The next day after school, Yan Li had just stepped into the Resentful Yuan Tower when Zhan Mu came to greet him and pulled him to a private room on the fourth floor without any explanation.
The private room on the fourth floor was usually not open to the public. Yan Li knew that Ji Tiansheng would occasionally leave the palace to relax. This was a place she often came to, so it was only for her to enjoy.
Zhan Mu carefully knocked on the door of a private room engraved with peach branches.
"Come in."
After receiving permission, Zhan Mu gently pushed the door open. There was only one person in the room. A young master dressed in blue embroidered clothes was standing on the window sill behind the desk, seemingly admiring the scenery.
Looking out from the window, it was the peach forest by Lover's Lake.
The young master slowly turned around and said softly, "Sit." He walked to the desk and sat down.
She had a peerless face that could topple cities. There was no brush in this world that could depict her charm. There were even no words that could describe her beauty. Her eyes were as dazzling as two black agates. The rest of her facial features were neither more nor less. In their respective positions, even looking at her alone, she was even more beautiful than a painting. Her lips, which were just thick and thin, had a faint natural blush. She naturally pursed her lips into a cold and noble arc.
Yan Li had already recognized Ji Zhiyuan from the back, but when she turned around, her breathing was still uncontrollably disordered. She had to exert a great deal of willpower to make herself remain calm and sit down.
"How are your injuries?" Ji Zhiyuan first asked about Yan Li's injuries, showing appropriate concern. It was likely that very few people could receive her concern.
Yan Li laughed and said, "I am flattered by your inquiry. As you can see, you can also see that I am among your servants today."
"Yan Li!" Zhan Mu glared at him.
Ji Zhiyuan raised his hand to stop him. "We have never asked about what happens at Mount Kunyuan. Do you know why?"
Yan Li said, "Your Majesty is cultivating elites, not cultivators. What the Inner Court needs are students who are able to deal with all kinds of crises and are capable of undertaking difficult tasks. "
Ji Zhiyuan said, "Not bad, I gave you a chance, and you took it. That's good, but you have to continue to prove yourself. That's the prerequisite for you to live."
As soon as Yan Li heard this, he knew that there was a mission. Unlike the previous two times, this time Ji Zhiyuan took the initiative to hand over the task, so it was most likely related to the underworld.
He smiled and said, "I'm happy to listen."
Ji Zhiyuan gave Zhan Mu a look.
Zhan Mu said, "There's something you should know. The Founding Ancestor had personally laid down a law that forbade the buying and selling of slaves within the Grand Xia Empire. What I'm about to say is highly confidential. Remember, listen to it, and let it rot in your heart. "
Yan Li nodded.
Zhan Mu continued, "The more it is clearly forbidden, the more people like to challenge it. Actually, this rule has been broken long ago. Now, even many high-ranking officials and nobles can't resist the temptation, and there's a certain channel that provides them with female slaves and catamites. As long as you want it, there's nothing they can't do, satisfying their desires to the greatest extent. The number of missing people in China increases every year, so there must be a huge market operating in the dark. We've been investigating the location of this market, and now we finally have some clues. "
Yan Li said, "Even so, I'm just a student. What can I do for you?"
"Can you listen to me slowly?"
Zhan Mu rolled his eyes at him and continued, "According to reliable sources, that place is in Silver Moon Villa, located in Longevity Park's Virtue Seeking Square. It occupies a very large area, and the area near Yan Ping Gate almost all belongs to Silver Moon Villa. The owner of Silver Moon Villa is called Quan Dafu, and he's the richest man in Yongling. It's said that his assets can fit eight luxurious carriages. "
"That can be considered the richest?" Yan Li was startled.
"I'm talking about banknotes," Zhan Mu said lightly.
The image of stacks of silver notes piled up in the horse carriage appeared in Yan Li's mind. His eyes could not help but shine. For bandits, this kind of fat sheep was rarely seen. Robbing it once would be enough for several lifetimes.
Zhan Mu continued, "Quan Dafu's Silver Moon Villa is famous for its grandeur. There are banquets held every night, and the guests are at least fourth-rank officials and above, or rich merchants and local tyrants with similar strength and status. It's said that he likes to make friends with tyrants and bandits, and often generously gives money to help people. The number of heroes he befriends is no less than hundreds, and there are also many ministers in the court who are close friends with him. Other than having a wide circle of friends, he's also very cunning. The emperor has tried many times to find a reason to deal with him, but he's always evaded it. … It's great that Silver Moon Villa is the slave market. According to my calculations, every time he holds a banquet, it'll be a cannibalistic trade fair. "
"Then wouldn't it be better to just send an army to crush them?" Yan Li said lightly, "No matter how rich he is, would he dare to keep a private army? No matter how wide his circle of friends is, how many of them would dare to go against the empire? "
"The prerequisite is that there's evidence," Zhan Mu said. "So your mission this time is to collect evidence of Silver Moon Villa's slave trade. Also, how can a merchant manage such a large trading market? There must be someone supporting him, and it's definitely related to the underworld. "
Yan Li suddenly thought of the black-headed shark. He'd probably successfully entered the job today. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Ji Zhiyuan. This high and mighty Holy Emperor had probably already discovered some clues, and was in a hurry to deal with the underworld.
