Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1490

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Imperial Guards who had gone to Zhang Hao's hometown to investigate the situation returned.

Upon learning that the men he had sent out had returned, Mao Xiang did not immediately inquire about their whereabouts, but instead sent someone to the Imperial Hospital first.

Upon receiving Mao Xiang's notification, Wei Wu immediately arranged for Shen Lin to come over, and only then did Mao Xiang summon the Imperial Guard.

As soon as the Imperial Guards entered, before Mao Xiang could even offer his greetings, he asked directly:

"So, have you found any clues in Zhang Hao's hometown?"

The Imperial Guards understood that their commander was eager to know the intelligence, so they simply bowed and immediately began to speak:

"Reporting to my lord, we were unable to find any trace of Zhang Hao on our trip to his hometown, but it wasn't a complete failure."

"Upon arriving at the location, I immediately contacted the local government office to retrieve the case files, intending to first ascertain the registered address of Zhang Hao's mother."

"However, the result was quite surprising to my subordinates. It was indeed Zhang Hao's hometown, but the news of his mother's death was a lie!"

Upon hearing this, Mao Xiang and Shen Lin exchanged a glance, and then Mao Xiang asked again.

Tell me in detail what you found!

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Mao Xiang's order, the Imperial Guardsmen nodded in response, and then continued:

"I didn't make myself clear earlier. Zhang Hao's mother did indeed pass away, but not recently; she died eight years ago."

"Eight years ago?"

After the Imperial Guard finished speaking, Mao Xiang's brows immediately furrowed. While he remained silent, the Imperial Guard spoke again:

"That's right, sir. It was eight years ago, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard hadn't been established yet, so we were unaware of this matter."

"After returning to the capital this time, I made a special trip to the Ministry of War and found Zhang Hao's files from eight years ago there."

"We discovered that Zhang Hao had already returned to his hometown for the funeral, which is why my subordinate said that this time it wasn't a complete loss."

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard didn't say it directly, both Mao Xiang and Shen Lin could understand the meaning behind his words.

The point about not being without gains mainly refers to Zhang Hao himself, since before this everyone only had suspicions.

However, through investigation of Zhang Hao's hometown, it has now been confirmed that Zhang Hao does indeed have very serious problems.

Otherwise, why would he ask for leave at this crucial time, especially using his mother's death as a pretext?

Just as Mao Xiang and Shen Lin were deep in thought, the Imperial Guard spoke up again and revealed another important piece of information.

"In addition, as instructed by the Commander, I went to Zhang Hao's old residence to ask the local people about it."

"We learned from them that a Taoist priest had visited Zhang Hao's home when he was a child. It seems that he initially just came to ask for rice and water."

"But later, for some reason, the Taoist priest began to frequently visit Zhang Hao's house, and at first, some rumors started to circulate in the village."

"Later we found out that Zhang Hao had been learning a skill from that Taoist priest, but the villagers didn't know what it was."

"It wasn't long before they discovered that Zhang Hao could imitate all sorts of sounds, such as the roar of a tiger and the chirping of birds, and even the sounds of wind and thunder."

"The villagers were curious and specifically asked about it, but it was Zhang Hao's mother who told them that this skill is called onomatopoeia!"

After hearing what the Imperial Guards said, Shen Lin and Mao Xiang exchanged glances again, and then spoke at the same time.

"The White Lotus Taoist!"

Indeed, after hearing the description from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and combining it with what Wei Wu had said the previous night and Zheng Shiye's speculation, they...

Their first reaction was to conclude that the Taoist priest was the White Lotus Taoist. Once they reached this consensus, Shen Lin immediately spoke up:

"There's a question: if that Taoist priest is indeed the White Lotus Taoist, then why did Zhang Hao show absolutely no reaction to Wang Gang?"

"That's normal!"

As soon as Shen Lin finished asking the question, Mao Xiang immediately chimed in, then explained:

"People like the White Lotus Taoist always like to put on an air of a detached, worldly sage, which makes them seem more mysterious."

"The Imperial Guard has arrested many such charlatans in their prisons. They are all like this, let alone the White Lotus Taoist."

"After all, he is the leader of the White Lotus Sect, and no one is better at pretending to be a god than him."

After Mao Xiang finished speaking, seeing that Shen Lin still didn't quite understand, he continued to explain:

"I speculate that the White Lotus Taoist was probably just traveling around and happened to come across Zhang Hao's house, so he went to ask for some food and water."

"It is possible that Zhang Hao's talent in onomatopoeia was discovered by accident, and out of appreciation for his talent, he was regarded as a promising candidate to pass on the craft."

"It is very likely that the White Lotus Taoist did not reveal his identity, and Zhang Hao was unaware of it at the time, only thinking that he had learned a skill by chance."

"He didn't know that his teacher was a member of the White Lotus Sect, which is why he didn't react at all when he saw Wang Gang being executed."

After listening to Mao Xiang's speculation, Shen Lin couldn't help but nod in agreement:

"Commander Mao's guess is not without reason. So, what do you think of Zhang Hao now, Commander?"

Shen Lin did not hesitate after asking Mao Xiang the question and immediately responded.

"I think it's still related to the Duke of Zhenguo. Because of the Duke of Zhenguo, the White Lotus Sect has suffered an unprecedented blow in recent years."

"Not only were all the Dharma Kings killed, but even the largest branch was wiped out. It can be said that the religion is on the verge of extinction."

"I think the White Lotus Taoist also wants to recruit more people. Just as the Duke of Zhenguo speculated, Zhang Hao is, after all, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"If we can bring him into the White Lotus Sect and promise to pass the position of the next sect leader to him, Zhang Hao would really have a high chance of betraying the imperial court!"

Hearing this, Shen Lin couldn't help but feel a little strange, not understanding why Mao Xiang was so certain that Zhang Hao might betray the court.

Seeing the expression on Shen Lin's face, Mao Xiang understood what he was thinking, so he chuckled and explained:

"Ever since Zhang Hao was driven back by the Duke of Zhenguo, he has been regarded as a disgrace by the other Jinyiwei and has suffered a lot of exclusion."

"In such an environment, let alone Zhang Hao, anyone who is ostracized by their colleagues would easily betray them."

"I only found out about this yesterday when I asked my subordinates at the garrison. After all, I haven't paid any attention to him since that incident."

"Zhang Hao's change of heart probably occurred after he was ostracized; perhaps his teacher specifically sought him out!"