Chapter 283 The bottom line is here (two chapters in one)

Li Qing is back?

The Fourth Prince's good mood was gone. Liu Wang hadn't returned yet, but Li Qing had returned first!

"Has Governor Li found the missing Jinyiwei? For example, Ding Gao?" the Fourth Prince asked in a low voice.

The eunuch shook his head: "Governor Li was only accompanied by a few followers, and I didn't see Ding Gao."

The Fourth Prince breathed a sigh of relief. Ding Gao and the others had gotten the silver and had already fled far away. Unless Li Qing was in cahoots with them, he would never find them in this lifetime.

Yes, if Li Qing was really in cahoots with Ding Gao and the others, then he wouldn't have come back now. Not only the 100,000 taels of silver, but even the ten ships of disaster relief grain alone would be a huge sum of money at this moment.

The 100,000 taels were only the price of half of the grain in the ten ships. If it were a whole ship, it would be 200,000 taels.

Adding to the 100,000 taels of silver already received, that’s a full 300,000 taels.

If twenty people divide it equally, each of them can get 15,000 taels. Moreover, with Li Qing around, how can it be divided equally?

Li Qing got such a huge amount of ill-gotten gains, unless he is stupid, he will not come back.

Now that Li Qing is back, it proves that he has not met Ding Gao and others, nor has he partnered with them, and he does not know about the reselling of disaster relief grain.

The Fourth Prince sighed. He had been having so many dreams these past few days that even he had become suspicious.

Li Qing knows nothing. Even if Liu Wang comes back the next moment, this prince is confident that he can hide it from Li Qing.

The eunuch moved his mouth. He actually wanted to tell the Fourth Prince that he had never seen the followers that Li Qing brought back before.

But just as he was about to speak, he heard the Fourth Prince say, "Fill the small flower hall with mugwort and have Li Qing smoke it inside. I will go see him in half an hour."

Li Qing came back from outside, and who knows if he has been infected with the disease. This is where the Fourth Prince lives, so he cannot be allowed in.

It would be better for this prince to humble himself and go to the small flower hall to meet him.

The eunuch hurried out to make arrangements, and forgot what he had just said.

Half an hour later, the Fourth Prince walked into the small flower hall with his mouth and nose covered.

The small flower hall had just been smoked with mugwort, and the smell had not yet dissipated, giving people a headache.

The Fourth Prince resisted the urge to leave, took the upper seat, and said to Li Qing, "Lord Li, have you found those men?"

Li Qing shook his head: "I am incompetent and have not been able to find them."

The Fourth Prince sighed, "Lord Li, please accept my condolences. When I return to the capital, I will speak well of them to His Majesty."

At this moment, the villain in the Fourth Prince's heart was furiously complaining: "Fine words! The monk can escape, but the temple cannot. If they are not sentenced to death, who will take the blame for the ten ships of grain?"

Besides, this prince did not wrongly accuse them. They were indeed treacherous and stole food and silver. They deserve to die!

These people are all Li Qing's subordinates. Li Qing cannot escape blame. He will definitely lose his position as the Jinyiwei pacification chief.

The Fourth Prince's thoughts drifted away. Who should sit in this position? This prince needs to plan carefully. This is a lucrative position. If he can place one of his own people in this position, it will be a great help to the great things that this prince wants to accomplish.

Thinking of this, the Fourth Prince was no longer in the mood to deal with Li Qing.

In the past, because Li Qing was a member of the Jinyiwei, this prince gave him some respect. But now, he can't even protect himself, and this prince has no need to deal with him anymore.

He yawned and said to Li Qing, "Lord Li, you are tired from the journey. You should rest well. I still need to look at the map, so I will go ahead. Lord Li, please do as you please."

The Fourth Prince left as soon as he said he would, and in a blink of an eye, Li Qing was the only one left in the small flower hall.

Li Qing sneered and looked at the map. He probably went back to take a nap.

When he arrived just now, he met two officials from the Ministry of Works. They had important matters to discuss with the Fourth Prince, but the Fourth Prince asked them to bathe and change clothes, and even asked the imperial physician to check their pulses to confirm that they were not infected with the epidemic. They returned yesterday afternoon. After all this trouble, he still has not been able to see the Fourth Prince.

Officials from the Ministry of Works were repairing the river embankment at the front line. They came back from so far away, so they must have something important to report. However, the Fourth Prince was nowhere to be seen. This delay was not only delaying time, but also the lives and property of countless people on both sides of the Tong River.

Li Qing walked out of the small flower hall and returned to the courtyard where he lived. The few followers he brought back were all there.

