Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 134 Using the One Heart Society as a Dragon Guard Manor? (First Update)
'I see! ’

After listening to Lu Bing's explanation, Hai Yue's doubts were finally resolved.

He had always wondered why Jiajing was suddenly paying so much attention to him and Yixin.

Even if the case of the Princess's residence was solved and Empress Dowager Jiang was protected from harm, it shouldn't warrant such favor, right? Being granted a calligraphy scroll is already an extraordinary favor, something one will benefit from for a lifetime!
Similarly, even if that person had an extremely strong desire for power and control, would he be so concerned about a newly established academy with only six people? Jiajing couldn't possibly be a prophet and know what kind of lineup this group would have in the future!

The missing link is now being filled.

The existence of the secret society made him realize something.

After all that beating around the bush, just say Protector of Dragons Manor, and I'll understand everything!

Well, this analogy doesn't seem very auspicious either. Anyway, because a secret society posed a threat to imperial power, and given his involvement in this case, Jiajing believed that he was capable of doing things for him, so he prepared to support the Yixin Society.

With value in mind, initial attention and investment were made, which also suited the emperor's temperament. Haiyue's mind was finally settled, and she immediately expressed her loyalty to the Ming Dynasty.

Born in Hainan, and not intending to rebel, anyone living on this land who still had any ambition would naturally hope that the country would become better than before.

Cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—in the end, the reward is for oneself. It's a very straightforward and simple truth, but many selfish people who are eager for quick success and instant benefits are blinded by greed and shortsightedness and cannot see it clearly.

As for the current Jiajing Emperor, Haiyue thinks he's alright. Not to mention that employees in later generations hope to have a good boss, Confucius and Mencius in ancient times also taught that "the ruler should treat his ministers with propriety, and the ministers should serve their ruler with loyalty" and "if the ruler regards his ministers as his hands and feet, then the ministers will regard the ruler as their heart and soul," both emphasizing the mutual responsibility between the ruler and his ministers.

Therefore, regarding the current diligent and ambitious emperor of the Ming Dynasty...

One heart! Loyalty!

Lu Bing laughed heartily, unsurprised by the answer, and patted Hai Yue's shoulder forcefully: "Mingwei, I knew you would never back down, great! We brothers can finally fight side by side!"

Haiyue nodded and smiled, saying, "With Wenfu here, I do feel at ease."

"These words make me feel very ashamed!"

Lu Bing shook his head: "Those three thieves from the Yunyin Society have been imprisoned for over a month, and we haven't gotten any leads out of them. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is at a loss..."

Haiyue said, "Wenfu, don't underestimate yourself. With your abilities, there are only two possibilities for not finding the thief's trail."

Lu Bing's expression turned serious: "Which two?"

Haiyue said, "One possibility is that the thieves' methods are too sophisticated, far surpassing ours. In that case, anyone would have the same result. Another possibility is that the other side had planned ahead. This secret society is familiar with all the methods of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and has trained these people in advance on how to withstand your interrogation, confuse your vision, and evade your search, so that the Embroidered Uniform Guard would return empty-handed and completely lose confidence!"

Lu Bing smiled wryly: "His Majesty just said the same thing. If that's true, then there's nothing we Embroidered Uniform Guards can do."

Haiyue thought for a moment, then asked a question instead of rushing to express her opinion: "Was the female assassin's body collected and examined by the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Lu Bingdao: "Yes."

"What were the results of the coroner's autopsy?"

"He committed suicide by poisoning himself. He had the poison pill hidden in his mouth beforehand. He had prepared the poison himself, and it was so potent that it would kill instantly upon contact with blood. It was far more toxic than the common poison known as arsenic!"

Can the source of the poison be traced?

"We can't find out. We consulted three people in Weili who are experts in toxicology, and they all had different opinions. One said it came from Southeast Asia, another said it came from the Western Regions, and yet another said it came from the White Lotus Sect. In any case, it is extremely difficult to trace the source."

"What did the corpse look like?"

"appearance?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Bing paused for a moment: "Is there anything special about your appearance?"

Haiyue said, "Wenfu, do you still remember that night when you accompanied the princess to see Gao Zhongyuan? It was this female assassin, but everyone else thought it was the illusionist Yan Ling..."

Lu Bing certainly remembered, and a thought immediately made him realize: "So, the illusionist Yan Ling who escaped and the female assassin who died on the spot look extremely similar?"

"That's right! That's why Her Highness couldn't distinguish between the female assassin and Yan Ling, who was performing illusions on stage..."

In fact, you could ask Princess Yongchun about many things, but she is Empress Dowager Jiang's beloved daughter and the current emperor's only sister. Moreover, after this battle, Princess Yongchun and her husband Xie Zhao are living quite well. At this time, it would be impossible for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to reopen old wounds.

Haiyue didn't make such a demanding request, but simply suggested, "Can we draw the female assassin's appearance now?" "Yes."

Lu Bing frowned: "But even if we get the female thief's portrait, what can we do? Post notices and issue warrants for her arrest everywhere?"

