King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 741 August th
It would be impossible for Ni Er, a general flag, to be so casual with Chen Yuntai. After all, hierarchy is the most important thing in the Jinyiwei.

The reason is that Ni Er can report directly to Zhu Jinghong, and his weight is not much lower than that of Chen Yuntai.

Although they are two levels apart, in the Prince Xiang's Mansion, they are retainers with different tasks, so they are equal.

Chen Yuntai didn't care about Ni Er's impulsive behavior, but smiled and said, "Don't worry, Zhang Qian will take action soon!"

"Maybe in the afternoon, at the latest tonight!"

…………

Besides, after Fan Rong brought Yao Chun to find Zhang Qian, the latter arranged for them to focus on the soldier who was investigated first and follow the clues to find his accomplices.

Zhang Qian gave an order instead of discussing it, so Fan Rong and the others had no choice but to agree.

"Sir, just let us investigate that one person. We won't be involved in anything else. What the hell is this?"

"You should know that the White Lotus Sect's people are in the Imperial City. We can just arrest them and interrogate them. Why go to so much trouble?"

"Moreover, Zhang Chenshi wanted us to check the details of that sergeant. What do you think there is to check?"

Yao Chun said a lot, and every word touched Fan Rong's heart. He also thought that these situations were unreasonable.

Just arrest those people, interrogate them, and continue arresting people after they confess. Why make such a simple matter so troublesome... Fan Rong couldn't understand.

He also had his own speculations about this, thinking that Zhang Qian wanted to keep the credit for his own people, but after thinking about it carefully, he still felt that it was unreasonable.

Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet. Even if we take action now, we cannot guarantee that we can eliminate the White Lotus rebels in the imperial city.

If something went wrong at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Fan Rong thought that even if Zhang Qian had connections with the Prince Rui's Palace, he would not end up well.

As the person primarily responsible for the case, Fan Rong believed that Zhang Qian should have thought of these situations, otherwise he would not be able to hold on to his position as the commanding deputy.

Now that he could think of it, it would be unreasonable for him to drag his feet and not focus on the key points.

Could it be that he has ulterior motives?
The bold idea that popped up in his mind surprised Fan Rong.

"Impossible, what am I thinking!"

Fan Rong put aside his wild thoughts because dwelling on them would not solve the problem.

But Fan Rong is also the person responsible for the case. Zhang Qianmen has many tricks and can do whatever he wants, but he cannot afford the consequences of anything going wrong.

So even if Zhang Qian gave the order, Fan Rong still decided to continue investigating and report to Zhang Qian after gaining more information.

"Xiao Yao, let's not rest today. Let's stay up all night to investigate and get enough evidence before reporting to Zhang Chenshi!"

As soon as Fan Rong finished speaking, he heard Yao Chun say, "Sir, just arrest the man and torture him until he confesses everything. Then we can..."

"No, no, Lord Zhang said that we should not alert the enemy. We should investigate the situation first and then report it!"

Fan Rong insisted on doing so, and Yao Chun didn't say much, so the two of them discussed all the way and rushed towards the imperial city.

They don't know that at this moment, there are two groups of people secretly watching him, and his every word and action is controlled in real time.

Soon it was afternoon, and Zhang Qian heard that Fan Rong did not do what he was told.

After confirming that Fan Rong had nothing to do with Prince Xiang's Palace, he had obtained Zhu Jingyuan's instructions and decided to get rid of Fan Rong to prevent future troubles.

Fan Rong's unruly behavior made Zhang Qian act faster.

Under the pillars of the palace, Ni Er's eyes were filled with murderous intent as he watched Fan Rong and the other man hurriedly passing by.

"These two guys will be exposed if we continue investigating. If Zhang doesn't take action... I will have to take action!"

Of course, this was just Ni Er's angry words. He would not act on his own without orders.

So next, he could only continue to monitor.

After leaving the imperial city, Fan Rong wanted to report to the Pacification Office first, but his stomach started to growl.

I forgot to eat lunch and had no dinner. I was running around outside all day and I was so hungry.

"Let's eat something first, it won't be too late to go to the Pacification Office later!" Fan Rong suggested.

Although the sun has set, tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. The Pacification Office and the East Factory will basically not rest because there are too many things to do, so if you go there later, Zhang Qian will also be in the yamen.

The area surrounding the imperial city is mostly government offices, so logically there shouldn't be places to eat. However, there are too many people "working" in the imperial city, and some people will always miss meal times, so there is a market demand for food and drink.

Therefore, there were taverns in hidden places in the streets and alleys a few hundred meters away from the imperial city. Eunuchs, guards, officials and people like Fan Rong would often visit these places.

Of course, the owners of taverns in these places are all extraordinary people, but that is another story.

Fan Rong and the other man entered an alley, ordered a bowl of noodles each, and then asked for three side dishes.

Although they arrived late, there were two other tables of guests in the house, and they were all chatting animatedly.

