Catching Monsters

Chapter 353 Forget about compensation.

If it were anything else, Miao Yuanxing could ignore it, but he didn't believe that this Jinyiwei Jiang Yun would dare to lock him up in the imperial prison and torture him for a confession.

As a second-rank official of the imperial court, the things that Jiang Yun was spreading were indeed troublesome for him, but not unsolvable.

On the contrary, if the matter of his illegitimate child were to be revealed to his wife, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Seeing that Miao Yuanxing's attitude had softened, Jiang Yun smiled and sat down in a chair: "Lord Miao, we have no grudges or hatred between us. I heard that you have been urging His Majesty to punish me severely in court?"

Miao Yuanxing took a deep breath, his face regaining some of its solemnity, and said in a deep voice, "Jiang Yun, you attacked His Highness the Sixth Prince in broad daylight. I am merely acting in accordance with the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

Jiang Yun rolled his eyes at Miao Yuanxing, then said, "Lord Miao, I've come here in person, yet you still refuse to tell the truth?"

"If Lord Miao is unwilling to tell the truth, then I can only inform your wife about your illegitimate child."

Miao Yuanxing's lips twitched slightly, his eyes flickered, and after a long while, he took a deep breath and said, "Someone's here."

"That's what made me do it."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly: "Who is it?"

"I don't know." Miao Yuanxing shook his head and said, "On the third day after the Wuling Mansion incident, a mysterious guest came to visit and brought a lot of gifts."

"The gift was quite generous, and the other party's request was very simple: to speak out for justice and ask His Majesty to punish you severely."

To be honest, this was like a perfect opportunity for Miao Yuanxing.

Originally, since Jiang Yun dared to lead the Imperial Guards to attack the Sixth Prince, Miao Yuanxing, as the Minister of Rites, should have denounced this matter in the court.

Not to mention that someone even specially delivered a very valuable gift.

Therefore, Miao Yuanxing took this matter very seriously.

Hearing this, Jiang Yun couldn't help but feel a little strange. Who wanted to deal with him?
Xiao Jingqi?
Wang Longzhi?
They could present a valuable gift and ask Miao Yuanxing to target their own people in court.

After much thought, Jiang Yun could only think of these two people.

"Lord Miao, you should know what to do next." Jiang Yun slowly got up and prepared to leave.

Miao Yuanxing frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Jiang Yun, among the people who recently submitted a joint petition, I can persuade the others to stop speaking on this matter."

"But there was one exception: Imperial Censor Liu Bufu."

"You'll have to figure out how to handle him yourself."

Liu Bufu?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun simply nodded slightly, but did not stop walking, and left Miao Yuanxing's residence directly.

To be honest, Liu Bufu is indeed a bit troublesome, mainly because he is too damn clean. Even in the records room of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there is no dirt on him.

It's definitely unrealistic to try to threaten him in this way.

After Jiang Yun left, Miao Yuanxing's eyes flickered, and he quickly ordered his servants to prepare a sedan chair. He then left from the back and soon arrived at a luxurious mansion in the inner city.

A plaque hangs above the courtyard: The Fourth Prince's Residence.

After the sedan chair stopped, Miao Yuanxing hurriedly went inside to pay his respects to the Fourth Prince, Xiao Jingfu.

Soon, the servants of the Fourth Prince's residence led Miao Yuanxing to the backyard.

In the backyard, the Fourth Prince Xiao Jingfu was embracing two scantily clad women, sitting in the courtyard eating fruit.

Seeing this, Miao Yuanxing frowned slightly and quickly turned his head away. In broad daylight...

At this moment, Xiao Jingfu also saw Miao Yuanxing's figure. Somewhat disappointed, he sent the two delicate women beside him away: "Alright, you two go back to your room and rest for a while. I will come to find you later."

"Yes, Fourth Master."

"Fourth Master, remember quickly."

The two delicate-looking women glanced at him tenderly before turning and leaving, swaying their slender waists.

"Lord Miao, you came so suddenly without even letting anyone know in advance." Xiao Jingfu smiled and stood up, politely inviting Miao Yuanxing to sit down in a quiet pavilion in the courtyard.

"Fourth Prince, Jiang Yun came to see me." Miao Yuanxing frowned and said in a deep voice, "This fellow has probably obtained quite a bit from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and is threatening me..."

"Oh?" Xiao Jingfu spoke in a literary tone, his eyelids slightly raised, and said in a deep voice, "Lord Miao, a dignified second-rank official, can be threatened by this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"Alas." Miao Yuanxing sighed, his lips moved, and then he said, "I'm afraid I cannot continue to speak on behalf of His Highness the Fourth Prince."

"However, Jiang Yun is audacious enough to attempt to kill the Sixth Prince. As the Sixth Prince's brother, since you are angry, why don't you speak to His Majesty in person?"

"Hehe." Xiao Jingfu shook his head slightly and said, "Lord Miao, please have some tea."

"I believe Lord Miao has also heard some news. My father has been unwell recently, and he is considering establishing a crown prince."

