Catching Monsters

Chapter 545 Going to court
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Jiang Yun prepared to go out. Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped outside, he saw a number of servants from the mansions of high-ranking officials standing there.

Jiang Yun frowned, glanced at Qi Da beside him, and asked, "What are they doing?"

"My lord," Qi Da approached Jiang Yun and said in a low voice, "they are servants from the residences of many officials who have been poisoned by Gu, and they have been waiting for you here since early this morning."

"All I want is an antidote."

Hearing Qi Da's words, Jiang Yun glanced at everyone present and slowly said, "Didn't I say that getting the antidote is simple? Just bring Master Hongguang's head."

Zidane, standing to the side, took out a list and handed it over, saying in a low voice, "These twenty-odd people have never caused trouble at our residence."

Jiang Yun took the list and glanced at it. Then, Qi Da said, "Last night, quite a few people went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, hoping to plead for leniency..."

"But they were all kicked out by the madam."

"but……"

“Someone arrived at the Sanqing Temple last night and donated a large sum of money. It was this man…” Qi Da said, pointing to an official from the Ministry of Justice on the list, and whispered, “This Lord Qin donated five thousand taels of silver to the Sanqing Temple…”

"And he also promised to build a temple in the capital to enshrine the Three Pure Ones."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's expression finally softened, and he asked in a deep voice, "How much silver did you receive from this Lord Qin?"

"Five hundred taels," Zidane readily admitted, answering truthfully.

Jiang Yun, with his hands behind his back, pondered and said, "If all twenty people on this list are willing to build the Sanqing Taoist Temple, let them come to my residence this afternoon to collect their medicine."

It must be said that this Minister Qin of the Ministry of Justice is indeed a smart man. After Prince Fu made such a fuss, he realized that simply sending gifts was no longer effective.

We need to persuade Jiang Yun in other ways.

In the capital, an official who was poisoned by Gu and had not gone to cause trouble at the Jiang residence, upon hearing this news, immediately instructed his servants to contact and inquire about the cost of building a temple like the Sanqing Temple.

After receiving the quotes, they rushed to the Jiang residence one by one in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, Jiang Yun also returned from the Eastern Garrison Command. In the living room, more than twenty officials sat with smiles on their faces.

The leader among them was Lord Qin Huanyu from the Ministry of Justice.

Qin Huanyu was well-prepared, and even had a draft of the Taoist temple in hand. He said, "Lord Jiang, this is a design I had someone from the Ministry of Works create. Also, we will need to invite Master Wenchen from the Sanqing Temple to preach the Tao."

Jiang Yun listened to Qin Huanyu's words with a calm expression, and then said to Yun Pingchuan beside him, "Bring out the contract, everyone. Words are not enough."

Soon, the pre-written contracts were placed in front of everyone.

They promised to find a place in or near the capital to build a Taoist temple dedicated to the Three Pure Ones, and to enshrine the Three Pure Ones, and to guarantee the operation of the temple for ten years.

“You all know my identity. If you lie to me, you’ll be in big trouble.” Jiang Yun sipped a cup of tea. “Sign it, and you’ll soon get the antidote.”

After glancing at the contents of the contract, Qin Huanyu didn't hesitate much before picking up a brush and signing the contract.

As long as he signs, Jiang Yun isn't afraid of these people reneging on their debts. After all, Jiang Yun's current status and position in the capital are not to be trifled with.

Seeing this, the others followed suit and soon signed contracts one by one.

"Take it out."

Yun Pingchuan personally went into the back and brought out many bowls of medicinal soup, which he then had everyone drink.

After drinking it, everyone, like Qian Buchou and Zidane, first felt pain in their chests, and then vomited violently.

He spat out the Gu worm.

Seeing Yun Pingchuan put away the contracts one by one, Jiang Yun said, "Everyone, go back and take care of the affairs of the Sanqing Temple."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huanyu quickly replied, "Thank you, Lord Jiang."