But after Fan Rong and the other man entered the room, they spoke in low voices. This situation can be called the "factory guard effect."

During the meal, Fan Rong and the other person analyzed in detail all the information they had found out this afternoon.

Eventually they came to the conclusion that this group of White Lotus thieves had great ambitions and might very well start an uprising during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet tomorrow.

"Brother, our chance to make great success has come!" Fan Rong was extremely excited.

When the two finished their meal, it was already dark, so they walked towards the Zhenfu Division.

But they had not walked far when they met several captains in front of them, who were chasing one of them in the direction they were heading.

Seeing that there were also Jinyiwei in front of him, the man rushed towards an alley on the east side, and several captains followed him.

"What are you still standing there for? This guy is a traitor, why don't you arrest him quickly!"

Hearing the scolding, Fan Rong looked carefully and found that the person coming was actually a deputy captain.

Fan Rong had been on duty for so many years that he certainly knew this man's identity: he was Zhang Wan'an, the deputy commander of Xicheng.

But Fan Rong knew that this person was Zhang Qian's confidant.

After being scolded by Zhang Wanan, Fan Rong immediately called Yao Chun to follow him and chased towards the alley.

There is no curfew in the capital at night. People can move freely in the city, but it is very troublesome to leave the city.

The guy being chased was quite skilled and the captains were unable to catch up with him. They chased him back and forth and soon crossed several streets and alleys.

After running for more than ten minutes, the soldier from the Yiwei Division rushed to the river, which was a river inside the capital city.

The river is about ten meters wide, and the water for the imperial city’s moat is drawn from here.

Panting heavily, Yao Chun cursed: "Boy, let's see where you can run this time!"

But what surprised Yao Chun was that the soldier drew his sword at this moment, and under the light of the lantern on the wall, the smile on his face looked particularly strange.

"It's still unclear who will run away!"

Yao Chun drew out his sword and shouted, "How dare you be so arrogant, you traitor! I'll take you back later and make sure you live a miserable life!"

"You don't have time to wait!" the soldier said in a cold tone.

Hearing these words, Fan Rong felt something was wrong.

From the very beginning, it was strange that Zhang Wanan, a deputy captain, personally led several captains to chase after them. What he said now was even stranger.

Looking around, there were several workshops around. There was no one around at night, only a few lanterns hanging, providing light together with the bright moon in the sky. Fan Rong then drew out his sword, came to Yao Chun's side, and whispered: "Xiao Yao, something is wrong, be careful!"

Hearing Fan Rong's solemn tone, Yao Chun seemed to realize something and suddenly felt a chill on his back.

At this moment, there was a sound of breaking air. The two knew it was an arrow attack so they quickly dodged, but Yao Chun was a beat too slow and was shot in the right shoulder.

The two men knew they were ambushed, so they dodged several times, and sure enough, more crossbow arrows were shot at them.

Yao Chun was dragged to a corner. With the help of the dim light, Yao Chun could tell at a glance that this was a crossbow used by the Northern Pacification Office.

"There's a traitor!" Yao Chun shouted angrily, and it was obvious that he had also figured it out.

Fan Rong immediately silenced him, and then pulled Yao Chun to flee northward. Since they were ambushed, it was better to escape first.

Although Yao Chun was injured, he was still able to move, so he fled with Fan Rong.

The soldiers they had just been chasing actually followed them, shouting, "You can't escape!"

Arrows were still coming from behind, and Fan Rong and the other man kept dodging, so they really couldn't run fast enough.

Until they were behind, the soldier had already approached, and there were several captains on his left and right, also raising their swords to kill Fan Rong.

Fan Rong and the other man stood there with knives in their hands. They had no choice but to fight with their backs against the wall. If they ran away, they would only die.

At this moment, they had seen clearly that the captain who followed the soldiers of the Yiwei Division to murder them were the people brought by Zhang Wanan just now.

So, it was Zhang Wanan who wanted to kill me, so... it was Zhang Qian, it was Prince Rui’s Mansion who wanted to kill me?
Why did they want to kill me? Was it because of the White Lotus Sect? Did they want to protect the White Lotus Sect?
Fan Rong thought a lot at this moment, and all the doubts in his heart became clear now.

At this time, he had guessed that the people in Prince Rui's Mansion were sheltering the White Lotus rebels, which meant that they were going to cause trouble in the imperial city.

Considering the current situation, when Prince Xiang is so powerful that the whole world is shaken, it makes sense that the people in Prince Rui's mansion want to stir up trouble.

"What are you waiting for? Send them both on their way!"

The voice came from behind, and although it was dark and far away and he couldn't see the face clearly, Fan Rong recognized it as Zhang Wan'an's voice.

"kill!"

Fan Rong and his two companions faced off against five people. Although they were determined to fight to the death, they were still beaten back step by step.

Soon they were both injured and had a premonition that they would die that night.

Fan Rong noticed a river nearby and thought that jumping into it might give him a chance of survival, but the problem was that there were two people facing the river.

