Catching Monsters

Chapter 589 It all depends on the attitude of the entire court.

Numerous Imperial Guards and Embroidered Uniform Guards clashed in black armor, creating an extremely chaotic scene.

Xiao Jingqing hadn't expected the situation to develop like this so quickly, and he hurriedly shouted, "Stop it, all of you! Stop it!"

Xiao Jingqing only wanted to force Jiang Yun to submit; he didn't really intend to take action with the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

You must understand, if the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards were to fight in the inner city, this would be a really big deal, and it wouldn't be something that could be resolved with a small quarrel!

In the chaos, both sides were so engrossed in the fight that they couldn't hear Xiao Jingqing's shouts.

"Quickly, quickly, Commander Gu, tell the Imperial Guards to stop."

Amid the chaos, Xiao Jingqing quickly found Gu Zhengyu, who was not far away, and shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, Gu Zhengyu waved his hand and said, "Your Highness, things have come to this point. How can we ask our men to stop? They've already started fighting, and His Majesty will blame us anyway."

In the midst of the conversation and the confusion, someone kicked Gu Zhengyu in the butt, causing him to stumble and almost fall to the ground.

He turned around and saw several Imperial Guards beating up the Imperial Guards behind him.

"Damn it, Your Highness, step back! Do you think the Imperial Guards will let the Embroidered Uniform Guards deal with us?"

After saying that, Gu Zhengyu rushed forward and knocked two Imperial Guards flying...

……

"It's not good, it's not good!"

Inside the Imperial Study, Xiao Yuzheng was drinking tea. Now that the position of Crown Prince had been decided, although the war in the south had not completely eliminated Wang Longzhi's gang, the overall situation was good.

Xiao Yuzheng's heart was finally at ease.

Just then, Feng Yu rushed in from outside, panting heavily. It was rare to see Feng Yu looking so anxious.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards are fighting!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuzheng frowned slightly and slowly said, "It's common for the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards to dislike each other and fight in private. What's so strange about that?"

Feng Yu swallowed hard and said with his head down, "The Imperial Guards and most of the Embroidered Uniform Guards fought fiercely at the gate of Renyi Academy. All the Embroidered Uniform Guards of the Eastern Garrison were mobilized."

"On the Imperial Guard side, apart from the guards protecting the palace, everyone else has gone."

"The Northern Garrison Command has heard about this and is preparing to send troops to provide support."

"The fighting raged for several streets, the sky and earth seemed to be falling apart..."

Xiao Yuzheng was completely stunned: "You mean, my Imperial Guards and the Imperial Bodyguards, tens of thousands of them, are fighting in the inner city?"

With a bang, Xiao Yuzheng slammed his hand on the table: "Who gave the order? Without my order, could the Imperial Guards be mobilized on such a large scale?"

"Who is it on the Embroidered Uniform Guard's side this time?"

Feng Yu lowered his head and said, "On the side of the Imperial Guards, it's His Highness the Crown Prince... and as for the Eastern Garrison Command... besides Jiang Yun, who else could it be?"

Xiao Yuzheng said in a deep voice, "Tell them to come over here and see me."

"The fighting is raging over there, I'm afraid they won't be able to find the time to come over..."

"The war is raging?" Xiao Yuzheng almost fainted from anger: "I will go and see for myself."

……

"The three battalions of the Imperial Guards, form ranks and prepare!"

The once bustling streets were now deserted as the people had long since taken refuge under the eaves of the houses on both sides, watching the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Soldiers fight each other.

Many people's first reaction was that someone had rebelled.

After all, it was unheard of for the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards to carry out such a large-scale operation so close to the capital.

It's likely that someone is plotting a rebellion, which is why such a huge commotion has occurred.

At this moment, the soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Imperial Guards, clad in iron armor and wielding spears, marched forward in formation, charging towards the several hundred Imperial Guards in front of them.

In fact, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guard each had their own unique characteristics.

Only a small portion of the Imperial Guard soldiers possessed cultivation skills, but most were well-trained, although their individual strength was far inferior to that of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, when combined with other methods, they are not to be underestimated.

