Chapter 196 Prefect Cui, you've kept me waiting...
The heavy ship crashed directly into the dock, and the yamen runners on board grabbed their weapons and jumped overboard without hesitation to give chase.
"I am Du Min, the Chief Clerk of Huai Prefecture. All of you present, heed my command and immediately assist me in capturing these unidentified soldiers!" Du Min shouted, and he jumped off the boat as well.
The porters on the dock, seeing that the arrogant and domineering soldiers had turned into deserters, immediately followed Du Min and chased after them.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, get to shore!" the boatman on the cargo ship shouted. "Get to shore quickly, we'll go help."
Cui Jin peered over the chaotic scene on the shore, his decision from a moment ago beginning to waver. Du Min had stopped the pursuers, so he might as well take the opportunity to escape, but then he worried that there might be more people blocking his way.
The cargo ship docked, and the boatmen, helmsmen, and merchants disembarked. Cui Jin lagged behind the crowd, staring at the official ship next to him carrying stone troughs and coal. Xu Ang certainly wouldn't have expected him to turn back.
Having made his decision, Cui Jin hurriedly followed and disembarked from the cargo ship.
*
On the other side, Du Min, with a large number of helpers, surrounded the seven soldiers. The leading armored soldier approached Du Min and said, "This humble officer greets Chief Secretary Du. We are guards of Governor Xu. We are on official business and cannot reveal our identities, which is why Chief Secretary Du has misunderstood us. We hope that Chief Secretary Du will allow us to pass."
Du Min stared at him probingly. He took the token; it was indeed the guard of Governor Xu.
"What are you doing? Which fugitive are you arresting?" Du Min pressed. "We're all colleagues from the same prefecture. Why are you running away when you see me? You should have identified yourself from the start. There's no need for this."
The guard glanced around.
Du Min glanced at the yamen runner, who immediately went to disperse the crowd.
"Chief Secretary Du, Prefect Cui has abdicated without authorization and left Hanoi County with his wife. Governor Xu sent us to investigate." The guard explained in a low voice, "Because we don't know the details of Prefect Cui's departure, Governor Xu instructed us not to make a fuss. If Prefect Cui and his wife have a falling out, and Prefect Cui is only pursuing his wife, our actions would damage Prefect Cui's reputation and affect his future promotion."
Upon hearing the first sentence, Du Min ignored all the high-sounding reasons that followed. All he knew was that Cui Jin and his wife had run away, Huaizhou was about to change, and he had to stop this group of people no matter what.
"What kind of private mission is this? Why did you have to hide it from me? And you still tried to run away after I called you out?" Du Min stared at him with his hands behind his back. "Tell me, why are you running away? Don't even think about leaving until you give me a reasonable explanation."
The guards remained silent. They had received a letter informing them that the cargo ship where Cui Biejia was hiding was passing through the Mengjin ferry crossing today. Capturing him should have been a sure thing, but unexpectedly, they ran into Chief Secretary Du. This was a troublesome fellow, and they were worried that being discovered by him would lead to unforeseen circumstances and affect their plan to kill him and cover it up. They decided to escape and lure him away, allowing Cui Biejia to leave in the meantime, and then intercept him at the next ferry crossing.
“We used the pretext of apprehending a fugitive, fearing that you would find out and cause trouble for Governor Xu, so we instinctively chose to run away,” another guard explained.
“You have too many excuses. I can’t even tell what your real intentions are anymore, and I’m not sure who you are either.” Du Min weighed the token in his hand and said, “Come with me. Let’s go back to the governor’s mansion and confront Governor Xu. Let’s see if he knows that you’ve been doing all sorts of misdeeds behind his back.”
"this……"
"What? Trying to run away again?" Du Min waved to the constables. "Tie these people up. I want to see if they are soldiers or thieves."
"Du Changshi, you are obstructing official business!"
"What business is it of yours if Prefect Cui is chasing after a wife? You're meddling in other people's affairs. You'd be better off farming your own land. The court pays you salaries to meddle in other people's family matters!" Du Min shouted. "You'd better be telling the truth. I'm going to ask Governor Xu what he's actually doing. Is Prefect Cui a military commander on the battlefield or a vanguard in a siege? You're making his pursuit of a wife sound like he's a deserter. You're not worried about his future promotion, you're afraid it won't affect his career."