"Xiao Yao, rush to the river and jump in, maybe you can survive!" Fan Rong whispered.

Not only was Yao Chun hit by an arrow, he also had knife wounds on his chest and back. The blood loss made him extremely weak, and it was impossible for him to break out and survive.

"Sir, I will hold them back, you run... away!"

There was no room for delay at this time, otherwise it would be a dead end, so after Yao Chun replied, he rushed forward with a knife in hand.

Fan Rong had no time to think, and he followed forward recklessly, slashing with his knife and focusing on cutting people without even giving up on defense.

They were risking their lives. The two captains who were blocking the way tried their best to stop them, but they were afraid of getting hurt, so they didn't try to stop them. As a result, Fan Rong really rushed out.

But the consequence was that Yao Chun was stabbed twice again and Fan Rong was stabbed once in the back.

But Fan Rong did not hesitate, and did not even look back at Yao Chun. He endured the severe pain and dived into the river.

Yao Chun was killed soon. Zhang Wanan ran to the riverside, looked at the sparkling water under the moonlight, turned around and said to his left and right: "Go down and fish him out for me!"

The captain on the side replied: "Sir, that guy is seriously injured. Jumping into the river is like seeking death!"

"If he's alive, I want to see him. If he's dead, I want to see his body. Get into the water quickly!" Zhang Wanan shouted angrily.

As a result, the people present didn't care about their injuries and had to go into the water one by one.

It is almost the middle of the season now, and to be honest, the water is chilly and it is really uncomfortable to get your clothes wet.

Zhang Wanan stood on the shore, holding a torch in one hand and a crossbow in the other, carefully monitoring the situation on the river.

On a wall about seven or eight feet away, Ni Er and his two captains were also observing the situation on Zhang Wanan's side.

"You said... Is Fan Rong dead?"

A lieutenant replied: "Sir, you have been stabbed five or six times. If you jump into the water now, you will not survive!"

Another captain replied, "Even if he wasn't beheaded, he would have been drowned!"

"Yeah!" Ni Er nodded. He thought the same way.

But he was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he waited for Zhang Wanan and the others to leave. He waited for half an hour, and it was so late at night that Ni Er was about to doze off.

As for Zhang Wanan and his companions, they patrolled back and forth for hundreds of meters but could not find Fan Rong, so they could only leave with Yao Chun's body.

After Zhang Wanan and his party left, Ni Er waited for a while longer. After confirming that there was no one there, he went to the river in person, but still found nothing.

At this moment, he was also sure that Fan Rong was dead, and his body might have been washed away. He thought it would be discovered in a day or two.

So Ni Er did not delay and turned around to go back to the Qianhu Office to report.

In order to ensure the safety of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the Beicheng Qianhu Police Station was also brightly lit, and Chen Yuntai himself was on guard.

As the deputy captain, Chen Yuntai could have rested in the duty room after completing his inspection mission, but at this moment he was sitting quietly with a light on.

When Ni Er came back, Chen Yuntai hurriedly asked about the situation.

"How's it going?"

Ni Er replied, "Your Excellency has foresight. Zhang Qian sent Zhang Wan'an with a few men to kill Fan Rong and his men!"

After nodding slightly, Chen Yuntai said, "In that case, Fan Rong did discover the clue accidentally, and he was not sent by the Rui Palace to test us!"

"I think so!" Ni Er replied.

Chen Yuntai sneered, "Fan Rong discovered the White Lotus rebels, and the case was taken over by Zhang Qian. Not only do we know about this, but Qian Qian also knows about it and issued an official document. We can use this to turn the tables on the Rui Palace. Let's see what they do then!"

At least the crime of failing to investigate the case properly and even suppressing the case can be pinned on Zhang Qian.

"Go down and have a rest first, we will be busy tomorrow!" Chen Yuntai ordered.

Ni Er nodded, then reminded: "Sir, why don't you inform His Highness about what happened tonight?"

"Your Highness lives outside the city. The city gates are now locked. I'll report it tomorrow morning. There's no rush anyway!"

The result of this matter has come out, and it can be considered a good result, so there is really no need to be too anxious.

The two of them took a rest. The most important thing for them right now was to get a good rest, after all, there would be more things to worry about tomorrow.

Nothing happened during the night and it was August 15th. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Chen Yuntai got up very early. He arranged for his confidant to deliver a letter to Prince Xiang's Mansion, which would then pass the situation on to Zhu Jinghong.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Zhu Jinghong paid homage to the queen and returned to the bedroom to have breakfast.

There were four people accompanying him for dinner, namely Baochai, Daiyu, Yang Jingting and Xiangyun. Everyone at the dinner table was talking about tonight's banquet, and the atmosphere seemed particularly relaxed.

As everyone was eating, Yu Hai came to Zhu Jinghong's side and reported, "Your Majesty, Deng An is here!"

(End of this chapter)