Chapter 115 What's with this mad dog pretending to be a gentleman?
Xiao Yunzhan had just finished explaining the follow-up to the leader of the Huainan army when he turned around and saw Pei Zhiwei and Xie Ji riding side by side slowly on the street not far away.
The horses' hooves clattered softly on the stone pavement. The two men were about half a horse's length apart, yet they said nothing.
Xiao Yunzhan's gaze fell on Xie Ji. This kid was never one to ride alongside a woman at a leisurely pace. At this moment, not only was he not in a hurry to leave, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at Pei Zhiwei.
The look in his eyes had lost its usual nonchalant air; instead, it held something else.
The string of vigilance in Xiao Yunzhan's mind was instantly pulled.
He spurred his horse forward, pulled on the reins, and the horse landed right between the two of them, its tail brushing against Xie Ji's horse's leg.
Startled, Xie Ji glared at him and asked, "What are you doing?"
If it weren't for a well-trained warhorse, it would definitely be startled!
"Ahem, I just remembered something." Xiao Yunzhan pretended to be nonchalant and turned his gaze to Pei Zhiwei.
"It's so chaotic tonight, I didn't see Ding Jin among Zhang Xuren's men."
Logically speaking, if he wanted to run away with Zhang Xiao, having more manpower would always be beneficial. Ding Jin knew martial arts, so there was no reason not to bring him along.
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhiwei frowned slightly.
She had both hands on the edge of the saddle. "I've been thinking about this too."
When we checked the footprints at the governor's mansion during the day, the marks were indeed new, and we thought they were left by Ding Jin when he threw away the wooden box.
But if Zhang Xuren was lying from the beginning, perhaps those footprints weren't left for throwing away the wooden box at all, but for some other purpose.
"Hey, why think about these things!" Xie Ji suddenly interjected, patting the saddle with a deliberately relaxed tone.
"Anyway, Zhang Xuren and Zhang Xiao have been detained, they can't escape."
We've been through enough these past few days. Xiao Yunzhan, didn't you say during the day that you hadn't slept for three days and two nights?
Everyone should get a good night's sleep tonight. No one is allowed to think about the case. One more night won't make a difference in the investigation.
Xiao Yunzhan glanced at Xie Ji and said, "You're right."
Now is a crucial time; if I ruin my health, it will delay everything else.
Let's go back to Yaoguang Garden first, and we can talk about it tomorrow.
Pei Zhiwei had originally thought that she could bring Zhang Xuren and his son out for questioning tonight, and maybe she could pry more information about Xinluofang and the Grand Canal out of them.
Hearing Xiao Yunzhan say this, and remembering that they hadn't rested well these past few days, he nodded: "You're right, we really should rest and recuperate."
"Then let's rest tonight and deal with these things first thing tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing this, Xie Ji immediately breathed a sigh of relief and urged his horse toward Yaoguang Garden: "That's more like it!"
I'm starving. I'll go back and ask the kitchen to make something hot, then I'll eat and go to sleep.
Xiao Yunzhan and Pei Zhiwei followed behind, neither of them speaking, only the sound of horses' hooves slowly dissipating in the night.
The next morning, not long after dawn, there was a knock on the door of Yaoguang Garden.
When Lin Fu led Liu Jingchang in, Liu Jingchang was holding a booklet in his hand. "Your Highness, it's about those missing girls."
The men below have already found out everything about these young ladies.
These young women have been kept locked up ever since they were chosen to go to the Silla Palace. They have never seen outsiders and have never been mistreated.
The one who has been detained the longest has been locked up for half a year.
Most of them could clearly state where they lived. I thought I'd report this to Your Highness and see if we could send them back to their hometowns.
Pei Zhiwei: "What are those women prepared to do?"
Liu Jingchang: "I have questioned the owner of the Silla Pavilion, and he said that these girls are all to be transported back to Silla to be given to nobles."
They had to be clean, so there couldn't be any marks on their bodies. Therefore, they could only be kept locked up; no one dared to lay a finger on them.
