Catching Monsters

Chapter 615 Xiang Yeyun

Linglong had some dealings with the Xiang family in the north, and she said with a sneer, "There are quite a few aristocratic families like the Xiang family in our Zhou Kingdom."

“These powerful families, through thousands of years of accumulation, have a much greater influence in the local area than the government. Most of the time, the appointment of officials in Yanzhou requires their approval.”

“If the Xiang family doesn’t give their approval, even if the imperial court appoints an official, he will soon be ousted.”

Jiang Yun asked curiously, "Have you had quite a bit of contact with the Xiang family?"

“Of course.” Linglong nodded and said slowly, “Don’t think the Xiang family is honest. Whenever there is a power that wants to rebel, the Xiang family will more or less come into contact with it.”

"They even secretly provided supplies and money."

"If it fails, this amount of money is just a drop in the ocean for the Xiang family. But if things improve and the rebellion succeeds, the Xiang family will be able to continue its family glory."

Listening to Linglong's description, Jiang Yun stroked his chin and couldn't help but say, "Then why did His Majesty Xiao Yuzheng tolerate their misbehavior before? Wouldn't he have eliminated them long ago?"

Linglong shook her head: "I don't know about that, but the Xiang family has always only provided money and supplies to these rebels, but they will not allow the experts in the clan to get involved."

"Back when I was involved with the Red Lotus Sect, the Xiang family sent someone to contact me..."

No wonder this girl knew so much; that's how it is.

Jiang Yun lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside. The further north they went, the more snow accumulated.

The caravan was quite large, with over a hundred people, all elite members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in disguise. The one driving the carriages for Jiang Yun and the others was Qianhu Hua Zhongqian.

At this moment, Hua Zhongqian turned around and said, "Lord Jiang, we will arrive at Yanzhou City in about half an hour."

Yanzhou City is about 500 li away from the capital. It is located in the central part of the northern part of the Zhou State. It is a place with convenient transportation in all directions. Many places in the north have to pass through Yanzhou, which makes Yanzhou's commerce extremely developed.

The city walls of Yanzhou are much higher than those of Nanzhou Prefecture. Even before entering the city, you can see soldiers on guard at the city gate.

Jiang Yun's caravan was quite large, but the guards of Yanzhou City were clearly used to it. After a brief inspection, they let them pass.

Upon entering Yanzhou City, the city's prosperity exceeded Jiang Yun's expectations. Street vendors lined both sides of the road, speaking in accents from all over the country.

The people on the road were dressed differently than those in many poor places, wearing only thin cotton clothes.

The entire Yanzhou was much richer than Jiang Yun had imagined.

"This scene is probably second only to the capital in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty," Jiang Yun remarked, looking out the window.

Upon hearing this, Hua Zhongqian, who was driving the carriage, chuckled and introduced to Jiang Yun behind him, "Sir, in this Yanzhou, more than half of the arable land is in the hands of the Xiang family. The vast majority of the local people either become long-term laborers for the Xiang family or make a living under their command."

"However, although the Xiang family is large, there are over a million people in the entire Yanzhou region. It's impossible for them all to eat with the Xiang family."

"Many people had no land, so they had to engage in commerce. Fortunately, Yanzhou was well-connected, which made most of the people in Yanzhou live a richer life than in other places."

Soon, the entire caravan arrived at the gate of an inn called Youhe Inn.

Hua Zhongqian had already booked the entire inn in advance.

The inn has three floors, and the best room on the third floor is where Jiang Yun, Linglong, and Di Fei live.

"Senior Di Fei, please stay here for the time being."

Pushing open a door, Jiang Yun personally invited Di Fei inside.

Di Fei remained calm as he entered the house. After glancing around, he said to Jiang Yun, "Jiang Yun, Eunuch Feng sent me here mainly to ensure your safety and that of Princess Ningyi."

"What you want to do is none of my business."

"Of course, it's just a small matter, I wouldn't dare trouble you, senior." Jiang Yun smiled, while Di Fei, who had been serious and unsmiling on the way, had only one hobby: reading a Confucian classic.

After leaving Di Fei's room, Jiang Yun summoned Linglong and Hua Zhongqian to his own room.

"Hua Qianhu, you came here with Zidane back then, tell me what happened."

Hua Zhongqian nodded, then took out a map of Yanzhou City from his pocket.

"This is the Xiang family."

Jiang Yun glanced at it and was somewhat surprised to find that the Xiang family's mansion was located right in the center of the city.

According to the rules of the Zhou state, the government office should generally be located in the very center of the city.

On the map, the government office is located in a rather remote and inconspicuous place.

"The entire Xiang family estate is enormous, built to the standards of a prince, a grand mansion with eight courtyards and eight exits."

This is already an overstepping of authority, but upon closer reflection, it's not surprising that the Xiang family dared to secretly fund rebels.

"The Xiang family now has about 10,000 descendants, but most of their branches are scattered throughout the city."

"Those living within the Xiang family are the direct descendants, numbering about seventy, with the younger generation alone comprising about twenty-odd."

"The current head of the Xiang family, Xiang Hui, is over fifty years old and has a cultivation level of the first rank. However, he rarely makes a move. About eight years ago, a first-rank expert challenged him to a duel, and that's when he revealed his strength."

