Chapter 2262: Chapter 1952: I Think This Is an Opportunity

Hearing Ji Yunmeng’s words, the smile on Prince Zhen Nan’s face withdrew a little. He walked toward the main seat in the Meeting Hall and said as he walked, "For the Princess to personally make a trip, it seems this matter is no small one."

As his voice fell, Prince Zhen Nan had already reached the main seat. Then he made a "please" gesture toward Ji Yunmeng. "Princess, please sit."

Ji Yunmeng then sat down on the wooden chair in front of her.

Prince Zhen Nan continued, "Princess, please speak. What kind of help do you need, and how should we assist? So long as it is something our Zhen Nan Prince Manor can provide, we will spare no effort."

Ji Yunmeng did not answer immediately. Her gaze swept over the servants in the hall. Prince Zhen Nan instantly understood her meaning and said to those servants, "You may all withdraw."

After hearing Prince Zhen Nan’s order, those servants left the hall one after another. Very soon, only Lu Chen, Prince Zhen Nan, Ji Yunmeng, and her two maids were left in the hall.

Yet at this moment, Ji Yunmeng’s gaze fell on Lu Chen, as if she were saying that Lu Chen should leave as well.

Seeing Ji Yunmeng’s gaze fixed on Lu Chen, Prince Zhen Nan said directly, "Princess, Chen’er is the future master of the Zhen Nan Prince Manor, and I have already handed over the affairs of the Prince’s Mansion to him. There should be nothing he is not allowed to hear, right?"

Since Prince Zhen Nan had spoken so, Ji Yunmeng did not ask Lu Chen to leave, though in her heart she actually did not wish for him to remain here.

In her view, if a wastrel like Lu Chen learned of the Deceit Suppression Bureau’s matters, who knew when he might carelessly leak them to his gang of dissolute friends; she did not trust Lu Chen.

But since Prince Zhen Nan had opened his mouth, she could not very well drive Lu Chen out, for the moment she was the one asking a favor of the Zhen Nan Prince Manor.

Ji Yunmeng then said bluntly, "The five Earth Realm Strange sealed by the Deceit Suppression Bureau have broken their Sealing."

Hearing this, Prince Zhen Nan was stunned on the spot. His expression instantly became incomparably grave, and his gaze sharpened by several degrees.

After recovering, Prince Zhen Nan asked, "When did this happen?"

Ji Yunmeng said, "We don’t know. We only discovered it yesterday. Yesterday, Master Lu wanted to see what the strange looked like, so he had people bring a Shadowcatch Stone to the Demon Suppression Tower to record their appearance. I also planned to use this opportunity to inspect the strange’s Sealing, only to discover that those five Earth Realm Strange had all vanished. And judging from the traces of the Sealing being destroyed, they should have broken the Sealing long ago; it’s just that no one ever noticed."

Prince Zhen Nan fell into thought. Those five Earth Realm Strange were no ordinary strange spiritual evils; they were entities capable of bringing about the downfall of Dazhou. If those five Earth Realm Strange were not quickly found, the entire Dazhou might have to experience another human–strange war.

After a while, Prince Zhen Nan asked, "Princess came to find me; presumably this matter has not been reported, and you plan to recapture those five Earth Realm Strange before the Imperial Court discovers this, correct?"

Ji Yunmeng said, "Yes. If this matter leaks, the Deceit Suppression Bureau will inevitably be hit. Whether it is the Imperial Court or the common people, they may no longer trust the Bureau, and the Bureau’s authority will also be weakened."

These were five Earth Realm Strange. It was bad enough that the Deceit Suppression Bureau failed to keep watch over them; they actually did not even know when those Earth Realm Strange escaped. If this spread, the people would certainly no longer trust the Bureau. Of course, that was only one aspect. The biggest trouble was that some would seize on this as a pretext, taking the opportunity to weaken the Bureau’s authority, or to stuff their own people into it. In the future, the Deceit Suppression Bureau would likely find it hard to exist as an independent body.

