in his heart he thought, "Given Anas's spoiled nature, how could she remain calm when treated like this?"
He was led to the main hall of Anastasia's residence.

After a short while, Anas, dressed in Southern Desert attire, came out accompanied by two Southern Desert maids.

She looked at the War King, her eyes flashing with resentment, wariness, and perhaps a hint of barely perceptible panic.

"Your Highness, the War King, have graced us with your presence? Are you here to laugh at this princess?" Anas raised her chin slightly, trying her best to maintain her princess pride.

The War King's gaze was piercing as he stared directly at Anas and slowly said, "Princess, you jest. I have come here to ask you why you would do such a foolish thing?"

Anas was already on guard against the arrival of the War King, since the prince had not appeared at the post station since he was placed under house arrest.

In the post station, officials from the Court of State Ceremonial were responsible for handling any matters.

Hearing the War King ask this question, Anas breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Miss Wang had come up with some new clues and was asking her about it.

Even after letting out a sigh of relief, Anas still sneered rudely, "This princess just didn't like that woman and was angry for a moment. What, is Your Highness going to stand up for the future Princess Consort Kang? Or do you have some kind of relationship with that young lady from the royal family?"

The War King's lips curled into a cold smile as he said indifferently, "Princess, don't try to change the subject! Tell me why you harmed people!"

"So what if I was just angry for a moment?!" Anas said dismissively.

The War King looked at the woman before him, his tone growing increasingly cold: "Just because you were angry for a moment? The princess has come from afar, bearing the heavy responsibility of a marriage alliance, yet you resort to poisoning because you were angry for a moment, jeopardizing any possibility of diplomatic relations between our two countries?"

Anas's expression changed, and she forced a defense, saying, "Why all the nonsense! What's done is done. Do with me as you please!"

Anas felt uneasy. Some time had passed since the incident, and she hadn't expected that the War King was only now starting to inquire about it.

The War King, however, thought differently. He pressed on, saying, "Princess, you are quite resolute. But does the princess know that because of your impulsive act, Nanmo's years of preparations in the capital have been destroyed in an instant?"

Anastasia's body trembled almost imperceptibly, and she exclaimed, "What, what did you say?"

The War King took in her reaction. It seemed that this matter didn't concern her much, and that the princess seemed more worried and afraid of the destruction of the Southern Desert's secret agents than of the poisoning being discovered.

Having made up his mind, the War King said coldly, "Princess, you should think about how to deal with the losses caused by your Southern Desert."

Anas suddenly stood up, her chest heaving. She was clearly caught off guard, yet dared not admit it. "This princess has no idea what you're talking about! I need to rest. War King, please return!"

The War King also felt there was no need to stay any longer; he already knew what he wanted to know, so he said in a cold tone, "Princess, take care of yourself!"

Having said that, the War King got up and left the post station.

After leaving the post station, Zhan Yiduo was instructed to arrange for more people to keep a close eye on the group from the Southern Desert.

Updated! Thank you everyone for your support~