NABC Chapter 50: Bring him here!
Chapter 50: Bring him here!
Sun Shuo carefully said, "Normally, Commander Zhou rarely manages the affairs of the yamen himself, but today, for some reason, he was busy in the yamen hall all day with a stern face."
"I think he must have something important to tell you."
"If I just go back like this..."
Shen Lang interrupted, "Could this implicate Brother Sun?"
Sun Shuo was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Although Commander Zhou has a bit of a temper, he is a scholar after all and understands things, so he won't take his anger out on me."
Shen Lang said, "In that case, Brother Sun, just relay my words to Commander Zhou. There's no need to hide anything."
Sun Shuo's lips twitched, and he said tactfully, "Tell him exactly what he said... I'm afraid Commander Zhou won't be able to accept it, given his temperament."
Shen Lang smiled and said, "It's alright, he'll get used to it eventually."
"This..." Sun Shuo was speechless for a moment.
After a moment's thought, he tentatively offered another suggestion: "Brother Shen, wouldn't you like to reconsider?"
As he spoke, he took out the letter again: "Just a glance won't take much time."
"You dictate, and I'll write it down for you!"
Although the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) were relatively well-behaved under Lu Yu's command, wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue and factions, and such things are always unavoidable.
He doesn't have much of a background, but this Brother Shen is quite extraordinary. Moreover, he only targets Commander Zhou and treats him very kindly. Perhaps this is an opportunity to build a good relationship.
However, Shen Lang did not appreciate the gesture and waved his hand, saying, "Brother Sun, there's no need to say more. Not handling official business after my shift is my bottom line, and it cannot be crossed."
Seeing his firm stance, Sun Shuo could only shake his head helplessly and clasp his hands in a fist salute, saying:
"Since Brother Shen has made up his mind, then I will go back and report."
Shen Lang said, "Brother Sun, please take care. You are welcome to visit often in the future."
"Brother Shen, please don't bother seeing me off!"
Sun Shuo clasped his hands in a fist salute once more, mounted his horse, and rode away.
Shen Lang watched him leave, closed the courtyard gate, left a note for Erniu, then yawned and went back to his room to rest.
Fifteen minutes later, just as he fell into a deep sleep.
The small office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, specifically the Hundred-Household Office, was not entirely peaceful.
boom!
Dressed in a scholar's robe and with bulging muscles, Zhou Xiong kicked the new desk that had just been moved in yesterday, shattering it into pieces.
Looking at Zhou Baihu, whose hair stood on end, eyes bulged like copper bells, and face was flushed, Liu Baichuan, Qin Yue, Wei Linrong, and Sun Shuo, who had just returned from Shen Lang's house, all grimaced and secretly gasped.
Zhou Xiong roared, "You uncouth brat, you have no manners!"
"He returned my handwritten letter without even reading it!"
"How dare he act so recklessly? What is he trying to do?"
"Liu Baichuan!"
"Yes!" Liu Baichuan stood at attention, pounding his chest with his right hand.
Zhou Xiong, panting heavily, said, "You tell me!"
"Does he want to take these clothes off this old man and put them on himself?"
"Well......"
Liu Baichuan didn't dare to utter a sound.
Fortunately, Commander Zhou didn't necessarily need an answer from him, and continued angrily:
"I ordered him to serve at the Jing'an Prince's residence to protect the Princess and the County Princess, but he just slips away after his shift every day, completely ignoring my words!"
"Does he think that with the garrison commander protecting him, I wouldn't dare punish him?"
"This old man... cough cough!"
Overwhelmed with excitement, Zhou Xiong choked on his own saliva, coughing violently until his already flushed face turned purplish.
Seeing this, Liu Baichuan quickly offered him a cup of tea and advised, "Sir, please calm down and have some water to soothe your anger."
While Zhou Xiong was drinking tea, he added, "The Jing'an Prince's Mansion is surrounded by bandits, yet the Princess and the County Princess are still unharmed. I suppose Brother Shen must have played a part in that."
Mentioning it only made Zhou Xiong angrier: "Contribute your efforts?"
"He just dumped those two assassins on me and then ignored everything else. Is that what you call contributing?!"
"Perhaps Brother Shen has his own plans. When he returns to report on his duties, you can ask him about it in person."
Liu Baichuan gave an awkward smile and gave a vague reply.
He thought to himself, "Brother Shen is even going to hunt down the flower thief to protect the Jing'an Prince's Mansion. Doesn't that count as contributing?"
But he only dared to say these words to himself. If Commander Zhou knew that Shen Lang had dared to interfere in the case of the Northern Garrison Command without authorization...
That's probably more than just being angry.
He had to grab a knife and go fight Shen Lang to the death!
The Northern Garrison Command has always been domineering; no one can interfere with the cases they handle, otherwise it's a slap in their face!
If things go wrong, they might not bother with Shen Lang, a mere captain, but they certainly won't let Zhou Baihu off the hook!
Although Zhou Baihu knew nothing, he had already taken the blame.
"I heard this case is about to be closed. I hope Brother Shen can hold on for a few more days and not expose himself..."
Liu Baichuan quietly wiped his sweat and muttered a sentence to himself.
Actually, regarding Shen Lang's unauthorized investigation of the flower thief case, he was only worried that the matter would be exposed and cause a major disaster, and never thought that Shen Lang could really do anything.
After all, when it comes to investigating cases, the Northern Garrison Command is the most professional.
Dozens of them worked for more than half a month without any clues, and you, a captain, solved the case in just three days?
How is that possible? It doesn't make any sense at all.
"Liu Baichuan!"
"have!"
Liu Baichuan snapped out of his daze, stood at attention, and saluted.
Zhou Xiong instructed, "Tomorrow morning, take a few men to guard outside the Jing'an Prince's Mansion. When that rude brat shows his face, capture him immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Liu Baichuan winked at Qin Yue and the others.
The men understood and quickly replied, "Sir, we'll go with Brother Liu!"
"And me! I'll definitely bring that Shen Lang back to avenge you, sir!"
"Please calm down, sir, I will certainly take care of it!"
Zhou Xiong snorted coldly and left in a huff.
After he left, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief and huddled together to discuss the matter in hushed tones.
Sun Shuo asked hesitantly, "Brother Liu, what did you mean by that just now?"
Only after hearing Zhou Baihu's words did he realize that Shen Lang's backer was actually the garrison commander of the Northern Garrison, Lord Zhang Xian!
No wonder he's so arrogant and domineering; with the garrison commander standing behind him, very few people can touch him.
This was because he had offended Zhou Baihu, who was short-tempered and didn't want a promotion. If it were anyone else, they probably would have tolerated it long ago.
Shen Lang is such a powerful figure, he really doesn't want to provoke him.
Liu Baichuan laughed and said, "What are you arresting? Brother Shen is one of us."
"Commander Zhou is in a fit of rage right now. If we really bring Brother Shen back, how can he possibly get away with it?"
"That's good." Sun Shuo breathed a sigh of relief.
Qin Yue said, "I've heard that Brother Shen is living a very carefree life at the Prince's mansion. Tomorrow, let's all go and catch up with him!"
"Thanks to him, let's also try what the tea in the Prince's Mansion tastes like."
Wei Linrong chimed in, "Princess Jing'an loves grand displays. She only drinks pre-rain Longjing tea picked within seven days of the harvest. Such fine things are not something ordinary people can taste!"
Liu Baichuan chuckled and said, "You don't know, Brother Shen's treatment at the Jing'an Prince's Mansion is simply unbelievable. With him around, forget about Longjing tea, even dragon liver and phoenix marrow are no problem!"