Pei Zhiwei frowned even more: "They haven't shipped any goods in the past six months."
What about those who have already left? How many people did they transport in total?
Upon hearing this, Liu Jingchang sighed, pushed the booklet over, and lowered his voice: "I also asked about this matter. At first, the head of the Silla Pavilion refused to talk about it, but later he used some methods to get him to confess."
No fewer than five hundred people.
"What?" Xie Ji had just picked up his teacup when he heard this and slammed it down on the table with a "bang".
"No fewer than five hundred people?"
With such a large city as Yangdu, did no one notice?
Are all the people in the Household Registration Office just sitting around doing nothing?
Liu Jingchang looked helpless: "Thank you for your anger, Your Highness."
The Silla Palace forged documents for these girls, claiming they were either 'voluntarily sold into slavery' or 'debt slaves,' making it impossible to detect any problems on the surface.
The Household Registration Office's Military Advisor and Records Officer, who were responsible for checking household registrations and documents, were directly under the jurisdiction of the Prefect, and their subordinates had no say in the matter.
I have now ordered my men to surround both houses, and we await Your Highness's instructions.
"What are you waiting for instructions for?" Xie Ji stood up angrily.
"These two beasts are helping foreigners traffic our Liang women. What else is there to wait for?"
Doesn't Lord Pei have the authority to execute officials of the fifth rank or below without prior approval?
One of them was a seventh-rank official, and the other was a seventh-rank official above.
"Drag them straight to the main street and behead them, let everyone in Yangdu see what the consequences are for doing such a thing!"
Xiao Yunzhan sat to the side, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, and said coldly, "What's the rush?"
"Killing just those two isn't enough to vent my anger!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Liu Jingchang, "Do you think these two people dared to do this because they're bold?"
The Registrar of Households is backed by the Yu family, and the Registrar of Records is the son-in-law of the Lu family…
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Fu rushed in from outside, "Your Highness, Lu Fanghui, the head of the Lu family, has brought men to escort the registrar to see you."
Xiao Yunzhan narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "Lu Fanghui is quite shrewd. He's afraid of being implicated by the military advisor, so he wants to make a big show of clearing the Lu family's name."
Tell him, "I will not see him."
"Yes." Lin Fu was about to turn around when Xiao Yunzhan called out to him.
"Lord Liu." Xiao Yunzhan looked at Liu Jingchang, his tone carrying an unquestionable seriousness.
"Go and arrest these two people now, just like Wang Heng did. Have your trusted men keep an eye on them and make sure they don't die."
Not a single one can be spared until their entire family pays the price.
Upon hearing this, Liu Jingchang felt refreshed and immediately clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Your humble servant obeys!"
"I'll get on it right away!"
He then quickly walked out.
Xie Ji watched Liu Jingchang's retreating figure and curled his lip: "You're right. A head cut off leaves a scar the size of a bowl, but how can that compare to the harm suffered by the more than five hundred women and their families who have already been taken away?"
Xiao Yunzhan didn't reply. Just as he was about to pick up his teacup, he saw a dark figure jump down from the courtyard wall and kneel on one knee.
"Your Highness," the guard's voice was low, "Commander Li has sent word that he has discovered Ding Jin's whereabouts, and..."
Ding Jin was taken away by a confidant of Zhang Qifeng, the Vice Minister of Revenue, and should be on his way to the capital now.
"You went to the capital?" Xiao Yunzhan raised an eyebrow, not angry at all, but smiled instead.
"That's fine. Now that we're back in the capital, Li Rong will be familiar with the place, making it easier to keep an eye on him."
"Let Li Rong continue following, but don't alert them."
"Yes," the guard replied, then continued.
"In addition, Commander Li also discovered that the Yu family has an illegal shipyard in Xuzhou."
The previously missing cargo ships were eventually transported there after several twists and turns.
After reorganization, it became a merchant ship of the Yu family.
After saying that, the guard suddenly kowtowed to the ground, bowing his head very low: "Commander Li said that the mission this time was not handled well enough and disappointed the prince. He felt guilty."