Watching everyone leave, Yun Pingchuan whispered, "Master, are we really just going to leave those forty people who caused trouble earlier? After all, so many important figures' lives are at stake..."

“I wasn’t the one who killed them,” Jiang Yun said calmly and coldly.

……

"Where did Jiang Yun get the antidote for the Heart-Slaying Gu? This Gu is little known even in the Western Regions."

Inside the inn's private room, Master Hongguang looked at the intelligence report delivered by his Western Region maid, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a cold voice, "I have already had more than twenty people remove the Gu worms."

At this point, Master Hongguang took a deep breath and said calmly, "In that case, there's no need to keep this group of people around."

"It's good that he's dead. He might be able to cause Jiang Yun some more trouble."

After speaking, Master Hongguang took out the black porcelain bottle and took out the mother worm of the Heart-Slaying Gu from it.

He whispered the incantation, and soon the mother worm began to struggle and writhe.

Meanwhile, in the study of Prince Fu's mansion, Xiao Yuqin was sitting in the study: "Did that scoundrel Jiang Yun give the antidote to Qin Huanyu and the others?"

"The price is merely building a Taoist temple?"

The steward beside him bowed his head and said respectfully, "Your Highness, this is absolutely true. However, none of those people followed Your Highness to the Jiang residence to cause trouble."

"Damn Jiang Yun, does he really think I can't deal with him?" Xiao Yuqin frowned, and suddenly, with a thud, he fell to the ground. He clutched his chest, his eyes wide, as if he had sensed something.

I felt a constant, throbbing pain in my heart.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" Upon seeing this, the steward's expression changed drastically, and he prepared to help Xiao Yuqin up.

But a crisp sound came from Xiao Yuqin's chest, as if something had shattered.

Bright red blood flowed from Xiao Yuqin's mouth, his eyes widened, but he quickly stopped breathing.

Such scenes play out repeatedly at dusk.

Aside from those who went to Jiang Yun's residence to seek the antidote, everyone else afflicted with the Gu poison suddenly fell ill.

This has had a significant impact, considering that these people are mostly influential figures in the capital.

Or perhaps they are wealthy young men from powerful and influential families.

……

The next morning, at the usual time for the morning court session, many ministers arrived at the imperial city with solemn expressions. "Minister of Works, Zhao Yuming, could he also be dead? Why is he nowhere to be seen?"

"Not to mention Lord Zhao Yuming, I heard that Prince Fu also met with misfortune yesterday evening."

"hiss."

Many officials and acquaintances were whispering among themselves.

Among the crowd were officials who had obtained the antidote from Jiang Yun earlier and couldn't help but feel lucky; otherwise, they would have died yesterday evening as well.

"Jiang Yun..."

"Why is he here."

Jiang Yun was quickly spotted in the corner of the crowd.

Li Wangxin accompanied Jiang Yun, as this was Jiang Yun's first time attending the morning court session after being ennobled.

“Normally, you in the Eastern Garrison Command have many duties and don’t need to attend court every morning like other idle positions,” Li Wangxin said in a low voice. “However, as you know, so many people died yesterday evening.”

"Numerous memorials have been sent to His Majesty, blaming you for refusing to provide the antidote, which has led to people's deaths."

"His Majesty can only summon you to attend the morning court session. You should try to find a solution yourself."

Hearing Li Wangxin's words, Jiang Yun nodded slightly, her expression calm, and she occasionally yawned.

Finally, the gates of the imperial city opened, and he followed Li Wangxin into the palace.

Jiang Yun was certainly familiar with the palace, but in the past, he had always gone directly to the Imperial Study.

Jiang Yun had rarely been to the main hall, and the journey was more complicated than he had imagined. Along the way, imperial guards would check each official to see if they were carrying weapons.

Military officers are not allowed to carry swords to court unless they have the emperor's permission.

