Catching Monsters

Chapter 139 Why is he here?
Xu Xiaogang, who was sitting in the chair, was a little stunned. Why didn’t he discuss this with me in advance?

Although he didn't object to Jiang Yun living in his house, he was the legitimate son of the Duke of Zhenguo, so he should at least inform him in advance...

Seeing Jiang Yun agreed, Xu Suwen showed a happy look on his face and said, "Okay, I'll ask the servants in the mansion to come and help you move your luggage."

Jiang Yun quickly refused, saying that he didn't have much luggage, just a few pieces of clothes, which he could handle himself.

But before leaving, you have to give Qian Buchou a greeting.

Seeing this, Xu Suwen and Xu Xiaogang got up and left first, going back to instruct the servants to help Jiang Yun clean up a room.

Jiang Yun sat cross-legged in the house practicing and waiting. It was not until noon that he heard Qian Buchou's voice outside the house and knocked on Jiang Yun's door.

Jiang Yun hurriedly stood up, with a look of fatigue on Qian Buchou's face.

"Brother Jiang, are you okay? I heard that something big happened when His Majesty was offering sacrifices to his ancestors yesterday." Qian Buchou entered the room and quickly turned around to close the door, with a nervous look on his face: "Those rebels from the Red Lotus Cult are crazy."

"I heard that many Jinyiwei from the East Pacification Division and evil people from the Red Lotus Sect died."

"I received an order to seal the city gates. I have been busy until now and can only come back to rest."

It can be seen that Qian Buchou is really worried about Jiang Yun's safety, and he also saw the bandages wrapped around Jiang Yun's body.

Qian Buchou had known Jiang Yun for quite some time, but this was the first time he saw Jiang Yun injured like this.

Jiang Yun said: "Don't worry, Brother Qian, these are just minor injuries."

"I will probably stay at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion for a while. If Brother Qian has anything to do, please come to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to find me."

Hearing this, Qian Buchou's eyes lit up, and there was even a hint of admiration in his eyes. He said, "This is a good thing. The Zhenguogong Mansion is a big family in the capital. People like us who have no status and no background, if we want to stay in the capital for a long time, we must find a good backer."

Jiang Yun nodded and agreed with Qian Buchou's words. After arriving in the capital, he was able to join the Jinyiwei so smoothly, including trying the first haunted temple case, all because of his relationship with the Zhenguo Mansion.

If I didn't have any background, it wouldn't be so easy to join the Jinyiwei.

The case of the haunted Buddhist temple could not be further investigated.

At this time, Qian Buchou also whispered: "However, having a backer is also a mixed blessing. Brother Jiang, you have been recovering from your injury yesterday, so you may not know."

"The guys from the Northern Pacification Office are holding a list of people who are colluding with the Red Lotus Cult and are arresting people on a large scale."

"In the six ministries, the Censorate, the Tongzhengsi, the Dali Temple, the Hanlin Academy, and other departments, there are people who are colluding with the Red Lotus Cult. Although their positions are not very high, the number is astonishing."

Jiang Yun did not find this surprising. The Red Lotus Cult could operate so smoothly in the capital, there must be collusion between officials from all sides in the capital.

People in higher positions naturally keep themselves clean and dare not have any contact with the Red Lotus Cult, but some people in lower positions may not be able to resist the benefits promised by the Red Lotus Cult.

After the two chatted for a while, Jiang Yun got up, said goodbye, and rushed to the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion.

……

In the Imperial Palace, in the imperial study, Feng Yu was holding a list in his hand and respectfully handed it to Xiao Yuzheng: "Your Majesty, the list of people in the capital who colluded with the Red Lotus Sect has been arrested one by one by the Northern Pacification Division according to the list."

"There are fifty-three people in total, and the one with the highest position is Pang Xin, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice."

Xiao Yuzheng took the list and glanced at it. He looked satisfied and cursed, "These guys are corrupt and accept bribes on a daily basis."

"How dare you collude with evil people and try to overthrow the court? All the people on the list will be executed along with their entire family."

The list was naturally provided by Xiao Linglong, and it also helped Xiao Yuzheng screen out those who were disloyal to the court.

Most of the officials on this list hold relatively low positions or are older and have basically reached the peak of their official careers.

Of course, even so, they did not dare to collude with the Red Lotus Sect easily.

But they all have handles held by the Red Lotus Cult, so they can only bite the bullet and provide some convenience to the Red Lotus Cult.

This is still a screening process.

In the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty, corruption is so rampant, who doesn't have some evidence against him?
There were also many other officials who were also found guilty by the Red Lotus, but they were unwilling to cooperate with them.

Why can others withstand the threat of evidence, but you can't?

After throwing the list on the table, Xiao Yuzheng slowly said, "Feng Yu, corruption is already extremely serious in all parts of our Great Zhou Dynasty. In your opinion, how should we rectify it?"

Xiao Yuzheng certainly understood that it was impossible to kill all the traitors, but corruption was serious among officials in various places.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had lasted for three hundred years, and many provinces and prefectures and much of the land had been annexed and bought up by local wealthy people. Many poor people could no longer survive and had no choice but to rebel.

Feng Yu did not dare to answer, but whispered: "Your Majesty, eunuchs cannot interfere in government affairs. This is the rule established by our ancestors..."

