Liver into a martial arts legend: starting with Embroidered Spring Blade

Chapter 5 A Blessing in Disguise [Signed, Please Read]

The Northern Pacification Office and the Pacification Commissioner's Hall.

The atmosphere in the lobby was serious.

Lying on the ground in the middle was a corpse covered with a white cloth, with only the face exposed. It was the general Ling Yunkai.

There were also several people standing next to them, all of whom were at the rank of a hundred or thousand households or above. One of them was wearing black and red eunuch clothing and a black conical helmet, and was obviously a member of the East Factory.

"Lu Wenzhao, how did you become a captain?!"

One of them was Xu Xianchun, the governor of the Northern Pacification Division. He stared at the other man in the white flying fish suit with anger on his face and shouted coldly:

"Thieves have come to our house to kill and set fire. This is the first time since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, right? Is this still the Jinyiwei's office?!"

The other thousand households and hundred households all looked at Lu Wenzhao with a gloating expression.

Lu Wenzhao bowed his head, utterly terrified. "Master Xu, I… I am guilty. I have failed your Majesty, failed the cultivation of the factory owner, and even failed… Manager Zheng!"

As he said this, Lu Wenzhao turned to face the young man in eunuch uniform and bowed to admit his mistake.

"Humph!"

Zheng Zhan's face was cold and stern, not giving any face at all. He turned to look at Xu Xianchun and said coldly: "Master Xu, I hope you can give me an explanation for this matter as soon as possible!"

"Also, the document library caught fire. This is also a serious case. The factory owner is very unhappy. If the murderer can't be found, I don't think you will be able to hold on to your position as the pacification commissioner for much longer!"

Xu Xianchun's expression changed slightly, and he quickly said, "Don't worry, Captain Zheng. I will find the murderer as soon as possible, avenge General Ling, and give you and my adoptive father an explanation!"

"It better be so!"

Captain Zheng snorted coldly and turned away.

At this moment, two figures walked in with uneasy looks on their faces and passed by Headmaster Zheng.

Captain Zheng just glanced at it casually and stopped paying attention.

A small flag officer, a captain, an ant-like character, not worth his second glance.

The people who came were Yin Cheng and Jiang Xuan.

Looking at the tense atmosphere in the hall, the two of them suddenly became even more nervous. Could it be that they were really here to punish them?
"I, the humble servants of the flag officer Yin Cheng and the captain Jiang Xuan, pay my respects to the pacification envoy and to all the lords!"

The two men stepped forward nervously and saluted.

Xu Xianchun narrowed his eyes slightly, swept his gaze over the two of them, and said coldly, "I heard that the case of executing Hokusai was originally handled by you two. Why did you let Hokusai escape that day?"

The two of them felt a tightness in their hearts.

Yin Cheng swallowed hard, not daring to hide anything anymore, and began to recount everything that happened that night, but he concealed the fact that the two men were planning to do something inappropriate.

After all, the Jinyiwei was a secret service agency, and most of the cases they handled were not fair to the public. In the process of handling cases, there were many similar dirty things, but they were ultimately shameful, so there was no need to deliberately bring them up.

After listening to Yin Cheng's story, Xu Xianchun's expression turned even colder. "So, it was Shen Lian who let Hokusai escape that night? Then why didn't you two report it?!"

Xu Xianchun shouted loudly.

Yin Cheng trembled with fear and quickly knelt down: "Master... please spare my life, please spare my life!"

Jiang Xuan's heart tightened, and he quickly bowed, taking over the conversation, "Your Excellency, it's not that we two knew about this and didn't report it, it's simply that we can't disobey the official order."

"That night, just as we were about to take action, Lord Shen appeared. He followed us all the way to Hokusai's residence, took over the case, and ordered us to leave early. It was only the next day that we learned that Lord Shen had not taken action and had let Hokusai escape."

"After learning about this, we were terrified and wanted to come and tell the Lord, but Lord Shen summoned us first and ordered us to keep it secret."

"How could we dare disobey our superiors' threats? But we remain deeply apprehensive. After a night of deep reflection, we intended to come and report this matter today, but unexpectedly, such a major crime has occurred. Please investigate!"

Xu Xianchun sneered, "So, the two of you are being coerced by Shen Lian, so you have an excuse?"

Jiang Xuan said in a deep voice, "I dare not speak rashly, but I beg Your Excellency to consider our kindness in returning to the right path and mitigate our guilt."

"You are very sharp-tongued."

Xu Xianchun chuckled and said, "Your name is... Jiang Xuan, right?"

"My humble position is Jiang Xuan."

Xu Xianchun said calmly, "I heard that you killed Hokusai's accomplice the night before yesterday and helped General Ling capture Hokusai. Why did you give the credit to General Ling?"

Hearing this, everyone in the hall turned their heads and looked at the young captain in surprise.

Lu Wenzhao also frowned slightly, his eyes flickering.

Jiang Xuanze's heart tightened. He hadn't expected this matter to be exposed. After a moment of silence, he bowed and said, "I am of lowly status and dare not take credit for it."

Xu Xianchun chuckled, "You're quite clever."

After a pause, Xu Xianchun said calmly, "For a talent like yours, being a lieutenant is a real waste of talent... Captain Lu?"

"Ah?" Lu Wenzhao was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward: "Here I am!"

"Do you have any vacancies?"

Xu Xianchun glanced at Jiang Xuan and said, "If you don't want such a talent, I will assign him to someone else."

Lu Wenzhao said quickly, "Your Excellency, I still have several small flags and the general flag vacancies under my command."

Xu Xianchun nodded slightly: "Then let's make a small flag first."

Then he looked at Jiang Xuan and said calmly, "It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost."

