Catching Monsters

Chapter 605 Wait

Under the pitch-black night sky, in a small courtyard in the outer city, Jiang Yun was staying in an inn, and sitting next to him was Wei Qingshan, the Tiger Clan's liaison in the capital.

"Jiang Yun, how did you know I was here?" Wei Qingshan frowned slightly and poured tea for Jiang Yun as he did so.

Jiang Yun calmly said, "This inn was secretly bought by your Tiger Clan four years ago. After you caused quite a stir in the inner city last time, you secretly moved here. This is not a secret to us Jinyiwei."

At this point, Jiang Yun took out a letter he had written long ago from his bosom, handed it over, and said in a deep voice, "I hope you will send this letter back to the Demon Kingdom as soon as possible so that Lord Tiger Saint can take a look at it."

Upon hearing Jiang Yun mention Tiger Saint, Wei Qingshan's expression changed drastically.

The news of Tiger Saint's awakening was a top secret within the Tiger Clan. Wei Qingshan, as the Tiger Clan's liaison officer in the Zhou Kingdom, only learned of it in the last few days.

How did Jiang Yun find out?

Since it concerned Lord Tiger Saint, Wei Qingshan did not dare to agree easily. He stared intently at Jiang Yun, as if asking how he knew that Lord Tiger Saint had awakened.

Seeing the other party's attitude, Jiang Yun said, "Wei Qingshan, to be honest, I was the one who released Tiger Saint..."

Soon, Jiang Yun briefly recounted the events of rescuing Hu Sheng, but to his surprise, Wei Qingshan's face showed a hint of disbelief after listening.

After listening, Wei Qingshan looked at Jiang Yun with some doubt, unsure whether he should believe her.

In the end, he took the letter and said slowly, "I will send this letter back to the Tiger Clan as soon as possible, but Jiang Yun, I must remind you that this matter involves Lord Tiger Saint. If you dare to deceive me, our Tiger Clan will not let you off easily."

Jiang Yun nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice, "Please deliver this to Lord Tiger Saint as quickly as possible."

Wei Qingshan gave Jiang Yun a deep look and then dismissed him, saying, "Alright, Lord Jiang, you should leave now. I will deliver the letter."

"I am aware of the recent situation in the capital of Zhou. If Lord Jiang stays for too long, it may cause me unnecessary trouble."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun nodded and got up to leave. After leaving the inn, he looked at the vast night sky. Several Imperial Guards who were waiting outside hurriedly came up to him and whispered, "Sir, news just came from the inner city that a large number of Imperial Guards have stormed into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion and started fighting."

"Fortunately, Madam Tao Yuelan of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, as well as your sister, have arrived safely at the Eastern Garrison."

Hearing this, Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly, understanding that Xiao Jingqing wanted to kill him completely in one fell swoop.

He asked, "Is there any news from the palace about Princess Ningyi?"

"Not yet." The subordinate shook his head.

Jiang Yun glanced at the night sky with his hands behind his back and said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow, we'll move my wife and the others to the market town outside the city."

"Yes."

……

"Escape?"

Inside the imperial study, Xiao Jingqing was not fully asleep; instead, he glared angrily at Qi Lang in front of him.

Qi Lang lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "This matter was handled by Gu Zhengyu. By the time I arrived, Gu Zhengyu had already been beheaded..."

As Qi Lang continued to report the situation, Xiao Jingqing frowned and paced back and forth anxiously. At the same time, footsteps sounded outside the door. Xiao Jingqing looked up and saw Qin Hong.

"Godfather." The worry on Xiao Jingqing's face vanished instantly. He asked, "Why have you come?"

Qin Hong was holding a dragon robe in his hands and said, "This was made by my servants. Your Majesty, please try it on and see if it fits."

Xiao Jingqing had no time to concern himself with the dragon robe at the moment. He put the robe aside and asked, "Godfather, Jiang Yun's wife and sister have both escaped. Can the Tongyou Guard send out experts to capture them?"

Qin Hong frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty may not know, but Jiang Yun is also one of our Tongyou Guards. Since its establishment, our Tongyou Guards have never had a precedent of dealing with their own people."

“There are always precedents.” Seeing that Qin Hong was still unwilling, Xiao Jingqing changed his tune and said, “How about we send an expert to secretly ‘invite’ my elder brother back to the capital?”