Once the portrait was completed in ancient times, a wanted notice could certainly be issued to search for the woman in all the prefectures and counties of the country. However, with so many people, finding the female illusionist through this method would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Haiyue knew that relying on portraits to find people was unreliable, but she had another idea: "Let's rule out the secret society factor and just look at the motive for this case. Does Wenfu think that these assassins were after Empress Jiang?"

"no!"

Lu Bing shook his head: "Empress Jiang was originally in the Xing Prince's Mansion. After entering the capital, she lived in the deep palace for a long time and had no grudges with the outside world... Hmph! Such deep hatred is most likely related to the Zhang family. The Zhang brothers have brought disaster to three dynasties, and there are countless people who hate them to the bone!"

Haiyue asked, "What about the female assassin and the female illusionist?"

Lu Bing's eyes flickered: "Could they have originally had a grudge against the Zhang family?"

Haiyue recalled the scene of saving the emperor. The female assassin ended her own life without the slightest hesitation, even leaving behind a misleading last message. At the time, she was immersed in the case, but looking back, she was still shocked: "Killing must draw blood, saving lives must be thorough, every injustice has its cause, and every debt has its debtor! I thought that what could make a person give up their life without hesitation, besides the greater good of family and country, was deep-seated hatred!"

Lu Bing's spirits lifted: "As expected of Mingwei, I overlooked this clue. The Zhang brothers are still some time away from execution, and those powerful servants and lackeys have not yet been released. It's a good opportunity to show them the portraits and let them identify whether these two female assassins are the Zhang family's former enemies!"

No one is killed on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It seems that Jiajing is planning to send his two brothers-in-law to their next lives after the New Year. Haiyue was delighted and said directly, "Notify me when they are executed in the West Market. I want to go and see it too."

Lu Bing laughed and said, "Then you'd better get there very early, because the people of the capital will probably crowd the West Market to the point that it's impossible to move on that day!"

Both men felt that the Zhang brothers deserved to be torn to pieces long ago. After mentioning it briefly, they returned to the case: "If it is confirmed that the female assassin is an enemy of the Zhang family, the members of the secret society are likely to come from the families of ordinary people who have been affected by the evil deeds of nobles and relatives of the emperor. Because of this, they harbor resentment towards the royal family and will naturally obey the orders of the society!"

Haiyue thought for a moment and then asked, "That illusionist Jiao Bai has a high nose and deep-set eyes, and doesn't seem to have Han Chinese blood. Is he a Hui person?"

Lu Bing said dismissively, "If they were Hui people, they wouldn't have come here. They must be of mixed blood."

Those who are of mixed Hui and Han descent are indeed prone to discrimination. The Ming Dynasty had already imposed severe restrictions on household registration, not to mention the restrictions on bloodlines. If they looked like Han people, they would be fine and would be assimilated quickly and become indistinguishable from each other. But those who looked like people of a different ethnicity often could not integrate into society for their entire lives.

Haiyue said, "So Jiao Bai was recruited by a secret society because his ethnicity was not accepted by others. What about Hong Niangzi and Lu Cangzhou? What makes them different from ordinary people?"

Lu Bing pondered for a moment and realized what was going on: "Instead of simply following clues, let's dig deep into the roots of everyone and figure out how that secret society recruits people? That's a great idea! Why didn't we think of that before!"

"This method involves a huge amount of work and cannot be completed in a short time..."

Haiyue offered a reminder.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards hadn't simply not thought of it before; they hadn't even considered it.

They already had a set of investigative methods, mainly two: torture to extract confessions and covert infiltration.

To put it bluntly, it's either fight them to the death or someone directly informs them. This kind of extra-legal privilege directly authorized by the imperial power often involves convicting them first and then collecting evidence. Trying to unravel the mystery and catch a hidden force in the dark is like being completely stumped.

Having witnessed the needle-in-a-haystack approach of criminal investigation in later generations, Haiyue knew that the amount of information to be investigated was enormous. Sometimes the technical means were not much more advanced than in ancient times. It relied on teamwork, perseverance, and not letting go of any clue. In the end, through years of relentless visits and investigations, they overcame the difficulties and brought the criminals to justice.

That's why he came up with this approach. It's not guaranteed to work, but by gradually delving deeper, we'll definitely get closer and closer to the truth.

Lu Bing also realized the difficulty of this path, but it was much better than wandering around aimlessly. His spirits lifted, and he was ready to throw himself back into the case. However, before leaving, he did not forget his original task: "Your academy also needs a fixed office. Where are you planning to choose?"

Haiyue knew very well that since Jiajing was going to use the Yixin Society to deal with that secret society, the Yixin Society could not have any secrets, especially when dealing with the Emperor of the Great Ming. It had to be open and transparent so that the other party would feel that everything was under control: "Naturally, it will be in the Imperial Academy. Can we apply for a few rooms specifically for the Yixin Society's offices?"

"Of course! Go tell Grand Master Xu and see how excited he will be!"

Lu Bing looked at him with a smile, and suddenly had a strong feeling: "Mingwei, one day, I might have to ask you for help!"

Haiyue chuckled: "Alright, alright, stop teasing me!"

Lu Bing, however, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, then turned and left.

The imperial court is holding a grand ceremony to discuss the new elites, and the Imperial Academy is about to unite with them!

You'll soon learn what power really means, brother!

(End of this chapter)