"Yes, Magistrate Wen and Master Zhang are in the front hall right now."
The yamen runner bowed and responded. How could he dare to let Prefect Wen wait at the door of the prefectural yamen?
He could only take the person to the front hall and wait.
"Did they say anything?"
Prefect Ning looked at the bailiff.
The bailiff shook his head. "He didn't say anything, just asked to see the master."
"Oh, by the way, I noticed that both Magistrate Wen and Master Zhang looked unhappy."
Not only did the two men look unhappy, they even looked a little embarrassed.
But he could only say this in his heart.
"You don't look good!?"
Prefect Ning frowned, muttered something, and walked towards the front hall.
He and Prefect Wen were of the same rank, so he couldn't avoid seeing the other person when he came to visit.
But he had never had any friendship with Prefect Wen, and he really couldn't understand why Prefect Wen suddenly came to him.
After taking a few steps, Prefect Ning suddenly remembered the people he had sent out to chase the palace guards, and his pace suddenly slowed down.
Could it be that his people had a fight with the palace guards in Danyun City?
If Prefect Wen knew about this, it would be difficult to explain.
As a prefect, he dared to send people to hunt down the imperial guards, which would cost him his life.
Prefect Ning clenched his teeth, his eyes complicated as he walked towards the front hall...
"Oh, Lord Wen, I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person. I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person..."
Before Magistrate Ning even stepped into the front hall, he started greeting everyone with a smile at the top of his voice.
As he finished speaking, someone walked into the front hall.
When Prefect Wen heard the voice and turned around, he happened to see Prefect Ning walking in with a smile.
"Master Ning... Nice to meet you..."
Prefect Wen forced a smile on his face and walked towards Prefect Ning.
"It's a sudden visit, I'm sorry to bother you so much..."
"I'm sorry for disturbing you." Prefect Ning held Prefect Wen's wrist and smiled gently.
"I've heard that Mr. Wen is a very talented person. I wish I could talk to him all night long."
"I finally met you today. You can't leave no matter what. You must stay and let me entertain you and learn from you..."
"No, no..." When Prefect Wen heard Prefect Ning's compliments, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit.
"Master Ning, you are really too kind..."
Prefect Wen paused for a moment, and suddenly couldn't find words to compliment Prefect Ning.
He curled the corners of his lips, took Governor Ning's arm and walked into the living room.
There were too many eyes and ears around him as he was talking at the door, and he felt uneasy.
Prefect Ning frowned slightly and followed Prefect Wen inside.
"Oh, what a poor hospitality! Those ignorant people actually forgot to serve tea to Lord Wen."
Ning Zhifu looked at the empty coffee table, frowned, and shouted outside,
"Come on, hurry up..."
"No, no need..." Prefect Wen quickly interrupted Prefect Ning's polite words, "Brother Ning, please sit down and listen to me first. There's no rush for tea."
"Oh!?" Prefect Ning looked at Prefect Wen in confusion and sat down opposite him.
"Brother Wen, what do you want to tell me?"
The other party took the initiative to call him "brother", so how could he deliberately make trouble?
Magistrate Wen glanced around and his eyes fell on the servants serving in the living room.
Prefect Ning followed Prefect Wen's gaze and instantly understood.
He waved to the servants, "Everyone go down..."
After watching the servants rush out, Ning Zhifu turned to look at Wen Zhifu.
"Brother Wen, please speak."
It seems that the matter might really be related to those palace guards, otherwise Governor Wen would not be so cautious.
Could it be that those imperial guards died in Danyun City?
Magistrate Ning remained calm on the surface, but he was already extremely panicked on the inside.
Prefect Wen cleared his throat and hesitated for a moment.
He took a deep breath, raised his eyelids and looked at Prefect Ning.
"Brother Ning, I want to know if the treasury in your mansion has been emptied by the imperial guards?"
Prefect Ning's heart skipped a beat and he drooped his eyelids in avoidance.
As expected, something happened to the imperial guards in Danyun City.
"Brother Wen, why do you say that?"
"The Imperial Guards are the Emperor's men. How could they do such sneaky things?"
"I've been clean for so many years, what in the warehouse could be worth the imperial guards' attention... hehe..."
Prefect Ning pursed his lips and laughed heartily.
He is not that familiar with Prefect Wen, so he naturally would not admit such a thing.
If word got out that he was being targeted by the Imperial Guards, his superiors might simply abandon him.
Prefect Wen stared at Prefect Ning, and he did not miss the moment when Prefect Ning was stunned.
"I hope Brother Ning can tell me the truth."
"The head of your guards brought people from the assassination hall to hunt down the imperial guards. Isn't it because your warehouse was robbed?"
At this time, he was still telling lies to him. He was really tight-lipped.
As for what the chief guard of Ning Zhifu said, that those people were impersonating the imperial guards, he didn't believe it at all.
Prefect Ning put away the fake smile on his face and looked at Prefect Wen with a serious expression.
"Brother Wen, please don't say anything careless. I don't have the guts to hunt down the imperial guards."
"My men are chasing a gang of rampant thieves."
"I suspect the leader of that gang of thieves is impersonating a palace guard."
"Of course, my suspicions are based on evidence, not something you fabricated out of thin air."
Prefect Ning looked at Prefect Wen with a skeptical look on his face and continued,
"Brother Wen, do you think the Imperial Guards would be so poor as to become swordsmen?"
Wen Zhifu was slightly stunned and shook his head.
"How could it possibly be used as a saber? The Imperial Guards all have decent family backgrounds, they wouldn't be reduced to selling sabers."
"However, there is no guarantee that some of the imperial guards may encounter some difficulties and temporarily use the sword as a weapon, which is understandable."
You can't doubt that they are not imperial guards just because one or two of them carry swords.
Prefect Wen frowned and looked at Prefect Ning. From what he said, it seemed that there were palace guards wearing swords?
Ning Zhifu curled his lips and sneered,
"Yes, it's not strange for one or two imperial guards to carry swords."
"But if more than a hundred imperial guards went to the pawnshop to pawn their swords at the same time, would you think that was normal, Brother Wen?"
"This------" Prefect Wen widened his eyes in shock.
"How could it be possible that more than a hundred imperial guards were carrying swords at the same time?"
If you are short of money, one or two swords will do.
What is the purpose of having more than a hundred swords?
"That's why I'm so sure these imperial guards are fake."
Prefect Ning looked at Prefect Wen's stunned expression and continued,
"As soon as this group entered Menglan City, they went to the pawnshop that night and pawned over a hundred swords."
"The total amount was over 30,000 taels of silver."
"The leader of that group pretended to be a second-class imperial guard and took 10,000 taels of silver notes to a bank to exchange for 10,000 taels of silver in cash."
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