Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

Zhou Bo’an’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He waved his hand and said calmly, "You are all dismissed. Do not enter unless summoned."

"Yes, sir!"

The other officials in the hall immediately bowed and filed out.

Only Zhou Bo’an and Shen Wenju remained in the study.

Shen Wenju took a deep breath, took two steps forward, and lowered his voice, his expression utterly grave. "Governor, I conducted a thorough search of the Governor of Liyang’s study. I discovered this inside a hidden compartment."

As he spoke, he took out an object carefully wrapped in brocade from his robes and presented it with both hands.

Zhou Bo’an took it and unwrapped the brocade. Inside were two old-looking, thread-bound account books and half of a torn note.

His gaze fell upon the note. As he recognized the contents of the torn half-sheet and made out the few dozen characters written on it, his expression changed abruptly, despite his immense self-control.

He picked up the half-sheet and examined it carefully without a word.

Then, from an inner pocket, he produced the other half of the note. He slowly fitted the two torn pieces together.

"Last year’s Jiangkou Lion Spring Longjing Tea yielded a total of ten catties. Proposal: three catties to the Sect, presenting two to the Governor, sending one to the Governor, and one each to the State Minister, the Jingwu Bureau, the Governor of Linjiang, and the Governor of Liyang. Please advise."

The room fell into a dead silence.

Zhou Bo’an’s gaze lingered on the assembled note for a long time, his face devoid of expression.

Only his fingers, which had been steadily tapping the armrest, had at some point frozen, pressing down so hard that his knuckles turned white.

The aura around him grew somewhat unstable.

After a long while, he slowly raised his eyes to Shen Wenju, his voice low and steady. "Besides you, who else knows the specific contents of this?"

Shen Wenju replied, "Replying to the Governor, only County Captain Zhao Yuanhong and I were present at the time of discovery. I understood the gravity of the situation and sealed it immediately on the spot. No one else knows the contents."

"Zhao Yuanhong..."

Zhou Bo’an uttered the name, his tone flat, betraying no emotion. "Summon him."

"Yes, sir."

Shen Wenju accepted the order and hurried out.

A moment later, Zhao Yuanhong was discreetly led in. He bowed and said, "I pay my respects to the Governor."

Zhou Bo’an got straight to the point, each word carrying immense weight. "Captain Zhao, with Governor He’s unfortunate demise, regulations state that the County Captain has the authority to temporarily assume the duties of the Governor. Do you understand?"

Zhao Yuanhong’s heart pounded. "I understand. I will certainly fulfill my duties, stabilize Liyang, and repay the Court and the Governor."

Zhou Bo’an nodded slightly, but his tone suddenly shifted as he looked directly into Zhao Yuanhong’s eyes. "With high position comes great responsibility. To hold it for long, there are some things one must not say carelessly."

A cold sweat instantly beaded on Zhao Yuanhong’s brow. He immediately understood what Zhou Bo’an was referring to and pointed to the heavens, swearing an oath. "Replying to the Governor, I would not dare speak carelessly! From now on, I will follow only the Governor’s commands!"

Zhou Bo’an watched him quietly for a moment before speaking calmly. "I will report to the Lord Governor, and we will jointly submit a memorial recommending you to act as the Governor of Liyang and stabilize the region. I trust you will not disappoint the Court’s and my expectations."

Overwhelming joy flooded Zhao Yuanhong’s mind. He fell to his knees in gratitude on the spot. "Thank you for your immense grace, Governor! I can only repay you with my life."

Zhou Bo’an nodded, then said calmly, "Rise. Remember your words. I am entrusting Liyang to you. Maintaining stability is paramount. Go."

"Yes! I will take my leave!"

Zhao Yuanhong bowed and withdrew.

After he left, Zhou Bo’an instructed Shen Wenju, "There is no need to investigate this case further for now. Wait until I have reported to the Governor, then we will decide what to do."

"I understand."

Shen Wenju accepted the order.

"Let’s head back."

Zhou Bo’an took the assembled note and tucked both account books into his sleeves.

There was no longer any reason to remain in Liyang.

...

「Jiangzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office.」

Governor Xu Yuanzhi, dressed in a deep cyan robe, leaned leisurely against his zitan wood chair.

With his gaunt face and gentle eyes, he looked more like a great, learned scholar than a Governor in charge of a province’s military and political affairs.

At the moment, he was idly flipping through the two account books from the Celestial Sword Sect’s Black Market that Governor Zhou Bo’an had brought back.

"An annual income of over six million taels of silver. No wonder the Celestial Sword Sect was willing to pay any price to control it back then. This profit is truly tempting."

