Chapter 550 Zhao Duan: Anyone who takes one step out of the house will be killed!
Chapter 550 Zhao Duan: Anyone who steps out of the house will be killed! (5k)
When they arrived outside the Lihua Hall, Zhao Duan stopped, turned his head with his face covered with a white mask and looked at Zhou Cang, smiling:
"That's enough for here. Thank you for your help."
Zhou Cang hesitated to speak, wanting to remind him again that it was not easy to be the police officer of Lihua Hall, but he had been in the government office for a long time and knew that people were all cunning. He was also worried that if he talked too much to someone he had just met, he would leave a bad impression on the official appointed by the palace, so he had no choice but to nod:
"In that case, I will leave first. If the police need you, you can come to the Governor's Hall to find me."
Zhao Duan nodded. He watched Zhou Cang leave. He was familiar with the door. He pushed open the door with his left hand, lifted the hem of his robe with his right hand, and stepped over the threshold.
The hall with its own entrance and antique buildings comes into view.
The most eye-catching thing is the dense pear tree in the courtyard. Because it is autumn, the yellow pears on the tree are eye-catching.
There were only a few remaining leaves on the ground, and it was obvious that someone had cleaned it up.
The front yard is quiet.
Zhao Duan didn't rush in. He walked to the tree, raised his hand to pull down the branch, twisted off a pear, wiped it with his sleeve, and was about to eat it.
"Stop!" Suddenly, a familiar shout came from the inner hall, "Who are you? How dare you pick the public pears?"
Zhao Duan was startled and turned his head to look. He saw a female brocade robed woman walking towards him. She had a slim figure and a face as rosy as an apple, but her eyes were cold, vigilant and hostile.
Qian Kerou snatched the pear away, held it in her hand, and looked unfriendly.
Zhao Duan looked at the secretary's protective look, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes spread, and he smiled and said:
"There are so many pears on this tree. If we don't eat them now, they will all become overripe and rot."
Qian Kerou glared at him and said:
"What does it have to do with you? You know, the pears in our hall are reserved for my master! Even if they rot on the tree, no outsiders are allowed to eat them!"
Zhao Duan's eyes became more curious:
"Your master? That Zhao Shaobao? Oh, do you know that I am the acting police chief appointed by the emperor? You came to take up the post today, and you are talking to your superior like this?"
As he spoke, he took out a token from his waist.
Qian Kerou's eyebrows were knitted tightly. As a secretary, she had been informed in advance, but now she just snorted and turned her head to give him a backwards slap:
"Anyway, you can't touch the pears in the yard!"
Zhao Duan found it funny and did not argue. He followed him and waited until they entered the inner hall.
What caught the eye was the neatly arranged chairs next to the large brown conference table, and behind the main seat were the punishment sticks.
Everything is so familiar.
He was carefree. Under Qian Kerou's unhappy gaze, he sat down at the main seat, tapped the table, and said:
"Call the other detectives over here."
The secretary put the pears away with a stern face and turned away.
Soon, several familiar figures lazily walked over from behind.
They are Hou Renmeng, who has his arms folded, a defiant look on his face, and the temperament of a lone wolf.
Shen Juan had huge dark circles under his eyes, fair skin and was yawning.
And Zheng Laojiu, who was holding a bowl of strong tea with soaked red dates in his right hand and today's official newspaper in his left arm - this old Jinyi should have retired this year according to regulations.
But after Zhao Duan joined the company, Lihuatang regained its momentum, and this gray-haired old man from the yamen applied for "delayed retirement".
But after Zhao Duan went to the front line, Lihua Hall suddenly became quiet again.
The four of them sat down carelessly, none of them bothered to look directly at the New Investigation Division, with perfunctory looks written on their faces.
"Because the Lihuatang Investigation Department is vacant, I have been ordered to take over the position of Investigation Department temporarily. I will be responsible for investigating the traitors in the court. Since you are here to investigate, please report your situation first." Zhao Duan said calmly.
No one paid any attention to them. The four of them pretended not to have heard anything and treated their new boss as air.
It was obviously discussed long ago, and the intention was to give the new boss a warning.
Zhao Duan folded his hands on his lower abdomen and said calmly:
"Didn't you hear clearly, or is it that Young Master Zhao is a poor teacher and his men are all deaf?"
Suddenly, four sharp gazes came at the same time.
Qian Kerou said coldly: "Sir, please be more respectful when you speak."
Shen Juan also yawned, his eyes cold:
"Xiao Rou is right. My Lord, please remember that you are only the acting officer. Since its establishment, Lihua Hall has only had one chief officer. If you speak kindly, we will not make things difficult for you. But if you are disrespectful to my Lord..."
