Zhu Tian: A journey of spiritual practice starting from Joy of Life

Chapter 180 Xia Qifei Appears, Crown Prince Deposed (Part 2)

Nothing that happened inside the palace escaped the notice of Leng Feibai's clone.

These things also reached Leng Feibai's ears immediately.

Several days later, the large official ship carrying Fan Xian and his companions had already entered the Jiangnan region.

Aside from the attack by Master San Shi and others, Fan Xian and his group did not encounter any further incidents of being intercepted by river bandits.

On the contrary, after entering the Jiangnan region, from the prefects of a region to the magistrates of a county, everyone sent people to present Fan Xian with a generous gift.

Aside from gold and silver, the cargo consisted mostly of nourishing ingredients, medicines, precious jewelry and jade, antiques and calligraphy, as well as local specialties such as silk and bamboo fans, which filled most of the cabin.

Li Chengping and Lin Wan'er, who had some knowledge of these things, counted them and made a rough estimate. They concluded that all of these things, when converted into silver, would be worth at least a million taels of silver.

Inside the room, Sang Wen was overwhelmed by the endless stream of gifts arriving. She couldn't help but ask, "Husband, my uncle has been investigating corruption in Kyoto for a long time. Now that he's not in Kyoto, why is he always accepting gifts like this?"

"He's collecting physical evidence!"

Leng Feibai calmly explained to Sang Wen, "Didn't you see that he had Shi Chanli write down all the people who gave gifts? When we get back, we'll submit the list and the evidence, and the Supervisory Council will arrange for people to arrest them."

"I see!"

Sang Wen suddenly realized and clapped his hands, saying, "My uncle is using himself as bait to lure out corrupt officials."

"Not bad!"

Leng Feibai pushed the wheelchair to the window, looking at the scenery outside, and said, "Recently, Jiangbei suffered a disaster, and these officials all cried poverty and begged the court for disaster relief funds. Yet they still have money left over to bribe Fan Xian. A bunch of idiots courting death. Hmm..."

Leng Feibai's pupils contracted as he saw small boats heading towards his official ship.

The boat was filled with elderly men with white beards, holding various farm tools such as hoes, pitchforks, and rakes.

But what caught Leng Feibai's attention were the figures on the riverbank carrying long knives and holding spears.

"There are really some people who are not afraid of death."

Although Leng Feibai was unsure whether the other party was a pirate, he felt that the other party was no good.

"Sang Wen, you stay inside, I'll be right back."

After saying that, Leng Feibai got up, walked out of the room, and went to the deck.

Upon seeing this, Fan Xian quickly stepped forward and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"

“There’s a group of unidentified guys on the shore. I’ll go check it out.”

Leng Feibai looked at the small boat rowing towards the official ship and said, "Don't let your guard down just because the other party is an old man over sixty years old, and don't let excessive vigilance lead to the loss of innocent lives."

After saying that, Leng Feibai used his Cloud Steps to fly towards the shore.

In a mere instant, Leng Feibai appeared directly in front of the bandits on the shore.

The bandits, upon seeing the white-haired man before them, were so frightened that they all fell to the ground.

These river bandits all knew who the people on the boat were. They had planned to hide on the shore and see if they could find an opportunity to get a share of the spoils.

Unexpectedly, Leng Feibai, that ruthless star, actually discovered their hiding place.

It should be noted that when Leng Feibai first entered the martial arts world, he wiped out 80% of the bandits in Jiangnan.

Nowadays, when bandits in Jiangnan hear the name Leng Feibai, it's like Bai Zhantang hearing the name of the Four Great Constables—they feel weak all over and their limbs go limp.

"Hold on, Master Leng!"

As soon as the voice fell, a man of similar age to Leng Feibai ran out quickly, clasped his hands in a salute to Leng Feibai, and said, "Xia Qifei, Chief of Jiangnan Water Village. Greetings, Hero Leng."

"Chief Xia, you are too kind. I am not a great hero, but a madman."

Leng Feibai calmly said, "Chief Xia, you've unified the Jiangnan water villages and outlaws before you even turned thirty. You're truly a remarkable figure. But Chief Xia, what are you planning to do by leading your men to ambush us here?"

Looking at Leng Feibai's expressionless face, Xia Qifei quickly smiled and said, "I want to see what kind of person Lord Fan is, and how he will treat the disaster victims on the ship?"

After hearing this, Leng Feibai calmly said, "Then please make yourself at Clan Chief Xia's disposal. However, I have heard that Clan Chief Xia has a grudge against the two leaders of the Ming family?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Qifei's face darkened, and he couldn't help but ask, "Is Mr. Leng provoking me?"

"Just a heads-up: if Chief Xia wants to take revenge on the Ming family, Fan Xian would be a good choice."

