Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1488: Legend of the Hidden Sea 8

The outside world would only attribute Shen Wan's death to Jiang Xiang. It was she who was greedy, vain, and despised the poor and loved the rich. She wanted to get out with the children when Zhuang Luyin was at his lowest point, and then she climbed up again when Zhuang Luyin returned to Beijing in glory.

Even if there was direct evidence to prove that Zhuang Luyin was personally involved, the court officials would not hold him accountable for this. At most, they would only strip him of his title, and he would still be able to enjoy wealth and glory.

In Dayong, the status of women was not as low as Xiao Jinyue imagined. Of course, this conclusion was most likely based on her status as one of the top dignitaries. After all, just like Jiang Xiang, she could divorce if she wanted by relying on the power of her family, and she could take her own son with her. She could remarry if she wanted, and her own son would still be the first heir to the Marquis' Mansion, even if he did not have the title of Crown Prince.

The ones who are truly oppressed are the lower-class women, and even the lower-class men are oppressed as well.

Xiao Jinyue had long learned not to turn improving the status of women into a slogan. Now she was looking at Jiangnan.

The area south of the Yangtze River has always been prosperous and wealthy. In the past, when it was under the control of the Queen Mother and Prince Linzi, even the imperial court could only receive half of the taxes, which were only agricultural taxes and other commercial taxes. The most important salt tax was almost all withheld by the Queen Mother and Prince Linzi.

That was why Xiao Jinyue resorted to the wool-pulling method back then, in order to weaken the military power in the hands of the Queen Mother and Prince Linzi.

As for the private soldiers raised by Prince Linzi, it is not easy to investigate them.

However, this matter was not difficult for Xiao Jinyue, but it was a complete clue for Emperor Zhenshun. He sent out his subordinates from the Duwei Division and the Capital Division, but there was no news for several years. Shi Quan and Cao Jingxian both began to get anxious.

However, Cao Jingxian only looked anxious on the surface, but in his heart he was still thinking about taking Zanghai from Zhuang Luyin. He sent his adopted son Lu Jin to investigate Zanghai's background. He looked terrified and nervous for several days, until Emperor Zhenshun's anger subsided and he straightened his back again.

But Shi Quan was different. He had wanted to find a safe home early on and had set his sights on Xiao Jinyue. So after much thought, he decided to ask Xiao Jinyue for advice when she left the palace.

Xiao Jinyue had no opinion of Shi Quan, especially since Emperor Zhenshun had to use someone like him. Moreover, Prince Linzi's private soldiers were indeed important, so she certainly wouldn't hesitate to give him some advice: "Since Prince Linzi wants to prepare to raise an army, the number of these private soldiers must be quite large. You only need to keep an eye on any unusual movements in grain and iron mines, and you'll know where these private soldiers are stationed."

Is it true that you couldn't think of anything when you were focusing on the matter of food and iron ore?

It's just a blind spot.

Shi Quan was also smart. He got the idea from Xiao Jinyue and turned around to report to Emperor Zhenshun. His words were full of praise for Xiao Jinyue. He also said that Emperor Zhenshun was also extraordinary for giving birth to such an outstanding prince like Xiao Jinyue. This made Emperor Zhenshun very happy. From then on, Quan quietly distanced himself from his colleague Cao Jingxian.

As a general who can win battles, Pingjin Marquis Zhuang Luyin is still a hot topic in the eyes of many people. However, due to the misfortune of his eldest son Zhuang Zhifu, the inner house of the marquis's mansion is somewhat unstable. In particular, Canghai has blatantly sided with Zhuang Zhixing and wanted Zhuang Zhixing to become famous through football matches. The marquis's wife Jiang Xiang is the first to disagree.

Jiang Xiang is not stupid, but she is not smart enough either. Her method of dealing with Zang Hai is simple. She just needs to instigate in front of Zhuang Luyin that Zang Hai has ulterior motives.

On the surface, Zhuang Luyin invited Zang Hai to attend his family dinner, and in his heart he was planning to train Zang Hai to continue working for the Pingjin Marquis Mansion, but in reality he couldn't help but have doubts about Zang Hai, so Jiang Xiang's instigation gave him an excuse to suspend his vigorous promotion and reliance on Zang Hai.

