Chapter 1105
The Thief Cult is Utterly Arrogant
Chapter 1105 The Thief Cult is Utterly Arrogant
In the quiet of the night,
A woman's scream, like a ghost, startled Zhang Jinyu. Looking closely, she saw a woman in fine clothes with a beautiful face, her beauty concealed by rouge and powder, making her age unknown, but her voluptuous figure was undeniable.
"Who has rebelled?"
I heard it clearly just now. The Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) has rebelled. It's just a bunch of eunuchs and some disgraced women. How could they be plotting a rebellion?
Madam Ding, wrapped in a silk robe, rushed over and called out urgently;
"It was the traitors from the Taiping Sect and the White Lotus Sect who slaughtered the entire Jiaofangsi. The Prefect of Qingyang, who was traveling with me, was intercepted and killed in the alley. General, please save my life quickly."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jinyu immediately waved his hand. Ning Bian and the others, who had already drawn their swords, led three hundred personal guards from the vanguard towards the alleyway not far ahead.
Inside, Wang Qinian, who had already been stabbed multiple times, and his guard Ma Zheng were still struggling to hold on. Upon hearing the rapid sound of approaching hooves from the street, they immediately showed joy, while the three attackers retreated three steps.
They exchanged a glance, nodded to each other, and then turned and disappeared into the shadows deep within the alley. Upon seeing this, the two could no longer hold on and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.
At this moment,
Zhang Jinyu had already led his troops to block the alley entrance, while Ning Bian sent a large number of cavalry to rush in and check the situation. They found only two people, covered in blood, leaning against the wall, and no one else.
"Are you Wang Qinian, the Prefect of Qingyang?"
"Reporting to this general, I am the Prefect of Qingyang. A large number of White Lotus Sect and Taiping Sect thieves suddenly appeared in the Jiaofangsi and were massacring people indiscriminately. The building was already a river of blood. Moreover, there were ambushes set up by the two sects in the surrounding markets and alleys. If it weren't for your quick arrival, General, we would probably be in grave danger."
Prefect Wang Qinian of Qingyang, his face covered in blood, clutched his wounded arm, his expression still fearless, though tinged with anxiety. He wondered if his sister-in-law had managed to escape.
As they were talking,
At the entrance of the alley, a large number of cavalry appeared again. Zhang Jinyu rode in on horseback, leading a group of soldiers. Madam Ding, who was leading the way, had red eyes and walked quickly. Seeing that Wang Qinian was injured, she suddenly felt a great deal of reluctance. So, disregarding the proper separation between men and women, she rushed over and hugged Wang Qinian tightly.
This scene,
Zhang Jinyu's expression turned somewhat strange. Wasn't this Prefect of Qingyang supposed to be imprisoned? How did he end up here? Had the Imperial City Guard released him, or had he used other means to secretly escape from the prison?
“You are the Prefect of Qingyang? Your wife risked her life to rush out into the street to seek help, her mind was entirely on you, but you secretly left prison, came here to meet with his wife, and took her out of the Jiaofangsi. How should this be accounted for?”
The serious words caused the three people, who had just relaxed, to suddenly feel anxious again.
Ignoring his own pain, Wang Qinian put down the hilt of his knife and clasped his hands in a fist salute.
"So it is you, Lord Marquis. I am the newly appointed Prefect of Qingyang. The woman in my arms is my sister-in-law, the wife of the former Prefect. I am here today at the Jiaofangsi to see you, my sister-in-law, about a secret matter in Qingyang County. Also, I wish to rescue you. This place is not a place for respectable women. I have rendered meritorious service on the northern border, so perhaps I can be pardoned."
At this point, he hugged the woman in his arms even tighter. Madam Ding blushed deeply and couldn't utter a word, watching the two of them embracing.
Zhang Jinyu found it somewhat unbelievable. Both were prefects of Qingyang, one a former, the other a current, and crucially, their wives were the same. Although this woman was beautiful and voluptuous, she wasn't exactly a stunning beauty. Furthermore, having entered the brothel, she would be serving more than just one or two men. If she encountered someone like Jia She of the Rongguo Mansion, he wouldn't show her any mercy; he would simply abuse her without restraint.
Even if you meet a good man, you'll still end up sleeping together. With so many people on your mind, can you still maintain that kind of affection? But this man holds positions throughout the northern border and has accumulated merits, which means the border army faction has begun to establish a presence in the northwest. After some thought, I seem to have a guess.
