The drizzle was still falling, and the campsite was lit up with fire. Although there were many people gathered on the hillside, the guards and enforcers were orderly and did their own things. It was not noisy, and it was clear that Tie Tianying had strict rules.
The lights in the hut flickered. When the young scholar called Cheng Zhouhai walked in, Tie Tianying assumed the posture of handling official business. Tie Tianying wouldn't ignore the people of the Office of Secret Investigations, but he wouldn't pay too much attention to them either. Since he had personally met them, his attitude was sufficient. As for what the other said, he could listen, but there was no need to do anything. It would be best if the other was satisfied and left on his own after speaking.
Upon closer inspection, although the person was young, he had a calm demeanor. His robe was half wet, and he appeared to have come in a hurry, as if he had come to handle some official business. Tie Tianying rather admired this kind of demeanor, but he hated it when they came here to "handle" matters. On the surface, he naturally and amiably greeted him, but he hadn't expected that this young man would disappoint him in just a few words.
The conversation after the greeting was actually quite simple. Although the young man maintained his etiquette, he didn't speak quickly, but his meaning was somewhat straightforward.
"… The Bureau of Justice is escorting the bandit Fang to the capital. Logically speaking, the Office of Secret Investigations shouldn't be involved." The young man cupped his hands and smiled apologetically. "But on my way south this time, I heard some things. Uh … I had to come and talk to Lord Tie. "
Tie Tianying's expression was indifferent. "Oh? What is it? "
Cheng Zhouhai lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "This time, Lord Tie and Lord Zong's pursuit of Fang Baihua wasn't a problem. In fact, I couldn't help but applaud the setup. It's just that … there are some people with special identities. The Office of Secret Investigations investigated. Some of these names, if released to the north, might cause Prime Minister Qin and Mister Ning to worry. That's why I came here at night to see the Bureau of Justice's attitude on this matter. "
Tie Tianying frowned. "… I wonder who these people with questionable identities are?"
"The matter hasn't been settled, and I don't want to say that there's a problem with their identities …"
"I don't quite understand."
The light in the room was relatively dim. Apart from the relatively quick greeting at the beginning, the conversation between the two seemed rather slow and unhurried. The young man's smile was simple as he deliberated for a while.
"These matters … the Office of Secret Investigations does not wish to be directly involved. In fact, Constable Tie has been in office for so many years, you should be careful. I came here with sincerity."
"Please enlighten me, Mr. Cheng."
Cheng Zhouhai glanced at him and spoke faster, "In the past two years, the Fang Clan's banditry has shaken the Southern Heaven Region. I'm sure Constable Tie knows the root cause of it. Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but the Manichaeism has been developing rapidly in Jiangnan. Although it has always bewitched a large number of ignorant and foolish people, the real reason why it has spread is because it has also bewitched many wealthy families in Jiangnan. For example, the Tang family in Jiangnan, who has lost their wealth for the Manichaeism, the Tyrannical Blade Liu family in the process of the rebellion, and the Chen, Lu, Fang, He … Although the people who defeated the Fang bandits were the generals of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice was responsible for investigating this matter. Constable Tie knows very well how many people have been killed, right? "
Tie Tianying looked at him with a smile, but did not speak. The anger in his heart gradually gathered. Although this young man looked calm, he was actually quite proud and arrogant. It was not that there was anything wrong with the content of his words, but when accumulated, it seemed that every word he said contained a condescending attitude.
"I had to come here to take a note," he repeatedly mystified and said half of what he wanted to say. Although there were many rules in the officialdom, they were not familiar with each other. Speaking in such a manner and with a "tacit understanding", there was more than an 80% chance that he was just probing. This Cheng Zhouhai's words were on point and not blunt. Ordinary people might be deceived, but Tie Tianying had been in power for many years. How could he be tricked by such tricks?
He did not speak, so the young man looked at him and smiled, "The Office of Secret Investigations and the Ministry of Justice both work for the imperial court, but each has their own duties. Constable Tie also understands. Now, the northern expedition is truly a major event, a grand undertaking that has not been seen for hundreds of years. The Prime Minister's Residence is now in charge of coordination and logistics, so the rear cannot fall into chaos … Back then, in order to deal with the Fang Bandits, the Office of Secret Investigations spent a lot of effort. What happened to Fang Qifo, what happened to Fang Baihua, is now a small matter to the Office of Secret Investigations, but the Mani Cult cannot rise again. "
As Cheng Zhouhai spoke, he had already stood by the table. He pointed at the table and stared into Tie Tianying's eyes. Just as his pupils contracted slightly, he said word by word, "Sikong Nan. Cannot rise again! "
Tie Tianying's face darkened, and he slowly stood up. At this moment, he understood that the young man had indeed found out something. After a moment, he pulled the corner of his mouth into a cold smile, "I … don't know what Mr. Cheng means, and I don't know who Sikong Nan is. This time, it is true that the Ministry of Justice is not the only one involved in the encirclement of Fang Baihua and his people, but the specific identity of the person involved, Mr. Cheng, did you …"
"I don't care who it is!" The flames swayed, and Cheng Zhouhai slammed his palm on the table. Tie Tianying's eyes narrowed, and the young man took a step back and waved his hand, "Of course I know who it is! But this matter can't be done by anyone. Back then, there were many big families who supported the Mani Cult and were implicated. Now, there are fewer people killed. How many of them are dead set on rebelling? Naturally, they were bewitched by the Mani Cult. As for the people above them … can't they be bewitched? If the Mani Cult reincarnated, who can bear the responsibility? "
"Of course, I won't bear the responsibility …" Tie Tianying snorted in his heart. The young man on the other side cupped his hands.
