novelhk Chapter 14 Arrest
Chapter 14 Arrest
"Sir, guess what I found in the palace today?" Jindou asked mysteriously.
Before Wei Qing could say anything, Jin Dou continued, "As soon as I entered the palace today, I sensed something was amiss. The air was thick with resentment, suggesting the presence of a vengeful spirit. I wanted to investigate, but was afraid of arousing the prince's suspicion. So, I'm asking you to stay so I can investigate further."
Hearing this, several Jinyiwei were relieved. The master did not have such a problem at all. It was just Jindou's plan. However, only Jindou would dare to speak of the master in that way.
Here, Jindou continued, "When the rash appeared on your face, I pretended to call for help and took the opportunity to run to the source of the resentment. Sure enough, I found it was surrounded by a wall and guarded by guards. Moreover, I discovered a Taoist priest inside!"
"Taoist?" Wei Qing and the Jinyiwei were all stunned.
"Yes, that enclosed courtyard is filled with resentment. There must be many vengeful spirits inside. I suspect there must be many dead bodies buried in the courtyard!"
"Sir, many young men have disappeared near Yanzhou in recent years. Could it be that Prince Fu wants a Taoist priest to make him some elixir of immortality, and is using these young men as medicine? Just like the wife of Shangshu Liu, who wanted to use cat hearts to cure her child's illness."
As soon as Jindou said this, Wei Qing and several Jinyiwei's faces turned serious.
Wei Qing thought to himself that if Prince Fu wanted the Taoist priest to help him refine elixirs, many rare herbs would be needed and the cost would be huge. The Prince of Yan's Mansion had been confined to his fiefdom by the emperor and had been declining. It was estimated that the family assets had been emptied in recent years, so he set his sights on disaster relief funds.
"Sir, what should we do now? Go and arrest someone?" asked a Jinyiwei.
"But, sir, we don't know where the disaster relief funds are hidden," said Duan Xiaohu.
Even without the disaster relief funds, he should be beheaded for killing innocent people, Wei Qing thought. Furthermore, the amount of silver in the treasury was enormous, and a large number of people were involved in the transportation process. Once he was arrested and tried, we would know the truth.
******
In front of the residence of Cui Botong, the prefect of Yanzhou, Cui Botong was about to get into the sedan chair to go to the yamen when a team of Jinyiwei came riding from a distance. In the blink of an eye, they were in front of him. Several Jinyiwei dismounted and the leader shouted: "Catch him!" Two big knives were immediately placed on Cui Botong's neck.
Cui Botong was so frightened that his soul flew away. His lips trembled as he asked, "Why...why did you arrest me?"
The leader didn't answer, but ordered his men, "Secure the gate to the mansion and don't let anyone out!"
******
At this time, in front of the Hundred Households Office, a Jinyiwei was reporting to Wei Qing: "Sir, the letter has been delivered to the garrison commander, Lord Zheng."
Wei Qing nodded and was about to jump on his horse when Jindou ran out from inside: "Sir, I'm going too!"
Just as Wei Qing was about to refuse, Jindou said, "Sir, there is a Taoist priest in the palace. If he uses magic, I can still find a way to deal with him."
When Wei Qing heard this, he thought it made sense, so he nodded in agreement, and the group galloped towards Prince Fu's palace.
******
Inside Prince Fu's mansion, "Your Highness, Your Highness, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is coming with a group of men." A servant ran into the main hall of the mansion in a panic.
"Why are you panicking?" Prince Fu scolded.
"Your Highness, the commander-in-chief is here, perhaps for something else," said the butler.
Prince Fu nodded. As long as they couldn't find the silver, there was no reason to arrest him.
While Prince Fu was talking to the housekeeper, Wei Qing had already strode into the courtyard with a team of Jinyiwei.
Prince Fu and his butler hurried out and said, "Master Wei, this is..."
Before he could finish his words, Wei Qing waved his hand and two knives were immediately placed on the necks of Prince Fu and the housekeeper.
