Jian Zengren thought it was ridiculous, so he didn't comment.
He pondered for a moment,
"Nightingale, you don't have to protect me anymore."
"Oh?" Nightingale was slightly surprised. "You should know that the time we agreed on has not arrived yet, so I will not refund or make up for the money you gave me."
"Of course I know. In fact, when the Qi family was exterminated, you wanted to leave, right?"
"Ah……"
Nightingale remained silent.
"..."
"..."
"..."
An eerie silence.
After a long while, Nightingale said, "You want to hire me for something else, right?"
Chapter 233 Take it!
The Yingsang pirates were completely wiped out.
No official of any status in Bozhou Prefecture would have thought that the wimpy Seventh Prince, after showing some toughness for once, would actually be so generous.
He was also very proud of himself. Before entering Bozhou, he got off the carriage and rode into the city on horseback.
The flag guards were still leading the way, with the black and yellow dragon flag fluttering in the wind.
Then came the Seventh Prince,
Li Qingcha, Ao Jingshan, and Xiang Nanyu followed closely.
Behind them was the carriage of Mu Shi and Luo Weiyang.
With these people as the core, the soldiers of the Beijing Camp and the Young Phoenix Camp arranged their marching formations in an orderly manner, supporting each other and forming a protective posture.
The troops slowly entered Bozhou Prefecture.
The crowd was in an uproar. Under the leadership of the officials, gong and drum teams and lion dance teams began to perform, and there were also dense sounds of firecrackers.
The Seventh Prince shouted, "Stop!"
The troops immediately stopped marching.
Rui Yuankai came forward to greet him.
"Rui Yuankai, the co-governor of Bozhou Prefecture, greets Your Highness."
The Seventh Prince couldn't help but frown.
He let go of the reins and raised his hand.
The people beating gongs, beating drums, dancing lions, and setting off firecrackers all fell silent.
Officials in Bozhou Prefecture also became uneasy.
The Seventh Prince looked around sharply.
The people from Bozhou Guard and the government office had deployed many people nearby, both openly and covertly, to prevent any unexpected events. This was indeed a good arrangement.
but,
"Where is the prefect of Bozhou?"
Rui Yuankai swallowed his saliva.
"Well... the governor is sick today and is staying at home to rest."
The other officials in Bozhou Prefecture were cursing Jian Zengren in their hearts.
This bastard failed at the critical moment. If the Seventh Prince holds a grudge against him and makes things difficult for him in front of the Emperor when he returns to the capital, officials like them will never get promoted in their lifetime.
Bozhou is a place with a developed economy, but the climate is terrible, with many swamps and jungles where no birds can live.
As the saying goes, "Living in a place changes your spirit, and living in a place changes your body." They don't want to spend their retirement in such a hellish place.
The Seventh Prince glanced at the officials and snorted coldly.
"I'm afraid you don't dare to come to see me?"
Rui Yuankai was shocked.
"Your Highness, Lord Jian has always been loyal to the country. Since he came to Bozhou, he has been loyal to the country for more than ten years and has never slacked off. Today is just... just..."
"Just what?"
"..."
"Huh! Loyal to the country? Never slacked off?"
Snapped--
The seventh prince lashed the ground hard with his whip.
Ao Jingshan shouted, "Step out!"
The soldiers behind pushed out dozens of prisoners, and they all knelt in front of the officials of Bozhou Prefecture.
One soldier spat and whispered, "If you weren't Han Chinese, I would have chopped you off long ago!"
None of the prisoners dared to say a word.
The Seventh Prince said to Rui Yuankai, "I just arrived in Bozhou and haven't done anything yet, but I encountered pirates landing. The most annoying thing is that the guards dare not even fight, and I have to go out in person."
Rui Yuankai's throat was extremely dry.
"Gu..."
He swallowed,
"Your Highness is indeed a man of both civil and military achievements. You have achieved such great results since arriving in Bozhou. No wonder the Emperor asked you to come here to thoroughly investigate the pirates and bandits."
As a result, the Seventh Prince ignored the flattery.
He raised his whip again.
The soldiers of the Beijing camp pushed out two more people.
The Seventh Prince said: "You people in Bozhou are really bold. There are even some gentry who dare to instigate the people to attack the camp where I am temporarily staying. You will die without knowing how you died!"
This accusation is serious, almost tantamount to rebellion.
The officials of Bozhou Prefecture exchanged glances.
thump--
They knelt down collectively.
"Your subordinate, you deserve to die!"
The Seventh Prince waved his hand.
"You don't have to die a thousand times. Just dying once is enough."
"Well……"
"What are you still standing there for? Why don't you quickly have the bailiffs arrest the criminal and then thoroughly investigate who ordered this?"
"Ah, yes, yes."
Rui Yuankai finally reacted and winked at Sun Wei.
Sun Wei immediately led a group of yamen runners forward and took away the two young men who had been abandoned by their families.
Li Qingcha let out a long sigh.
These wealthy families and gentry in Bozhou were bound together with Jian Zengren because of their own interests, and they were not united.
Now, with a knife at their necks, they will surely confess like dominoes. As long as we follow the clues, we will definitely find Jian Zengren in the end.
The big orange has been decided.
Rui Yuankai saw that the Seventh Prince was not going to say anything, so he immediately changed the subject.
"You have been exhausted from the journey. We have already prepared a banquet in Tingyu Tower to welcome Your Highness. Please change into the official sedan chair and follow us."
The Seventh Prince turned around and glanced at Li Qingcha.
Li Qingcha shook his head slightly.
tsk...
The Seventh Prince was shocked.
He said to Rui Yuankai: "It is indeed tiring to travel by boat, but I would like to return to the capital to rest earlier, so let's not waste time and go directly to the government office."
Rui Yuankai was stunned for a while.
"Your Highness, this Tingyu Tower is very close to the headquarters..."
"I don't want to say it a second time."
"..."
The atmosphere became a little tense.
The Seventh Prince smiled.
"Well, you don't have to be too nervous. I have official business to attend to and I have no choice but to do this."
After a beating, a sweet date is given.
Rui Yuankai's heart, which had been hanging in his throat, fell back to his chest.
He said, "What are you going to do at the government office?"
"I am here on patrol under the order of the emperor. I have two tasks: first, to deal with all matters concerning pirates and bandits in Bozhou; second, to thoroughly investigate the tragic case of the Qi family. For either case, I must go to Bozhou Prefecture to review the files."
"That's what His Highness said."
"In that case, you lead the way."
Rui Yuankai ordered someone to deliver the gifts of the Seventh Prince and others to the headquarters, while he and other officials accompanied the Seventh Prince and went straight to the government office.
As soon as he arrived at the government gate, Li Qingcha noticed Gong Lianxue.
She was stunned and walked over quickly.
"Why are you here?"
Gong Lianxue winked playfully.
"Aren't you worried that Jian Zengren might escape, so you asked me to keep an eye on the movements of the Jian Mansion?"
"Yeah, then you... um..."
Li Qingcha suddenly looked towards the government office.
She looked surprised.
Is Jian Zengren in the government office?
Didn’t he call in sick today?
Gong Lianxue whispered, "Brother, Jian Zengren is really interesting. He sent people to monitor the inn where we stayed until midnight yesterday, but he didn't know that I was also keeping an eye on them."
Li Qingcha blinked.
"The best hunter always appears as prey~"
"That's very well said. How's it going over there?"
"We quelled a riot and won a battle."
He spoke lightly, as if he was just talking about something that was a matter of course.
Girl: "(ˉ▽￣~) Cut~~"
Senior brother started pretending again.
The two were chatting when they heard the sound of drums being beaten not far away.
