Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

The day's investigation ended just like that; it was tedious and yielded nothing.

In the afternoon, Xue Wei and Yuan Min talked about the investigation. Yuan Min, being an outsider, had a clearer perspective and pointed out the suspicious points incisively.

"Didn't you notice? Why is Yuan Renjing so clear about the outcomes of all the officials involved in the case? He even knows about the two minor officials who came back. What does that mean? It means he's been paying attention to this case all along, and it means he's been unwilling to accept it."

Xue Wei was stunned for a moment. "I didn't even realize it!"

Yuan Min stretched out her slender finger and poked Xue Wei's forehead with a look of exasperation. "You! Sometimes you're incredibly smart, and other times you're so stupid, I don't know what to say to you."

Xue Wei hugged her and said with a grin, "With such a smart wife, I can avoid many detours. Please continue to enlighten me, my dear wife!"

"You've got oil all over your face, but your head is a complete mess!"

Although her tone was complaining, Yuan Min's lips curled up. "Sigh! That Yuan Renjing has been hinting at it to you repeatedly, but you just couldn't understand."

Xue Wei was taken aback. "Why is he hinting at something?"

"He already said they've made some progress, why don't you ask him what those progress are?"

"His temper is terrible. Every time I say something, he argues back. When I said the case files were all fake, he said I didn't look at their Dali Temple's case files, and then he said their Dali Temple's case files had been destroyed. I don't think he's being sincere at all!"

Yuan Min sighed, "The dead files were burned, but his living files are still here! That's what he really meant, you didn't realize it."

"Ah!" Xue Wei finally realized.

"But... I asked him again later, and his answer was very vague, with no useful information at all. He didn't show any of the attitude one would expect from a living archive."

"manner!"

Yuan Min immediately grasped the key point, "Old Xue, he definitely knows something. He doesn't want to say it because he doesn't understand your attitude. He feels that you are not sincere, or perhaps he doesn't believe in your abilities."

Why doesn't he believe me!

"Because he knows your background. Didn't he say he watched you play polo? I guess he knows a lot about your exploits as the Three Masters. He thinks you're a spoiled brat and doubts your abilities. He's afraid you'll mess things up."

Xue Wei nodded slightly. Yuan Min was right; Yuan Renjing didn't believe him.

"Is there any way to crack this?"

Yuan Min thought for a moment and said, "Building trust requires long-term cooperation, but you don't have enough time. You can only try, and I'm not sure if it will work out."

"How do I try?"

"Please ask him to talk outside, not in the Imperial Household Department, but in private. Don't take notes. That will make him a little less wary of you. Also, you'd better invite him for drinks."

"drink wine?"

Yuan Min smiled slyly, "Truth comes out when one is drunk."

…………

Yuan Renjing left quite late today. After all his colleagues had left, he arrived at a warehouse where miscellaneous items were stored. He looked around to make sure no one was there, then slipped inside and pushed the door open.

The small warehouse was filled with tables, chairs, wooden buckets, braziers, brooms and other odds and ends. Yuan Renjing walked quickly to the corner, where there was a large cabinet. He pushed the cabinet open with all his might and swept away a layer of dust with the broom, revealing a stone slab underneath. Lifting the stone slab, he found a wooden box containing documents.

This was a secret he had kept for six years: a copy of the investigation file from the Dali Temple. The original had been destroyed, but he had hidden the copy in this storage room. He dared not take it home, fearing it would implicate his elderly mother, wife, and children.

He even volunteered to be transferred to the Shaofu Temple as the supervisor, hoping to preserve the truth of the matter and prevent it from fading away with time.

Yuan Renjing simply confirmed that the box was still there, then put the stone slab back in place, restoring everything to its original state before leaving the storeroom, washing his hands, and going home.

Yuan Renjing's home was in a village outside the city. He had elderly parents to support and young children to raise. With a meager salary, he could only afford to live in the cheapest place outside the city.

He has to leave home before dawn every day because he hates working overtime. If he works overtime until night, the city gates will be closed, and he won't be able to go home.

It was already dusk when he rode a donkey out of the east gate as usual.

Yuan Renjing suddenly sensed something was wrong. He quietly turned around and saw more than a dozen people riding donkeys and mules following him.

Yuan Renjing knew something was wrong and urged his donkey to run faster. Just then, a carriage appeared in front of him, blocking his way. Several burly men on the carriage glared at him menacingly.

With the road blocked in front and pursuers behind, Yuan Renjing suddenly jumped off his donkey and ran wildly south towards the Luo River.

A dozen or so burly men jumped off their mules and chased after him, short crossbow bolts whistling as they shot at Yuan Renjing.

"No shooting arrows allowed! They want to capture him alive!"

The leader shouted, and everyone stopped shooting and ran desperately to catch up. Just when they were about to catch up, Yuan Renjing jumped into the Luo River without hesitation.

...........

"A bunch of useless trash!"

At Wu Sansi's residence, Wan Guojun angrily berated the dozen or so burly men in the courtyard, who all lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.

Wu Sansi, standing nearby, was somewhat displeased. One should consider the owner before beating a dog. These were all warriors from his manor, yet Wan Guojun was scolding him in front of him, showing him no respect whatsoever.

"Imperial Censor Wan, isn't investigating Luo Rui the most urgent task? What's the point of using so many people to arrest an official from the Imperial Household Department?" Wu Sansi couldn't help but ask.

Wan Guojun quickly explained, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but the Emperor has ordered Xue Wei to reinvestigate the case of the missing silver of the Shaofu Supervisor. It is closely related to the silver of Wu Chengsi. I also participated in the investigation of this case when I was in the Ministry of Justice. I secretly questioned Wu Chengsi's accountant at the time, and he assured me that this batch of silver had never entered the treasury."

At the time, we all agreed that Wu Chengsi had sent the silver directly to his fiefdom of Wugong County; he would never be foolish enough to leave the silver in his residence.

Wu Sansi understood. "You want to find that wealth by investigating the whereabouts of this batch of treasury silver?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, this is a clear lead. Luo Rui's whereabouts are currently unknown, and we are doing our best to find him. However, it is always better to pursue two paths simultaneously than to rely on only one."

"I understand, but why arrest Yuan Renjing?"

Wan Guojun smiled and said, "This Yuan Renjing was previously the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review and an important participant in this case. He was willing to be demoted one rank and stay in the Imperial Household Department as the Assistant Director. I suspect that he discovered something at the time, but he didn't say it. He stayed in the Imperial Household Department to secretly investigate the whereabouts of that batch of silver. It is very likely that he has already found out something."

"That makes sense!"

Wu Sansi slammed his fist on the table. "We must capture Yuan Renjing before Xue Wei does."

Wan Guojun continued, "I have already sent several men to keep an eye on Yuan Renjing's house, but he is, after all, a sixth-rank official, and my men are all government officials, so it's not very convenient. Could you perhaps...?"

Wu Sansi understood his meaning and nodded, "Let those guys from earlier monitor Yuan Renjing's house and make sure they catch Yuan Renjing."

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness!"

Wu Sansi waved his hand, "You've worked hard too. The key is to capture Luo Rui; that's the most urgent matter."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wu Chongxun rushed in, excitedly saying, "Father, I just received news that Luo Rui has been captured."

Wu Sansi was overjoyed. "Where did you catch it?"

"In Luo Rui's hometown in Yanshi County, the brothers ransacked his old house and finally caught him in the cellar. He is currently being escorted back to Luoyang and will be back in Luoyang tomorrow."

Wu Sansi and Wan Guojun were overjoyed. Catching Luo Rui meant that the supplier of that batch of silver could be found.