Catching Monsters

Chapter 657 Isn't all this money still mine?

Jiang Yun shook his head: "It's not clear yet, but I have a feeling that this matter may not be as simple as he said."

However, Jiang Yun doesn't have many clues at the moment.

As the two walked down the street, Jiang Yun slowly said, "It's strange. You said that before the Embroidered Uniform Guards arrived, these people disappeared without any warning, just like by chance."

"But after the Embroidered Uniform Guard arrived, a large number of them disappeared."

Dong Qiaofeng, standing beside him, frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Lord Jiang, if we feel that Lord Chen is problematic, why don't we capture him and interrogate him properly?"

“I’m good at this job. These officials sent abroad are naturally afraid of our Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

Jiang Yun frowned slightly, and suddenly, his ears twitched slightly.

His gaze drifted toward a small alley not far away.

"Sir, what's wrong?" Dong Qiaofeng, who was standing to the side, noticed that Jiang Yun's expression had changed and asked curiously.

"follow me."

In a small courtyard some distance away, several soldiers guarding the city were gambling and drinking in this dilapidated place.

There were many copper coins in front of them.

"Wan Lang, what were you saying today at the city gate? It's only because your superior is magnanimous that he's given you a few days off."

The soldier called Wanlang, with a look of displeasure on his face, spat and said, "What did I say wrong?"

"How long do you think these Imperial Guards can live? They'll just disappear eventually."

Seeing this, the soldiers beside him quickly gave him a look, signaling him not to talk nonsense.

Wan Lang took out a piece of silver from his pocket: "Come on, let's make a bet if you don't believe me. Let's bet on whether this group of Imperial Guards can last for three days without disappearing."

After saying that, Wan Lang picked up the wine jug and took a sip of wine.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the courtyard door was suddenly pushed open, and Jiang Yun and Dong Qiaofeng walked in from outside.

"Who? What do you do?"

Upon seeing this, the six thugs in the courtyard exchanged glances, as if asking the person next to them if they recognized each other.

After glancing at each other a few times, they quickly realized that they did not recognize the two people.

Wan Lang, however, turned pale. His five companions were not on duty at the city gate today.

But he's there.

Although Jiang Yun had changed his clothes, he still recognized the man as the official who rode at the front of the Jinyiwei when they entered the city earlier that day.

Wan Lang felt a little dizzy and disoriented. Discussing the Embroidered Uniform Guard in private was not a big deal.

However, the conversation was overheard by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, especially since the other party clearly held a prominent position within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

This is a big deal!

"Who are you?" At this moment, a thug stood up, about to reprimand him.

Wan Lang hurriedly reached out and grabbed him, then quickly knelt down, cold sweat already streaming down his forehead: "This, this sir, I was just talking nonsense, I've lost my mind, please don't take it seriously, please don't take it seriously."

The companions beside him also noticed something was wrong and looked at Wan Lang.

Wan Lang forced a wry smile and said, "This, this sir, is the one who led the Embroidered Uniform Guard into the city today..."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people present were not much better than Wan Lang's.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was so infamous that it left no good reputation in various places.

"Sir, should we arrest this brat first?" Dong Qiaofeng asked coldly.

Jiang Yun shook his head, stepped forward, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Your Excellency, my name is Wan Lang."

Jiang Yun looked him up and down and asked, "From what you're saying, it seems you know something about these people's unexplained disappearances?"

"Me." Wan Lang raised his hand and slapped himself in the mouth: "Sir, I was just drunk and confused, talking nonsense. How could I know anything about this?"

"My lord, spare my life, my lord, spare your life."

Jiang Yun glanced at Dong Qiaofeng beside him, and Dong Qiaofeng immediately understood. He stepped forward, grabbed Wan Lang by the collar, and said, "All of you, come back with me. Once we're in prison, our Embroidered Uniform Guard has plenty of ways to make you talk."

The other soldiers hurriedly knelt down: "Sir, we don't know anything, it has nothing to do with us."

Wan Lang finally understood what it meant to have trouble coming from one's mouth.

Why are you spouting nonsense?

If I were caught by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, this matter would not be so easy to get away with. But if I were to tell them, my whole family would probably lose their lives.

Looking at the struggling and hesitant expression on Wan Lang's face, Jiang Yun asked calmly, "Is it that you don't know, or that you dare not say?"