Hou Renmeng had a blank expression on his face. With a "bang", he pressed the scabbard on the table and snorted:
"He who hides his head and shows his tail must be a rat."
"Ahem..." Zheng Laojiu put down his teacup, spat, and smiled to smooth things over:
"Don't get excited, sir. We are a bunch of troublemakers in Lihua Hall. We have a bad reputation..."
Zheng Laojiu suddenly stopped talking halfway because he found that the masked airborne police officer had a calm demeanor and did not look angry at all.
He just raised his right hand and took off the mask on his face, revealing a familiar face.
Zhao Duan stared at Hou Renmeng with a half-smile: "Who do you call a rat?"
The hall suddenly became quiet.
Only the autumn wind swept the fallen leaves through the hall.
"Ah!" The next second, Qian Kerou's butt seemed to have springs installed, and she jumped up, with surprise on her round face, and she stammered:
"Sir...sir?!"
Shen Juan was stunned, as if he had seen a ghost, and then subconsciously a look of surprise appeared on his face!
The other two were no different.
The adults are back!
A huge surprise swept through the four people's hearts. They seemed to be stunned by the surprise. They changed their previous arrogance and nonchalance, and stood straight with shining eyes. Then, they were at a huge loss again.
Zhao Duan smiled and put a finger to his lips:
"Hush, keep your voice down. I don't want to make the news of my return public for the time being. Just a few people will know. This time, I am still in charge of the west front of Linfeng, but I am using the magic to return with the help of the talisman in the palace."
The four of them were shocked and surprised, and then suddenly realized:
"We were just discussing why we had to send a police officer here. It turns out that you wanted to hide your identity, sir."
Immediately, they thought of their previous actions and became nervous again.
Hou Renmeng hesitated and put away the knife on the table:
"I am a rat, I am a rat."
Zhao Duan withdrew his gaze from him and looked at Qian Kerou again:
"Pear, can I eat it?"
The secretary's face flushed immediately, and she quickly handed over the hidden pear with both hands. Her nose felt sore, and she said with slightly red eyes:
"If you want to eat it, I will go pick it right away."
Zheng Laojiu sighed:
"The first batch of ripe pears were rotten. We wanted to eat some, but Xiaorou stopped us. She said she had to wait for the adults to return triumphantly."
Zhao Duan felt warm in his heart. The people from Lihuatang were his first batch of direct subordinates. They had been with him on many business trips and had gone through life and death with him.
He missed her a little after not seeing her for a few months. He smiled and said:
"I will be stationed in the capital for a long time. This time, I was appointed by His Majesty to come back and preside over the case of the Qingliu Party traitor."
The four of them were suddenly energized, and all of them swept away their laziness and became more eager to fight.
With sincere smiles on their faces, they finally got the chance to stretch their muscles after being idle for so long.
Zhao Duan didn't waste time on greetings and asked:
"Xiao Rou, what's the progress of this case? Tell me the detailed information."
"Yes!"
Qian Kerou wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, burst into laughter, and quickly took out a stack of information:
“Although we haven’t done anything big these days, we are still keeping an eye on this case.
The governor also sent over some information last night. This is the list of officials in the Qingliu Party who are suspected of colluding with the anti-Wang.
The few people circled above have been arrested, and they all insisted that it was Yuan Li who assigned them..."
Zhao Duan opened the document and quickly scanned the pages. The names on the paper were arranged from high to low according to their official ranks.
There were more than a dozen people.
And this is definitely not all, there must be more that has not been exposed yet.
"Very good." Zhao Duan threw away the rest of the paper, leaving only the first one, pointed to the first name on the list, and said:
"Get ready, call the men, and follow me to arrest the man."
The four of them were stunned. On the first day after their master came back, he arrested someone directly? And he skipped over Xiaoyu.
Just grab the biggest one?
Zheng Laojiu whispered:
"Sir, this Peng Wenliang is a fourth-rank assistant censor of the Censorate... He is also one of the pillars of the Qingliu Party. If we arrest him directly, will it be..."
Zhao Duan raised his hand, put on the mask again, stood up and said:
"Just arrest people. If the sky falls, I will bear the consequences."
……
Outside the Governor's Hall, next to the stone table in the courtyard.
Haitang, the detective of the Narcissus Hall, looked at Ma Yan with a heroic appearance, a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye and a flying knife hanging from her waist:
"Master, who is that deputy police chief?"
Next to him, Zhang Han, the king of facial paralysis and curls, also asked curiously:
"She was assigned to take over Zhao Jisi's shift and she was wearing a mask. How strange."
Ma Yan sat upright on the stone bench, closed his eyes and waited.
