Chapter 334: Chapter 226: A Natural Heart Inquiry Bureau, The Two Princes’ Struggle for the Great Dao, The Dao Inquiry Trial of the Grand Thousand Canglan Map

「Eastern Palace Mansion.」

The grand hall was resplendent. Lu Mingyuan sat with perfect posture at a large desk. To his left and right, Armored Warriors stood at attention, their formations immaculate.

"This list represents the current active forces of the Endless Pavilion in the Imperial Capital."

Dressed in black with her hair in a high ponytail, Luo Ying presented a Token to the handsome man before her. Her face was cold, and she had donned her Arm Armor.

Lu Mingyuan accepted the list, glancing over it with satisfaction. "The number of Middle Fifth Grade experts is quite considerable. Our network of informants spans the Three Guardians of the Capital and even half of Jiangnan. It’s quite extensive."

With the Endless Pavilion now at his command, anything he did next would be much easier. He now had a host of powerful experts under his banner; the Endless Pavilion could handle tasks that were inconvenient for the Eastern Palace to undertake directly.

"According to our previous agreement, once the White Lotus Ancient Sect is destroyed, I can leave, correct?" Luo Ying said flatly.

"And what will you do then?" Lu Mingyuan asked, feigning ignorance.

Seeing him play dumb, Luo Ying stated the obvious. "To manage the Endless Pavilion’s affairs, of course. I can’t stay by Your Highness’s side forever."

Clearly, she was not content to remain by Lu Mingyuan’s side as a mere Maid.

More importantly, if she remained in the Eastern Palace, her hands would be tied, and she would face countless restrictions.

She couldn’t rely on the Eastern Palace as her benefactor forever; she had never been one to bow to anyone.

Lu Mingyuan perceived her thoughts and chuckled. "What? Are you that unwilling to stay by my side?"

Seeing the threat hidden in his smile, Luo Ying quickly added, "I simply feel that with Bai He here, Your Highness’s safety is more than guaranteed. There are still other Endless Pavilion leaders to be dealt with, and the Imperial Capital is only the beginning."

Lu Mingyuan shook his head. "I don’t see why the two are mutually exclusive."

"You want to consolidate your power quickly and deal with the other leaders. That’s mainly for revenge, isn’t it? Against your sister. I can actually help you with that."

Luo Ying was startled to hear Lu Mingyuan’s casual words.

’I’ve told almost no one about this. How could the Crown Prince possibly know?’

’It must have been Yang Erlang who leaked it.’

’That man...!’

"How did you know, Your Highness...?"

"Is there anything I don’t know?" Lu Mingyuan retorted.

Hearing this, Luo Ying hesitated for a moment before conceding.

"Understood, Your Highness. It’s just... the Golden Crow Country has the support of the Confucian Temple Legalist Family. They are far more powerful than a single faction like the White Lotus Ancient Sect."

Lu Mingyuan scoffed. "I’m not an idiot. I wouldn’t make a move without being completely certain of the outcome. I’m just telling you that it’s better to be open about your intentions. Being more direct might make our collaboration go much more smoothly."

Luo Ying’s eyelashes fluttered. She could only lower her head and say,

"Yes."

"Besides, the Golden Crow Country isn’t as difficult to deal with as you might think," Lu Mingyuan added, as if to himself.

’Compared to the Golden Crow Country? Dealing with Prince Jin back then, or my own father, the Emperor, now... both of those are challenges of hellish difficulty.’

Just as Luo Ying, having completed her task, was about to leave the main hall...

...the Daoist Robe Woman beside Lu Mingyuan shot her a look laden with meaning.

Yun Qinghe looked at the renowned Shadow Scout and said with a placid smile, "Cyan Shadow, you don’t harbor any thoughts of betraying the Crown Prince, do you?"

"You’re overthinking it, Bai He," Luo Ying said flatly.

’She’s testing me.’

’I won’t fall for it.’

"I hear you’re now the leader of the Endless Pavilion in the Imperial Capital. In that case, are you aware of the circumstances surrounding Gongyang Hu’s death?"

Luo Ying found Yun Qinghe’s question strange as well.

’Gongyang Hu willingly went to prison seeking protection. How could he have died?’

"Gongyang Hu’s death... I was not aware."

Luo Ying said what she knew; she wasn’t lying.

She had been busy with Endless Pavilion affairs these past few days—tallying personnel, managing the new allegiances from various Tributors, and testing their loyalty. She truly was in the dark about this matter.

When Lu Mingyuan heard Yun Qinghe bring this up, he furrowed his brow. "Gongyang Hu is dead? Who’s behind this?"

He had planned to use Gongyang Hu as bait, to see if he could reel in an unexpected catch.

He hadn’t expected someone to take the bait so quickly.

Luo Ying replied, "The Endless Pavilion has informants in the Celestial Prison as well. All entries and exits are recorded. I just need to check the visitor logs."

「Half an Hour later.」

Luo Ying returned with information compiled by the Endless Pavilion’s mole in the Celestial Prison. After a quick glance, she handed it to Lu Mingyuan.

"This matter seems to be related to Prince Chongwen."

"Four days ago, the Eighth Prince visited the Celestial Prison. Other than him, there were no unusual visitors—mostly officials from the Ministry of Justice and people visiting other inmates. The news of Gongyang Hu’s death only came out after Prince Chongwen left."

Lu Mingyuan asked, "If that’s the case, why couldn’t the Court find anything?"

Luo Ying had clearly done more research in that Half an Hour. She reported, "I believe there are two reasons. First, Gongyang Hu’s status was low. He was just a convicted remnant of a defeated faction who was imprisoned for opposing Your Highness, so no one considered him important. Second, many officials in both the Ministry of Justice and the Grand Court of Revision belong to the Eighth Prince’s faction. Killing a mere remnant of Prince Jin’s party would have little to no consequence for him."

"The Court isn’t going to pick a fight with an influential Prince of Great Yan over a single prisoner."

Lu Mingyuan understood the gist of it after her explanation.

’That fellow Gongyang Hu has absolutely no rights now.’

’Rebels have always been treated this way—no rights, not fit to live. Dead is dead.’

’But isn’t this also a blatant disregard for me, the Crown Prince?’

’I was the one who specifically had Gongyang Hu imprisoned.’

’If a Prince had died today, things would be completely different.’

’It would have caused an uproar throughout the entire city.’

"Yun Qing?"

Lu Mingyuan’s expression shifted, unsettled. He never expected that at this critical juncture, the one to move against him would be Old Eight.