Seeing this, Prince Fu shouted loudly: "Come here!"
I saw a huge group of palace guards coming from all sides and surrounding the Jinyiwei.
Upon seeing this, Prince Fu became arrogant again and said to Wei Qing, "Sir Wei, you are so bold that you dare to hold me hostage with a knife. I want to ask you, what is your reason for arresting me?"
Wei Qing didn't reply. He just glanced at the palace guards and said coldly, "Prince Fu has murdered innocent people and committed multiple murders. I, the commander, am here to arrest him on the orders of the Emperor. Anyone who tries to stop him will be considered an accomplice!"
Murder? Prince Fu was shocked. They weren't arresting him because of the disaster relief funds, but how did they know about these murders? Prince Fu looked at Wei Qing's face and suddenly understood.
The palace guards were frightened by Wei Qing's words and hesitated for a moment. Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, a large group of troops filed in. Lord Zheng, the commander of the Yanzhou garrison, quickly walked up to Wei Qing and said, "Lord Wei, I have surrounded the palace."
Wei Qing nodded and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Lord Zheng, for your help."
Then, Wei Qing shouted again, "The palace has been surrounded. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"
Upon hearing Wei Qing's words, the guards of the palace, who were already hesitant, dropped their weapons one after another.
After handing the matter over to Lord Zheng, Wei Qing, accompanied by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, led by Jin Dou, rushed towards the arched gate.
When we arrived at the arched door, the guard who was originally on duty at the door had disappeared.
The group passed through the archway and entered the inner courtyard, and immediately felt a chill in their faces.
In the yard, a cold wind blew, and the leaves rustled, as if something was spying on them in the dark.
Wei Qing looked around vigilantly and led the group slowly inside.
The wind in the courtyard was getting stronger and stronger, making it almost impossible for the Jinyiwei to open their eyes. The talisman in Jindou's hand was also rustling in the wind.
Suddenly, a black shadow appeared in the whirlwind and rushed straight towards the crowd. Seeing this, Wei Qing drew out his Embroidered Spring Sword and stabbed at the black shadow, but found that the sword was like stabbing into cotton and he had no effect at all.
Seeing that the black shadow had opened its bloody mouth and revealed its long fangs, at the critical moment, Jindou quickly stepped forward and slammed the yellow talisman in his hand on the black shadow.
The black shadow screamed and disappeared into a wisp of black smoke.
"Sir, this is an evil spirit controlled by the Taoist priest using magic. It seems that the Taoist priest has turned the bodies of those he killed into evil spirits that he can control!"
As Jindou finished speaking, a thick smoke suddenly filled the yard. A sharp laugh came from the smoke, echoing in the yard, making people feel creepy.
"Hahahahahaha...you've come at the right time!" Amidst the eerie laughter, a Taoist priest appeared in front of everyone along with the gradually dissipating smoke.
The Taoist priest's face was as pale as a ghost. He raised his arms, chattered incessantly, and began to perform rituals.
Then more dark shadows came in from all directions and pounced on the crowd.
Oh my god, how many people has this Taoist priest killed? Jindou complained in his heart and shouted quickly, "Everyone, come closer!"
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly gathered together. Jindou muttered something and cast a protective barrier to protect everyone in the middle.
After the black shadows touched the barrier, they screamed one after another and turned into black smoke and dissipated.
The Taoist priest didn't expect that Jindou had such high Taoist skills at such a young age. Seeing that his Taoist skills were exhausted, he became angry and stabbed Jindou in the chest with a sharp sword.
Seeing the sword tip coming at him, Wei Qing pulled the golden bean back and used the Embroidered Spring Knife in his hand to meet the attack. With a "clang" sound, the sword in the Taoist's hand broke into two pieces, and the Taoist was shocked and took several steps back.
The Taoist priest saw that things were not going well and turned around to escape, but the Jinyiwei did not give him a chance. They rushed forward and soon tied up the Taoist priest tightly.