Prefecture City, Shipowner's Stronghold
Within a dark and gloomy hall, a man dressed in black robes sat in the middle of the hall. A few men wielding swords stood by the side, their faces cold. The captain of the boat smashed the teacup in his hands onto the floor, and glared at the man kneeling on the floor.
The person kneeling on the ground was the captain of the boat. He was trembling and crying as he reported, "Master, I really don't know why the captain you sent would drown in the water, while the Elementary Scholar was safe and sound. I followed the captain's plan and cooked a big fish for the Elementary Scholars to eat. I even drank some wine. It was only natural that something like this would happen, and nobody would find it strange."
"Furthermore, the Elementary Scholar Pei had drunk some wine and went out to relieve himself. The captain followed him out. After a while, I heard the sound of someone falling into the river. I thought that the captain had succeeded. Who knew that the one who died was the captain."
"The captain did all these things on his own and hid them from me. I really don't know the details."
The captain knelt down in front of the Shipowner, his entire body trembling as he spoke. He was filled with fear, and his forehead was covered in sweat. The captain had died on the boat. If he didn't come and beg for forgiveness, there would be no place for him on the Lu River.
Seeing the captain in such a state, the Shipowner didn't say much. He signaled to a black robed man, who then walked out of the door. Before long, he returned with two men carrying a coffin.
Since the captain had died, even if the case was closed, the captain wouldn't dare to bury him. He found someone to buy a coffin and brought it back to the Shipowner.
The Shipowner walked up and opened the coffin. He saw a pale white face, purple lips, and a swollen body lying in the coffin.
"Tear it open and see!" The Shipowner ordered.
A cold looking man stepped forward and took out a pair of pliers and clamped the body from head to toe. He then used a silver needle and placed it on the body, checking for any signs of injury. After some time, he raised his head and said, "Master Shipowner, the head, chest, abdomen, bones, and throat are all unharmed. Using the silver needle, there are no signs of poisoning."
He then placed his hand on the stomach of the corpse, and saw the corpse spit out water. It smelled of alcohol. This was a sign of drowning, "There's no problem. He drowned because he drank too much."
"Are you sure?"
"Master Duoduo, we have been doing this for generations. You should trust us."
When the shipowner heard this, he was furious. He scolded, "That bastard! He drank too much and drowned in the river. He even ruined our plan!"
The shipowner walked a few steps, as if he was deep in thought. After some time, he sighed and said, "This Elementary Scholar's life is tough. He managed to kill our leader. We should have sent more people to deal with this. Now we've failed."
After he finished speaking, he glared at the captain and said, "He Tu, this has nothing to do with you. Give the captain fifty taels of silver and you can leave."
When the captain heard this, he hurriedly retreated while trembling. Only when he was out of the door did he fiercely wipe away the cold sweat on his forehead.
"Sect Leader has instructed me to do a bad job. I have to find someone to help me." The shipowner thought to himself as he instructed, "Go get the Daoist leader."
Very quickly, a middle-aged Daoist came over. He had two serving maids playing around with him. When they entered the main hall, the two serving maids beside the Daoist saw a coffin in front of them. They screamed out in shock.
The middle-aged Daoist hugged the two maidservants and played with them. He then said loudly, "Li Zhi, why did you place a coffin in this hall?"
The middle-aged Daoist didn't seem to care about the shipowner at all and called him by his name.
The shipowner wasn't angry at all. He waved his hands and ordered his men to leave, "I have something to say. Chase these two serving maids out."
The Daoist raised his head and looked at the shipowner suspiciously, "Li Zhi, these two are my personal serving maids. If you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to beat around the bush."
The shipowner looked at the Daoist, his eyes were filled with anger and fear. He then said, "This is young master's business."
As soon as the shipowner finished speaking, the Daoist's expression changed as well. He pushed the serving maids away and said, "Both of you leave. Wait for me outside."
The two serving maids were obedient and obedient. They listened to the Daoist's words and left.
The Helm Master then said, "Something went wrong when young master asked me to do it. The man I sent drowned. Pei Zi Yun is safe and sound. I hope you can help me plead with young master. Within a year, I will give you ten virgins."
"Pleading is a small matter. I am young master's senior uncle. Although I am only an inner disciple, this matter is not a big deal." The Daoist paced back and forth before saying, "But what's going on? That Elementary Scholar is fine, but the person we sent died."
The shipowner hesitated for some time before telling the Daoist what had happened. The Daoist squinted his eyes and looked at the coffin. Indeed, he had drowned. He then scolded, "Not enough to accomplish anything, but more than enough to spoil things."
The shipowner then walked up and handed over some banknotes to the Daoist. When the Daoist saw that they were banknotes, he felt that they were thick and solid. A smile then appeared on his face. He then pretended to be angry, "It's not that Shipowner didn't put in the effort. It's just that this servant didn't do his job well. I shall report the truth and not let Shipowner be wronged."
Prefecture City, Gao Chui Monastery
Although the area was isolated from the outside world, and the bamboo garden was quiet and secluded, there was a young lady who was singing to the tune of a song.
Zhang Jie Yu listened to her and asked, "Has the bestowment of the monastery been done?"
"Young master, after much effort, it's finally been done. We couldn't get a title, but the bestowment was done."
