Scourge Messenger

Chapter 94 Plotting to Steal the Heaven Sword
After finishing their noodles, the two returned to the Ministry of Personnel. Shang Xuanwen took a nap in the capital hall, while Yan Qing strolled around the Ministry of Personnel and saw the side gate that Shang Xinlei had mentioned. After calculating the distance, he realized that he could indeed reach the capital hall in five minutes.

In the afternoon, Yan Qing switched back to Jiang Shi's account and continued farming the dungeon. To be honest, Gai Louxian seemed to have given Jiang Shi and Ye Si a free rein; now they could farm the dungeon seven or eight times a day. The support soldiers only needed to move the most important resources during their rest periods, and they could continue farming. Previously, Gai Louxian would have strictly forbidden such 'extravagant' behavior.

After practicing three times, Yan Qing was a little tired. He stood in the open space, holding two swords, Bingzi Jiaolin in his right hand and Qiumo in his left, trying to comprehend the basic dual-sword technique. Because the dual-sword technique is a derivative of swordsmanship, and with Yan Qing's martial arts genius milestone bonus, although he still hadn't mastered it after two days of training, at least he could handle the two swords much more smoothly than before.

Feeling hungry, Yan Qing first glanced at what Jiang Shi was eating, then switched back to Rat Monk's account and found that Shang Xuanwen was still in the capital and had not yet left the palace.

He wasn't going to indulge Shang Xuanwen and went straight to the point, asking, "Is it time for dinner?"

"Go ahead, I don't eat after noon."

"Didn't you have dinner with your family last night?"

"An exception will be made only for family dinners."

Having said all that, Yan Qing left the hall on her own, thinking that if the noodle shop was still open at noon, she would have the Rat Monk put on a hat and go buy a bowl of beef fried sauce noodles.

But after a short while, Yan Qing returned to the capital. Perhaps because Shang Xuanwen was too easy to talk to, or perhaps because Yan Qing was genuinely curious, he directly said to Shang Xuanwen:
"I know about Miss Shang's friend, Qian Gongyu."

Shang Xuanwen put down his pen and looked up. He glanced at the sky outside, then turned the turquoise lamp on his desk, and it lit up immediately, clearly a mysterious item from the secret realm.

"Is this the only underhanded trickery a prime minister can resort to? Do you really think Qian Gongyu will never see through it?"

"I'm not afraid she'll see through it," Shang Xuanwen replied. "She'll resent me, but she'll also rely on Xinlei and everything Xinlei has done for her. All grievances and hatred can be made up for later; people are actually quite forgetful."

"But haven't you realized that your actions are alienating your family?" Yan Qing asked. "With your intelligence, can't you come up with a better solution? Qian Gongyu is your daughter's friend."

Shang Xuanwen glanced at the Rat Monk, a hint of mockery on his face: "You discussed state affairs with me at noon, and now you're questioning my decisions? Has the Great Monk already assumed the role of Prime Minister of Liang?"

He paused, then asked, "Do you want to know why I value you so much?"

Yan Qing's heart skipped a beat. Shang Xuanwen had changed the subject perfectly; he really wanted to know. The title of 'savior' alone couldn't explain the profound respect and instruction he received.

Shang Xuanwen touched his right ear, revealing an earring with a small bell hanging from the back, which made no sound.

"The Heart-Binding Bell is an ordinary communication object. Its power should only be to hear whether others are hostile. But after I wore it, I could vaguely hear the unspoken meaning in other people's words, and even hear the true feelings behind their words."

Yan Qing's eyes widened. She thought, "The Messenger actually has such a token? Shang Xinlei's intelligence last night was all correct, but—"

Why should I tell you?

"Because you are one of the few people who can detect no hostility or insincerity in your words, and whose heart is pure and sincere, like crystal." Shang Xuanwen said calmly, "In the past few decades, I have only met a few people like you. They all know my secret, but they have kept it to this day. So I believe that you can also keep this secret."

Yan Qing blinked, thought for a moment, and roughly understood what was going on.

Shang Xuanwen would certainly think that the Rat Monk was sincere, because the soul (Yan Qing) and the body (Rat Monk) are not in the same place!

Shang Xuanwen's view of the Rat Monk is like looking at a soulless puppet; it's no wonder he can't tell if the monk is saying one thing and meaning another.

No wonder he values ​​Rat Monk so much. After all, most people in this world are two-faced, and only children say what they mean. Shang Xuanwen's interactions with other people are like opening a webpage with constant pop-up ads, which is incredibly annoying but he can't close it. But interacting with Rat Monk is like opening a clean and refreshing webpage. Of course, he values ​​people like Rat Monk more.

"After listening to so many heartfelt sentiments over the years, I've long since given up on the so-called 'unity of purpose.' No matter how close the relationship between parents, siblings, spouses, and children, resentment and estrangement will inevitably arise sooner or later," Shang Xuanwen said calmly. "I just need to do what I believe is right."

Yan Qing's heart skipped a beat. Shang Xuanwen had said last night that he was looking forward to a quiet family dinner. It turned out that he was right.