There would also be those who used this chance to shift all the blame onto Ji Yunmeng, this newly appointed Commander, saying that such an incident occurred as soon as she took office—if not for her, those Earth Realm Strange would never have escaped.

Prince Zhen Nan naturally understood what Ji Yunmeng was worried about. His fingers kept tapping on the armrest of his chair, his head slightly lowered, as if pondering what should be done next.

If they reported it, the Deceit Suppression Bureau’s authority would be weakened, but that seemed to have nothing to do with the Zhen Nan Prince Manor; the Bureau did not belong to the Prince’s Mansion.

However, if someone placed the blame on Ji Yunmeng, that did have some connection with the Zhen Nan Prince Manor. Yet so what? At most, Ji Yunmeng would be removed from her post as Commander, but she would still marry into the Zhen Nan Prince Manor.

What was more, if Ji Yunmeng were no longer Commander of the Deceit Suppression Bureau, she could instead devote all her energy to the Zhen Nan Prince Manor. From the Manor’s perspective, this would actually be a good thing.

The most important point was that those strange were Earth Realm Strange; if they were not quickly found and sealed, they would bring immense disaster to Dazhou.

Although Prince Zhen Nan did not like the current Royal Family—for if the Great Zhou Royal Family had not constantly weakened and suppressed the Zhen Nan Prince Manor, the Manor would not have fallen to its present state.

One must know that his ancestors once held a vast fief, yet now all they had was this somewhat luxurious-looking Prince’s Mansion in the Capital city. The fief was gone, the number of experts in the Zhen Nan Prince Manor had sharply decreased, and even the Zhen Nan Army’s numbers had been repeatedly cut.

And now the Empress Dowager still wanted to send Lu Chen, the only bloodline of the Zhen Nan Prince Manor, to the Deceit Suppression Bureau, using the power of spiritual evil to eliminate him.

If Prince Zhen Nan were not already advanced in years, and had he not suffered backlash from spiritual evil, he would have long considered raising troops in rebellion.

Seeing that Prince Zhen Nan remained silent, Ji Yunmeng grew somewhat anxious in her heart. From his demeanor, he seemed not inclined to involve himself in this matter.

Which made sense—the Zhen Nan Prince Manor had no relation to the Deceit Suppression Bureau. Why should they help the Bureau? Just because she was Lu Chen’s future fiancée? That reason would not do. Prince Zhen Nan might well be hoping she would be dismissed, so she could then devote herself wholly to the Prince’s Mansion.

Ji Yunmeng took the initiative to ask, "May I know what Prince Zhen Nan thinks?"

Prince Zhen Nan came back to himself. He did not answer Ji Yunmeng, but instead turned his gaze to Lu Chen and asked, "Chen’er, what do you think?"

Seeing Prince Zhen Nan ask him, Lu Chen thought for a moment, then asked Ji Yunmeng, "Princess, do you think that, with the power of the Deceit Suppression Bureau combined with that of the Zhen Nan Prince Manor, you can really find those five Earth Realm Strange hiding among the populace?"

"Furthermore, even if we do find those five Earth Realm Strange, who can guarantee that we have the strength to suppress and Seal them?"

Hearing Lu Chen’s questions, Ji Yunmeng fell silent. Indeed, whether in finding those five Earth Realm Strange or in sealing them, there were enormous difficulties.

Could it be that the only path was to report this?

At this time, Prince Zhen Nan asked, "Then Chen’er, what do you think the Deceit Suppression Bureau should do in this matter?"

Lu Chen said, "I think this is an opportunity—an opportunity for the Zhen Nan Prince Manor to rise again."

Hearing this, Prince Zhen Nan and Ji Yunmeng both looked at Lu Chen with puzzled expressions.

Lu Chen continued, "This matter should be reported, but not yet. If those five Earth Realm Strange were to just disappear without a trace, that definitely wouldn’t do. We must stir up a great commotion, let everyone know that those five Earth Realm Strange have escaped."

"In addition, our Zhen Nan Prince Manor can take this chance to proactively propose assisting the Deceit Suppression Bureau in subduing and Sealing those five Earth Realm Strange—but under certain conditions."