Mei Qing, upon hearing Zhao Jingli’s words, was so stunned that he stood there speechless for a while before finally managing to ask, “So this is acceptable? Isn’t this practically kidnapping?”
Zhao Jingli shook his head repeatedly and said, “How can you say that? Our internal unit, although somewhat special, is still part of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, right? It’s our duty to eliminate traitors and eradicate evil. It’s just that our methods are a bit different. Think about those corrupt officials and powerful bullies—don’t they all have strong foundations below and powerful patrons above? If we strictly followed the ‘Great Ming Code’ to arrest them, we’d never get the job done in a lifetime. So we just go ahead and arrest them directly, first send them to the interrogation room to be ‘greeted’ by those guys, and then keep them in the small jail for a couple of days. I guarantee they’ll confess willingly. Once they confess, everything becomes easy, right? We’re also trying to reform them, not to kill them, so we don’t go too far. Therefore, we simply impose a fine and call it a day! It’s all transparent pricing, no cheating young or old. Money in hand, release the person. Everyone gets what they want, and all are happy!”
Seeing that Mei Qing was indeed left speechless by his explanation, Zhao Jingli became quite proud. He leaned in closer and lowered his voice, saying, “And those rich merchants and gentry—there’s not a decent one among them. They all tyrannize the locals and bring disaster to the region. Especially those merchants, relying on their wealth, they oppress the good people and compete with the common folk for profit…”
Mei Qing frowned and said, “Zhao Jingli, it seems a bit much to say merchants compete with the people for profit. Aren’t they also commoners?”
“Hehe, well, that’s just what I mean. The rich are unkind, and no merchant is honest. In short, what we’re doing is punishing the rich to help the poor, acting as righteous enforcers of justice!”
Zhao Jingli became so excited that his voice grew louder unintentionally. He waved the teapot in his hand, his face glowing red, his two little mustaches perking up, and his small eyes flashing with pride. He looked like a hero from Liangshan Marsh, the kind-hearted and righteous Song Jiang himself.
“Acting as righteous enforcers of justice… now even the Embroidered Uniform Guard is doing that. Truly, officials and bandits have always been of the same kind. It’s indeed true!”
“Group One is led by Lord Wubing. Mei Qianhu, I wonder if you’ve met him before? He’s someone very close to the Sixth Master, a trusted aide. Speaking of Group One, Group Two is even more powerful—they’re responsible for arrests. Just think, don’t those corrupt officials and wealthy bullies all have crowds of bodyguards and escorts? Some even have strange and extraordinary individuals around them. To extract such people from their homes, without the diamond drill, how can you handle porcelain work? Group Two is filled with all sorts of unusual characters—monks, Taoist priests, nuns, lamas, people from all sorts of backgrounds. Normally, guys like me can handle matters without needing their involvement. But when we run into truly difficult cases, those heavyweights must step in. Group Two is directly under the command of the Sixth Master. No one else has the authority to interfere,” Zhao Jingli said mysteriously.
Mei Qing nodded, thinking to himself that this made sense. Since this internal unit was so important, it must have its hidden strength. He suspected Zhao Jingli only saw the surface. What the second team did was probably far more complicated than just making arrests.
“Master Lu is nominally a Tongzhi, but he’s been assisting Sixth Master all along. However, Groups One and Two are directly managed by Sixth Master. As for Groups Three and Four, they’re under Master Lu’s jurisdiction. Group Three oversees the internal prison, actually located within the imperial prison, but it’s a separate section specifically for new ‘guests.’ The leader is Ma Shiqing, a name many people know well.” Zhao Jingli said with obvious disdain when mentioning Ma Shiqing.
“Oh, I know him all too well.” Mei Qing said with a nostalgic and wistful expression. “Once you enter that small prison, life might be worse than death, right?”
