Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 649: Imperial secret agents attack!
At the evening banquet, Emperor Yongyuan forced a group of ministers to stay and sit together in the yamen to watch the arrests of criminals who had colluded with Song Xunchun one by one.

The new magistrate of Jinghou County, who was appointed by Emperor Yongyuan, was also vigorous and resolute, and he led the yamen runners to search and confiscate the local tyrants in the county one by one.

Duke Jiang Su Ding'an personally led the garrison to cooperate with their actions. Anyone who dared to resist would be killed in the street without mercy.

For a while, the doors and windows of the entire Jinghou County were closed, and no one dared to go out on the streets easily.

The people heard horrifying noises coming from outside through their doors and windows, but everything was peaceful in front of their own homes.

Gradually, some brave people began to peek out through the cracks in the doors and windows, and saw that the usually arrogant masters were being escorted towards the county government office like stray dogs.

The women in those mansions cried and begged the military commander to send his men to release the men in their families.

But at this point, their tears and snot were of no use at all. They were all ruthlessly pushed away, and they could only sit on the side of the road and cry helplessly.

"Did these gentlemen offend the emperor?"

The people of Jinghou County knew about such a major event as the emperor's southern tour.

As early as a few days ago, the county magistrate repeatedly warned them to be sensible and not to commit any serious crime that would result in the execution of all nine generations of their clan.

Even today, the county government ordered them not to go out on the streets unless necessary, otherwise they would be thrown into jail for three days to reflect on themselves.

Before it got dark in the afternoon, the county imposed a curfew, forcing everyone to return home.

Unexpectedly, such a big thing happened at night.

The people could only hide in their houses and watch the fun, and no one dared to show up.

In the county government office, Emperor Yongyuan led a group of ministers to watch the excitement for a long time, until no more prisoners were brought in, and then they were allowed to disperse and rest.

The original county magistrate Song Xunchun was beheaded, and the entire backyard of the county government was vacated.

Emperor Yongyuan naturally moved in with his people, while other ministers were arranged to stay in the county post house.

When Li Xuan was leaving, he got the signal from Emperor Yongyuan and quietly slipped away from Princess Ankang's arms.

Before the southern tour, he told Princess Ankang and Yu'er that he also had a mission on this trip.

Therefore, Princess Ankang let go of her hand without any concern and continued to go to her room accompanied by Yu'er and Sharon.

These princes and princesses will live in the same courtyard with Emperor Yongyuan and be protected by the palace masters.

Li Xuan will once again play the role of the imperial secret agent Ling Ling Miao.

He went straight to the roof of the county government office and watched the ministers going to the post house in groups.

They were forced by Emperor Yongyuan to stay and watch the chicken-killing scene for a long time. They were already terrified and wanted to leave the county government as soon as possible.

As soon as some people came out of the county government office, they were anxious to talk to others, but were stopped by others with their eyes.

Li Xuan walked on the eaves and followed them, and couldn't help but snorted coldly.

"Emperor Yongyuan is going to cut the Gordian knot. Can you handle it?"

He couldn't help but think in his heart.

Under normal circumstances, Emperor Yongyuan might not even be able to kill a county magistrate.

Because this procedure was entirely based on mutual protection among these civil servants, even Emperor Yongyuan found it difficult to extend his power to the local governments.

But under the pretext of a southern tour, Emperor Yongyuan was able to skip all these cumbersome procedures and start killing them directly without giving them any chance to delay.

It all depends on how King Zheng responds next. If he doesn’t have any good ideas, his prestige will probably plummet.

The civil servants, who had already been in a panic, moved into the inn in a mess.

Those with high positions of power could bring a servant to serve them, but the others came alone.

I thought Emperor Yongyuan would arrange these matters, or at least the local officials would be well prepared.

But when they arrived at the posthouse, they found that there was only an old man guarding the gate, and the rest of the people had already been taken to the county government office.

Helplessly, the lower-ranking officials could only serve, act as servants, and serve their superiors first.

But these officials have never done such rough work. They can't even do the simplest cleaning and boiling water.

In the end, King Zheng could no longer bear it, so he asked his attendants to take care of the most basic chores and let them rest as soon as possible.

Important officials such as the six ministers were quietly invited to King Zheng's room for discussions.

But the other officials couldn't sleep. They gathered together and talked about what had happened today, expressing their worry.

There were many people patrolling secretly around the posthouse.

These are naturally not the guard forces arranged by Emperor Yongyuan.

On the surface, King Zheng only brought a few servants with him.

But Li Xuan knew that those people were all masters.

After all, this was Emperor Yongyuan's southern tour, and Prince Zheng could not bring too many people openly, and he needed to abide by the etiquette.

But how could Prince Zheng feel at ease to go out with Emperor Yongyuan with only these people? He also made a lot of arrangements in secret.

In this respect, both of them are the same.

