Chapter 235
At this moment, Jin Ming was not as calm as he appeared. His cooperation with the Nanyue people had always gone smoothly, and he never expected that the addition of Imperial Rice to the meat dishes would be noticed by Director Cao.
It should be known that because the cultivation of Imperial Rice was banned in Great Yan, very few people had ever tasted it.
If he had known earlier that Director Cao was familiar with this substance, he would have finished him off long ago to prevent any future troubles!
Standing next to Jin Ming, Cao Cang suddenly shivered. He couldn't help but pull his cloak tighter, muttering in his heart about why the wind still felt so chilly even though spring had already arrived.
He was completely unaware that Jin Ming, with whom he often drank on ordinary days, was already plotting to take his life.
[Master, the original owner behind the Zuilai Tavern was indeed Jin Ming. This property was handed down from his ancestors. It didn't go by this name before, and it only consisted of the front tavern.
Later, when he started cooperating with the Nanyue people, he changed the name to Zuilai Tavern, and the courtyard in the back was bought at that time as well.]
'So the Nanyue people use this place as a stronghold. Does he know everything about Qi Ming and the assassins?'
[He knows about the assassins. In fact, he was the one who used his official position to inquire about your itinerary.
As one of the owners, he has his own people planted in the Zuilai Tavern, so he naturally knew when a big shot from Nanyue arrived.
He has also met Qi Ming, but he doesn't know the true purpose of Qi Ming's trip to Great Yan.
As a Great Yan citizen, even though he betrayed his country for glory and wealth, the Nanyue people still keep their guard up against him.
Ultimately, this man was only looking for wealth at first. Later, when he realized he had boarded the Nanyue people's pirate ship and couldn't get off, he had no choice but to go down that dark path to the very end.]
Despicable! Xie Zhiyan felt a surge of anger in his heart. This bastard Jin Ming was receiving a salary from Great Yan and holding an official position in Great Yan, yet he was helping Nanyue harm his own country!
This kind of traitor who bites the hand that feeds him is even more detestable than Nanyue's spies and assassins. What those people did could only be said to be serving their own masters; they belonged to different countries and had different interests.
There was no such thing as who was more righteous.
But Jin Ming was not among them. He deserved to die!
"Qi Xiang, take Jin Ming down for me!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Before Jin Ming could even take out the dagger hidden on his body, he was captured by Qi Xiang, an officer of one of the Crown Prince's Six Guards.
He could only beg for mercy repeatedly, "Your Highness, I am innocent! I am innocent!"
The Crown Prince sneered, "Innocent? As the Director of the Eastern Market, how could you not know that Imperial Rice was added to the meat dishes at the Zuilai Tavern?"
He then turned to Wei Ping and said, "Lord Wei, interrogate him thoroughly. Even if he doesn't know everything, he is still guilty of dereliction of duty!"
[Master, hasn't the silly Crown Prince gotten a bit smarter? Although he hasn't figured out Jin Ming's true background, now that the man is captured, there's no fear that he won't spill everything he knows.]
Xie Zhiyan: Should I say thank you for the praise from Lord Divine Artifact?
Just then, the search party began to report back one after another. They had found several suspicious individuals and confiscated dozens of pounds of Imperial Rice.
Furthermore, they discovered a secret passage and a hidden room in the premium guest room labeled Jia.
Hearing about the secret passage, Jin Ming immediately widened his eyes. He knew about the hidden room, but when was the secret passage dug? Manager He had never mentioned this to him.
He An, who was already pressed against the ground with a face full of dirt, closed his eyes. Jin Ming was a Great Yan citizen; how could they possibly reveal their escape route to an outsider?
"Bring the guest registry here!"
At Xie Zhiyan's command, someone immediately handed over the guest registry. Wei Ping also leaned in to check it together. He only took one glance before saying to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, the number of people is wrong. Three are missing."
"Does Lord Wei know which three are missing?"