“Not necessarily,” Zhao Jingli shook his head. “It all depends on whether the person inside knows how to behave. If they understand the situation and offer proper bribes, it’s like being in paradise—good food, good drink, and even beautiful women to keep them company if they want. Of course, the expenses still come out of their own pockets, hehe… but if someone doesn’t know how to behave, then Ma Daren’s reputation isn’t for nothing.”
“What about our Group Four then?” After talking for so long, Mei Qing still didn’t know which part he was in charge of. “What exactly do we handle?”
Upon hearing Mei Qing’s question, Zhao Jingli’s squinted eyes sparkled. He took a big sip from his teapot, smacked his lips, and said, “Hehe, our Group Four is the plumpest territory within the internal unit. You see, our internal unit sweeps away corrupt officials, and although we inevitably impose fines as punishment afterward, we can’t just sit around waiting all the time, right? When we get accurate intelligence and find the right timing, we don’t need them to pay voluntarily—we just take it directly. Our Group Four is in charge of guarding the treasure vault in the back courtyard, specifically watching over all these ‘acquired’ items. Of course, occasionally, to prevent those cunning ones who promise fines but never pay, we sometimes take some items as collateral in advance, which are also stored here.”
Ah? So our internal unit doesn’t just kidnap people—it also robs them when the opportunity arises. Mei Qing was even more impressed. Wearing a Feiyu uniform to go on looting sprees—this business indeed seemed very promising.
“It’s not exactly robbery,” Zhao Jingli continued. “After all, they’ll eventually have to pay the fines anyway. It’s all the same in the end. Besides, they’ve already got themselves into trouble, so collecting fines is just a way to save them the trouble. They don’t have to worry about it anymore—we’ll handle it ourselves. Think about it, Qianhu大人, although Group Three takes care of the prisoners and might get some small bribes here and there, those are just petty gains. How can they compare to our Group Four, which handles the real goods? Not to mention, just a couple of days ago there was a Liulima (glazed horse) from a foreign land, originally a treasure belonging to a merchant from Dashi. Once it came into our warehouse…”
Zhao Jingli was so absorbed in his storytelling that he was nodding and swaying his head in satisfaction. Suddenly, he heard Xiao Jiu coughing loudly beside him, which reminded him that Mei Qing was actually his direct superior. Some of the things he had been saying were not meant for Mei Qing’s ears. He quickly shifted the topic and said, “Oh right, Director Mei, have you already collected your badge and official uniform since joining us? Oh… you already have your badge? You see, I don’t mean to scold you, but as a Qianhu, it’s inconvenient for you to be constantly walking around in civilian clothes. In my opinion, regardless of your official rank, you should simply change into a Feiyu uniform—it’s the most practical choice. Compared to the fourth- or fifth-rank official robes, the Feiyu uniform is far more suitable for outdoor wear. No matter where you go, as long as you dress like that and show your badge, it will definitely do the trick!”
“Works great! Works great!” Xiao Jiu nodded repeatedly in agreement beside him.
Mei Qing had no heart to listen to the two chatterboxes. Sitting there, he felt both amused and helpless. He never imagined the internal unit was such a place. No wonder that fat Huang looked so envious. Thinking back to when he first joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had imagined it to be something entirely different. First, he was assigned to work as an archive administrator, then as a scribe, and now this—directly assigned to be a warehouse keeper. And not just any warehouse keeper, but one specifically in charge of hiding stolen goods.
At first, when he heard Zhao Jingli boast about arresting people whenever they wanted and killing them if necessary, he thought it would be a tough and exciting job. But after all the twists and turns, it turned out to be such a position. Come to think of it, it actually fit perfectly with what Sixth Master had said: “Make sure he doesn’t run around everywhere.” With such a job, he wouldn’t even have the chance to go out running around.
Thinking further, he realized it wasn’t so bad after all. After all, what he really wanted was to quickly cultivate the Divine Thunder Method of the Shenxiao Sect to break through his restrictions and then find Bi Zhen. As for this warehouse keeper job, as long as no one came to bother him, it was actually a pretty good position.
