Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 176 Prince Xin'an Comes to the Rescue

Huixunfang was located on the south bank of the Luo River, with the Weiwang Pond to its west. It was one of the neighborhoods in Luoyang with the most abundant water resources, so even if a fire broke out, it could be controlled in time.

In particular, this neighborhood is full of mansions of the powerful and wealthy, with almost no ordinary people living there. Many of these powerful and wealthy people often own more than one mansion. Even if a fire breaks out, they would only lose some of the roof beams and the accumulated wealth. And since it was the middle of the morning, they could put out the fire and avoid danger in time after the fire was discovered.

Although Zhang Dai intended to escalate the situation, he wouldn't be so heartless as to set fire to a busy downtown area and disregard human lives. He simply instructed Ding Qing to set fire to the west building of his own house, hoping that the fire would spread to the unused Qiwang Mountain Garden next door.

Since Wang Shouzhen is so arrogant and not afraid of making things worse, Zhang Dai will help him make things worse.

When it comes to causing trouble, he's quite the professional. While he himself doesn't have enough power to confront Wang Maozhong, since the other party is retaliating against him unreasonably, he'll let this father and son constantly punch a hedgehog in the back—that's what it feels like!
After instructing two servants to return to Huixunfang to check the situation, Wang Shouzhen led the remaining men to escort Zhang Dai and the other two to Qinghuafang.

As the Lantern Festival approaches, Qinghuafang is especially lively, with crowds of people on the streets. Some restaurants and casinos have arranged for servants to shout and solicit customers along the street. There are even high platforms with couches set up on the side of the street as stages, where prostitutes sing or dance.

Zhang Dai's "Golden Thread Robe" is very popular on the streets because it fits the theme, and at least four or five out of ten stages are singing this song.

Even though Zhang Dai was still in a precarious situation, he felt a little proud to hear so many people singing his works. It was just a pity that Wang Shouzhen kept ordering him to hurry up, preventing him from stopping to appreciate the beauty and talent of the courtesans.

The Jinwuwei yamen in the ward was quite imposing, unlike other places where people came and went. Wang Shouzhen and his party, holding Zhang Dai and the others hostage, went straight inside. When the guards came forward to question them, Wang Shouzhen said, "Has General Li of the Yifu returned to his post? I sent my servant to tell him to come here to try a criminal. Now the criminal has arrived, and we are just waiting to go to court for trial!"

The Jinwu Guard is in charge of the city's patrol police and arresting criminals. In theory, they have the right to intervene and arrest any criminals who commit any crime that occurs in the city.

Those arrested and brought to the Jinwu Guard would undergo a preliminary trial. If the offenses were merely minor violations, the punishment would be carried out directly at the Jinwu Guard headquarters. If the offenders were involved in other more serious crimes, they would be sent to Henan Prefecture and its counties, or to the Dali Temple, for trial and execution.

The Left Jinwu Guard's Assistant General, named Li Anle, was also a meritorious official of the Tang Dynasty. After receiving Wang Shouzhen's notification, he arrived at the government office early to wait. Hearing the commotion outside, he strode out to greet him, and while walking, he clasped his hands in greeting to Wang Shouzhen, saying, "It is truly an honor for you, Elder Brother, to personally go to the streets to arrest criminals. Elder Brother, you have worked hard!"

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Zhang Dai, his face immediately darkening and his expression changing. He pointed at Zhang Dai and demanded, "Now that you're in the military headquarters, there's no room for excuses. Do you, criminal, confess your crimes?"

The Northern Office was a relatively closed system. The appointment, removal, promotion, and demotion of its officials were all determined by the emperor's will and the supervising generals. Even lower-ranking officers such as deputy generals and battalion commanders did not follow the same promotion and demotion system as the Southern Province.

Therefore, even the current prime minister had negligible influence over the Northern Army, let alone a former prime minister like Zhang Yue who had fallen from power. Thus, this Assistant Attendant General, upon meeting Zhang Dai, adopted a stern and uncompromising attitude, showing no fear of his family background.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai simply shook his head and said, "General, you seem to have misunderstood. I am not here to admit to any fabricated crimes, but to file a lawsuit against Young Master Huo of the North Gate and Prince Wang Shouzhen, the servant of the Crown Prince."

This scoundrel is arrogant and lawless, allowing his servants to roam freely with weapons. They broke into my neighborhood, robbed my home, and stole my property. They even stole precious imperial gifts from my servants and set fire to my house and garden…

"This this……"

General Li Anle, who had been full of imposing manner, was dumbfounded upon hearing Zhang Dai's accusations. Hearing the serious charges against him, he dared not respond for a moment, and could only turn to Wang Shouzhen, asking, "Elder brother, are his accusations true or false?"

"You scoundrel, still trying to argue! Now that you're inside, how can we tolerate your continued trickery and deceit!"

Wang Shouzhen first pointed at Zhang Dai and cursed him, then looked at Li Anle with displeasure and said, "Now that we're here, everything is up to you. Why listen to this scoundrel's sophistry? First, disarm his servants and put them in shackles in the hall!"

"Yes, yes, put on the shackles, put on the shackles!"

Hearing Wang Shouzhen say this, Li Anle felt more confident and immediately raised his hand to instruct the soldiers beside him.

Zhang Dai was trying to stall for time, so he sneered again: "General, are you an official of the court or a servant of the Wang family? How can you be so subservient to them? Besides, do you know what my dispute with Wang Shouzhen is, yet you dare to risk your life to side with him?"

This scoundrel just broke into the neighborhood and set fire to my house and garden. The fire has already spread to the former residence of Prince Qi in the west, and it's still unknown whether it's been extinguished. Now you're letting him threaten you? Will you also share the blame if the matter of burning down a famous prince's residence is investigated in the future?"

"You bullshit!"