Wan Lang looked at Jiang Yun pleadingly: "My lord, I can't say, I can't say."

“You finish your business and leave without a care, but my whole family lives in Hongjiang Prefecture. If I tell them, my whole family will die.”

"Just pretend it was a fart and let me go..."

Dong Qiaofeng snorted coldly and reprimanded, "As long as you speak, who dares to do anything to you? Do you know who you're standing in front of?"

Upon hearing this, Wan Lang naturally shook his head. He only knew that the person in front of him was probably a big shot in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but he really didn't know who he was.

Dong Qiaofeng: "Open your dog eyes and look carefully. Standing in front of you is the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Marquis of Weinan, Lord Jiang Yun, a third-rank official!"

"With Lord Jiang here, who would dare to cause you trouble?"

Hearing Jiang Yun's identity really startled Wan Lang, because their prefect was only a fourth-rank official.

Moreover, this Lord Jiang is the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“You’re a smart man. Now that you’ve spoken up, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear your earlier comments about the Embroidered Uniform Guard.” Jiang Yun looked at him calmly and said, “But if you’re still holding your tongue, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has plenty of ways to make you talk.”

"It just takes a little more effort."

After pondering for a long time, Wan Lang glanced at the other soldiers beside him.

Dong Qiaofeng understood and waved his hand: "The rest of you, wait outside the courtyard."

"Yes Yes."

"Brother Wan, you should quickly explain to Lord Jiang what's wrong."

"Then let's head out first."

Upon hearing this, the other soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and rushed outside.

Wan Lang also took a deep breath and said, "My lords, I actually don't know either..."

Upon hearing this, Dong Qiaofeng glared at him fiercely, and Wan Lang quickly said, "I really don't know the specifics of what happened."

"After a large number of Imperial Guards disappeared, we received orders to search bit by bit."

"Later, my squad, which consisted of about ten people, discovered some strange footprints somewhere outside the city."

"The footprints suddenly appeared under the city wall, presumably from someone who climbed down from the wall..." "At this time, when footprints suddenly appear, we follow them to investigate, and we find that the owner of these footprints entered Master Zhou's manor."

"Master Zhou's manor?" Jiang Yun frowned slightly.

Wan Lang nodded and said, "Master Zhou Hanshan is a big shot in our area."

"After we reported this situation, we were quickly warned not to talk nonsense and not to mention this matter to anyone."

After finishing speaking, Wan Lang lowered his head and said helplessly, "Lord Jiang, this matter is definitely related to Master Zhou. You must confiscate their property..."

Zhou Hanshan wielded immense influence in the local area, and many of the officials in the government offices were promoted by Zhou Hanshan through bribery.

Wan Lang is now thinking about what will happen if Jiang Yun causes trouble for Zhou Hanshan.

I can't escape responsibility myself.

You know, those thugs outside the courtyard will definitely tell everyone about this.

Since that's the case, we can only hope that this Lord Jiang will go straight to the point and wipe out the Zhou family.

In any case, confiscating property and exterminating entire families was a specialty of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly and said to Dong Qiaofeng beside him, "Let's go back to the government office!"

……

In the prefectural government office, in the prefect's study, Chen Qilang was tidying up his valuables, his face showing worry.

He was inwardly groaning; this money was burning his hands...

He learned from his subordinates' reports a few days ago that this matter was related to the Zhou family.

Initially, only some insignificant civilians in the city disappeared, and the Zhou family secretly sent some money.

Chen Qilang naturally turned a blind eye to those reported cases.

Having just experienced the chaos of war, it's perfectly normal for a few people to disappear.

But things took a turn for the worse when the Imperial Guards came to investigate and then disappeared as well.

Especially after those twenty Imperial Guards disappeared, the Zhou family secretly sent him 10,000 taels of silver.

Chen Qilang cursed the Zhou family for being crazy, but over the years, he had received countless sums of money from them, and they also had a lot of dirt on him.

He could only grit his teeth and continue to pretend that nothing had happened.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yun arrived.

This guy is the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a marquis appointed by the late Emperor, and also a confidant of the current Emperor, as well as the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhenguo.

Regardless of what the Zhou family is up to.

Chen Qilang understood that regardless of whether Jiang Yun found out about this matter.

