Chapter 224 The thief is caught, and incriminating evidence is obtained...

Chapter 224 The thief is caught, and incriminating evidence is obtained...

The road from Heqing County to Wen County was completed two years ago, and it is regularly maintained by laborers every ten days. The road is wide and flat, which speeds up the travel of horse-drawn carriages. The original four-day journey has been shortened to two and a half days.

However, to accommodate the speed of the constables and the escort team, the carriage had to slow down, allowing the six people following behind to catch up with the convoy ahead.

As night fell, the carriage stopped next to a shack. Every ten or twenty miles along the roadside, there was a shack, which was usually a resting place for laborers who maintained the road. Occasionally, passing merchants and villagers would also stay there. The shacks had stoves and firewood, so people could cook.

The carriage stopped here, and the cooks from the caravan went into the shack to cook, while the rest gathered firewood outside to build a fire to keep warm during the night.

Meng Qing and the other three got off the carriage and stood by the fire to warm themselves and talk.

"Lord Du, will you be sleeping in the carriage or in the shack tonight?" the head镖师 asked as he approached.

“Sleep in the carriage,” Du Min said. “Leave a few men outside to watch the fire, and the rest of you can go into the shacks to sleep.”

"Let the constables go to the shacks to sleep, and we, the镖队 (bodyguard team), will keep watch at night," the镖头 (bodyguard leader) said.

“Each of you should leave half outside to keep watch at night.” Du Min was suspicious; he didn’t quite trust the bodyguards in the escort team, fearing that some of them might have been bribed by the Zheng, Xu, or even Lu families. His public mockery of Prime Minister Zheng was a slap in the face to the Zheng family. Prime Minister Zheng was magnanimous enough not to do such a despicable thing, but there was no guarantee that other members of the Zheng family in Xingyang wouldn’t be resentful and would try to curry favor with Prime Minister Zheng by killing him. There were also the descendants and relatives of Prime Ministers Xu and Lu; they might see that he had fallen out with Prime Minister Zheng and was now at odds with other powerful families, and they might take advantage of the chaos to beat him up and then frame the Zheng family.

"As you wish," the bodyguard replied.

After heating up the meat soup and flatbread they brought from the post station, Du Min, Meng Chun, Meng Qing, and Du Li ate their fill, and then the four of them split up and went back to their carriages to sleep.

As night deepened, the snoring in the shack was deafening, and the dozen or so people on night watch were also getting sleepy.

"Hey guys, who's going to pee?" a constable asked.

“No, there’s no more urine there, it’s all dried up,” another constable said.

"Go by yourself, but stay far away so you don't offend the important person with your smell," one of the bodyguards said.

The yamen runner left.

The footsteps disappeared for a short while before returning, but the figure did not approach the fire; instead, it walked towards a horse pulling a cart.

The black horse suddenly neighed and galloped off aimlessly.

"Master Du!"

"Quick, something's happened! Chase after the carriage!"

"Go and see the Lady of the County's carriage."

The head镖师 smelled blood and shouted, "A thief has infiltrated! Grab your knives and catch the thief!"

Meng Qing and Du Li woke up when the horses neighed. Du Li heard the commotion outside, grabbed Meng Qing, pushed open the car door, and jumped out of the car.

"What happened? Where is Du Min? Where is Meng Chun?" Du Li grabbed the bodyguard guarding the carriage and asked.

"The horse got spooked and dragged the carriage away," the bodyguard replied nervously. "The head镖师 (bodyguard) and the yamen runners have already given chase. Sir, Madam, please don't wander off. The thief is definitely still nearby."

Meng Qing gripped Du Li's hand tightly, nervously looking around. There really were thieves attacking Du Min! They had brought so many people, yet they still couldn't stop them.

"Take out all the blankets and clothes from the carriage and burn them. Make the fire bigger." Meng Qing forced herself to calm down and said to the guards, "Take a look around and see if there are any unfamiliar faces mixed in. Also, use the firelight to look around and see where the thieves are hiding."

Du Li climbed into the carriage and dragged all the bedding and clothes out of the carriage and threw them into the fire.

The flames of the two bonfires suddenly surged, becoming clearly visible within a mile radius. One of the bodyguards spotted a fleeing figure behind him. Without a word, he cut the reins of the horse, leaped onto his mount, and spurred his horse to give chase.

