vrcanaries Chapter 204 Undercurrent
Chapter 204 Undercurrent
"It's here!" The niece came hurriedly with a secret letter. "Third sister, take a look at this."
The Third Miss was discussing matters with Mo Yunchen in the Imperial Study. Seeing her niece's anxious expression, she quickly took the secret letter. After reading it, her expression also changed.
"Your Highness," she handed the secret letter to Mo Yunchen, "it seems we guessed right."
It turned out that this secret letter revealed an astonishing secret: the network of relationships of those princes in the court actually extended to several important departments!
"Investigate!" Mo Yunchen ordered coldly, "Don't let any of them go!"
At this moment, my cousin also rushed over: "Oh no! I just got the news that several important trade routes have suddenly been cut off!"
The three of them looked at each other: It was obvious that someone was causing trouble.
"Tell me about it." Mo Yunchen said.
It turned out that since some time ago, several important trade routes had suddenly encountered various problems. Some said the mountain roads had collapsed, while others said bandits were rampant. In short, they were simply blocked.
"These people," the Third Miss sneered, "are really not giving up."
Indeed, ever since the suppression of the rebellion of the feudal princes, there has been an undercurrent of unrest within the court. Those who have connections with the feudal princes dare not act rashly in public, but they are secretly making small moves.
"I do have an idea," the Third Miss said suddenly, "why not..."
She told her own plan: since the other party wants to cut off the trade route, let them succeed. When they think their plan is successful, then... "
"Great!" Mo Yunchen's eyes lit up, "I'll do as you say."
The plan was quickly put into action. The imperial court initially acted as if it was caught off guard, even releasing news that it would send people to clear the trade routes.
As soon as the news got out, those people really took the bait. Not only did they not stop, but they became even more aggressive, even cutting off the last trade route.
"Report to the Crown Princess," the spy came hurriedly, "They have begun to stockpile supplies!"
The third lady sneered: "You've taken the bait."
It turns out that the real purpose of these people cutting off trade routes was to hoard goods so that they could sell them at a high price when prices soared.
"Let them be proud for a few more days," Mo Yunchen said, "wait until they have stockpiled enough goods, then we can close the net!"
Sure enough, within a few days, prices began to soar. Those who hoarded goods became even more unscrupulous, even starting to publicly shout: Either pay more or you won't be able to buy anything!
At this moment, Mo Yunchen suddenly gave the order: Open the warehouse and release the grain!
When this order came out, everyone was stunned: Didn't the court say that food and fodder were in short supply? How come food was suddenly available?
This turned out to be the real killer! Long before the road was cut off, the imperial court had secretly stockpiled a large amount of supplies. Now that these supplies were released, the market immediately oversupplied.
Those who hoarded goods were dumbfounded: they watched prices fall day by day, but they couldn't sell their goods.
"Isn't it time to check the accounts now?" the third young lady said with a smile.
Mo Yunchen nodded: "Investigate! Don't let any one go!"
Soon, a large number of officials were arrested. Some were caught hoarding goods, while others were accused of covering up the problem. By interrogating these people, the court finally uncovered the entire network of connections between the princes within the court.
"I didn't expect it," the Third Miss exclaimed as she looked at the list, "These people have infiltrated so deeply."
Indeed, many of the people on this list were high-ranking ministers. They seemed to have nothing to do with the princes, but they were secretly in the same group.
"The first bird to stick its head out gets shot," Mo Yunchen sneered, "They thought they were hiding well enough, but they didn't know that the deeper they hid, the easier it would be to reveal their tracks."
"Your Highness is right," the Third Miss agreed. "These people were too clever for their own good and fell into our trap."
At this moment, news came from outside: riots suddenly broke out in several southern state capitals!
"Again?" Mo Yunchen sneered, "It seems someone still refuses to give up."
"But this time it's different," the Third Miss analyzed. "They're really desperate and trying every possible means."
Indeed, this riot was clearly disorganized and hastily launched. These people probably saw the court starting to purge people and were eager to create chaos so that they could take advantage of the opportunity to escape.
"Stupid," Mo Yunchen shook his head, "They are courting their own death."
He immediately ordered: Send troops to suppress the rebellion! At the same time, speed up the interrogation process and strive to catch the remaining accomplices as soon as possible.
