Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

The next morning, Xue Wei and Zuo Qingling returned to the warehouse complex. The guards were gone. Xue Wei entered the small house where the guards lived and immediately discovered the loophole.

There is no place to sleep, no stove for cooking, and none of the necessities of life, such as bedding, food, firewood, cooking utensils, flint, oil lamps, candles, etc.

"There is no warehouse guard at all. The person yesterday was an imposter; he was just waiting for us."

Zuo Qingling felt a chill run down her spine, as if she had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

"I interrogated him yesterday."

"You didn't go into his room yesterday, did you?"

"He didn't go in; he just peeked around outside. I threatened him with my sword, and he only confessed after I drew blood. Was that all an act?"

Xue Wei nodded. "That's why it seems real. Our opponent is very capable; they anticipated all our actions."

"So what do we do now?"

Xue Wei hesitated for a moment and said, "I'd like to visit the Plum Blossom Guard in Chang'an this morning, so you don't need to come with me."

..........

The Plum Blossom Guard headquarters in Chang'an was located in Chongren Ward, a fact Xue Wei had specifically inquired about before setting off.

The official residence of the Plum Blossom Guard in Chang'an was very small, without even a sign, and looked like a private residence. However, the presence of a soldier standing guard at the entrance marked its uniqueness.

"Who are you? You're not allowed to trespass here!"

"I'm looking for your Commander Yu!"

Xue Wei took out his Plum Blossom Guard General silver badge and waved it. The guards dared not neglect him and immediately invited Xue Wei in, asking him to wait in the reception hall while he ran to the back to report.

A short while later, a middle-aged general stepped forward. "I am Yu Jianxiu, and you are...?"

Xue Wei took out his silver token and handed it to him. Yu Jianxiu glanced at it, a mocking smile on his face. "So you're the Three Masters Young Master. You bought this token, didn't you?"

"I am Xue Wei, and I have just been appointed as the Lieutenant General of the Plum Blossom Guard."

Xue Wei took out the Emperor's Gold Medal and placed it on the table. Upon seeing the Emperor's Gold Medal, Yu Jianxiu was startled and immediately became respectful. This thing was real; there was absolutely no way it could be fake.

"I'm sorry, this is the first time I've met someone who is a Silver-Rank Lieutenant General, so I misunderstood."

He took out his own badge, which also belonged to a Lieutenant General, but it was an iron badge.

"Because the silver badge used to be the waist badge of the Plum Blossom Silver Guards, and later the Plum Blossom Silver Guards were merged into the Iron Guards, becoming the civil officials of the Plum Blossom Iron Guards. They also had iron badges, and their positions were such as military advisor, judge, and military commander. The Plum Blossom Silver Guard badges have been missing for four years. If Young Master Xue suddenly takes them out, it is easy for people to misunderstand."

"I only hold this position on a temporary basis, not a real one. I will use it when necessary to deploy troops."

Xue Wei then took out the silver command token. "This thing should be real, right? With it, can we mobilize fifty people at once?"

Yu Jianxiu nodded. "That's true. The limit is fifty people. Is there anything I can do to help you, young master?"

"Did you investigate the Huanglong incident on the Wei River more than a month ago?"

Yu Jianxiu shook his head. "We originally wanted to investigate, but the headquarters in Luoyang sent an urgent message ordering us not to interfere, so we didn't continue the investigation."

Xue Weimin immediately grasped the implication in his words, "You just didn't continue the investigation, so you still investigated some things?"

"Yes, but the investigation data has been destroyed. Whatever you want to know, I can tell you verbally."

Tell me everything you've found out.

Yu Jianxiu pondered for a moment and said, "We don't know who did it or what their purpose was, but we know that the other side mobilized a lot of people, at least several hundred. The witnesses were the people of Chang'an City. They stood on the city wall to watch, but they were incited to go and watch. Some people wanted to get close to the Wei River, but they were stopped by the black-clad warriors. They seem to have a lot of background. Even the yamen runners didn't dare to get close."

"What's their background? What did the constables see?"

Yu Jianxiu shook her head. "They don't know either, but they have a sense. You have to understand, these low-level clerks and runners have the most acute sense of officialdom. They can sense whether someone has a background or not without any demonstration. They know who they can mess with and who they can't."

Xue Wei did not press the matter. He could understand the bureaucratic awareness of a low-level official, and the same was true for later generations.

