After Lianshan Xin displayed his skill, Prefect Jiang was indeed reassured about his investigative prowess.
Yet regarding his own son's whereabouts, he was deeply uneasy.
"Haoran, he..."
At the thought, Prefect Jiang swayed slightly. "Could he have already met with foul play? Just when was he replaced?"
This was something Lianshan Xin had yet to investigate as well.
Just now, he had merely used his innate ability to see the man disguising himself as Jiang Haoran, which was how he knew he was an imposter.
As for when it had begun, he had no idea.
Whether Jiang Haoran was dead or alive was equally unclear.
With that in mind, Lianshan Xin offered comfort: "Rest assured, Prefect Jiang, there is good news. You are still young enough to father another."
Prefect Jiang swayed once more.
Lianshan Xin truly had a way with comforting words.
"If you ever feel your strength flagging, you can also consult my father. He is exceptionally skilled at restoring vitality."
Lianshan Xin did not miss the opportunity to plug his father's services.
Filial piety at its finest.
Prefect Jiang was pushed to the brink of collapse.
Unable to watch any longer, Zhang Aniu spoke up: "Was this truly Thousand Faces' doing?"
He too was somewhat taken aback.
After all, Zhang Aniu was unfamiliar with Jiang Haoran.
At most, he could tell Jiang Haoran had been putting on a fierce front to conceal his inner weakness, but discerning outright that he was an imposter lay beyond his capabilities.
A Heavenly Sword, after all, was not a Heavenly Eye; specialization had its place.
"Does Thousand Faces truly possess such audacity?" Zhang Aniu asked, still skeptical.
Lianshan Xin replied calmly, "Lord Heavenly Sword, facts speak louder than words."
Looking at the imposter's corpse, eyes still wide in death, Zhang Aniu had no counterargument.
*Ah, Aniu,* Lianshan Xin thought to himself, *it's obvious you've never studied formal logic.*
The fact that the Prefect's son was an imposter only proved the fake had ties to Thousand Faces.
What did that have to do with the assassination attempt on you?
The two matters could easily be pure coincidence.
Yet under such coincidental circumstances, when Lianshan Xin—a master sleuth who had just proven himself—pinned the blame squarely on Thousand Faces, no one dared to dispute it.
Iron Hand, Jiangzhou's former number one divine constable, did not dare utter a word and could only shiver in silence.
"Regardless, the Prefectural Estate must undergo a thorough investigation from top to bottom," Lianshan Xin directed without hesitation, solemnly laying out a terrifying line of deduction. "Since the young master of the estate was an imposter, could the Prefect himself also be an imposter planted by Thousand Faces?"
"Utterly impossible."
Before Prefect Jiang could protest, Zhang Aniu stepped in to vouch for him.
"The imperial court has endured for a millennium, and officials of the fifth rank and above are protected by dynastic fortune. Killing them is one thing, but replacing them cannot be hidden from the imperial family. Furthermore, an official of Prefect Jiang's station must travel to the capital every year to report on his administration, where His Majesty and Consort Shu grant him a personal audience. Even if Thousand Faces carried out the disguise in person, it could never escape His Majesty's discerning eye."
Lianshan Xin was not one to defer blindly to authority.
Having heard Zhang Aniu's explanation, he calmly pointed out the flaw: "What if he was replaced before returning to the capital to report? Far away in Shenjing, could the imperial family detect it in advance?"
"There would still be an inkling. The higher the office, the more pronounced the resonance," Zhang Aniu said. "A regional commander of a prefect's caliber certainly could not slip by undetected."
"A millennium of dynastic heritage... the True Dragon bloodline is truly extraordinary," Lianshan Xin remarked in admiration.
After all, the imperial family was almost certainly cultivating immortality, so it was understandable.
"Yet officials of the fourth or fifth rank can indeed be replaced?"
Zhang Aniu did not deny it.
Lianshan Xin's expression turned grave. "Then Thousand Faces is even more dangerous than anticipated. Who knows how many of his people he has planted in Jiangzhou over the years."