During this southern tour, Emperor Yongyuan's righteous cause was the most useful weapon on display.

When the emperor tours the country, he can do many things outside of the usual official duties.

Just like today outside Jinghou County, Song Xunchun was directly convicted and executed.

The evidence of Song Xunchun's guilt was irrefutable. Even if the civil officials wanted to exonerate him, they could only use procedures to delay time and then slowly look for other breakthroughs.

Given time, even hard evidence can become false evidence.

It is common for physical evidence to be lost or destroyed, and for witnesses to die or disappear.

After all, nothing is certain.

One day, someone might get so depressed that he might find a tree to hang himself, or he might be accidentally hit by a frightened horse on the street.

Who can guarantee that the probability of these things happening is not zero?
Emperor Yongyuan knew these officials' tricks too well, so he used this quick and decisive move to cut the Gordian knot.

But this is just the first move, the follow-up has just begun.

"Your Majesty comes prepared this time."

"That's right. Song Xunchun's chief clerk has come out to testify. Your Majesty must have been preparing for this for a long time."

"We still have a long way to go. If we do it this way..."

"Be careful with your words. With the prince here, it's not our turn to worry."

A few officials who couldn't sleep still lit the lights and chatted at night.

Li Xuan sat on the roof of the inn and took all these words in his ears.

The defenses around the post station were indeed tight, but Prince Zheng's men had to hide in the dark after all. Otherwise, if they were discovered by Emperor Yongyuan, they could be killed as traitors.

For this reason, Li Xuan easily touched the roof of the inn.

He could hear clearly everything that happened inside the inn.

At this time, in the largest room in the inn, King Zheng was discussing with several ministers.

"Your Majesty, what should we do with His Majesty's thunderous measures?"

Judging from the voice, it seemed to be the Minister of Justice who had spoken for Song Xunchun earlier.

"Song Xunchun broke the law knowingly, he deserves to be executed." King Zheng said calmly.

"This……"

King Zheng's answer caused silence in the room.

Li Xuan's perception could clearly "see" their frowning faces.

"Your Highness, do you mean to do it according to Your Majesty's order?" someone asked.

King Zheng nodded slightly.

"Then we understand. However, passing the message to the outside world may cause trouble to the prince."

"It's all for the sake of the prosperity of the country. It's just our duty." King Zheng said, and waved his hand: "It's late, everyone should go to bed as soon as possible."

"We have to continue our journey tomorrow."

After hearing this, Li Xuan couldn't help but frown.

Because he found that the officials in the room who had been worried before were now relaxed and looked at ease.

After greeting King Zheng, they filed out of the room and went back to their rooms to rest.

"Is that the end of it?" Li Xuan felt puzzled.

King Zheng was also very cautious. Even his private conversations with officials were so flawless.

He wanted to sit on the throne, and I'm afraid these high officials knew it very well, and they all attached themselves to him.

But even so, King Zheng did not say some things too bluntly.

Li Xuan, an outsider, was even more confused after hearing this.

“Why did those officials suddenly feel relieved?”

"Song Xunchun broke the law knowingly, and he deserves to be executed. They asked King Zheng to pass the message to the outside world..."

Li Xuan silently chewed over their conversation just now, feeling that these words definitely did not mean the literal meaning.

They could interpret each other's hidden meaning through their tacit understanding, but Li Xuan had to think more about it.

"Is it to make the people behind us more cautious, conduct self-inspections and destroy the evidence before the southern tour team arrives?"

Today, Song Xunchun's chief clerk came out as a witness and dealt a fatal blow.

If the people behind were to become more alert and conduct thorough investigations on the people around them, they might be able to destroy a lot of evidence.

By then, if Emperor Yongyuan wants to kill corrupt officials again, it may not be as easy as today.

Whenever there is insufficient evidence, the procedure must be followed, and Emperor Yongyuan will definitely not be able to take down the opponent.

Li Xuan guessed that this was the meaning of their conversation just now.

But he could only guess what he wanted, and when he reported to his superiors, he would only report what he heard and saw truthfully.

Unless Emperor Yongyuan asked for his opinion, these subjective speculations could only be put off until the end.

After Li Xuan got the information, he did not leave in a hurry.

His mission has just begun.

After seeing off the officials, King Zheng prepared to rest with the service of his attendants.

Prince Zheng's room was unusually quiet. Apart from the noise of attendants helping him change clothes and wash, there was not even the sound of talking.

I don’t know whether it’s because Prince Zheng doesn’t have the habit of communicating with his attendants on a daily basis, or if he’s in a bad mood because of what happened today.

Li Xuan did not seem impatient. He lay on the roof, squinting his eyes and dozing off.

All the people in the inn were taken away, leaving only an old man here so that they could talk behind closed doors.

It just seemed that King Zheng was much more cautious than he had expected.

"Ok?"

