Chapter 96: The Clash Between the Inspector and the Tang Sima

Zhu Ge Yu did not quite understand, scratching his messy head: "Tang Cheng'an, as the State City Tang Sima, is naturally a man of Inspector Wang Zhe; does this even need asking?"

"Master, are you too tired? How have you started speaking nonsense?"

"Tomorrow we must go to Black Wind Ridge; you should sleep early. I will also find a place to sleep."

Saying this, he lifted his buttocks, the chair dragging a grating sound on the ground, and was about to walk out.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu panicked; he sprang up from the chair urgently. Seeing Zhu Ge Yu's back already stepping over the threshold, he shouted loudly: "Wait, this official does not mean that!"

Zhu Ge Yu, who had already taken a step, tilted his head to look back at him, his eyes full of confusion, like a lost puppy.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu rushed to him in three steps as two, explaining anxiously: "This official means, does Tang Cheng'an have any backing in Jingcheng?"

"You have long been in the Regional Military Commissioner of Yasmo; you must know clearly. Speak quickly to this official."

Zhu Ge Yu suddenly understood, nodding: "So you meant this. Tang Cheng'an is a disciple of Prime Minister Rabbit; what of it?"

Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's vision went dark instantly, his face deathly pale as if he had been punched. He stared fixedly into Zhu Ge Yu's eyes and repeated word by word: "Is everything you said true?"

Zhu Ge Yu blinked his big eyes in confusion, hesitantly nodding: "Yes, who in the entire Regional Military Commissioner of Yasmo does not know this matter?"

"Master, with this expression of yours, what happened? Are you alright?" Zhu Ge Yu concernedly grabbed Jiang Jiang Mingyu's hand.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face looked extremely terrible, as if someone had stepped heavily on him several times; he suppressed his emotions and said: "The thing this official feared most has indeed happened."

Tang Cheng'an is Prime Minister Rabbit's man; he must have been ordered by Prime Minister Rabbit to secretly investigate this official's current situation in Shangmu.

Now, all movements on the Shangmu side are quietly watched by Tang Cheng'an; he will surely return to Jingcheng immediately to report in detail to Prime Minister Rabbit.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked confused, staring blankly at the bright moonlight in the night sky, thinking of countermeasures boundlessly. His tightly furrowed brows were like a dead knot, the wrinkles on his forehead deeply sunken, his lips pressed tight into a straight line.

Although he and Prime Minister Rabbit had no deep hatred, he and Prime Minister Crane had intricate connections; this was a well-known fact. Moreover, Prime Minister Rabbit had always had a close relationship with Prince Qi; if Prime Minister Rabbit learned of this official's recent actions of massively recruiting soldiers and horses in Shangmu, he would surely inform immediately, letting Prince Qi attack him.

At that time, countless open spears and hidden arrows would point directly at this official. When that time came, how should this official deal with this sudden peril? Waves of regret and self-blame overwhelmed Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart.

More critically, this official's great undertaking of bandit suppression had only just completed one-third. If he put down the butcher's knife here and hurried back to Shangmu to prepare against Prime Minister Rabbit, how could this official explain to the common people and the city defense soldiers?

Jiang Jiang Mingyu paced back and forth anxiously in the shanzhai, muttering to himself; his footsteps echoed in the empty shanzhai. His expression became more and more confused, and his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

What to do? What exactly should be done? Jiang Jiang Mingyu fell into a huge predicament and pain. The entire shanzhai quieted down accordingly; everyone held their breath, waiting silently for his decision.

Just as Jiang Jiang Mingyu was dividing his troops into four routes, preparing to attack Mount Sanqing, Tang Cheng'an's carriage also entered the State City.

Although Tang Cheng'an had traveled non-stop all night, a smile of excitement still remained on his delicate face: "Finally arrived!"

Every time he thought of soon fulfilling his wish to take down Wang Zhe, and also helping Prime Minister Rabbit completely overthrow Prime Minister Crane, he was so excited that he could not sleep at all last night. Yet, in those peach-blossom eyes full of smiles, a trace of ruthlessness and ferocity was also vaguely visible: "Besides Wang Zhe and Prime Minister Crane, that damn Jiang Jiang Mingyu must also perish."

"Daring to force this official to kneel to him is utterly detestable. Just wait, Jiang Jiang Mingyu; you will absolutely pay a terrible price for this."

After returning to his own residence, Tang Cheng'an ignored washing and eating, directly grabbing a brush to write down everything he had seen and heard in Shangmu. His handwriting was sloppy, the brush tip flew rapidly, the ink spreading on the rice paper, fully showing his inexplicable excitement.

After writing, he immediately summoned a trusted servant, lowering his voice to instruct: "Send this letter to Jingcheng immediately; it must be personally handed to Prime Minister Rabbit. This matter is of great importance; you must be careful and cautious; absolutely no mistakes!"

Just as the servant had not yet had time to take the letter into his hands, someone outside the door suddenly shouted loudly: "Inspector my lord has arrived!"

At this critical moment, how could Wang Zhe suddenly appear here! Tang Chengyu was suddenly startled; the secret letter in his hand dropped to the ground with a 'pata'.

He hurriedly bent down to pick it up, but just then, that letter was slowly picked up by a rough big hand one step before him.

