The daughter of a noble family is reborn, and she is doted on by her godmother.

Chapter 74 Complicity

A gambler who enjoys a thrilling life has never been to the most famous gambling den in Changgan City.

Jinbi Pavilion, Boss Du.

On the day the government summoned everyone in Changgan City, Boss Du, the leader of the gambling den, specially sent over a plaque with the words "Blessing all living beings" written on it.

It seems like there's nothing wrong with it, but this signboard is like an invisible shackle.

For example, if it comes to issues concerning daily life and people's livelihood, if any place fails to meet the expectations of ordinary people, then this Boss Du can use the words in this document to criticize Zhu Ling.

So when the plaque was brought to him, Zhu Ling accepted it, but instead of hanging it up, he put it away under a different pretext.

After all, someone specifically warned against ignoring people like casino owners.

"I learned these past two days that Constable Li is a gambler, so I casually asked him about Jinbi Pavilion and whether he had been there. Constable Li avoided eye contact and refused to answer. When I asked others, they said that Constable Li doesn't go to gambling dens often, after all, he has that official position."

Xing Xiaoyu also added ""

“A gambling den…” Yun Yuke nodded. “There is a lot of money circulating in gambling dens, so no one would usually suspect anything. But this Constable Li deliberately avoids it and avoids daily interactions. I guess it’s to avoid arousing suspicion.”

Zhu Ling wrote the words "gambling den" on the paper and drew a line on it.

"Who's behind this gambling den? I don't believe an ordinary gambling den owner could pull off something like this." Zhu Ling analyzed as he wrote.

Yun Yuke shook her head as well, "These things are basically handled internally by the government office. I really haven't looked into the details, but I'll try to find out later."

"Mother, let me..." Yun Qingjin hadn't had a chance to interject before Yun Yuke interrupted her.

“Shut up, you little brat. You can’t go to a place like this, and it’s not a place for you. It’s alright, wait for your uncle to come back; he’s familiar with the situation.”

Yun Yuke interrupted Yun Qingjin. Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu, who were standing nearby, also scolded Yun Qingjin.

"Alright, alright, I know. Mom, Teacher Zhu, and Sister Xiaoyu won't make decisions on my own."

"That's more like it. No matter how smart you are, there are times when you can't be of any use. You shouldn't get involved in these kinds of things."

Zhu Ling reprimanded his good student, then composed himself and wrote another phrase on the paper: "The death of the prefect."

“Now we don’t need to hide it from Sister Yun anymore. I do need Sister Yun’s influence to help me with some things.” Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu had discussed it and decided to tell their friend about the secret mission they had accepted.

"Please, you two, do not spread this around. This matter involves many people, and the fewer people who know about it, the less risk there will be," Xing Xiaoyu said seriously.

The Yun mother and daughter both nodded. "Don't worry, only the two of us know."

"Three years ago, Changgan City lost two prefects in a row," Zhu Ling revealed. "But the previous prefect is still alive and well. Four months ago, he was even selected as an excellent candidate by the Ministry of Personnel in the assessment and was promoted."

"However, one of the prefect's mistresses filed a complaint against him in the capital, ostensibly because of emotional entanglements and other issues. The time she filed the complaint happened to be when Her Majesty the Empress was leading us female scholars on an incognito visit. Therefore, this mistress was placed under protection by Her Majesty the Empress's people."

Xing Xiaoyu quietly recounted what had happened a few months ago.

"When that concubine met with Her Majesty the Empress, she revealed that what she really wanted to accuse was the former prefect of Changgan of colluding with others and accepting bribes. It even included the prefect of Changgan bribing officials in the Ministry of Personnel."

Zhu Ling added from the side.

"Is this why you came here?" Yun Yuke roughly understood the situation.

"Your Majesty the Empress has been assisting His Majesty in handling some state affairs. This case... involves many officials from the Ministry of Personnel, and with some old officials still holding sway, His Majesty cannot directly take action. Therefore, he decided to start by investigating the earlier cases of the sudden deaths of two prefects. Your Majesty the Empress has taken charge of protecting that concubine, and someone in the capital is investigating the Ministry of Personnel. I, on the other hand, have taken advantage of the opportunity of reassigning prefects to come to Changgan to continue the investigation."

"Do you have any clues?" Yun Yuke asked her friend.

"Yes, a few days ago someone put a slow-acting poison in my food."

"what?!"

"Who did this?!"

Zhu Ling's tone was too calm, seemingly as if nothing was wrong, but the danger behind it was unimaginable.

"It's alright, it's been resolved. Now what we need to do is figure out how to get the person with the evidence to come forward, and how to expose the mastermind behind it all."

Zhu Ling spoke these words with remarkable composure. Yun Qingjin looked at her former mentor, whose expression was calm but whose brows were slightly furrowed. Judging from her expression, she was no longer so young.

Although Zhu Ling didn't realize it when he said this, Yun Qingjin could see it clearly from the side. Her former mentor couldn't control his hands, which were trembling slightly.

"Teacher Zhu, I'll buy you something delicious in a few days." Yun Qingjin approached the teacher and took Teacher Zhu's slightly trembling hand in hers.

"I'm fine." Zhu Ling squeezed Yun Qingjin's hand in return.

"Ling, how did you confirm that there are still people in Changgan City with evidence?" Yun Yuke asked. "Are you sure it's real evidence and not just bait?"

Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu nodded in unison, “It was the former prefect’s mistress. She was truly an extraordinary woman. When she was the mistress, she discovered and preserved some evidence and talked to some relevant people. In the case of the prefect’s death earlier, there were also some people who had evidence.”

"Who has the evidence?"

"We don't know about that either," Zhu Ling and Xing Xiaoyu shook their heads in unison.

"why?"

"One of the reasons is that the mistress refused to speak. Although the Empress guaranteed her absolute safety, she simply could not trust the people in the capital. So when we set off, she only told us some of the details she knew. In order to protect herself, she ultimately did not reveal the more specific information."

"The Empress has made arrangements, and she will send someone to inform us if there are any new developments."

Yun Yuke nodded, "She is indeed an extraordinary woman. She can consider so much under such circumstances. She is very cautious."

"What about other reasons?"

"Other reasons are even simpler. She doesn't know either." Zhu Ling shook his head helplessly.

"The deaths of the previous prefects were far-reaching, and everyone knew they were suspicious, but no one spoke of it. That mistress explained it very clearly. She had investigated, but those people were even less likely to believe a young woman like her. So she only knew that someone had evidence, but she didn't know who it was or what the evidence was."

Xing Xiaoyu shook her head.

For a moment, no one spoke in the room; they seemed to be considering what to do.

"It's very difficult," Yun Yuke sighed softly.

"So today we're trying to scare them off, but we don't know yet if it will work." Zhu Ling also explained his plans for the day.

Upon hearing that Ding, the gardener who prepared the poison, was now imprisoned in the government office, Yun Yuke felt it was rather inappropriate.

"Teacher? Just lock that gardener in a regular room? How can that be? What if someone tries to assassinate him?"

Yun Qingjin didn't quite understand, so she asked about the situation directly.

"Qingqing, that's a very good question. I'll teach you again today." Zhu Ling's expression turned serious again as she said this.

"Throwing bricks to attract jade."