"I've found a spare yellow dragon. Commander Yu, could you help me check the clues on it?"

Yu Jianxiu readily agreed, "Okay, give me the Yellow Dragon."

"I'll have someone deliver it this afternoon."

After a pause, Xue Wei asked again, "General Yu, do you personally believe that this incident is related to the Prince of Xiang?"

Yu Jianxiu smiled faintly, "Young master, there's no need to test me. I can tell you frankly that everyone knows one of the functions of our Chang'an Plum Blossom Guard is to monitor Prince Xiang and his son. But since two years ago, this function has been abolished, and Prince Xiang and his son are completely free. However, they have become more cautious, afraid of being caught doing something wrong. Moreover, they enjoy indulging in sensual pleasures. Therefore, we have never believed that the Yellow Dragon incident is related to them. You can go to Prince Xiang's mansion and see for yourself. You won't find anything related to dragons, not even snakes."

"I believe in their caution, so the Huanglong incident may be someone trying to frame Prince Xiang and his son."

"Perhaps! But there might be something deeper inside, which I can't say for sure. However, I can give you a clue: three months ago, a similar incident involving a yellow dragon occurred in Wugong County."

Xue Wei's spirits lifted. "So Huanglong appeared twice in total!"

"To be precise, it happened three times. Last year, a yellow dragon also appeared in Wugong County. When we arrived, it had already disappeared without a trace. It must have been a drill. These people were initially trying to cover it up, but now they're spreading the news everywhere, as if they're afraid people won't know about the Wei River yellow dragon incident. Everyone in Chang'an knows about the yellow dragon, and that's the result of their propaganda."

"So Wugong County is their stronghold?"

"It used to be so, but I don't know now. I personally think they're hiding in Chang'an City. Also, let me tell you something unique about Chang'an: you can't find anything during the day. The secrets of Chang'an all appear at night. We also basically perform our duties at night, while everyone is sleeping during the day."

.........

Wu Sansi also had a large mansion covering 20 acres in Wubenfang, Chang'an. At this time, Wu Chongxun and Li Guo'er also lived in this mansion. They lived in the back house, while the front house was the temporary office of the censor Wan Guojun.

Wan Guojun was the chief official sent by the Censorate to investigate the "Wei River Yellow Dragon Incident". He was originally a retainer of Wu Sansi. He was very shrewd and capable, so Wu Sansi recommended him to the Censorate. He became Lai Junchen's right-hand man. After Lai Junchen fell from power, Wan Guojun was protected by Wu Sansi and was able to escape the purge and continue to serve as a censor.

His proudest achievement was handling the Li Chongrun case last year.

At this moment, the warehouse keeper from yesterday was kneeling in front of Wu Chongxun, recounting what had happened the day before, while Wan Guojun sat to the side, calmly drinking tea.

Wan Guojun was well aware of Wu Chongxun's ruthlessness. In order to seize the position of the eldest grandson of the Wu family, Wu Chongxun took advantage of the Li Chongrun case and did not hesitate to poison his cousin Wu Yanji in prison.

This man will probably be silenced by now!

"Alright, you can leave now! Don't go to the warehouse again."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

The man got up and left. Wu Chongxun made a killing gesture to one of his trusted subordinates, who understood and immediately followed him out.

"This Xue Wei is smarter than we thought! He found the warehouse as soon as he arrived yesterday."

"Of course he's smart!"

Wu Chongxun said coldly, "Otherwise, why would the emperor have chosen him? But no matter how clever he is, he can't escape my grasp."

Wan Guojun laughed and asked, "Does the young master intend to eliminate him as well?"

Wu Chongxun shook his head. "He has the Emperor's Golden Token protecting him, so I can't touch him directly. But I can use other people, including that woman. The princess told me to kill her too."

Wan Guojun smiled. "If you can't have her, then no one else can!"

"I guess so!"

"Even if you don't advise me, young master, you should still be careful. Xue Weishi treats that woman like his lifeblood. You'd better entrust her to someone else as well."

"Of course I understand, there are plenty of people interested in that woman!"

Wan Guojun took a sip of tea and then slowly said, "Young Master, you should clean up the mess as soon as possible after the Huanglong incident. The Emperor has even sent the Hidden Guards, which shows that she takes this matter very seriously. If she discovers the truth, we will be in big trouble."

Wu Chongxun nodded silently; the morale was low, and he was also having a headache.