Chapter 48: Capture The Thief’s Leader First
“All settled?” Mo Ziyuan saw her satisfied expression and couldn’t help asking curiously.
“Yeah! All settled,” Lin Xin replied. She tilted her head to look at Mo Ziyuan. “You helped me out big time tonight. How do you want me to thank you?”
Mo Ziyuan shook his head. “No need to thank me. I didn’t really help much.”
“How not? If you weren’t here, that crazy woman Lin Duo probably would’ve done something to Nan Nan. She might even have exposed that my family has a dumb tiger. Although I’m not afraid, trouble is better avoided altogether. So thanking you is only right. Don’t refuse.”
Lin Xin never thought her future life would intersect with Mo Ziyuan’s in any way, so she didn’t want to owe him a favor. They say favors are the hardest debts to repay. She just wanted to lay low like a salted fish and not get involved with these “rebellious ministers and traitors.”
Seeing her serious expression, Mo Ziyuan thought for a moment and said, “If the young lady insists on thanking me, how about we call it even on the old debts with Old Cui and Yi Chen?”
Lin Xin hadn’t expected him to bring that up, but on second thought, last time she had already openly humiliated Old Cui and Meng Yichen so obviously that they probably wouldn’t want any more dealings with her anyway. So it didn’t matter if the accounts were old or new.
“Alright, considering they had their reasons, I won’t hold it against them for using Nan Nan. Help me tell them that!” Lin Xin agreed readily. After thinking, she went back into the room, took out a devil vine from the space, and injected it with a large amount of wood element ability.
The originally somewhat shriveled vine immediately became plump and lush, bright green, looking just like an emperor green jade bracelet of excellent quality.
After inputting the command for the devil vine to grow vigorously upon encountering soil, Lin Xin handed it to Mo Ziyuan. “If you encounter danger you can’t resolve in the future, throw it in a place with soil and run fast. It can protect you and get you out of trouble, but it can only be used once. Consider this thanks for your big help tonight.”
Mo Ziyuan hesitated but still took it, carefully tucking it into his bosom. “If accepting it puts the young lady at ease, then I will accept it.”
Lin Xin wasn’t embarrassed that he saw through her intention and just instructed, “This thing can only be used once. Don’t let it touch soil normally, or it will become ineffective.”
Although this thing that looked just like a bracelet was very beautiful, Mo Ziyuan really couldn’t imagine how it could get him out of trouble. But he smartly didn’t show it. He nodded solemnly to indicate he remembered, then waved handsomely to bid Lin Xin farewell, and quickly vanished into the back mountain.
“Sis~ I’m sleepy.” Lin Nan knew his older sister had important business tonight. Even though he was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, he had forced himself not to sleep. Now that it was finally just him and his sister at home, he plunged into Lin Xin’s arms, said he was sleepy, and fell asleep.
“You sleepy little pig!” Lin Xin tapped Lin Nan’s nose tip, carried him back into the room, took off his outer clothes, simply wiped his hands, face, and feet. After washing up herself, she lay on the kang to sleep, preparing for tomorrow. There was a big show to watch!
Meanwhile, Mo Ziyuan hurried back to the Meng Family in town. He looked at the tightly shut gate, flipped over the wall into the courtyard, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he heard arguing voices from the room.
“How is it not your bad idea?” Gao Yong’s loud voice was very distinctive.
“Who was it that raised both hands in agreement back then? You were all eager on the way there, and now that things didn’t work out, you’re blaming me?” Fu Jing’s voice was full of fatigue and anger.
“Who else but you? Tell me, who else? If we’d just said it directly from the start, we might’ve gotten the things. Lord Zuo wouldn’t be… wouldn’t be…” Gao Yong’s voice choked up, and he couldn’t continue.
Mo Ziyuan pushed open the room door, met the gazes of everyone in the room, frowned, and asked, “What happened? What’s wrong with Lord Zuo?”
“Heir, the news just came: Lord Zuo has been imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment Prison. It’s said he might even have been tortured… he…” Gao Yong always called Mo Ziyuan by name, but whenever he called him Heir, it meant things were extremely bad.
“Ministry of Punishment Prison? On what charge?”
“It’s… forcibly taking a common girl!” Ling Qing said through gritted teeth.
“Forcibly taking a common girl?” Mo Ziyuan looked at him in disbelief. “Lord Zuo?”
“What forcibly taking a common girl? That was Grand Tutor Feng’s trap for Lord Zuo. That woman was Grand Tutor’s person. She deliberately pretended on the street to be molested by ruffians. Lord Zuo saved the woman and took her home. The next day, he was impeached for forcibly taking a common girl. Then the woman was brought before His Majesty and publicly accused Lord Zuo, so…”
Mo Ziyuan closed his eyes. For some reason, Lin Xin’s words suddenly appeared in his mind. She had said, “Why not just kill those people?” At this moment, he had never felt those words so reasonable.
“Zi Yuan, did you get the thing?” Fu Jing asked.
Mo Ziyuan didn’t speak. He took out the copper tube from his bosom and placed it on the table.
Fu Jing picked it up, took out the contents and examined them. After looking, he excitedly slapped his palm. “This is the thing. If we give it to His Majesty, His Majesty definitely won’t tolerate Grand Tutor Feng anymore.”
Mo Ziyuan had no reaction. Gao Yong, Chu Yu, Ling Qing, and Zhou Qi’s reactions were also very flat.
“What do you all mean? We went to great lengths to get this thing. Now we should discuss how to deliver it to His Majesty. Why do you all look like this?” Fu Jing asked, suppressing his anger.
“Fu Jing, do you really think this thing alone can bring down Grand Tutor Feng?” Seeing no one speak, Zhou Qi stood out as the fall guy.
“What do you mean? General Meng almost lost his life for this thing, and so many Meng Family troops. We’ve been holed up in this rundown place, waiting day and night just to get this thing and present it to His Majesty, right?” Fu Jing growled lowly.
“Are you sure the thing you send to the palace will reach His Majesty?” This time it was Chu Yu who spoke.
“Our people…” Fu Jing trailed off here and couldn’t continue. Including the Crown Prince’s faction, they had already lost thirty percent of their people planted in the palace. More kept being rooted out—either dead or severely tortured. The Eastern Palace’s forces had shrunk again and again. They could no longer afford to lose more manpower.
“Then what do you say we do?” Fu Jing clenched his fist.
“There is one way.” Mo Ziyuan opened his eyes at this moment and said calmly.
Everyone turned their heads toward him and asked in unison, “What way?”
“Kill!” Mo Ziyuan answered calmly. “Capture the ringleader to solve the problem. Kill Feng Xing, and all problems will be resolved.”
“No!” Fu Jing was the first to object. “Killing the Grand Tutor will definitely provoke fierce retaliation from the Third Prince’s faction. If it causes turmoil in the court, we might end up bearing eternal infamy.”
“At a time like this, you’re still thinking about reputation.” Gao Yong slapped the table and stood up. “I support killing that old Grand Tutor. Even if we’re cursed, I’m willing!”
“Count me in!” Chu Yu also stood up.
“I think this method is good too.” Ling Qing also stood up.
“I agree too.” This was Zhou Qi.
Fu Jing looked at the four “black iron towers” standing in a row in front of him. He was so angry his face turned iron blue, his fingers trembling as he pointed at them shakily. “You…”
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