Wei Ping spread out the list of people they had just recorded and verified it before replying, "Your Highness, Qi Ming and his two servants are missing."
[Master, it turns out Qi Ming really hasn't left Shangjing yet. This man is quite bold, even checking in under his real name.]
'As long as he doesn't expose the true purpose of his trip, even if he checks in with his real name, no one will suspect anything.'
Prior to this, to the ruler and ministers of Great Yan, he truly wasn't considered any sort of big shot.
Yue Fuguang was afraid the targets would escape and didn't want these people to dawdle any longer, so she asked, "Lord Wei, were these three staying in the premium room with the secret passage?"
Wei Ping glanced at the check-in information and confirmed, "Indeed, they were staying in that room."
"Then since they knew about that secret passage, they must be inextricably linked to the Zuilai Tavern. They might even be big fish."
The others nodded, fully agreeing with the Junior Preceptor's speculation.
Just as the group was about to follow the secret passage to chase the suspects, Shen Kang walked in with a smug and complacent look on his face. Seeing the Crown Prince and Yue Fuguang,
he immediately bowed and said, "Shen Kang greets His Highness the Crown Prince, Lord Junior Preceptor, and the other lords."
The Crown Prince looked at his cousin and smiled. "Judging by your expression, Cousin Kang, did you reap some harvest outside?"
Shen Kang smiled and replied, "Just as Your Highness expected, we caught three people running out of a tunnel in an abandoned courtyard by the roadside, two intersections away from here.
Guessing that they might be connected to the Zuilai Tavern, we brought them to Your Highness."
[Master, the skinny man standing at the very back, dressed as a servant, is Qi Ming, the orchestrator of the plague in Great Yan.]
'This person is indeed a bit smart, but unfortunately, not quite enough. I believe Wei Ping and Cai Xian will be able to tell that there's something wrong with him.'
Since the mission was complete, there was no need for her to worry about what followed. Thus, Yue Fuguang bowed out after a successful job, leading her guards straight to the Fuman Restaurant across the street.
Having eaten a stomach full of vegetarian food earlier, she was hungry again. Since she was already here, she decided to have another meal.
Once everyone sat down, Yue Fuguang asked, "Zhang Fang, do you guys really not need to go back and treat your injuries first?"
She saw that the few of them had merely sprinkled some medicinal powder on their wounds and casually bandaged them with cloth strips. It was extremely sloppy.
They didn't even furrow their brows, acting as if the injuries weren't on their own bodies.
Zhang Fang replied, "Please set your mind at ease, My Lord. We are fine."
He smiled and moved his injured left arm, saying, "This little injury won't even delay our daily training."
Xu Xiaoman also smiled and chimed in, "My Lord, let alone these grown men, even for me, this minor injury won't affect my daily work."
[Master, for martial artists, this minor injury is no big deal, but wound inflammation and festering are the true culprits that endanger their lives.]
'You mean bacterial infection?'
[Yes, exactly that. These mortals still don't know that the reason for the flesh rotting at the wound is the lack of proper disinfection.
This leads to bacterial infection, festering flesh, and high fever with convulsions. On the battlefield, many people are not directly killed by the enemy.
Instead, they die from the backward medical treatment afterward.]
'Speaking of disinfection, it reminds me of our white liquor. If distilled a few more times, wouldn't it also have this effect?
But wouldn't wiping a wound with that stuff hurt like hell?'
[A moment of pain is better than losing one's life!]
Zhang Fang and the others secretly nodded. Compared to their lives, no matter how much it hurt, they had to endure it.
As for the white liquor the Junior Preceptor mentioned, it should be the Pear Blossom White bestowed upon them. That stuff could disinfect wounds?
Maybe they should try it when they get back? Although the Junior Preceptor said it needed to be distilled a few times and they didn't know how to do that, using it undistilled shouldn't cause any problems either.
[Are you going to remind the Crown Prince and the others about alcohol being able to disinfect wounds, Master?]