Chapter 1188: A Beginning with a Bang, an Ending with a Whimper
Gao Yiyi: "Speak. Who sent you? What exactly were you trying to steal?"
Mi Qianhu: "Hmph! You underestimate me. I am a Jinyiwei thousand-household commander. How could I be a petty thief?"
At these words, everyone paused, a flicker of surprise crossing their faces. "A Jinyiwei thousand-household commander?"
Mi Qianhu pointed a finger at Zhu Yujian, bellowing indignantly, "You, man in the bamboo hat! You kidnapped the imperial fugitive Zhu Yujian from Henan. Where have you taken him? Hand him over at once, and perhaps your life will be spared. If you continue to conceal this traitor, this renegade guilty of high treason, His Majesty will ensure you die without a whole corpse, and your entire clan will be eradicated."
He was clearly a captive, having just been tortured relentlessly, yet the moment he caught his breath, he became defiant once more, his tone remarkably audacious.
Startled by the outburst, Zhu Yujian blinked. "Huh? What?"
After a moment of bewilderment, it dawned on Zhu Yujian. Of course! My current disguise is identical to what I wore when Zhu Cunji rescued me. So, these Jinyiwei mistook me for Zhu Cunji, believing I had kidnapped myself, and have been tracking me ever since.
Zhu Yujian sighed heavily, turning to Gao Yiyi, Qi Cheng, and Bin Sheng. "I apologize, the three of you. I've brought you trouble. These men were actually after me."
The instant he spoke, Mi Qianhu and his men heard his voice and were immediately taken aback. "A Henan accent?"
They were seasoned investigators; their confusion lasted only a moment before they reacted. "You... you are Zhu Yujian!"
"The man in the bamboo hat rescued you, then disguised you as another man in a bamboo hat."
"You... you're plotting a rebellion."
The Jinyiwei, who had stubbornly kept their mouths shut, now spoke in unison.
Zhu Yujian quickly waved his hands. "No, I'm not. I didn't."
Mi Qianhu: "You *are* plotting a rebellion! You, Zhu Yujian, have long harbored malicious intent, setting up such a massive factory in Shaanxi to produce weapons for your rebellion. His Majesty was not wrong to strip you of your title and reduce you to commoner status; you truly are an arch-rebel!"
Zhu Yujian: "I'm not. I really am not."
Mi Qianhu: "Confound it! It's hateful that I've been reduced to a captive, otherwise I would surely fight you, traitor, to the death!"
At this point, Mi Qianhu knew he wouldn't survive. Having exposed Zhu Yujian's alleged treason, he would inevitably be silenced; there was no chance of survival. He could only rail on with indignation: "We may not be able to send news back to the capital, but there are more Jinyiwei than just us! Other Jinyiwei will surely track you down! Someone will certainly expose your wicked rebellion! I will wait for you in the underworld, to see you beheaded like a dog by His Majesty!"
He continued to curse with gusto.
Meanwhile, Gao Yiyi, Qi Cheng, and Bin Sheng were somewhat dumbfounded. "So, after all that, they weren't trying to steal our information. It turns out the Jinyiwei were chasing an escaped prince. What now?"
Qi Cheng: "If that fool had just said something earlier, he wouldn't have been soaked in essential balm!"
Bin Sheng: "It was nothing important, but it turned into such a massive mix-up. I thought he was one of the Wuzhen Chaoha, but he's just Jinyiwei. Sigh."
Gao Yiyi mused, "What should we do? Is apprehending a prince within the Heavenly Lord's liberated zone considered a crime? Do these Jinyiwei need to undergo labor reform?"
They were all utterly baffled!
They weren't even sure if the Heavenly Lord would be angry or amused by this incident.
The three of them looked up, gazing blankly at the sky.
At that moment, Li Daoxuan was indeed quite amused.
He had a good laugh!
Once his laughter subsided, it was time to deal with these Jinyiwei.
Strictly speaking, they hadn't committed any major crimes. They hadn't stolen, robbed, murdered, or committed arson, nor had they engaged in any fraudulent activities. They had simply, in their official capacity, stormed into the Chang'an Automobile Factory and caused a commotion.
Everything that transpired could be called a blunder.
Li Daoxuan found it difficult to punish them with death or severe injury. Even sending them to labor reform felt excessive. Labor reform for several years? Clearly too harsh! For a few days? Would that even be meaningful?
Handling it like a short-term detention seemed most appropriate.
However, if they were detained for a few days and then released, they would report Zhu Yujian's "rebellion" back to the capital, and that was not what Li Daoxuan wanted. He only wished for a peaceful transformation of this realm, not for the common people to weep amidst the fires of war as the dynasty was overthrown.
After a few seconds of thought, Li Daoxuan quickly co-sensed with the golden-embroidered Heavenly Lord image on Gao Yiyi's chest and announced, "Hand them over to the Jinyiwei in Xi'an."
The Jinyiwei in Xi'an had previously been under Shi Kefa's command.
Shi Kefa was also a devoted follower of the Heavenly Lord Daoist Sect, so the Xi'an Jinyiwei had long since all joined the sect, each bearing an embroidered image of the Heavenly Lord on their chest.
Upon receiving the Heavenly Lord's message, a large group of Jinyiwei quickly rushed to the Chang'an Automobile Factory.
They found the two dozen Jinyiwei from the capital looking disheveled and dejected, bound together. The local Xi'an Jinyiwei couldn't help but shake their heads. "You came all this way, why didn't you contact us local Jinyiwei first before starting your investigation? Haven't you just caused trouble for yourselves?"
Mi Qianhu's face darkened. "You actually saw Zhu Yujian right in front of you and didn't arrest him? Have you become a party to the rebellion yourselves?"
The Xi'an Jinyiwei spread their hands. "There's no point discussing this now. In any case, just come with us."
They didn't untie Mi Qianhu and his group, leaving them bound hand and foot as they led them all away.
With that, peace finally returned to the Chang'an Automobile Factory.
Zhu Yujian, looking utterly embarrassed, said to everyone present, "Now that you all know my identity, you... you won't... report me, will you?"
Everyone laughed. "The Jinyiwei who wanted to report you have already been handed over to the Xi'an Jinyiwei for disposal. How could we possibly report you? Just relax and continue enjoying yourself. Ah, well, everyone, let's disperse. Such a massive blunder, and in the end, nothing actually happened. It feels so anticlimactic."
"Yes, exactly. A beginning with a bang and an ending with a whimper, like a comedy script gone wrong."
Everyone dispersed...
Well, not entirely.
Yanzi looked at her husband, Bin Sheng, with a peculiar expression. "My dear, it seems you've been hiding many things from me. With your martial arts skill, you couldn't possibly be just a refugee from the Northeast. Who are you, really?"
Bin Sheng wore a mournful expression. "My wife, if I tell you, please don't hit me."
Yanzi: "Speak!"
Bin Sheng: "I used to be an elite soldier of the Later Jin."
Yanzi: "Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Her scream drew everyone's attention. "Oh? So the great blunder didn't end with a whimper after all. The real drama is only just beginning!"
"Yanzi, I didn't mean to hide it from you."
"I don't want to hear it!"
"Yanzi, I was wrong..."
"I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!"
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