Zang Hai also learned that Cao Jingxian from the Capital Bureau had someone investigate him, so he had to hurriedly go to Gao Ming to confirm his identity. However, he didn't expect to find himself being followed as soon as he went out. He temporarily gave up looking for Gao Ming and went to the Zhenlou instead, pretending to be having fun.

The identity that the masked man made up for Zang Hai was very simple. He was an orphan in Qingquan Town whose parents died young. Later, he was spotted by a carpenter in the town and taken back to be an apprentice. Later, the carpenter died in an accidental fire. Zang Hai lost all his support again, so he simply packed up all his belongings and went to Beijing to make a living.

The masked man and his entourage had already arranged people in Qingquan Town to deal with Lu Jin and his entourage. However, Lu Jin had already obtained the result that there was nothing unusual about Cang Hai's background. However, because he was afraid that Cao Jingxian would be dissatisfied, he lied about the results of the investigation, saying that there was something unusual about Cang Hai's background and asked Cao Jingxian to be cautious.

The masked man made proper arrangements, and Lu Jin was the only one left among the factory guards he had brought out. After Zang Hai got the news, he could only let Lu Jin return to the capital to avoid arousing Cao Jingxian's suspicion.

In the capital, Lu Jin died of natural causes. Zang Hai felt that he could not rely on the masked man, so he went to ask Xiang An Tu for help.

Although Xiang Antu hoped to find the Guixi through Zanghai, she could not do it too blatantly. After all, her identity was not a secret at all in the eyes of some people. As a hostage of a foreign country, especially since the Guixi was closely related to Dongxia, she always had to avoid suspicion.

So she didn't dare to agree to Zang Hai's request for her to help deal with Lu Jin from the Capital City Division. "You know Lu Jin, right? Why do you think I have a way to get rid of Lu Jin without arousing suspicion from all parties?"

Zang Hai flattered him, "Boss Xiang, here is the emperor's imperial edict. Even though Lu Jin is the son of Governor Cao, he is just a factory guard after all. Without Lu Jin, as long as Governor Cao does not doubt, there will be no problem."

This reason was reasonable, so Xiang Antu didn't ask why she wanted to help. After all, because of Zhuang Zhixing's matter, she and Zang Hai were already an open partner.

Xiang Antu agreed to help Zang Hai get rid of Lu Jin, but she also admitted that she couldn't think of a perfect solution in the short term.

Zang Hai then expressed an idea he had been thinking about for a long time: "Whether it is Zhuang Luyin or Cao Jingxian, neither of them will tolerate their subordinates having second thoughts. If Cao Jingxian knew that Lu Jin did not report to him immediately after returning to Beijing, but stayed with Zhuang Luyin at night, if Lu Jin died in an accident later, Cao Jingxian would not think of you and me, but would only focus on Zhuang Luyin."

Xiang Antu immediately sensed the danger of Zang Hai's move, and immediately turned hostile: "So who are you? You used me as a pawn to sow discord between Cao Jingxian and Zhuang Luyin, what is your intention?!"

There was no other way, Zang Hai could only confess his identity to Xiang An Tu: "Zhuang Luyin and I have a family-killing feud. The director of the Imperial Observatory who was killed ten years ago was my biological father."

Xiang Antu had already guessed his identity through the scars on Canghai's back. Today, Canghai confessed his identity, so she restrained her pretended anger. However, she still said slightly, "It's not a big deal to kill Lu Jin, but it's difficult for me to provoke Cao Jingxian and Zhuang Luyin. We in Zhenlou will not easily cause such a disturbance."

Zang Hai continued, "I also have some people I can use. I came to see Boss Xiang today because I wanted to perform a scene for the factory guards in which I took Lu Jin to the Marquis of Pingjin's mansion and had a close conversation with Zhuang Luyin."

Xiang Antu was a little annoyed by Zang Hai's deep calculations. She thought that this move would not only allow Cao Jingxian to target Zhuang Luyin and facilitate the search for Gui Xi, but would also allow Cao Jingxian to kill Zhuang Luyin and eliminate such an accomplished enemy for Dong Xia. She could only pretend to be reluctantly convinced by Zang Hai.