While the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) were individually stronger, their teamwork was not as good.

Moreover, although the two sides did start fighting, it was limited to hand-to-hand combat and they were relatively restrained. They did not use swords or other highly lethal weapons such as bows and crossbows.

At this moment, under the onslaught of the Imperial Guards' Third Battalion, many of the Jinyiwei's top fighters could only fly up to the rooftops on both sides of the street to temporarily avoid the onslaught, and then take out their long whips to lash out at the soldiers below.

Jiang Yun, who initiated this incident, was now being protected by a group of Imperial Guards, retreating to the back to observe the situation before him.

Jiang Yun frowned slightly, narrowed his eyes, and pondered how to deal with the aftermath of this matter.

The two sides fought fiercely for almost half an hour when suddenly, Feng Yu's voice came from above.

"Your Majesty is here!"

Soon, Feng Yu descended from the sky with Xiao Yuzheng, slowly landing.

Upon hearing these four words, everyone present froze, no longer daring to make a move, and retreated in droves.

On the ground lay many Imperial Guards soldiers and Embroidered Uniform Guards who had been severely injured.

Xiao Yuzheng looked at the scene before him, his face ashen. He took a deep breath and slowly said, "Jiang Yun, Xiao Jingqing, come with me to the Imperial Study. I want to hear your explanations!"

"Have all your men withdraw!"

After saying that, Xiao Yuzheng left immediately, his face grim. Upon hearing this, Qi Da hurriedly said to Jiang Yun, "Don't worry, Lord Jiang. Even if you leave, these Imperial Guards won't dare to arrest Miss Jiang. I, Old Qi, am here."

"Okay." Jiang Yun nodded heavily, thought for a moment, and then lowered his voice and said, "When you go to the academy later, let Qiaoqiao go back to the Jiang residence first, or take her directly back to the Dongzhenfusi Yamen. I want to see what His Majesty's attitude is first."

After saying that, Jiang Yun hurried towards the palace, while Xiao Jingqing's face turned pale and he said in a deep voice, "Commander Gu, have the men retreat first. Jiang Qiaoqiao attacked me with an evil object. I want to see if Jiang Yun can still protect his sister when he gets to my father's side."

This sentence seemed to be a way of encouraging himself.

Yes!

I didn't do anything wrong.

It was clearly Jiang Qiaoqiao who first used evil magic to attack herself.

What did I do wrong?

Upon arriving at the Imperial Study, Jiang Yun and Xiao Jingqing locked eyes, their gazes filled with anger.

Upon entering the imperial study, Xiao Jingqing immediately knelt down: "Father! You must do justice for your son!"

"Your subject originally intended to ease relations with Jiang Yun. It just so happens that Jiang Yun's younger sister is still unmarried. If she could marry your subject, it would naturally be a happy thing for everyone."

“This morning, I was thinking of giving Jiang Qiaoqiao a bracelet, but Jiang Qiaoqiao not only smashed my bracelet, but also attacked me with evil magic.”

"How could Jiang Qiaoqiao, a student of the academy, possess evil magic? Therefore, I immediately dispatched the Imperial Guards to invite Jiang Qiaoqiao back for questioning."

"Unexpectedly, Jiang Yun arrived at this time with his Jinyiwei troops and attacked us without saying a word."

Jiang Yun listened to these words without changing her expression, remaining calm and standing still.

After listening, Xiao Yuzheng slowly turned his gaze to Jiang Yun: "And you, what do you have to say?"

Jiang Yun took a deep breath and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince harassed my sister for no reason, and in the end, he became so angry that he tried to hit her, but unexpectedly, my sister hit him instead. It was a private matter."

"But His Highness the Crown Prince abused his power. The Imperial Guards are the force that protects His Majesty, but most of them were taken away by His Highness the Crown Prince to settle his personal scores."

Jiang Yun did not offer much explanation on the matter, but instead attacked Xiao Jingqing from another angle.

After all, you, the Crown Prince, beat them all up and withdrew the Imperial Guards because of personal grudges. Is that right?

