Chapter 231: The Spontaneous Combustion of Army Provisions
The morning clouds were dispersing and the mist dissipating, and beams of golden sunlight penetrated the clouds and shone on the earth.
Murong Xue, dressed in a soft smoky-blue long robe, walked slowly on the streets of the capital city with Ouyang Shaochen beside her: “Your Highness, how’s the investigation of the Shadow Guards going?”
“We’ve got some clues but not a lot …” Ouyang Shaochen said gently, his sharp eyes as deep as a pool.
Murong Xue nodded. Shadow Guards had extraordinary power and was very good at hiding. Some people had been trying to find them for over a decade with very little effect. Yet they had only started the search for a few days, so naturally whatever they had found might not be of great value.
“Liu Qingfeng, don’t go too far…” A coarse voice rang. Murong Xue quickly turned around, looked up and saw that in front of the gate of the Ministry of Punishments, a thick crowd of people were gathering. Behind them, two familiar figures were partly hidden and partly visible.
Murong Xue blinked, walked slowly forward and, pushing past the crowd, looked inside. There were five guards in armor with long swords standing on both sides of the hall. General Yuan and Yuan Fangfei were standing in the center of the hall and glaring at Liu Qingfeng, the minister, who was sitting at the seat in the front.
Liu Qingfeng was dressed in his uniform. He slammed his gavel on the desk and domineered over the Yuans: “General Yuan, Miss Yuan, this is the hall of the Ministry of Punishments, and I’m just doing my job…”
“It’s not my brother’s fault. If Your Honor is really doing your job, you should take these guards to the place where the crime was committed, investigate the case carefully and find out the truth, instead of condemning my brother without justified reasons…”Yuan Fangfei said word by word, her eyes burning with anger.
Liu Qingfeng turned sullen in an instant. He stared coldly at Yuan Fangfei and said: “Under the order to escort army provisions to Nanjiang, Officer Yuan neglected his duty on the way, which resulted in the provisions being burned to nothing. The provisions for an army of 300,000 for several months were all gone under his watch, which is the fact…”
As soon as this remark was made, the whole audience erupted in an uproar. The provisions for an army of three hundred thousand, which must have occupied at least dozens of carriages, were all burnt down to nothing. The soldiers must have been really neglectful of their duties.
The loss of the provisions would still be a trifle, compared to the possibility that, all the commanders and soldiers in Nanjiang, would starve without the supply of foods, and thus being defeated, which would lead to severe consequences. No wonder that the Emperor had been furious and passed the case to the Ministry of Punishments for thorough investigation…
“I didn’t neglect my duty.” An angry low voice rang as a teenage boy stepped out from Yuan Fangfei’s side.
He was a tall lad with dark skin, sharp eyes and a Roman nose, more or less resembling General Yuan. He looked at Liu Qingfeng angrily and said: “The escorting soldiers and I had always been keeping an eye on our provisions. Who would have thought, as we were walking on the road, the provisions suddenly caught fire for no reason. It was violent and although we had tried our best, by the time we put it out, dozens of carriages had been burned down to almost nothing…”
Liu Qingfeng sneered scornfully: “the provisions set fire on themselves? Do you know what you’re talking about? Even a three-year-old wouldn’t believe it …”
“But they indeed combusted spontaneously, and all the soldiers were witnesses…” Officer Yuan explained solemnly, his gaze filled with anxiety.
Liu Qingfeng did not take it seriously: “this is just a statement you have all agreed upon to excuse your sin…” Only fools would have believed that. The truth was as clear as day, and no more interrogation would be needed. He pronounced his judgement directly: ” put Officer Yuan in prison right now…”
“Aye!” The guards answered in unison and were about to come forward to send the culprit away.
“Get past me first!” Yuan Fangfei shouted angrily and, suddenly stepping forward, stood in front of Officer Yuan: the Ministry of Punishments is no different from hell, and people who get in would not be able to leave it without at least having a layer of their skin peeled off. My brother is innocent, and I will not let anyone put him through that!
Liu Qingfeng, his face green with anger, gave Yuan Fangfei a piercing stare: “Miss Yuan, your brother has made a fatal mistake, and he shall be put in prison according to the law. If you try to interfere again, don’t blame us for being rude.”
“Are you threatening me? I’ve grown up in threats. I haven’t practiced for quite some time. Now let me see what you’re capable of…”Yuan Fangfei said maliciously, raised her hands and went at the guards.
Murong Xue narrowed her eyes and said in an indifferent tone, “stop it!”
Hearing the melodious female voice, Liu Qingfeng, General Yuan, and Yuan Fangfei all turned around. Murong Xue pushed her way through the crowd and walked over slowly, her pale blue skirt fluttering as if a butterfly as she walked, and she looked as beautiful as a fairy stepping out from a painting.
Liu Qingfeng frowned and said, “Miss Murong, this is the hall of the Ministry of Punishments, a place no one shall intrude into without permission…”
Murong Xue smiled gently: “I have no intention to disturb Your Honor’s inquiry. I just need to ask Officer Yuan a question.”
“What is it?” Liu Qingfeng asked impatiently
“Officer Yuan, did you bring back the burnt provisions?” Murong Xue fixed her gaze on Officer Yuan and asked softly.
“Yes, that’s one of them!” Field Officer Liu responded softly, pointing at the right front.
Murong Xue looked up and saw a carriage parked at the right front of the lobby. The carriage had almost been burned to ashes. It could be seen that the fire must have been extremely rampant. Inside the carriage there was still a pile of burnt grains.
Murong Xue slowly walked to the front of the carriage, grabbed a handful of the charcoaled grains and inspected carefully…
Seeing that she was serious and careful, Liu Qingfeng couldn’t help scorning secretly. He walked slowly down the hall, approached her and said casually: “it’s just the grains burned due to his negligence. What’s there to examine?”
Murong Xue cast a glance at Liu Qingfeng and said gently: “has it ever occurred to Your Honor that the provisions were transported by carriages, while the carriages were arranged in a row with one in the front, and they were also separated by horses and a certain distance instead of being connected together. If only one or two carriages caught fire, it might have been because of the soldiers’ negligence. But dozens of carriages of provisions were all on fire at the same time, and that couldn’t be explained simply by the same reason.”
“I would look into the real cause of the fire, but Officer Yuan’s dereliction of duty has caused the loss of the provisions. I must put him in prison in accordance with the law…” Liu Qingfeng said in a loud voice, his eyes filled with arrogance.
Murong Xue looked at the blackened grains and said in a low voice: “the fire was not necessarily Officer Yuan’s fault…”
Hearing her indifferent tone, Liu Qingfeng felt that his authority was being challenged. He frowned and gazed at Murong Xue scornfully: “Miss Murong wouldn’t really believe what Officer Yuan said and think that the provisions caught fire spontaneously?”
“Officer Yuan wasn’t lying. The provisions did ignite spontaneously!” Murong Xue said emotionlessly with a meaningful stare and a grim look on her face…