sinovels Chapter 72 Delay Will Lead to Unexpected Changes
Chapter 72 Delay Will Lead to Unexpected Changes
Looking at the crowd of people kneeling down and shouting "Long live the Emperor!" with excitement and worship on their faces, Wu Cheng suddenly felt a chill and goosebumps rose on his arms.
He felt his heart racing, and this racing heartbeat made his cheeks burn and his head spin.
To be specific, this feeling is countless times more satisfying than doing crafts. The last time he came close to this feeling was when he played the last Hextech ARAM game before he died in his previous life and got Jayce. He started the game in a very predictable way, and the second item he got was Jeweled Gauntlet. The opponent was stubborn and refused to surrender, so he was tortured for half an hour and died more than a hundred times. He got more than sixty kills by himself, and his damage output was more than the other four members of the team combined.
And that feeling of exhilaration was less than one-tenth of what he felt now!
"So... this is what it feels like to be admired by thousands after doing good deeds...?"
Wu Cheng felt his internal energy circulating rapidly, and it increased by more than 20% in a short time.
It should be noted that his true energy was already abundant and had not yet been exhausted. For it to increase by another 20% on such a foundation is truly exaggerated.
"I should indeed follow my heart. If I were to investigate slowly and try to find a way to resolve the problem smoothly, my cultivation would probably stagnate."
Suppressing his thoughts for the moment, Wu Cheng looked at An Jingru and said, "Thank you for your trouble. How did you know my identity?"
An Jingru immediately gathered his strength, making his voice resound in everyone's ears, "Your Highness has rid the people of a scourge! This humble subject dares not take credit!"
Then he lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness's countenance was once seen from afar in Lin'an."
Wu Cheng looked down at An Jingru and thought to himself that this man was interesting.
He made sure everyone heard him, partly to make a name for himself and to establish the "Fourth Prince's Suppression of Buddhist Sects" as a legitimate imperial inspection tour.
In this way, even if the imperial court wanted to investigate later, it would have no reason to do so. Moreover, it transformed the people's hatred for the Iron Buddha Temple's collusion with imperial officials into hatred only directed at the Iron Buddha Temple, absolving the imperial court of any responsibility. Even Wu Cheng's current identity was that of a representative of the imperial court to rid the people of harm.
Wu Cheng put the wooden sword back into his waistband, bent down to help An Jingru up, and then walked to the mountain gate to bow to the people outside.
He didn't say anything like "Rise," but instead channeled his inner strength and said, "Fellow villagers! I've come to Xin'an County to do only three things! Fairness! Fairness! And more fairness!"
"Now that the child has been found, this matter is not over! I promise you all that once I return to Lin'an, I will thoroughly investigate this matter and give you all an explanation! It's getting dark now! The road ahead is difficult! Everyone, please go back first! Also, the aggrieved party, please come forward and explain the situation. The ill-gotten gains accumulated by the Iron Buddha Temple will be distributed to everyone! And the golden Buddha statue inside the Iron Buddha Temple will also be distributed to everyone in a moment!"
As soon as he said this, the people bowed down again and shouted in unison, "Long live Your Highness!"
By the time the people had dispersed, night had already fallen.
Only then did Wu Cheng have time to ask An Jingru, "Is An Qing a member of the Demon-Suppressing Guard?"
An Jingru quickly bowed and said, "Your humble servant is An Jingru."
He pulled over An Zizai, who had been helping out earlier, and said, "This is my younger sister, An Zizai. An Zizai, quickly greet His Highness."
Looking at Wu Cheng's face, An Xin Zizai suddenly blushed. She forced a smile, clasped her hands in greeting, and said, "Your Highness, this humble subject An Xin Zizai pays respects! I deeply admire Your Highness's righteous deeds!"
"This is what I should do. I feel at ease... What a good name."
Wu Cheng smiled. "By the way, may I ask what brings you two here?"
An Jingru said, "Your Highness, my brother and I are here on the orders of Lord Sima to investigate the disappearance of the child. We had originally followed the clues to Luoyang City, but we were a step too late, so we followed the clues to Xin'an County."
Wu Cheng nodded. "You should know about the collusion between Yuan Hao, the magistrate of Luoyang, and the Prince of Yu. But I wonder where those children will ultimately be sent?"
Yuan Hao had already written in his booklet that the children's final destination was Lin'an. However, there were many high-ranking officials in Lin'an, and many of them were on the list, but the highest-ranking official was Sima Xun, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Wu Cheng did not believe that Sima Xun was the mastermind behind it all.
There must be an even bigger mastermind behind this, but we don't know who it is.
He had been foolish for sixteen years and had also spent sixteen years in the palace, so he didn't know who the leader of the Demon Suppression Guard was, but An Jingru said "Lord Sima"... Could it be Sima Xun?
Is he going to investigate himself? Or is he trying to mislead the public or kill someone to cover it up?
Wu Cheng wouldn't hand over the evidence to him, and this was just a small test.
"Your Majesty, I do not know," An Jingru said. "It must have been sent to the capital, but once it arrived there, all the clues were lost. That is why Lord Sima ordered the two of us to secretly leave the capital to investigate."
Sure enough, there's a big shot behind this!
But would "Lord Sima" really send them out to investigate? What if they actually find something?
Could it be that Sima Xun is not the mastermind behind this?
Wu Cheng calmly asked about another matter, "What are people in the capital saying about what I did?"
Yuan Hao was a high-ranking official on the frontier, and Wu Ju was his own brother, as well as the third prince of the Great Yu, Prince Yu. Although Wu Cheng thought that in order to deny the Hidden Dragon List, they would pretend that everything they did was fabricated by the Northern Sheng Kingdom, it was impossible that they had no opinion.
"This..." An Jingru hesitated for a moment before saying, "This humble subject does not know, but I have heard that several important officials went to the palace to pay homage to the emperor, and then the court invited Your Highness to return to Lin'an to participate in the selection of the Great Yu Hidden Dragon List."
He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "However, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue has some reservations and feels that His Highness should be severely punished. The daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Sima Xun, is His Highness's betrothed."
"I see."
Wu Cheng realized that Sima Xun was indeed the target he would need to deal with after returning to Lin'an.
This man is the Vice Minister of Revenue, and also the future father-in-law of that dead third brother. No wonder the two of them got together.
Moreover, the powerful figure behind the man in the capital who wanted to get rid of him, Mei Gensheng, was probably also connected to Sima Xun.
However, An Jingru is also a talented person; his actions are essentially a pledge of allegiance to him.
Hmph, it seems that the Vice Minister is having a tough time in Lin'an.
No wonder, since the Prince of Yu, on whom he had placed so much hope, died by his own sword, meaning all their investments went down the drain.
The next step is probably to devise a plan for the Crown Prince's second brother to kill him.
Wu Cheng smiled and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Lord An."
An Jingru's face lit up with joy, and he quickly added, "Your Highness, you have made too much of a commotion this time. Lin'an will definitely receive the news within five days. In case of any changes along the way, I suggest you return to Lin'an as soon as possible and do not linger along the way."