Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 50 Jinyiwei Sheren Lu Bing

'Hypnosis...hallucination...opium...anesthetics...Portuguese...Western alchemy?'

"What method could create such a bizarre nightmare and kill someone?"

"Could it be that this is really a fairy tale?"

Hai Yue murmured to herself as she walked all the way into the backyard of the Censorate's office.

As soon as I entered the hospital, several gazes came towards me.

Eight burly men in strong suits stood in a row, in unison, watching the approaching outsiders with caution.

Apart from their burly figures, these Jinyiwei did not have the flying fish uniforms and embroidered spring swords that later generations imagined.

This is normal. The Feiyu suit is the second most formal dress after the dragon robe, and can only be worn by high-ranking officials. The Xiuchun sword is even lighter and shorter. It is bestowed by the emperor and is a symbol of status. Among the tens of thousands of Jinyiwei, there are probably only dozens of people who can wear it.

Among those heading south to Guangdong now, there are obviously no such high-ranking officials.

On the contrary, the attendant sitting in the center was not only strong and dignified, but also surprisingly young, probably in his early twenties, only two or three years older than Hai Yue and Hai Rui. However, the Jinyiwei on both sides were extremely respectful to him, guarding him carefully at his side without any sign of neglect.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, the young official finally lifted his gaze from the case file in his hand and looked up: "Are you Hai Yue, the first place winner of the two examinations in Qiongzhou Prefecture? I am Lu Bing, an official of the Jinyiwei, and I have something to ask you!"

"It's you!"

Haiyue suddenly realized.

He was a little surprised just now. How could a mere Jinyiwei official dare to claim to complete the file?

Now I understand that Zhu Houcong's foster brother Lu Bing has actually come.

Since the emergence of the East Factory and the West Factory, the prestige of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has gradually been replaced by these two factories, and the managers have changed from external officials to the Grand Eunuchs of the Silijian. After all, the eunuchs have a closer relationship with the emperor and are indeed more suitable to be in charge of such a secret agency.

The only exception was the Jiajing Dynasty.

In history, there was no ancestor Lu Fang in the Jiajing Dynasty. Zhu Houcong did not value eunuchs. After he succeeded to the throne, he changed the eunuch party rebellion of the Zhengde period. The 45 years of his rule thereafter were the most law-abiding period for eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty.

The person in charge of the power of the factory and the guards was Lu Bing.

During the prince's period, Lu Bing's mother was Jiajing's wet nurse. The two grew up drinking the same milk and playing together, and had a close relationship. Lu Bing's grandfather was a Jinyiwei, and his father inherited the position. After Jiajing ascended the throne, he naturally also entered the capital.

He has been serving as a servant in the Embroidered Uniform Guard since he was fourteen years old. The current commander-in-chief personally taught him how to write interrogation records, case files and handover documents, and warned Lu Bing that "the Embroidered Uniform Guard commander must be proficient in writing", meaning that if he wants to be the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the future, he must know these things.

This period laid the cultural foundation for Lu Bing to later lead the Jinyiwei. After all, strictly speaking, he was not from a high-class family, and the palace would not teach much cultural knowledge to a wet nurse's son, but the learning over the years made up for this shortcoming.

At this moment, when Lu Bing started asking questions, Haiyue could clearly feel that although this man was young, he was not easy to fool.

"Who was the first person to impersonate Prince Annan?"

"Na Ying, from Qiongzhou Prefecture, Yazhou, a member of the Li ethnic group."

"How dare this person impersonate a foreign envoy?"

"Na Ying was probably deceived by Mo Zhengyong, mistakenly believing that the Annan envoy had been killed by an assassin and needed a replacement. He was born into the Li ethnic group, and the Li people suffered discrimination and injustice. He felt unwilling to accept this and wanted to take this opportunity to travel outside Qionghai."

"After his death, the Li people wanted revenge?"

"Na Ying's brother, Na Yan, came to Qiongshan with the intention of seeking revenge, but ultimately assisted the government in eliminating the remaining Annan assassins."

"These aren't recorded in the case files. As you said, you're unwilling to record the contributions of the Li people?"

"Yes!"

"You're so bold~"

Lu Bing was very interested: "Then let me ask you, how was the Imperial Censor Wu Lin captured by the Annan assassins?"

Hai Yue said, "Another base of the Annan assassins was located in the coffin shop Yong'an Hall in Haikoupu, less than half a mile away from the post house where Wu Xun'an was staying. This gave them an opportunity to take advantage of. In addition, due to a series of mistakes that night, Wu Xun'an unfortunately fell into the hands of the thieves."