And the owner of that hand was none other than Inspector Wang Zhe, striding into the door.

Wang Zhe squinted his eyes, seeing clearly the four prominent large characters "Personal Opening for Prime Minister Rabbit" written on the envelope; his pupils shook with shock, and he asked in a deep voice: "Tang Sima Tang, what is this thing?!"

Since learning that Tang Cheng'an had secretly gone to Shangmu, Wang Zhe in the Inspector's Residence had been restless, worried day and night.

He had always believed that Tang Cheng'an's purpose for this trip must have been ordered by Prime Minister Rabbit to investigate the scandal of him privately accepting one hundred thousand taels of silver from Jiang Jiang Mingyu. Once Tang Cheng'an brought the evidence back to give to Prime Minister Rabbit, his position as Inspector would not be saved.

So, the moment Wang Zhe saw this letter with his own eyes, his pupils suddenly contracted, his hands trembled slightly, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. The shock and fear in his heart swept over like a surging wave, making his face instantly deathly pale.

And Huang Huang Chaoran never dreamed that his plan to retaliate against Jiang Jiang Mingyu back then had inadvertently drawn Wang Zhe and Tang Cheng'an into it.

Tang Cheng'an, expressionless, scrutinized Wang Zhe up and down with an examining gaze, his tone cold: "Inspector my lord, what wind blew you here?"

His tone revealed strong annoyance and impatience, and his eyes also vaguely flashed with looks of contempt and disdain.

Wang Zhe gripped the letter in his hand tightly, staring at Tang Cheng'an's eyes, speaking word by word: "I heard you left the State City without authorization a few days ago and went to Shangmu for a tour; is this true?"

"A Tang Sima of a prefecture leaving his post without permission, abandoning his duty, is really somewhat unacceptable, is it not?"

Facing this old enemy, Tang Cheng'an had already risen strong hostility and vigilance in his heart. His heart tightened; did the spread of this matter happen so fast? Had Jiang Jiang Mingyu already told Wang Zhe about his trip to Shangmu? The matter of his appearance at the Shangmu County Yamen was seen by many people at the time; if it was truly Jiang Jiang Mingyu who reported him, then hiding it further would be completely meaningless.

So Tang Cheng'an tried his best to put on a humble and obedient smile, speaking dryly: "Inspector my lord's news is truly incredibly sharp."

"This subordinate, as a Tang Sima of a commandery, seeing that there was nothing in the State City requiring labor, thus moved the thought to go to Shangmu to investigate."

"This was also to share the burden for Inspector my lord, to help the lord with some official duties. I just left in haste and did not have time to report; please forgive me, my lord."

Wang Zhe also pretended to be humble and respectful, bowing and touching his chest, saying: "Lord Tang, fearing neither wind nor snow, diligently attending to official duties; we greatly admire this."

"In my view, Lord Tang's trip this time has been very fruitful."

He gripped the letter in his hand tightly, shaking it vigorously; his tone shifted, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes: "I wonder what important political matter Lord Tang discovered on this trip that requires personally reporting to Prime Minister Rabbit?"

Tang Cheng'an's heart tightened suddenly; he thought that under no circumstances could Wang Zhe know the contents of the letter. Otherwise, if time was delayed, this old fox might take the initiative to eliminate him before Prime Minister Rabbit replied.

He hurriedly put on a humble and obedient smile, his tone gentle: "Inspector my lord, you are joking. Lord Jiang is young and capable, governing Shangmu in an orderly manner; this subordinate greatly admires him."

"You also know, this subordinate is a disciple of Prime Minister Rabbit; this time it was just a normal greeting; the lord is really overthinking it."

Wang Zhe's mouth twitched; he pretended to be calm and said: "So it is. The deep affection between master and servant; I am very gratified. Since that is so, this official will also sign my name on this letter, just as a tribute to the elder Prime Minister Rabbit."

"Lord Tang, we are both high officials in the court; you should not refuse this good intention, should you?"

Wang Zhe thought secretly: No matter how smooth and cunning you are, today I must see the contents of the letter with my own eyes; I will absolutely not give you a chance to hide!

Seeing that Wang Zhe still would not give up, Tang Cheng'an's face became more and more terrible: "My lord, this..."

Wang Zhe immediately pretended to be displeased, saying: "Lord Tang, this is this official's sincere heart towards Prime Minister Rabbit. You delaying like this, what is your intention? If Prime Minister Crane learns of this matter, I fear he will not be happy either."

Seeing that he even brought out Prime Minister Crane to suppress him, Tang Cheng'an's face turned pale: "You..."

He suddenly wanted to slap himself twice; how had he become so confused, making up such a lame excuse?

But Wang Zhe gave him no chance to explain, directly letting out a cold sneer and roughly tearing open the envelope.

Unfolding the letter, Wang Zhe had only scanned two lines when the terror in his heart earlier instantly turned into raging fire.

His face was as gloomy as an old rag used for fifty years and never washed, his features twisted together like those of a wicked ghost.

Wang Zhe ground his teeth, wishing he could swallow Tang Cheng'an alive and peel him raw: "Very well, my lord Tang, this official truly underestimated you."

His hands trembled slightly, veins bulging; the fingers clutching the letter tightly turned white, and his eyes, full of murderous intent, stared fixedly at Tang Cheng'an as if to flay him a thousand times.