Without waiting for Mei Qing to move, Zhao Jingli and Xiao Jiu immediately ran off to fetch Mei Qing’s official uniform. Although Mei Qing had already been in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for some time, the Records Office was considered a secret location where no one wore official uniforms, so Mei Qing hadn’t thought much about it. As for when he was with Bi Zhen, it went without saying. Although Bi Zhen held the title of Tongzhi, she basically didn’t participate in the affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, maintaining a detached and aloof presence, rarely coming around, so there was no need to care about formal attire. Therefore, this was truly the first time he wore the Feiyu uniform and the Xiuchun sword.
They forced Mei Qing to dress up, and both Zhao Jingli and Xiao Jiu loudly applauded. Mei Qing naturally had clear eyebrows and bright eyes, a fine figure. Since he had been cultivating, his demeanor had become even more refined. Once he put on the uniform, he appeared even more upright and handsome. However, according to Zhao Jingli, Mei Qing still had a somewhat scholarly air. His appearance was good, but his intimidation factor was lacking. When going out to handle affairs, it wouldn’t be very effective. He needed to add a bit more majesty. After saying this, he even personally demonstrated for Mei Qing, gripping the sword hilt and strutting around like a crab in autumn, exuding a mighty air.
After demonstrating the walking style, Zhao Jingli invited Mei Qing to move forward and personally visit the warehouse for an on-site inspection.
Xiao Jiu had already rushed ahead to prepare the warehouse, while Zhao Jingli accompanied Mei Qing, walking slowly toward it.
According to Zhao Jingli, there were about a dozen people in Group Four. Since guarding the warehouse wasn’t considered a complicated task, the brothers stationed here were specially selected by the superiors for their honesty, loyalty, and carefulness.
But no matter how Mei Qing looked at it, he couldn’t find any of these qualities in Zhao Jingli.
“Here we are, my lord. Please come this way. Hey, you hawk-faced fellow, why are you still standing there like a fool? Hurry up and greet my lord!” After passing through several gates with Mei Qing, Zhao Jingli arrived at a building that looked neither like a tower nor a pavilion and shouted at a strong-looking man at the entrance.
The man called Yaozi merely frowned, cast a glance at Zhao Jingli without acknowledging him, and only when Mei Qing approached did he bow and say, “Subordinate Yao Dingguo greets大人.” Then, another young guardsman standing beside him also stepped forward to offer his respects.
Zhao Jingli’s face showed some embarrassment. Just as he was about to scold the man, he saw that Mei Qing had already nodded slightly, asking the two a few brief questions in a calm manner before stepping forward. He had no choice but to swallow his words.
Although Mei Qing was still young, he had originally come from a wealthy family, naturally possessing an air of superiority. Especially after his cultivation, he had developed an even more composed and lofty demeanor. Although he himself didn’t realize it, when he truly displayed that calm, detached expression, even Zhao Jingli, a seasoned veteran, felt somewhat hesitant to speak.
Since it was a warehouse of vital importance, it was naturally heavily guarded. Even Mei Qing, as the supervisor, had to present his badge to pass through the entrance. Furthermore, there were several hidden watchtowers inside. If it weren’t for Zhao Jingli explaining each one, even with Mei Qing’s sharp senses, it would have been difficult to notice them.
Upon entering the building, the rooms on both sides were where Group Four’s clerks worked. Then stretched a long corridor leading forward, making a sharp turn before descending into a passageway. After about dozens of steps, another large iron gate appeared. Here, two soldiers stood on guard, and a man with a thick beard stepped forward to greet them, saying, “Subordinate Qian San, a hundred-household head of the fourth internal group of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, greets Lord Mei.”
It turned out that Group Four had never had a direct Qianhu in charge before, and had always been managed by Master Lu. After all, in everyone’s minds, guarding the warehouse wasn’t a task requiring much effort. As long as the rules were set, shifts arranged, and regular inspections conducted, it would suffice. This wasn’t any ordinary place—it was the famous Embroidered Uniform Guard. Who would dare to steal from this place with such boldness?
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