On both sides, there were many palace maids serving rice cakes, which were breakfast for the many ministers who did not have time to eat breakfast, to fill their stomachs.

The court session begins at 5:00 AM, but the ministers generally have to get up early and arrive here in advance.

Those like Jiang Yun, whose residences are near the capital, are fortunate. But those in more remote areas have to get up at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Finally, as dawn broke, Jiang Yun followed Li Wangxin into the main hall, curiously observing everything.

There are quite a few people. More than forty people died yesterday, and judging from today's events, there are probably close to two hundred people attending court.

The people stood according to their status, rank, and whether they were civil or military officials.

Jiang Yun stood with Li Wangxin in the left corner.

Finally, Feng Yu's voice rang out: "His Majesty has arrived."

All the experienced ministers shouted in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Everyone knelt down with a thud.

With a livid face, Xiao Yuzheng walked out from behind and sat down on the dragon throne. He glanced down and then stared intently at Jiang Yun before saying, "Many ministers got into trouble yesterday."

Just then, an elderly nobleman slowly stepped forward and knelt down.

The old man, who was over ninety years old, took a deep breath and slowly said, "Your Majesty, Duke Ji Jingchuan of Chen requests an audience."

"Why has the Duke of Chen come in person today?" Although Xiao Yuzheng knew the reason, he still said, "Please rise quickly. You are a veteran official of three dynasties. Someone, please bring a seat."

Ji Jingchuan took a deep breath and slowly said, "Yesterday evening, my grandson was suddenly killed by a Gu poison. I heard that Jiang Yun, the commander of the Eastern Garrison, has the antidote, but he is unwilling to save him."

"Not only my grandson, but also Prince Fu and Minister of Works Zhao Yuming, all met with misfortune because of this."

Jiang Yun turned to look at Li Wangxin beside her and asked in a low voice, "Who is this person?"

“Duke Chen, Ji Jingchuan, enjoys extremely high prestige in the army and rarely appears in the court.” Li Wangxin said in a low voice, “You should be more polite, kid.”

Jiang Yun nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.

Is Jiang Yun here?

Upon hearing Xiao Yuzheng's call, Jiang Yun hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down: "Your humble servant is here."

"Were the deaths of Prince Fu and the others yesterday related to you?"

Jiang Yun glanced at Ji Jingchuan and then slowly said, "Your Majesty, this is not true."

"According to our Eastern Garrison Command's investigation, this poison was cast by Master Hongguang. Hongguang came to the capital under the guise of exchanging Buddhist teachings to cause trouble. Our Embroidered Uniform Guard is currently pursuing him."

"As for the antidote, I have indeed haphazardly studied some traditional Chinese medicine and have been preparing an antidote."

"A few days ago, Prince Kefu and his entourage suddenly came to our door and smashed up the place where I had prepared the antidote."

"I also wanted to kill this humble servant with one sword."

"Later, when I found the antidote, Prince Fu and the others were probably too embarrassed to come to me for it again."

"Nonsense," Ji Jingchuan said through gritted teeth. "My grandson says that's not the case at all."

Jiang Yun slowly turned his gaze to Ji Jingchuan and asked, "Duke Chen, since you say I haven't told the truth, then please tell everyone the truth?"

After saying that, Jiang Yun smiled and waited quietly for Ji Jingchuan to tell her the truth.

Upon hearing this, Ji Jingchuan was slightly taken aback, realizing how formidable this young man was; this was a strategic retreat.

Now that Prince Fu and others are dead, it doesn't matter how he fabricates things.

If you want to be serious, that's fine too.

Let's take it to the extreme then.

This group of court officials, in search of the antidote, went to the Jiang residence and even tried to force Jiang Yun to commit suicide so that they could exchange it for the antidote from the evil monk Hongguang.

Ji Jingchuan was speechless for a moment, but Jiang Yun shut him up with just a few words.

(End of this chapter)