My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Chapter 370: Chapter 5: A Bit of a Mess

He Jiu’s report made Zuo Xuan shoot up from her seat. Wenhai’s expression changed slightly as he barked, "What’s going on?"

"It’s about the issue we were monitoring at the Warehouse Department. They..."

"I don’t need an explanation. Is the target still in your sight?" Wenhai interrupted, asking the important question.

"He is!"

He Jiu’s answer made everyone let out a breath of relief, but before they could relax, a flurry of urgent footsteps outside made their hearts jump into their throats again.

"That’s my man!" He Jiu said, looking back at a middle-aged man dressed as a traveling merchant who was being stopped at the courtyard gate.

"Let him through!"

Zuo Xuan’s voice rose considerably. The Qi Cultivators at the gate heard her and immediately let the man pass.

The middle-aged man entered the courtyard and ran to He Jiu. When he saw the others in the room, he was so frightened he dropped to his knees.

"What is it?" Wenhai’s voice was loud.

"Report!" He Jiu said, placing a hand on the middle-aged man’s shoulder.

"The target committed suicide by taking poison."

He Jiu froze. He then realized his oversight and cupped his fist to Zuo Xuan. "I should have taken him down on the spot!"

Wenhai took a deep breath, as if to calm himself, before saying, "He was from the Inspectorate, after all. Arresting him rashly without official documents would have caused trouble later."

As He Jiu’s direct superior, he had to step up and defend his subordinate.

Zuo Xuan was inwardly irritated but couldn’t lash out. Just as she was about to take out the official papers to create a case file, Zuo Liang strode into the courtyard and directly into the room. Seeing the room full of people, her steps faltered for a moment.

"What is it now?"

Zuo Xuan’s irritated tone made Zuo Liang lower her head. After being sent away on a tough assignment, many of her sharp edges had been worn down. Hearing the question, she glanced around before reporting directly, "News from the Inspectorate. Governor Li has hanged himself in his rear residence."

"What the fuck..."

Li Lin swore. It was a subconscious reaction.

Zuo Xuan had wanted to curse too, but Li Lin beat her to it. She could only say in a cold voice, "They’re making their move while the Lord and Daoist Changqing are in seclusion!"

...

The Governor of Nanlin Road was named Li Xiangxiang. He was from Huping County in Hai Zhou Road and was a Second-class Scholar. He was quite a capable man, the only person from Huping County to become an Advanced Scholar in the last hundred years—it was a border city, after all.

After becoming an Advanced Scholar, he also passed the examination to become a Palace Scholar, intending to follow the path of a Palace Attendant to build his qualifications. Perhaps one day he might even enter the Cabinet and become a grand councilor. But plans rarely survive contact with reality. Twenty years ago, when the position of Prefect of Jinhuai Prefecture became vacant, he was selected by a group of Cabinet Ministers.

In twenty years, he had climbed step by step from the post of Prefect of Jinhuai Prefecture to the position of Governor. He had managed Nanlin Road in an orderly fashion, and many common households even kept Longevity Tokens for him.

Yet he had ended his own life.

The rear residence of the Inspectorate, where the Governor and his family typically lived, was a two-courtyard compound. The furnishings were not extravagant, but they possessed a dignified, time-worn quality.

Li Xiangxiang had taken his life in the pavilion where he usually drank tea alone. He used a fine white silk sash, a method he had clearly prepared long in advance.

At this moment, the Lord Governor was still hanging. Heart-rending cries could be heard from the courtyard gate leading to the pavilion—it was his wife, his two unmarried young daughters, and his three concubines. His eldest son had already begun his official career as a minor functionary in the Ministry of Revenue, while his younger son was studying hard at Zhonghui Academy.

Zuo Xuan circled the pavilion while Li Lin monitored the area with a Magical Artifact. Two Qi Cultivators from the Daoist Scripture Hall were arguing with an old man dressed in the robes of a Third-Grade Civil Servant. This official seemed furious that the Daoist Scripture Hall was intervening in the matter.

