Catching Monsters

Chapter 390 There is only one way

Xiao Yujin subconsciously took a step back, realizing that Commander Jiang was probably serious.

As a resident of the Jingzhao Prefecture, how could he not have heard of the glorious history of Commander Jiang?

Not long after arriving at the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he arrested a large number of sons of powerful and wealthy families and sent them to the Imperial Prison for a day trip.

At that time, Jiang Yun was just an unknown member of the Imperial Guard, yet he dared to do such a thing.

Not to mention that he is now a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, wielding even greater power.

Xiao Yujin understood that Jiang Yun was not just threatening him, but that he would actually do it.

Xiao Yujin took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said, "Commander Jiang, I have long admired your name. We have no grudge against each other. Are you going to take me to the imperial prison..."

At this point, Xiao Yujin looked at Qian Buchou with a puzzled expression. Of course, he knew Qian Buchou's background...

He was a constable from Nanzhou Prefecture who came to the capital with Prefect Zhang. However, Prefect Zhang died suddenly as soon as they arrived in the capital.

Qian Buchou remained in the Beicheng Military Command as the deputy commander.

Although I've heard that Qian Buchou often boasts about his close relationship with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion...

But to be honest, Xiao Yujin, along with other officials in the Jingzhao Prefecture, never took it seriously.

When eating and drinking, who hasn't boasted about their good relationship with someone powerful?

This is nothing new; Xiao Yujin even brags about it all the time.

After all, if he had no worries about money and truly had connections, why would that person specifically ask him to be targeted?

A smile appeared on Jiang Yun's face as he straightened Xiao Yujin's clothes: "Chief Constable Xiao, the Imperial Prison of our Embroidered Uniform Guard is quite a place to be. I have some questions. Why don't you go to the Imperial Prison and tell me slowly?"

"Or, you could find a quiet place and tell me everything in detail."

"You choose for yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yujin looked somewhat troubled: "This..."

"So, Chief Constable Xiao has chosen the Imperial Prison?"

"No, no, no!" Seeing that Jiang Yun was about to continue tying him up, Xiao Yujin took a deep breath: "Commander Jiang, this is the Jingzhao Prefecture government office."

"You're in this yamen, arresting me, the chief constable, without any evidence. You won't be able to explain yourself later, will you?"

Jiang Yun stared at him in disbelief: "Give me an explanation? Give me an explanation to whom?"

“You’ve been imprisoned, what crime haven’t you been charged with? It’s an ironclad case with irrefutable evidence.”

Sweat poured down Xiao Yu's forehead; he couldn't afford to offend the person who had spoken to the Jingzhao Prefecture.

And Jiang Yun before us is the same…

Caught in the middle, Xiao Yujin truly felt like he was caught in the middle, unable to find a worthy opponent.

Qian Buchou, who was following behind Jiang Yun, had finally broadened his horizons. The previous times he had come, this Chief Constable Xiao had been arrogant and did not take him, the deputy commander of the North City Military Command, seriously at all.

Upon seeing Jiang Yun, however, he didn't dare utter a single word.

"Commander Jiang, please, please."

Xiao Yujin took a deep breath and respectfully invited Jiang Yun to go inside. Jiang Yun glanced back at Qian Buchou and gestured for him to follow.

Xiao Yujin led the two men to a small courtyard where he used as an office. After personally pouring them two cups of hot tea, Xiao Yujin said politely, "Commander Jiang, Brother Qian, this matter was done by those two vagrants."

"It was just a coincidence."

"Alright, hand over those two vagrants to me. I'll take them back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard and interrogate them myself." Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun did not accept the tea offered to him.

Xiao Yujin's lips twitched: "Isn't it unnecessary? It's just a regular murder case, two ordinary vagrants. It's inappropriate to send them to the Imperial Guard's prison..."

"Who said that?" Jiang Yun said calmly, "Brother Qian's two concubines were our Embroidered Uniform Guard's spies, practically half of us. Now that they're dead, I have reason to suspect that this is an operation targeting our Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Xiao Yujin's pupils contracted slightly. If Jiang Yun were to handle things this way, things would escalate significantly.

Those two women, though they were wealthy concubines, were not of high status as concubines of officials, so their deaths were no big deal.

But what if they were to be framed as spies for the Embroidered Uniform Guard...?

Xiao Yujin took a deep breath: "Commander Jiang, why are you doing this? The person is already dead."

Jiang Yun sat in the chair, staring at him: "Chief Constable Xiao, please don't think I'm joking. I, Jiang Yun, don't like joking."

"It's just about supplementing two sets of documents and files. I said they were the hidden agents, so that's it."

“Chief Constable Xiao, you are a smart man. This matter may not have much to do with you. If you confess honestly, it will be none of your business.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yujin remained silent for a while before saying, "It was Pan Nianfeng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, who put in a good word for me..."