Upon hearing this, Qin Hong slowly said, "Your Majesty, tomorrow is the late emperor's funeral. Soon after, you will be able to ascend the throne smoothly. Do you really want to do this?"

"I can't sleep peacefully as long as my elder brother is alive," Xiao Jingqing said in a deep voice.

Qin Hong's eyes flickered for a moment, then he nodded: "I understand, I'll go and make the arrangements right away."

The next morning, many officials from the Ministry of Rites arrived at the palace early to begin preparing Xiao Yuzheng's body. Many concubines, including Consort Shu, came to mourn the emperor.

In fact, according to custom, when an emperor passed away, a very long funeral ceremony was held, which could last from seven days to a month.

But now, everything will be kept simple, and the burial will take place today.

Fortunately, Xiao Yuzheng's imperial mausoleum was completed several years ago.

That was the mausoleum that Xiao Yuzheng began building when he ascended the throne.

In the vast square outside the palace, Xiao Yuzheng's body was soon placed in a coffin made of golden nanmu wood.

Civil and military officials, elders and peers of the imperial family, and virtually all the important figures in the capital were present.

The palace maids and eunuchs also knelt down around the coffin and wept loudly.

Among them, Feng Yu was the one who cried the loudest.

Upon seeing this, the civil and military officials couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Eunuch Feng was truly loyal to His Majesty, but it's a pity that His Majesty met with misfortune, and the murderer Jiang Yun escaped."

The official story was that Jiang Yun killed His Majesty, but everyone present knew that something was amiss; Jiang Yun had no reason to kill His Majesty.

But seeing Xiao Jingqing, dressed in the crown prince's robes, kneeling before the coffin, none of them dared to speak.

Soon, an official from the Ministry of Personnel glanced at the time and shouted, "The auspicious time has arrived, carry the coffin!"

There were specific rules for the pallbearers during the emperor's funeral. Generally, the pallbearers were people of high moral character and noble status.

However, these people of high status were generally quite old, and it would be difficult for them to lift the coffins, so it was specially arranged for strong and capable imperial guards to carry them.

These important figures only needed to escort the coffin to its final resting place. Soon, a large ensemble of musicians began to play, and a grand procession slowly made its way towards the imperial mausoleum.

Along the way, the main roads inside and outside the capital were lined with people who came to see him off.

Today is the day of His Majesty's funeral. It must be said that Xiao Yuzheng is still quite popular among the people.

Many ordinary people also came spontaneously to bid farewell to His Majesty on his final journey.

The streets, inns, and house windows on both sides were crowded with people.

The funeral procession did not move very fast. Along the way, Xiao Jingqing personally carried the memorial tablet and walked in front of the coffin. Officials from the Ministry of Rites also loudly praised and sang songs about the achievements Xiao Jingqing had made since ascending the throne.

"In the first year of the Zhengde reign, the Northern Hu rebelled. His Majesty worked diligently to govern the country and dispatched Xu Dingwu to the northern border to resist the Hu..."

"The second year of Zhengde..."

Some of the people on both sides were genuinely grateful for Xiao Yuzheng's achievements over the years and couldn't help but shed tears.

As the procession reached the outer city, Jiang Yun stood on the right side of the crowd, wearing a bamboo hat and with his head slightly bowed, watching Xiao Yuzheng's coffin slowly approach.

Jiang Yun's eyes were complicated. Logically speaking, given his current status as a wanted criminal by the imperial court, he shouldn't be here.

But Jiang Yun is a man of great loyalty and affection. Xiao Yuzheng had treated him well, and now that he was being buried, he felt he should come to see him off on his final journey, no matter what.

Just then, a commoner nearby couldn't help but whisper, "His Majesty treated Jiang Yun well, but unexpectedly Jiang Yun suddenly killed His Majesty. I wonder why."

Another person nearby hurriedly said, "Keep your voice down. Don't you understand? Legend has it that before the First Prince Xiao Jingzhi left the capital, he went to see Jiang Yun. Do you understand now? It's terrifying to think about."

"What's so chilling about it?"

The man said, "In my opinion, His Majesty's death might have been ordered by the First Prince."

"It was because the Eighth Prince became the Crown Prince that the First Prince ordered Jiang Yun to kill him in anger."

The person next to him shook his head: "That's not right. If the eldest prince does this, wouldn't he be helping the eighth prince? He'd be directly ascending the throne. What good would that do him?"

