Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Xue Wei was very busy today. It was already evening when he returned to Mingyue Tower, and Yuan Min was still waiting for him.

"I've already moved that batch of gold and silver to the basement of Mingyue Tower. Let's find some time to move it to the old house."

"The old house's secret room can't hold it all!"

"Transfer the gold and silver from the old house. The serial numbers on them are a mess, but that's okay."

Xue Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Keeping this batch of gold and silver is a hidden danger. It would be better to melt it down and cast it into gold and silver Buddha statues."

"That will do. I'll arrange to send it to my jewelry shop in Nanshi as soon as it gets dark. We don't usually cast gold Buddhas, but we do make gold and silver ingots, which is perfectly legal. It will be finished very quickly, in one night. I'll have Qingling and Luming keep an eye on it."

After dinner, Xue Wei and Yuan Min personally escorted the gold and silver to Yuan Min's gold shop, where there was a special melting furnace. Several goldsmiths immediately began to unpack and melt the gold and silver.

As he watched the pieces of gold turn into liquid gold, Xue Wei felt much more at ease.

..........

"What did the Emperor say today?"

Yuan Min already knew the reason for the matter from Princess Taiping, and now she was more concerned about what the Emperor had arranged for Xue Wei.

Xue Wei placed the case file on the table. "This is the task the Emperor assigned me: to investigate the secret case of 300,000 taels of silver that disappeared from the Shaofu Temple six years ago."

"I know about this case. I remember my father saying something to me back then: 'The Wu family is too greedy.'"

"The Wu family, not Wu Chengsi?"

"I think my father meant that Wu Chengsi was behind it, but the Wu family benefited from it."

"So the investigation just couldn't continue."

Yuan Min pondered for a moment and said, "I think the Emperor's real intention is still for you to investigate the whereabouts of Wu Chengsi's wealth. The missing silver case is just a starting point. Think about it, the Imperial Seal is still outside. As an emperor, how could she not care about the Imperial Seal?"

Xue Wei nodded. "So finding Luo Rui is the key."

Yuan Min sighed and said, "Old Xue, I have to remind you, Luo Rui is key to Wu Sansi and Wan Guojun, but not to you. Your key is to cut off the chain of investigation and make sure that the three thousand taels of silver can't be traced back to you. Instead of looking for the missing Luo Rui, you should investigate Shangguan Wan'er directly and find out who she gave the thirty thousand taels of silver to."

"How do I check?"

"Go to the Luoyang Municipal Government and the Chang'an Municipal Government to check who she has been trading with in the past month. The municipal governments must have records of that."

"Should I go to Chang'an again?"

"You should go. Aren't you investigating a case from six years ago? You can use this case to investigate all the transactions of the city government over the past six years, and while you're at it, investigate Shangguan Wan'er's transactions as well."

Xue Wei admired Yuan Min's intelligence. He hugged her, kissed her deeply, and said, "I'll make the perfume and liquor for you after I finish investigating this case."

Yuan Min smiled sweetly, "Your illness is finally cured!"

.........

The next morning, just as Xue Wei was about to leave, Yuan Min pointed to her pretty face and said, "Give me a kiss, and I'll tell you a plan I came up with last night to undermine your efforts."

Without any hesitation, Xue Wei grabbed her and kissed her passionately.

After kissing him for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yuan Min finally pushed him away, panting, "I have to tell you right away, you're going to be late."

"explain!"

"Go find evidence to prove that the 300,000 taels of silver that went missing from the warehouse was not the 3,000 taels of silver that they seized. Figure out how to do it yourself. Once you figure it out, these will be two separate cases."

That's a brilliant plan to strike at the heart of the problem! But how can we prove it?

.........

The Dali Temple was located in the eastern part of the imperial palace, where the six ministries of the Ministry of Personnel and the nine temples were all concentrated.

But the Dali Temple prison that broke Xue Wei's heart was not here, but in another place; this place was just a government office.

The official who initially decided to throw Xue Wei into the Blackwater Prison was Yu Chengye, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Because of his meritorious service in the trial of Li Chongrun's case, he was promoted to Vice Minister of the Censorate.

The current Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is Du Jingquan. It was he who accepted 10,000 taels of silver from Yuan Min as a bribe to pave a bluestone slab for Xue Wei, allowing him to survive in the water prison.

Du Jingquan seemed to have completely forgotten that Xue Duwei had once stayed in their water prison. He was particularly enthusiastic towards Xue Wei, who was the acting Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, personally appointed by the emperor. Such a position was more popular than that of an official appointed by the Ministry of Personnel.

"This small courtyard will be Commandant Xue's temporary residence. Just tell me if you need anything."

