Chapter 97 Father, it turns out you are the rat (th update)

An hour later.

Yue Chongshan came back with a rosy face to report.

"Your Highness, I have captured all three White Lotus Sect strongholds."

"We killed more than 70 demons of the White Lotus Sect and captured seven alive, three of whom were remnants of the King of Zhao."

"Lord Yue did a good job. I will report this matter to my father and ask for credit for you." Zhou Haochen said.

Yue Chongshan is a good swordsman.

It's too difficult for him to figure out who the enemy is.

A knife has no brain.

But once you tell him who the enemy is, this knife will really come in handy.

The first person Zhou Haochen brought to trial was the remnant of King Zhao.

"dog……"

Zhou Haochen had heard the words "Dog Prince" many times in recent days, and he became a little restless. He didn't give the remnants of Prince Zhao any chance to speak and directly used the Yaksha Soul-Questioning Technique to devour his soul.

Zhou Haochen swallowed the souls of three remnants of King Zhao in succession and benefited greatly from their memories.

……

"Master Changshi, is the tree's heart really not here with you?"

"There's no need to rush, young prince."

"It's really not in my hands. If it were in my hands, I would have informed the young prince long ago."

……

"Senior Taishu, I am a rough man and I can't speak. Come, let me toast you."

"Leave the smuggling to me. My Sanhe Gang has been rampant on the waterways for decades. No one knows the waterways out of Beijing better than me, Lu Haian."

……

"That's actually what happened!" Zhou Haochen looked gloomy and let out a long sigh.

Among these three remnants of King Zhao, there was Tai Shuqing's confidant who had access to many secrets.

These secrets answered many of Zhou Haochen's questions.

Where is the heart of the tree?

At first, Zhou Haochen subconsciously thought that the tree heart must have been stolen by the White Lotus Sect.

But as the investigation deepened, he became more and more frightened.

The White Lotus Sect said that it was Tai Shuqing who embezzled the tree core.

Tai Shuqing said that the heart of the tree had disappeared long ago.

So……

there is only one truth.

The heart of the tree is in my father's hands!

Although Zhou Sheng is the head of the Secret Realm Department, he would not dare to steal the heart of the Earth Mother Tree even if he had a hundred guts.

In the court, perhaps only Emperor Qianyuan dared to have any interest in the Earth Mother Tree.

"Zhou Sheng and my eldest brother each married one of the Wang sisters. Outsiders all thought Zhou Sheng was the prince's man."

"In fact, Zhou Sheng has always been my father's man."

"Without Zhou Sheng's cooperation, how could Father have taken the tree core quietly?"

"If the White Lotus Sect hadn't caused such a commotion in the Earth Mother Tree Realm during this Earth Mother Festival, I'm afraid the fact that the tree heart was taken away could have been concealed for many years."

Even among the nine secret vaults in the Earth Mother Tree Realm, how much of the stolen treasures fell into the hands of the White Lotus Sect and how much fell into the hands of Emperor Qianyuan?
hiss--

Who dares to check it clearly?
Zhou Haochen was silent for a moment, as if digesting this shocking truth.

After a moment, he smiled bitterly.

“No wonder the mark of the third reincarnation seal is in the palace.”

"No wonder Zhou Sheng is so fearless even though he is imprisoned on the eighteenth floor of the Heavenly Prison!"

"No wonder Yu Shenxing's investigation was so absurd and he refused to let go of the black street. Because he already knew the truth. This case cannot be ignored, but it cannot be investigated too deeply!"

"I laughed at Yu Shenxing for not being able to investigate the case, but I am the clown!"

"These old bastards!"

"The blind prince is investigating a muddled case!"

"The storyteller was right."

At this point, Zhou Haochen finally understood why Emperor Qianyuan rejected the crown prince and the second prince's request to investigate the case, and instead handed the case over to himself.

Just to get the case over with.

If the case is taken over by the crown prince or the second prince, then the case will definitely be watched by the other party, and then it will turn into a party dispute, and there may be a risk of it getting out of control in the end.

On the other hand, leaving it to yourself is a good choice.