"What a coincidence!"

Lu Bing smiled, but didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he asked, "Were you present when Inspector Wu and Envoy Li finally escaped from their predicament?"

"Yes." "You rescued two people?"

"When I arrived, Envoy Li was fighting with an Annan assassin to protect Inspector Wu and was injured. I killed the assassin and rescued them."

"Envoy Li was fatally wounded in the battle?"

"The knife wound to the abdomen is not fatal."

"Then how was Envoy Li killed?"

"Poisoned."

"If the assassins wanted to kill the prince after capturing him, they would have done so long ago. Since they kept him alive, they must have planned to take him back to Annan to report to Mo Dengyong. Why did they poison him?"

"..."

"Whatever! The dead are gone! There's really no point in pursuing this!"

Lu Bing added a few words to the file, flipping through it with a sense of accomplishment. Finally, he sighed, "You played a crucial role in both the impersonation of the diplomatic mission and the kidnapping of the inspector. No wonder the local government couldn't hide the contributions of a student like you!"

After meeting Princess Fanglian and carefully reading the files of the Annan delegation, what interested him most was the students of this academy.

How great a contribution must one make to leave a significant mark in this important case that is waiting to be heard by the emperor?
Now that the whole process is basically clear, only the last and most curious answer remains to be verified: "Annan's traitor Mo Dengyong has thirteen generals under his command, all of whom are highly skilled in martial arts and experienced in countless battles. Mo Zhengyong is one of them. He was defeated by you, so it seems that you are a skilled martial artist."

“Just practiced.”

"Hmph! Warriors don't care about modesty. Prove it to me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Bing put down the pen in his hand, stood up and punched him.

Hai Yue was speechless, but she did not back down. She quickly gathered her internal strength and rushed forward.

"Oh!"

When fists and palms collided, Haiyue leaned sideways to release the force, cleverly dissolving the force.

"Come!"

Under the indifferent gazes of the eight Jinyiwei behind him, Lu Bing was delighted to see the prey. He shouted loudly and continued to punch. His strong and powerful internal energy burst out, and his skin turned red visibly.

Haiyue remembered her father saying that redness of the skin was a sign of some success in practicing many internal energy techniques, which was completely different from the tranquility of meditation and dragon control.

When Lu Bing took action, Hai Yue felt a surge of heat in her face, as if the person in front of her was not a person, but a stove emitting boiling heat. She subconsciously wanted to retreat.

But he was determined in his heart, and cast aside this timid and retreating thought. He also gathered his internal strength, straightened his back, and fought tit for tat.

The two men crossed their hands and fought with their bare hands, with fists whistling, but there was no one to tell who was stronger.

"Haha! It feels so good! It feels so good!"

After more than twenty rounds, Lu Bing suddenly stopped, put his hands behind his back, and looked mighty and domineering.

No one in the Jinyiwei dared to fight him. The weak couldn't win, and the strong always held back and were cautious. Only this man held nothing back, evenly matched, and felt very happy: "Are you skilled in archery and horsemanship? Well, with your internal training, a little practice will be enough to pass the military imperial examination!"

The following year in history, Lu Bing passed the military imperial examination and went to Jizhou, a border defense city. Later, when the Mongolian Tatars attacked Lengi Pass, Lu Bing won military merit and was naturally promoted to deputy captain. From then on, he began to rise rapidly, and within a few years he was granted the real power of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He really has this idea now, that's why he asked this question, and Haiyue replied: "If I fail the imperial examination, joining the army is also an option."

Lu Bing raised his thick eyebrows, a little displeased at first, but deep down he actually respected scholars, otherwise he wouldn't have protected Shen Lian later. Seeing Hai Yue again, her demeanor and tone were natural, without the scholar's inherent disdain for warriors. Instead, he smiled and said, "You have both the civil and military paths to choose from. At your age, you have a bright future! When you reach the capital in the future, come find me. I'm rooting for you!"

"Thank you, Mr. Lu!"

Hai Yue bowed calmly without any excitement: "I'll take my leave!"

Lu Bing watched him leave, then shook his hands behind his back and bared his teeth, "This kid really doesn't hold back. His internal energy is so weird, like needles pricking me. Hiss!"

Haiyue left the backyard and quickly walked to the corner. Seeing no one around, she blew air into her red palms repeatedly: "Hoo! Huh! My martial arts skills are not good enough. I almost lost with my bare hands. I need to practice! I need to practice more!"

(End of this chapter)