“Madam, the rest are all our own people,” one of the bodyguards replied.

Meng Qing ordered him to cut the reins of the other horse as well. She and Du Li mounted the horse and, with the remaining five bodyguards dragging their burning fox fur and mink cloaks, chased after the direction from which the shouts came.

A mile away, the bodyguards and several bandits were already fighting. As the firelight approached, the bandits revealed their true forms and instinctively tried to flee.

"Those are the ones who stopped the men!" the head镖师 roared.

The bodyguards, having distinguished friend from foe, no longer hesitated and, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, had trampled the five thieves underfoot.

Some people were left to guard the carriage, while the rest went to chase after it.

"We've found the lord! He's alright!" came a voice announcing good news from ahead.

Meng Qing and Du Li also arrived. The carriage overturned into the hemp field beside the road. Du Min and Meng Chun stood on the road, the horse lying sideways on the roadbed and the field ridge. The air was thick with the smell of blood.

Du Li and Meng Qing jumped off their horses one after the other and quickly stepped forward.

"Third brother, are you injured?" Du Li asked.

"Little brother, how are you? Are you hurt?" Meng Qing asked.

"I bumped into something a few times, but my bones are fine. I just got a little blood on my head, it's a minor injury, nothing serious," Du Min said with experience. "Second sister-in-law, second brother, are you two alright?"

"I'm fine." Meng Chun used the darkness to conceal his immobile left arm; at this moment, this injury was a minor matter.

"No, the thief was targeting you," Meng Qing replied. "How did you hurt your head again? I'll go to the temple and donate some money to pray for your head; it can't get hurt again."

"You should just donate the money to me." Du Min reluctantly took off his handkerchief and asked, "Have the thieves been caught?"

"We've caught them." The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) rushed over and stepped forward to apologize: "Lord Du, it's our incompetence. With so many people guarding the area, we still managed to let the thieves slip through. We won't charge you for this shipment."

Du Min was quite annoyed, but now was not the time to settle scores. He would still need to rely on the escort team and yamen runners for the next two days.

"Let's not talk about that now, take me to see the thief."

The group turned back, and Du Min learned the whole story on the way. He realized that the departure of the urinating constable had made the others lower their guard.

When they arrived at the place where the thieves were being held captive, the bodyguards who had been chasing after them on horseback also arrived with the thieves.

"Sir, there were six of them in total, and they've all been captured," one of the bodyguards said.

"Who sent you?" Du Min asked.

“Xu Yanbo,” one of the thieves replied.

Du Min snatched the knife from the镖头's hand and slit the man's throat with one stroke. "Laughable fools, what servant dares to call his master by his name so casually? Speak! Who exactly is your master? Think it over carefully, or you'll be next to lose your lives."

"We are servants from Prime Minister Xu's residence. It's all because of you that our old master was forced to resign and ultimately died with regret. You even had the nerve to come and pay your respects, and what's worse, you caused trouble outside the residence on the day of the memorial service. The young master sent us to kill you so you could be buried with our old master." The last thief who had been captured glared fiercely at Du Min, his neck stiff. "You cowardly official, so what if you brought so many men? We still managed to get you. It's a pity we couldn't kill you."

"Finished talking?" Du Min raised his bloodstained knife and swung it down. By the firelight, he saw the man trembling with fear, yet refusing to confess or beg for mercy. The other thieves also wore expressions of resolute determination, as if they were about to be sacrificed. He paused, leaving only a thin line of blood on the man's neck.

"Wake up, you're not dead yet." Du Min stopped killing. He had tried again and again, and now he was exhausted. He wanted to see if the people who had almost died would still dare to beg for death. "Xu Yanbo, right? We'll turn back to Luoyang now. I'll hand you over to him so he can recognize you."

The expressions of the thieves changed.

"Keep a close eye on them, don't let them die," Du Min ordered. "Prime Minister Xu's funeral is not over yet, and the two emperors are still in deep mourning. I want to see who has the audacity to frame him for this case. I can't be buried with Prime Minister Xu, let's find someone else."

The five surviving thieves visibly panicked; two of them tried to bite their tongues, but the bodyguard dislocated their jaws.

"Prepare the carriage; we'll set off for Luoyang now," Du Min instructed.

The bodyguards and yamen runners all sprang into action.

Du Min gave Meng Qing a wink.

