"Speak, what gives Lord Cheng Guan the courage to come to Lianshan County?"
In the county yamen, Chu Chen and Princess Xin Yue sat side by side at the top, interrogating the bound and kneeling Elder Chi and his companions.
"My son has come to Lianshan County?"
Elder Chi, who had been dejected and resigned to his fate, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.
But this made Chu Chen frown. He said disbelievingly, "No way? You don't even know your son has come to Lianshan County? Or are you trying to put on a show to get off? I advise you to confess sooner rather than later. Although you old fellow has done such a big thing, if your son, Lord Cheng Guan, was not involved, confessing early can still save his life. But if you don't say anything, and end up implicating Lord Cheng Guan, then you'll be the one who's ruined your son."
Chu Chen intended to use words to persuade him, but he had no intention of letting off Lord Cheng Guan as a future threat.
Upon hearing this, Elder Chi immediately shouted, "Prime Minister! My son is innocent! He was not involved in this. I did these good deeds in my hometown under his guise. My son is completely unaware! Your Highness, Your Highness! My son is a great general of the Western Frontier, with great merits! Your Highness!"
At this point, feeling that he had no chance of survival, Elder Chi's only thought was how to protect his son. As long as this son lived, at least the family bloodline could continue, and the entire clan would not truly be annihilated.
"Did your son, Lord Cheng Guan, truly not participate in the attack on the envoy?"
"He truly did not participate! It was I, this old immortal, who was unwilling and incited them to do it. My son is in the Western Frontier and knows nothing!"
Chu Chen relaxed his brows and smiled faintly, "Since that is the case, then tell me the whole story. Also, tell me which individuals are still secretly involved. If you confess well, and after I investigate and confirm that your son, Lord Cheng Guan, is indeed innocent, I will plead with His Majesty."
"Thank you, Prime Minister, thank you, Prime Minister!"
Elder Chi thanked him hurriedly and then began to recount the entire cause and effect of the matter.
Princess Xin Yue, listening from the side, did not believe that Chu Chen would be so kind as to let Lord Cheng Guan go. She understood Chu Chen's style very well; he would never let go of an opponent or a potential threat.
It was the same for Xue Yun, the former captain of the Imperial Guard, and the former prime minister.
As Elder Chi confessed, the elders of the Lianshan Sect, Lianshan Buddhist Academy, and Songshan Sword Sect, along with other high-ranking members of martial arts sects, cooperated and supplemented the information. The county magistrate of Lianshan County wished he could reveal everything he knew, just to leave a glimmer of hope for his family.
Half an hour later, Chu Chen finally understood the whole story.
The Chi family, as a powerful clan and a noble family, although they had encountered obstacles in the process of becoming aristocratic families and successfully transformed into noble families, they had never given up the idea of becoming aristocratic families in their hearts.
Moreover, due to the Chi family's peculiar operations, they had suffered greatly from the new laws implemented by Chu Chen during his governance. It was at this time that someone from the aristocratic families came to instigate the Chi family, as if they were certain that the Chi family would resist rather than obey obediently.
After that, it was what Chu Chen already knew, just learned again from the perspective of Elder Chi and others.
Chu Chen sneered at the other three wealthy landowners who dared to collude with Elder Chi and cause trouble, and asked, "Qin, Wang, Li, if I guessed correctly, your three powerful clans in Lianshan County are also branches of these three aristocratic families, aren't they?"
"That is indeed the case. We dare not disobey the orders of our main families."
The three wealthy landowners nodded with despair in their hearts.
"How dare they! To do such a thing, and even dare to involve the branches of their families? Do they think the imperial court cannot find out about them? Or do they think the imperial court truly dares not act against their aristocratic families?"
Chu Chen was enraged and asked sternly.
"This, this commoner does not know."
The three of them had no idea why. They were just pawns pushed forward and had no idea of the reason.
Looking at their appearance, and thinking of Lord Cheng Guan leading a dozen riders into the vicinity of Lianshan County, Chu Chen's brows furrowed again.
He mused, "Something is not quite right. These seem to be cannon fodder, but Lord Cheng Guan, who holds the position of a general, does not seem like a brainless person. Why would he walk into a trap? Moreover, aristocratic families are always very cautious. The actions of these three families are quite strange."
"Take them away and guard them well. They will be escorted back to the capital in a few days!"
"Yes!"
"Prime Minister! Don't forget your promise, Prime Minister!"
As he was dragged away, Elder Chi was still lost in wishful thinking.
After they all left, Princess Xin Yue couldn't help but ask, "Chu Chen, your promise just now was to fool them, wasn't it? I don't think you're the type to let Lord Cheng Guan go."
"Of course. I've dealt with his father and his family. How could I leave him as a future threat? If he were to strike me from the shadows one day, wouldn't that be troublesome?"
"And besides~" Chu Chen smiled slightly, "Didn't you notice? I never explicitly promised to let his son go from beginning to end. How can that be called fooling them? Right? I, Chu Chen, am a gentleman whose words are as good as a chariot and horses."
"Tch, your heart is truly dirty. This princess has never seen you like this before."
Princess Xin Yue showed a look of disdain.
"When playing politics, how can one's heart not be dark and dirty? Unless they are puppets, how can a naive and innocent person govern a country well?"
Chu Chen reprimanded her impatiently and reached out to pat Princess Xin Yue's head.
After letting him pat her head a couple of times, Princess Xin Yue got up and said, "Then when are you going back? An hour ago, my mother's messenger came to urge me again."
"Tomorrow. I still have some things to do today. I need to capture that Lord Cheng Guan first. The rest can be left to Zhang Chenzhu and An Xian."
Chu Chen replied after some thought.
"Then go quickly and come back quickly." Princess Xin Yue waved her hand and then took out a brush and ink to write a reply to the Empress.
Chu Chen shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and left the county yamen. He directly used the Feather Ascension technique and soared into the sky.
As he flew over Lianshan County, he once again drew exclamations and prostrations.
According to the intelligence from the scouts of the Beast Extermination Division, Chu Chen searched for a while in the air and quickly found the figure of Lord Cheng Guan, Chi Cheng, from above.
"A dozen or so riders, it must be this guy!" Chu Chen swooped down from the sky.
Lord Cheng Guan, who was leading a dozen or so personal guards and evading the scouts of the Beast Extermination Division, had a dark expression and cursed, "These damned aristocratic families! They incited the trouble themselves, and they think they can be safe by not getting personally involved? They even dare to refuse my plea for help!"
Chi Cheng had miscalculated. He felt that he had been tricked. After the letters written by his personal guards were delivered to the three aristocratic families, none of them had dispatched any personnel, nor had they even replied.
Now, he had run over here like an idiot, falling into a trap.