But he said, "Why me?"
Zhan Mu said deliberately, "Because of Yan Chaoyang."
"What about him?" Yan Li furrowed his brows slightly.
Zhan Mu said, "To be precise, Quan Dafu has his eyes on the wine recipe for Fire Beyond the Heavens. I heard that he's already sent people to invite Yan Chaoyang to negotiate with him, intending to buy the recipe. We can use this opportunity to disguise ourselves as followers and follow him into Silver Moon Villa."
He knew that he was being used, but he didn't have the leeway to refuse. Ji Zhiyuan probably valued Yan Chaoyang's strength more.
Yan Li didn't intend to refuse. Coincidentally, that night, Quan Dafu sent people to invite Yan Chaoyang again. But during the operation, there were unexpectedly two more people.
In the backyard of the tavern, Dong Qing and Mu Dongfeng sat there drinking wine, as if they'd been waiting for a long time.
When Yan Li saw them, his blood rushed to his head, but it cooled down in an instant.
"What's going on?" he asked Zhan Mu.
Zhan Mu only knew one side, and didn't know the other, so he said, "This is the Emperor's decree. You don't have a big grudge, so it's better to make peace. Otherwise, if things go wrong, you won't have a good ending."
"I've met Little Brother Yan a few times. This is fate. Who would've thought that we'd act together?" Dong Qing raised his wine cup, and gestured to Yan Li, but there was a hint of a cold smile at the corner of his eyes.
His words were hidden, and his intentions were sinister.
"Little Brother Yan, is it convenient? Can we talk in private?" he invited.
"Why not?" Yan Li smiled faintly, and led the way into the wine cellar.
"I didn't think that the remnant of the Bai Residence would sneak into the Yanshan Robber, and become the young master of the so-called Yanshan Robber." Dong Qing spoke first, his tone was cold, and his smile didn't stop.
Yan Li's back was facing him, and he clenched his fists. After a while, he released them, and said, "Traitors are the most shameful things in this world! Even if the heavens and earth destroy them, they probably won't be forgiven. "
He had already controlled himself to the greatest extent, and didn't let himself say unpleasant words, but they were still very unpleasant.
Dong Qing's face was ashen, and he said, "I've never hoped for anyone's forgiveness. Even when I destroyed the Bai Residence back then, it was just like playing house. I advise you not to provoke me, and it's fine if nothing happens, otherwise … "
"Otherwise what?" Yan Li's teeth chattered.
Dong Qing snickered, and said, "If I expose your identity, do you think you can still establish yourself in Yongling? The Great Xia won't let you go! "
Yan Li felt as if he had fallen into an icy cavern, and all the blood in his body froze. At the same time, he was greatly shocked. This was the first time he had touched the edge of the truth. Wasn't the Bai Residence annihilation announced to the outside world to be the work of the underworld? If not, why would the Great Xia attack the Bai Residence? Why wouldn't they let me go even now!!!
At this time, Zhan Mu's call came from outside, "Hey! You two, quickly come out and change your clothes. Get ready to leave! "
Dong Qing thought that Yan Li had been frightened by him, and he let out a malicious and cold laugh. He lowered his voice, and said, "Brat, remember this seat. Nothing happens, and it's for your own good."
Could they really live in peace?
Silver Moon Villa was larger than Yan Li had imagined. At the entrance of the villa was a huge decorated archway, and there were hundreds of guards patrolling the upper and lower floors. Not far away, dozens of luxurious carriages were parked. The drivers only dared to sit on the shafts of the carriages, waiting for their masters, and didn't even dare to talk to each other.
Everyone who entered Silver Moon Villa had to have their identity verified.
The group of five was blocked outside the decorated archway, and the leader of the guards shouted coldly, "Silver Moon Villa is a forbidden area. Unauthorized people are not allowed to enter. What are you doing here?"
Zhan Mu was inwardly angry. This guard's prestige was almost on par with the guards of the imperial city.
Yan Chaoyang was the nominal leader, and he wasn't good with words. He could only respond indifferently, "Wine recipe, invited."
"What wine recipe?" the guard asked coldly.
"This master must have heard of the famous' Fire from Beyond the Heavens'." Yan Li went forward to receive it. He was disguised as a winemaker, and with a face full of smiles, he secretly stuffed a banknote into the guard's hands.
Although these guards looked mighty, how could they compare to the imperial city guards? He took the banknote, and when he saw that it was in denomination of five hundred taels, his attitude softened, and he said, "I've heard of it, but I still need to verify it. Wait." After that, he waved his hand, and a guard immediately ran to pass on the message.
This message dragged on for at least ten minutes. Just as the five people were getting impatient, a manager in his early thirties slowly walked out with his hands clasped behind his back, and gave them a sidelong glance, "You are the owner of this wine shop?"
His gaze only swept over Yan Chaoyang, and he didn't even bother to look at Yan Li and the others.
"Yes." Yan Chaoyang said indifferently.
"Silver Moon Villa isn't a place anyone can enter," the manager arrogantly said with disgust, "Master invited you here to discuss the wine recipe, why did you bring so many people? The others are waiting here, and only you are going in. "
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