Chapter 782
Chapter 782
Impatiently, Steward Jiang, who was still enjoying the new melon, said without thinking, "This was not the Empress Dowager's intention; it was done by the Sun family in secret."
After he finished speaking, he realized what was happening and quickly looked at Pan Yun. Seeing that Pan Yun's expression hadn't changed much and she looked enlightened, he knew that she had already guessed it.
He decided not to hide anything and said directly, "But the Sun family is the Empress Dowager's maternal family. If Huichangbo is harmed because of this, the Empress Dowager will be saddened, and the Emperor will also feel bad."
"I never expected that Commander Jiang could understand the Emperor's will even though we are thousands of miles apart. He is indeed remarkable."
Steward Jiang said proudly, "That's natural, our master is favored by the Emperor."
……
“Jian is in the Emperor’s heart my ass,” Lu Mingzhe turned around and cursed rudely, mocking, “Who doesn’t know that Jiang Jingsong and Song Zhang only got to this point by following Wang Zhen’s lead? Without Wang Zhen, would the Emperor even know who Jiang Jingsong is?”
Pan Yun coughed lightly and said, "I really didn't know about this."
Lu Mingzhe turned around and glared at her.
Pan Yun spread his hands and said, "I really didn't know, so I even cursed Wang Zhen in front of Steward Jiang today. But when I suspected Wang Zhen of falsely conveying the emperor's will, he wasn't angry on Wang Zhen's behalf, so..."
Lu Mingzhe's expression softened, and he sneered, "Of course they won't be angry for Wang Zhen. This isn't the capital, it's far from the emperor's reach, why would they pretend? Don't be fooled by their outwardly respectful attitude towards Wang Zhen, they despise him in their hearts."
Indeed, among the civil and military officials, who would respect a eunuch?
Pan Yun picked up her teacup, took a sip to moisten her throat, and pointed to the items on the table, saying, "This is the evidence that Steward Jiang prepared for me. As for the testimony, I've already given it to you. Lord Lu, you can decide what to do."
Lu Mingzhe: "..."
He said quietly, "Master Pan is quite adept at shifting blame."
Pan Yun smiled slightly: "Actually, I'm a good person."
Lu Mingzhe watched her quietly.
Pan Yun looked innocent: "I was brought here by someone. If I concealed it and did as he instructed, wouldn't that be doing Lord Lu a disservice and making it harder for you to investigate the case?"
If I refuse, it will be even more troublesome. Not only will I likely die a horrible death, but they will also find other ways to deal with me. Alas, Lord Lu will then be caught in a pincer movement.
Pan Jun, with a compassionate expression, said, "Since that's the case, I'd rather do it myself. Although I don't have the power to save the world, I do have the virtue of compassion. If I don't go to hell, who will?"
Lu Mingzhe thought what she said made a lot of sense, and her behavior was also correct, but...
Why did the difficulties ultimately fall on him?
He felt that Pan Yun hadn't gone to hell, even though it was he who had, but the good reputation belonged entirely to Pan Yun, and he couldn't deny it.
Lu Mingzhe looked at her silently, and after a moment asked, "Master Pan, how do you think this matter should be resolved?"
Pan Yun clapped her hands lightly and said excitedly, "I actually have an idea."
She coughed lightly, embarrassed, and Lu Mingzhe's heart jumped instantly as he looked at her nervously.
"Don't be afraid, my idea isn't very good, but it's something you officials always use." Pan Yun covered her mouth and whispered, "One word: stall!"
Lu Mingzhe bent down to listen carefully, then straightened up and looked at her expressionlessly.
"Master Pan, if you don't have a good idea, you don't have to mention it."
Pan Jun said anxiously, "How is this not a good idea? Since the emperor doesn't want us to continue investigating, let's suppress it. Anyway, we have witnesses and physical evidence in hand. Let's focus our energy on lifting the sea ban for now. After a year or two, when the emperor has almost forgotten about this matter, we can suddenly investigate and maybe find out the truth."
Lu Mingzhe: "Master Pan is not an official, he can come and go as he pleases, so he can delay. But I cannot delay. If I delay, I'm afraid I'll lose my official position."
Pan Jun looked at him in surprise: "Lord Lu, you don't know how to delay a case? Such a big case, let alone dragging it out for half a year, wouldn't it be normal for it to drag it out for three or five years?"
Lu Mingzhe frowned as he looked at her.
Pan Yun counted on his fingers and said, "I'll change my statement first, and you change the direction of the investigation. When they ask you for results, you report the case details. This month, you say the bandit leader confessed to the names of several Japanese pirates involved. Next month, you say you're verifying it. The month after that, you check the accounts of these bandit leaders' collusion with the Japanese pirates..."