"There are countless other experts in the Xiang family. From a young age, the children of the clan learn to cultivate the Xiang family's ancestral 'Xiang Ancestral Heart Sutra'."

"Regardless of their background, as long as they can reach the third rank, they can be included in the direct lineage."

"Furthermore, for these family scions, as long as their cultivation talent is decent, resources will be provided at all costs." Listening to Hua Zhongqian's introduction, Jiang Yun nodded slightly. This was indeed a normal method for aristocratic families to cultivate their younger generations.

Jiang Yun interrupted Hua Zhongqian and asked, "Do you know where Qi Da is being held?"

"It's unclear at the moment, and there's no news." Hua Zhongqian shook his head.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, a member of the Imperial Guard knocked on the door: "Lord Jiang, a guest requests an audience."

"A guest?" Jiang Yun was taken aback. He didn't have any friends in Yanzhou City, so why did a guest suddenly appear?
Jiang Yun frowned and said, "Bring it up."

Soon, a handsome young man dressed in white, holding a folding fan, walked up.

This young master was indeed handsome, with a good-looking face, red lips and white teeth, and his hair was styled in a bun.

Jiang Yun immediately recognized that this was a woman disguised as a man, but he did not expose her.

"Young master, how should I address you?" Jiang Yun asked with a faint smile.

The other person smiled and casually sat down, saying, "Xiang family, Xiang Yeyun."

Jiang Yun's heart stirred slightly, and she exchanged a glance with Linglong.

“Lord Jiang, there’s no need to be surprised. This is Yanzhou City. Our Xiang family has been operating here for nearly a thousand years. It’s not surprising that we knew you had arrived.” Xiang Yeyun said, casually picking up a pot of tea and pouring it for himself. “This inn is also part of our Xiang family’s business.”

"Lord Jiang is very kind to come here this time, and even spent money to book this place. If we had informed you earlier, our Xiang family would have been happy to give this inn to Lord Jiang."

Xiang Yeyun's original intention was to demonstrate to Jiang Yun the pervasive influence of her family in this area, thus intimidating the other party.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yun's next question was: "Are you really going to give it to me? Did you bring the land deed?"

Xiang Yeyun's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. She had only said it casually, but she didn't expect Jiang Yun to take advantage of the situation and become so arrogant.

Her delicate face furrowed slightly: "Lord Jiang, enough of this idle talk. You and I both know why you came to Yanzhou City. It's for your foolish subordinate, isn't it?"

At this point, Xiang Yeyun's eyes turned cold: "Our Xiang family has been here for so many years, and we have rarely encountered such a fool."

"They actually dared to sneak into our Xiang family and steal our clan's secret treasures."

“According to our clan rules, such a fool should be beheaded.”

Jiang Yun calmly said, "Young Master Xiang, what you said is somewhat incorrect. Qi Da is the Commander of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He came to Yanzhou City to carry out orders."

"How dare your Xiang family arrest the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard without authorization? Do you know what crime you've committed?"

“We, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, can confiscate your property on charges of treason.”

Although Jiang Yun's tone was calm, it was full of threat: "Since you have come to me yourselves, I will give the Xiang family a choice."

"There are still two hours until nightfall. I want to see my men safely returned before nightfall. If they are not returned by nightfall..."

"I had no choice but to use my own methods to bring him back."

Xiang Yeyun laughed, opened her folding fan, slowly stood up, and before leaving, she did not forget to look back at Jiang Yun: "Lord Jiang is indeed young and promising. At such a young age, he has become the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Young and promising, with both advantages and disadvantages."

"The advantage is that the future prospects are limitless."

"But the downsides are equally significant. I heard that Lord Jiang came from a humble background, and in just two years, he went from a scholar who couldn't even pass the imperial examinations to the current commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Such an experience can be described as legendary, but it has also made Lord Jiang somewhat unable to distinguish himself."

"We, the Xiang family, await Lord Jiang's methods."

Watching the woman's departing figure, Jiang Yun's face darkened, not because of Xiang Yeyun's sarcasm.

It seems that the Xiang family doesn't take the Embroidered Uniform Guard seriously at all.

This is rather unusual. You should know that with Jiang Yun's status, wherever he goes, even to a powerful family, the clan leader should personally come forward to negotiate and talk with him.

The Xiang family, on the other hand, merely sent a young woman disguised as a man.

They clearly didn't take Jiang Yun seriously.

“The Xiang family is far too arrogant,” Linglong couldn’t help but say. “When we first met, they were arrogant, but not to this extent.”

Linglong slammed her hand on the table and said, "Jiang Yun, how about we have the Embroidered Uniform Guard launch a night raid on the Xiang family tonight? Maybe we can rescue Qi Da and the others, and perhaps even seize the meteorite."

Hearing Linglong's words, Jiang Yun remained calm, shook his head, and said in a deep voice, "No rush, something unusual must be going on."

"Hua Zhongqian."

Outside the door, Hua Zhongqian hurriedly pushed it open and came in, asking Jiang Yun, "Sir, what are your orders?"

"Are there any spies from our Embroidered Uniform Guard within the Xiang family?"

Hua Zhongqian thought for a moment and nodded: "Yes, there is. What do you want?"

"I want to see them," Jiang Yun said in a deep voice. He had a vague feeling that the Xiang family must have some secrets that he didn't know about.

(End of this chapter)