The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 226 I find things from home dirty
After the Lantern Festival, a shocking event occurred in Wujing: Cong Jia, who had served in the Imperial Observatory for a hundred years, abused his power and ability to observe stars and interpret celestial phenomena to undermine the foundation of the nation by cultivating evil and monstrous things. He murdered hundreds of innocent people and harmed a royal princess. His evil deeds were too numerous to count and were intolerable to Heaven and Earth. His entire family should be executed.

On the twentieth day of the first lunar month, over a hundred members of the Cong family were beheaded and their heads displayed to set an example, to appease the spirits of the dead and comfort the living. Blood stained the bluestone bricks, and the stench of blood lingered for a long time. On the day the Cong family members were beheaded, countless people went to watch. When the Cong family members were cut down, the clear sky suddenly began to snow heavily, as if the vengeful spirits were melting into snow to tell their grievances.

The snow fell for a whole day, becoming a hot topic of conversation in the capital. Every tavern and teahouse started making up stories and telling tales, causing widespread panic. If those who practice Taoism use their knowledge of Taoist arts to do whatever they want and practice evil arts, how can ordinary people and even noble families protect themselves?

Therefore, Shen Qinghe, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, submitted a memorial to the Emperor in the morning court, earnestly requesting that the Emperor establish a Surveillance Bureau to restrain the Xuan clan and monks and Taoists. If any monk or Taoist is found to be practicing evil arts or abusing their power to oppress the people, they should be deposed or executed to appease the people.

Shen Qinghe's memorial caused a huge stir. Some people sighed that Shen Qinghe was indeed worthy of the title Shen Qingtian, daring to put a shackle on the Xuan Clan. This was obviously going against the Xuan Clan. Wasn't he afraid that the Xuan Clan would use a magic spell to send him to the Yellow Springs to travel with his family?

Although they secretly chuckled at Shen Qinghe for being a fearless trailblazer, his actions were largely supported by the civil and military officials. After all, the Xuan clan had long been superior to them, and if things continued this way, they would be toiling away on state affairs while the glory was enjoyed only by the Xuan clan.
The Xuan Clan is called the Xuan Clan because they are a clan that cultivates mystical arts. As cultivators, they should be content to seek immortality and ask questions, rather than relying on their knowledge of mystical arts to rise above the powerful and noble or even the imperial power. Otherwise, who in this Great Dan Kingdom will still be working hard to worry about the country and seek the well-being of the people?
Take, for example, the Xuan Clan set up such a terrible evil scheme, harming so many people, right under their noses, and yet no one discovered their plot. Isn't that dereliction of duty?
The people were willing to worship the Xuan clan, but they were not protected by them. This faith, like a tall building, began to crumble due to its unstable foundation.

Shen Qinghe requested the establishment of a Surveillance Bureau, firstly to monitor whether monks and Taoists were engaging in supernatural activities, and secondly, to ensure that similar cases could be handled by the Surveillance Bureau in the future, since ordinary officials, even he and the Ministry of Justice, did not have the ability to deal with supernatural beings and could only rely on people who knew how to do so.

Of course, this supervisory office must be independent, not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court or the Xuan clan. Therefore, those who serve in it must be honest and upright, and both sides must send personnel to keep each other in check.

Therefore, Shen Qinghe's suggestion received support from many people, especially the nobles, who felt it was time for them to rise up and become masters of their own destiny.

However, some people are not optimistic. After all, some members of the royal family also study mystical arts. Although few pure-blooded Dao roots have emerged from Tantai in the past two or three decades, they still have some bloodline and are members of the royal family. Isn't Shen Qinghe's shackles also on them?

The memorial was suppressed, and the emperor did not immediately issue a reply, causing people to feel uneasy.

This news naturally spread to the various Xuan clans. Most of them were angry and disdainful, secretly wanting to show Shen Qinghe, who was courting death, what the Seventy-Two Transformations of the Technique were. But before they could use the technique, they heard another piece of news.

It was that damned Shen Qinghe who said that if he were to die suddenly and under mysterious circumstances, it would be because of this suggestion that he was 'punished'.

Good heavens, who would dare to touch him? If anything happens to him, wouldn't everyone think it was the Xuan Clan who did it?
The Xuan Clan, which had already lost much of its credibility due to the matter of refining zombies at home, suddenly felt choked and dared not make any rash moves.

When Lang Jiuchuan emerged from seclusion and learned of this news, several days had passed since her family members were beheaded. She only learned of it from a ghost after receiving a message from Zhuang Quanhai's son.

A Piao sighed, "Shen Qinghe is truly the first person to dare to confront the Xuan Clan head-on."

"That person has a strong sense of integrity and pride." Although that pride has already been given to her, her blood is still hot.

The ghost handed over the items they had found at the ancestral hall, saying, "As you said, I searched the place inside and out with the ghosts, and these were only found at the bottom of this incense burner. I never imagined that Bian's master was actually the demonic Kong Jin. No wonder he's so crazy."

Lang Jiuchuan received the news from Cong Gui, folded paper figures for A Piao, and retrieved everything from the Cong family ancestral hall. "How could Kong Jin have become a demon?"

"It was originally a righteous path, but it seems that he turned to demonic ways out of anger because of the betrayal of his sect." A-Piao frowned and said, "I don't know if there really is a demonic manual. If it really exists, I guess there are still many 'Cong Bian' hiding in this world."

Lang Jiuchuan opened the manuals and looked at the techniques recorded by Bian. His brows furrowed slightly as he said, "The techniques of his lineage are rather unorthodox. If cultivated well, they can be useful, but they are also easy to go astray and become possessed by evil spirits."

The ghost said, "I'm an outsider, I don't understand."

"If such a technique were to fall into the wrong hands, it would cause unrest. There are always some people who would take shortcuts and seek higher magical power."

"harmful?"

“Of course there are. Look at this one. It relies on pills to advance, and the medicinal materials required for these pills are often processed in a way that harms the natural order. If you use it, you will definitely suffer the consequences.” Lang Jiuchuan pointed to a cultivation technique and said, “Advancing with pills does not have a solid foundation. No matter how tall the building is, it is easy to collapse.”

She quickly flipped it over, closed it in no time, glanced at the other items, and then returned them all to him.

"It's nothing good, let's destroy it."

A Piao raised an eyebrow and said, "I thought you would be interested in one or two of the cultivation techniques and talismans. After all, you yourself said that if you cultivate them well, the magic power will be very useful."

"No thanks, I find it disgusting." Lang Jiuchuan looked disdainful and stopped talking about the topic. Instead, he brought up Xi Yun, the fourth wife of the Rong family, saying, "Young Master Gong recognized her, so there shouldn't be any mistake. She is also the mother of the young master of the Rong family. With such a high status, she shouldn't be targeting me, the daughter of a military general, without any reason. Therefore, there's no need to investigate who that woman is. Instead, investigate everything about Xi Yun, and also the young master of the Rong family. Could it be because of her that they've tortured and killed my body?"

Just as the ghost was about to say something, Lang Jiuchuan handed over a box of soul incense: "There will be compensation; you won't work for nothing. This batch is even better."

The ghost opened it; its eyes were crimson, and it smelled wonderful.

He slammed the lid shut and hummed softly, "Those are also good medicinal herbs provided by our pavilion."

"Yes, yes, yes." Lang Jiuchuan's eyes gleamed: "Then may I ask, Your Excellency, has the Pavilion Master emerged from seclusion today?"

A ghost: "!"

So that's what they were waiting for, lusting after their master's lust!