"Of course, I have no interest in being the crown prince."

Upon hearing this, Miao Yuanxing said without hesitation, "Our Zhou Kingdom has a history of three hundred years. It was founded on Confucianism, Taoism and rites. If we are talking about establishing a crown prince, since ancient times, it has been the case that the son succeeds the father, and the legitimate son is the most important. In terms of sentiment, reason, public and private, the eldest prince should be established as the crown prince."

This was also the view of all civil officials. In fact, long ago, the ministers had advised Xiao Yuzheng to establish a crown prince.

However, Xiao Yuzheng was in his prime and paid no heed to the suggestions of his ministers. When the civil officials tried to persuade him, Xiao Yuzheng became enraged, even dismissing many ministers, some of whom lost their heads as a result.

After that, no one dared to speak lightly about establishing a crown prince.

Now that this old matter has been brought up again, the position of Crown Prince should, in any case, belong to the eldest prince.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jingfu's face lit up with joy, and he laughed heartily, saying, "That's how it should be. My elder brother is kind-hearted, and both in terms of sentiment and reason, he should be made the crown prince."

"Alright, Lord Miao, you may go back now."

After seeing Miao Yuanxing off from the mansion, Xiao Jingfu's smile gradually disappeared, replaced by a furrowed brow.

……

"Imperial Censor Liu, do you still remember me?"

Outside Liu Bufu's barren courtyard, Jiang Yun carried some gifts she had bought. As she entered the courtyard, she saw Liu Bufu sitting in the yard, doing carpentry work.

Liu Bufu was truly incorruptible; he even made his own tables and chairs from wood purchased from his own home.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bufu looked up, saw him, and frowned: "Who are you?"

Although Jiang Yun had visited Liu Bufu once before, it had been a long time. Liu Bufu only felt that the person looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who the person in front of him was.

"Jiang Yun, Commander of the Eastern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Upon hearing this name, Liu Bufu's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "The traitor who assassinated the Sixth Prince?"

"What are you doing here?" He glanced at the gifts in Jiang Yun's hands, his face growing even uglier: "What, trying to bribe me?"

As he spoke, he picked up a chair leg from the side and hurled it at Jiang Yun.

Of course, Jiang Yun easily dodged the attack. He smiled and said, "Lord Liu, please don't be angry. I came here specifically to explain things to you."

"What's there to explain?" Liu Bufu said coldly, his face grim.

"Don't you want to know who wants to kill the Sixth Prince?" Jiang Yun retorted.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bufu's expression gradually softened. He narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "What do you mean?"

"Don't you think about it? How dare I, a mere commander of the Imperial Guard, lay a hand on the Sixth Prince?"

At this point, Jiang Yun subconsciously looked around to make sure it was just the two of them before approaching Liu Bufu and lowering his voice to ask, "Whom do the Embroidered Uniform Guards take orders from?"

Liu Bufu's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Are you trying to say that killing the Sixth Prince was His Majesty's order?"

"if not."

On his way here, Jiang Yun also realized that Liu Bufu was clean and innocent, and it would be almost impossible to use any leverage against him.

He also needed to stop him from attacking him in court.

The only way, of course, is to tell him the truth.

Whether or not he criticizes Xiao Yuzheng in court is not a question for Jiang Yun to consider.

I went through so much trouble and took such great risks to get to Wuling Mansion, and finally escaped with my life hanging by a thread.

Now that something has happened, does Xiao Yuzheng still want to act like nothing happened?
Why should I?

As expected, Liu Bufu's expression hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty is simply confused. How could you do such a thing?"

"No matter what, he is His Majesty's own flesh and blood. A father killing his son is unheard of!"

Jiang Yun also reminded him, "Lord Liu, you must keep this a secret from me. Don't let anyone know that you learned this from me."

After saying that, he put down the gift and left in a hurry.

Liu Bufu was so angry that he gritted his teeth. No, he had to question His Majesty properly in the court!
After leaving Liu Bufu's courtyard, Jiang Yun felt a little lighter and then hurried back to the Eastern Garrison.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the Eastern Garrison Command was somewhat heavy.

Of the 800 people who went, only a little over 400 returned.

Everyone's mood was not very high.

Upon hearing that Jiang Yun had returned, Zidane rushed over immediately.

In Jiang Yun's study, Qi Da, who had now been promoted to centurion, had a solemn expression. He placed a list on Jiang Yun's desk and said, "Commander Jiang, this is the list of casualties this time."

Seeing this, Jiang Yun took the list and looked at it carefully. Zhu Zanyu had also stayed in Wuling Mansion this time, and his fate was unknown.

"Furthermore..." Zidane paused, then lowered his voice and said, "I've heard that the compensation from the imperial court for the brothers who were injured or killed this time is probably not going to come through."

"The Ministry of Revenue claims that this mission is to assassinate the Sixth Prince, which is a heinous crime."

"Even the official in charge of the Ministry of Revenue said that it would be good enough if we weren't held responsible, and we shouldn't even think about compensation."

(End of this chapter)