The Third Miss felt something in her heart: "Your Highness, I always feel that there are greater secrets that have not been discovered."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Think about it," the Third Young Lady analyzed, "each of these princes and ministers has their own agenda. But who has the power to make them put aside their prejudices and work together?"
Mo Yunchen's eyes lit up: "You mean, there is another mastermind?"
"Yes," the Third Miss nodded, "and this person must be of high status, otherwise he wouldn't be able to command so many people."
"Interesting," Mo Yunchen fell into deep thought, "Looks like I need to investigate further."
At this moment, my niece came hurriedly: "Third sister, guess what I found?"
She took out a secret letter: it was found in a prince's secret room. The content of the letter was very obscure, but it vaguely mentioned a person - the current Grand Tutor!
"Grand Master?" Miss Three was surprised. "How could it be him?"
"Not surprising," Mo Yunchen sneered, "I've long felt that this person is not simple."
Indeed, the Grand Tutor was highly respected and held great prestige in the court. But precisely because of this, no one would have thought that he would be involved in such an affair.
"This Grand Tutor," Miss San recalled, "seems to have always advocated a conciliatory policy and opposed using military force against the vassal kings..."
"That's right," Mo Yunchen continued, "He appears to be doing this for the sake of the imperial court, but in reality he is protecting the vassal king."
“Now then…”
"No rush," Mo Yunchen said, "Now that we've found this big fish, we need to prepare the fishing nets properly."
The Third Miss understood what he meant: the Grand Tutor's position was too high to act rashly. She had to obtain solid evidence to bring him down in one fell swoop.
"Let my niece and cousin continue the investigation," Mo Yunchen ordered, "and make sure to find out all the connections between the Grand Tutor and the Prince."
"Yes." The third young lady took the order and left.
In the days that followed, the imperial court suppressed the rebellion while secretly investigating. Gradually, a shocking truth emerged: it turned out that the Grand Tutor was not only colluding with the princes, but was also secretly cultivating his own power!
"This old fox," the third young lady sighed as she looked at the evidence, "has quite the ambition."
Indeed, from various evidences, it seems that the Grand Tutor wanted to take advantage of the rebellion of the princes to cause unrest in the imperial court. When the time was right, he could "step forward" and clean up the mess.
By then, he will be the actual controller of the entire court!
"What a great chess game," Mo Yunchen sneered, "but unfortunately, he miscalculated one move."
"What?"
"He thought I was a prince who only agreed with others, but he didn't know that I was waiting for him to show his true colors."
The third young lady suddenly realized: No wonder the prince had always tolerated the Grand Tutor before, it turned out that he was waiting for this day!
"But now the evidence is solid," Mo Yunchen said, "it's time to close the net."
The next morning at court, as soon as the Grand Tutor entered the hall, he was surrounded by guards.
"Grand Master," Mo Yunchen said coldly, "Do you admit your guilt?"
"What do you mean, Your Highness?" The Grand Tutor pretended to be confused. "What crime have I committed?"
"What crime have you committed?" Mo Yunchen sneered, "Colluding with the princes, cultivating a private party, and having bad intentions, aren't these enough?"
The Grand Tutor's expression changed drastically: "Your Highness, please do not listen to slanderous words..."
"Slander?" Mo Yunchen produced a pile of evidence. "Are these all slander?"
The Grand Master looked at the evidence and finally panicked: "This..."
"Take him away!" Mo Yunchen waved his hand, "interrogate him thoroughly!"
In this way, the most hidden mastermind was finally caught. And with the fall of the Grand Tutor, the entire conspiracy completely collapsed.
Those who were still on the sidelines, seeing that the Grand Tutor had fallen, also became obedient. For a time, the court and the country were cleared up.
"It's finally over," the third young lady breathed a sigh of relief. "This was really thrilling."
"It's not over yet," Mo Yunchen said, "Next we have to eliminate the remaining followers of the Grand Tutor."
"I understand," the Third Miss nodded, "I'll arrange it right away."
Looking at her departing back, Mo Yunchen smiled: This girl is becoming more and more steady in doing things.
Although this incident was thrilling, it also allowed him to see the growth of the Third Miss. From a newly arrived Crown Princess to an independent assistant, her progress was obvious to all.
And this is what makes him most happy.