He was waiting to see what kind of action the new police department would take, and was always ready to rush to help if anything happened to Lihua Hall.
Haitang and Zhang Han came to join in the fun out of curiosity. Upon hearing this, he opened his eyes and said calmly:
"This person should be a worshiper outside the palace, and his identity is unknown. His Majesty has not told us. It is not surprising that he hides his face. Among the shadow guards of the royal family outside the capital, there are a few worshipers who are lurking and operating. Since this person is an agent, he will not be stationed there permanently. In order to facilitate his continued activities in the future, he should indeed hide his face."
After a pause, he continued:
"As for the purpose, your majesty understands. This person will be used to deal with the traitor in the Qingliu Party. All you have to do is cooperate."
"Deal with the Qingliu Party? Does this person have the ability to do so?" Haitang was a little unconvinced:
"That means he will compete with Yuan Li. Do you really think everyone is Zhao Duan? Haha, I'm afraid this guy can't even control those troublemakers in Lihua Hall, and he will have to transfer people from us."
She was a little gloating.
Zhang Han said seriously:
"Since we are here to eliminate the traitors, we should also help this man. Haitang, why don't you and I go to Lihua Hall and help him calm down."
Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of commotion in the distance and the sound of horse hooves passing by outside the yard.
The three of them were stunned, and then they saw Captain Zhou Cang hurried over and shouted:
"Lord Governor. That trusted officer... he... he led a large group of elite soldiers from Lihua Hall and went out in full force. I don't know where he went!"
what?
Haitang and Zhang Han were stunned. Mobilizing the entire Lihua Hall?
This man actually subdued those troublemakers in such a short time and made them cooperate with the action?
Is there still such a person lurking among the Shadow Guards?
I'm afraid that even Luo Ke, the shadow guard who has been lurking for many years and stabbed Cao Mao in the back, is not as good as him.
Ma Yan suddenly opened his eyes, with a slight look of surprise, and said in a deep voice:
"Send someone to follow them. I need to know their movements."
……
……
The office of the Censorate was not far from the imperial yamen.
When Zhao Duan led the four golden flowers and the Lihuatang out in full force, they arrived outside the magnificent building complex of the government office.
It immediately attracted the attention of the gatekeeper.
As one of the "Three Departments", the Censorate had a very high status in the court. Similar to the Imperial Court, it controlled the power and responsibility of supervising all officials.
There is also an independent prison called "Taiwan Prison".
When Zhao Duan fought against the Minister of Dali Temple, he was imprisoned in the Taiwan Prison.
In addition, with Yuan Li in charge, the Censorate was one of the few places in the capital that was not very afraid of the "living devils" of the imperial court.
"What do you want to do?" an official asked cautiously.
Zhao Duan dismounted, led a group of brocade-clad soldiers, and said calmly with his hands behind his back:
"I am the acting detective of Lihua Hall. I am here to track down the traitors in the court. Get out of here immediately. Anyone who dares to stop me will be treated as an accomplice of the traitor."
After saying this, he rushed into the Censorate without stopping.
The gatekeeper saw a group of murderous people and knew that he could not stop them, so he turned around and ran back to report.
Zhao Duan ignored them and led the crowd inside.
There are many courtyards in the Censorate, with government offices scattered around.
The "duty room" where the Chief Censor-in-Chief worked was easy to find. Zhao Duan had a clear purpose and went straight to the target without beating around the bush.
The blue-robed censors who were dressed along the way all looked over in surprise.
Some people walked out of the room, some popped their heads out of the windows, and some stood in the corridor, talking among themselves.
A group of imperial guards in brocade uniforms, like loaches entering a pond, passed through the small courtyards in a domineering and overbearing manner.
"What's going on? Why are those people from the imperial court here?"
"Could it be to assist in the investigation? But it doesn't look right. They are not here to arrest anyone, are they?"
"Heh... coming to my Censorate to arrest people, isn't that a joke? Are you pretending that Mr. Yuan doesn't exist?" Someone sneered.
Some people even had sharp eyes and said in astonishment:
"Are they from Lihuatang? How is that possible? Isn't Governor Zhao at the front line? Who can command Lihuatang?"
Zhao Duan ignored the pointing and talking around him.
Soon, they arrived at a duty room with carved beams and painted rafters. The room had black tiles, green windows, red-painted wooden pillars, and bamboos planted in the yard.
He came to the door, kicked it open with a bang, and stepped into the room.
I saw that there were about four or five desks placed in a disorderly manner in the duty room, and a censor was working there. In the innermost position, there was a single desk, and a middle-aged man was sitting behind it.
At this moment, everyone in the room looked up in surprise, and some people were still holding brushes in their hands, looking confused and uncertain.
