Chapter 430: Long Yang Was Enraged
Chapter 430: Long Yang Was Enraged
Long Yang shook his head. “No. It’s just that I happened to have ordered an investigation of the same issue you told Chu Jiu to investigate.”
Lu Liangwei looked at him in surprise. “How come? Why are you also...”
“Chu Qi reported that someone stalked Chu Yi during the time the Grand Duke Mansion hosted the arena. After Chu Yi caught them, he tortured them into confessing the identity of the person behind it.”
“Really?” Lu Liangwei was astonished. “Then who was it?”
“I was told that it was the Crown Princess’s maidservant, Hong Xiu.”
Hearing this, Lu Liangwei immediately understood and said in an indifferent tone, “My sister’s been a real cause for worry.”
Long Yang nodded. “Indeed.” He was unaware at first, but after investigating, he realized how formidable Lu Yunshuang was. She was not afraid to bribe court officials secretly with beautiful women and money.
From his tone, Lu Liangwei knew that he had probably discovered something and asked anxiously, “So you thought that something fishy was going on with Hong Xiu and the Crown Princess, and you sent someone to keep an eye on them?”
Long Yang looked at her appreciatively. “Yes. It’s not just the Eastern Palace; I also sent someone to keep an eye on the Duke Chen Mansion. The moment they attempt anything strange, I will know right away. But I had to leave for the frontier to fetch Royal Sister some time ago. During that time, the covert guards I dispatched to watch them found many clues, and they only reported everything to me yesterday.”
Lu Liangwei was delighted to hear this, but she thought of something and asked calmly, “Why did you send someone to watch the Duke Chen Mansion?”
Long Yang did not answer but asked in return, “Why did Minister Lin’s daughter fake her death?”
Hearing this, Lu Liangwei finally understood the crux of the matter.
He had probably realized a lot of things the day she dragged him to the Lin Family Cemetery. She did not tell him anything back then, so he did not inquire further.
However, he already knew everything.
Lu Liangwei suddenly felt a little ashamed for thinking that she had outsmarted him.
At this moment, there were some things that she could no longer hide from him.
He probably knew more than her, anyway.
“Lin Qingyuan faked her death because she saw Chen Xuping and Lu Yunshuang conspiring with each other and abducting civilian women. Chen Xuping wanted to kill Lin Qingyuan but failed, so he tried to marry her and control her instead.
“Lin Qingyuan didn’t want to give up the rest of her life, so she begged me to help her. I came up with the idea of faking her death so that she could avoid the marriage while secretly investigating the extent of Chen Xuping and Lu Yunshuang’s crimes. Once she has enough evidence, she would present them to you and request that you punish Chen Xuping and Lu Yunshuang.
“Some time ago, Lin Qingyuan also witnessed the Crown Prince’s concubine Beauty Chen being knocked out by two men and taken out of the imperial capital. Lin Qingyuan followed them all the way and almost lost her life. I suspect that Lu Yunshuang hid the women she captured in Xiawu Town, but Jiu went to investigate and couldn’t find any clues.”
Lu Liangwei finished her story without a single pause.
Long Yang poured a cup of water for her.
Lu Liangwei accepted it and drank it in small sips.
After hearing what she said, Long Yang was unusually enraged. “Abducting women in secret? Didn’t the families that lost their daughters make a report? And why didn’t the local officials submit any report?”
Lu Liangwei thought of something and frowned. “Could it be that those officials have also been bribed?”
The number of businesses that Lu Yunshuang and Chen Xuping were secretly running was definitely not small, and they would surely need a lot of staff for expansion.
Since they hired so many staff members, where did they get all those people from?
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