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The Emperor silently observed everything, feeling annoyed and frustrated. He took a deep breath and tried to appear calm, “Open all the boxes for me.”

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue didn’t dare delay and immediately started opening the boxes.

Inside the boxes, each silver ingot weighed fifty taels, neatly arranged. Under the light, they reflected a bright silver sheen, somewhat dazzling to the eyes. The Emperor handed one to the Minister of Revenue, “Try to see if it’s real or fake.”

The Minister bit the ingot and after examining it, declared, “Your Majesty, it’s real.”

The Emperor felt slightly relieved and ordered, “Bring out the box in the farthest corner and check it. The rest of you, don’t just stand there; start counting the silver in the treasury overnight. If there’s any shortage, you’ll make up for it.”

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue didn’t understand what the Emperor was up to, but the only thing they could do was follow his orders. Soon, everyone busily started counting the silver.

Li Fei brought over a stool, “Your Majesty, please sit.”

The Emperor sat down and personally supervised the process.

Li Fei served the Emperor a cup of tea and then retreated, guarding the main door to ensure no one could enter.

At the Black Market

The Black Market was brightly lit, with figures like “ghosts” walking along the streets, as bustling as ever.

Chu Qingzhi and Tang Jinghong, like ghosts themselves, entered the Black Market. After arriving, they looked around, searching for the iconic ten large boxes.

Fortunately, they quickly located them in a corner, waiting to be collected.

The two found a corner and secretly monitored the situation.

After about half an hour, a group of people arrived. After a short talk, the group picked up the boxes and left.

Chu Qingzhi asked, “Jinghong, will your men follow them?”

Tang Jinghong nodded, “They’re on it.”

With no worries left behind, Chu Qingzhi said, “Let’s go and find ‘Yuan’.”

Chu Qingzhi performed a hand gesture, transforming Tang Jinghong into “Nine” and herself into “Western Envoy”. Though they were wearing cloaks, it was better to be cautious.

Chu Qingzhi emerged from the corner and headed straight for the second floor of the gambling den, where the group carrying the boxes had come out.

However, to their surprise, the second floor of the gambling den was empty!

Chu Qingzhi immediately reflected on where they might have made a mistake and suddenly remembered something.

The Western Envoy, after being sent out to give orders, would definitely need to report back, but she had neglected this until now.

“Damn, the other party must have realized something,” Chu Qingzhi thought and hurriedly said to Tang Jinghong, “Follow me, I’ll explain on the way.”

Chu Qingzhi’s speculation was correct. Master Yuan and the four special envoys had a two-way communication, and they had a secret base right in the bustling Joy House.

At this time, in an inconspicuous room of Joy House, a middle-aged man sat beside a table, with three envoys standing beside him, creating a tense atmosphere.

The Eastern Envoy asked, “Master, has something happened to the Western Envoy?”

They had never encountered any trouble before, which made Master Yuan uncertain. “Let’s wait a bit longer. If he doesn’t return by midnight, we’ll temporarily halt our plan, and everyone should lie low for now.”

It’s always best to be cautious, especially at this critical moment. Any mistake could be disastrous.

The other two envoys listened silently, without any comments.

After a while, footsteps were heard, and the four in the room became alert.

A knock on the door followed, then the Western Envoy’s voice, “Master.”

After confirming that it was Western Envoy’s voice, everyone relaxed.

The middle-aged man said, “Come in.”

The Western Envoy entered the room, discreetly glancing around. Noticing everyone’s faces were covered, she thought, “They’re cautious, but it’s good that they’re all here. I can end this in one fell swoop.”

Chu Qingzhi closed the door and turned around with a bell in hand, shaking it vigorously.

The bell’s sound, like ripples of white light, spread out, and the four people in the room lost their consciousness, standing motionless.

Chu Qingzhi shook the bell again to solidify their state and then opened the door for Tang Jinghong to enter.

Tang Jinghong, seeing the situation inside, couldn’t help but feel elated. Having control over them meant they almost had the entire ‘Yun’ force in their hands, “Qingzhi, you’ve achieved a great feat again!”

Chu Qingzhi was indifferent to the credit, her only desire was to assist Tang Jinghong, “Jinghong, let’s get to work.”

Having still four days left, it seemed feasible to uproot this force entirely.

Tang Jinghong said, “Okay.”

After interrogating, Chu Qingzhi and Tang Jinghong learned that Master Yun had a list of his subordinates, which was right here. With “Yuan” guiding them, it was easy to find everyone on the list.

The list contained ten names, each being Master Yun’s direct subordinate.

Their codenames, real names, identities, and addresses were all clearly listed.

Chu Qingzhi gave the list to Tang Jinghong, ‘Catch these people according to this list, do it secretly. After capturing them, interrogate them to find out their subordinates. Arrest them layer by layer. If you need help, just tell me. We aim to finish this within four days. Oh, and make sure to take over all the opium and destroy it…\'”

Tang Jinghong agreed to each point, “I’ll do as you said.”

Chu Qingzhi said, “Now there’s only one problem.” She paused, “Who is passing messages to ‘Yuan’?”

‘Yuan’ definitely listens to Master Yun, so who is Master Yun sending to relay messages?

If they could identify this person, they might be able to trace the roots back to the eastern border.

The root of this issue was in the eastern border. Even if the entire force here in the capital was eradicated, they could easily make a comeback. This was the real headache.

Chu Qingzhi thought for a while but gave up, deciding not to think too far ahead. It was better to get through the current crisis first.

At the Treasury.

Suddenly, the Emperor felt a severe headache, his body itching like ant bites. He quickly broke into a cold sweat. A thought emerged in his mind: he wanted to inhale the fragrant incense.

The minister beside him was startled to see the emperor in distress and exclaimed, ‘Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what’s wrong?”

The Emperor knew he was affected by opium, as Tang Jinghong had already informed him, “Li Fei, Li Fei…”

Li Fei hurried over, “Your Majesty, what’s wrong?”

The Emperor struggled to stand, feeling dizzy and nauseous. He was in great discomfort, “Back to the palace.”

Seeing the Emperor’s condition, Li Fei didn’t dare to delay. He carried the Emperor, who could hardly walk, back to the palace.

After returning, Li Fei immediately called for Yuan Hongjun.

Yuan Hongjun was secretly investigating the incense issue in the palace. Hearing the Emperor’s discomfort, he rushed to the Emperor’s bedroom.

After taking the Emperor’s pulse, he realized it was indeed an addiction. He had only heard about it from his master and had never treated such a condition before. What should he do now?

The Emperor, curled up in pain, soaked his clothes and hair in sweat, pleaded painfully, “Quickly light the incense for me.”

Li Fei, unaware that the incense was addictive, was about to light it.

Yuan Hongjun urgently stopped him, “You can’t light it, or it will definitely worsen His Majesty’s condition!”