Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 522 Eyes and Ears Caught
When Zhang Dai arrived at the capital, he saw several censors, as well as his two superiors, Pei Guangting and Pei Kuan, all inside. The atmosphere in the hall was quite tense, as if they had just experienced a heated argument.

"Your humble servant Zhang Dai greets the Grand Master, the Censor, and all the esteemed officials. May I ask what business the Grand Master has with me?"

As the lowest-ranking member of the Censorate, Zhang Dai, under the watchful eyes of everyone, walked into the hall and respectfully asked Pei Guangting's question before his desk.

Pei Guangting waved his hand, indicating that Zhang Dai should dispense with the formalities. He then pointed to two letters sealed with sealing wax on the table and said to Zhang Dai, "Today, the petition submitted by the Taizhong authorities involves two immortal ladies, Jin Xian and Yu Zhen. They may need to go to the relevant authorities to respond to the petition in the future. Zhang Shiyu, please take these two letters to the two immortal ladies' abodes and ask them to send their officials to the Zhongshu Menxia to hear the matter on the day of the petition."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai nodded in agreement and then stepped forward to pick up the two letters. He then bowed his head and asked, "Doctor, is there anything else I need to tell the two fairies?"

"That's all, go quickly. If the two fairy maidens insist on having you pass it on, you must return it to Cheng Tang immediately."

In front of everyone, Pei Guangting naturally couldn't say too much, especially since the argument in the hall had been quite intense. However, he believed that Zhang Dai was clever enough and probably wouldn't just be a simple messenger.

Zhang Dai quickly agreed, then took his leave and walked out of the capital hall, then hurried towards the Censorate.

Although the Censorate supervises all officials, there are still things that need attention, especially when the memorials submitted involve special individuals, in which case extra caution is required.

Wang Han's memorial, because it involved Princesses Jin Xian and Yu Zhen, had just been the subject of debate in Taizhong regarding whether it was appropriate to submit it to the court for public comment. This also reflects that Pei Guangting, as the Imperial Censor, lacked sufficient authority. If he were a more authoritative official, he would have directly decided whether or not to submit the memorial, without needing to consult or adopt the opinions of others.

Fortunately, Pei Guangting didn't falter at the crucial moment. If this memorial, which was clearly unfavorable to Yuwen Rong, had been intercepted in the Censorate, he wouldn't have needed to consider whether to continue fighting with Yuwen Rong; he could have simply resigned.

After all, he couldn't even control the Censorate, his own base, so how could he compete with Yuwen Rong?
Now that the memorial has been approved by the Censorate, things are much easier. Although there is still the hurdle of the prime minister, if it cannot be approved by the prime minister, the matter still cannot be discussed and decided in the court.

However, Pei Guangting was the prime minister himself, and each prime minister had independent decision-making power in this matter, so there was no need to discuss it with other prime ministers. Of course, Yuwen Rong and his group only managed to bring down Zhang Shuo with the consent of Yuan Qianyao.

With these two princesses of special status drawn into the matter, the situation quickly escalated. Clearly, the princesses, wanting to express their discontent and protest, would no longer go through the Censorate or court assemblies; they would most likely appeal directly to the emperor.

Therefore, the crucial next step is to seize this opportunity to directly reach the Emperor's ears and quickly launch a series of combined attacks, striving to inflict as much damage as possible on Yuwen Rong in this first wave of offensive. Once the situation becomes a stalemate, other variables will inevitably arise.

Therefore, after leaving the palace, Zhang Dai did not go directly to the Taoist temple where the two princesses resided. Instead, he first rode his horse southeast along the main street of Zhuque Gate to Changxing Ward to inform Prince Xin'an. If Prince Xin'an happened to be home, it would be ideal if he could accompany him and communicate with the two princesses in time.

As for Gao Lishi, there was no need for him to go and inform him further. His grandfather, as the instigator, would certainly inform Gao Lishi of the relevant situation and ask Gao Lishi to cooperate appropriately at the right time.

When Zhang Dai turned from Heng Street onto Qixia Xiamen Chang Street, he saw another group of people ahead of him. It was none other than Li Linfu and Wu Wenshen. This group of several dozen people had originally been heading south along the Chang Street, but after hearing the sound of galloping horses, they turned back and saw Zhang Dai. They then turned back to meet Zhang Dai directly.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhang Dai's face turned cold. He subconsciously touched the two letters on his body and couldn't help but mutter to himself that Yuwen Rong was so well-informed and audacious enough to send people to intercept him in the street and seize the documents from the Censorate.
Fortunately, he had a large entourage, with over twenty attendants accompanying him whenever he went out. Few of the纨绔 (playboys) in the capital had such a grand procession as him. When he saw Li Linfu and his group approaching, Ding Qing had already led several men on horseback to circle around in front of Zhang Dai.

"Zhang Dai, you brat, stop right now!"

Li Linfu approached Zhang Dai from a few feet away, raised his hand and pointed at him with his halberd, and shouted angrily. Then he sneered, "You've come at the right time. I also had something to do with you!"

Zhang Dai was slightly surprised and suspicious. Upon hearing Li Linfu's words, he immediately retorted angrily, "What are you looking for me for? Are you looking for death?"