At the gate of the courtyard, several trusted members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were waiting for him.

Everyone gathered around him and led him into the yard. Once inside, they closed the gate. Li Qing asked, "What happened these past few days?"

A confidant said, "As soon as you left, the Fourth Prince sent Liu Wang out and gave his own guards to Liu Wang as well. I secretly inquired and learned that they were going to Huiji Warehouse."

Li Qing nodded: "I already know about this matter. Is there anything else? How is the Fourth Prince doing?"

Another confidant said, "The Fourth Prince has had a poor appetite these past few days, feeling nauseous, listless, lazy, and sleepy. He hasn't seen anyone except Prefect Qian, not even anyone from the Ministry of Works."

Li Qing was stunned. "Qian Zhizhou? Has the Fourth Prince met Qian Zhizhou?"

As far as he knew, the Fourth Prince looked down upon this cuckolded Magistrate Qian. Magistrate Qian had requested an audience with him several times but failed, so he stayed quietly in the manor and did not bother him again.

"Do you know why the Fourth Prince summoned Prefect Qian?"

The confidant said, "It seems that the Fourth Prince has a poor appetite, and the hawthorn cake sent by Qian Zhizhou has pleased him."

Li Qing narrowed his eyes slightly. Having spent some time with the Fourth Prince, he knew a thing or two about him. Just a few pieces of hawthorn cakes would not change his preference. He must have seen some value in Qian Zhizhou.

"Where's Yang Fan? Has anyone seen him these days?"

Li Qing didn't trust Yang Fan, so before he left, he asked his confidants to keep Yang Fan under close watch.

"Liu Wang wanted to see him, but was stopped by my subordinates. After Liu Wang left, the eunuch beside the Fourth Prince sent some supplements, saying that they were rewards from the Fourth Prince. My subordinates buried them secretly and didn't dare give them to Yang Fan."

Li Qing smiled. In fact, he knew in his heart that with the Jinyiwei here, no matter how stupid the Fourth Prince was, he would not send anyone to poison Yang Fan to silence him.

Even if he wanted Yang Fan to die, he would not let anyone poison him in his name.

Another confidant said, "Two people left here in the middle of the night yesterday. They were very skilled and I was unable to catch up with them. Judging from their figures, they looked like Chen Feng and Chen Lei."

Li Qing was stunned again. Xiao Zhen told him that the Fourth Prince would send a shadow guard back to the capital.

Could it be that Xiao Zhen was right? Did the Fourth Prince really send his shadow guard to the capital?

What are you going to do in Beijing?

You must know that the bridge that was temporarily repaired when you came here was washed away again. Without the prince's passage, the bridge cannot be repaired in a short time. Unless there is a reason that he must go back, the Fourth Prince will not send the shadow guard back.

Besides, that's the Shadow Guard!

The Fourth Prince only has four shadow guards. If the people sent back are Chen Feng and Chen Lei, then there will only be two shadow guards left by the Fourth Prince's side.

For the Fourth Prince, who is so afraid of death, this is a huge decision.

"Are you sure it's Chen Feng and Chen Lei?" Li Qing confirmed again.

The confidant said, "I once trained with the Chen brothers for three months, and we were in the same group. Chen Lei was a troublemaker, and Chen Feng liked to stand up for him, causing our entire group to suffer punishment along with them. Therefore, I have a deep impression of them."

Li Qing remembered that this confidant had been selected to participate in the Shadow Guard training, but he failed the assessment and was sent back to the Jinyiwei three months later.

As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Li Qing had some understanding of the two brothers. Chen Feng and Chen Lei were not only troublemakers, but also extremely cruel. Chen Lei killed his wife just because he heard a few drunken words from a drunk on the street. The case was settled for Chen Lei by the Fourth Prince. Therefore, the two brothers were completely loyal to the Fourth Prince.

However, as shadow guards, Chen Feng and Chen Lei rarely appeared in public. If there was anyone in the Jinyiwei who could recognize them at a glance from their backs, it would probably be the confidant who had been punished with them.

Li Qing said, "Thank you for your hard work. Wait for my instructions from now on."

Several confidants left, and Li Qing walked into one of the rooms. The followers who followed him back were all there.

Before he could speak, one of them asked, "So, what did he say to you?"

These close followers were all sent to him by Xiao Zhen, and he didn't know any of them. Also, because Xiao Zhen's men often dealt with the yamen runners these days, some people in the manor knew them. Therefore, in order to conceal their identities, these people all wore human skin masks.

