Xia Chen laughed upon hearing this. He picked up another piece of beef and asked again, "But what if they really are people of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince? What then?"
Cui Hu and Lu Chen knew that this question was not asked casually, while Lu Chen, on the side, looked at Zheng Ping thoughtfully.
"The Lantern Bearers are directly subordinate to His Majesty. It should be a great taboo for the Crown Prince and the Third Prince to interfere with the Lantern Bearers. I don't think the Crown Prince and the Third Prince could possibly arrange their people within the Lantern Bearers."
Zheng Ping smiled, then continued, "But Chen Song and Li Yue are incredibly arrogant. I think they seem like Lu Li's cronies. In our Lantern Bearers, we absolutely cannot keep such people who form factions for personal gain!"
Zheng Ping spoke with a serious and decisive tone, revealing a chilling aura in his words.
"Hahaha, Lord Zheng is right. How could the Crown Prince and the Third Prince extend their hands into our Lantern Bearers? They are one a Crown Prince and the other a Third Prince; they can't possibly be planning a rebellion. Why would they infiltrate our Lantern Bearers?
Rumors are indeed just rumors; they are not accurate at all!"
Xia Chen laughed heartily, while Cui Hu and Lu Chen's expressions changed, both knowing that Xia Chen's words had a deeper meaning.
"With Lord Zheng's guidance, I am now at ease. Cui Hu, Lu Chen!"
Xia Chen finished speaking and turned to look at Cui Hu and Lu Chen!
"You two also heard my conversation with Lord Zheng just now. You two assist Lord Zheng; this afternoon, lead people to arrest Li Yue and Chen Song. Also, all the Hundred-Households and Thousand-Households from their two major divisions who didn't attend the banquet should also be arrested and imprisoned in the Lantern Bearer Prison. Can you do it?"
Xia Chen asked calmly, causing Zheng Ping on the side to quickly say, "Oh, Lord, let these two young men handle such matters. I'm an old man now, and I haven't led a team in over ten years. It would be troublesome if I messed things up!"
"Lord Zheng, precisely because they are young, they might not be able to control the situation. You are an elder of the Eagle Eye Division; your seniority in the entire Lantern Bearers is well-known. You must take action in this matter. Besides, with you and me backing this, what could possibly go wrong!"
Xia Chen smiled, not giving Zheng Ping a chance to refuse.
At this moment, Cui Hu also understood something: his superior, Xia Chen, was treating Zheng Ping somewhat specially!
Cui Hu immediately thought of how Zheng Ping had remained steadfast in the Eagle Eye Division for over 20 years, and he instantly understood something.
So he remained silent, lowering his head to eat his food. He strongly supported Xia Chen's arrangement; Zheng Ping had to be at the forefront, leading them to arrest Li Yue and Chen Song!
...
Xia Chen left, taking Xia Wen, Xia Qian, Xu Xingchen, Xia Xiao, and Li Xi with him, departing from Desheng Restaurant.
"The wind is picking up!"
Cui Hu pushed open the paper window, standing by the second-floor window, looking at the prosperous Great Wu Capital. He stretched out his hand, feeling the wind brush against his fingers, and slowly said.
"Have you all eaten and drunk your fill!"
Lu Chen remained seated at the table, his face calm, but at this moment, he let out a loud shout.
"We've eaten our fill!"
Immediately, people stood up and responded loudly to him.
Lu Chen turned to look at Zheng Ping, who was sitting on the other side, and said seriously, "Lord Zheng, Lord Xia Chen said that we two should assist you. Please give us your orders on how to proceed!"
"Lord Zheng, just give the orders; we will just execute them. Lord Zheng is a senior; he has more experience than the salt we've eaten. We will listen to Lord Zheng!"
Cui Hu also stood by the window, cupping his hands in agreement.
Zheng Ping's mouth twitched. These two brats were so polite to him now, but before, they had never taken him seriously, thinking he was just relying on his seniority!
One by one, they were usually unruly and didn't put others in their eyes.
Now that they were going to move against people connected to the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, they understood the stakes and became timid!
"You two quickly return to the yamen and bring out all the available personnel. I will also arrange people to assist you. This operation must be swift; do not cause any disturbances. After apprehending them, disarm them and then imprison them in the Lantern Bearer Prison. Do not let anyone else approach!"
Zheng Ping said in a deep voice.
"Yes!"
Lu Chen and Cui Hu said in unison.
And many Lantern Bearers looked at each other. Although they didn't know what was coming next, they all realized that a storm was brewing!
But it seemed that this storm had little to do with them, and perhaps... they themselves had become the storm!
Was this the result of following a good leader?
----------
Afternoon!
The entire Lantern Bearers were somewhat in an uproar.
Two divisions of the Eagle Eye Division, from the Hundred-Households upwards, all the way to the Division Heads, were all apprehended.
Some tried to resist but were almost cut down on the spot.
Some Hundred-Households were even disarmed and arrested in front of everyone.
This made the Lantern Bearers internally somewhat uneasy, but this matter was confined to the Eagle Eye Division, which made everyone's hearts feel much more settled.
"My goodness, this new Director of the Eagle Eye Division is too ruthless!"
"Two divisions, two Division Heads, over 50 Hundred-Households, and more than ten Thousand-Households, all directly arrested. This is a bit too terrifying!"
"Is that Lord Xia Chen not afraid of causing a huge mess by acting so directly and arresting so many people at once?"
"Young people are just brave; they haven't had their edges smoothed by society yet, so they are naturally fearless. This Li Yue and Chen Song are probably going to fall this time!"
...
The people from the other divisions who remained in the Capital couldn't help but gasp.
They were intimidated by Xia Chen's actions this time!
"But what was the charge? Arresting so many Lantern Bearers without reason, even if he is the Director, is probably not according to the rules!"
Someone couldn't help but wonder what leverage Xia Chen had on these people to act so recklessly!
"Let me tell you, and I emphasize this point, I also heard from rumors that this Chen Song and Li Yue are suspected to be people of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince!"
"Hiss! Is that true or false? What do the Crown Prince and the Third Prince want to do? We are Lantern Bearers; this is a great taboo!"
"That's not right. If these two really were people of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, shouldn't it be top secret? How is it now almost common knowledge?"
...
Some people were shocked to hear this news, but others with political minds questioned it with doubt.
"I don't know where it came from; anyway, it's just rumors. Let's just listen to it as gossip. When the big figures above are fighting, we'd better not get involved."
"If this Chen Song and Li Yue really are people of the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, then it's not surprising that this Lord Xia Chen acts so recklessly. This might be His Majesty's intention!"
Someone pointed to the sky, and immediately, everyone shrank their necks, not daring to discuss it further.