177: Chapter 177 Who Leaves Footnotes in Memory?

"However, we found an old servant from the manor who has gone somewhat mad."

"She seems to have been deliberately driven out of the manor and lives in a small courtyard filled with trash on the outskirts of Jizhou City."

"According to her description, she was driven out five years ago. She had always served the biological mother of Su Daji mentioned by Su Hu."

"Except..."

"She said that although that concubine was once pregnant, she died in childbirth twenty years ago, and the child born was a stillbirth."

"She had never even heard of Beauty Su!"

Su Chen suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

As expected.

Su Daji's background was highly problematic.

Marquis of Jizhou, Su Hu, it seemed, was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Su Daji likely wasn't his biological daughter, but a pawn placed by his side.

Perhaps he also had some connection with Western Zhou or the immortal sects.

At this moment, the Secret Guard on the right, who had been silent, looked up, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

"Great King, though nothing was found in the Marquis's manor or official records, your subordinate heard some different accounts in a small county called a place in Jizhou, south of Jizhou."

"a place in Jizhou?"

Su Chen's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He had some impression of this name.

He remembered Su Daji always whispering in his ear that the fine wine produced in a place in Jizhou was particularly delicious.

"Indeed."

The Secret Guard nodded.

"That county is located in front of the Taihang Mountains. Its location is remote, its population was never large, and it appears exceptionally desolate compared to other counties."

"My colleagues and I happened to pass through and stayed there for a night."

"Curious about what had happened there, I disguised myself as a traveling peddler and chatted with several elders sunning themselves under an old locust tree at the village entrance."

"At first, they were quite wary, but after a few bowls of cheap wine and seeing that I seemed to be a foreigner, they gradually opened up."

He paused, his voice lowering.

"They mentioned that about seventeen or eighteen years ago, a place in Jizhou and several surrounding villages suffered a catastrophic disaster."

"But it wasn't a natural disaster; it was man-made."

"Overnight, a large group of Men in Black surged from nowhere, masked and armed, killing everyone they saw."

"Those people searched house by house, shouting 'By the King's command, exterminate the rebels.' Anyone who showed the slightest resistance or questioning was killed on the spot."

"The fires burned for three days and three nights. Corpses littered the fields, and blood flowed like a river."

"It is said that several small families were completely slaughtered, leaving not even a chicken or a dog alive."

After saying this, he looked at Su Chen, as if waiting for Su Chen's answer.

Clearly.

Seventeen or eighteen years ago, Su Chen had already ascended the throne.

If those people were truly killed for defying a royal command, it was impossible for Su Chen to have no memory of it at all.

"'By the King's command, exterminate the rebels'?"

He slowly repeated those seven words.

"Did they see clearly any characteristics of those Men in Black?"

"Was there any proof of the royal command they claimed to follow?"

The Secret Guard shook his head.

"A long time has passed. Most survivors back then were women and children who hid in cellars and haystacks. They were lucky to escape with their lives; how would they dare look closely?"

"They only remember that those Men in Black moved swiftly and ruthlessly, with perfect coordination. They didn't seem like ordinary bandits or soldiers, but more like well-trained death warriors."

"As for the proof of royal command, they never saw it, only heard the shouting."

"But since then, the saying 'The Great King is tyrannical and slaughters the innocent' has quietly spread through parts of Jizhou."

"The local people harbor deep resentment toward Chaoge and the royal family."

"Absurd!"

Su Chen slammed his palm onto the table.

To be honest, he had never been afraid of being defeated by anyone.

If he were defeated in a fair fight, he would simply grow stronger and pay it back several times over in the future.

But these 'gods' in this investment world...

Despite their considerable strength, they still used such despicable methods to smear him.

"At the beginning of my reign, though I was young, I understood the weight of matters."

"Let alone a remote small county like a place in Jizhou, even for the whole of Jizhou, there were no reports mentioning any 'rebels' that needed to be suppressed with such thunderous means."

"Even if there were, I would absolutely never use such ghostly methods to carry out the extermination of entire households."

By now, Su Chen felt he was close to unraveling the mystery of Su Daji's background.

As long as he could determine if those who slaughtered the town were connected to the Hehuan Sect, the Ji Dynasty, or the 'Immortals.'

Most of the investment tasks assigned to him by the system would be considered complete.

"In a place in Jizhou, did you ever hear if there was a family named Su among those slaughtered back then?"

"Or, was there any family that had a surviving young girl?"

The three looked at each other and all shook their heads.

"Too many people were killed in a place in Jizhou back then. Regarding specific surnames, those elders were vague, only saying that several 'respectable families' suffered."

"Trying to identify exactly which families were slaughtered... it's too difficult."

Su Chen nodded.

With the abilities of these three, reaching this point was already their limit.

"Great King."

Seeing Su Chen's expression shifting, the three asked for instructions in low voices.

"How should we proceed next?"

"Should we return to Jizhou to dig deeper into the old case and look for potential survivors or those in the know?"

Su Chen stopped walking and stood with his back to them, silent for a long time.

"No."

"There is no need for the three of you to go back alone."

"I will personally conduct an incognito visit to Jizhou. I won't report this to the court."

"When the time comes, I will take Su Daji with me. You three will guard us in secret; do not show yourselves unless necessary."

"Great King?!"

All three were shocked.

Jizhou was Su Hu's territory.

If Su Hu really was problematic, after the investigation by the three of them, it was likely already a dragon's pool or a tiger's den.

If Su Chen went personally as the sovereign, the risk would be too great.

"I must go personally."

Su Chen turned around, no longer explaining further to the three.

Some things must be seen to be believed.

He believed that with such a massive frame-up, no matter how capable Su Hu and the Hehuan Sect were, it would be impossible to erase all traces.

Furthermore...

To make Su Daji let go of her hatred for him,

She had to see certain things for herself.

...

At the same time, in the Star-Plucking Tower.

Su Daji sat alone in the empty, magnificent pavilion, feeling an unprecedented sense of agitation and loneliness.

Su Chen had disappeared after the court session, and even his usual daily harassment hadn't come.

To be frank, she had grown accustomed to Su Chen's teasing.

With the surroundings suddenly becoming quiet,

She even felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

Su Daji dismissed all the palace servants, leaving herself alone to stare blankly at the grey sky outside the window.

Yesterday, her 'foster father' Su Hu and her master had both sent her messages through secret means.

The content was very simple.

Kill Su Chen!

Her master even tirelessly emphasized over and over the benefits she would gain from killing Su Chen.

The Hehuan Sect would achieve a great feat and might even have hope of turning into an orthodox sect.

The 'Immortals' who assigned the task even promised that if the mission was completed, they would generously bestow countless male dual-cultivation cauldrons upon the Hehuan Sect.