Praise from the Duke of Chengguo?
Lu Yunqi glanced at Hundred-man Commander Jiang.
"They said that the Magistrates questioned in both the Hebei Western and Eastern Routes, many of them praised the Duke of Chengguo for his diligence and dedication," Hundred-man Commander Jiang said with conviction as he read the letter. "None of the others spoke out, and no one said anything bad about the Duke of Chengguo."
"Are we the foolish ones then?" Lu Yunqi asked.
The question seemed to come out of nowhere, but Hundred-man Commander Jiang understood what he meant.
In the past, reports from the Jinyiwei depicted officials, especially the cultured bureaucrats, as extremely dissatisfied with the Duke of Chengguo, reluctantly keeping silent due to his intimidating influence, while also biding their time for the sake of the bigger picture in the northern lands.
Now that the northern lands have been invaded twice in a row, it has become an opportunity for everyone. The Jinyiwei and the Inspectors surely have been reminding the officials both openly and covertly that this time, they should use both kindness and severity towards the Duke of Chengguo.
Severity requires the establishment of the Duke of Chengguo's guilt; only when his wrongdoings are recognized, can the emperor reward him some money, and also assert his authority.
Naturally, this requires everyone to unanimously point out the Duke of Chengguo's errors, or at the very least, remain silent when questioned.
The Jinyiwei and censors are never afraid of silence; to them, silence is tacit consent, and they can construe various evidences from silence.
But what's happening now? There are those who remain silent, and those who speak, but all who speak seem to be praising the Duke of Chengguo, making it difficult to twist their silence accordingly.
Was their information wrong? Do the officials in the northern lands not harbor any dissatisfaction towards the Duke of Chengguo after all?
Are the Jinyiwei in the northern lands so foolish as to get this wrong?
"Impossible," Hundred-man Commander Jiang shook his head and said, looking at the letter in hand, "There must be a problem somewhere."
He pondered for a moment.
"How about we manipulate the situation a bit?"
Lu Yunqi shook his head.
"This is not our concern," he said, looking back down at the letter in his hands.
So that's it? Not going to bother? Hundred-man Commander Jiang looked at the letter in his hands a bit more. Although the emperor still relies on the Duke of Chengguo for security and wouldn't take action against him, it was at least an opportunity to weaken the Duke's absolute control over the northern lands.
His gaze fell on the letter in Lu Yunqi's hands.
Perhaps there's something more important?
Lu Yunqi suddenly smiled, causing Hundred-man Commander Jiang to jump in surprise.
"Captured by bandits," Lu Yunqi said.
Hundred-man Commander Jiang jumped again.
"Who?" he asked.
Lu Yunqi looked at him, and a lightbulb went off in Hundred-man Commander Jiang's head.
"Miss Jun," he said, his expression suddenly tense and angry. "Is that Eighteenth Jin even more useless than bandits? How is Miss Jun doing?"
"She turned the bandits into her lifesaving benefactors," Lu Yunqi said, a trace of amusement on his lips as he tossed the letter onto the table.
Caught by bandits and turned them into saviors? What does that mean? Hundred-man Commander Jiang felt perplexed; he picked up the letter and read through it, his expression filled with amazement.
Could it really turn out like this?
Of course, he would not believe the ghost story Miss Jun told the government soldiers about being captured by bandits and then saved by the mountain villagers.
"That Miss Jun is indeed formidable," he said. "What methods did she use to win over these bandits?"
Lu Yunqi did not respond.
If she wanted to win someone over, she would surely find a way to do so.
Did she ever want to win me over?
If she did, would she be more like gongzhu?
The veins on Lu Yunqi's hand, which rested on the table, stood out as he clenched it tightly.
"My lord."
Hundred-man Commander Jiang's voice brought Lu Yunqi back to reality.
Whenever it involved Miss Jun, his lord always seemed to act strangely; Hundred-man Commander Jiang let out a sigh of relief.
"The letter says that Miss Jun has stayed in that mountain village," he said. "Eighteenth Jin is with her too. This pretty much exposes her whereabouts. Should we just send someone to bring her back under the pretext of protecting her?"
Lu Yunqi smiled again.
"If she can win over bandits, do you think she'll let them take her away easily?" he said.
Indeed, considering the commotion in Qingyuan Prefecture upon hearing that she'd been kidnapped by bandits, it seemed that if it were to happen a day later, the populace of Qingyuan might flatten that so-called mountain without the feudal authority's intervention.
