Catching Monsters

Chapter 354 The Red Mark with Butterfly Pattern

At this point, Zidane gritted his teeth and cursed, "Those bastards in the Ministry of Revenue, it's one thing for them to embezzle and take bribes on a daily basis, but more than a hundred of our brothers have died or been injured, and we have elderly parents and young children to support."

"Now that they are dead, if the court does not provide assistance or relief funds, their wives and children will probably not be able to survive in the capital."

“In the past, who among us Jinyiwei would be willing to risk our lives for the imperial court?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's heart sank. The more than one hundred brothers who had died or been wounded had all followed him on a mission and perished tragically in the Martial Spirit Mansion.

There were also more than two hundred people arrested.

Jiang Yun asked, "How much compensation should be paid?"

Qi Da took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "According to custom, if someone in our Embroidered Uniform Guard dies, we first issue a one-time payment of one thousand taels of silver to their family."

"For the next thirty years, ten taels of silver will be given to relatives every month for their living expenses."

"We have 130 confirmed deaths this time, which amount to 130,000 taels of silver."

Hearing this, Jiang Yun's expression darkened, and he asked, "Who in the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of this matter?"

"The newly appointed head of the Ministry of Revenue is Liang Yibu, Lord Liang."

"Does Lord Li Wangxin know about this?" Jiang Yun asked again.

Zidane nodded: "I haven't reported this to Lord Li yet."

At this point, Zidane asked in a low voice, "Lord Commander, do you think you could help negotiate a solution to this matter?"

Looking at the list of names, Jiang Yun took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Let's go to the Ministry of Revenue."

……

Inside the Ministry of Revenue compound, Liang Yibu was sitting in a study, looking through the list of Jinyiwei who had died in the recent battle, sent by the Eastern Garrison Command.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Revenue needs to allocate 130,000 taels of silver to provide compensation to the families of the Jinyiwei who were killed or wounded.

It was quite common for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to receive compensation for their deaths and injuries.

However, cases where more than a hundred people die at once are extremely rare.

This is 130,000 taels of silver, such a huge sum of money. After Liang Yibu reported it, the money was quickly approved because it involved the sacrifice of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But Liang Yibu had a change of heart. Such a large sum of money, if he were to save a little bit, would be equivalent to half of his life's salary.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Lord Liang, two Imperial Guards from the Eastern Garrison have arrived outside, claiming they wish to see you."

Upon hearing this, Liang Yibu frowned, knowing in his heart that these two people were after the money.

He looked up and said, "Tell them I'm away on business and not here."

Bang.

The door was pushed open, and Jiang Yun and Qi Da were right outside.

Upon seeing the two people who had arrived, Liang Yibu frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Jiang Yun, Commander of the Eastern Garrison."

With a smile on his face, Jiang Yun sat down opposite Liang Yibu and looked him up and down.

Liang Yibu looked to be around forty years old, with a scholarly air about him. There was a red mark on the left side of his neck that looked somewhat like a butterfly pattern: "I have come here today for the compensation for the brothers who died or were injured under my command."

"Oh." Liang Yibu looked at Qi Da and said, "This Qi Baihu has come to me many times, and I have explained it very clearly. The higher-ups will not approve this payment for the time being. You just wait."

"Who won't approve it?" Jiang Yun asked.

Liang Yibu frowned: "This involves the secrets of our Ministry of Revenue's internal work, so it's not something your Embroidered Uniform Guard should concern themselves with."

"Someone, take them both out."

Jiang Yun turned to Qi Da and asked, "Commander Qi, if I remember correctly, the current Minister of Revenue is Lord Zheng Chengze, isn't he?"

"Let's go, I'll go ask Lord Zheng why this money wasn't approved for our Embroidered Uniform Guard."

After saying that, he made a move to get up and leave. When Liang Yibu saw this, his heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly said, "Commander Jiang, wait a moment. This is easy to talk about."

Liang Yibo forced a smile, pondered for a moment, and then gave a look to the Ministry of Revenue subordinate at the door.

The subordinate understood and quickly left.

“In fact, the money has already been approved.” Liang Yibu said with a smile as he poured tea for Jiang Yun, and said in a low voice, “But in my opinion, isn’t giving a thousand taels of silver for the death or injury of a Jinyiwei too much?”

"Many of you Jinyiwei have died in battle, leaving behind widows and orphans. Suddenly having a huge sum of one thousand taels of silver might attract the attention of malicious people, which would not be a good thing."

“Commander Jiang, in my opinion, we should give each of them five hundred taels of silver.”

"We can discuss the rest of the money."

boom.

Jiang Yun suddenly punched Liang Yibu, knocking him to the ground. Liang Yibu clutched his nose in pain, blood flowing from it. He was shocked and exclaimed, "Absurd! Absurd! This is the Ministry of Revenue!"

Even if you are a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you cannot act recklessly here!

Jiang Yun's face was cold and indifferent. She stepped on his chest with a little more force: "Either you give me the money now, or I'll take you back to the Imperial Prison. You know very well what will happen to you in there for trying to embezzle our Eastern Garrison's pension funds, right?"

"Cough cough."

