Jiapingguan Chronicle

"Stop, pause for a moment!" Jin Miaomiao gestured to Ying Wu and Ying Shisan, gently rubbing her forehead, and said, "Can you please take care of someone who has absolutely no idea what happened? After listening to you for so long, I'm still completely confused. Besides knowing that the young master of the Jing Prince's mansion was planning to stay at an inn but hadn't actually checked in, and that the thieves were Lai Mazi and his gang, I know nothing else. I don't know the cause, the process, or even the outcome." She shrugged at them. "Forgive my bluntness, but with your storytelling skills, if you went to the theater to perform, you probably wouldn't earn a single copper coin."

“Hey, Miaomiao is right.” Song Yaojia and Bai Meng, who frequented various theaters in the capital with Song Jue, agreed with Jin Miaomiao’s words. “Not only will we not earn money, but we might also end up paying the theaters, because we’ll be giving them a bad reputation.”

"Did you hear that?" Jin Miaomiao raised an eyebrow at them. "Tell me properly, what exactly is the whole story?"

“I didn’t know about the beginning; that’s for Thirteen to explain.” Seeing that the tea was ready, Shadow Five served everyone a cup and carefully placed it in front of them. “When the incident happened, I was on night duty in the flower hall. It was Thirteen who sent me to the inn, and that’s how I found out that the inn had been burgled. As for what happened before that, I knew nothing about it.”

“Then let me tell you!” Ying Shisan said while serving tea. “It happened around 3:40 to 4:40 in the morning. I was patrolling with our young master near the inn. That inn is our base, so there are a lot of our people around. We talked to our people and they said there was nothing wrong inside the inn, but the woodshed in the backyard collapsed because of the heavy snow. They plan to see how to fix it after dawn.”

"The woodshed collapsed?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "Didn't they report it?"

"No, they just told us to be responsible for reporting it." Ying Shisan nodded. "The young master's idea was to see how badly it had collapsed and whether the camp needed to send people to help. So he took me and two other brothers into the inn."

"Was it Jiu'er's decision?"

“Yes.” Ying Shisan nodded. “It’s fortunate that the young master made this decision, otherwise we wouldn’t have run into those petty thieves. The front of the inn is fine, but the backyard is in bad shape. When the woodshed collapsed, it hit the backyard wall and made a big hole in it. We think that if we want to repair it, it’s not just about patching the hole; the entire wall will probably have to be torn down and rebuilt.”

“That’s for sure.” Song Yaojia nodded. “If we just patch up the holes, it will still collapse next time there’s a heavy snowfall.”

“Yes, that’s what the young master said too.” Ying Shisan nodded. “We finished checking the situation and were about to leave, since it’s late at night and we shouldn’t disturb others’ rest. But before we even left the backyard, we heard rustling sounds and light footsteps coming from behind that hole. It was definitely not the sound of small animals; it must have been the sound of people walking in the snow. So, the young master immediately told us to scatter and hide to see who was causing trouble in this weather.”

"So it turns out to be Lai Mazi and his friends?" Seeing Ying Shisan nod, Jin Miaomiao sighed. "They were pinned down as soon as they entered the courtyard? That can't be right, can it? That's not like you and Xiao Jiu's style."

"We need to catch them red-handed. If they don't make a move, we can't arrest them, right?" Shadow Thirteen chuckled. "But the young master gestured for me to come back and find Fifth Brother. We'll go ahead and ambush them."

"You're planning to lure them outside the inn before making your move, right?"

“That’s right, this inn isn’t just for people from the Prince of Jing’s mansion; there are other guests too. We can’t just wake everyone up, can we? Who would dare stay here after that?” Ying Shisan spread his hands. “I not only came back to see Fifth Brother, but I also went to the teahouse to see that person.” “Grand Uncle?” Shen Cha frowned slightly. “Why are you waking him up so late at night? He’s had a long and tiring journey from Jin to here. You…”

“What’s there to be tired about? The old man didn’t sleep at all. When we arrived, he was chatting happily with Fourth Master and the two old generals!” Ying Shisan sighed and said, “On the other hand, our Prince Xia was sleeping soundly.”

"I knew they'd either get together for a get-together or just chat," Shen Cha shook her head helplessly, glancing at Jin Miaomiao. "Threats don't work!"

“Then let’s wait and see, let them know what the consequences are for not obeying.” Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes and took a sip of tea. “But it’s understandable. They haven’t seen each other for many years, and they finally found an opportunity to chat about what they’ve seen and heard over the years. After all, my great-uncle will be going back to the border in just a couple of days.”

“Yes, it’s just a short stay. Who knows when we’ll meet again?” Shen Cha nodded and looked at Ying Shisan. “Go on.”

“I told that guy what happened at the inn, and he came with us.” Ying Shisan sighed. “When we arrived, the young master had already caused a bit of a commotion, attracting Lai Mazi’s attention. Seeing that he was about to be lured out, we quickly shut up. Fifth Brother and I, along with a few other brothers, pinned him down.”

"Didn't you disturb the people in the inn?"

“Apart from that man’s men, all the other guests were sound asleep.” Shadow Thirteen sighed. “He said he roughly knew why these petty thieves came and who sent them, so he told us where to catch them and find the mastermind behind it all. As a result, we found two skinny old men dressed as Taoist priests in an abandoned house in the South City.”

"I see!" Jin Miaomiao nodded. "What they said about being old but still vigorous is really quite accurate." She looked at Ying Shisan. "Is he locked up now? In the dungeon?"

“Yes!” Shadow Thirteen nodded. “Let’s rest and get a good night’s sleep before interrogating them. But before we do, we need to ask that person who they are and how he offended them.”

Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Xue Ruitian exchanged glances. They suddenly realized the identities of the two Taoist priests and looked at each other with excitement. Perhaps they could find a clue behind the scenes through these two Taoist priests.

(End of this chapter)