Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 125 Yunbo
A few days later, various rumors detrimental to Gu Changzhou began to circulate in the streets and alleys of Zhongzhou City.

"Have you seen many disciples from cultivation sects appearing in the city recently?"

The tall, fat man spat at the man, who appeared to be around thirty, and said, "We're not blind, how could we not see?"

"I heard that Marquis Molin wants to use the power of these sects to rebel."

The middle-aged man with a pointed face lowered his voice, but deliberately made sure that everyone around him could hear him.

"...Shh, is this something you can just say so casually?"

The man with the pointed face said, "But the news has spread far and wide. I heard that Marquis Molin obtained an ancient divine pill from somewhere. If he eats it, he can dominate the cultivation world. He is ambitious and wants to take over our Zhongzhou City first, and then seize the throne!"

An elderly man beside him frowned and said with great concern, "If this is true, what will happen to us ordinary people? We've finally managed to live a peaceful life all these years, are we going to be plunged into war again?"

Five years ago, the battle with the Fenglei Kingdom was still fresh in my memory.

However, on that occasion, it was Marquis Molin who led the Molin Army to protect them, driving the eastward-advancing Fenglei Kingdom army back to the west and capturing several of their cities.

Is the intention now to overthrow the Heavenly Gang?

"Hmph, in my opinion, this Marquis Molin is no good person. He bullies everyone in the city because he has some skills. This time, he must be trying to use those sect disciples to realize his ambitions," a fat woman said indignantly.

Just as everyone was discussing this, a patrol of soldiers passed by.

The leading general shouted, "What nonsense are you all spouting! These are all rumors, don't believe them. His Majesty has ordered a thorough investigation and will surely give everyone an explanation. Disperse, disperse!"

The crowd dispersed, still feeling unsatisfied, but their doubts remained.

Inside the Yangxin Hall.

Bei Chenyao was discussing countermeasures with Gu Changzhou, Su Jinghuan, and others.

He sat on the dragon throne, his brows furrowed, and looked down at Gu Changzhou, saying, "Minister Gu, rumors are flying everywhere, and the people are filled with anxiety. Although I suspect that this matter is related to Bei Chenhan, I have no concrete evidence. Do you have any countermeasures?"

Gu Changzhou stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “Your Majesty, the evil cultivators are secretly stirring up trouble and using rumors to disturb the people’s peace. This matter should not be publicized, lest it cause greater panic and lead to civil unrest. I believe that we should start by stabilizing the people’s peace. Your Majesty can issue an edict to appease the people, emphasizing the court’s determination to thoroughly investigate the source of the rumors. The edict need not mention the evil cultivators, but only say that there are villains who are trying to disturb the peace of Zhongzhou City.”

Su Jinghuan nodded in agreement: "Your Majesty, what Marquis Gu said is absolutely right. At the same time, we can arrange for some eloquent people to go to places with high foot traffic in the city, such as markets and teahouses, to subtly analyze the irrationality of this matter for the people in a casual conversation, guiding them not to believe the rumors. We can also publicize the illustrious military achievements that Marquis Molin has made for Zhongzhou City in the past, so that the people will remember Marquis Gu's merits and thus doubt the rumors."

Bei Chenyao nodded slightly, a hint of worry in his eyes: "This plan is feasible, but how can we find conclusive evidence as soon as possible and find out who is behind it? If we cannot wipe them out in one fell swoop, I'm afraid the rumors will grow back like weeds in the spring breeze."

Gu Changzhou pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Ye Ying has led the Shadow Guards to conduct a secret investigation, and I believe news will arrive soon."

"During this period, on the one hand, we must strengthen the protection of the palace and the 'Chaos Gathering Pill' to prevent evil cultivators from taking advantage of the chaos to launch a surprise attack; on the other hand, we can arrange some agile and skilled trackers to secretly follow those who spread rumors, and follow the clues to find out who is behind it."

"I will also return to my residence to interrogate Du Xiuwei and see if there are any additional findings."

Since capturing Du Xiuwei, he hasn't had time to return to the Marquis's residence.

However, at this very moment, Du Xiuwei escaped from the dungeon in the Marquis of Molin's mansion.

Gu Changzhou sat in the study, while Jiang Tai knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness.

The atmosphere in the study seemed to freeze.

"My lord, it is my incompetence that not only failed to extract any useful information, but also allowed them to escape."

Gu Changzhou: "Indeed incompetent." Du Xiuwei was under a soul restriction, so he gave up after getting nothing out of her.

He was imprisoned in a dungeon, yet he managed to escape.

Jiang Tai's face was full of annoyance: "Please punish me, Master."

Gu Changzhou stood up: "We'll talk about punishment later. Let's go to the dungeon first."

The two hurried to the dungeon, which was completely silent except for a few oil lamps flickering on the walls, casting long, menacing shadows.

Gu Changzhou entered the cell where Du Xiuwei had been imprisoned and began to examine it carefully.

He discovered that although the lock on the cell door had been broken, the method was extremely skillful and not something an ordinary person would do.

Moreover, there was some strange powder on the ground. He squatted down, gently dipped his finger in it, and sniffed it. A faint herbal scent wafted over.

"This is... psychedelic powder."

Gu Changzhou's face darkened. It seemed that the other party was not only skilled in lock picking, but also used hallucinogenic powder to interfere with the guards.

Jiang Tai, looking remorseful, said, "My lord, the dungeon guards are always cautious. I really can't understand why he was given an opportunity."

Gu Changzhou stood up, glanced around, and said, "To be able to use hallucinogenic powder and open the cell door without alerting the other guards, this person must be very familiar with the layout of the dungeon and the guards' patrol patterns."

Gu Changzhou had a vague idea in his mind. He walked out of the cell and called over the person in charge of the dungeon.

Has anything unusual happened in the dungeon lately?

Gu Changzhou asked with a serious expression.

The person in charge replied tremblingly, "My lord, there is nothing unusual. It's just... just a few days ago, someone claiming to be sent by you said he wanted to check the defenses of the dungeon. I saw that he was carrying the Molin Army token, so I took him around."

Gu Changzhou's eyes sharpened, and he asked, "What does this person look like?"

The person in charge recalled: "The man was of medium build, had a scar on his face, and was dressed in ordinary servant's clothes."

Gu Changzhou knew in his heart that this person must have been sent by the evil cultivators to scout the place.

He turned to Jiang Tai and said, "Go check the Ink Scale Tokens of the deputy generals to see if they are missing."

"Yes."

Just as Jiang Tai was about to leave, Gu Changzhou added, "Also, investigate Yun Bo's movements these past few days."

Jiang Tai looked up in surprise, but didn't ask any further questions, and left to carry out his orders.

After receiving the order, Jiang Tai immediately launched an investigation into Yun Bo.

He then arranged for several of his men to secretly track Yunbo's movements.

These subordinates were all skilled and agile individuals from the Marquis of Molin's mansion, adept at stealth and tracking.

However, it wasn't long before they discovered they had shaken off the relationship.

(End of this chapter)