The number one rebel of the Great Wu

By the time the spy realized what was happening, it was too late.

The men behind Chen Changgeng filed in and immediately pinned the spy to the ground.

Old Feng rushed over and glanced at the scout.

"Steward, what should we do with this man?"

Chen Changgeng didn't even glance at him before calmly speaking.

"Kill him."

Without any hesitation, Lao Feng drew his knife with a swift, decisive motion.

Soon, the entire imperial estate was surrounded, and the few servants on the surface were quickly brought before Chen Changgeng.

These people were just ordinary people, timid and afraid of trouble. Before Chen Changgeng even asked, they spilled the beans.

He bluntly stated that a huge basement had been dug beneath the imperial estate, where dozens of girls abducted from various places were imprisoned.

The business of this imperial estate relies on brainwashing and training these exceptionally beautiful young girls into dancers and prostitutes, which are then sold to high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital to make money.

"I never imagined that Lin Dequan was running such a shady business in private."

Chen Changgeng gave a cold laugh and turned to look at Lao Feng.

"Find them! Make sure you arrest every single one of them!"

Old Feng nodded and led his men to search for the items.

During the Great Wu Dynasty, selling maids privately was not a crime, but kidnapping and selling them was a serious offense.

This alone is enough to wipe out everyone in this royal estate.

Not to mention, they even "stole" things from Crown Prince Xiao Lie!

Not long after.

The entrance to the secret chamber was found, and anyone inside who resisted was killed by Lao Feng.

Wu Eryong, who tried to escape, was also captured.

Wu Eryong was in his forties, thin, and clearly had been ravaged by alcohol and women.

When he was brought before Chen Changgeng, he was covered in cold sweat and his face was deathly pale.

At this moment, the Prefect of the Capital was accompanying Chen Changgeng on his investigation. Both of them looked at Chen Changgeng timidly, waiting for him to speak.

"Did you find the item?"

Chen Changgeng asked the question calmly.

Old Feng stepped forward, holding Crown Prince Xiao Lie's belt, and flashed it before Lord Wang, the Prefect of the Capital, before handing it to Chen Changgeng.

"Reporting to the steward, it was indeed taken from this man."

These words startled the two men, making them tremble.

Lord Wang, the Prefect of the Capital, was originally a man of Crown Prince Xiao Lie. After Xiao Lie was deposed, he began to harbor rebellious intentions.

Just as he was thinking about who to turn to, Chen Changgeng came to his door with some shocking news.

It is said that the Crown Prince lost his jade belt several days ago, so why hasn't Lord Wang found it yet?

Upon hearing this, Lord Wang was naturally filled with questions, as he had never heard of such a thing before.

Having spent many years in officialdom, he knew this matter was no small thing. When he saw that Chen Changgeng was going to personally lead a team to investigate, he immediately tried to curry favor with him and seek to redeem himself through merit.

"You audacious commoner, how dare you steal from the Crown Prince's residence!"

"Do you know how valuable this item is!"

Lord Wang's expression changed drastically, and he shouted a rebuke.

Wu Eryong's face turned pale instantly.

"I...I don't know what this is. Someone dug it up from the mountains behind the village."

"I'll give this to you, you'll like it, so...so!"

How could Lord Wang possibly believe such an outrageous lie?

"You mean someone went out of their way to steal the Crown Prince's things, and didn't even sell them for money?"

"They deliberately buried it on a hillside in the suburbs, just to frame you, a commoner?"

Lord Wang was so angry he laughed.

"This, this!"

Wu Eryong was speechless for a moment.

"He stole more than just this belt."

"Lord Wang, do you even know whose estate this is standing on?"

Lord Wang is the Prefect of the Capital, and he knows every inch of the land inside and outside the capital like the back of his hand.

He immediately cupped his hands in response.

"It is indeed the Crown Prince..."

At this point, Lord Wang was taken aback. "That's right, isn't this place the Crown Prince's?"

Chen Changgeng sneered.

"Wu Eryong, is this place yours, the Crown Prince's, or someone else's?"

Wu Eryong shuddered. Even if he was stupid, he knew that Chen Changgeng was deliberately trying to trick him into revealing information.

But no matter how he answered, it was a dead end.

The only thing he could do was not to expose Lin Dequan.

"This house, I bought it from someone else for five thousand taels of silver."

"Five thousand taels!!"

Lord Wang's eyes widened instantly.

"This is an imperial estate, its value is far more than five thousand taels!"

"Very well, someone must have stolen the land deed for the Crown Prince's residence and sold it to you, you scoundrel, at a low price!"

"Who is it? Speak!"

"Hey!"

Chen Changgeng waved his hand.

"It seems that this imperial estate has been in this man's hands for several years now."

"I'm afraid that the person who did it has already escaped to some unknown place and is living a life of freedom!"

Chen Changgeng's trip was only to reclaim the imperial estate; he did not intend to take action against Lin Dequan so soon.

Who knows how many deals this kid has secretly made using the Crown Prince's name?

If the authorities were to rush into an investigation at this point, not only would they find nothing, but it would also cause Lin Dequan to retreat into hiding.

"Yes, yes, I don't remember at all!"

Wu Eryong immediately chimed in, a fawning smile on his face.

"Lord Wang, since this belt and the imperial estate originally belonged to the Crown Prince."

"So, you have no objection to returning it to its rightful owner now, do you?"

Lord Wang nodded hastily.

"Now that the goods are back, the Crown Prince is magnanimous and won't bother to make a fuss."

"But as you've seen, this person has also secretly abducted quite a few young girls."

"We hope that you, Lord Wang, will handle this matter impartially and investigate it thoroughly!"

This alone is enough to sentence Wu Eryong to death.

"Yes, yes, Steward Chen, I understand."

Chen Changgeng's decision not to pursue the theft saved him a lot of trouble.

As a side effect, they also brought him such a great achievement, and he was extremely grateful!

"However, I need to examine their ledgers and records of this underground business."

"After all, this matter involves the Crown Prince and took place within his imperial estate. In order to avoid future conflicts..."

"I need to keep a copy of these things as evidence."

"How about this, after you return, Lord Wang, please have the clerks in your household make an urgent copy of all the documents."

"What do you think about sending it to the Crown Prince's residence instead?"

Lord Wang naturally agreed without hesitation, bowing and scraping as he saw Chen Changgeng off.

The women captured from the imperial estate were naturally sent back to their places of origin after their origins were ascertained.

If this matter is settled, Lord Wang will probably be able to get promoted and make a fortune.

After watching Chen Changgeng leave with Lao Feng and the others, the clerk from the capital's government office approached them.

"My lord, something's fishy about this!"

"Nonsense, the Crown Prince probably already knows about our desire to switch sides."

"The Crown Prince is using this as a pretext to give us a warning!"

"So what do we do?"

"I've heard that the newly appointed Chief Steward Chen of the Crown Prince's residence is a formidable figure, and seeing him today confirms it."

"We can't be careless with this person."

"Since they've already given instructions, we can't make a mistake if we follow the rules."

"Go, arrest all the criminals and bring them back to the government office for proper interrogation."

"We must handle this matter flawlessly!"