"The madman is still oblivious to his own sneaky and ridiculous behavior. Do you even recognize who that thief is?"

Upon hearing Zhang Dai's words, Li Linfu let out a few more cold laughs before pointing to his own troops behind him.

As the group approached, Zhang Dai saw a tall, thin man being held captive in the middle of the procession with his arms twisted behind his back. It was Ji Wen, the man he had assigned to follow Li Linfu. Upon seeing Zhang Dai, Ji Wen was overjoyed, struggling and crying out, "Sixth Brother, save me! Save me..."

"The thief was sneaking around and prying into people's privacy. Now that he's been captured, he should obediently accept his punishment. Who can he complain to for help now!"

Wu Wenshen rode forward, raised his whip and lashed Ji Wen several times until the man's face was covered in welts and he cried out in pain. Only then did he laugh and walk toward Zhang Dai.

"I have missed you dearly since we parted a few days ago, and I never expected to run into you on the street today. I happen to have something to tell you, so please stay a moment and let me explain."

When Wu Wenshen faced Zhang Dai, he was not as hostile as Li Linfu, but he was still full of sarcasm: "Today I was depositing money at the Chang'an Feiqian Guifang in the neighborhood when my servant saw a thief sneaking around in the alley and captured him."

Originally intending to interrogate him about his motives, the thief unexpectedly claimed that he was instructed by Liu Lang to track down Li Jun Shi Lang. Liu Lang has always been honest and upright; how could he do such a treacherous thing? Just as we were about to hand the thief over to the authorities, we happened to meet Liu Lang. Liu Lang, is what this thief says true?

Zhang Dai breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing that they hadn't come to intercept him on Yuwen Rong's orders, but seeing Ji Wen's unfortunate state, he couldn't help feeling rather embarrassed. Faced with Wu Wen Shen's gloating question, he merely frowned and remained silent.

Wu Wenshen was very happy to dampen Zhang Dai's arrogance, and then said to Zhang Dai, "Even if this disciple is really acting on Liu Lang's orders, what private matters do you want to pry into? I naturally have nothing to hide from others, so I will tell you now."

I am fortunate to have received Li Jun's assistance and help in making things happen. My newly acquired 300,000 strings of cash are about to be sent to Bianzhou. I've heard that the Bianzhou cash has a deep connection with Liu Lang. Would Liu Lang be so kind as to lend me a hand so that I can successfully withdraw the money from Bianzhou?”

"Three hundred thousand strings of cash?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was slightly taken aback. Li Linfu and the others had already invested as much as seven or eight hundred thousand strings of cash, and now with Wu Wenshen's additional three hundred thousand strings, that's over a million strings. How could they possibly manage so much money?

Seeing Zhang Dai's astonished expression, Wu Wenshen laughed again: "A mere 300,000 strings of cash, why should it make Sixth Brother so angry! Sixth Brother, you need to cultivate your composure and keep your emotions in check. That's the mindset for great things!"

At this moment, Li Linfu also spoke up, saying, "If you, Zhang Dai, are still curious about my whereabouts, you don't need to send any more spies to spy on me. I'll tell you plainly now that I'll be heading to Bianzhou soon to handle some matters. I've heard you have some spies in Bianzhou, so keep your eyes peeled and see what I'm up to! As for this thief, since you won't take him back, then hand him over to the authorities."

"You want to leave Beijing? You can't leave!"

Upon hearing Li Linfu's words, Zhang Dai's expression of astonishment was even more intense than when he heard Wu Wenshen's figure of 300,000 strings of cash.

Seeing his appearance, Li Linfu sneered and mocked, "Although you are cunning in your youth, you should still listen to the guidance and teachings of your elders. The Martial Lord taught you to cultivate your composure, and you should indeed follow his advice. What business is it of yours, a mere child, to comment on my conduct?"

After saying this, he did not linger any longer. He reined in his horse, turned around, and pointed at Ji Wen, who was being held in the ranks, and ordered, "Take this scoundrel to the Wannian County Office. Magistrate Wannian, please interrogate him carefully. Do not disturb this scoundrel who mingles in the streets!"

Seeing Li Linfu and his group come over, show off their power, mock him, and then leave, Zhang Dai was naturally very depressed. He even wanted to call out to the guy and remind him: Aren't you going to ask me what I'm going to do?
Ji Wen's capture was a minor matter; Wu Wen Shen wanted to add fuel to the fire, but little did he know that he was catching the last train and sending himself in.

However, Li Linfu's decision to leave Chang'an and personally go to Bianzhou to oversee the run on the money exchange was completely unexpected by Zhang Dai. With this guy just leaving like that, how was Zhang Dai supposed to catch him in the act of adultery?
"Hurry home and tell Zhang Yi to pack his things and prepare to return to Bianzhou. If he sees Li Linfu on the way, they should travel together. If they hear of any trouble in the capital, arrest the man immediately and hand him over to the authorities!"

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Dai summoned Ding Qing and gave him instructions. The roads weren't exactly interconnected these days, and the official post roads were fixed routes, so tracking along them wouldn't be difficult.

If a victor emerges in the capital, Zhang Dai plans to first imprison Li Linfu on charges of accepting embezzled funds and absconding with the money, and then deal with the guy in detail!

(End of this chapter)