Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Botched Attempt

Haotian Village.

Back Mountain.

The man in brocade clothes stood with his hands behind his back on the mountain peak. The wind on the mountain was clear and cool, stirring his robes and hair. Standing against the wind, his clothes fluttered, making him appear even more elegant and upright, as handsome as jade.

Only upon closer inspection could one see his fierce eyes and gloomy expression. This fierceness and gloominess added a sinister air to his originally handsome face.

Huangfu Yuxuan was not in a good mood.

Having stayed in Haotian Village for many days, Xia Wenjin had still not been found.

Even Bai Feichen had been away down the mountain for ten days, hadn’t he?

After all these days, they couldn’t find one person; were the people of Haotian Village being perfunctory?

Every time he faced the people of Haotian Village, he was modest, polite, and refined, but in his heart, he was not as calm as he appeared. A bandit woman, of lowly birth, dared to escape from marriage! This was a great humiliation to him!

However, after obtaining Xia Wenjin’s birth chart in Haotian Village, he immediately sent it to Gongyang Puyu. Gongyang Puyu, using his own life essence for meticulous calculation, concluded that the woman had a noble fate, and she was surrounded by strong support. Marrying her, he would be assured of gaining the world!

So he endured, he waited!

Waiting for so many days, he was almost losing his patience!

During the waiting and enduring, he had mostly figured out Haotian Village’s situation. Haotian Village had deep foundations and was a notable force in the Jianghu, ranking first or second in the southwestern Jianghu of Nanxia Country.

The people of Haotian Village practiced martial arts and were not short of experts. Some engaged in commerce, some farmed, some ran shops, some practiced medicine, all making Haotian Village prosper.

Though Gongyang Puyu had not seen them personally, his star observation calculations were indeed accurate. If this force could be used by him, it would surely be a formidable help.

There was a slight rustle in the grass, and then a man in black appeared.

Huangfu Yuxuan felt a bit better; the people sent to block the Yunzhou road must have news back.

He asked in a deep voice, “Is Huangfu Jingchen dead?”

The man in black knelt on one knee, replying in a low voice, “Reporting to Master, we failed in the southwest direction!”

“Failed? How could you fail?” Huangfu Yuxuan’s gaze turned sharp, and he was filled with cold anger. These incompetents!

The man in black trembled slightly at the shoulders, then said in a low voice, “The six offended the Yuqing County Governor and were ambushed by the Governor’s people. Five died, one was left disabled, all were ruined!”

“Yuqing County Governor!” He was furious, daring to spoil his plans! Huangfu Yuxuan gnashed his teeth, “What on earth happened? How did it get tied up with Yuqing County Governor?”

The man in black lowered his head, his voice somewhat strange, “Master, I received news. Huangfu Jingchen deviated from the original route and ended up in Yuqing County. That daughter of Yuqing County Governor, who lacks judgment, found him handsome and wanted to imprison him as a male pet. Those six were likely ambushed by Yuqing County Governor’s people because of this!”

Speaking of this daughter of Yuqing County Governor, Huangfu Yuxuan also knew her. Though of average looks, she was greedy for male beauty and privately kept male companions, which was indeed shocking in Nanxia, a country that valued filial piety and propriety. Yuqing County Governor treated this daughter like a treasure, covering up for her in every possible way.

Huangfu Yuxuan had heard about this before and had taken it as a joke.

He liked these Court officials with blemishes; having blemishes meant leverage, and with leverage, they could be used for his purposes. Yuqing County Governor Wang Qianshan indeed walked his way and barely counted as his man.

However, he only considered a mere Fourth Rank County Magistrate as insignificant.

Unexpectedly, someone he once took as a joke would one day ruin his plans!

“No wonder the carefully laid plan fell through. Did Huangfu Jingchen deviate from the route because he got wind of something?”

“Probably not. According to the information I spent a large sum purchasing from the Shadow Pavilion, after suffering a huge setback in Jinzhou, Prince Cheng’s Heir went off course in anger over being conned nearly to the point of pawning his pants, just to catch the cunning thief that got him!”

“How truly fate blessed?” Huangfu Yuxuan grudgingly said. That Huangfu Jingchen, who was almost a student of Gu Hanmo, was not yet eighteen, had arrived in the capital for just a month, and had already made such a dazzling spectacle, it was quite annoying.

Huangfu Yuxuan suppressed his annoyance and snorted, “I originally thought Wang Qianshan had some means and rather admired him. But for being so flamboyant and unruly, acting like this, sooner or later he’ll end up ruining himself. You should have someone knock some sense into him!”

Although Wang Qianshan was nominally his person, he was not authorized to have direct contact with his people; he required layers of handlers. In other words, Wang Qianshan just hung a name with him.

The man in black twitched his mouth before he said, “I’m afraid there’s no need for that!”

“What happened?”

The man in black said, “Half a month ago, a message was presented to the Capital Governor, stating that the Imperial Grandson was being framed in Yuqing County, and his life was in danger! The Holy Emperor, having been distressed by the deaths of two Imperial Grandsons on the return journey due to illness and accidents before, became furious and dispatched an imperial envoy to Yuqing County to handle the matter!”

“Is it concerning Huangfu Jingchen?”

“Exactly. I knew Wang Qianshan was one of ours and originally wanted to intervene, but his reckless and unwarranted actions got him caught. This time the Holy Emperor sent an imperial envoy, Lord Yi Yuxing, the right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Lord Yi is the Marquis An Ding’s grandson, with a special status, strictly ordered by the Holy Emperor, impossible to negotiate! Wang Qianshan cannot be saved!”

Huangfu Yuxuan’s face darkened. Events from half a month ago were indeed too late. Although Wang Qianshan didn’t matter much, he did have real control over the entire Yuqing County, and the annual tribute in silver alone was significant. Now, this route was abruptly cut off.

Good for Huangfu Jingchen, intentionally opposing him, huh?

His voice was cold, “What is the current situation?”

“Wang Qianshan and others involved in the case have been escorted to the capital and held in the Ministry of Justice’s prison. The evidence of their crimes is conclusive, and Wang Qianshan and his daughter will face execution in the autumn. Other involved parties have been demoted, dismissed, imprisoned, and punished according to their crimes. The Jiazhou Governor received a rebuke, a three-month salary penalty, and the Jiazhou Governor Mansion’s Chief Historian was demoted three ranks and fined a year’s salary for accepting bribes. The entangled individuals were over forty. Fortunately, you instructed early on to sever all ties with them; those who needed protecting were protected, and those who couldn’t be were abandoned. Not a single one you needed has been implicated!”

“Well done!” That was the only good news. Huangfu Yuxuan looked at the lush green mountains. In the month or so he had lived on this mountain, quite a lot had happened inside and outside the capital city!

The man in black was silent for a moment and spoke again without waiting for a question, “Although Wang Qianshan has fallen, among the people he interacted with, there was an official from the Jiazhou Governor Mansion, a nephew by marriage to Grand Tutor Zhao, who was also stripped of his post and exiled three thousand miles. Grand Tutor Zhao has lost face, and this debt is undoubtedly noted.”

Huangfu Yuxuan’s expression grew colder. According to Gongyang Puyu’s calculations, Huangfu Jingchen was clearly not someone to divide the destiny of the heir star, yet he was so highly regarded by his Grandfather. Upon hearing he was in trouble, the Holy Emperor even dispatched the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Justice?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep