The wealthy young master, who had been showing off his riches, was now completely disregarded. There were plenty of such brash individuals; he was merely nouveau riche.
However, since Cheng Yaojin had delivered his own relative to the authorities, this matter required his opinion.
Thus, Zhou Tong was confined, and someone was dispatched to invite Cheng Yaojin.
Cheng Yaojin had just woken up when a servant informed him that Wu Zhong, the head of the Buliangren, was seeking an audience.
In the Tang Dynasty, Buliangren were equivalent to present-day detectives and SWAT officers, and the head of the Buliangren was their leader.
Cheng Yaojin arrived at his main hall and saw several Buliangren standing there.
Upon his entrance, one of them bowed and said, "Greetings, General Cheng. The Prefect requests your presence. He states that the individuals you apprehended last night have confessed, and there are some details that require your personal attention."
"Oh? Just a few petty thieves, do they have any particular background?"
Cheng Yaojin was somewhat puzzled. Burglary and assault in the dead of night, apprehended on the spot – what else could there be?
"To be frank, General, the Prefect did not elaborate. He merely asked that you be invited, and he will explain everything to you there."
"Lead the way. I wish to see what sort of characters these thieves are."
With that, Cheng Yaojin accepted the handkerchief from his servant, hastily wiped his face, and headed for the door.
The Buliangren quickly followed, taking the lead to guide Cheng Yaojin.
Upon arriving at the Chang'an Prefecture yamen, the Prefect was waiting at the entrance. Seeing Cheng Yaojin, he hurried forward.
"I apologize for summoning General Cheng so early in the morning. Please forgive me."
"Your subordinate mentioned that those thieves have some details to reveal. What is this about?"
Cheng Yaojin asked, looking at the Prefect.
"Please come inside the yamen, General. This matter is not convenient to discuss outside."
Cheng Yaojin asked no further and went directly into the Chang'an Prefecture yamen. Upon reaching the main hall, he made himself comfortable, plopping down on a Hu stool typically used by the advisor.
He would not sit on the Prefect's own stool. Despite being a rough man, he understood such decorum.
The Prefect followed him into the hall, gave a signal to the others, and everyone wisely withdrew.
"General, may I ask if you apprehended these individuals yourself? Do you know them?"
The Prefect stood by General Cheng and asked in a low voice.
"Hmm? What do you mean by that? Are you suspecting these individuals have some connection to me? Do not forget, it was I who handed them over!"
Cheng Yaojin, enraged, jumped up from the Hu stool.
"What the hell is this? How does this concern me?"
"General, if you do not know them, then I am relieved. It seems someone has been acting wickedly under your name. That Zhou Tong confessed that a distant relative of yours had his sights on that young master and instructed him to scout the young master's home. Unexpectedly, you caught them. Furthermore, Zhou Tong seems not to recognize you."
"Then what are we waiting for? Send someone to apprehend my distant relative! I want to see who dares to commit evil deeds under my name!"
Upon hearing the Prefect's words, Cheng Yaojin's anger escalated. He grabbed the Prefect by his collar and spoke fiercely.
The Prefect did not get angry; he had long heard of this man's fiery temper.
"General, please calm your anger. I will send for the arrest immediately. Please release your hand first."
Cheng Yaojin awkwardly withdrew his hand, then smoothed the Prefect's collar with his own hand. The action looked utterly comical.
The Prefect exited and said to those nearby, "According to Zhou Tong's confession, go and apprehend the person. Remember, do not harm them!"
With this instruction, those around him understood.
Wu Zhong led the team, and they filed out, heading towards the pawnshop.
The pawnshop owner was still waiting for news from his employees, but instead of his employees, he saw a group of Buliangren storm in.
Startled, he thought, "This is not good."
"Are you the owner of this pawnshop?"
Wu Zhong entered the pawnshop and asked the owner.
Shopkeeper Cheng trembled, cautiously raising his head to look at Wu Zhong. "Replying to the officer, this humble one is indeed the owner of this pawnshop. May I ask what business you have?"
He now only hoped that Zhou Tong and the others had not gotten into trouble and implicated him.
"Are you surnamed Cheng? Are you a distant relative of General Cheng?"
Shopkeeper Cheng trembled again. He was indeed surnamed Cheng, but he had no relation whatsoever to Cheng Yaojin. He had, however, often used the guise of a distant Cheng relative to engage in illegal activities.
"This humble one is indeed surnamed Cheng, but..."
Before he could finish, Wu Zhong interrupted him.
"Then it must be you. Come, take him away!"
Two men from behind Wu Zhong rushed forward and bound the shopkeeper Cheng.
"Yes, tied up, he will not be harmed."
Cheng Yaojin looked at the securely bound shopkeeper Cheng with a sinister smile. "Come, come, tell me, which distant relative of mine are you? I have campaigned with the Emperor for many years and truly did not know I had any distant relatives."
Upon hearing that the man standing before him was Cheng Yaojin, the shopkeeper Cheng immediately went limp and collapsed to the ground.
What kind of situation was this!
A false god had met a true god!
"General, spare me! This humble one is only surnamed Cheng and never claimed to be your relative. Someone must have framed this humble one!"
The Prefect also understood what was happening. He waved and beckoned Wu Zhong over.
"Go to the prison and bring up Zhou Tong and the others."
Soon, Zhou Tong and the other three, covered in blood, were thrown into the hall.
"Zhou Tong, do you recognize this person?"
Zhou Tong weakly raised his head, confirmed, and replied, "Reporting to sir, it is indeed this person. This person always claimed to be a distant relative of General Cheng, which is why this humble one was fooled and followed his instructions."
"Shopkeeper Cheng, what do you have to say now?"
The Prefect sternly asked the collapsed shopkeeper Cheng.
Ever since Zhou Tong was brought in, Shopkeeper Cheng knew he was finished and could only cry out in supplication, "Sir, have mercy! Sir, have mercy!"
"Someone! Escort this person to prison and interrogate him thoroughly to see what other lawless acts he has committed!"
The Prefect threw a detention order onto the floor and issued his command to a Buliangren standing by.
"Yes!"
Several Buliangren dragged the now limp shopkeeper Cheng out like a dead dog.
Then, they proceeded to search the pawnshop. Not much money was found, but they did recover the mirror that Fang Er had pawned, along with a pile of counterfeit flying money.
Fang Er was unaware that thankfully, he had only accepted cash and gold that day. Otherwise, he might not have been able to use the flying money even if he had accepted it.
After the case was handled, Cheng Yaojin felt that someone had impersonated him and, worse, had victimized his brother. He felt obligated to inform Fang Er.
Yes, he now truly considered Fang Er a brother.