“Chief Secretary Du, watch your words. We are acting under orders. Prefect Cui left Hanoi County without permission; he has left his post without authorization.” The guard’s face was ashamed. Since becoming Prefect Xu’s bodyguard, he had never been reprimanded like this before.
“His unauthorized departure doesn’t warrant your elaborate arrest; you have no right to do so.” Du Min stood firm. “I’ll give you two choices: come with me on the ship yourselves, or I’ll have you tied up and thrown onto the ship?”
The guards looked towards the dock; three cargo ships had already left. If they gave up the pursuit, they could only hope that the group that had gone to Bingzhou to intercept them would be able to complete the mission.
"Du Changshi, are you going against Governor Xu?" the guard threatened.
“I don’t believe Governor Xu would do something so foolish. Therefore, I deduce that you are not his subordinates.” Du Min was not about to give anyone leverage, so he stopped arguing and said, “Brothers, tie up these thieves and soldiers.”
"Wait!" the guard tried to stop them, but it was too late. A group of strong and burly yamen runners rushed forward and quickly tied up the bunch of good-for-nothings.
"Well done!" Du Min cheered, then feigned innocence, saying, "These guys don't look like guards from the governor's mansion at all. They're a bunch of cowards who wouldn't last five moves against the yamen runners."
"His belly is full of fat, he has no fighting power, only his skin can scare people," said an old constable.
The seven guards were so angry that their faces turned ashen.
"Put the man on the boat," Du Min ordered.
"Du Changshi, if you don't release us today, Governor Xu will not let you off the hook!" the guards shouted.
Du Min turned a deaf ear.
Upon arriving at the dock, Du Min boarded the ship, intending to pay the ferry supervisor for repairing the damaged wooden steps. He hadn't gone far when he spotted a jade hairpin beside a pile of coal slag. Picking it up, he realized he couldn't afford such a thing; it certainly didn't belong to the ship's servants or helmsman.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" the helmsman asked as Du Min approached.
"When we disembarked to catch the thieves, did anyone come aboard?" Du Min asked.
"I haven't seen anyone come aboard." The helmsman shook his head. "What happened? Did something go missing? After the gentlemen disembarked, the helmsmen on the ship also went down to help out or repair the ship. I was busy furling the sails and didn't pay much attention."
"It's alright." Du Min had a guess in his mind. "You and the helmsmen get ready. We're leaving soon. It's not safe here."
The helmsman should be.
Du Min walked down from the cabin, deliberately slowing his pace as he went to the first cabin to get the money, then made his way to the stern cabin and from there to the deck.
In an unused cabin, Cui Jin listened to the footsteps leaving and slowly let out a sigh of relief, finally relaxing. However, not long after, a flurry of footsteps sounded on the deck above, followed by footsteps and voices coming down, and he tensed up again.
After an unknown amount of time, the ship suddenly rocked violently, and Cui Jin was caught off guard and fell to the ground.
"What's that noise?" The cook asked as he passed by, glancing towards the cabin.
"Something must have spilled. Let's hurry up and cook, it's already late."
Cui Jin lay on the deck, waiting for the footsteps outside to fade into the distance before angrily pounding his fist on the deck. He, a high-ranking official, had now fallen to the level of a thief. He hated it! He hated the damned Xu Ang, he hated himself, and he hated Wang Yunrong even more. It was all her fault that he had fled in such a panic. A letter could have solved the problem, but she insisted on running away, forcing him to have no other choice but to flee his home.
As the boat left Mengjin Ferry, it gradually grew dark, and the yamen runners and helmsman on board took turns eating dinner.
When it was completely dark, the yamen runners went back to their cabins to sleep.
"Old Zhu, don't throw away the leftover rice from tonight. I'll use it to feed the birds tomorrow," Du Min instructed loudly.
"Understood," the cook replied.
Gradually, the talking on the ship subsided, and snoring began to rise.
Cui Jin fell asleep on the uncovered bed board. In the middle of the night, hunger woke him up, and he groped his way to the cabin door in the dark.
Du Min heard footsteps and looked towards the door. A dark figure swayed in and couldn't help but curse as it kicked over the bucket by the door.