When Wang Shouzhen heard Zhang Dai sowing discord and spouting nonsense in front of him, he was furious and immediately tried to get closer to Zhang Dai.

However, An Xiaochen and Jin Huan remained armed and at Zhang Dai's side. Zhang Dai noticed that the Jinwu Guard officer's expression had become hesitant, so he smiled and said, "General, rather than being deceived and becoming an accomplice, you should send someone into the neighborhood to check the truth of what I said. As for me, once I'm in here, I'm like a caged bird; where can I run to? After you know the truth, it's not too late to help the thieves deal with me."

“What he said makes sense, Elder Brother. Why don’t we detain him in prison for now, and then send my men into the neighborhood to find out the truth of his crimes before we can make a judgment?”

After listening to Zhang Dai's words, Li Anle quickly made a decision. He would certainly be happy to help Wang Shouzhen, but only in situations where it was not of great importance. If the facts were as Zhang Dai said, he would not dare to become Wang Shouzhen's accomplice.

"This scoundrel is using tricks to delay, waiting for someone to come to his rescue! If you can't make a decision, I'll lead him to the North Gate, and from now on you won't be waiting for me at my door!" Wang Shouzhen was even angrier upon hearing this, stamping his foot and pointing at Li Anle as he rebuked him.

"How could this be? How could this be? Please calm down, brother. Since you have entrusted this matter to me, I will naturally judge it clearly for you!"

Li Anle was genuinely afraid of offending this young master, so while dragging Wang Shouzhen's hand toward the government office, he also ordered, "Quickly disarm this man and his accomplices and bring them in. After I've made some preparations, I'll proceed with the trial immediately!"

He said this, but winked at his confidant, signaling him to hurry into the neighborhood and check what was going on.

Then he invited Wang Shouzhen into the government office with great courtesy, repeatedly offering perfunctory words of comfort. As for Zhang Dai and the other two, they were temporarily led into the corridor by soldiers and kept under guard, but were not directly put in shackles or tortured.

After leading Wang Shouzhen to a separate hall and settling him down, Li Anle had food served while smilingly asking Wang Shouzhen, "I didn't have time to ask in detail before, but now that Zhang's son has been brought to justice, I would like to ask why this fellow had a grudge against you, my lord?"

"You didn't believe that brat's wild words and now you regret it, did you? If that's the case, I won't bother you anymore. But from now on, don't mention your son's journey to the North Gate again!"

Wang Shouzhen rolled his eyes and stared at Li Anle, speaking rudely.

"No, no, I have made a promise to you, Dalang, how could I dare to go back on my word? I will only clarify the matter and then determine the appropriate punishment, which will surely satisfy you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Anle hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands, forcing a smile as he spoke.

At this moment, the envoy also brought in wine and food. As Li Anle spoke, he personally poured wine and cut meat for Wang Shouzhen.

Wang Shouzhen was still hungover last night. He only got up and led his men to attack Huixunfang after receiving a message from his servant. He was so busy that he hadn't eaten yet.

He then accepted Li Anle's service, drinking and eating meat while saying bitterly, "In short, whatever punishment is needed later, use it on him! This scoundrel is hateful. If we were in Chang'an, I would have drowned him in the Wei River. It's inconvenient here in Luoyang, so I only gave him a slight punishment. You helped me accomplish this, and I will not treat you unfairly!"

"Don't worry, brother, I will definitely not let this brat off easily when we enter the hall later!"

Li Anle nodded repeatedly in agreement, and immediately cut the roasted meat even thinner, so that Wang Shouzhen could eat it slowly. No matter how fierce he spoke, he always had to wait until his confidant returned before he could go to court.

While diligently serving Wang Shouzhen, he also subtly inquired about any important and desirable positions available at the North Gate that could be offered to his sons. Even though he was now a high-ranking official of the fourth rank, he still acted like a servant in front of the Wang family, who controlled the future promotions of the officers at the North Gate.

As the two ate and chatted, another group of men quickly arrived outside the government office. Leading them was none other than Li Yi, the Prince of Xin'an, who had just been appointed Grand General of the Left Golden Guard. Upon seeing their commander, the men in front of the office rushed forward, clasped their hands, and said, "We, your humble servants, pay our respects to the Grand General!"

Prince Xin'an dismounted and looked at the group, saying in a deep voice, "Were any criminals brought into the yamen earlier?"

"Yes, it was Prince Wang Shouzhen, the servant of the Crown Prince. He brought Zhang Dai, the Duke of Yan, here!"

Li Xia also rushed out from the back of the group, shouting loudly.

"That is indeed the case. Li Zhonglang of the Yifu Palace is currently in the hall talking with the Crown Prince's servant."

The subordinates, of course, dared not conceal the truth and nodded in agreement upon hearing it.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi said nothing more, but strode into the government office and, led by his subordinates, went straight to a separate hall. Li Anle, hearing the commotion outside, wanted to come out to greet him, but it was too late. He could only awkwardly approach Li Yi and bow, saying, "This humble servant was unaware of Your Majesty's presence..."

"Is this a separate hall of the government office, or your family's guest room?"

Li Yi glanced at the food and wine laid out on the table in front of Wang Shouzhen, his face immediately darkening. He ordered, "Take it away!"

Wang Shouzhen was also somewhat embarrassed. He stood up with a sheepish smile, but before he could speak, someone outside the hall called out, "Father, Zhang Liu is here. Fortunately, he hasn't been tortured yet."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shouzhen understood the purpose of Prince Xin'an's sudden return to the office, and immediately said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is a respected elder of the clan and holds a noble position. Why should you interfere in my feud with the Zhang family's son!"

Li Yi glanced at him, said nothing, and simply turned and walked out of the separate hall, heading straight for Zhang Dai.

(End of this chapter)