Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1484

"Two of these five people are on night duty at the Imperial Hospital. According to the rules, they are off duty today and do not need to return to the garrison to report for duty."

As soon as the Imperial Guard finished speaking, Mao Xiang immediately waved his hand and then took over the conversation.

"We need not discuss the people on duty at the Imperial Hospital; we only need to talk about the remaining three."

In Mao Xiang's view, the two people on duty at the Imperial Hospital could not be suspected, because they could not leave the Imperial Hospital.

If they leave innocently, someone will report it immediately, since the White Lotus Taoist fought with Zhang Hai and his group last night.

If the two Imperial Guards on duty had left the Imperial Hospital last night, Mao Xiang would have received the news immediately, so they were not suspects.

On the other side, the Imperial Guards, upon hearing Mao Xiang's words, immediately bypassed the two men and continued talking about the remaining three.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the other three people are in dire need of care because their wives are giving birth and their elderly mothers are ill."

"The last one was that my mother suddenly passed away at home. I was unable to report it in advance, so I just asked a colleague to come to the health station to report the specific situation."

"Because he needs to return to his hometown to observe mourning and filial piety, he should have already left the capital."

After the Imperial Guard finished reporting, he looked at Mao Xiang and waited for instructions. However, Mao Xiang did not speak, but Zhang Hai interrupted.

"Brother, let me ask you, are any of those people you mentioned injured?"

Upon hearing Zhang Hai's question, the Imperial Guard first glanced at Mao Xiang, and only after seeing Mao Xiang nod did he turn to Zhang Hai and reply:

"I don't know either, because these three are special cases. They didn't come to the garrison themselves, but had their colleagues report it for them."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hai pondered for a moment before asking again.

"Among those who are on duty today, are there any injured, especially in the legs?"

"This one……"

The Imperial Guard hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Mao Xiang did not object, he finally responded.

"If we Jinyiwei are injured, we do not need to report for duty, and we need to stay in the garrison and be cared for by special medical workers."

"Therefore, those who can be on duty are basically healthy and free from injury, and can act at any time. It is impossible for them to be injured while on duty."

Upon hearing this explanation, Zhang Hai nodded slowly. Since no one was working while injured, there was basically no need to waste time investigating.

The key next step is to find clues from the three Imperial Guards who were not on duty.

So after the Imperial Guard finished speaking, Zhang Hai immediately continued to ask about the situation of those three people.

"Brother, I'd like to ask, do the garrison know where those three Imperial Guards who didn't come are staying?"

"Of course!"

As soon as Zhang Hai finished speaking, the Imperial Guard immediately gave a precise response, and then explained:

“The residence of all members of our Embroidered Uniform Guard is recorded. If someone does not have a house to live in, they will be arranged to stay in the guard post.”

"Very good, that's good!"

Zhang Hai nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze toward Mao Xiang.

"Commander Mao, I'd like to trouble you to send a few men with me to check on the homes of those three Imperial Guards."

"this is very simple."

Mao Xiang nodded in response, but then immediately spoke again:

“But there’s no need to send anyone. I’ll go with you personally. I also want to see who this guy who snuck in is!”

Zhang Hai watched Mao Xiang from the side, and could clearly hear the intense killing intent in his tone.

However, this is not important. Since Mao Xiang is willing to accompany them personally, it will obviously be more convenient than him leading his own men.

So after Mao Xiang finished speaking, Zhang Hai immediately responded with a smile.

"That would be perfect. With Commander Mao accompanying me, I can save myself a lot of trouble explaining."

After giving a brief reply, Mao Xiang obtained the three men's addresses from the Imperial Guard and left with Zhang Hai.

After leaving the garrison, the two rushed to the vicinity of the Jinyiwei's house where the woman had given birth.

They had originally planned to observe the situation discreetly without alerting the enemy, but as soon as they arrived, they heard a string of firecrackers exploding.

Then a middle-aged man rushed out of the house, shouting excitedly to those around him:

"A big, healthy baby boy! It's a big, healthy baby boy! My wife gave birth to a big, healthy baby boy! I... I have a son!!"

Upon hearing the man's call, all the neighbors came out of their homes and offered their congratulations.

At that moment, the person who had shouted also happened to see Mao Xiang, and after a moment of stunned silence, immediately ran over.

"Your subordinate greets Commander. What brings you here, sir?"

Mao Xiang did not respond immediately, but looked at Zhang Hai beside him, while Zhang Hai was also sizing up the man.

Because the White Lotus Taoist kept his body shrouded in a black robe, Zhang Hai couldn't be sure if it was him.

However, judging from the joyful expression on the person's face and the way he ran over, it's almost certain that it wasn't him.

Of course, while it's all speculation, Zhang Hai wouldn't be careless about the necessary verification procedures, especially since today is the day someone is celebrating the birth of their son.

Zhang Hai didn't want to make others uncomfortable, so he thought for a moment before speaking:

“Brother, it’s not Commander Mao who’s looking for you, it’s me who’s looking for you. My name is Zhang Hai, and I’m a bodyguard for the Duke of Zhenguo.”

"For some reason, my young master needed to borrow a few people from Commander Mao, and someone happened to recommend you, so we came."

Then Zhang Hai used a lot of persuasion to fool the Imperial Guard, and forced him to demonstrate his physical abilities.

The other party made them run back and forth three times to confirm that there was nothing wrong with the person's legs, which meant that the person was not a suspect.

As expected, this member of the Imperial Guard was not selected, but Zhang Hai still gave him ten taels of silver and congratulated him.

After clearing the first Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) of suspicion, Zhang Hai and Mao Xiang took action again, arriving near the home of the second Jinyiwei.

Upon entering the home of this Imperial Guard, they saw an elderly woman lying in bed and a young man tending to her bedside, serving her tea and water.

Seeing the situation inside the house, Zhang Hai knew that this person was probably not the real one, but he still cautiously checked the place.

Just like before, Wei Wu used the excuse of needing to borrow someone to do something to let this young man demonstrate his physical abilities.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the other person's limbs, Zhang Hai took out another ten taels of silver and then left with Mao Xiang.

Since the first two Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) have been cleared of suspicion, the most likely suspect is this third Jinyiwei.

However, when Zhang Hai and Mao Xiang arrived at the location, Mao Xiang, who hadn't said much until now, suddenly spoke up.

"I seem to recognize this place!"