Chapter 1116: Forgiveness Is Their Business

Han Fengqiu hesitated, but Zu'an's sword pressed down. The Tai'e sword was incredibly sharp; his finger immediately split open, blood gushing out.

"No, no, wait, I'll talk!" Han Fengqiu quickly said, realizing this man was genuinely slicing his finger lengthwise.

Sensing the coldness in the other party's demeanor, he no longer dared to hold back and began to explain: "The Qi King initially cooperated with Jian Yanyou, but Jian Yanyou was timid and afraid of trouble. We noticed that his younger brother, Jian Taiding, was very ambitious, so we supported him to ascend."

"As a result, Jian Taiding ascended unexpectedly quickly, and we naturally formed an alliance with him."

"But after this fellow became the acting governor-general, he grew bold and began to guard against the King, unwilling to put all his chips on our side. So, he secretly brought in the Yan King, attempting to use the Yan King's power to counterbalance us."

"Naturally, the King would not allow such a thing to happen, so he dispatched the Crown Prince with men to handle matters here."

"We cleverly arranged for you to discover the altered account books, then used the imperial envoy mission to investigate Zuo Su and Jian Taiding, thus successfully removing these two biggest obstacles."

Zu'an frowned, "That Zhao Zhi fellow has such capability?"

Their series of operations in Yunzhong Commandery were truly masterstrokes. Had he not coincidentally learned the truth, he would have been completely fooled. Zhao Zhi had some talent in cultivation, but he was arrogant and didn't seem capable of orchestrating such a grand scheme. If that were truly the case, he would need to be more vigilant against him in the future.

"These plans were discussed by the King's advisors, with the King making the final decision. The Crown Prince's role here was merely his identity, which allowed him to more efficiently mobilize various forces in the region," Han Fengqiu said, his eyes fixed on the sword tip at his finger, terrified that the other party might get angry and truly cleave his finger lengthwise.

Zu'an pressed on, "You eliminated Jian Taiding and Zuo Su, but now Jian Yanyou is back. Doesn't that mean everything is back to square one?"

Although Zu'an knew Jian Yanyou was dead, outsiders didn't.

Han Fengqiu replied, "Jian Yanyou disappeared for two years, and his trusted associates have mostly been purged. Now that he's back, he's merely a lone wolf. Moreover, he seems to have suffered severe injuries, and his cultivation is far from its peak, making him even less of a threat."

"However, he is still a Duke, and with so many things happening in Yunzhong Commandery recently, we've allowed him to live for a few more days."

"Once you imperial envoys leave Yunzhong Commandery and the situation calms down, we'll quietly eliminate him. We'll then announce that he died from his severe injuries, which won't cause too much of a stir."

Zu'an's expression became incredibly complex upon hearing this, thinking that Yu Yanluo had also planned for him to escape in a similar manner. The minds of those who had long held power truly were remarkably consistent. With that thought, he pressed his sword down casually.

"Ah!"

A horrific scream rang out. Han Fengqiu looked at his finger, now vertically cut in half, feeling both pain and terror. "What are you doing?!"

[Rage from Han Fengqiu +777777777...]

Zu'an said indifferently, "You're not being honest. Every time, I have to ask you before you'll answer. I don't have that much patience to play a question-and-answer game with you. Tell me everything you know. This sword of mine cuts through metal like mud, so that cut just now wasn't actually that painful. Next time, I'll find a blunt knife and cut slowly."

"You're a devil!" Han Fengqiu tried to curse again, but instantly cowered when he met the other's gaze. He quickly said, "After overthrowing Jian Taiding and Zuo Su, our people were put in charge here. The head of them is naturally City Commander Pei Shao. The Pei family has deep ties with the King's residence. A big reason for the Crown Prince's visit this time is to form a marriage alliance with their family."