I have had eye disease since childhood and the case cannot be investigated clearly. Isn't this normal?
A blind man would not be surprised if he investigated a muddled case. To put it bluntly, Emperor Qianyuan hoped to fool around and get away with the case of Shuxin.

As for finding Xuanyuan blood, it was purely accidental.

And the little prince mentioned by the remnants of King Zhao is King Zhao's posthumous son, who is preparing to make moves in secret.

These matters are complicated, so let Emperor Qianyuan deal with them.

Zhou Haochen figured out the cause and effect of the whole thing.

There is only one thing that still bothers Zhou Haochen.

Father, why did you steal the tree heart?

The tree heart has the miraculous effect of nourishing the soul, could it be...

Zhou Haochen's heart was filled with shocking waves, and he seemed to have discovered a shocking secret.

If this news gets out, the country will be shaken!

Even if Zhou Haochen was beaten to death, he would keep this secret to himself.

In addition, there is the Sanhe Gang.

The Sanhe Gang must be eliminated.

But the Sanhe Gang is the prince's money bag. If we act rashly, we will inevitably offend the prince to death, which is unwise.

However, a piece of memory among the remnants of King Zhao attracted Zhou Haochen's attention.

The Sanhe Gang, as a gang proficient in water transportation, helped the White Lotus Sect to smuggle. Moreover, Lu Haian had a very pleasant chat with Tai Shuqing and seemed to have the intention of joining them.

Can this be utilized?

Just as Zhou Haochen was thinking about it, the servant came to report.

"Your Highness, the chief steward of the Qinghe Cui family has sent a visiting card."

"Qinghe Cui family? Why are they here?"

Zhou Haochen was stunned, and then went to the hall to meet the steward of the Qinghe Cui family.

The Qinghe Cui family, one of the five surnames and seven families, is about to marry into an alliance with himself.

It's only natural that I should go and entertain them.

"This old slave pays respect to His Highness. May Your Highness be well!"

"Butler Cui is well!"

Zhou Haochen nodded slightly, not being arrogant. He knew that the old man in front of him, although nominally a steward, was actually the confidant of his future father-in-law and a powerful figure in the Qinghe Cui family.

After sitting down and taking a sip of fragrant tea, Zhou Haochen began to ask.

"Master Cui, how are you these days?"

"Master, everything is fine. The third young lady's marriage has been settled, and the master's appetite has improved a lot."

After the two exchanged pleasantries, the Cui family's butler changed the subject.

"Your Highness, the master of the family asked this old servant to bring you a message."

"What?"

Butler Cui recalled what the master had said in the letter, and spoke in a deep voice with a stern look on his face.

"The master of the family said there is something interesting that he wants to share with you, Your Highness."

"Some time ago, our Cui family was checking the granary. The night before the inspection, a fire dragon suddenly burned the granary, causing heavy losses."

"Later, the master of the family was furious and ordered me to find out who set the warehouse on fire. Your Highness, do you know who set the warehouse on fire?"

"Shuo Shu!"

Zhou Haochen blurted out.

"Your Highness is indeed smart. He guessed the result right away."

"That rat is really amazing. It's so fat and big-eared. At first glance, I almost mistook it for the master of the house..."

Half an hour later.

The Cui family's butler said goodbye and left, leaving Chunyue with a confused look on her face.

"Your Highness, does a wealthy family like the Cui family also have a rat infestation?"

"Of course they do. Not only that, but the rats in rich families eat well, so they make more noise than those in poor families."

Zhou Haochen said with a smile.

My future father-in-law is such a wonderful person!
He was afraid that he would fail in investigating the White Lotus case, so he asked the housekeeper to remind him.

The "huge rat" mentioned by the Cui family's steward is not really a rat, but Emperor Qianyuan.

But how could Cui Zhengxin know so much about what’s happening in Yujing City when he’s thousands of miles away?

"I remember that the Cui family practiced the Book of Changes, one of the six Confucian classics."

"Mr. He, my future father-in-law, how good is your Yishu?"

"Top three in the world!"

(End of this chapter)