Chapter 814
Open and aboveboard concealment
When Pan Yun arrived in Ji'an County, Magistrate Wu had just finished receiving the special task force from the capital.
This special task force was jointly formed by the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Northern Garrison Command.
They arrived very quickly, unlike the previous two times when they were slow.
To Magistrate Wu's surprise, one of the officials from the Censorate was someone who had visited before. He knew then that there were deeper details in the case and had always wanted to help Magistrate Wu investigate further.
Unfortunately, I was willing but powerless.
This special task force was led by the Dali Temple and overseen by the Northern Garrison Command, granting them unlimited authority, akin to the emperor's personal presence.
Magistrate Wu was so moved that he almost cried.
As expected, Xue Shao and Pan Yun's suggestion that he deliver the memorial directly to the Dali Temple was correct.
Magistrate Wu had just settled the envoy when he returned to the county office and saw Pan Yun and five other people sitting in the hall drinking tea. The ghosts and foxes didn't count, as they didn't like drinking tea.
Pan Yun tilted her head and asked, "What did the angel who came say?"
Clearly, they already knew that a special task force composed of imperial envoys had arrived.
Magistrate Wu couldn't help but smile: "They are reviewing the evidence. Once they confirm it's correct, they will send the witnesses and physical evidence to the capital."
The battlefield that followed no longer belonged to him. All Magistrate Wu could do was to add fuel to the fire when the officials impeached Prince Lu, and also write a memorial impeaching Prince Lu.
However, the main perpetrators of the Mitsui Bekuen mass grave case were Sun Xin, the chief secretary of Prince Lu, Yang Ji, who had already been beheaded, and Qian Zhixiao, the former prefect of Ji'an.
The fact that the Prince Lu's mansion colluded with Japanese pirates was the reason for Xiao Hong's murder, and these are two separate cases.
But neither Xiao Hong nor Pan Yun were willing to let Prince Lu off the hook.
Pan Yun said, "I have already spoken with the prefect of Quanzhou. As long as the court impeaches Prince Lu, he will follow suit and demand that the court thoroughly investigate the case of the interception and killing of the envoy at sea."
This can be considered a relay race.
Xiao Hong said, "If the case of intercepting the delegation still can't bring Prince Lu to justice, I'll go to Prince Lu's mansion myself and find a chance to take revenge."
That's not a good idea.
Wu Zhihong quickly looked at Pan Jun.
Pan Yun simply smiled and nodded at him, without intending to stop Xiao Hong.
Wu Zhihong became distressed.
These things can't be resolved in a short time, and there's only so much that Pan Yun and the others can do. They can only assist from the sidelines and see if they can find any other evidence.
For example, while the task force was focused on interrogating people, Pan Yun and his team accidentally caught three or five petty thieves while squatting on the street. When they took them to the yamen for questioning, lo and behold, it was such a coincidence that they turned out to be guards from the Prince of Lu's mansion who had come from Yanzhou.
For example, on the way back to Beijing with the criminals and evidence, the task force encountered bandits five times. Each time, Pan Yun and his team appeared out of nowhere, drove the bandits away, and captured many of them in the process.
As a result, the procession escorting the criminals grew longer and longer each time they traveled. By the time they reached the outskirts of Beijing, the procession had tripled in size, and eight more prison vans had been added, even with three people crammed into each van.
As darkness fell, they could not enter the city tonight and could only stay at the post station outside the city until dawn the next day.
However, Imperial Envoy Zhao had already sent a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the capital to report this in advance.
Lord Zhao walked to Yun Yan's side and asked, "Lord Yun, do you think we can safely enter the city tomorrow?" Yun Yan replied expressionlessly, "Lord Zhao, you might as well ask directly where Pan Yun and the others who have been following us are now, and whether they can protect us and get us through tonight safely."
Lord Zhao smiled sheepishly: "Lord Yun, that's not what I meant. The Imperial Guards of the Northern Garrison have had a tough journey, but unfortunately, there are too many enemies and the opponents are too powerful..."
"Lord Zhao!" Yun Yan interrupted him loudly, pointing to the woods ahead and saying, "Look."
Lord Zhao looked up and saw a wisp of smoke rising from the woods ahead. He recognized the smoke immediately and breathed a sigh of relief: "So they're in there. I knew it! Pan Yun and Xue Shao have been escorting us all the way to the capital. There's no reason for them to let their guard down at the last minute."
Lord Zhao paused mid-sentence, thinking Yun Yan was displeased, and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Lord Yun, you and Daoist Pan must be acquaintances, right?"
Yun Yan: "I know him, but we're not close."
Lord Zhao was skeptical, for when Pan Yun first descended from the sky, she cried out, "Yun Yan, I'm here to help you!"
After that, everyone had a meal together, and then Pan Yun would "accidentally" reappear, calling out "Lord Zhao" and "Lord Fang"...
That's why he only half-believed it.
His doubts stemmed from the fact that, as one of the officials of the Court of Judicial Review, he later learned that when the emperor was exonerating Xue Pan, he had met with Pan Yun in private, with Cao Jixiang and Yun Yan accompanying the emperor at the time.
Therefore, after Cao Jixiang went to Quanzhou, he became very close to Pan Yun, and their relationship seemed to be quite good.
Since Cao Jixiang, a eunuch, could have such a good relationship with Pan Yun, Yun Yan should be even better.
Because in Lord Zhao's eyes, he and Pan Yun were the same kind of people.
They all revered martial prowess and would fight with swords if they disagreed.
Yun Yan watched the thick smoke rising from the forest without saying a word.
Before long, the aroma of meat wafted through the woods.
Lord Zhao was a very particular person. After communicating with the postmaster, he vacated several superior rooms and ordered people to prepare wine and dishes. He then invited Yun Yan to go to the woods to invite people.
Yun Yan raised an eyebrow: "For many days before, Lord Zhao had not invited them to stay with him."
Lord Zhao laughed and said, "The journey was dangerous before, and since they didn't say so openly, I couldn't refuse them openly either. They stayed in the shadows, and I never expected that they would follow us all the way to the capital."
Since they've come this far, and are acting like they're seeing us through to the end, we can't pretend we know nothing anymore.
Yun Yan: "Isn't it because Xue Shao is Xue Xuan's nephew that you didn't dare invite them before, fearing that Xue Shao might encounter danger and Xue Xuan would blame you? And now you're inviting them to the post station to openly give them the credit for protecting the delegation and curry favor with Xue Xuan?"
Lord Zhao's smile faded slightly, but his eyes gleamed. After looking Yun Yan up and down, he said, "It is said that we civil officials have complicated minds. In my opinion, Lord Yun is no less so. I just don't want to involve innocent people. It's not as complicated as Lord Yun thinks."
Yun Yan: "Pan Yun and Xue Shao's involvement didn't start with us. Wu Zhihong's words were ambiguous. I don't believe Lord Zhao didn't investigate. Where did he get so much evidence? Can Pan Yun and Xue Shao be separated from each other?"
This is why he disliked Pan Yun and her group's escort.
This case involves Prince Lu's collusion with Japanese pirates, and this collusion may implicate other influential figures.
Yun Yan's ability to become the emperor's confidant in the Northern Garrison Command was certainly not without its own cunning.
He vaguely knew some of the Sun family's affairs because he had led people to handle many of the details.
The Earl of Huichang himself was genuinely unaware of the plot to collude with pirates to ambush the mission. (End of Chapter)