Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

Before, it was Xu Xiaoxun playing games with the Huang Family and various major forces from Tianfeng Prefecture. Now times have changed. Xu Xiaoxun has died, and the matter has caught the attention of Feng Linsu. Compared to the commandant of Jiangbei Circuit, who is the highest official in the region, the seventh prince was hardly worth mentioning.

Yi Chen is not Feng Linsu, but Huang Family Head is no seventh prince either.

Huang Family Head fell silent for a moment, "My lord has traveled thousands of miles to come here. My Huang Family is willing to offer one hundred thousand taels of silver to the Town Peace Office for the renovation of the residence, to assist the lord in the investigation to the best of our modest ability."

"One hundred thousand taels isn't enough. I want one million taels!" Yi Chen declared categorically.

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible. Selling my Huang Family wouldn't even fetch that much money," the Huang Family Head jumped up as if he were a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Family Head, no need to worry. The Huang Family doesn't have to spend any money on this matter, and you might even stand to gain from it." Under the telepathic instruction from Yi Chen, Master Li began to speak.

"Let the Huang Family lead by donating silver, and persuade the great clans and merchants of Tianfeng Prefecture to contribute together. Huang Family Head donates two hundred thousand, and the rest donate the remaining eight hundred thousand. The collected silver will then be split between us; twenty percent for you, eighty percent for us!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Family Head was shocked.

Qi Yuan and others were also startled.

They all turned to look at Yi Chen, who was sipping tea with a smile, as if they had seen a ghost.

"Family Head, for your peace of mind, as part of your persuasions, I will close down the most wicked family today. The market share they leave behind can be divided amongst your major forces, and their property confiscated."

"Qi Brother, you will handle this matter later. Bring with you the ledgers and evidence from the Town Peace Office. We can't be accused of punishing without teaching," Yi Chen said.

All the major family merchants have reached their size with a pile of shady dealings beneath them.

Yi Chen took a sip of tea leisurely.

His tone was chilling and filled with threats.

With Xu Xiaoxun dead, things had come to a pivot. It serves Tianfeng Prefecture right to be unlucky; their old relationships are useless unless they extend to Feng Linsu.

Just as Qian Yueru once used an excuse to completely uproot the Chen Family of Longjiang Prefecture, Yi Chen could seize a few houses on the pretext of investigating Xu Xiaoxun's case without any worry.

"What a skillful move, my lord."

"I need some time. I will have an answer for my lord tomorrow," Huang Family Head said through gritted teeth.

He was a clever man, and he could surely read between the lines of what Yi Chen implied.

Knocking the mountain to shock the tiger! Expelling the tiger to devour the wolf!

The seizure of the merchant's assets today was not only to open the way for his own persuasions but also a threat.

If he failed to gather the one million taels, they would take his Huang Family as collateral!

If today they could take the market share left by the confiscated family and distribute it to others to appease the remaining families, tomorrow they could turn the tables on his Huang Family!

...

...

After leaving the Huang Residence, Qi Yuan's face was full of excitement.

Unlike other prefectures, his Town Peace Office in Tianfeng Prefecture had suffered too much frustration. The major forces in Tianfeng Prefecture had entrenched interests. The established patterns of benefit meant that his Town Peace Office could only proceed with caution, never before having the domineering presence they had today.

"Lord Yi, whose family are we going to raid?" Qi Yuan asked excitedly.

His two subordinates who held the rank of thousand households also had faces flushing with anticipation.

"Just pick one with the worst reputation. This is a minor matter. Qi Brother, first tell me, how exactly did Xu Xiaoxun, the Commissioner of Defense, die?"

At Yi Chen's light statement, the rise and fall of a family was decided. Yi Chen had been in the city for half a day, and only now did he begin to inquire about Xu Xiaoxun's case.

Several days had passed, so it was expected that the Town Peace Office's experts had already investigated the cause of Xu Xiaoxun's death.

"Back to my lord, Commissioner Xu died from the Yin Illusion Heart-Draining Palm," Qi Yuan replied.

"Commissioner Xu had been investigating the case of missing people around Tianfeng Prefecture for many years, and it seemed that he had recently made a significant discovery. Having worked with him for years, I noticed that his movements were secretive in the days before his death, and then news came out that he died within his own residence."

"Right, Commissioner Xu had a lover, who was taken in ten years ago. After the incident with Commissioner Xu, this person vanished without a trace, as if evaporated from the world."

"I suspect it's the work of the Yin Illusion Demon Sect. Only they have such experts and the strength, along with the ambition, to challenge our Town Peace Office."

"The cultivation techniques of the Yin Illusion Demon Sect are extremely tricky, adept at concealing movements and deluding others. I fear that the disappearances of people around Tianfeng Prefecture are also their covert doings."

At this moment, Qi Yuan was wholeheartedly impressed by Yi Chen's strength and tactics, deciding to board Yi Chen's ship. He spilled everything he knew like pouring out beans.

Although he disliked Xu Xiaoxun's rigid conservatism that blocked his own way, he still felt indignant and sympathetic over the death of a long-time colleague without cause within his own jurisdiction.

The Yin Illusion Heart-Draining Palm, it was that technique again!Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Yi Chen's brows drew tightly together. He thought of his own encounter with the Yin Empress and his experience being assassinated.

"Could it really be that the Yin Illusion Demon Sect wants to take advantage of the current upheavals in the world and be the first to stir up trouble?" Yi Chen mused internally.

"Qi Brother, the identity and background of Commissioner Xu Xiaoxun's partner must be investigated thoroughly. They must be a key figure in this case," Yi Chen sensed that Xu Xiaoxun's missing partner was a crucial person in this incident.

"My lord, I have already sent people to secretly investigate, but unfortunately, this person seems to have just sprung out of the stone. They appeared suddenly by Commissioner Xu's side and now just as suddenly have disappeared," Qi Yuan said with a wry smile.

...

...

The night sky was starry but moonless.

Jinyi City, the Prince's mansion.

Enjoy new stories from empire

Prince Yue Jinyi, like a modest gentleman, received Huang Family Head in plain clothes within his mansion.

Facing the sunny Prince Yue Jinyi, Huang Family Head was even more nervous, not even daring to fully sit on the chair.