After saying that, Leng Feibai took to the air and flew back to the ship.

Xia Qifei watched Leng Feibai walk away, his face filled with disbelief.

"Zhaizhu!"

Seeing this, a bandit nearby stepped forward and asked, "Chief, you..."

“Send two brothers to Suzhou to scout.”

Xia Qifei said with a serious expression, "I need to know what Fan Xian did after entering the city... no, I'll go into the city myself later."

"whoosh"

After a brief gust of wind, Leng Feibai returned to the deck. The old man who was chatting with Fan Xian was so startled when he saw Leng Feibai that he dropped the bowl in his hand and couldn't help but rub his eyes.

Seeing the old man's appearance, Fan Xian quickly asked, "Grandpa, are you alright?"

The old man shook his head and pointed at Leng Feibai, saying, "You, you are Young Master Leng!"

Upon hearing this, Leng Feibai was also stunned and asked curiously, "Old man, do you know me?"

"oops!"

The old man quickly said, "Have you forgotten? Ten years ago, in a village at the foot of Cangmang Mountain in Jiangbei, you went into the village to ask for water, only to encounter bandits coming down the mountain to rob the people. It was you who took action, drove away the bandits, and then went up the mountain alone, killed all the bandits, and rescued the kidnapped villagers. You even gave each of our households more than ten taels of silver."

"You are!"

Leng Feibai suddenly remembered a few people and said, "Uncle Wang, it's you."

"You still remember this old man!"

As soon as Old Wang finished speaking, he shouted to the villagers below the boat, "Fellow villagers, it's Young Master Leng! The benefactor who helped us rid the village of bandits back then!"

Upon hearing this, the villagers who were eating porridge and steamed buns suddenly became agitated and wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Leng Feibai.

Leng Feibai quickly waved his hand and said, "Folks, there's no need for that. You should eat first, eat first!"

After calming the agitated crowd, Leng Feibai pulled Fan Xian aside and deliberately asked, "What happened?"

"The Ming family spent money to put up a bounty and hire people to smash the government ships!"

Fan Xian said indignantly, "They want me to take the opportunity to kill civilians and incur the hostility of many. Even if I take over the three major workshops, no one will want to do business with a bastard like me who slaughters civilians." "Heh!"

Leng Feibai sneered after hearing this, "You really are a beast! What do you plan to do with the villagers?"

"Pharaoh!"

Fan Xian summoned Wang Qinian and ordered him to set off immediately, using the special channels of the Surveillance Bureau to gather officials from various counties in Jiangnan to the Suzhou dock to receive orders.

Just as Wang Qinian set off, a dark figure descended from the sky and landed on the official boat.

"shadow!"

Fan Xian looked at the suddenly appearing figure and asked curiously, "Why are you here? Has something happened in the capital?"

Shadow took out a letter from his bosom and said, "This is a letter from His Majesty and Dean Chen. It contains the specific reasons for the assassination attempt you encountered when you set off, as well as what you are to do after arriving in Jiangnan!"

"sorry to bother you!"

Upon seeing this, Fan Xian quickly said, "Shadow, now that you're here, there's one more thing I need your help with!"

And so, the task that should have been done by Wang Qinian fell directly on the shoulders of the Shadow.

But Wang Qinian wasn't idle either. Fan Xian asked him and Shi Chanli to help settle the people, while he pulled Leng Feibai back into the house.

The two quickly read through the letter sent by Emperor Qing. After reading it, Fan Xian frowned and said to Leng Feibai, "The Ming family is so audacious that they actually bypassed Li Chengze and Li Yunrui and ordered the Dukes and Marquises in the capital to attack us!"

"Sake reddens the face, gold stirs the heart!"

Leng Feibai's tone was very calm, "The Ming family has relied on the Imperial Treasury to act as local tyrants in Jiangnan for so many years. They've long since become arrogant and disdainful of everyone. I suspect they're planning to take advantage of your taking over the three major workshops to pull off a sleight of hand and destroy them openly..."

"In reality, they secretly transferred the funds, turning the inner treasury into the Ming family's private property!"

Fan Xian finished Leng Feibai's sentence, and Leng Feibai nodded, saying, "It's good that you thought of that. Like I said, leave the fighting to me. The scheming is yours! There's just one thing: the decree in His Majesty's letter might be difficult to handle!"

"We cannot allow another Ming family to emerge!"

Fan Xian scratched his head. "This is indeed a difficult point to handle. By the way, brother, Qing..."

"Shh!"

Leng Feibai stopped Fan Xian from speaking, "The situation on the ship is unclear, so don't reveal those things yet. Focus your energy on dealing with the Ming family first. Once we reach Suzhou Prefecture, go find Uncle Wuzhu and write down the detailed plan!"

"That's right!"