"You're quite the romantic, managing to escape here amidst the combined attacks of the two sects, and even bringing a woman with you. You're incredibly lucky."
Zhang Jinyu looked around; all the courtyards had their doors tightly shut, and she knew that tonight would not be peaceful.
"Men! Surround this place! Where are the Beijing garrison troops?"
"Yes, my lord, the Beijing garrison is right behind us."
Ningbian wasn't in a hurry when he saw the Marquis, knowing that the Marquis must have made arrangements. He ordered his men to surround the residential area and wait a while.
Afterwards, a large number of soldiers arrived. When they reached the front street, Wang Qinian still stood there without saying a word. Even when he saw the soldiers approaching from behind and the torches illuminating the street corner, he remained unmoved and unaffected, except for the uneasy struggle of the woman in his arms.
"You're quite clever. Since you've served in the border regions, may I ask where Lord Wang holds a post?"
"Your Excellency, how dare I address you as 'sir' before you? I have served as the prefect of Yunzhong County. I was rewarded for my meritorious service in raising grain and returned to the capital for my duties. However, the Ministry of Personnel assigned me to Qingyang County in the northwest. Coincidentally, the former prefect was a fellow Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of my year. I am deeply indignant at this situation."
He spoke with remarkable efficiency and an upright demeanor, but his hands remained entwined around the woman in his arms. This incongruity piqued Zhang Jinyu's interest.
“Well said. Since you have rendered meritorious service to the court, you are a loyal subject. As for this woman, since she has come here, I will protect her. However, the matter of Qingyang County still needs her to explain. Let’s go to the Jiaofangsi.”
"Yes, my lord,"
Wang Qinian was deeply moved; it seemed the Marquis had agreed. Looking behind him, he saw another large army had already reached the entrance to the brothel.
now,
Looking at the entrance of the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau), which was blocked inside and out by damaged carriages, making it impossible to enter or leave, Wang Ziteng had a bad feeling. The Jiaofangsi, which had never closed its gates before, was now deathly silent, with only red lanterns illuminating a corner in front of the gate.
"Uncle, should we go inside first? There's not a sound coming from inside the building at this hour; something terrible must have happened."
The speaker was Jia Lian, who was standing behind him. Perhaps no one in the capital knew the brothels as well as he did. At this hour, it was the perfect time for patrons and young masters to seek pleasure. Not to mention the sounds of string and wind instruments, there would certainly be no shortage of noise and shouts. But now, it was unusually quiet, which was quite unexpected.
"You guessed right, something big has happened. Let's wait for the Marquis to arrive before we talk about it."
Prince Teng remained unmoved, stroking his beard as he rode on his horse, wondering whether it was truly retaliation from the two religions or someone taking advantage of the chaos. There was still a day left tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow was the Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet. Making a scene now would be a slap in the face to the imperial court.
After waiting for a while,
As the sound of horses' hooves drew near.
Zhang Jinyu arrived hastily with her men. Seeing that Wang Ziteng's men had only surrounded the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue) and hadn't even moved the carts blocking the gate, Zhang Jinyu was slightly surprised. It seemed Wang Ziteng had learned his lesson.
"I have met Commander Wang. To arrive here so late at night and encounter such a major case is truly a troubled time. No, it is a troubled summer."
Zhang Jinyu felt a sense of unease, sensing that something big was about to happen in the next few days. And now, a major case had emerged, but the people from the Shuntian Prefecture government, the Imperial Guards, and even the Military Command were nowhere to be seen, which was rather strange.
Since the main figures hadn't arrived yet, they decided to wait. He then pulled on the reins and stood there with the Beijing garrison in front of the courtyard gate.
"My lord, you are too kind. We are both carrying out imperial orders, so we must be careful. The Jiaofangsi is, after all, an enterprise of the Imperial Household Department, and it involves the families of convicted officials. If we are not careful, it could cause turmoil in the court and the country, and that would be our fault."
Wang Ziteng felt somewhat helpless. How could it be such a coincidence that they encountered these things? Perhaps someone was watching them. It was a bit suspicious that they were leading troops into the capital at night. But now that they were here, how could they leave without taking a look?
"General, you're exaggerating. The banditry here is a matter for the Imperial Guards, the Military Command, and the Imperial City Guard. What does it have to do with you and me? Surrounding this place is already doing our best for the court. How these bandits entered the capital and how they laid the assassins are still unknown. The case doesn't belong to you or me, so how can you say we're at fault?"
