Chapter 50 Turbulence

Chapter 50: Stormy Weather

While Ye Xuan was still fighting with Nian Wei in Miaoyin Pavilion, a wave of influence had quietly arisen in Yingtian Prefecture, affecting the government and the public.

On this day, a group of uninvited guests came to the home of Li Yong, the director of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Works.

With a "bang", the courtyard door was kicked open with great force, causing the maids and servants to scream in shock.

A servant stepped forward and argued, "Where did this strong man come from? Do you know whose mansion this is?"

"You are blind." A Jinyiwei in a brocade robe and a sword at his waist stepped forward and kicked the servant, "Do you know who we are?"

"Jin...Jinyiwei!" At this time, an experienced servant recognized the flying fish uniforms on several people at a glance and began to tremble immediately.

When the others heard the words "Jinyiwei", they all hid in the corner like quails, fearing that they would be chopped to death if they accidentally offended this group of people.

At this time, the real owner finally rushed over, and when he saw the chaotic scene in the yard, he was immediately furious.

"You Jinyiwei are really going too far. I will write to His Majesty to impeach you!"

A bearded man, who was the leader of the Jinyiwei, sneered when he heard this. "Old man, as long as you can walk out of the prison alive, you can sue me as you like!"

Li Yong's face trembled when he heard this, and he asked in a trembling voice: "You...what do you mean, are you going to arrest innocent people again?"

The bearded man burst into laughter immediately, and the other Jinyiwei also laughed wildly, as if Li Yong had said something extremely ridiculous.

After laughing for a long time, the bearded man suddenly pulled his face and shouted, "Li Yong, you have been found out for cutting corners and embezzling money when building the Huagui Palace. Come with us!"

Li Yong's hand loosened upon hearing this, and the priceless jade ring instantly broke into pieces.

"No, no, you can't arrest me! I am a fifth-rank official of the imperial court. If you want to arrest me, you need a warrant from the Ministry of Justice!"

A Jinyiwei laughed at him and said, "Old man, you are sleepy, why are you asking us for a letter?"

"The Jinyiwei will execute first and report later when handling a case!"

…………

The residence of Wu Weiyong, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was a scene of hell on earth.

A large number of servants and maids screamed and fled in all directions, but anyone who dared to try to escape from the Wu Mansion would be killed mercilessly!
A Jinyiwei guarded the gate tightly with a blood-stained embroidered spring knife in his hand. He hacked and killed a servant who tried to escape and shouted, "Jinyiwei is investigating the case. Anyone who dares to escape will be killed without mercy!"

Wu Weiyong's originally magnificent bedroom was now covered in blood and turned into a bloody slaughterhouse.

"Sir Wu, are you still unwilling to speak?" Wei Deqing, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, held an iron hook specially used to pierce the scapula and grinned at the dying Wu Weiyong in front of him.

Wu Weiyong held his breath and smiled miserably: "Master Wei, why don't you just ask me? I didn't say I wouldn't tell you!"

Wei Deqing was stunned for a moment, then said nonchalantly: "Ah, the previous prisoners always had to be tortured before they would behave themselves, so I forgot to ask Lord Wu if he was willing to tell me first, hahaha!"

…………

In Yingtian Prefecture, screams and escapes like these were heard one after another, and dozens of court officials were arrested and imprisoned overnight.

The whole government and the people were in a state of panic, and every tree and grass seemed to be an enemy.

In a teahouse, several elegant middle-aged men gathered together with heavy faces. "I don't know why His Majesty suddenly gave the Jinyiwei the power to torture and arrest people. Although these Jinyiwei were difficult to deal with before, they still had to go through the Ministry of Personnel or the Dali Temple to issue a warrant to arrest people. But now they don't need to inform anyone and can attack court officials like us without restraint."

"Not only that, the Royal Guards raided the residence of Lord Wang from the Ministry of Revenue yesterday. I heard that they didn't even ask for the emperor's edict."

"What? They can't even use the imperial edict, yet they dare to raid the home of a third-rank official. Is there any law? Is there any reason?"

After a long while, a middle-aged man with a mole on his face said anxiously, "Are you all just going to stand by and watch the Jinyiwei gang of money wolves harm our Ming officials?"

As soon as he said this, a fat middle-aged man hurriedly covered his mouth, his face terrified as if he had seen a ghost, "Master Zhang, are you going to die? How dare you say that the Jinyiwei are money wolves?"

Lord Zhang broke free from his restraints and said indignantly, "What's the matter? We are talking here in private. Can those Jinyiwei hear us?"

"This... The methods of the Jinyiwei are unpredictable. Who knows where they will pop up from?"

As soon as the fat middle-aged man finished speaking, a sneer suddenly came from the roof, "Master Liu is right, we Jinyiwei could have come from anywhere in the world."

In the private room, several elegant officials of the imperial court suddenly changed their expressions, as if their parents had died.

After a while, the roof was broken open and several Jinyiwei fell from the sky.

At the same time, Jinyiwei appeared from the doors, windows, and even from behind the shelves in the corners of the private room.

The private room, which was originally empty except for a few middle-aged people, was filled with people in the blink of an eye.

"You...you are violating the law by eavesdropping on the conversations of high-ranking officials in the imperial court!" The leader was so angry that his beard trembled. At the same time, he was very nervous, not knowing how much of their conversation these Jinyiwei had heard.

The Jinyiwei who fell from the roof laughed for a while, then suddenly showed a fierce look and said, "The king's law? We are handling the case by order of the king. We Jinyiwei are the king's law!"

"Come here, arrest all these criminals!"

"Ah, you can't just arrest us like this!"

"I want to see the emperor, I want to see the emperor!"

"If you have anything to say, save it for later in the prison!"

Although the entire upper class of Yingtian Prefecture was caught in a huge torrent, it can be said that everyone from civil and military officials to yamen clerks were in danger. Apart from reporting to the yamen on time, they stayed at home and never went out of the house.

The major teahouses, taverns, brothels, and places where court officials, princes, and nobles loved to hang out, became unusually deserted at this moment.

On the streets, there were no official sedan chairs or horses running around for several days, and traffic accidents decreased by 40% to 50%.

Even those rude patrolling soldiers have learned to be reasonable and polite. They no longer blindly drive away street vendors and know to pay for their food.

Even when going to the major yamen to file complaints, the gatekeepers refused to take money, and the masters of the cases seemed to have become more amiable.

Things that used to take several months to complete can now be done in three to five days at the fastest, or even the same day.

Then a strange scene happened. No matter how treacherous the upper class was, the common people seemed to have missed the holiday.

The people knew exactly why this happened and they all praised the Emperor for his wisdom!

(End of this chapter)