Chapter 323: Mastermind

Chapter 323

Xiao Jingyan took out a realistic painting of the Chidong Dam after the flood drawn by the painters from Ruyi Gallery, and explained in detail to Xiao Jingheng:

"Your Majesty, take a closer look. The broken section of the great dam has ragged and steep ruins. If it was broken by the impact of the flood, the cross section should be a straight line. The fact that it is shattered in many places indicates that a large amount of explosives were likely buried to deliberately blast the dam."

"Blasted?" Xiao Jingheng's expression was slightly shocked. "It takes a lot of explosives to blast the dam, it must have caused a big commotion to set it up. Moreover, the flooding caused by the blasted dam brought disaster to living beings. What was the purpose of the people who did this?"

Xiao Jingyan said, "Chidong Dam is located in a remote area, usually with few visitors. Coupled with the continuous thunderstorms in the days preceding the incident, even fewer people would have passed through that area. If someone really buried explosives with sinister intentions, they only need to act secretly and it would not have been difficult.

Moreover, after the incident, the floodwaters submerged the dam, leaving no trace of the remaining explosives. As for whether it was actually blasted, I can only speculate based on the condition of the broken dam surface, and have no evidence."

On the day the Chidong Dam collapsed, the surging floodwaters quickly submerged the dam, making it impossible to investigate many matters.

Now that Xiao Jingyan brought back such news, it would inevitably make Xiao Jingheng think more and worry more.

"If it really happened as you speculated, then the purpose of the people who did this was not to watch Qi fall into chaos and profit from it."

Xiao Jingyan self-deprecatingly admitted his stupidity, and was unable to continue analyzing with Xiao Jingheng.

The next day was the day when the Imperial Astronomical Bureau entered Pure Palace to give the imperial heir in Consort Hui's belly a fortune.

Ever since Tan Yuezhi's predictions of the assassination attempt on Xiao Jingheng and the flooding in Jiangnan came true, he has been favored by Xiao Jingheng.

Therefore, the person giving fortunes to Consort Hui today was naturally him.

Fortune-telling requires no outside disturbances, so Consort Hui dismissed all the palace maids.

When only Tan Yuezhi and her were left in the hall, Tan Yuezhi did not give fortunes to her unborn child. Instead, he whispered to her,

"Yesterday, His Majesty asked me to divine whether there are foreign tribes who do not submit to Qi and make trouble in secret."

She tiptoed and whispered beside Tan Yuezhi's ear, giggling,

"Hehe~ You've seen your wife suffering from the illness, with every inch of her skin ulcerated and bleeding, in unbearable pain. You don't want her to suffer like that again, do you?"

Her words seemed to touch the incurable wounds in Tan Yuezhi's heart.

It made Tan Yuezhi shudder for a moment, gritting his teeth with temples pulsating,

"Rest assured, I will do my utmost to serve our master loyally!"

That day, after leaving the palace, Tan Yuezhi did not go home as usual, but went to Tianxiang Building like he always did.

He had to come here five times a month.

Every time, it was to catch Mr. Hehuan, Tianxiang Building's top courtesan, performing.

Hehuan was as beautiful as a flower, and whenever she performed, Tianxiang Building would be packed without an empty seat. Most people came to see her beauty, but Tan Yuezhi's state of mind was different.

He came only because Hehuan looked seven parts similar to his wife.

When he was tipsy, he could even mistake Hehuan for his wife,

and take comfort in watching her from afar.

However, today, when Hehuan had just finished her dance and was about to leave the stage, she was harassed by several drunk rogues who surrounded her in a corner, groping her and speaking vulgar words.

"Pretending what? You come out to sell yourself anyway!"

One of them took out a stack of cash and threw it at Hehuan's frightened face,

"I have money! What's the difference between performing and selling your body? Aren't you just selling to men?"