Or perhaps the Zhou family suddenly made this Lord Jiang disappear as well.

Things are about to escalate.

I'd be better off not only suppressing this matter, but also dying along with it...

They had to escape.

Pack up your valuables, move to a different place, change your appearance. Anyway, you have money, so it doesn't matter where you go.

It's a pity that the position of prefect, which he worked so hard to obtain, was wasted.

Just as Chen Qilang was packing his valuables, suddenly, the clerk's voice came from outside the door: "Sir, Lord Jiang has arrived and wants to see you."

Chen Qilang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "Go and invite Lord Jiang to sit in the living room first. I have some urgent business to attend to, and I'll come as soon as I'm done."

Chen Qilang dared not delay; if he slipped up any slip-up, he would be doomed.

The door was pushed open with a bang, and the clerk couldn't stop him.

Looking at the several bundles of valuables already packed in the study, Jiang Yun frowned slightly: "What is Lord Chen trying to do?"

"This..." Chen Qilang was stunned for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and forced a smile as he said, "I, I, I."

Jiang Yun walked straight forward, unpacked the bundle, and found it filled with stacks of silver notes and gold.

Seeing this, Dong Qiaofeng chuckled and said, "Lord Jiang, look at Lord Chen, he's quite polite, he even prepared a gift for you."

"Ah, yes, yes, this is a small gift I prepared for Lord Jiang," Chen Qilang said.

But he regretted it as soon as he said it; there were a full twenty thousand taels of silver in there…

But he had saved up a huge sum of money for a long time, so he quickly took out a gold bracelet from his bundle: "This is the gift I prepared for Lord Jiang."

Jiang Yun waved his hand and pushed his hand back: "Lord Chen, let's skip this kind of thing and talk about serious matters."

"Why didn't you report to me about the disappearance of so many of my Imperial Guards and their connection to the Zhou family?"

After saying that, Jiang Yun walked into the study and sat down, staring intently at Chen Qilang.

Chen Qilang broke out in a cold sweat. How did Jiang Yun find out about this so quickly?
how can that be!

Chen Qilang took a deep breath, forced a wry smile, coughed, and then said, "I don't understand what Lord Jiang is saying."

"You don't understand, do you?" Jiang Yun said slowly, "Previously, a patrol team discovered clues outside the city and followed them to the Zhou family's manor."

"When the report was submitted, the Hongjiang Prefecture government suppressed the matter and did not report it."

Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Chen Qilang's heart trembled, and he forced a smile: "This, Lord Jiang, you may not know, but Mr. Zhou Hanshan is a very kind and virtuous local gentleman. He has done a lot of work in paving roads and building bridges."

"How could the disappearance of the Imperial Guards and the people in the city be related to him? In my opinion, someone is probably making things up to frame Mr. Zhou."

"In that case, Lord Jiang, give me an hour, and I will investigate this matter. I will give you an explanation within an hour."

After saying that, Chen Qilang picked up the package next to him and prepared to leave.

Dong Qiaofeng raised his hand to stop him, then punched him to the ground, and then pressed his knee firmly into his chest, while holding a dagger in his hand.

"What are you going to do!" Chen Qilang was almost suffocating under the pressure: "I am a fourth-rank official of the imperial court."

"A fourth-rank official of the imperial court? In the imperial prison, even someone of that rank wouldn't qualify me to torture him personally." Dong Qiaofeng stared at him coldly, his voice filled with anger: "More than twenty of our Jinyiwei brothers have disappeared. I don't have that much patience."

"If you don't confess honestly, I'll kill you right now!"

Seeing the murderous intent in Dong Qiaofeng's eyes, Chen Qilang knew in his heart that he probably couldn't escape his fate.

He gave it up.

He hurriedly looked at Jiang Yun and pleaded, "Lord Jiang, Lord Jiang, you can take all the gold and silver on the table, please let me go, please let me go."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun walked forward expressionlessly, glanced at the gold and silver on the table, couldn't help but shake his head, and slowly said, "If I take you into prison, won't all this money still belong to me? Why should I let you go?"

Chen Qilang's mouth was extremely wide open, and Jiang Yun's words made perfect sense, leaving him speechless.

Jiang Yun said calmly, "Today, you have to say it whether you want to or not."

(End of this chapter)