Catching Monsters

Chapter 746 Adding insult to injury
This person's situation was not an isolated case, but rather a common phenomenon within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"What? Lord Jiang has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country?"

Inside the Northern Garrison Command, Qi Da sat in his study, staring wide-eyed at Qin Hong who had come to deliver the message. He disregarded Qin Hong's status, slammed his hand on the table, and said, "Eunuch Qin, this matter must be clarified! Which bastard has slandered our master?"

"You tell me, and I'll skin him alive!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Da's first reaction was that there were treacherous officials in the court who wanted to harm Jiang Yun.

Seeing Qi Da's agitated state, Qin Hong frowned and said in a deep voice, "Commander Qi, this matter was decided by His Majesty. If you have any objections, please speak to His Majesty."

"I..." Zidane was somewhat deflated upon hearing this. He gritted his teeth slightly and said, "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"If Lord Jiang is a traitor who colludes with the state, I, Old Qi, will cut off my head and make it into a chamber pot for you."

Qin Hong frowned and sighed inwardly. Jiang Yun, aside from anything else, certainly had loyal subordinates.

However, Qin Hong couldn't tell Qi Da the truth. If he did, the Imperial Guards wouldn't bother searching for Jiang Yun's whereabouts seriously once they arrived.

Secondly, it's meaningless.

His Majesty the Emperor was threatened and Jiang Yun was forcibly accused of treason. If this got out, it wouldn't be good for Xiao Jingzhi's reputation either.

Furthermore, judging from Zidane's reaction, if he knew the truth, he would probably spread it around.

Qin Hong said in a deep voice, "Alright, Qi Da, I'm not here to discuss whether Jiang Yun really betrayed the country. As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you only need to carry out orders, understand? This is an imperial edict."

Upon hearing the words "imperial edict," Zidane, who had originally intended to argue, found himself speechless.

He gritted his teeth and stared at Qin Hong, saying, "Eunuch Qin, is there absolutely no room for maneuver in this matter?"

"No." Qin Hong said decisively, "I give you three days to find Jiang Yun's whereabouts. If you find him, you will be promoted to Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If you don't find him, you will lose your position as Commander of the Garrison."

After saying that, Qin Hong strode out of the study.

Qi Da watched Qin Hong's retreating figure with an extremely grim expression. Soon, he summoned all the officials of the Northern Garrison Command above the rank of Junior Officer.

In the main hall of the Northern Garrison Command, Qi Da also announced the matter.

After hearing this, everyone present looked a little off.

"Lord Qi, there must be some treacherous officials causing trouble. I believe it if they say that Lord Jiang embezzled hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but how could our Lord Jiang possibly betray the country?"

The other man scolded, "You talk too much. When has Lord Jiang ever embezzled money without sharing it with us brothers? Besides, so what if he embezzled? Who in the Zhou Kingdom's officialdom doesn't embezzle a little?"

"I'm not going to investigate Lord Jiang's work. Whoever wants to do it can do it."

“That’s right. Lord Jiang has done me a favor. Lord Qi wants to make merit, get promoted and make a fortune. I won’t stop him. Anyway, I’m not going.”

Some of the people present misunderstood, thinking that Zidane wanted to take this opportunity to capture Jiang Yun and claim a reward, promotion, and wealth.

Zidane frowned and scolded, "A bunch of idiots! Even if we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, don't investigate this matter, doesn't anyone else? Doesn't anyone go to Lord Jiang?"

"This task has fallen into our hands. How we investigate, and whether we find out Lord Jiang's whereabouts, is entirely up to us."

"What if people from other departments get involved and actually find Lord Jiang?"

Upon hearing Zidane's words, everyone present suddenly realized what was happening.

Soon, Zidane thought for a moment, took out a sheet of Xuan paper, and painted a portrait. However, the person in the portrait was tall and burly, with upturned nostrils and squinty eyes, and had absolutely no relation to Jiang Yun.

Most of the Imperial Guards on missions outside the capital had never seen Jiang Yun's true face.

"Print out this portrait and send it to the Embroidered Uniform Guards all over the country. Tell them to arrest the person immediately if they find it," Qi Da ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes."

……

Suddenly, a group of aggressive students stormed into the classroom where Qiao Haotian was located at Renyi Academy.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?" The Confucian scholar standing on the podium frowned slightly upon seeing this.

Where is Jiang Qiaoqiao?

“Her brother is a traitor who betrayed the country. What right does she, a woman, have to continue attending classes at Renyi Academy and tarnish the reputation of our academy?”

The students who rushed in were shouting loudly.

The students in the classroom exchanged glances but remained silent, since Jiang Qiaoqiao had been their classmate for quite some time.

Jiang Qiaoqiao gets along well with everyone, and none of her classmates mentioned it today, even though they learned about it.

"Qiao Haotian." The students who rushed in suddenly pointed at Qiao Haotian and said, "You and Jiang Qiaoqiao were the closest. Where is she? Where did she go?"

A classmate quickly stood up and said, "Alright, stop kicking us when we're down. We're all from Renyi Academy."

Upon hearing this, the man snorted coldly and said, "What do you mean by kicking someone when they're down? It's Jiang Yun who's kicking someone when they're down. He previously arrested all the Confucian scholars from Qinghe Academy and imprisoned them. We are all from the academy, so it's only right that we stand up for the Confucian scholars from Qinghe Academy."

Qiao Haotian clenched his fists and said, "To avenge the Confucian scholars of Qinghe Academy? When Lord Jiang was still alive, why didn't you dare go to the Northern Garrison Command to seek revenge on Lord Jiang?"

"Oh, you arrogant Qiao Haotian, don't think you're so great just because you lived off the Jiang family before. Now that the Jiang family is finished, what do you think you are?"

This time, Qiao Haotian did not try to distance himself from Jiang Qiaoqiao as he had when he felt inferior before. Instead, he stepped forward and said, "Miss Jiang and I are in love. It has nothing to do with the Jiang family or Lord Jiang."

Hearing Qiao Haotian publicly admit that he and Jiang Qiaoqiao were in love, the other party was stunned.

"Fine, fine, you're a traitor too! Arrest him! Take him to the authorities!"

"Let's see who dares!"

Suddenly, a reprimand came from outside the school.

The newcomer was Fang Tingzhi. He glared at the students outside the school and said, "Jiang Qiaoqiao is my personal disciple. Should I also be tied up and sent to the authorities?"

Upon hearing Fang Tingzhi's words, the students who had rushed in immediately deflated.

"Nonsense!" Fang Tingzhi scolded, "None of you are studying Confucianism properly. You haven't even left the academy yet, and you want to sneak into the imperial court. Don't think I don't know what you're thinking?"

"Isn't it just that they're thinking that Jiang Yun has offended Qinghe Academy, and now that Jiang Yun is out of favor, they're all jumping out to try and win the favor of those court officials who graduated from Qinghe Academy, paving the way for their own careers?"

"How did one cultivate such a state of mind through Confucianism and Taoism?"

(End of this chapter)