As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Li Qing had seen human skin masks, but the ones he had seen were rather crude, so-called fake at first glance.

The human skin masks worn by these people are so well made that they are indistinguishable from the real ones.

Li Qing marveled secretly, wondering where this elusive Young Master Xiao got such a good thing.

He even suspected that Xiao Zhen had faked his death and was hiding in the capital wearing a human skin mask.

The man who asked the question at this time had a middle-aged face, but his voice was old.

Li Qing was puzzled as to why Xiao Zhen sent an old man to follow him.

This person never spoke during the whole journey, so it was not until this moment that Li Qing realized that this person was old.

He said, "The Fourth Prince only told me to mourn and didn't say much.

It is said that he has been feeling weak and has lost his appetite these days."

The old man was furious when he heard this. "He's not in good spirits and has no appetite? Does he think he's here to enjoy himself? Those two officials from the Ministry of Works clearly had important matters waiting for his decision, but he avoided them. What a loser!"

They were also present when Li Qing met the two officials from the Ministry of Industry, and they heard everything the two officials said.

Li Qing was stunned. This man was so bold that he actually dared to call the Fourth Prince a waste.

Although this is true, but saying it in public...

He said, "I just received news that the Fourth Prince sent two shadow guards away. They are likely to return to the capital."

One of the attendants asked, "With two Shadow Guards missing, can you Jinyiwei capture him in one fell swoop?"

Li Qing was stunned and asked, "Do you want the Jinyiwei to arrest him? Aren't you the ones who arrest people?"

The attendant laughed and said, "Commissar Li, do you think we followed you here to arrest someone?"

Li Qing: "Isn't it?"

He doesn't have the confidence to capture the Fourth Prince with his own hands!

Without an imperial decree, would he dare to arrest the prince?

Not to mention him, even Jinyiwei Commander Lu Gan wouldn't dare to come.

Before this, he really thought that Xiao Zhen asked these people to follow him back because he wanted him to provide cover and let these people capture the Fourth Prince.

Even so, he was determined to have his property confiscated and his entire family destroyed.

The attendant shook his head. "No, no, Master Xiao asked us to come back with you to provide you with support, not to help you arrest anyone. Besides, we have no official position, and with the Jinyiwei here, it's not our turn to arrest anyone."

Li Qing was speechless. Did he hear it right? These people were here to support him?

Just rely on them to support him?

"Do you know that arresting the prince without an imperial decree is a crime of deceiving the emperor?"

Several followers nodded: "I know."

"The crime of deceiving the emperor is not only the extermination of the family, but also the extermination of the entire clan, did you know that?"

Several people nodded again: "I know."

"Young Master Xiao wants you to be the support, can you handle it?"

Before anyone else could speak, the old man spoke first: "I can handle it."

Listening to that old voice, for some reason, Li Qing suddenly had the urge to kneel down.

His heart moved and he suddenly thought of someone.

Could it be that person?

How could he forget that Xiao Zhen is also that person's blood relative?

He had only been a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for ten years. When he joined, the man had already left the imperial city, and he had no chance to meet him.

Li Qing's heart was pounding. Although there were still many uncertainties, his intuition told him that his chance had come again!

The last chance was when Xiao Zhen died. Xiao Zhen died, the Fourth Prince was injured, Deng Zheng lost his designated position, and other people were more or less implicated. He was the only beneficiary of that tragedy. He served as a pacifier and embarked on a road to success from then on.

And this time, it may be another opportunity for him, a bigger opportunity.

But last time he won easily, and this time luck and danger coexist.

If his guess is wrong, then he and the entire Li family will be doomed!

But what if he guessed right, and this old man was that person, then...

Li Qing suddenly remembered what Xiao Zhen said that day: "Forget it, I'll find someone to back you up!"

Li Qing's heart beat faster. He looked at the old man with the fake face as if he was looking at the girl he had a crush on when he was young.

Zhao Xingzhou was startled. Why did this look make him look like an infatuated fan?

“You you you…”

Li Qing took a step forward, lifted his robe, and suddenly thought of something. He clasped his hands together and said, "I will definitely fulfill my mission and go through fire and water without hesitation!"

After saying that, he turned around, held his head high and walked out with big strides.

The people in the room looked at each other in confusion. Jiang Ping said, "He just left like that? No more bargaining?"

Xu Le: "I told you, anyone who can make it in the Jinyiwei is not a normal person."

Zhao Xingzhou habitually touched his beard, but found nothing. Then he remembered that he had shaved off his goatee in order to match this fake face.