The person who had just been speculating about a conspiracy was taken aback, realizing it made sense, but still stubbornly insisted, "That's just how it is, believe it or not."

After saying that, the man looked at Jiang Yun next to him and said, "Dude, tell me, do you think what I said makes sense?"

The people of the capital were already discussing all sorts of rumors in private.

Jiang Yun remained expressionless as he watched the coffin pass by before turning away and walking down a street behind it.

Inside a rather large carriage, Xu Suwen, Jiang Qiaoqiao, Tao Yuelan, and Wu Chi were waiting. Upon seeing Jiang Yun arrive, Xu Suwen asked, "Have you seen His Majesty's coffin?"

"Okay." Jiang Yun nodded and got into the carriage. At this moment, Dong Qiaofeng, who was driving the carriage, cracked his whip, and the carriage left through another gate. There were also many Imperial Guards accompanying and following the carriage.

There was no other way; without the Imperial Guards, it wouldn't be easy to leave the city quietly.

Soon, the carriage arrived at the North Gate, which was heavily guarded. Any civilians who wanted to leave the city had to be searched, and Jiang Yun's portrait was posted on the city wall.

However, the portrait is only about 50-60% similar.

"Oh, isn't this Commander Dong? Are you out on an errand, Imperial Guard?" The city's guards rushed over when they saw Dong Qiaofeng arrive, and asked respectfully with a smile, "Are you escorting someone out of the city?"

Dong Qiaofeng nodded lightly and said, "The women in the car are my family members. Things are not peaceful in the capital recently, so I'll take them to stay outside the city for a few days."

"Oh." The official's surname was Liu. He was a centurion in the Northern City Military Command and had once drunk wine with Dong Qiaofeng.

Seeing Liu Baihu's gaze turn towards the carriage, Dong Qiaofeng stepped aside: "Liu Baihu, search if you want, please don't make things difficult for me. I know that the authorities are cracking down on this lately."

"Also, when we were drinking last time, you mentioned wanting to join our Embroidered Uniform Guard. I'm afraid we'll have to try to ask you about it after the New Year."

Upon hearing this, Liu Baihu chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Brother Dong, look at what you're saying. We're all on the same side. What's there to search about your family?"

After saying that, he shouted to the soldiers at the door, "Let them through."

Dong Qiaofeng nodded in satisfaction and said, "Let's have another drink together when I get back to the capital."

As Dong Qiaofeng spoke, he led his Imperial Guards around the carriage and walked out.

The carriage arrived directly at a courtyard house in Gong County, outside the capital.

After the carriage stopped, Dong Qiaofeng led Jiang Yun and his group inside, saying, "Sir, we don't have many Jinyiwei outposts in Gong County, and the environment here is a bit poor."

The courtyard was quite similar to Jiang Yun's residence in Nanzhou Prefecture, and was rather dilapidated.

Jiang Qiaoqiao shook her head and said, "Isn't this good? Don't worry, Commander Dong, my brother and I have both suffered before, we're not that delicate."

After Xu Suwen helped Tao Yuelan into the courtyard, they went inside to rest.

Dong Qiaofeng also ordered dozens of his Imperial Guards to change into civilian clothes and set up defenses near the street so that they could detect any situation immediately.

Inside the simple house, Tao Yuelan was preoccupied with her thoughts. She didn't care much about the living environment, but said to Xu Suwen, "Suwen, the accumulation of generations of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion has been ruined in my hands. How can I face our ancestors in the future?"

"Mother, don't worry, nothing is settled yet." Xu Suwen said, glancing at Jiang Yun beside her, and asked, "Husband, do you have any good ideas?"

"If the imperial court issues such a warrant, and things really don't work out, we can go to the southwest first, find Xiao Gang, and settle down there. As long as we are safe, things will get better."

“Leaving the capital isn’t necessary; the situation isn’t that bad yet.” Jiang Yun paused for a moment before saying, “But for now, we can only wait.”

Xu Suwen was taken aback: "Waiting for what?"

"You'll see when we get there." Jiang Yun patted Xu Suwen on the shoulder, then rolled up his sleeves and said, "Alright, I'll go cook you a meal. I haven't had time to cook a proper meal since we entered the capital."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chi, who was inside the house, hurriedly said, "Young master, how can I let you do this? Let me do it."

(End of this chapter)