Zhao Feng disregarded his physical exhaustion and immediately led everyone to fly with the wind, rushing back to The Great Within imperial palace.
Only when they returned to the Internal Affairs Bureau's territory did Zhao Feng finally relax.
He allowed Li Xuan, Chen Tan, and Jiang Shanao to rest, and ordered for Bartell and Meng En to be imprisoned pending trial.
Although Belgrade escaped tonight, keeping these two was not a loss.
Originally, Li Xuan had gone to the Ministry of Justice Prison to find Chen Tan, but he unexpectedly stumbled upon the prison break, which was a complete surprise.
The Internal Affairs Bureau had previously wanted to take custody of several members of the Great Desert Envoy Delegation to interrogate them for useful intelligence.
Especially after the incident in the Northern Border, they were even more eager to ask if they had any understanding of the Cold Tide situation.
Previously, officials had repeatedly obstructed them, and there were also experts arranged by Prince Zheng constantly guarding against the Internal Affairs Bureau's attempt to break into the prison, so the matter had been put on hold.
Now, it was good; the Internal Affairs Bureau had finally gotten their hands on two people from the Great Desert Envoy Delegation.
When Li Xuan had previously monitored the Great Desert Envoy Delegation, he knew that these two individuals had unusual identities.
Meng En was Belgrade's disciple, and Bartell was also a minor official in the delegation, having the qualification to discuss matters with Belgrade.
Apart from Belgrade, the leader of the delegation, the two highest-ranking members of the delegation were now in their hands, so they weren't afraid of not being able to extract valuable intelligence.
"Who is this brave warrior?"
After Zhao Feng sent people to escort the two valuable captives away, he turned to size up Jiang Shanao.
Seeing that this person also seemed to be helping Li Xuan earlier, Zhao Feng didn't investigate further at first.
Now that they were in the palace, he naturally had to first ascertain Jiang Shanao's background.
"Chief Zhao, I am Jiang Shanao, entrusted by Hero Mo of the Red Scarf Squad to assist in apprehending the escaped prisoners."
Jiang Shanao had heard the conversation between Zhao Feng and the Third-Rank experts earlier, knowing that this was the Chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau, and dared not be disrespectful, so he quickly reported his name.
As expected of an experienced Jianghu veteran, his words were watertight, making Li Xuan chuckle.
"Brother, it seems you also broke out of prison, didn't you?"
Li Xuan secretly snickered.
"Jiang Shanao?"
Zhao Feng murmured Jiang Shanao's name, as if recalling something.
Seeing this posture, Jiang Shanao quickly said:
"Hey, traveling the Jianghu, seeing injustice, and acting heroically is the duty of us chivalrous individuals; it's all as it should be."
"Now that the prisoners have been taken into custody, I shouldn't bother you further."
"It's not good for a Jianghu wanderer like me to casually enter a forbidden area like the imperial palace. How about Chief Zhao sends someone to escort me out now?"
"Gang Leader Chen, would you like to come along?"
After speaking, Jiang Shanao didn't forget to invite Chen Tan to leave with him.
He originally thought that a gang leader of an underground organization like Chen Tan wouldn't dare to stay long in the imperial palace, but to his surprise, Chen Tan just smiled and declined him.
"Hero Jiang, take care. I, Chen, am a bit tired and plan to rest a bit before leaving."
"Uh..." Jiang Shanao was a little puzzled, but then he continued the conversation, saying, "Alright, then Gang Leader Chen, please rest well."
"Chief Zhao, is it convenient to send me out now?"
Zhao Feng hesitated for a moment, about to reply, when he suddenly heard a tender, childish voice say in a milky tone:
"He's a prisoner, meow."
"Send him back to the Ministry of Justice Prison, meow."
Jiang Shanao was greatly alarmed, his forehead sweating, and he looked around frantically in fear, but he couldn't find the source of the voice.
"Damn it, who betrayed me?"
Jiang Shanao cursed inwardly, turning his gaze to Chen Tan, only to find that Chen Tan had a similarly surprised expression.
"Whose mischievous child is this, so unrestrained!?"
Jiang Shanao searched for a long time but couldn't find the owner of the voice, but just by the sound, he knew it was a little kid.
He then thought that he couldn't afford to offend the children in the palace, so he immediately withdrew his gaze and politely explained to Zhao Feng:
"Chief Zhao, there must be some misunderstanding here."