Zhao Duan looked around at the crowd, his eyes fixed on the middle-aged man at the back, and said arrogantly:
"Are you the Chief Censor, Peng Wenliang?"
Peng Wenliang, as his name suggests, is an official with a scholarly temperament. He wears a green robe that is darker in color than others, and the details of his robe show that he is a fourth-grade rank.
He had light eyebrows and a beard, and was not wearing a black hat. He was holding a brush, and there were calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall behind him.
There was a flash of panic in his eyes at this moment, but it quickly disappeared, and he calmly placed the pen on the pen holder.
Then he stood up, with his hands behind his back, staring at the official who was also wearing a green shirt but a white mask, and said in a deep voice:
"I am Peng Wenliang. Who are you? What is your purpose in coming here?"
Zhao Duan took out the police badge from his waist with two fingers, shook it, and said with a smile:
"I am the new acting officer of the Imperial Court. I have come to arrest Lord Peng because we have received a report that he is involved in collusion with the rebels. How do you think? Lord Peng, please come with us."
boom!
The light words caused an uproar.
Before Peng Wenliang could respond, several other imperial censors in the room were fed up and stood up.
One person was furious:
"What is the Deputy Police Chief? How come we have never heard of it? How dare you slander Lord Peng!?"
Another old censor spoke more slowly, but also expressed his position:
"Both the Censorate and the Imperial Court are places for monitoring all officials. You should know that I, the Censor of the Censorate, am a censor. When have I ever been summoned by you at will?"
Peng Wenliang's face darkened, he stared at Zhao Duan, and laughed in anger:
"You are slandering me for colluding with rebels? Fine, fine, I have never heard of you, so I'll assume that's true, but you, a new official in the imperial court, have made three big moves and now you've even spread it to my Censorate!"
He said angrily, "You want to arrest me, where is the arrest warrant?"
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"In this emergency, we have to make the best use of the situation. To prevent Mr. Peng from escaping, we should arrest him first and then make up for him later."
He is no longer the same person now as when he first entered the imperial court.
At that time, in order to catch Princess Yunyang's lover, he, a marquis without real power, had to go to Ma Yan to apply for an arrest warrant.
But nowadays, I am too lazy to go through the procedures.
Peng Wenliang laughed angrily:
"You come to arrest a fourth-rank censor without a warrant. How dare you! With your authority as a mere police officer, you are not worthy of coming to see me! Get out!"
He waved his hands angrily, and several imperial censors in the room stood up with stern faces, pretending to see him off.
"Qiang!"
Without any instructions, Shen Juan, Hou Renmeng and others drew their swords decisively. Suddenly, the sound of swords being drawn was as continuous as the tide, which made the imperial censors change color.
Laughter came from under Zhao Duan's mask.
He walked lightly to a table next to Peng Wenliang, pulled over a chair and sat down.
He crossed his legs and picked up a square ruler on the table to play with it calmly:
"I have always respected the censors, and the Censorate and the Imperial Prison are closely related. Therefore, I do not want to resort to violence in the Censorate, brandishing swords and hurting the harmony of my colleagues. If you have a clear conscience, why don't you come with me?"
His attitude clearly showed that he was unwilling to leave.
Peng Wenliang's heart sank and he stared at him deeply. At this time, the commotion here had become louder.
Outside the doors and windows of the duty room, a large number of imperial censors rushed in and gathered in the yard, talking a lot.
Peng Wenliang turned his head and glanced through the open window to an imperial censor outside, who understood and went to the back court.
Peng Wenliang stared at Zhao Duan's white mask, his eyes filled with anger, and said indignantly:
"Do you know what you are doing? You are causing a big disturbance in the Censorate, arresting a fourth-rank censor without the Emperor's order! Not to mention you, even Ma Yan doesn't have the guts to do this!"
Zhao Duan smiled without saying anything, he just lowered his eyes to play with the bright yellow, crystal clear ruler.
He acted as if he had just listened to the advice.
Peng Wenliang suddenly stamped his feet, waved his sleeves and walked towards the door, shouting:
"I will go to the palace now! To see His Majesty and report your crimes!"
Zhao Duan crossed his legs, still looking down at the ruler, and suddenly said calmly:
"Wait a minute."
"Qiang!"
At the door, Hou Renmeng suddenly pulled out his knife, blocking the middle of the open door horizontally, and also blocking Peng Wenliang's way.
Zhao Duan exerted force with his hand, and with a "crack", the ruler cracked and broke into pieces, falling to the ground.
He looked at the jade fragments on the ground and said softly:
"Anyone who steps out of the house will be killed."
(End of this chapter)