As expected, upon hearing Jiang Yun's words, Xiao Jingqing's heart skipped a beat. He took a deep breath and said, "Father, the Imperial Guards were not drawn by your son, but by Commander Gu."

Xiao Yuzheng slowly stood up, narrowed his eyes, and asked Jiang Yun, "That girl Jiang Qiaoqiao, does she know evil magic?"

Jiang Yun respectfully said, "My younger sister is innocent and pure, how could she know any evil magic? It's just that the little black dog she keeps is quite magical. It can transform into power and enter my sister's body, which gives my sister a certain means of self-protection."

"However, Xiao Hei is not an evil creature, but a wondrous one. Not long ago, His Majesty was poisoned, and wasn't it Xiao Hei that cured him?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yuzheng nodded slowly and said with emotion, "That little guy is indeed not an evil creature. One little guy can be as good as all the quacks in my Imperial Medical Bureau."

Jiang Yun seized the opportunity to say, "Since Your Majesty also believes that it is not an evil object, then the Crown Prince's claim that he was attacked by my sister with an evil object cannot be taken seriously."

"Moreover, my sister is a woman. It's not surprising that she would be afraid and want to protect herself if she were suddenly approached by Xiao Jingqing and a group of people."

"That's a minor matter. The real big deal is that the two of you caused the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards to start fighting!" Xiao Yuzheng's eyes sharpened, and he took a deep breath: "Do you know the implications of this?"

Jiang Yun and Xiao Jingqing both lowered their heads.

However, Jiang Yun also said, "This matter was indeed done by your humble servant. No matter what the crime is, your humble servant is willing to accept Your Majesty's punishment."

“Your subject feels the same way,” Xiao Jingqing quickly added upon hearing this.

"What do you mean, 'same'?" Xiao Yuzheng glared at him. "You are the Crown Prince, yet you are merely a deputy commander. What right do you have to draw upon the Imperial Guards? If it were anyone else, this would be a capital offense!"

Xiao Jingqing said with some dissatisfaction, "But what about Jiang Yun...?"

Xiao Yuzheng: "Jiang Yun has the authority to mobilize the Eastern Garrison Command. Do you have the authority to move so many Imperial Guards?"

Xiao Jingqing lowered his head and hurriedly said, "Your subject is willing to accept the Emperor's punishment without any complaints."

"You think this is child's play, that I'll punish you both with just a few words here?" Xiao Yuzheng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "Wait until tomorrow's court session. Your punishment will probably have to be decided in the court."

"Get out of here! Jiang Yun stays!"

"Yes." Xiao Jingqing's heart skipped a beat. Before leaving, he gave Jiang Yun a hateful look.

After Xiao Jingqing left, Xiao Yuzheng said to Jiang Yun, "Jiang Yun, you are usually a calm person, why were you so impulsive today?"

Jiang Yun slowly said, "This humble servant has also heard that His Highness the Crown Prince wants to marry my sister, but I am unwilling to do so..."

Based on Jiang Yun's usual habits, she certainly wouldn't have let things escalate to this point.

However, since this matter involved Jiang Qiaoqiao, and things had escalated to this point, Xiao Jingqing had no choice but to abandon his idea of ​​marrying Jiang Qiaoqiao.

"Sigh." Xiao Yuzheng sighed slightly and said, "Jingqing is a bit too impatient. It's also my fault. I didn't teach him properly when he was young."

"Jiang Yun, you are my right-hand man. When Jingqing ascends the throne in the future, he will need your help. I can understand if we have conflicts."

"But there must be a bottom line, a limit. If you cross that line, I won't let you off the hook, understand?"

Xiao Yuzheng knew Jiang Yun's personality; although she had always been respectful to him, she was also a ruthless person.

Now, Jiang Yun has sided with the eldest prince, Xiao Jingzhi.

Xiao Yuzheng was genuinely worried that Jiang Yun might do something extreme.

Jiang Yun said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty need not doubt my loyalty. I have remembered Your Majesty's words."

"Go, go, clean up this mess. Tomorrow at the morning court, what punishment you and the Crown Prince will receive depends on the attitude of the entire court."

(End of this chapter)