"Did I ask you to interfere in government affairs? I just want to hear your opinion."

Feng Yu rolled his eyes and whispered, "Your Majesty, how about killing a group of corrupt officials as in previous years to deter the ministers?"

Xiao Yuzheng was in a dilemma. Although he liked to hear good words, didn't he know the character of his ministers?

If we really want to kill corrupt officials, it would be an exaggeration to say that all of them are corrupt officials, including civil and military officials. After all, there are still some truly clean officials like Liu Bufu and Liu Yushi.

But there are too few such honest officials.

Ten do not save one.

If you really check, there aren't many clean ones.

Who should be killed and who should not be killed? Is it useful to just kill people to establish authority? Over the years, the court has killed so many corrupt officials, but corrupt officials still emerge in endlessly.

Xiao Yuzheng shook his head slowly, sighed and said, "This is only a temporary solution, not a fundamental solution."

After hearing this, Feng Yu did not dare to continue speaking, because the problem of corrupt officials has always been an epic problem in the Zhou Dynasty.

Then, Xiao Yuzheng slowly said: "Next year, select a group of people from the Jinyiwei to search for corrupt officials."

"Yes." Feng Yu nodded respectfully and asked in a low voice: "Who does your majesty plan to let investigate?"

Hunting down corrupt officials has always been a difficult problem, because everyone from top to bottom is corrupt.

Wouldn't it be funny to find a corrupt official to investigate other corrupt officials?

Feng Yu recommended in a low voice: "What do you think of Jiang Yun whom I met last time, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Yuzheng shook his head and said slowly: "He is too young to suppress the ministers in the court. Is Jingqi back?"

"Sixth Prince?" Feng Yu heard this and whispered, "The Sixth Prince will be returning to the capital soon."

"Let Jingqi handle this matter when he comes back."

Hearing this, Feng Yu's expression became a little strange. The Sixth Prince's personality was different from that of ordinary people. He might not be suitable for doing this.

Although he thought so in his heart, he still nodded and answered respectfully: "Yes."

……

In the mansion of the Duke of Zhenguo, Jiang Yun's courtyard was arranged right next to Xu Suwen.

This courtyard was originally where Xu Xiaogang lived...

Now, Xu Xiaogang was busy inside, moving his things to the small courtyard at the back.

Of course, he resisted and found his mother, claiming that he was used to living in this yard and did not want to change.

Tao Yuelan glared at him several times and whispered, "So what you mean is to let Jiang Yun move to the back?"

"It is said that those who are close to water get to know the moon first. If we move to the back, how can Jiang Yun see your sister more often?"

"They don't see each other often, how can their relationship be strengthened?"

"If they don't improve their relationship, how can your sister get married?"

"Your sister won't get married, and your mother is worried about it. She's always upset."

"I feel so upset, so..."

Xu Xiaogang nodded quickly and said filially: "Mom, I'll move..."

That’s what happened. Xu Xiaogang felt that his status in the family was going to be lowered again.

Of course, even though it was a move, he still had many injuries on his body, and he was just directing his subordinates to move things away.

At the same time, Jiang Yun was sitting in the living room, paying his respects to Tao Yuelan.

The two of them sat on a chair made of sandalwood, and the butler Wu Chi beside them had already brewed tea.

"Aunt, I'm afraid I'll have to bother you more in the days to come." Jiang Yun bowed with both hands and expressed his gratitude.

Tao Yuelan was wearing an elegant dress with two seams on the side. Given her status in the past, if her clothes were torn, she would just throw them away and change into new ones.

How could she wear such mended clothes? But since Jiang Qiaoqiao came, she sometimes saw Tao Yuelan's maid throwing away such nice old clothes. She felt it was a pity and came to help her sew them, wash them and bring them back.

Tao Yuelan didn't want to reject the girl's kindness, so she accepted them all and put them in the cabinet.

Later, the maids reported that many of these clothes were sewn by Xu Suwen himself.

This is really valuable.

The daughter who had refused to learn needlework at first was now willing to mend her own clothes.

Tao Yuelan immediately regarded these clothes as treasures and wore them at home whenever she was not going out.

Tao Yuelan was born in the Anguo Mansion and had an extraordinary demeanor. She said with a smile on her face, "Mr. Jiang, please don't be so polite. Since you are here, just stay here with peace of mind."

"If there is anything on weekdays, notify Wu Chi."

Wu Chi also said with a smile on his face, "Mr. Jiang, just give me your orders at any time."

"Okay." Jiang Yun grinned.

Before he had paid his respects for long, suddenly, a servant from outside the door walked in quickly and whispered a few words in Wu Chi's ear.

After listening, Wu Chi's face changed slightly, and he looked at Tao Yuelan again, and whispered: "Madam, the old immortal from Tianqing Temple is here."

Tao Yuelan was also a little surprised when she heard this: "Xuan Daozi from Tianqing Temple? Why is he here?"

You know, although Taoism has declined and has not many believers, Xuan Daozi has a great reputation among the powerful people in the capital. In fact, in terms of reputation, he is not inferior to the two heavenly masters of Qingfeng Temple and Baiyun Temple.

(End of this chapter)