Xu Yuanzhi looked at Zhou Bo’an, who was seated below him, and said casually, "Bo’an, what do you say? What if we were to take over and run this Black Market?"

Zhou Bo’an frowned slightly and advised, "Central Hall, this matter has far-reaching implications and could easily draw attacks from the Imperial Censors at Court. We absolutely must not."

"I was just speaking casually."

Xu Yuanzhi gave a faint smile. "To get back to the matter at hand, what is your take on the incidents in Liyang and Jiangkou?"

Zhou Bo’an collected his thoughts and analyzed, "Based on the current clues, the death of Liyang’s Governor He Mingyun is most likely related to the Cao Family and the Celestial Sword Sect. As for the Celestial Sword Sect’s Black Market being uprooted, it’s possible He Mingyun and the Cao Family were involved in planning it from behind the scenes. It’s highly likely this was the result of infighting among the three parties. That is my humble opinion."

Xu Yuanzhi remained noncommittal. After listening quietly, he asked, "If that’s the case, how do you believe we should handle this now?"

Zhou Bo’an replied, "The deaths of He Mingyun and Yan Wenlu will be impossible to hide, so we must report them to the Court as they happened. However, the deaths of the Jiangkou County Magistrate, the Director of Liyang Criminal Justice Department, and the others can be handled as a Jianghu vendetta case. There is no need to submit a special report, so as not to escalate the situation.

The most difficult part right now is that if we dig too deeply into the deaths of He and Yan, it will easily lead back to the Celestial Sword Sect’s Black Market and the transfer of benefits. That would attract those butchers from the Garrison Command, and the consequences would be unimaginable. What if... we report that they died of illness?"

Xu Yuanzhi slowly shook his head. "Bo’an, your idea is a safe one, but this matter isn’t that simple."

Zhou Bo’an was taken aback. "Central Hall, you mean...?"

Xu Yuanzhi said, "He Mingyun and the Cao Family might have the courage to pull some strings in the shadows. But to say they have the ability and the nerve to uproot the Celestial Sword Sect’s Black Market... Bo’an, you overestimate them. The destruction of the Celestial Sword Sect’s Black Market and the deaths of He Mingyun and the others are not directly related."

Zhou Bo’an was confused. "But within Jiangzhou, if it wasn’t their infighting, who else has such capability?"

Xu Yuanzhi did not answer. He slowly opened his right palm.

In the next moment, Zhou Bo’an’s pupils contracted sharply.

There, above Xu Yuanzhi’s palm, the air shimmered slightly. A Seal, the size of a baby’s fist, dark cyan in color, and exuding a simple, profound antiquity, materialized out of thin air.

The Seal’s radiance was contained within, faintly showing images of coiling dragons and tigers. It emitted an indescribable aura of majesty and weight, as if it were connected to the very fate of Jiangzhou.

The State Governor Seal!

This was the Divine Artifact bestowed by the Court upon appointing the master of a province. It contained the destiny of the land and was linked to the Governor’s Heart Spirit, allowing him to sense the flow of mountains, rivers, energy, and the very rules of the province.

There was only one in all of Jiangzhou!

As a Governor himself, Zhou Bo’an naturally knew of the Seal’s existence, but seeing Governor Xu Yuanzhi summon it with his own eyes still shook him to the core.

Xu Yuanzhi held the State Governor Seal and slowly closed his eyes, his expression solemn as if he were sensing something.

Zhou Bo’an held his breath, not daring to make a sound.

A moment later, Xu Yuanzhi opened his eyes and said softly, "The rules of Jiangzhou are in disarray. A new piece has entered the game, one that is not under control—one that wasn’t even on Jiangzhou’s board before. Interesting, truly interesting..."

He withdrew his gaze and looked at the still-stunned Zhou Bo’an. "Regarding the Celestial Sword Sect, Liyang County, and the Cao Family, just report the facts. There’s no need to deliberately cover anything up. Leave it all for the Court and the Garrison Command to decide. We need not get too involved."

"But..."

Zhou Bo’an hesitated, his worry plain to see. "These account books and this note..."

"Bo’an, you worry too much."

Xu Yuanzhi’s voice was unhurried. "These things have fallen into our hands, not into the hands of the Court. That means the greatest risk has already passed. The initiative is now ours."

He paused slightly, then instructed, "Your primary task now is to dispatch men and conduct a detailed investigation. Find out which person, or which family, has been silently... rising within the borders of our Jiangzhou in recent years."

"Yes. I will see to it at once."

Zhou Bo’an nodded with a grave expression, silently withdrew from the study, and gently closed the door behind him.