I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 486 Captured alive
When the door was banged on, the manager and staff of Yunhezhai were furious.

They run a breakfast stall, they don't sell late-night snacks!
The waiter opened the door cursing, about to give the clueless customer outside a piece of his mind, but when he saw that familiar face, he immediately swallowed all the curses, his lips stiffening as he forced a smile.

"Lord Xie, if you would like anything to eat, just let us know and we'll deliver it to your residence. How could we trouble you to come in person?"

The waiter smiled and ushered him inside, but Xie Hui waved his hand and said, "I'm in a hurry, two baskets of crab roe buns, to go."

The waiter's smile almost turned into tears, and he said in a trembling voice, "We're out of crab roe in the shop. Can we make some for you tomorrow morning and deliver it to your home?"

With the Embroidered Spring Blade drawn half an inch from its sheath, Xie Hui emphasized, "Two cages, take them away."

The waiter almost burst into tears, but the shopkeeper slapped him away and said with a forced smile, "Yes, yes, please wait a moment, it will be ready soon."

He dragged the waiter towards the kitchen, his voice low and menacing, "Don't drag me down with you if you want to die." Was the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard someone they could afford to offend?
The waiter stumbled as he was pulled along. "But we're out of crab roe. Old Zhou, the crab deliveryman, won't be here until tomorrow." How can you make crab roe steamed buns without crab roe?

"Even if I turn you into a crab today, I'll still make these crab roe buns." The shopkeeper slapped the waiter on the head. "Go and wake Old Zhang up to work. Don't think I don't know he's hoarding crab roe. Tell him to bring it all out!"

He actually kept some for himself, and Uncle Zhang didn't even share any with him.

The waiter went out the back door and ran to the next street, banging on the door of the house across the street. "Uncle Zhang, Uncle Zhang, it's me, Lei Zi! Open the door quickly, the boss needs to see you urgently!"

"Uncle Zhang!"

"Uncle Zhang!"

No one answered the door, so the waiter got impatient and kicked it open. To his surprise, the door opened with a single kick.

He assumed Old Zhang had forgotten to lock the door, ran inside, and headed straight for the brightly lit main room. "Uncle Zhang, the shopkeeper... ah!"

A scream echoed through the night sky.

Inside the carriage, Xiao Jingfan frowned slightly and made a gesture towards the shadows.

Xie Hui also ran towards the sound, knife in hand.

Chu Liuzheng clenched his fists. [Here it comes, the murderer is here to check in!!]

Xiao Jingfan: ? ? ?

What murderer?
Upon entering the small courtyard, the sounds of clashing swords rang out, frightening the neighbors into silence. Before long, it attracted the attention of patrolling soldiers.

"Sir, there are thugs!" The shop assistant, who had almost had his head chopped off, scrambled to the soldiers and pointed into the courtyard.

The officers and soldiers looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person wearing a black cloak fighting with a masked man in black.

Under the torchlight, the cloaked man was clearly no match for the masked man, and his cloak was accidentally ripped off, revealing his true face.

"Suo Sicheng!" A soldier recognized the man and exclaimed in surprise.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices raised his hand to block the masked man's attack and shouted, "Quickly, arrest the culprit!"

"Hey! The thief is crying 'stop thief!'" Xie Hui, who had been watching the commotion from the wall for a while, jumped down and joined the fray, brandishing his embroidered spring knife. "Do you even know who he is before you shout 'thief'?"

The embroidered spring knife came crashing down, and Suo Sicheng, unable to dodge in time, was struck on the shoulder, blood gushing out immediately. Clutching his bleeding shoulder, his face a mixture of shock, anger, and confusion, he cried out, "Lord Xie, why did you cut me?"

"Catch the culprit!" Xie Hui slung his embroidered spring knife over his shoulder, then kicked Suo Sicheng into the pile of soldiers.

The officers and soldiers hurriedly dodged.

Xie Hui raised his chin slightly, "What are you standing there for? Arrest them!"

"Thank you, sir." The leading soldier glanced at the wailing and crying Suo Sicheng, then cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask what crime you have committed, sir?"