"He gave me a sum of money and told me to find two people to quickly close the case." — Pan Nianfeng, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works?

How did this guy get involved with Money Not Worrying?

"Do you have paper and pens in your office?" Jiang Yun asked.

He then quickly took out a pen and ink and placed them in front of Xiao Yujin: "Chief Constable Xiao, rewrite what you just said and what you know, then sign and seal it, and this matter will have nothing to do with you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yujin took a deep breath and lowered his voice, saying, "Commander Jiang, this won't do, I..."

Jiang Yun frowned and reminded him, "Chief Constable Xiao, I'm very busy and have many things to do. You sign and put your fingerprint on the document, and I'll go arrest the person. It's a clean and simple matter, not that complicated."

“If you don’t sign, at most I’ll take you to the imperial prison, and you’ll still have to sign. Why bother, right?”

Xiao Yujin said, "Lord Pan Nianfeng is, after all, a high-ranking official of the imperial court. He is not someone a nobody like me can afford to offend. Commander Jiang, what you've done has really put me in a difficult position."

Although he said that, his actions betrayed him. Xiao Yujin quickly wrote down how he received the money and how Pan Nianfeng made the arrangements.

During this time, Qian Buchou was also somewhat shocked, not expecting that it was actually a Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works who wanted to deal with him.

Given his status, he was a nobody compared to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

Why would he do that?

Thinking of this, Qian Buchou couldn't help but clench his fists.

Having received the testimony, Jiang Yun carefully put it away, then bid farewell to Xiao Yujin and turned to walk out of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

“Brother Jiang, this is, after all, a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.” Qian Buchou was also somewhat worried, not because he was afraid of offending the other party.

After all, the other party had already killed his family, so Qian Buchou was definitely going to seek revenge.

But Qian Buchou was worried that this matter would implicate Jiang Yun.

However, if Jiang Yun hadn't been implicated, he would have had almost no chance of getting revenge.

To be honest, Jiang Yun was also somewhat surprised by this result. He looked at the testimony in his hand, frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Brother Qian, you go back to your residence to rest first. I need to go back to the Embroidered Uniform Guard office."

This guy is a high-ranking official of the third rank; such a confession alone is not enough to convict him.

Before it got dark, Jiang Yun first returned to the Northern Garrison Command and went directly to Li Wangxin's study.

Upon hearing that Jiang Yun had arrived, Li Wangxin was not surprised. Dressed in the official robes of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he smiled and waved to Jiang Yun, gesturing for him to come inside and sit down.

After Jiang Yun sat down in the study, before he could even speak, Li Wangxin asked with a smile, "Have you found out yet?"

"Lord Li, you knew about this from the beginning?" Jiang Yun asked, somewhat surprised, glancing at the testimony in his hand.

"Hehe." Li Wangxin brewed two cups of tea for Jiang Yun and slowly said, "The Eastern Garrison is responsible for slaying demons and monsters, but what does the Northern Garrison do?"

“Those are for His Majesty to monitor all officials; they are His Majesty’s eyes.”

"There are very few things in the capital that we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, do not know."

After placing the tea in Jiang Yun's hands, Li Wangxin continued, "Pan Nianfeng's nephew is about to be transferred to the North City Military Command to serve as its commander."

"From the Ministry of War, Madam Tao Yuelan of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion also made a gesture of goodwill."

"The head of the Military Affairs Department of the Ministry of War is having a headache over this matter and can't make up his mind."

"That's why Pan Nianfeng secretly sent people to kill Qian Buchou's two concubines, hoping to make Qian Buchou back down."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's expression turned slightly grave: "Now that Lord Li has already investigated the matter thoroughly, are we just going to ignore it?"

“Kid, you’re overthinking it.” Li Wangxin shrugged and said, “The six ministries in the capital, the ministers, the vice ministers, the clerks and so on.”

"And there's the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices..."

"Countless officials, both big and small."

"To put it bluntly, which official doesn't have some problems? Fighting for official positions, secretly ordering subordinates to commit murder, it's all too common."

"Only the two concubines who had no worries about money died."

"Even if this matter comes to light and reaches His Majesty, and things get out of hand, at most he will be dismissed from his post, or at worst he will just get a reprimand."

"No one else will really do anything to Pan Nianfeng, after all, they're not exactly clean themselves, understand?"

Jiang Yun nodded thoughtfully: "Is this what they call mutual protection among officials?"

“That’s right.” Li Wangxin nodded slightly. Jiang Yun was a smart man; he could understand what Jiang Yun was saying.

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes and asked, "Then may I ask, Lord Li, what should I do if I wish to help Qian Buchou take revenge?"

Li Wangxin knew Jiang Yun would ask this question. He casually took out an envelope and threw it in front of Jiang Yun: "If you want to destroy a high-ranking official of the third rank, there is only one way, and that is to make His Majesty want to get rid of him."

(End of this chapter)