"Prefect Cui, you've kept me waiting." Du Min said slowly.
Cui Jin was terrified by the sudden voice, and when he realized it was Du Min, he felt even more desperate.
Du Min used the embers left in the stove to light a candle, and holding the candle, he walked over with a smile, "Are you hungry?"
"How did you know I was on the ship?" Cui Jin was almost resigned to her fate. "I've gone around in circles and still can't escape your trap? Are you going to send me to the governor's mansion?"
Du Min took out a jade hairpin from his pocket. "Is this yours? You're so careless, you can even lose something this good."
Cui Jin didn't answer. "What do you plan to do with me?"
"That depends on your performance. What happened? Why did you run away? Tell me the truth," Du Min said. "If you tell me the truth, maybe I can help you."
“I can say, but I have one request…”
Du Min laughed, "Prefect Cui, wake up. I could kill you right now and no one would know. Look at your situation, what right do you have to make demands of me?"
Cui Jin looked humiliated.
“The seven guards who are pursuing you are on my ship,” Du Min revealed.
Cui Jin looked at him in surprise, "You're helping me? Why are you helping me? Aren't you with Xu Ang?"
Du Min did not reply.
“Alright, I’ll tell you.” Cui Jin’s hope rekindled, and he recounted the whole story in detail. After he finished speaking, he asked hopefully, “Could you take me to the Prefectural Governor’s Office in Luozhou?”
"I can help you send a letter to Chang'an." Du Min planned to hide Cui Jin away; why would he send away a favor that had come to him?
"Don't wander around anymore, lest you fall into Governor Xu's hands again. You come back to Wen County with me, and I'll erase your whereabouts. When the court sends someone down, you can testify then," Du Min reassured him. "Do you know where your wife is? Could something have happened to her?"
“I left Hanoi County a day after her, and I don’t know her whereabouts,” Cui Jin replied. “She should have gone to Bingzhou, where she has relatives.”
Du Min thought for a moment and said, "Give me the address of her clansmen, and I will arrange for someone to contact them and have them meet up with us."
"Aren't you afraid the female saint will blame you for interfering?" Cui Jin asked curiously.
Du Min didn't answer. He took out some cold rice from the cupboard and handed it to Cui Jin. He then sat to the side, conflicted. He was torn between impeaching Governor Xu, knowing full well that he had committed a crime.
Not participating would be considered as withholding information; participating, however, might offend the female saint.
However, by informing Prime Minister Zheng, he had already offended the female saint.
"I'm full," Cui Jin said.
"Go back to your hiding place in the cabin. I'll bring you three meals a day from now on," Du Min instructed. "Wait, do you think that after this incident, the Empress will spare Xu Ang out of consideration for Prime Minister Xu's feelings?"
“Impossible. There is still an emperor in the court; she cannot act recklessly,” Cui Jin replied.
Upon hearing this, Du Min's mind immediately cleared. Xu Ang was useless, and Prime Minister Xu was too old to die. These two useless pieces were destined to be discarded by the female saint. Before discarding them, it would be better to use them as stepping stones.
Only when the old tree falls can the new buds grow strong; I think the female sage could understand this.
"Um... let me remind you, if Xu Ang can't find me, he might resort to desperate measures and target Li Sima and Liu Cao Canjun. I'm just a witness; those guys definitely have physical evidence against him." Cui Jin couldn't escape anymore, so he started to consider how to kill Xu Ang in one blow and not give him a chance to retaliate.
"Understood." Du Min nodded. "Go back to your cabin and don't come out until nightfall."
Cui Jin is gone.
Du Min sat for a while longer, then took a candle and went up to the deck. He told the helmsman to go directly back to Wen County and not to Hanoi County.
*
Two days later, the official ship arrived in Wen County. Du Min called a group of people to board the ship and carry the stone trough. Cui Jin mingled among them and followed them off the ship. He was then sent by Du Min to the Meng family paper mill for safekeeping.
Du Min returned to the post station without stopping to write an official document. As soon as the ink dried, he immediately ordered the courier to send it to Chang'an at full speed.
After resting for a night, Du Min led seven guards back to Hanoi County to investigate the situation.
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Author's Note: There will be another update at 12 o'clock.
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