Chapter 882 - 408: Commandery Princess Requests an Audience—Little Wolf Cub, Purpose Exposed, To Kill or Not? (Part 2)

Chapter 882: Chapter 408: Commandery Princess Requests an Audience—Little Wolf Cub, Purpose Exposed, To Kill or Not? (Part 2)

The yellow gourd on Su Pofu’s waist was an ordinary item, filled with clear water. When it was nearly empty, he only needed to shake the gourd a few times for it to be replenished. He took a sip of water and remarked, "Your question truly stumped me. I patrol every day, but I never thought about who arranges the daily patrol routes."

Bai Zhenglong said, "I know a thing or two about that. The patrol duties of the Gold Appraisal Guard are in theory directly issued by Dubhe. The patrol routes should indeed be determined by Dubhe." He pointed skyward with his finger.

Li Xian had always been curious about the whereabouts of "Dubhe." But it was inconvenient to ask further, so he suppressed his curiosity and continued listening to Bai Zhenglong’s explanation: "However, if there are no important matters, Dubhe wouldn’t spend daily leisure time planning patrol routes for the Gold Appraisal Guard. Thus, the daily patrol route arrangements are delegated to the Central Lang General and Tingfeng Pavilion."

Li Xian asked, "Tingfeng Pavilion?"

Bai Zhenglong said, "Tingfeng Pavilion is like ’Qingping Tower’ and ’Qiding Pavilion,’ assisting Dubhe in governing Jade City, and specializing in handling specific types of affairs. Tingfeng Pavilion aims to listen to the wind, providing intelligence and suggestions."

"Our duty as the Gold Appraisal Guard is to safeguard the stability of Jade City. Patrol Shift routes naturally require careful consideration. For instance, if chaos occurs at Yuanbao Square recently, our Gold Appraisal Guard should focus on patrolling and suppressing small and petty disturbances. If a place is suspected of having an undercurrent, it’s natural for us to patrol and investigate. Or if a certain family hosts a joyful banquet or organizes a grand event, we must prominently be present during our patrols. Although we don’t need to personally manage all these things, just by standing here and there, our Jade City’s prestige is everywhere."

"Yet the Central Lang General must practice martial arts daily, and be busy with important affairs, so naturally won’t constantly monitor every street and alley. Tingfeng Pavilion has far-reaching intelligence, so over time, Tingfeng Pavilion proposes suggestions, and the Central Lang General divides the routes."

"Sometimes the Central Lang General only gives it a cursory glance, finding no major issues, then hands it over to their subordinates like Lei Chong or the civil officers to determine the routes. This is not fixed."

Li Xian pondered to himself: "In this way, Princess An Yang has great leeway to manipulate. Whether her influence is in the Gold Appraisal Guard, Tingfeng Pavilion, or even within Dubhe, even if not directly in these places, she can still affect my patrol routes by being familiar with the internal rules."

"I originally wanted to use this to figure out the reach of Princess An Yang’s influence. But it seems I’ve come up empty-handed."

He frowned tightly but felt Princess An Yang was not simple and flawless in her actions: "She can influence my daily patrol shifts, secretly sending signals without me knowing who sent them. Well, I’ll pay heed later."

At this point, Yang Buyan delivered a water jug. Li Xian shouted a few times and continued forward with his patrol. He soon arrived at Jade Pillar Mountain.

By then, it was already late Chen hour, early Si hour. The jade miners had deeply ventured into the mountain range, digging in the pitch-black and filthy areas for jade ore. According to Su Pofu’s introduction, this Jade Pillar Mountain had silver shares belonging to the "Su Family" and "Xu Family."

Both the Su and Xu families were involved in "Heavenly Crafted Items," and Su Pofu spoke more proudly about it, inviting Li Xian to visit the Su family’s "Heavenly Craft Workshop" when he had leisure time.

Li Xian had long been curious about this, so he readily agreed.

This visit to Jade Pillar Mountain was to discipline the guards keeping watch over the mountain, and address the matter of the private hiding of jade stones and the collusion between the guards and jade miners.

This matter was not difficult. Li Xian had formerly served as a jade miner here, seeking opportunities, and scattered hair, his ears and eyes were wide open, spying and investigating everything around him. He thoroughly understood the internal rules of the jade miners here.

He acted decisively and efficiently.

Immediately issued an order to summon all jade miners out of the veins. The mine guards dared not slack off and passed the word down immediately. Soon, the jade miners began to exit the mountain range and arranged themselves willingly into orderly columns.

Once all were present, Li Xian saw former team members Zhang Cun, Wang Shan, Liang Huohuo, Yue Fanluo, and others. They stood in the crowd unnoticed, looking surprised and anxious, cautiously examining Li Xian and the others.

Li Xian suddenly thought, "If I didn’t take risks and seek change, I might still be standing among the crowd now, stuck in one place, frustrated and unfulfilled."

He also saw local ruffians Jiang Huchen, Qiu Lie, and Biao De, who were slightly bent down, silently without the arrogance of their usual selves.

Li Xian began the rectification routinely, sweeping his gaze calmly, summoned Jiang Huchen, Qiu Lie, and Biao De to the front, first asking irrelevant questions in a friendly manner.

Then, while the three were relaxed, he suddenly roared asking about the hidden jade ore. Jiang Huchen, Qiu Lie, and Biao De were sly individuals and did not easily admit; the three, although they fought among themselves, had a very tacit understanding on this matter and were on a common front. Their fabricated lies could corroborate each other, seemingly flawless.

But despite their denial, their hidden jade stone dealings would leave traces in the ledgers.

Li Xian immediately requested the ledgers, picking out the flaws to expose the lies and applied pressure. Then, he painstakingly enumerated their behind-the-scenes activities openly and clearly.

Jiang Huchen, Qiu Lie, and Biao De broke into cold sweats, their complexions pale, feeling struck by a bolt from the blue, realizing that the Gold Appraisal Guard Greater had investigated their trivial matters so thoroughly. Knowing further denial was futile, they finally knelt to plead for mercy, crying bitterly.

Seeing the matter cleared up, Li Xian thought, "I’ve other important affairs, better not to tarry here for long. This Jade Pillar Mountain involves Su Family silver shares; how to punish is up to Su Pofu’s decision. I’ll use this as a pretext to leave and meet Princess An Yang." So he left the aftermath to Su Pofu, with Bai Zhenglong and Yang Buyan assisting.

He then wandered about, breaking away from the others.