Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Early in the morning, the laborers cleaned up the East Patrol Guard’s office. They ensured that both the inside and outside of the government office were clean and tidy.
There was even a line at the door. Wen Jinming and his men were currently stationed in front of the door.
Obviously, they still wanted to leave a good impression on the new leader.
When Yan Luoying arrived, she saw the guards welcoming her and Wen Jinming with a flattering smile.
“You must be Lady Yan Luoying, right? I am the deputy garrison commander of the Patrol Guards, Wen Jinming. This is Sun Wei, the other deputy garrison commander. The Patrol Guards of the East District welcomes you to take up the post!”
Wen Jinming was very enthusiastic.
It was rare for Yan Luoying to encounter such a situation. However, she was not interested in this kind of ceremony either. She just calmly replied, “There’s no need for that. Everyone, go in.”
As she spoke, he was about to walk in when Wen Jinming hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, “Garrison Commander, please go in with Sun Wei first. I’ll remain outside to wait with my men!”
Yan Luoying turned around and frowned. “What are you waiting for, Deputy Commander Wen?”
Wen Jinming said with a smile, “There’s also the other deputy garrison commander, Su Wen, who will be coming here today. After all, we’ll be brothers serving His Majesty in the future. It’s best to welcome him as well.”
Yan Luoying said coldly, “No need. Everyone, come in with me now.”
As she gave the order, her aura surged out. After all, she was someone who had commanded an army to fight before. Her tone was so domineering that it shocked everyone.
Wen Jinming smiled and said, “Then listen to the commander! Brothers, go in!”
After everyone entered the office, they dispersed. Only Wen Jinming and Sun Wei led Yan Luoying to familiarize herself with the surroundings.
After a tour of the place, both of them led Yan Luoying to the meeting room. Wen Jinming smiled and said, “This is the office of the Commander, and the place for all of us brothers to gather when you summon us.”
Yan Luoying looked around and nodded. “I understand. What is the main scope for the Guards?”
Wen Jinming said, “There’s no hurry. I’ll give you this month’s tribute first.”
With that said, he took out a stack of banknotes and placed them in front of Yan Luoying. He said, “There are a total of three thousand and two hundred stalls in the east side of the city. Every month, they will have to pay 50,000 taels of silver. According to the rules, you will get 20%, the deputy commanders will get 5% each, and the rest will be given to the brothers below.”
Yan Luoying narrowed her eyes and looked at the bank notes on the table.
10,000 taels!
This was no small sum!
She did not even possess 10,000 taels of silver in her entire net worth. Yan Ze had only given her a total of 2,000 taels of silver when she entered the capital. This was more than half of Yan Ze’s savings.
Yan Ze loved soldiers like his own children and had never embezzled money. He would also send over support for the families of the deceased, so he was not rich.
Yan Luoying never expected that a mere patrol guard in the eastern part of the capital could receive 10,000 taels of silver as tribute!
“Did you take all this money from the shops?” Yan Luoying asked coldly.
Seeing this, Wen Jinming inwardly felt that something was wrong.
“That’s right. This is a rule that the patrolling guards have since they arrived.”
“Rules? Who set them?” Yan Luoying was a little angry. “Do you still have any conscience? Return the money to them immediately. From today onwards, the Patrol Guards will not receive any benefits from the civilians!”
Wen Jinming did not expect that the first thing Yan Luoying did when she came would be to cut off the biggest source of income in the Patrol Office.
In reality, the Guards did not have any jurisdiction over the shops, but they had the right to arrest and detain people. Therefore, no matter what business you had, so long as the guards went in to arrest you a few times, your business would be finished.
Therefore, the shop owners would naturally send their gifts to show their respect. As for the patrolling guards, they would then not harass the merchants for no reason.
Wen Jinming and Sun Wei looked at each other with dissatisfaction.
Right then, a lazy voice sounded.
“Oh, the Commander has already arrived?”
The person who spoke was Su Wen. He entered the meeting room and casually pulled a chair to sit down.
Wen Jinming hurriedly went forward and said with a smile, “This must be Lord Su Wen. I’m the deputy garrison commander here, Wen Jinming. That’s Deputy garrison commander Sun Wei.”
Su Wen nodded.
Wen Jinming hurriedly said, “Lord Su, you came at the right time. This Lord Yan has just arrived and is about to cut off our patrolling guards’ income. Please help to persuade her.”
Su Wen’s eyes lit up and he asked curiously, “Income? How much do I get every month?”
“Around 2,500 taels!” Wen Jinming said honestly.
Su Wen rolled his eyes. “And here I thought I was going to get a lot. What’s the point of having so little money? If you ask me, I’ll just cut it off.”
Wen Jinming was speechless.
Indeed. The young man before him had thrown out several hundred thousand taels in a single night. Why would he care about 2,500 taels?
He hurriedly said, “Young Master Su, you may not care about the silver, but our brothers do. They’re still counting on the silver to feed their families. If we cut the source of income just like that, what will happen to them?”
As soon as Wen Jinming finished speaking, Yan Luoying shouted, “Nonsense! Doesn’t His Majesty give you your salaries? Why do you need to plunder people’s hard earned money?”
Wen Jinming said with a bitter smile, “Ordinary guards have a salary of two taels every month, but these guards are all martial artists, and their appetites are huge. In addition, they are located in the capital, so how can a family of young and old rely on this bit of silver to survive?”
This excuse could not convince Yan Luoying at all. To put it bluntly, a normal waiter would also only earn two taels of silver a month. Why were they still able to live?
People were never satisfied. Who would complain about having too much money? They would definitely get more if they could.
“Alright, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Just do as I say. If I find anyone who dares to collect the citizens’ money again, I will chase him out of the patrolling area!”
Yan Luoying ordered.
Wen Jinming’s face darkened.
Yan Luoying ordered, “Hurry up and tell me about our recent tasks!”
Wen Jinming said coldly, “Recently, there has been a murder case in the East District. We don’t have any leads at the moment. I’ll go and retrieve the files in a bit.”
“In addition, the Sea Sand Gang and the Sky Chief Gang often fight in the east city. However, they have managed to clean up after themselves and no one typically reports them to the authorities. By the time we receive the news, it’s usually after the incident, so it’s hard to blame them.”
His tone was stiff.
Clearly, he was suppressing his anger. He was very unhappy that Yan Luoying had touched the biggest cake of the patrol guards.
By the side, Sun Wei also had a face full of indignation.
Su Wen took everything in but chose not to say anything. It was none of his business what Yan Luoying wanted to do.
He stood up and said with a smile, “Commander, I still have something to do at home today, so I’ll take a day off. I hope you’ll allow it.”
“No!” Yan Luoying refused without thinking.
“Oh…” To Yan Luoying’s surprise, Su Wen was not angry. He just sat back down quietly.
Following that, he shouted, “Ning Shuang! Ning Shuang! Bring the pastries over!”
Everyone then saw Ning Shuang running in with a box of food in her hand.
After entering, she took out six desserts from the snack box and placed them in front of Su Wen.
Picking up a piece of pastry, Su Wen stuffed it into his mouth before instructing, “Get He Ping’an to notify the Spiritual Master Residence’s Master Mo Xin to come here to see me.”
His behavior left everyone stunned!