Seeing that the conversation had reached this point and Zhang Jinyu remained unmoved, she had originally intended to go in and take a look, but now it seemed that it was best to wait for the person in charge to arrive. As for the aggrieved party, keeping it from him might yield unexpected results.
Just thinking,
Not far from the street corner, a few scattered torches illuminated the brightly lit street. Ma Mengquan, the commander of the Imperial City's Southern Garrison Office, had already arrived with a large number of soldiers. He was startled to see that a large number of troops had surrounded the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) courtyard.
"My lord, ahead are the troops of Marquis Zhang Jinyu of Luoyun and Wang Ziteng, the military governor of the capital," Zhang Tao, a commander of a thousand, quickly reported from behind. However, he did not know why the two troops were here. Ma Mengquan's eyes narrowed and his mind raced. He knew that Marquis Zhang Jinyu was in the capital, but his elite troops had been staying in the Anhu camp and had not left. The same was true for Military Governor Wang Ziteng.
But now that the two of them are here with troops, they must have been summoned by the Emperor. It seems that something has happened in the capital.
"They're here, so don't make a fuss. Also, what exactly happened at the Jiaofangsi? How did it come to this mess?"
Ma Mengquan's eyes were sharp, and a few strands of white hair were hidden at his temples beneath his official hat, a testament to the mental and physical strain he had endured these past few days.
"Yes, sir, I understand. I was also slow to react to the situation at the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). After all, this land belongs to the Imperial Household Department, and it's not appropriate for us to interfere. By the time we found out, it was too late. From what I understand, the people who ambushed us were a joint force of the White Lotus Sect and the Taiping Sect, and there were quite a few of them."
Commander Zhang Tao quickly lowered his head. This incident was also due to his dereliction of duty; he was also responsible for patrolling the city's wards.
But Ma Mengquan knew exactly what he was saying, and glared at him fiercely.
"walk over."
"Yes, my lord."
that's it,
A group of people approached Zhang Jinyu and his group, greeted them, and exchanged greetings.
"Greetings to Marquis Luoyun, greetings to Commander Wang,"
Ma Mengquan remained calm, cupped his hands in greeting from his horse, and glanced at the surrounding soldiers without saying a word. Zhang Jinyu and Wang Ziteng exchanged a look and returned the greeting with clasped hands.
"Commander Ma arrived quite quickly. There's been no movement from the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). I wonder what Commander Ma's thoughts are on this."
Seemingly asking a question, and leaving no room for maneuver, Prince Teng's eyes were bright. The Imperial Guards and the Military Commanders had not yet arrived, which meant that they did not want to interfere in this matter. However, the Imperial City Guards had come. The matter here was intriguing.
"Commander Wang, you may not know this, but in a residential area in the northeast corner of the capital, a strange wind suddenly arose and burned down several houses. When I learned of this, I feared that some kind of sorcerer was causing trouble, so I immediately sent men to put out the fire. It was only at three-quarters past midnight that the fire was brought under control."
He glanced at the high walls surrounding the courtyard and the carriage blocking the way, then waved his hand. The large contingent of Imperial Guards he had brought with him moved forward to remove the obstructions.
“General, Lord Marquis, the Jiaofangsi is located in the middle of the city. Its walls are more than ten feet higher than those of ordinary mansions, and there are many patrolling soldiers on the streets. The thugs at the gate are all retired veterans. Even so, when they made their move, no one could even cry for help. This shows how dangerous the intruders are.”
He dismounted and walked to a spot two zhang in front of the courtyard gate. There lay many corpses of guards lying there, their palms covered with thick calluses.
Zhang Jinyu and Wang Ziteng also dismounted and stopped, crouching down to examine the people on the ground. They didn't appear to be in pain; dressed in military uniforms and gripping sword hilts, they were clearly not easy opponents. Seeing their somewhat aged faces, they were perhaps veteran soldiers.
Looking further up, there was only a wound on the neck, with no other injuries. Putting aside the ruthlessness of those thieves, their methods alone showed they were all skilled martial artists, capable of killing with a single blow.
“Commander Ma is indeed insightful and a veteran soldier, but I don’t understand one thing: even if the attacker is a skilled martial artist, he cannot kill a veteran soldier with one blow. Everyone here will die in the same way. Even a pig will struggle.”
This was something Zhang Jinyu and Wang Ziteng couldn't understand, especially since these people's clothes weren't disheveled, indicating that there hadn't been a desperate fight.
Commander Ma remained silent, his hand groping over the corpse until he reached the chest. He then stopped, brought his hand to his nose, and gently smelled it. His expression changed drastically.
