The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 59 The Imperial Seal

Yang Jian was in a daze for almost a day and a night after his ordeal. He was in a daze when he went to court the next day.

After listening to the memorials from several ministers, all of which concerned trivial matters, he suddenly realized that the atmosphere in the court was a bit off.

Logically speaking, with the case of Dugu Tuo's cat demon solved yesterday, there should be a fierce battle in the court today.

The current situation is a bit too calm.

Looking down the steps, Gao Jiong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who supported the Crown Prince, and Yang Su, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who supported Yang Guang, were both absent!

No wonder.

Yang Jian thought to himself, and after the court session, he asked the eunuch beside him, "Why didn't Yang Su and Gao Jiong come?"

The eunuch replied, "Your Majesty, both of them are ill and at home, unable to attend court."

"What a coincidence, you both got sick at the same time?"

Yang Jian frowned, and after a moment said, "Take a few imperial physicians and go to their house to take a look."

At the same time, Yang Su sent someone to find Jiang Feng and invited him to his residence.

Jiang Feng was led to his back courtyard, where he saw Yang Su lying on the couch, her face pale and her voice weak.

"Chief Steward Jiang, I have been unwell and cannot perform the full ceremony. Please forgive me."

Jiang Feng looked him over suspiciously: "Yesterday you were full of energy, telling me all about human relationships and customs. How come you got into an accident after just one day?"

Yang Su gave a wry smile: "Steward Jiang, you don't know, but I haven't been able to eat since I got home. I've been starving all day."

Jiang Feng said, "If you can't eat, you should see a doctor."

Yang Su shook his head slightly and ordered someone to bring in the food.

Soon after, someone brought out steaming hot food.

Yang Su stared at the food on the table, her expression complex, and said, "Please take a look, Steward Jiang."

Jiang Feng looked up and saw that the steam rising from the food had turned blood red. Before long, all the food had turned blood red and was emitting a bloody smell.

Yang Su looked at Jiang Feng with a helpless expression and said, "You've seen it all, haven't you? As soon as I eat, the food turns into this. Who can eat food like this... except for this Miss Ao Ying?"

He turned to look, and saw that Ao Ying had jumped to the table at some point, picked up the rice bowl without any hesitation, and devoured the food on the table like a whirlwind, praising as she ate, "Delicious! Even better than the Cui family's chef!"

Jiang Feng frowned slightly as he looked at the inexplicable aura of bloodlust: "Duke Yue, have you recently wiped out any entire families?"

Yang Su's expression froze for a moment, then he quickly explained, "No, absolutely not! Since I became the Right Chancellor, I have never used force against anyone!"

Jiang Feng shook his head and said, "No, to condense this bloodthirsty aura, you would have to kill at least a hundred people. Even if it wasn't you, it was your family who did it. You should investigate this quickly."

Any later, and you won't even need to eat. Before you starve to death, you'll be consumed by the bloodthirsty energy.

Yang Su's expression changed drastically. After thinking for a moment, he instructed the steward beside him, "Go and investigate what Yang Xuangan has been doing recently!"

Jiang Feng stopped the steward and said, "Don't rush off yet. Write down your master's daily routine over the past two weeks for me."

The steward brought paper and pen and quickly wrote down Yang Su's recent situation.

Jiang Feng picked up the document, looked at it for a while, and nodded with a smile.

Yang Su asked expectantly, "Steward Jiang, have you found the source of this bloodthirsty aura?"

Jiang Feng suddenly realized what was going on and said, "Oh, this information has nothing to do with your matter. Your wife gave me one hundred taels of gold to check if you've been seeing any other women lately!"

"Huh??" Yang Su's eyes widened immediately.

With a stunned expression on his face, Jiang Feng took the documents to Zheng Shi, received the gold, and returned to Yang Su Mian with satisfaction.

On his way back, he stopped by the kitchen and grabbed three steamed buns, which he then handed to Yang Su after casting a spell.

"Duke of Yue, you should eat sparingly. Until you find the source of the bloodthirsty energy, you'll have to live on these three steamed buns."

Yang Su stared at the three steamed buns in front of her, grinding her teeth in anger: "Couldn't you have given me more? My family is short of steamed buns!"

Jiang Feng said meaningfully, "Your family is really short of supplies. If you don't believe me, ask the manager."

The steward looked at Ao Ying with a distressed expression and said, "Master, this young lady has eaten all the ingredients in the kitchen, not even a grain of rice or a grain of salt is left..."

Yang Su: "..."

Who let her in! Next time we need to put up a sign at the kitchen door: Ao Ying and the dog are not allowed!

Upon leaving the Yang residence, Jiang Feng encountered Qi Hui and Wang Yuanzhi at the intersection. Seeing them coming out of Gao Jiong's house, he curiously walked over.

"Hey? What were you two plotting at Gao Jiong's house? Are you planning to pledge allegiance to the Crown Prince and conspire together on something big?"

Without even turning around, just hearing such bold remarks made Wang Yuanzhi and the other man tremble, knowing that Jiang Feng had arrived.

Wang Yuanzhi turned his head and said irritably, "What nonsense are you spouting all day? Gao Jiong is possessed by an evil spirit and asked the two of us to come and exorcise it for him."

"Gao Jiong was also possessed? What evil spirit did he encounter?"

"It hasn't been found out yet. Last night, when he was sleeping, he vaguely heard someone getting into his bed. When he got up, there was a pool of blood in the bed. Then he was in a daze and couldn't get out of bed."

Master Qi Hui gave him a calming talisman, which temporarily kept him conscious.

As Wang Yuanzhi spoke, he looked at him with suspicion and asked, "What brings you here?"

Jiang Feng smiled: "Oh, I came to Tongyifang to find Li Yuan, hoping to plot something important with him!"

Wang Yuanzhi: "@#￥%￥#@……"

Is it really okay to say this so openly and honestly?!

He Qihui and the other person exchanged a glance, then used earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic in Chinese fantasy novels) to leave together, not even leaving a trace for Jiang Feng, so as not to be implicated by him...

Jiang Feng quickly found the residence where Li Yuan lived.

After introducing himself, Li Yuan and his family came out to greet him: "This humble servant, Li Yuan, greets Chief Steward Jiang! I apologize for not welcoming you properly."

"Chief Steward Jiang, this is my son Jiancheng, and my daughter Xiuning. Please greet Chief Steward Jiang."

Li Jiancheng is ten years old this year, but he looks like a little adult, bowing to Jiang Feng in a very formal manner.

Li Xiuning was a bit younger, with long, fluttering eyelashes and big, round eyes. She was about the same height as Ao Ying and was specially called out by Li Yuan to play with Ao Ying.

The group entered the reception room, and Li Yuan asked with a hint of doubt, "May I ask what brings Steward Jiang to see me today?"

He had never crossed paths with Jiang Feng before, yet he knew Jiang Feng's name like the back of his hand. He had even arranged for money to be prepared in advance, just in case Jiang Feng came to freeload...

Jiang Feng smiled and handed over a red box: "I've come to deliver the Imperial Seal of the State to you!"

"ah?!!"

Li Yuan trembled, his face turning deathly pale with fright.

With a look of fear and unease, he carefully examined the red box a few times, but his fear quickly subsided.

It was a beautifully packaged soft box containing twenty long strips of clearly distinguishable yellow and white liquor. The box was prominently labeled with the words "Chuan Guo Yu Xi" (a type of traditional Chinese liquor).