"Tsk." Xie Hui curled his lip, pointing the tip of his knife at the young waiter beside him, "Tell them."

The soldiers all turned to look at the waiter. The waiter swallowed hard, shrinking back, and said, "We're out of crab roe. The manager told me to find Uncle Zhang; he has some. So I came out the back door to find Uncle Zhang, I..."

Xie Hui tapped the knife handle: "Get to the point."

The waiter jolted awake. "I...I saw him..." He pointed to the groaning Suo Sicheng lying on the ground. "Uncle Zhang was tied up in the house, and he was holding a knife, trying to kill Uncle Zhang. He saw me and immediately ran towards me. Thank goodness..."

He looked around and found that the man in black who had fought with the Vice Minister Suo earlier was gone. He could only recount, "That masked hero saved me, and then they started fighting. Then Lord Xie arrived, and the other officers also came."

Upon hearing this, some soldiers ran into the house to check and found a middle-aged man around forty years old tied to a chair with his eyes wide open and a cloth stuffed in his mouth, unable to make a sound.

The soldiers removed the cloth from his mouth, and a cry of "Help!" came out of the man's throat.

The soldiers cut the ropes binding him with their knives and took him away.

"Uncle Zhang," the waiter rushed over to help him up, "Are you alright?"

"No, it's nothing." Old Zhang waved his hand and asked, "Where's the culprit?"

"There," the man said, pointing to the person who hadn't yet gotten up from the ground.

Old Zhang immediately spat and said to the officers, "Sir, he is the serial killer. He just said that I am the thirteenth."

With the waiter as an eyewitness and Old Zhang as a witness, Suo Sicheng was bound by the soldiers and sent to Shuntian Prefecture before he could even say a word in defense.

The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture held a court hearing overnight to try the case. It took two full hours to pry out the accomplices from the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and they were all arrested and brought to justice.

The serial murder case that shocked the capital was solved, and the people could now enjoy a peaceful and happy New Year.

On the carriage back to the palace, Chu Liuzheng ate hot, freshly steamed crab roe buns, feeling very satisfied.

*
For the emperor, the New Year was a busy time, filled with banquets, sacrifices, and rewards for his ministers.

For Chu Liuzheng, it was a leisurely year. He ate, drank, played, and even received the emperor's favor to go out and spend the New Year with his family, making it a more fulfilling year than in previous years.

However, the imperial harem was unusually quiet this year, with even the Empress Dowager not holding a family banquet to celebrate the New Year.

After the Spring Festival, a piece of good news kicked off the first grand court assembly in the sixth year of Shunguang's reign.

The Western Xia army joined forces with the Dasheng army to launch a pincer attack on the Tatars, encircling and annihilating them. A brave young general of our army led his troops to wipe out 5,000 Tatar cavalry, captured the Tatar Khan alive, and forced the Tatars to retreat 300 li.

The emperor was overjoyed and ordered a reward for the three armies, and then pursued them in victory.

Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood, the court officials wisely refrained from upsetting him, and the court session passed in a peaceful atmosphere... but it didn't end there.

There are always those who don't know their place.

Prince Rui is such an ignorant fool.

The first time Prince Rui attended court in his life was when Imperial Censor Wang woke him up from his bed.

He proposed a formal nationwide ban on brothels and presented a complete set of implementation rules, which he, Censor Wang, and a group of anonymous individuals had devised, and which had already shown initial success in the capital.

The best examples are the two major dens of extravagance in the capital.

Chunmanyuan was converted into a restaurant, and business is booming.

Wanfanglou was transformed into a dance hall, and several pastry chefs from Jiangnan were invited to oversee the business. Their tea and pastries were exceptional and highly sought after by noble ladies in the capital.

After the emperor had reviewed the detailed rules—actually, he had reviewed them a few days earlier, and today's court session was merely a formality—he issued an edict to implement them nationwide, and entrusted the matter to Prince Rui and Imperial Censor Wang for supervision. He also promoted Imperial Censor Wang, who had worked diligently during this period.

Imperial Censor Wang was so happy that his joy could be seen from ten miles away.

(End of this chapter)