Fan Xian nodded and said, "The information from the Surveillance Bureau alone is not enough to understand the Ming family's situation. I have to make contact with the Ming family myself."

"And one more thing!"

Leng Feibai continued, "How much information do you remember about the Ming family members?"

"It's all here!"

After Fan Xian finished speaking, he took out a pile of scrolls from the pile of bundles beside him. "The list of the core members of the Ming family, as well as their biographies, are all here!"

After listening, Leng Feibai looked through the scroll for a while, then took out a copy and handed it to Fan Xian.

"see this!"

Fan Xian raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes, and quickly looked at it.

"The seventh son of the Ming family, whose name is unknown. He was born to the head of the Ming family and a mistress. His birth mother was beaten to death by the matriarch of the Ming family, and he himself was expelled from the family by the current head of the family, Ming Qingda..."

"The bandit leader who gathered to spy on us on the shore today, Xia Qifei, is the seventh son of the Ming family!"

Leng Feibai said calmly, "Moreover, the reason he was expelled from the family was because the previous head of the Ming family left him a large inheritance, which aroused jealousy."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xian's lips twitched, and he quickly said, "Brother, have you already investigated the Ming family?"

"That's it!"

Leng Feibai said irritably, "Knowing that you're going to clash with the Ming family, I need to figure out just how many tricks these people have up their sleeves! Although Xia Qifei is a river bandit, he has a deep grudge against the Ming family. If possible, we can make use of him."

After Leng Feibai finished speaking, he turned to look out the window, "If nothing unexpected happens, we should arrive in Suzhou the day after tomorrow. Then, it will be a fierce battle..."

After exchanging ideas for a while, the two finalized the first draft of their plan targeting the Ming family and then returned to their respective rooms.

That evening, in his room, Leng Feibai leaned against the bedside, closed his eyes, and prepared to get a good night's rest.

At that moment, his clone in Kyoto suddenly sent him a message.

"Main body, good news. Old Mudfish has discovered the shady affair between Li Yunrui and the Crown Prince!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, waking Leng Feibai from his sleep.

Leng Feibai quickly asked using his telepathy, "How did you find out?"

"Ever since we manipulated Emperor Qing's dreams with talismans, making him discover Li Chengqian and Li Yunrui's affair in his dream, he has been keeping a close watch on them. After Li Yunrui was confined to her quarters, Li Chengqian was extremely worried. Finally, tonight, he sneaked into Guangxin Palace alone, scaling the wall. However, he was discovered by the men Emperor Qing had sent to monitor Li Yunrui..."

Upon hearing the clone's report, Leng Feibai smiled and quickly asked, "What was Old Mudfish's reaction?"

I was so angry I almost exploded!

The clone said in a gloating tone, "He sneaked in on his own, and when he saw that lewd affair, he was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot. He dragged Li Chengqian to the ground and started whipping him with his belt. It's just that the old mudfish's belt was a silk belt, otherwise, he probably would have whipped Li Chengqian into a meat pie."

"How are Li Chengqian and Li Yunrui doing?"

"They've all been confined to the East Palace and Guangxin Palace!"

The clone's tone suddenly turned serious. "Old Mudfish has gone all out this time. He directly ordered the Imperial Guards to seal off Guangxin Palace and the East Palace. All the servants, maids, and guards of the two palaces who were close to their masters were beaten to death, and the rest were expelled from the palace and sold off."

Leng Feibai's expression darkened upon hearing this, and he then asked, "How is Hong Zhu?"

"He's always been by Emperor Qing's side; this matter hasn't implicated him!"

Upon hearing his clone's words, a cold glint flashed in Leng Feibai's eyes. He then issued an order to all his clones in Kyoto.

"Keep an eye on the palace and see what Old Mudfish does. If he really orders the start of the Great Eastern Mountain deposed crown prince plot ahead of schedule, then we should take action! There's another matter. Once Old Mudfish really leaves the palace to start the Great Eastern Mountain plan, then Hong Sixiang will probably leave the palace as well. At that time, you should immediately sneak into the palace and kill the Empress Dowager and the Empress."

The moment those words were spoken, the several clones in Kyoto were stunned.

One of the clones couldn't help but say, "Main body, this kind of thing is meaningless. Besides, with the Empress Dowager and Empress dead, when Li Chengqian and Li Chengze rebel in the future, Fan Xian will probably lose two pawns to use as leverage!"

"With us here, Fan Xian doesn't need pawns!"

Leng Feibai's tone was very calm, as if he were doing something very easy. "Besides, the old mudfish intends to pass the throne to Fan Xian, so Fan Xian can't do something as shameful as kidnapping the Empress Dowager and the Empress. So, do you understand?"

Upon hearing Leng Feibai's command, the clones did not reply but agreed.

(End of this chapter)