"Well?"

Zuo Xuan ignored the civil servant at the courtyard gate and looked to the approaching Li Lin for an answer.

Li Lin cupped his fist in response. "It was suicide. And he was preparing for it for a long time. The white silk sash he used is clearly quite old. No one in their right mind would buy a sash like this just to keep it at home!"

"Alright. Let the family come and retrieve the body. Then send people to take control of the Inspectorate and search it from top to bottom. No one is to leave the premises without my order. Also, have someone from the Governor General’s Mansion come over."

Zuo Xuan ordered coldly.

As Li Lin cupped his fist in acknowledgment, Zuo Xuan glanced at the still-arguing official, and her form transformed into a streak of light, heading toward the Daoist Scripture Hall.

The administrative courtyard of the Daoist Scripture Hall.

The moment Zuo Xuan’s feet touched the ground, Zuo Liang, who was in charge of intelligence, came over and said, "This is from a day ago, but the Rebel Army in Pingzhou Road has taken the provincial capital. They’re likely marching on Shangjing City now!"

"It’s just one damn thing after another!"

Zuo Xuan muttered under her breath to relieve her frustration, then instructed, "Continue gathering intelligence."

After speaking, she wearily sat back down in the main seat of the central room. Soon, a Qi Cultivator brought in a cup of fresh tea. She picked up the cup and took a comforting sip.

A Calico Cat, which seemed to have just woken up, leaped out from behind a screen to her left and landed on her shoulder. It habitually rubbed against her cheek, letting out a "MEOW, MEOW" every now and then.

Much of Zuo Xuan’s frustration instantly dissipated. She returned to the desk behind the screen and sat down, using a brush to record the series of events that had occurred that day. Then she took out the daily official documents that needed her attention. Her task was to hold down the Central Hub and maintain stability in Nanlin Road.

「Half an Hour later.」

Someone at the door announced, "Lord Liu from the Governor General’s Office is here to see you!"

In the current dynasty, the Governor General oversaw military affairs, while civil administration was generally handled by the Inspectorate. However, the two offices could offer suggestions to one another and, when necessary, provide mutual oversight.

Nominally, a Governor General was half a rank higher than a Governor and held the additional title of Minister of War, but in practice, they were often considered a step below the Governor.

"Let him in!"

Zuo Xuan walked out from her office area and saw a middle-aged man in the uniform of a Senior Second-Grade Military Officer enter the room. When he saw Zuo Xuan, he immediately gave a Taoist Family fist-and-palm salute. "Greetings, Senior."

He was performing the salutation of a junior, as he was a descendant of the Liu Shuang family.

"Lord Liu, please have a seat..."

Zuo Xuan was very courteous. She had summoned him because she wanted to dispatch a contingent of three thousand Government Soldiers to Mozhou Road. The official reason was to help the Mozhou Road Governor’s Office suppress the Rebel Army, but her true intention was to investigate the truth behind this incident.

Furthermore, she was about to arrest Yu Min in the name of the Daoist Scripture Hall. Sending this army was a declaration of her stance.

Her proposal naturally passed without any objection.

「As dusk fell.」

Wenhai and He Jiu arrived in a hurry, requesting an audience.

"What did you find?" Zuo Xuan asked impatiently.

"It was suicide!" He Jiu replied.

Zuo Xuan was no longer surprised.

Wenhai continued, "They’re really making a move on the grain supply. I checked the granaries near Jinhuai Prefecture this afternoon. They’re almost all empty!"

Zuo Xuan’s brow twitched. The Warehouse Department was also in charge of the seed grain for every prefecture and county. Realizing it was the middle of the autumn harvest, she asked in a low voice, "What about the harvests in the various regions?"

No one answered her, because no one in the Daoist Scripture Hall would have paid attention to such a matter.