Chapter 92: The Abnormal Tang Tang Sima

Shangmu County, City Defense Camp.

Watching the bustling gate, the coachman whispered softly, "My lord, look, this is the City Defense Camp."

As he spoke, he even reached out and pointed toward the gate of the City Defense Camp.

Tang Cheng'an sat in a carriage covered in dust, peering outward through the broken window.

People came and went before the camp gate; several plump sparrows pecked at scraps on the ground, emitting soft chirps. The scorching sunlight beat upon the earth, and the ground reflected a blinding white light.

The air was filled with the scent of dust and sweat.

He pricked up his ears to listen, faintly hearing the clash of metal and the shouted cadences of drill coming from within the camp.

Soldiers were training on the parade ground, their battle cries rising and falling in waves.

"Not bad; with such loud battle cries, there must be at least tens of thousands of men."

"Wang Zhe, you are finally going to fall into my hands," Tang Cheng'an secretly rejoiced, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly as he began to paint a picture in his mind of Wang Zhe's miserable defeat.

"Let's go; return immediately to the prefectural city. This official must report this matter to Prime Minister Tu as soon as possible."

Just as he prepared to leave, a booming voice shouted, "Who goes there? How dare you spy on the military camp!" Tang Cheng'an whipped his head around to see Li Goudan striding over, his face covered in a thick beard, his skin dark, and emitting a pungent stench of sweat.

Several soldiers held up long swords, their sharp tips reflecting a cold light.

Ever since the incident with Du Du Gaocen, Jiang Jiang Mingyu had decisively ordered that the patrols around the City Defense Camp be doubled.

Furthermore, with the campaign to suppress bandits scheduled to launch from the city in the coming days, the entire City Defense Camp was in a state of high alert.

Just moments ago, the few guards stationed at the gate had noticed that the appearance of Tang Cheng'an and his companion seemed somewhat abnormal.

Not only were they occasionally pointing and commenting at the main camp, but they were also tilting their ears as if listening intently to something.

This immediately caught the attention of the duty captain, Li Goudan, which led to the current scene.

Tang Cheng'an's eyes darted: "Honorable soldier, we are traveling merchants just passing through, taking a casual look; we mean no harm."

In his haste, he could only concoct such a clumsy excuse.

As the Master Zhuge of the prefecture, Tang Cheng'an knew very well that his identity absolutely could not be exposed.

Otherwise, Wang Zhe, who had always been at odds with him, would surely seize upon his minor fault of abandoning his post and use it to make a huge fuss, launching a Da Zuo Wen Zhang against him.

"Merchants?" Li Goudan sneered coldly. "You are truly amusing; ever since the Other Xi Xia invaded, Shangmu has not seen a single traveling merchant for several years."

"In my view, you are clearly spies who have sneaked into the city to gather military intelligence. Men, arrest them and hand them over to my lord for punishment."

Seeing that they were about to be bound with ropes, Tang Cheng'an's coachman hurriedly shouted, "How dare you! Do you know who we are?"

Li Goudan, whose temper was as rough and bulky as his physique, kicked out immediately: "I don't care who you are; seize them!"

Seeing that things were going badly, Tang Cheng'an quickly fished a silver ingot from his person and offered it up: "Honorable soldier, we truly are merchants."

Li Goudan extended his large, calloused hand to snatch it, his rough fingers rubbing repeatedly over the silver ingot as he carefully assessed its value.

The corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a satisfied smile, his mouth full of yellow teeth flashing with a disgusting luster in the sunlight: "So you really are merchants."

Tang Cheng'an quickly nodded: "The honorable soldier sees clearly; we are indeed merchants."

Unexpectedly, Li Goudan's eyes widened: "If you truly are merchants, what are you afraid of? Why give me silver? Isn't that proof you have something to hide?"

The cunning evident in Li Goudan's laughter sent a chill down Tang Cheng'an's spine.

He squinted his eyes, sizing Tang Cheng'an up and down: "Where is your cargo? How can merchants be empty-handed?"

"Looking at the thievish appearance of you two, it is obvious you are no good; bind them."

Tang Cheng'an's face turned pale; he sought an excuse to escape, but Li Goudan had already grabbed his collar, shouting loudly, "Bind him!" The soldiers' rough ropes instantly tightened around his neck, forcing a painful groan from him.

Li Goudan chuckled coldly: "Very well, take whatever words you have to our my lord. What are you standing there for? Take them away."

Shangmu County Yamen.

The temperature inside the hall was cool, and the green porcelain pots hanging on the walls emitted a faint medicinal fragrance.

Several rosewood tables and chairs were arranged neatly on the floor, their surfaces wiped until they shone brightly.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu sat upright in the grand master's chair at the center, dressed in a simple blue long robe, with a washed-out white belt tied around his waist. His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop, his nails trimmed perfectly neat.

Tang Cheng'an's brows were tightly locked, his lips pressed firm, his eyes revealing helplessness and panic.

He forcibly endured the humiliation of kneeling, standing stiffly in place, his hands anxiously twisting the hem of his clothes.

Li Goudan flew into a rage, his rough face twisting with anger.

He widened his eyes, his thick eyebrows knitting together into a knot, and shouted loudly, "Still not kneeling!" His booming voice echoed through the hall.

Seeing that the coachman was about to speak again, Tang Cheng'an quietly shot him a glance, signaling him not to say too much.

He forced a strained smile onto his face, gritted his teeth, and knelt down.