"Since you were able to capture Beizhai once, you can capture her a second time. If you bring her back again, I will report to the factory magistrate for your merit, and the position of Shen Lian as a centurion will be yours. Do you understand?"

Jiang Xuan was a little confused.

what's the situation?
Not only was he not punished, but he was even promoted?

After realizing it, he didn't bother to think about anything else and quickly bowed and said, "I understand. Thank you for your support, sir!"

"Well, let's go down."

Xu Xianchun waved his hand. "Yes, I'll take my leave!"

Jiang Xuan felt relieved and quickly pulled Yin Cheng away.

Xu Xianchun turned to look at Lu Wenzhao, his expression cold again: "Captain Lu, Shen Lian is your man. Now that he has done something so treasonous, you know what to do, right?"

Lu Wenzhao said quickly, "Don't worry, sir. I will definitely bring him back!"

"And the fire in the archives..."

Xu Xianchun said coldly, "Who planned it, who set the fire, what was the purpose, and what documents were lost? I need to find out everything!"

"Otherwise, I won't be able to recover, and neither will you!"

After saying that, Xu Xianchun snorted coldly, turned around with his men, and strode away.

Lu Wenzhao stood there, his expression changing, but then he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

The archives were burned down, and the purpose was achieved.

As for Shen Lian...

He turned his head to look outside the door, his eyes slightly narrowed, wondering what he was thinking.

……

“It was a narrow escape!”

After leaving the hall, Yin Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, his face full of relief at having survived the ordeal.

Jiang Xuan was also a little scared. He felt his back was soaked with sweat.

I used to watch movies just for fun and never thought deeply about the dangers in them, but now I am experiencing a real world with flesh and blood.

Any one of the people in the lobby just now could easily decide his life or death.

If he hadn't answered well, he and Yin Cheng would have been imprisoned by now.

"I didn't expect that Hokusai was captured by you, my cousin. Why didn't you tell me?" Yin Cheng thought of something and turned around to ask.

Jiang Xuan said helplessly, "It just happened to be me. To avoid being caught, she actually ran to my doorstep. How could I not take action?"

"Is there such a thing?"

Yin Cheng was a little stunned, then shook his head and smiled, saying, "But it's also fortunate that you, my cousin, captured her, and Lord Xu found out about it. Now it's a blessing in disguise, and the small flag has been raised, which can be regarded as making up for the loss of your uncle."

Jiang Xuan nodded, this was indeed a blessing in disguise.

As for the centurion position that Xu Xianchun mentioned, he had never thought about it.

How could it be so easy to be a centurion of the sixth rank?
Even the emperor would personally approve and inquire about this position.

Moreover, the prerequisite for becoming a centurion is to capture Hokusai. How can it be so simple?
He wanted to be as far away from this case as possible.

Now that I have finally escaped and picked up a position as a small flag officer for free, it is already a pleasant surprise. How could I be involved in this case again?

But Lu Wenzhao already knew that he had killed Ding Chong, and he didn't know if there would be any trouble...

Jiang Xuan felt a little uneasy.

"Forget it, let's take it one step at a time and hope nothing happens..."

Jiang Xuan sighed and shook his head. He decided not to think about it for the time being and just pay more attention to it in the future.

……

The efficiency of the Zhenfu Division is indeed very high.

The order was just issued in the morning and the appointment clerk arrived in the afternoon.

Along with the documents, there was also a set of official uniforms unique to the small flag, and a set of small crossbows that could be hung on the waist and carried around. They were exquisitely made and could fire two crossbow arrows at the same time.

Jiang Xuan changed into his official uniform, admired it from head to toe, and was very satisfied.

The hat was no longer a conical helmet, but a black official hat embroidered with gold thread, the same black official uniform, and a set of wider shoulder armor with striped protrusions similar to mountain gullies on the shoulder armor, which looked very textured.

Moreover, after the promotion, the salary also increased.

Before, I only received five cents of silver and four dou of rice every month. Now that I have become a small flag bearer, the salary has increased to one and a half taels, and I can also receive seven dan of rice every month.

Yes, the span is that big.

Because the captain was just a soldier without rank, while the small flag was already of the seventh rank and was considered a formal official.

However, the eunuch party is now in power, the government is corrupt, and even the phenomenon of selling official positions and titles is not uncommon.

Especially the Jinyiwei, which was originally the emperor's personal army and an institution of the same level as the Dongchang, was now completely suppressed and controlled by the Dongchang, and the promotion and appointment of officials were all decided by Wei Zhongxian.

This naturally involves corruption and bribery, which is what officials often call "respecting superiors."

Haven’t you seen that in the original drama of “The Sword of the Assassin”, Lu Wenzhao, a fifth-rank captain, had to pay two hundred taels of silver if he wanted to stay with Wei Zhongxian for a while longer.

So, although the salary is said to be so much, it is not certain how much will be left after layers of exploitation.

But no matter what, it is much better than before. Who would complain about having too much money?

What's more, the cost of practicing martial arts is also extremely high, especially after achieving minor success in the Embroidered Spring Sword Technique and the Chasing Wind Step, his physical fitness has also improved, and his appetite has also increased a lot.

When I become stronger in the future and practice internal skills, I may need to buy some medicinal herbs to assist in my practice.

You have to spend money everywhere.

This is also the reason why Jiang Xuan still chose to be a Jinyiwei after traveling through time.

This job cannot be lost until there is a better option.

The contract has been signed, please read it, recommend it, give monthly votes, and leave comments!

I am an author who listens to advice. If you think there are any problems, you can leave comments in the book. I will consider and correct them in a timely manner. Thank you!


(End of this chapter)