Young Master Xin looked around, feeling as though hostiles were marked in red on every side.
What was needed was a brilliant sleuth like him to uncover every trace.
"Prefect Jiang, can you guarantee that your wives, concubines, other children, and stewards haven't been infiltrated by Thousand Faces?" Lianshan Xin asked.
Prefect Jiang dearly wished to offer that guarantee, knowing that conceding an inch meant surrendering all initiative over the Prefectural Estate.
Yet the fake Jiang Haoran's corpse lay right before their eyes.
Even as a regional commander accustomed to distorting truth and falsehood, he could not bring himself to call a stag a horse.
Zhao Gao's heights were beyond the reach of ordinary officials.
"I... cannot guarantee it." Prefect Jiang closed his eyes and took a step back.
This retreat meant the Jiangzhou officialdom had taken a massive step backward before Nine Heavens.
Zhang Aniu looked at Lianshan Xin with deep admiration.
He had never imagined Lianshan Xin could blow the situation wide open to such an extent.
Lianshan Xin, for his part, remained thoroughly composed.
After all, he had produced ironclad proof.
When Young Master Xin worked a case, he never wronged the innocent.
"Then this subordinate must conduct a comprehensive search. What happened to Young Master Jiang must not occur again. This time, Thousand Faces targeted Lord Heavenly Sword. Lord Heavenly Sword possesses immense martial strength, so his life remained out of danger. But had Thousand Faces set his sights on you, Lord Prefect, and ordered this counterfeit son to strike, how would you have fared?"
Lianshan Xin's hypothetical made Prefect Jiang's complexion pale slightly.
Yet at that moment, a single remark from Zhang Aniu caused Lianshan Xin's face to pale as well.
"Just now, upon hearing A-Xin's words, the Prefect's face paled, yet his qi and blood did not fluctuate in the slightest."
Zhang Aniu stared fixedly at Prefect Jiang, sword light nearly spilling from his pupils, casting an immense pressure over everyone present. "Prefect Jiang, what remarkable composure."
Prefect Jiang was silent for a moment before letting out an unconstrained laugh. "Lord Heavenly Sword flatters me. I am, after all, the Prefect of Jiangzhou and have weathered countless storms. Compared to the coup in Shenjing back then, what does this amount to? To think a mere Demon Cult elder could frighten me—you underestimate me, my lord."
The Heavenly Sword gave a slight nod. "The Prefect makes a fair point."
Did he truly?
Lianshan Xin knew that Zhang Aniu had begun to suspect Prefect Jiang.
For the Prefect's son to be replaced right under his nose, aside from Thousand Faces plotting against Prefect Jiang, there was another possibility:
Thousand Faces was working with Prefect Jiang.
To take it a step bolder:
The Demon Cult was cooperating with the Second Prince!
This was by no means impossible.
Anyone educated knew that whatever the court's laws forbade, those at the top engaged in the most!
The imperial family especially loved committing acts worthy of nine-fold extermination.
Because they acted with utter impunity.
Colluding with Demon Cult heretics was a capital crime, yet His Majesty had personally bedded one of the Demon Cult's Four Great Elders.
If the emperor could do it, why not an imperial prince?
Expecting the imperial clan to abide by the law was pure naivety.
Fortunately, Lianshan Xin was far from naive.
Whether Prefect Jiang truly colluded with Thousand Faces did not matter much to him at this stage.
As he was now, he could not touch the Prefect of Jiangzhou.
There was no need to train his sights directly on the Prefect.
The Prefect had his aims, Aniu had his conclusions, and Young Master Xin had his own goals.
"Besides the members of the Prefectural Estate, there is one more person who is deeply suspicious," Lianshan Xin spoke again. "Lord Prefect, Lord Heavenly Sword, do you recall why this imposter targeted me in the first place?"
Zhang Aniu gave him a strange look. "What are you getting at?"
Lianshan Xin stated frankly, "I suspect Zeng Ningbing is colluding with the Demon Cult. Tanhua Qi, please bring her in for questioning."
Young Master Xin never lost sight of his original intention.
Chapter 71