Da Xu had inherited the previous dynasty's system, and had a strict system for Daoist temples that were related to deities. One was to include them in official ceremonies, even if it was a local ceremony. The other was to only acknowledge them.
"Every Daoist sect has their own titles. Only my Holy Jail Sect has it hard. However, to be able to receive a title in the city means that it's legal and can't be taken down. Furthermore, the door to being bestowed titles has been opened." Li Wen Jing looked out of the window, his eyes gleamed as he said, "As for being included in the official ceremonies, that's difficult, too difficult."
"Of course it's too far." Zhang Jie Yu laughed, "But with this stronghold, we can have some men in the city."
As he spoke, he took out a wooden box and opened it. Inside were some documents, "These are the properties that we've infiltrated over the years. Take a look."
Just as Li Wen Jing was about to speak, he heard a knock on the door.
"Young master, there's news from the river branch of the prefecture." The moment the door opened, a black robed man walked in, holding a letter in his hands.
Zhang Jie Yu received the letter and tore it open. When he finished reading, he was enraged, "Bastard. You can't even handle such a small matter. According to the report, Ju Neng drank too much and drowned in the river."
As he spoke, he waved a hand for the black robed man to leave. His expression was cold and hesitant. He then turned to Li Wen Jing and asked, "Are you sure this bastard doesn't have any Dao Arts? I feel that there's something fishy going on. "
Li Wen Jing frowned, "Young master, we've investigated this matter multiple times. Free Cloud Sect didn't accept Pei Zi Yun as their disciple. Hence, it's impossible for him to have any Dao Arts."
Zhang Jie Yu then stopped hesitating and said angrily, "This kid's luck isn't bad. He's made a few mistakes in his plans. I can't take this lying down. I've heard that he has an old mother. I'd like to make a move on her. What do you think?"
Li Wen Jing stood up, "Young master, every village has its own plot of land. Now that the examinations are taking place, it's a sensitive period. All the immortals will be paying attention. Besides, Slow River County is Free Cloud Sect's territory. Snail Village has been the residence of Free Cloud Sect's Zhao Ning for many years. Who knows, there might be some history between them."
"It's fine for us to plant a pawn here. But if we do that, we will have to deal with the Imperial Qi and Free Cloud Sect. The gains won't make up for the losses."
"Besides, I've already sent a letter back to the sect to ask my fellow disciple to investigate. If this person doesn't have any relations with Zhao Ning, then we can make a move on his family."
Zhang Jie Yu was enraged, "This won't do, that won't do. I can't take this lying down."
As he said this, he swept the teapot and books off the table and onto the floor. After a long time, he finally calmed down. His eyes were dark as he said, "When the examinations are over, I will let him know what it means to be furious."
"That's right. That Tang Zhen, since he's so useless, we shall wait for him to be stripped of his title. He will no longer be under the influence of the Imperial Qi, and let him drown."
Li Wen Jing felt that it was a pity. Tang Zhen had some literary talent, but he wouldn't go against Zhang Jie Yu for the sake of this person. He then replied, "I'll do it now!"
Fu Mansion
The mirror reflected the scholar's courtyard. After a few days of observation, Pei Zi Yun was extremely well-behaved. Every day, he would read books, practice calligraphy, and study the meaning of the scriptures. Every time it was time, he would come out to eat.
The little girl, Xia 'er, was watching from the side with a bored look on her face. She then said unhappily, "This big brother is good at martial arts, and has a killing aura about him. I thought he would practice martial arts, or go out in the middle of the night to do something heroic. Who would've thought that all he does is read books, practice calligraphy, and ponder over them. How boring."
As soon as the little loli finished speaking, the beautiful mistress Mistress Cloud poked the little loli's forehead harshly, "You little lass, you've been reading too many of those weird novels all day long. All you know is to fight and kill, to uphold justice."
The beautiful mistress then looked at Pei Zi Yun, who was studying hard in the mirror, and said, "Not only is this kid sharp, his temperament isn't bad either. I didn't expect him to be able to study like this for the past few days. He has perseverance."
The beautiful mistress looked at Pei Zi Yun and was very impressed. As soon as she finished speaking, she took out a piece of paper and placed it in her hands. After looking at it for some time, she said, "Little Xia 'er, a few days ago, your father came up with the questions, and this Pei Zi Yun did it. Your father even praised him, saying that he has the demeanor of a Grand Scholar. If he were to take the exam, I'm afraid he has a high chance of becoming a Grand Scholar."
The little girl had a look of anticipation on her face as she said, "Aunt, doesn't that mean we have to guide this big brother to enter the Dao now? If he becomes a Grand Scholar, we won't be able to do anything about it."
The mistress sighed and said, "I'm afraid such a talented person might not be able to enter the Dao easily. Besides, I've heard that senior brother Ning has some sort of relationship with him."
"Before senior brother Ning says that he doesn't want to enter the Dao, we shouldn't compete with him. We don't want to create a rift between us."
"Hmph hmph, aunt, you're thinking too much. Do you think that senior uncle Ning's faction is stronger than ours?"
"You've been reading too many strange books. The moment you open your mouth, you start spouting nonsense." The beautiful mistress poked the little girl's forehead and said, "You're not allowed to read those books in the future!"
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