Chapter 1 The Gathering of Information

After the guards left, Jiang Chen summoned Master Wu again.

"Bring all the files related to the Su family handled since Su Mingtao took office."

Master Wu was shocked.

If it were all the files, then this lord might just want to correct Su Mingtao's mistakes.

But only the files related to the Su family… the purpose behind this was self-evident!

Although he also wanted to bring down the Su family, in Jiangnan, the Su family was the undisputed local emperor.

Previously, any forces, large or small, that dared to challenge the Su family were crushed without exception.

"My lord, is it possible to postpone this?" Master Wu reminded him.

Jiang Chen's eyes turned cold. "Do I need you to teach me how to do things?"

Master Wu was startled and hurried to select the files.

Watching Master Wu's departing figure, Jiang Chen shook his head secretly.

To deal with the Su family, he had to suppress them completely with the force of thunder.

If he took it step by step, it would only give the Su family time to prepare.

This was not in line with his goal of completely eradicating the Su family.

Before long, a guard came in and handed a letter to Jiang Chen.

"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter I found. The person is a servant of the Zhou family."

"The Zhou family?"

Jiang Chen frowned. He had only just arrived in Xizhou and hadn't yet learned about the situation in the city.

But just from this incident, he could see that the Su family had probably planted several spies in Xizhou City.

Although he had intercepted a secret letter, Jiang Chen was certain that the news must have already reached the Su family.

"I have to hurry!"

Jiang Chen thought to himself as he opened the letter.

The letter first described the matter of Su Mingtao's murder, and then focused on describing his appearance.

Ordinary people might not know, but as long as the Su family elders and others saw it, they would definitely be able to guess who he was.

At this moment, Master Wu's voice came from outside. "My lord, I have found the files from the past year."

"Bring them in."

After Master Wu brought in the files, he said, "My lord, I remember these files. For the older ones, I need to go back and search slowly."

Jiang Chen nodded and told Master Wu to continue looking for the files while he read through them.

After reading a few files, the killing intent in Jiang Chen's eyes grew stronger.

This Su family was acting so domineeringly.

Anything they fancied, they would get it by any means necessary.

Among the forty-odd files, nearly half of the plaintiffs had died mysteriously within the following month.

Jiang Chen closed the files and murmured, "It seems that the next few days here will not be peaceful."

He believed that, based on the Su family's style, after learning about his mission, they would definitely take the risk.

The guard next to him listened in trepidation.

This Su family was too bold.

Did they dare to take action even after knowing His Majesty's identity?

"Should we call back the guards outside?" the guard asked.

He was afraid that he couldn't protect Jiang Chen alone.

"No need."

Jiang Chen waved his hand.

Although the Su family was ruthless, they weren't brainless. How could they be stupid enough to break into the yamen to assassinate him?

They would definitely find other ways.

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Chen said, "From now on, have the cook taste my food first. Also, prepare my own special tableware and have you personally keep it safe."

"Yes!"

The guard responded and went to prepare.

"What other tricks do they have up their sleeves?"

Jiang Chen frowned slightly, already having a plan in mind.

A day later, at the Su family mansion.

Su Zhengheng, the master of the Su family, sat in the main hall with a grim expression.

Sitting on both sides were the core descendants of the Su family.

"Father, could this person be His Majesty the Emperor?"

Su Jiande, the current head of the Su family, asked.

Su Zhengheng nodded. "Who else would dare to do this besides His Majesty the Emperor?"

"Hiss—"

Sounds of gasping filled the hall.

As core members of the Su family, they naturally knew what the Su family had been doing over the years.

If they were discovered by His Majesty the Emperor, being exterminated and having their family property seized would be the least of their worries!

"Father, what should we do?" the Second Master of the Su family asked anxiously.

"What's the panic!"

Su Zhengheng snorted. "The letter said that he only brought a few guards with him on this trip. This is an opportunity!"

The Second Master of the Su family's eyes lit up. "I'll send someone to assassinate him right away!"

With that, he stood up and walked out.

"Come back!"

Before the Su family master could finish speaking, Su Jiande stopped the Second Master of the Su family.

"You dare to directly assassinate His Majesty the Emperor!"

Su Jiande looked at his father. "Is it possible to bribe the servants of the Xizhou yamen and have them…"

Su Jiande made a poisoning gesture and then added, "To be on the safe side, we can arrange a few more people. Once they get close, they can—"

Su Jiande made a throat-slitting gesture.

Su Zhengheng smiled with satisfaction and said, "Jiande, you've considered everything thoroughly. Let's do as you said."

With the plan to deal with Jiang Chen settled, the people in the hall relaxed.

Xizhou, the yamen.

"Your Majesty, are you going out on inspection again?"

The guard couldn't understand why His Majesty would still risk going out when they were in such an isolated and helpless state.

Jiang Chen smiled and said, "Evil must be eliminated. But, work must also be done."

The guard had no choice but to follow Jiang Chen out of the yamen.

Arriving at the same street as yesterday, it was much livelier than before.

Whether it was the pedestrians or the vendors, all were beaming with heartfelt smiles.

Some who had been present yesterday recognized Jiang Chen and ran over in surprise.

"Upright and incorruptible official!"

Others followed and crowded around, praising Jiang Chen incessantly, the atmosphere was very warm.

Just then, a cold light suddenly shot out from the crowd straight towards Jiang Chen.

"Be careful!"

The guard was shocked and rushed forward to stop it.

But the assassin had obviously calculated his speed and the distance of the guard, not giving the guard any chance at all.

Just as the assassin thought he was about to succeed, he suddenly found that the dagger could no longer move forward, not even by a fraction.

Then, he heard Jiang Chen's voice from above.

"Heh heh, what do you want to do?"

Before the assassin could speak, he felt a piercing pain in his arm.

"Ah!"

The surrounding people only reacted at this moment and scattered in panic.

After calming down, they looked over and found that the assassin's arm had been twisted into a pretzel!

Clang—

The dagger fell to the ground, and Jiang Chen kicked it away.

The guard finally rushed forward at this moment, took the assassin from Jiang Chen's hands, and shouted angrily.

"Who sent you here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a stream of black blood flowing from the corner of the assassin's mouth.

At the same time, the assassin's eyes turned white, obviously having taken poison to commit suicide.

The guard was shocked and angry. It was bad enough that he had failed to protect His Majesty, but he hadn't even gotten any information out of him.

How could he live up to His Majesty's trust?

The guard shook the assassin hard, yelling, "Speak! Tell me who sent you here!"