"The King didn't want to sacrifice the Crown Prince's happiness, so he agreed to let him come and see for himself, to decide whether to proceed with the marriage alliance with the Pei family. The Crown Prince was initially a bit unwilling, but once he saw Miss Pei, he was immediately captivated. Unfortunately, Miss Pei seems to be indifferent to him. The Crown Prince believes that Miss Pei is just shy because their marriage hasn't been finalized. That's why he left in such a hurry this time—a big reason was to quickly return and finalize the marriage, so he could get closer to Miss Pei."

Zu'an's face was ashen; that Zhao Zhi boy was dreaming an impossible dream.

Seeing Zu'an's displeased expression, and fearing another vertical cut to his other finger, Han Fengqiu quickly continued, "Apart from Pei Shao, Yu Xuansu, the Sima of the Governor-General's Office, is also our man. He and Yu Xuanqing have been in fierce family rivalry for years. Yu Xuanqing failed to see the bigger picture and fully sided with Jian Taiding, so the King simply supported Yu Xuansu to replace him."

"With these two influential figures in the local government and the Governor-General's Office, plus many middle and lower-ranking officials being proteges of the King's residence, controlling Yunzhong Commandery will not be difficult."

Zu'an recalled his visit to the Pei family, where Pei Manman seemed to mention that her stepmother was from the Yu family. At that time, Yu Xuansu had appeared at the Pei residence several times, but Zu'an had only assumed he was visiting his daughter and hadn't paid much attention. It turned out they had already been colluding.

His gaze fell on Huxin, who was nearby. "What about those tiger clansmen?"

He had dealt more with Kong Qing before; this fellow hadn't appeared with Kong Qing previously.

Han Fengqiu shuddered, terrified of another vertical cut, and hurriedly replied, "Because business with the demon race was previously conducted through the Jian family, who had a good relationship with the Peacock Royal Clan, the King wanted to completely control the channels and bypass the Peacock Royal Clan. Coincidentally, the demon race itself isn't unified. The Tiger Clan has always been unwilling to remain subservient to the Peacock Royal Clan and wishes to replace them. The King fully exploited this, and both sides hit it off immediately. The Tiger Clan helps the King establish a new trade network with the demon race, and the King helps the Tiger Clan ascend."

"So that's why so many controlled and contraband goods were sent to the demon race?" Zu'an sneered, "The Qi King, for his personal ambition, actually disregarded the safety of humanity. And to think he has the reputation of being a 'Virtuous King'!"

Han Fengqiu hesitated, then said, "In this world, nothing is simply black or white. Which of those powerful figures in the imperial court doesn't act from their own self-interest? Isn't Yu Yanluo, who you are friendly with, also doing business with the demon race? Even the previous emperor, didn't he do similar things back then?"

"What about the previous emperor?" Zu'an frowned. These secrets were not recorded in the official archives and could only be learned from elders who had lived through those times.

Han Fengqiu replied, "I don't know the specifics, but I occasionally overheard the King mention that the previous emperor seemed to have used the power of the demon race to ascend to the throne."

Zu'an's heart was in turmoil. Since arriving in this world, he had encountered various official and民间 accounts that painted a picture of several generations of emperors leading humanity in great wars against the demon race, ultimately defeating them and driving them to the wild frontiers, allowing humanity to live in peace and prosperity. The common people worshipped these emperors as saints, but now it seemed there might be an untouchable darkness behind their brilliant and noble figures.

Han Fengqiu cautiously glanced at him, not daring to stop, and continued to reveal what he knew: "Zhang Che, a confidant under the Yan King, has been completely out of contact for years. But recently, we discovered that he seems to have become an elder in the Demonic Cult and also established the Pegasus Chamber of Commerce, providing financial support to the Yan King."

Zu'an thought, *No wonder when I infiltrated the Pegasus Chamber of Commerce last time, I saw Zhang Che with those loose cultivators from the Demonic Cult, and Qiu Honglei tried to divert my investigation away from the Pegasus Chamber of Commerce several times.*

*But this foolish girl, don't let the Yan King sell you out while you're still counting his money.*

"This time, they also want to replace the Zhenyuan Chamber of Commerce and completely control the trade routes with the demon race. Naturally, we won't allow such a thing to happen. The King's strategies are brilliant; as soon as..."