Not long after Li Xuan lay down, he saw a strange scene through his perception.

After changing his clothes and washing up, King Zheng made a few gestures to one of his attendants, as if it was sign language.

This touches on Li Xuan's blind spot.

He had previously learned some essential knowledge for spies in the Imperial Household Department, and had also learned some simple hand gestures to communicate, but the sign language used by Prince Zheng was completely different from what Li Xuan had learned. It should be a specially created encrypted sign language.

"Tsk!"

Li Xuan smacked his lips in anger, but he could only silently memorize the sign language used by King Zheng to communicate with his attendants.

They probably couldn't have imagined that there would be someone like Li Xuan who could see what was going on in the room without using his eyes.

Fortunately, the sign language used by Prince Zheng and his attendants was not too complicated, otherwise Li Xuan would almost have been unable to remember it.

But Li Xuan looked at his little paws and couldn't help cursing in his heart:

"Meow, how can I demonstrate when I get back?"

He had not expected that his first surveillance mission close to King Zheng would be targeted so maliciously.

After King Zheng communicated with his attendants using sign language, he lay down on the bed.

King Zheng adjusted his breathing a few times and soon fell into a deep sleep.

"This guy also has some cultivation skills, but just like Emperor Yongyuan, it's hard to see clearly."

Li Xuan guessed that King Zheng might have some magic weapon to shield his own strength, or he might have practiced some special skills.

In this respect, Emperor Yongyuan and Prince Zheng are exactly the same.

"I just don't know who will win in a one-on-one fight between the two of them?"

Li Xuan never doubted that these two people would be weak.

If one's strength is really low, there probably isn't much point in hiding it, right?
But Li Xuan couldn’t guess what realm they were at.

After all, Emperor Yongyuan and Prince Zheng are never idle on weekdays. Even in such a state, they can still practice impressive skills. It can only be said that they are very competitive.

Two of King Zheng's attendants were resting in the outer room, and the other two were guarding outside the door. It seemed that they were taking turns on duty.

Li Xuan also put his hands in his pockets, curled up into a ball, and waited for time to pass.

When the Chou and Yin zodiac signs met, Li Xuan's ears suddenly moved.

The attendant guarding the door had just changed shifts, and the attendant who had previously communicated with King Zheng in sign language came to the window in the corridor, opened a crack, and shot out a featherless arrow.

This is a hidden weapon, shaped like an arrow, but without feathers, and its proportions have been greatly shortened.

This kind of hidden weapon is not easy to use and is usually used by hidden weapon masters.

King Zheng's attendants were also experts. The hidden weapons they shot out made only a brief sound of breaking through the air and a muffled "thump" sound in the woods behind the inn.

Naturally, these movements could not escape Li Xuan, who had his sensitive five senses.

He raised his head, opened his mouth and yawned loudly, but kept his eyes closed the whole time.

"Finally the wait is over."

Li Xuan's two eyeballs glowed in the night, which was too conspicuous.

Anyway, he can get a wider perspective with his five senses, and he can see more clearly with his eyes closed than with his eyes open.

He quietly came down from the roof of the inn, touched the tree where the featherless arrow had hit, and waited for someone to come and take it.

After a while, three men in black came into the woods.

With a clear purpose, they ran straight to the tree and took away the featherless arrows.

There was a letter tied to the Featherless Arrow, but they did not take it off. Instead, they took off the entire Featherless Arrow, held it in both hands, and walked out of the woods.

Li Xuan was not in a hurry and followed them quietly.

With his Yin-Yang Qi, he can blend perfectly into the surrounding environment.

Unless a second-grade master can unleash his Dao realm, it would be difficult to find Li Xuan's trace.

Of course, Li Xuan would be aware of the existence of Dao Realm before he was found by Dao Realm. If he wanted to get around it, it would just take some effort.

Li Xuan followed the three men in black to the other end of the woods.

There are more men in black hiding here.

"The strength is pretty good."

The black-clothed men are all of about fifth-rank strength, and are not weaker than the flowery-clothed eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department.

The top three grades are all the best fighters in the world who can dominate the world.

The three men in black came to their companions, and then with their help, they easily climbed over the city wall.

There were already three fast horses waiting on the other side of the city wall.

They mounted their horses directly and headed east.

Li Xuan quickly got on the horse of a man in black and sat on the horse's butt next to the man in black.

It was pitch black now, and Li Xuan had his eyes closed. Even if the man in black turned around, he would not notice the cat behind him.

The three men in black rode out for only a mile before they were all knocked down by Li Xuan.

When he first left the city, the black-clad man's accomplices were still too close, so he didn't rush to take action.

When he could no longer detect the presence of other people nearby, he leaned close to the black-clothed man's ear and let out a ghostly howl.

Li Xuan took out the featherless arrow and found the letter on it.

"Come on, let me see what's going on."

(End of this chapter)