amaotonovel Chapter 1121 Investigation 4
Chapter 1121 Investigation 4
The people discussed the matter amongst themselves after hearing it. Seeing how dangerous the empress was, they dared not linger and took their leave as soon as possible to inform their relatives.
Jiang Fenghua looked in the direction of Yue Anying.
Yue Anying was also stunned at this moment. She realized that she seemed to have made a big mistake and didn't know how to explain it to her family.
No matter how she tried to stop it... it seemed to be useless.
"I'm not sure if the golden toad from the Living Buddha Temple has escaped and is harming the people. Miss Aying, please don't wander around. It's dangerous everywhere right now." Jiang Fenghua's eyes were full of concern.
Yue Anying wasn't stopped earlier. She witnessed the gold and silver falling out of the destroyed Buddhist temple. In the end, she even saw golden toads attacking the soldiers in the secret door. She thought it was her ruby, but when the soldiers lit up the secret passage with torches, she realized that it wasn't her ruby inside, but more poisonous golden toads.
The old clan chief's order to her was to go to the Central Plains to find Wu Yirong, and then release the toad...
It seems she messed things up.
"Miss Aying," Jiang Fenghua called out again.
Yue Anying asked, "What's wrong with Her Majesty the Empress?"
"I told you not to run around, or you might get hurt by a toad."
Yue Anying wanted to say that she was the one who raised the golden toad, so she said, "Thank you for the reminder, Your Majesty. We will be careful."
"There are so many golden toads in this temple, what does Your Highness plan to do with them?" Yue Anying asked casually.
Jiang Fenghua pondered for a moment, "Is there any way to completely eliminate them? These things have a strong reproductive capacity, like a plague. Once a person gets infected, they will definitely die. Their venom is very poisonous."
Yue Anying said, "As long as we don't attack them, there shouldn't be any danger."
Jiang Fenghua seemed not to have heard her clearly and said coldly, "Burn them! Toads are afraid of fire. Smother them in the Living Buddha Temple and turn them into ashes. They shouldn't reproduce anymore!"
"Are we really going to burn them to death?" Yue Anying asked urgently, her pupils shrinking.
Jiang Fenghua asked, "What's wrong, Miss Aying?"
Yue Anying showed a pained expression, "I think all things have a spirit, they are all life. They were just being used by the monks. It's pitiful that they were burned to death."
“Miss Aying is kind-hearted and has the heart of a bodhisattva, but they should be punished for their evil deeds. Miss Aying, come with me, and I will teach you how to deal with bad people.”
Next, Yue Anying followed Jiang Fenghua to see Wu Yirong.
Wu Yirong was also puzzled when he saw her following the Empress. He thought to himself: Could it be that Miss Yue Anying has successfully gained the Empress's trust?
Yue Anying also had her own thoughts; she wanted to find a way to meet with Wu Yirong alone.
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Is the kerosene ready?"
Zhang Qian said, "There is a lot of kerosene in the temple, which can be used to burn the golden toads in the cellar, but the temple will also be burned down."
Your servant discovered a passage between the temple and the back mountain. The people who disappeared before did not pass through the temple, but entered through the passage in the back mountain. There is also an underground river below the temple, which should be the water source they used to raise toads. Your servant is worried that the fire will not be able to burn through and will instead force the golden toads to enter the underground river and escape.
Toads prefer damp, shady environments. It's unknown where this underground river leads, or whether the toads here have flowed into it.
Zhang Qian observed the geographical environment and concluded that any place with water was likely a habitat for toads.
"Lord Zhang, do you have any way to eliminate them all? We can't let a single one escape," Jiang Fenghua instructed. "The golden toads are highly poisonous; we can't let them harm any more people."
Zhang Qian said in a deep voice, "I don't know exactly how many toads are in the underground river, and they are not easy to catch. I want to lure them out of the underground passage, surround them in the Living Buddha Temple, and then burn them."
Jiang Fenghua's expression was solemn. "But the surrounding mountains and forests are dense. If a fire breaks out, the losses will outweigh the gains."
"I have already ordered people to dig isolation ditches. Even if the entire temple burns down, it won't affect the nearby mountains, forests, and villages. We have no way of knowing the names of these missing people." Zhang Qian's expression was solemn. These victims were probably not all from Jiangzhou. He didn't know where they came from.
Wu Yirong and the Yuezhi clan behind him deserve to die.
"No matter how many there are, exterminate them all, leaving none alive. Eradicate all foreign species that have invaded the Central Plains," Jiang Fenghua said coldly. "I will have local officials compile a list of missing persons..."
She knew it would be difficult to find their family through this method.
Zhang Qian respectfully replied, "That's the only way. I'll get on it right away."
He added, “Although Prefect Wu has not yet been cleared of suspicion, there is no evidence to prove that he conspired with the abbot of the Living Buddha Temple to murder for money. Therefore, I would like to ask Prefect Wu to assist me in eradicating this scourge.”
Pudu didn't implicate Wu Yirong, only mentioning the names of some monks in the temple. Zhang Qian didn't pursue the matter further, nor did he interrogate Hu Kui again.
Jiang Fenghua said to Wu Yirong, "I will give Prefect Wu a chance to redeem himself by eliminating all the harmful Golden Toads in Jiangzhou. Can Prefect Wu do that?"
Wu Yirong paused for a moment, then quickly said, "This humble official will certainly live up to Her Majesty the Empress's high expectations."
Yue Anying could do nothing but watch helplessly as the soldiers poured oil on all the toads they had lured out and burned them to death. She had originally wanted Wu Yirong to come up with a solution, but now she couldn't think of any.
Unless she kidnaps Empress Jiang to blackmail her, her female guards follow her everywhere.
Yue Anying was also wondering where the other people around Jiang Fenghua had gone, as they seemed to have not appeared all day.
Soon, soldiers threw several torches into the secret passage, and a mournful "clucking, croaking" sound came out. Yue Anying also saw them using nets to catch the golden toad.
The omnipotent toad in her eyes has now become fish on their chopping board, easy prey, not strong at all, utterly weak.
Her heart clenched. She stared intently at the inside, wondering if her red treasure was there. What did Jiang Fenghua mean by calling her to watch them burn the golden toads? These golden toads were so hard to raise!
Besides the golden toad in Wu Yirong's possession, there were other toad breeders remaining in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and some in the Northwest as well...
Do they all want to be eliminated?
No, she had to talk to Wu Yirong about how to complete the task assigned by the old clan chief.
While everyone was busy catching toads and setting fires, Yue Anying took advantage of Jiang Fenghua's absence and suddenly stood beside Wu Yirong, coldly saying, "Wu Yirong, come with me."
She called out and went into the shadows.
Wu Yirong was terrified. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he quietly followed and whispered, "Miss Ying, don't come near me. You should leave quickly."
"Where are you going? Do you know the consequences if you don't complete the task assigned to you by the clan leader?" Yue Anying threatened in a low voice, "Now I order you to find a way to stop Empress Jiang from continuing to burn the golden toad."