The way the two of them exchanged glances and made faces made Jiang Jiang Mingyu feel that there must be something strange going on.

Not daring to expose his identity, Tang Cheng'an bitterly twisted his mouth into a grimace before obediently kneeling before Jiang Jiang Mingyu.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu scanned him indifferently, the corners of his mouth turning slightly downward.

"Who are you people, and what are you doing here?"

His words were calm yet powerful, exuding an air of authority.

Tang Cheng'an quickly squeezed out a slight smile: "My lord, we are traveling merchants."

"Just now we merely paused for a moment before the military camp and were misunderstood by this honorable soldier."

"We truly bear no malicious intent; we beg my lord to investigate clearly."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled: "I wonder what business you merchants conduct, where you are coming from, and where you intend to go as you pass through Shangmu?"

On the way here, Tang Cheng'an had already prepared his story: "The two of us are cloth merchants; we intend to pass through Shangmu on our way to the prefectural city to purchase goods."

A very warm smile remained on Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face: "Traveling this road means, then, that you have come from the north?"

Seeing that Jiang Jiang Mingyu believed his words, Tang Cheng'an relaxed his guard, and he nodded repeatedly with a fawning smile, saying, "Exactly, exactly."

"Nonsense!" Jiang Jiang Mingyu's expression changed abruptly; he picked up the wooden gavel beside him, which whistled through the air before landing heavily on the table.

The tremendous noise stirred up echoes within the room, causing Tang Cheng'an to tremble all over, filled with endless regret in his heart.

He widened his eyes, shivered, and could no longer smile.

"Shangmu is the northernmost county of Great Feng, bordering the frontier; beyond it to the north lies the territory of the foreign Other Xi Xia."

"Do not tell this lord that you are from Other Xi Xia. Who are you? Confess the truth!"

The smile on Tang Cheng's face instantly froze; only then did he realize that Jiang Jiang Mingyu's earlier words had all been a trap.

Originally, as Zhu Ge Yu, the Regional Military Commissioner of Yasimo, he was quite familiar with the geography of Yasimo Regional Military Commissionerate; it was only in his panic that he spoke wrongly.

Seeing that the two still had no intention of speaking, Jiang Jiang Mingyu slammed the gavel: "If you do not confess the truth, do not blame this lord for subjecting you to severe punishment."

Just as he was preparing to inflict punishment, Tang Cheng's face changed violently.

At that moment, a clattering sound suddenly came from within the hall. Zhu Ge Yu walked out, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He yawned, his short hair was a mess, and his nightgown was wrinkled.

He asked groggily, "Master, what are you making all this clatter for? Won't you let anyone sleep..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Ge Yu suddenly froze: "Tang Tang Sima, why are you here?"

The moment his words landed, Tang Cheng felt the world spin.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's furrowed brows presaged the impending punishment, and Zhu Ge Yu's bewildered expression was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

He never dreamed he would run into this Zhu Ge Yu, who loved to pose as a talented scholar, in this place, of all places.

Even more surprised was naturally Jiang Jiang Mingyu in the hall: "Zhu Ge Yu, you say he is the Tang Sima of the prefecture?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu widened his eyes, his tone filled with obvious disbelief.

Zhu Ge Yu, still yawning, nodded: "Master, you don't know yet? This is Tang Cheng'an, the Tang Sima of Yasimo Regional Military Commissionerate." Zhu Ge Yu looked utterly indifferent, let out a huge yawn, and seemed to have grown accustomed to such farces.

Immediately, he sensed something was amiss: "Lord Tang, why are you kneeling before my master? Did you commit a crime?" Zhu Ge Yu shifted his tone, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Only then did Tang Cheng, with a dark face, rise to his feet: "Mr. Zhu Ge is joking. This lord was sent by the Inspector to inspect Shangmu." Tang Cheng's expression was grim; he forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and explained with difficulty.

"I thought that by coming incognito, I could see things more clearly, but I was caught by men recruited by Lord Jiang. It was all a misunderstanding." Tang Cheng, weaving lies, thought to himself, his face awkward and embarrassed.

"Since Jiang Jiang Mingyu has already discovered my whereabouts, I might as well go all the way down this path," Tang Cheng, weaving lies, thought to himself. A hint of helplessness and cunning appeared on his face.

It was just a pity that Jiang Jiang Mingyu did not even believe the punctuation marks in what he said. The corner of Jiang Jiang Mingyu's mouth curled up slightly, and his gaze at Tang Cheng was full of suspicion.

If it were truly so, Tang Cheng would not have been on the verge of severe punishment without revealing his true identity.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu sneered inwardly, having long seen through Tang Cheng's lies.

They say that when something unusual happens, there must be a demon, but where exactly this demon lies, Jiang Jiang Mingyu could not say for the moment. Jiang Jiang Mingyu frowned, his face full of doubt and confusion.

With no other choice, he had to step forward and help Tang Cheng to his feet: "Lord Zhu Ge, truly I apologize. This lord misunderstood." Jiang Jiang Mingyu's tone was stiff; he had no choice but to deal with it for now.

"It is just that this lord does not understand: although Lord Zhu Ge came incognito, why was he so low-key to this degree?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu pressed on, a glint of sharpness flashing in his eyes.

"Please, my lord, do not hesitate to offer your guidance; Jiang Mou is deeply grateful." Jiang Jiang Mingyu bowed deeply with hands clasped, his tone humble and polite.