Xue Wei looked around the small courtyard. It covered an area of ​​about one acre. The courtyard was quite large, with five or six rooms. It was very clean and tidy, not bad at all.

"My two subordinates are Dali Sizhi, officially appointed by the Ministry of Personnel, not temporary officials like me."

"Understood! Understood! The official appointments from the Ministry of Personnel haven't arrived yet, so don't worry! These two will be real officials of the Court of Judicial Review from now on."

When Xue Wei entered the courtyard, Gao Yuanli and Yuan Mao were already there, chatting in the room. Upon seeing Xue Wei enter, the two quickly stood up and bowed.

Xue Wei waved his hand, "Please sit down!"

The two sat down, and Gao Yuanli placed an envelope in front of Xue Wei. "Reporting to the Commandant, as you requested, the three thousand strings of cash have been deposited into the money exchange, divided into thirty hundred-string money exchange tickets. It is from Qingyun Money Exchange in the South Market. Here are the tickets and the seal."

Xue Wei secretly praised Gao Yuanli for his insightful understanding. He had only mentioned casually that he was helping Qingyun Store handle the transfer approval, and Gao Yuanli remembered it.

Du Jingquan then sent three more Dali Temple waist tokens, two silver tokens for Sizhi (a high-ranking official) and one gold token for Shaoqing (another high-ranking official), which served as their legal basis.

At the same time, twenty "inquiry officers" were also sent. These officers were law enforcement soldiers who were responsible for arresting, detaining, executing, and escorting prisoners. They were all quite skilled in martial arts.

At this moment, Princess Taiping also sent two warriors, named Tie San and Tie Si. Both were special warriors who had signed a death pact. They were both around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, wearing bamboo hats. One wore a white warrior's uniform, and the other wore a black warrior's uniform. Both of them were expressionless and stood behind Xue Wei like the ghosts of the Black and White Impermanence.

Apart from Princess Taiping and Xue Wei, no one could command them, not even Xue Chongjian.

"Everyone, please sit down!"

The courtyard was filled with twenty law enforcement officers. Xue Wei announced, "From this moment on, our Imperial Judicial Office is officially established."

"I am the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and also the Lieutenant General of the Plum Blossom Guard. If needed, I can mobilize fifty Plum Blossom Guard soldiers to assist in handling cases. I have the final say in this Judicial Review Division and I am only responsible to the Emperor. Director Gao is in charge of internal affairs, Director Yuan is in charge of external affairs, and I will divide the twenty brothers into five groups. Director Yuan and I will each manage two groups, and Director Gao will manage one group. Now let's talk about the treatment."

Everyone perked up; this was exactly what they cared about most.

"Everyone will receive their regular salaries. I will only provide subsidies. The magistrate will receive 500 coins per day, and each person handling cases will receive 300 coins per day. The three and four iron (illegible) bonuses will be paid out of my own pocket. If a case is successfully solved, each person will be rewarded with 10 strings of cash, and the magistrate will be rewarded with 30 strings of cash. If anyone is injured or dies, that will be calculated separately. I will never let anyone's blood be shed in vain."

Everyone was grinning from ear to ear. Their daily allowance for handling cases was fifty coins, but if they didn't handle cases, they didn't get any. Here, it was three hundred coins a day, and it seemed like they could get paid even if they didn't handle cases. It was much more generous.

Xue Wei continued, "Everyone, I am well aware of your current treatment. I just want to tell you that we are investigating cases for the Emperor. The Emperor will not treat you unfairly, but he also hopes that you will work hard. If we solve the case, we will all share the reward!"

"Yes, sir!" everyone shouted in unison.

Xue Wei then slowly said, "Our case is the theft of silver from the Imperial Treasury six years ago. Everyone should know about that case, right?"

After Xue Wei finished speaking, everyone gasped, and the courtyard fell silent.

.........

The group began packing up; the next step was to go to the Imperial Household Department.

At this moment, Gao Yuanli stepped forward and whispered, "Commander Xue, I was just thinking, everyone knows that Wu Chengsi is the prime suspect in the case of the Imperial Household Department, but Wu Chengsi is already dead. Why does the Emperor still want to reopen this case? Does she want us to prove that Wu Chengsi did not commit this crime?"

Xue Wei shook his head. "How to report is another matter, but as investigators, finding out the truth is fundamental. If we don't even know the truth, then we have failed, let alone reported it."

"Understood, sir!"

Xue Wei took out three hundred-guan banknotes and handed them to him. "Take three hundred guan first. I'll leave the affairs of the yamen to you. Get our case-solving division running smoothly."