Hundred-man Commander Jiang looked at the letter and chuckled.
"Miss Jun, she is indeed quite impressive," he said.
Lu Yunqi suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth and stood up.
"I am going to the western route of Hebei," he said.
Hundred-man Commander Jiang was startled.
"My lord, this, this isn't possible," he said.
Lu Yunqi looked at him.
Since when could something Thousand-Man Commander Lu intends to do be impossible?
"Not that, I mean it's too dangerous," Hundred-man Commander Jiang quickly corrected himself.
While in the capital, Lu Yunqi had always operated covertly, mostly by night, and never acted alone. If he were to leave the capital and make the long journey to the tumultuous northern lands, it would indeed be very dangerous. Not to mention that it wouldn't be possible for all the Jinyiwei to accompany him, and even if they did, no one could guarantee absolute safety.
After all, there were too many people who wished for Lu Yunqi's death. Once he left the capital, they would swarm like locusts.
Lu Yunqi smiled and strode out.
Hundred-man Commander Jiang realized he was being ignored and followed.
"Moreover, the emperor won't agree," he added hastily, "You are the emperor's trouble-shooter. You cannot leave his side."
Lu Yunqi was like the eyes and hands of the emperor, watching over places the emperor couldn't see and acting in places the emperor couldn't reach.
How could the hands and eyes be allowed to wander away?
"You're right, I am here to ease the emperor's concerns," Lu Yunqi said, "Now that Duke of Chengguo is being highly praised, shouldn't I go to see what's going on for the emperor?"
This made sense, but Hundred-man Commander Jiang was still taken aback and…
"My lord, allow me to go instead, I will definitely bring Miss Jun back," he said as he caught up again.
Lu Yunqi marched onward without further words, paying him no heed.
......................
In the horse market on the outskirts of the capital, all those leading the horses and delivering hay were dismissed, and Zhu Zan leaned against a post, looking at a letter.
"What did uncle say?" Zhang Baotang couldn't help but ask impatiently, "Has he been given a hard time?"
Sifeng gave him an elbow jab.
"Uncle is the type to report good news but not bad," he whispered, "Besides, isn't it obvious? Do you think the cultured bureaucrats in the northern lands are suddenly going to speak well of uncle? They used to badmouth him both openly and covertly, so wouldn't they seize the opportunity now more than ever?"
Zhang Baotang struck the wooden post with his hand, a hateful expression on his face.
Zhu Zan looked up, his expression somewhat odd.
"However, my father did indeed bring good news this time," he said.
Sifeng and Zhang Baotang were stunned, then listened to Zhu Zan describe the results of the Inspector's inquiry, and their expressions also turned odd.
"Really, it turned out like this?" they said, looking at Zhu Zan, "Did uncle arrange this?"
Zhu Zan shook his head and placed his hands behind his head.
"Father said he didn't do anything because he really couldn't spare the attention," he said, "He also doesn't know why the officials would say such things."
A self-mocking smile crossed his face.
"Probably gone insane," he suggested.
"Maybe they got scared insane by the Jin thief, after all, if uncle had an accident and something happened in the northern lands, they would have nothing to gain," Zhang Baotang chuckled.
It probably wasn't that simple, Sifeng shook his head.
"Still, this is definitely good news," he said with a smile, "Let's not worry about these things for now. As long as the rear is stable, that's all that matters. We can investigate after the border is secure."
That was the only thing to do, Zhu Zan hummed in agreement, staring silently into the sky.
Even though Duke of Chengguo reported good news, Zhu Zan was certainly not happy in his heart.
After all, the battle in the northern lands was on the edge of erupting, and he could only wait in the capital for news.
Sifeng gave a soft cough.
"There's another strange matter," he said, "Miss Jun was kidnapped by bandits in Qingyuan Prefecture, and then rescued by a group of mountain villagers."
Zhang Baotang was clearly hearing this for the first time, his expression surprised and anxious.
"How could there be bandits, and for the bandits to be so formidable…" he said in a rush.
He was interrupted by Zhu Zan before he could finish.
"Formidable? No matter how formidable, they were still tricked by this woman," he scoffed, "These bandits really brought it upon themselves. Why bother kidnapping her if they can't see straight, now they can no longer be bandits after being cajoled into becoming decent folk."
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