"Does 'correct' mean knowingly using the opportunity of your daughter's friend being framed to pursue your family's private interests?" Yan Qing asked.

"Framed?" Shang Xuanwen raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure it's a frame-up? Isn't the missing Lin Yuan a guard of the Qian family? He's involved in the murder case; how can the Qian family escape involvement?"

"Because that's clearly—" "Noble families in Liang enjoy many benefits, but they also bear many responsibilities. Disciplining their servants is just the least significant of them." Shang Xuanwen interrupted him: "Do you think the Qian family is right?"

"But what about the truth? What about the mastermind behind the frame-up?" Yan Qing frowned. "Punishing only the Qian family while ignoring the mastermind—how is that any different from an unjust law?"

Shang Xuanwen stared coldly at him, but Yan Qing didn't look away from the screen at all, meeting his gaze through the screen.

He suddenly stood up, the turquoise lamp casting a huge shadow on the wall, making Yan Qing think he was about to break down and attack. However, Shang Xuanwen simply turned around, pulled a booklet from the bookshelf, and tossed it into the hands of the Rat Monk.

"Thirteen pages."

Yan Qing flipped through the document and found it was the roster of the Left Valiant Cavalry Guard. Page thirteen contained the information of a Valiant Cavalry Guard named Yang Xia, a second-level messenger with multiple investigative tokens, skilled in tracking and tracing clues. This man came from a prominent family, but was imprisoned for murder. He was only released due to the new emperor's ascension to the throne and the customary general amnesty. Logically, with such a tainted record, it would be impossible for him to enter such an important department as the Left Valiant Cavalry Guard, yet he was promoted all the way up.

Yan Qing thought to herself that Shang Xinlei was right after all. Shang Xuanwen liked to use people who had made mistakes; it was better to use someone who had made a mistake than someone who had made a good one.

"I've already sent him to find Lin Yuan, who escaped. Once he's found, the truth will come out. Even if we find the body, we'll be able to figure out who killed him," Shang Xuanwen said. "However, I already know who the mastermind is—the Qun family and the Lin family are prepared to pay compensation, just waiting for me to catch them red-handed."

"What?" Yan Qing thought she had misheard.

"For powerful and influential families, the law is just a menu with clearly defined prices; as long as they pay the price, they can break the law." Shang Xuanwen stood at the window, looking out at the Ministry of Personnel. "Just like Qian Gongyu only needed to pay for a year and lend out tokens, they can also pay a higher price to compensate the court. They are happy to use this method to negotiate with the court."

"This law doesn't sound just."

"What do you think the law is? Is it some kind of divine decree that everyone will unconditionally obey once you announce it?" Shang Xuanwen shook his head. "Do you think anyone cares about the truth? Officials just want to finish their shifts as soon as possible, constables just want to make more money, and powerful families just want to be superior. If there's no benefit for them, how can they uphold the law?"

"Emperor Taizu of Liang issued the Twelve Jade Laws, which served as the keel of the great ship that is Liang. And I, with these laws and nails, barely managed to repair the holes in the ship. From Emperor Taizu of Liang to myself, all we did was to make these messengers mind the existence of the laws. As for making them fear the laws, that is not something a country that is only in the south can do."

"You think I've been heartless towards Qian Gongyu, but after this incident, won't she pay more attention to managing her servants?" Shang Xuanwen looked at the Rat Monk: "If I can control one of hers, she'll be able to control many more people in the future, thus easing the pressure on countless commoners from the Qian family. The same goes for the Qun family and the Chen family; as long as breaking the law comes at a price, they'll have to consider whether it's worth it."

The Rat Monk fell silent, seemingly pondering how to refute. Shang Xuanwen remained silent as well, waiting a long time for a response before saying, "You've only been in the manor for a day and you already know about this? Your intelligence-gathering abilities are quite impressive."

"Just a coincidence."

"You've been approved by me. In a few days, I'll arrange for you to join the Secret Realm Military Town and go into the Secret Realm for training."

Yan Qing was taken aback and couldn't help but say, "Is it because this humble monk talks too much? Why not just throw this humble monk away to avoid seeing him and getting to the bottom of things?"

Shang Xuanwen ignored Yan Qing's witty remark and calmly said, "You can have compassion for the common people, and you can also stand up for the noble families."

"When you wield power in the future, I hope you will still maintain your original aspirations."

……

...

In the early hours of the morning, at the thieves' house.

Due to the timing of the mission, the meetings for these three days will all be held in the early hours of the morning, allowing the thieves to adjust their schedules accordingly.

Last night, Shang Xinlei proposed a plan to steal from the royal treasury. Neither the pharmacist nor Ying Rushi readily agreed, instead returning home to consider it further. Tonight, they plan to continue discussing the details, and if they can ensure an 80% or higher probability of success… they're going to proceed.

However, Yan Qing stunned everyone from the very beginning.

"I might be able to steal the Heaven Sword directly."

(End of this chapter)