“My lord, these old soldiers have all seen blood, how could they not resist and let others kill them? They must have used despicable means. There is a lingering fragrance on this person, which should be the ‘bewitching powder’ of the martial arts world, which is very rare.”
So-called bewitching incense is a secret medicine of those sects. It is a catalyst that is first used to disperse the incense. In a short while, people will be bewitched by the incense and become helpless.
Zhang Jinyu's expression was somewhat strange. Upon hearing about the sleeping incense, he became interested. After all, in the novels and TV dramas of his previous life, there was always this essential item in the martial arts world. But was it really that effective as some kind of secret medicine?
“Commander Ma, everyone knows how difficult it is to make sleeping potion. When did the evil Taoists of the Taiping Cult acquire such a method?”
Others might not know, but how could Prince Teng not know these things? The bewitching incense, the secret medicine hidden within it, requires one main ingredient: the datura flower. This flower is extremely difficult to cultivate and can only grow in the humid and hot regions of Sichuan, making it extremely rare. Therefore, this bewitching medicine is exceptionally precious.
Wang Ziteng looked up at the crooked plaque above the entrance of the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) and said again;
"As far as I know, the White Lotus Sect is adept at using poisons. The fact that these people from the Taiping Sect can join forces with the White Lotus Sect suggests that the two sects have long been colluding and causing havoc on the world. However, these sleeping potions don't seem to be used by the White Lotus Sect; on the contrary, they do."
Some guesses were like looking at flowers through a fog. Zhang Jinyu listened in a daze. What secret medicine and fragrant medicine? They were nothing more than third-rate tricks in the martial arts world. Just as she was about to ask, Ma Mengquan took over the conversation with a solemn expression.
"What the commander said is true; it does resemble the secret medicine of the Imperial City Guard."
His tone suddenly turned cold as he looked at the people around him, especially the commanders and lieutenants. How could they be completely unaware of such an important matter?
"Oh? Is that so? Aren't the secret medicines used by the Imperial City Guard all prepared by the Imperial Medical Bureau in the palace?"
Zhang Jinyu also chimed in, and when it came to the Imperial City Guard, he was extremely surprised. If it were the Military Command or the Imperial Guard, it would be understandable, but it was the Imperial City Guard. Who would have thought it was them?
now,
Ma Mengquan's face was ashen. He had not only lost face in front of the two men, but more importantly, his current situation might cause unrest in the capital, especially in the palace. The Grand Eunuch had repeatedly instructed him not to make any mistakes, but who could have imagined that tonight, by a twist of fate, he would be dragged into this mess again? It seemed he could only rely on Marquis Luoyun and Commander Wang.
“Your Excellency is right. This kind of secret medicine is not kept in large quantities by the yamen. Most of it is stored there. The Imperial Medical Bureau still has some. We need to go back and check to find out the details. Your Excellency, please note this down. The courtyard gate has been cleared. Please come in.”
As Commander Ma changed the subject, the two realized that the matter should not be investigated further. They turned to the courtyard gate, where the scattered carriages had long been pushed aside, and the soldiers behind them had rushed inside. Yet, the courtyard was eerily quiet.
It seems that the traitors from the Taiping Sect and the White Lotus Sect have already fled.
As the three men led the troops inside, the courtyard unfolded before their eyes. Leaving aside the ornately decorated houses and the magnificent furnishings, the sight on the ground caused the three men to gasp in astonishment.
In the courtyard,
Corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the ground, men and women, young and old. The key point was that they were all dressed in fine clothes, unlike ordinary people. There were also many musicians and servants from the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution), none of whom survived. Their deaths were extremely gruesome. Some had their hands and feet cut off, some had their chests pierced, and others were burned to a crisp. The air was filled with a heavy stench of blood and burnt flesh, making people want to vomit.
Zhang Jinyu covered her mouth and nose. She had only ever seen such a massacre on the battlefield; she never imagined that the scene at the Jiaofangsi would be so horrific.
"Their methods are ruthless, bordering on insane."
Wang Ziteng's face was also very grim. Since those outside hadn't escaped, those inside the attic would likely suffer the same fate.
“The cult is unrepentant. These bastards are so rampant, committing such heinous crimes right under the emperor’s nose. Once we catch them, we will tear them to pieces.”
He glared angrily, searching all around, but everything was quiet except for the sound of soldiers' footsteps.
"My lord, what do you think?"
(End of this chapter)