Pan Yun moved closer to him and said meaningfully, "Lord Lu, the reason why those four families are doing everything they can to obstruct the lifting of the sea ban is because they are making huge profits from smuggling. And if you want to make money by smuggling in this sea area, who can beat the Japanese pirates?"
Lu Mingzhe suddenly realized, turned around sharply and stared at her, saying, "Actually, they do collude with the pirates. They're just throwing mud at the Japanese pirates to draw our attention to a knot in the rope that we're supposed to untie..."
"It's just a matter of solving it sooner or later," Pan Yun straightened up and chuckled, "That's what you call different paths leading to the same destination."
That's one possible approach, but...
"If this matter involves the Empress Dowager, it is indeed difficult to investigate."
Pan Yun said, "It involves not only the Empress Dowager, but also a prince. If I'm not mistaken, the remaining two people are also of high status and power."
Lu Mingzhe tensed up, sat down sullenly, and remained silent with his head down.
Pan Jun sat down next to him and said, "I won't laugh at you if you give up now, Lord Lu."
Lu Mingzhe clenched his fists and said after a long while, "Although I am not a good official, I know that such violations of national policy are a scourge on the country. If we do not eliminate them now and deter others, even bigger problems will arise in the future. However, it will probably not be easy to get to the bottom of this."
Pan Yun: "Even if we can't catch the most important person behind the scenes, cut off his hands and feet, and make him dare not to reach out and kick recklessly again, it will still be considered a success."
Lu Mingzhe laughed: "That's exactly what I meant."
With the same goal in mind, the two sighed in unison, exchanged a glance, and couldn't help but laugh.
The two laughed for a while. Lu Mingzhe looked at the things on the table, nodded and said, "I have accepted the physical evidence. I will also record your testimony. I will personally interrogate those pirates later."
Pan Yun nodded and asked, "By the way, there are rumors outside that several pirates have died. How many exactly? The bandit leader is still alive, isn't he?"
Lu Mingzhe smiled but remained silent.
Pan Yun raised her hand and said, "Okay, okay, forget I asked."
Pan Yun stood up, but Lu Mingzhe quickly stopped her: "Some people have built a stone temple for you by the harbor. I took a look and found it to be quite simple. Master Pan has made great contributions in both suppressing the pirates and lifting the sea ban. The people have built a temple for you, and the government should fully support it. So I will ask the local gentry to donate money to build a temple for you on the original site. Once the temple is completed, I would like to ask Master Pan to come and take a look."
Pan Jun's eyes lit up, but she said reservedly, "Isn't that inappropriate? Where should the temple be built? Could we build a temple for my master, Master Pan? Oh, you don't know my master, do you? My master is the God of Sanqing Mountain, named Master Pan."
Lu Mingzhe: "...Master Pan is a deity, and this is the sacred site of Mazu. I'm afraid it's not appropriate to establish a temple here."
"Then I..."
After looking her up and down, Lu Mingzhe said, "Master Pan doesn't have this problem. The people are happy to build a temple for Master Pan and enshrine his longevity tablet."
Pan Yun understood: "I get it. I'm a human, far from being a deity. Worshipping me won't affect your worship of Mazu."
Lu Mingzhe smiled and said, "It's mainly a small token of the people's goodwill, wanting to pray for Master Pan's well-being."
Pan Yun was also very happy and said with a smile, "Then I will respectfully accept your offer. I will definitely come to see it once it is completed."
"The New Year is approaching, so the temple needs to be built slowly. We'll leave the existing stone temple as is, to give the people something to look forward to. The temple will be built next to it. I estimate that it should be completed before the Dragon Raises its Head next year."
Pan Yun replied, "I will definitely come to visit next year if I have the time." "What are your plans next, Master Pan?"
Pan Jun: "I have given you the physical evidence and re-recorded your statement. Since you want to delay, I will leave first. I happen to have something to do, which may open a door to this case from another angle. So I will leave Quanzhou tomorrow."
Tomorrow is the Little New Year, and Lu Mingzhe couldn't very well stop her. Besides, her leaving would give him more excuses to delay the case, so he nodded in agreement.
"Tomorrow, I, Lu, will be going to various counties for inspections, so I'm afraid I won't be able to see Master Pan off."
Pan Yun didn't need him to see her off, but before leaving, she wanted to put a merit stone in her stone temple.
With the merit stone there, she can better absorb the thoughts and merits of believers.
These things are extremely beneficial to both her and the Spirit Realm.
So when she returned to the Maritime Trade Office, she locked herself in her room, took out the merit stone that had already been cut twice, and after a few gestures, cut out a stone as thick as a thumb.
Pan Yun, carrying the merit stone, ran into Cao Jixiang, who had just returned to the backyard, as soon as she opened the door.
