There is a god in the sky

Chapter 370 Joint Trial by the Three Judicial Offices 11

Marquis Pingyang stared intently at the academy.

Even Shen Lan could see that this was the best location, so as the general in charge of the troops, he naturally could as well.

"But there are hundreds of students in the academy. If Tong Yiwen had been keeping assassins near the academy, shouldn't he have been discovered long ago?"

Suiying stepped forward and said, "I visited the academy before. The students spend their days either reading or sleeping. Even if they can leave the academy, they only have one or two places to relax. Many places are restricted in their access."

“There’s a place we didn’t go to last time,” Shen Lan said, pointing to the back of the academy.

"None of us have ever seen the other side of this mountain."

“That’s a cliff.” Suiying remembered asking the people at the academy.

Marquis Pingyang, with a pen in his mouth, took it out and drew a circle around the academy.

"An hour later, we will split into two groups. Half of the men will go with you to search the academy, while the other half will be led by me to search the last area."

If you spot anything, remember to signal, and I will bring men over immediately.

After speaking, the Marquis of Pingyang went to muster his troops, and three thousand imperial guards lined up on both sides.

He pointed out a junior officer from the Imperial Guard and introduced him, saying, "His name is Li Ye. He is a newcomer to the Imperial Guard, but he is highly skilled in martial arts. He will lead half of the Imperial Guard to accompany you."

Shen Lan and Li Ye exchanged a glance and nodded to each other with normal expressions.

After the troops split into two groups, Shen Lan and Li Ye walked at the front.

"Why are you here?" Li Ye had deliberately walked towards Shen Lan earlier.

Marquis Pingyang has trusted confidants under his command, so it shouldn't be his turn to lead the team.

However, his martial arts skills were among the best in the Imperial Guards, and the Marquis of Pingyang greatly admired him. He probably wanted to give him a chance to make a name for himself this time.

"The city is starting to fall into chaos. If we can't catch Tong Yiwen soon, we'll be the ones who lose in the end."

They've come this far with great difficulty; they absolutely cannot let it all go to waste.

By the time the group reached the outside of the academy, it was already dawn.

Most of the students at the academy had already gotten up early; some were reading, while others were practicing the Five Animal Frolics.

When they saw the Imperial Guards rushing in, their first reaction was not fear, but curiosity.

"What's going on? Has the Emperor arrived at the academy?"

Prince Wen had already received the news and knew what had happened in the city. He asked in a panic, "What happened? Could it be that Headmaster Tong really...? Then can I go down the mountain?"

Li Ye, unaware of his identity, ordered his men, "Guard the door and don't allow anyone to enter or leave!"

Prince Wen shouted, "Who are you? What right do you have to stop me from going down the mountain?"

Shen Lan stepped in to comfort him and took him aside for questioning.

She felt that, given Prince Wen's personality and the time he had spent at the academy, he might know some clues.

Prince Wen felt relieved to see her.

"It's Counselor Shen! Has another murder occurred at the academy?"

"No, we're here to see Headmaster Tong. Has he returned these past few days?"

Prince Wen curled his lip, "You've even sealed off the academy, can't you go find it yourselves?"

Shen Lan pretended to glance around and sighed, "The academy is too big. It's so easy to hide someone there. And there's such a large area in the back mountain. Have you ever been to the back mountain?"

"I've been there. Isn't there a viewing platform up there?"

"Has the young master ever reached the summit? What lies on the other side of the mountain?"

Wen Shizi blurted out, "The top is completely bare, and the other side is a cliff where people have fallen to their deaths. You don't actually think that Headmaster Tong is hiding in the mountains, do you?"

He burst into laughter and mocked, "You don't actually think that Headmaster Tong is hiding on the mountaintop, do you? He's a man of high moral character, how could he be so timid and hesitant?"

"You people want to depose the Crown Prince, and you're even targeting the Tong family! That's bad enough, but Headmaster Tong is just an old teacher, yet you still won't let him go. It's truly shameful and hateful!"

Shen Lan suddenly realized: "So the Duke of Wen's mansion is also part of the Crown Prince's faction."

Prince Wen jumped up, pointed at Shen Lan, and cursed, "What do you mean by 'Crown Prince Party'? The Crown Prince is still the Crown Prince! You villains are the ones who threaten the stability of the country!"

Shen Lan approached him, looked into his eyes, and asked, "So, in Prince Wen's eyes, the Crown Prince, who steals other people's treasures, kills innocent people indiscriminately, and disregards human life, is actually the future of the country?"

"It's all your doing, who knows if it's true?"

Shen Lan grabbed his collar, forcing him to look her in the eye, "Young Master Wen, do you dare to make a bet with me?"

"Bet...bet on what?"

"Let's bet whether what I'm saying is true or false. If it's false, may my Shen family be wiped out and the dead never be reincarnated. If it's true, for the next hundred years, the Wen family must sweep the tombs of Guli Town every year and burn paper money as tribute for the people who died unjustly. How about it?"

Prince Wen felt a toothache just listening to it; the stakes were too high.

His tone softened somewhat as he asked Shen Lan, "The dead cannot be brought back to life, so why are you so fixated on revenge? If the Crown Prince is deposed, the court will be in turmoil, and people's hearts will be unsettled. It won't just be a small town that will die."

Shen Lan sneered, "I, Shen Lan, am just an ordinary person. I'm not that noble, nor do I have that much vision or magnanimity."

If it were Prince Wen who suffered this calamity, could you bear to watch your enemy live so freely?

Prince Wen was speechless.

Just thinking about it made him feel like his anger was about to burst out of his chest; how could he possibly hold back?

He looked up at the sky and asked weakly, "Then I'll just stay out of your business. Could you let me down the mountain?"

Shen Lan walked past him and went inside.

The longer the delay, the lower the probability of finding it.

She walked towards the elegant residence at the back, and the Imperial Guards searched the surrounding area along the way.

It would be impossible to do this in a populated area, otherwise the news would not be kept secret.

Shen Lan went to Tong Yiwen's residence, where everything was neatly arranged, as if it had been specially tidied up after he left.

When Li Ye first came here, he looked at the simple and unadorned wooden house in front of him and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Who would have thought that the Tong family embezzled so much money, yet the patriarch lived in such a place? His character is truly resolute; no wonder he could deceive so many people."

Shen Lan rummaged through the cabinets and realized that this place was more like a showroom set up specifically for people to see, completely devoid of any sense of life.

The clothes in the closet were old, but there were no signs of them being worn.

"When people travel, their reputation is self-made, and their public image can be created."

He rarely leaves the mountain, and not many people truly know him…

Shen Lan suddenly thought of something and instructed Li Ye: "Send someone to bring all the teachers and servants of the academy here. Perhaps they will know something."

If Shen Lan remembered correctly, many of the teachers in the academy were personally hired by Tong Yiwei and had close relationships with him.

As for the servants, whether they were gatekeepers or sweepers, they certainly knew more about this place than the students.

The Imperial Guards were extremely efficient.

Those arrested were all ordinary people with no fighting ability and no intention of resisting.

When the students saw that their teacher had been arrested, some of them rushed forward to save him without hesitation.

"On what grounds are they arresting people? What wrong have these teachers committed?"

"Release them immediately, or we will definitely report your crimes to the Emperor!"

Most of these students came from wealthy and powerful families, so the imperial guards dared not beat them recklessly.

Li Ye swung his spear, shoving a group of students who had caught up with him away. He then warned them with a stern face, "We are here on the Emperor's orders to arrest people. If you obstruct official business again, you will all be punished for disobeying the imperial decree!"