But please allow him to follow you and investigate the rest of the matter. Once the case is closed, he will resign from his position as commander of the secret guards and personally apologize to you.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunzhan sighed and waved his hand, "Never mind, it's not entirely his fault."
Who could have imagined that the entire Jiangnan region had deteriorated to this extent? As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. It's already quite remarkable that he was able to find out all this.
Go back and tell Li Rong to finish up what he has to do first, and they can deal with the rest when they return to the capital.
"Your subordinate thanks Your Highness for your magnanimity!" The guard kowtowed again before getting up, climbing over the wall, and disappearing from sight.
As soon as the secret guards left, Lin Fu led a bodyguard in.
The guard, carrying a brocade box, knelt down as soon as he entered: "Your Highness, this is His Majesty's reply to you."
Xiao Yunzhan took the brocade box, opened it, and found a series of neatly sealed letters inside.
He unfolded the letter, glanced at it, and suddenly his lips twitched uncontrollably, as if he had seen something unspeakable.
"What did His Majesty say?" Xie Ji leaned closer, extremely curious.
"Should we hurry up and close Zhang Xuren's case so we can return to the capital to report back?"
Xiao Yunzhan folded the letter, cleared his throat, and said, "No, His Majesty wants us to go find Lord Cui."
"Let Lord Cui take us to question Lady Xu."
Pei Zhiwei was taken aback for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "Isn't Your Majesty afraid that Lord Cui and Lady Xu are colluding?"
Furthermore… what did His Majesty say about Wang Jingzong's execution?
"His Majesty said that Wang Jingzong should have died long ago." Xiao Yunzhan's voice was calm, but it stunned Pei Zhiwei and Xie Ji.
"More than twenty years ago, His Majesty promised Lady Xu that if Wang Jingzong broke the law again, Lady Xu could kill him with her own hands without bearing any responsibility."
"Your Majesty has this connection with the Wang siblings?" Xie Ji's eyes widened.
Pei Zhiwei was also surprised. She only knew that Xu Wangshi came from the Hedong Wang clan, but she did not expect that she had a past relationship with His Majesty.
Seeing their reactions, Xiao Yunzhan didn't say anything more, but simply said, "Stop guessing. Let's go invite Lord Cui now, and have someone inform Liu Jingchang so we can all meet at the Xu residence."
The group soon arrived at the Xu residence.
Xiao Yunzhan handed His Majesty's letter to Cui Yanwu. Cui Yanwu opened it, glanced at it, and without any expression on his face, simply folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
Xie Ji, eager to read on, couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, what else did His Majesty write in his letter?"
Cui Yanwu glanced at him, then handed him the letter between two fingers: "Read it yourself."
Xie Ji quickly took it, and Pei Zhiwei also leaned over, the two of them looking at the contents of the letter together.
The letter contained almost identical information to what Xiao Yunzhan had said. It mainly instructed Cui Yanwu to take them to see Madam Xu, and also mentioned that "there is no need to pursue the matter of Wang Jingzong."
However, two lines of text stood out.
One line read, "That bastard Wang Jingzong should have died long ago," and the other line read, "Cui Yanwu, you mad dog, what are you pretending to be, a gentleman in front of the younger generation?"
After reading it, Pei Zhiwei blinked and looked at Xiao Yunzhan, her eyes filled with shock.
Is this how Your Majesty speaks?
Seeing her like this, Xiao Yunzhan couldn't help but chuckle softly: "What kind of refined person can be able to hang out with a 'mad dog'?"
Pei Zhiwei thought about it and realized that it made sense.
But after hearing Xiao Yunzhan say that, she felt that something was not quite right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
The group arrived at Wang's door. Cui Yanwu stepped forward, raised his hand and knocked on the door, his voice softer than usual: "Wang Jingya, it's me, Cui Yanwu."
The door opened quickly from the inside.
Lady Wang was dressed in a plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and her hair and makeup were exquisite.
She bowed gracefully, her voice gentle: "Jingya greets Brother Cui."
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