"I was riled up in a moment of anger and offended Lord Tie, please forgive me. As I said, the Office of Secret Investigations is in charge of this area. This matter can be big or small, so I have to meet Lord Tie first … "
Tie Tianying laughed, "I still don't know what Mr. Cheng means. I'm afraid that Mr. Cheng has made some mistakes."
"Whether it's right or wrong, I also hope that I have made a mistake. Anyway, I've said what I wanted to say. " Cheng Zhouhai's expression had calmed down, and he cupped his hands again, "Of course, whether it's right or wrong, it doesn't have much to do with the Ministry of Justice. I just hope that if Lord Tie finds any clues, you can consider the pros and cons as much as possible for the sake of the people."
He paused, "As for the Office of Secret Investigations, we don't have many people available in this area, but if we find any useful information, we will naturally communicate with Constable Tie. To be honest, we … now hope that this matter can be resolved as soon as possible, so as not to complicate matters. "
Tie Tianying nodded with a smile. At this time, he was already quite unhappy with this young man who came to give advice. But in the officialdom, most of the time, polite refusal and not giving any substantive things to the other party was the way big shots showed their displeasure.
Therefore, after a moment, the young man said, "I have read the records of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Fang Qifo is a bandit, but he is indeed a hero. I'm afraid it's a little inappropriate for him to be locked up here. I hope Constable Tie can send him north as soon as possible … In addition, I don't know if I can see this person and what he looks like, so as to quell my curiosity. If Constable Tie can agree, I'll just take a look from a distance."
Tie Tianying very politely refused him, "The Ministry of Justice has its rules. After all, Fang Qifo is one of the bandit leaders, so these things can't be accommodated. Please forgive me, Mr. Cheng."
These scholarly people usually only cared about giving advice, but they were quite curious about some famous people. After all, if they really met once, they would have something to brag about in the future. After Tie Tianying refused, the young man's face was obviously a little disappointed. But then he suppressed the displeasure in his heart and said something else.
"… Constable Tie, this time, the encirclement of the Hundred Blossoms faction was quite effective. However, Bandit Fang's faction has some background, so they're not dead yet. Some of the bandits are extremely vicious, and I've heard of them before. The two heroes of the He family who use copper hammers, I'm afraid they're still alive … "
"But from this afternoon's news, a group of people have probably gone to Yu Town … In addition, there seems to be a loophole in the search for Qi Village …"
"That group of people from Tyrant Blade Camp is also a problem. Towering Blade Du Sha and the others have already reached perfection in martial arts. That woman Liu Watermelon … I heard that her blade is now with you, but she's not dead, so she's still not easy to deal with …"
"In addition …"
As if to show the greatest degree of sincerity, this young man said some words that had some substance. Of course, because the Office of Secret Investigations had limited information, Tie Tianying still disdained to listen to most of these words. Occasionally, he would say something perfunctory, but it was always the opposite.
"I'm afraid Yu Town is clean … This is something we overlooked …"
"Towering Blade Du Sha … Mm, he's still very powerful …"
"Liu Watermelon's blade is here, so of course she's already dead."
The other person looked over with a smile. "Constable Tie, don't joke. Although she lost her blade, she still escaped …"
Tie Tianying smiled and didn't refute or confirm. This kind of thing wasn't important, so there was no need to say more. The other person stared at him for a while, then waved his hand. "Whatever." Then, he said a few other things before cupping his hands and bidding farewell.
*****
In the flickering light of the fire, he quickly walked through the camp. The mud splashed up and wet the hem of his robe. Zhu Biao followed from behind.
Because of Ning Yi's arrangements, Zhu Biao was the only one accompanying him here today. In the afternoon, after learning about the news, Ning Yi hurried over. He didn't go in for too long, then hurried out again. He only stopped at the entrance of the camp and sighed. Zhu Biao frowned and asked from behind, "That Watermelon …"
"She's not dead yet." Ning Yi stood there holding the umbrella and let out a breath. "Also, it really was Sikong Nan behind this …"
Zhu Biao nodded. For a moment, he didn't understand why the other person was fine, but he still had such an attitude.
Ning Yi held the umbrella and stood in the darkness outside the camp. He lowered his head and thought for a while. When he looked into the distance, his eyes were slightly serious.
In the current situation, there was no doubt that this was a situation of life and death. Even if he confirmed that Watermelon wasn't killed because she lost her blade, it didn't prove that she was alive. He had been a gambler since he was young. Later, as he grew more knowledgeable and experienced more things, he was gradually able to grasp the development of many situations and had a good grasp of everything. But in the current situation, he could only sigh.
He naturally didn't have any confidence, and he didn't even know where to look for luck. Even though he only hoped that Watermelon and Chen Fan could survive — of course, he might also bring along Domineering Blade and the others, but … this was basically the same thing. And now, he couldn't even see the whole situation. Just as he was thinking about this, Chen Fan went to get the carriage. Suddenly, someone on a horse galloped over. It was a subordinate of the Office of Secret Investigations. Obviously, he had important information and was looking for him.
"… I just found out that among the remnants of the Fang Bandits, the people who carried the account book went all the way north and are now within two hundred miles of here. The Ministry of Justice and the people on the other side are probably doing their best to search for them. There have been some casualties … It seems that this person came to save Fang Baihua and the others …"
Ning Yi thought for a moment and nodded. "Let's go back."
Meanwhile, in the shack of the camp, Tie Tianying had been pacing back and forth for a while with his hands behind his back. After a while, a subordinate came in.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