Meng Qing thought for a moment and said, "We have all the witnesses in our hands, so there's no need to rush. Let's go back to Hanoi County first, and then report the case to the Ministry of Justice and let them investigate."

"No, I'm going to cause a scene before Prime Minister Xu's funeral is over. If they really are people sent by the Xu family, I'll gladly disrupt the funeral. If not, their mastermind will be in deep trouble."

“Oh… eh… I… I’ll say it.” The thief, whose jaw had been dislocated, mumbled incoherently, “Yes… Zheng…”

Du Min reached out and pulled the straw out of the other thief's mouth. "You speak."

“It’s Minister Zheng. Our master is Minister Zheng. He sent us to teach you a lesson, not to kill you,” the thief explained. “Lord Du, I’m not lying. Minister Zheng thinks that your insults against Prime Minister Zheng are a slap in the face to the Zheng family, and he wants to teach you a lesson.”

"Minister Zheng? Who is that?" Meng Qing asked.

“Zheng Chang, the one who was the governor of Luozhou before last year,” Du Min replied. He was the one who once wanted to marry his illegitimate daughter to him, but then complained that his parents and relatives were not respectable enough. He was much more arrogant than Prime Minister Zheng.

"Are we going back to Luoyang?" Du Li asked.

"Let me think about it." Du Min couldn't make up his mind for a moment. Should he use this matter to get Zheng Chang demoted, or should he use this as leverage to blackmail Prime Minister Zheng?

"Let's go back to Hanoi County first," Meng Qing suggested. Using this as leverage to get Zheng Chang demoted would completely sever their cooperation with Prime Minister Zheng, turning them into enemies in the future. It would be better to wait for an opportunity and use this leverage to its fullest potential later.

"Let's go back." Du Min also made his choice. He still wanted to reconcile with Prime Minister Zheng in the future, but the premise of reconciliation was that he could not be an enemy of the Zheng family of Xingyang.

“For the sake of Prime Minister Zheng, I will spare Zheng Chang. You don’t need to commit suicide; wait for your master to redeem you with benefits,” Du Min said.

The five thieves visibly relaxed.

"Sir, your carriage has crashed and the horse is injured. Only the Lady of the County's carriage is still in good condition," a constable reported. "Our brother was knocked unconscious, but we have found him. He has come to apologize to you."

Du Min waved his hand.

“My carriage is spacious enough to hold four people, so let’s all ride in it,” Meng Qing said. “There’s probably only a little over an hour left until dawn, so let’s not sleep and set off.”

Du Min nodded and said to the yamen runner, "We're not going to Luoyang anymore. Let's continue towards Huaizhou."

Although the yamen runners didn't understand, they didn't dare to ask any more questions and quickly followed suit.

After an incense stick's time, the escort team and yamen runners, along with five thieves, a wounded horse, and a damaged carriage carrying corpses, escorted Du Min and his companions on their journey again.

"Brother Meng, thank you." Inside the carriage, Du Min thanked Meng Chun. After the horse was startled, it pulled the carriage at high speed on the road and through the hemp fields. He and Meng Chun were tossed up and down like sandbags inside the carriage. At the last moment, Meng Chun shielded him with his body, preventing him from being thrown out of the carriage.

Supporting his immobile left arm, Meng Chun joked, "You owe me a favor. Don't change how you address me from now on; we're closer now, Brother Meng."

“Okay,” Du Min replied.

Meng Qing glared at Meng Chun a few times. Her brother had gotten his own ideas now and wasn't behaving himself anymore.

Meng Chun smiled at her, "Sister, don't worry, it's just a broken arm, it'll be fine after some rest."

*

As dawn broke, the light brought a sense of peace. The convoy stopped, rested for half an hour, ate breakfast, and then continued on its journey.

They walked from dawn to dusk, then from dusk to dawn, and when dawn broke again, the convoy arrived in Wen County.

Once on his own turf, Du Min relaxed.

"Lord Du? What's going on here..." Lu Bu and his entourage, who were still staying at the Wenxian inn, came looking for them after hearing the commotion.

"We'll talk about it this afternoon. We need to rest for half a day." Du Min dismissed the man and then instructed the courier, "Go and fetch a doctor. My brother Meng's arm is broken and he can't move it."

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Author's Note: Please post any bug fixes in the comments section, not in paragraph comments, to avoid affecting other readers' reading experience.