Liang Yibu's chest ached from being stepped on, and he coughed violently. His hand trembled as he pointed to a cabinet: "The approval document is over there. You can take it to the Ministry of Revenue's money exchange shop to exchange it for silver notes." Jiang Yun gave Qi Da a wink, and Qi Da quickly stepped forward, opened the cabinet, and took out an approval document bearing the seal of the Ministry of Revenue.

After a careful inspection, Zidane nodded to Jiang Yun: "Sir, there is no problem."

Jiang Yun then let go of his foot: "Let's go."

The two quickly went to the Ministry of Revenue's money shop, exchanged the money for silver notes, and brought them back to the Eastern Garrison.

However, on the way back, Zidane's face showed some worry: "Sir, we came to your door, and you even attacked Liang Yibu. That still broke the rules."

"Don't worry, Liang Yibu won't dare to act recklessly," Jiang Yun said calmly. "If he wants to pocket this money, he's not exactly clean himself, so why would he go around making a fuss about it?"

Even if things really escalate, Jiang Yun isn't afraid.

Upon returning to the Eastern Garrison Command, Qi Da quickly summoned the relatives of those confirmed dead and wounded to the Eastern Garrison Command.

Then each person was given one thousand taels.

After finishing all that, it gradually got dark.

Jiang Yun was preparing to return to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion when, unexpectedly, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the gate of the Eastern Garrison Command. Soon after, a group of Southern Garrison Commanders dressed in flying fish robes rushed in.

The leader was Chen Yi, a commander of the Southern Garrison.

Chen Yi gave a forced smile and walked over to Jiang Yun: "Commander Jiang, there's something I'd like to confirm with you."

Jiang Yun frowned slightly, staring at Chen Yi with a puzzled expression. Then Chen Yi gestured for her to step aside.

He then lowered his voice and asked, "Commander Jiang, we are all brothers in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Did you go to the Ministry of Revenue today and meet with Liang Yibu, Lord Liang?"

"Yes, that's true." Jiang Yun nodded, then frowned: "What is it?"

"Liang Yibu is dead."

Chen Yi stared intently at Jiang Yun and slowly said, "He died in his own study, and according to the Ministry of Revenue, only you and a Jinyiwei officer named Qi Baihu entered his room this afternoon."

"And an argument also broke out."

"After our Southern Garrison arrived, we examined him and found that Lord Liang only had a punch on his nose. Was that from you?"

Jiang Yun frowned and said in a deep voice, "I know how to control my strength. That kind of injury won't kill him."

Chen Yi also looked helpless and slowly said, "This case involves a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue. Of course, I also believe that the murderer is not Commander Jiang."

"However, since you had some conflict with the deceased, according to regulations, you should be sent back to the Southern Garrison Command for questioning. However, Lord Li has also given instructions."

"Lord Li believes you have nothing to do with Lord Liang's death, otherwise it wouldn't be just a few of us who came."

"Think about it carefully again. Before you left, did you notice anything strange about Lord Liang?"

Hearing Chen Yi's words, Jiang Yun sensed something was amiss.

Although they were all Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), and were all on the same side, it involved the death of a Ministry of Revenue official. According to normal procedure, he should be taken back to the Southern Garrison Command.

Not to mention the injuries Liang Yibu had sustained from his own fight.

Unless, of course, the Southern Garrison Command can also confirm that Liang Yibu's death has nothing to do with them.

He asked, "How did Liang Yibu die?"

Chen Yi's lips moved slightly, just as he was about to speak, when suddenly, another member of the Southern Garrison's Imperial Guard rushed in, shouting loudly, "Commander Chen! Commander Chen!"

"Stop yelling, I'm right here, what's up?" Chen Yi called out as he turned around.

Soon, the Imperial Guard whispered a few words in Chen Yi's ear.

After hearing this, Chen Yi's expression changed drastically. He gave Jiang Yun a deep look and said, "Alright, Jiang Yun, this case has nothing to do with you."

After saying that, he was about to leave. Jiang Yun was a little confused and asked, "What happened now?"

Chen Yi had only taken a few steps when he remembered something, so he returned to Jiang Yun's side and said in a low voice, "The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice is dead!"

"There are no obvious injuries on his body..."

"However, both deceased individuals had butterfly-shaped markings resembling red marks on the left side of their necks!"

After saying this, Chen Yi's face turned ugly, and he quickly led his men away from the place.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun was puzzled, but since the case was under the jurisdiction of the Southern Garrison Command, it had nothing to do with him.

Jiang Yun soon returned to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, just in time for dinner.

As soon as she returned, Butler Wu asked Jiang Yun to go to the dining room.

Inside the dining room, Tao Yuelan, Xu Suwen, and Jiang Qiaoqiao were chatting.

Seeing Jiang Yun return, Xu Suwen got up with some concern and asked, "How did things go?"

What Xu Suwen inquired about was naturally the matter concerning Jiang Yun, which was addressed by the civil officials of the imperial court.

Jiang Yun smiled and said, "Don't worry, everything should be fine."

"Have a meal."

Just as Jiang Yun finished speaking, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked sharply at Tao Yuelan and saw a red mark on the lower left side of her neck, the same as Liang Yibu's.

The red mark resembles a butterfly pattern.

(End of this chapter)