When Cao Jixiang saw her, his brows relaxed and his face became kind: "Is Daoist Sanzhu going out?"
Pan Yun nodded: "Let's go for a walk."
Cao Jixiang pulled the money bag off his waist and stuffed it into Pan Jun's hand: "Take this. It's almost New Year's. Buy some good food and fun things."
Thinking it over, he took off the jade pendant hanging from his waist and the three rings on his fingers and stuffed them into Pan Yun's hand: "Ask me if you need more, I have some money here."
Pan Yun: ...
She looked up at him blankly.
Cao Jixiang looked at her with shining eyes. He was usually calm and composed, and she had only seen him look at the emperor once in a while.
She knew that the emperor was always unique in his heart, so how could he look at her like that?
Pan Yun touched the merit stone in her sleeve without making a sound, nodded silently to him, and accepted the money bag, jade pendant, and ring he had given her.
His gaze followed Pan Yun until she walked out of the courtyard gate.
As she walked out, everyone greeted her warmly.
Miao Zhen and the others, who were standing far away, rushed over like swallows returning to their nests and clung to her, refusing to leave.
Okay, I understand. This small piece of merit stone is indeed very powerful when held in your hand. She quietly tossed it into the spiritual realm, and Miaozhen and Miaohe got off her, grinning foolishly at her.
Pan Yun affectionately patted their heads.
"Junior Uncle, where are you going?"
“Go to the seaside and see. Prefect Lu said that the people built a temple for me by the sea.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong immediately came over: "I want to go too."
Beauty: "Me too."
Pan Yun: "So proactive?"
Xiao Hong complained, "You won't let us go out to play at night. We're so bored staying in the Maritime Trade Office all the time."
Pan Yun brought them all along, including Xue Shao and Xi Jin: "Perfect timing, we're setting off tomorrow, so let's make today our last day of relaxation."
The group strolled to the beach.
Temples, of course, cannot be built on the port; they must be some distance away.
Pan Yun seemed to be able to sense the incense offerings. She led them as they walked, and the more they walked, the more familiar the path became with them.
Before long, the group appeared on a widened road. The road was still covered with bushes and weeds on both sides, but the road had been widened by an equal amount of 10 feet on each side, allowing two carriages to pass side by side with a little room.
Everyone turned to look at Pan Yun.
Pan Yun swallowed hard, looking at the bend ahead, and murmured, "It's probably closer to the sea up ahead; this road would be shorter..."
Wang Cong scratched his head: "How about we go take a look?"
The group stepped forward, turned the corner, and watched silently.
This is where Pan Yun and his men first fought against bandits by the sea. It was here that A Xin's former master, Kikuchi Takehoku, was trampled to death by Pan Yun.
The treasure map was also obtained here.
The once eerie place is now filled with the smoke of incense.
When they came last time, only some trees had been cut down to let the sun shine through, so it didn't look so scary.
But the ground was littered with skeletons, so Prefect Lu ordered his men to collect them and bury them on the spot.
Besides the large grave that Pan Jun and his group had dug up, which contained many remains, there were also nearly a hundred other graves scattered around the area.
Beside a cluster of graves stands a mountain made of stones, on which is written a cloth: "Respectfully erected by Pan Yun, the Longevity Temple of Daoist Sanzhu".
The stone pagoda was surrounded by incense sticks and candles. There were probably so many people worshipping that there wasn't enough space in front of it, so a special area for burning incense and candles was cleared out next to it, with rows of incense sticks and candles. At this moment, there were still more than a dozen candles burning, indicating that the people who burned incense had just left not long ago.
The group stopped in front of the stone tower and watched silently.
Before they could react, footsteps came from the end of the road. Everyone turned to look and saw about ten people carrying baskets walking towards them.
Among them were men and women, old and young, all dressed in thin clothes, patched layer upon layer. In the freezing cold, only two of them wore cloth shoes, while the rest were still wearing straw sandals.
Pan Yun watched silently, and when she saw them walking towards them, she took a few steps back to observe them.
They came up, gave them a strange look, and didn't dare to say anything. They stopped in front of the stone tower and took the things out of the basket.
Some had a bowl of rice, some had a fish, some had meat...
They set everything out in front of the stone tower and began to burn incense and candles.
Holding incense sticks, he murmured, "Please, Master Sanzhu, bless us so that we can successfully rent a boat and set sail. May everything go smoothly, and may we catch a big fish..."
The person next to him said, "Master Sanzhu, please bless me so that I may return safely tonight and not encounter any pirates at sea..."
Pan Yun listened silently, her fists clenching slightly.
After they finished lighting the incense, they turned back to look at Pan Yun and the others, and asked, "Aren't you going to pray?" (End of Chapter)