Although Jiang Shanao said so, it was clear that Zhao Feng's gaze towards him was full of disbelief.
Just then, a Flower-Clothed Eunuchs came in to report, whispering a few words to Zhao Feng.
After the reporting Flower-Clothed Eunuchs left, Zhao Feng lightly greeted Jiang Shanao:
"Oh, so it's the famous Unbreakable Vajra of the Jianghu, Hero Jiang Shanao."
"I, your humble servant, have lived deep within the palace for many years and have been blind, failing to recognize Hero Jiang."
A bead of sweat as big as a bean rolled down Jiang Shanao's forehead.
In the Jianghu, he, Jiang Shanao, was indeed a figure of some renown.
But in front of Third-Rank experts, he, Jiang Shanao, was just a small fry.
He didn't know if he was lucky or unlucky tonight, encountering almost all Third-Rank experts.
Now, he was even more unlucky; this Chief Zhao in front of him didn't seem to have any intention of letting him go easily.
Indeed, the imperial palace was, in essence, the most authentic government office.
According to the rules, a prisoner like him should be directly transferred back to the Ministry of Justice Prison.
It would have been fine to send him back; it wasn't Jiang Shanao's first time, and he could just break out of prison again like before.
But the problem was, after he personally witnessed the situation tonight, how could he dare to even think about breaking out of prison again?
"If I had known the capital was like this, I wouldn't have entered the Ministry of Justice Prison for anything!"
Jiang Shanao complained bitterly in his heart.
In the past, he had always broken out of county yamen prisons and prefectural yamen prisons.
He thought the Ministry of Justice Prison would follow a similar procedure, but the reality completely shocked him.
There were more Third-Rank experts ambushing outside the cells than Jiang Shanao had seen in his entire life.
If he were locked up again this time, he might not be able to get out.
"Chief Zhao, I'm innocent!"
Jiang Shanao plopped down on the ground, snot and tears streaming down his face.
"The deeds of Hero Jiang don't sound innocent at all," Zhao Feng said with a chuckle.
"Everything this young man has done has its own reasons, and I have never harmed a single life. All the birthday tribute I've stolen has been distributed to the common people; I haven't dared to spend a single penny myself!"
"According to the Daxing Dynasty's laws, robbing a birthday tribute is a capital offense, punishable by execution in the autumn," Zhao Feng said coldly.
"No, no, I didn't rob the Emperor's birthday tribute. It was all ill-gotten gains extorted from the common people by corrupt officials. There wasn't a single penny of the Emperor's."
"The Emperor's birthday tribute, even if you gave me a hundred guts, I wouldn't dare to rob it."
Jiang Shanao was incredibly humble in front of Zhao Feng, shouting his grievances to the heavens to avoid being sent back to the Ministry of Justice Prison.
"This young man has been committing crimes everywhere to find his master, constantly looking for opportunities to enter prisons to find people. He absolutely has no intention of going against the government."
Jiang Shanao was so anxious that he almost started singing praises for the Daxing Dynasty in front of Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng immediately put on a very difficult expression, and Li Xuan happily snickered by his side.
Just now, Zhao Feng had given Li Xuan a look, and only then did Li Xuan cooperate by tattling on Jiang Shanao.
Originally, Li Xuan didn't know Zhao Feng's intention, but now it seemed he wanted to recruit Jiang Shanao.
Not to say making Jiang Shanao join the Internal Affairs Bureau, but at least he could help for a while.
At this time, there was a great need for people, and Fourth-Rank experts were also scarce.
Especially skilled individuals from the Jianghu who had some reputation.
Li Xuan immediately understood that Zhao Feng probably wanted Jiang Shanao to also join the Red Scarf Squad to further enhance its prestige.
Li Xuan and Chen Tan both understood what was going on, but Jiang Shanao, as the one involved, hadn't yet figured it out.
One could say that Zhao Feng's methods of manipulating people were excellent. Finally, amidst Jiang Shanao's gratitude, Zhao Feng reluctantly kept Jiang Shanao, and said that if his future performance was good, he could help him clear his past cases.
Jiang Shanao was naturally immensely grateful, completely deferring to Zhao Feng.
"Chief Zhao, your great kindness, this young man will never forget."
Jiang Shanao whimpered a few times, but unfortunately, he couldn't squeeze out any tears, so he could only dry his eyes a few times to express his excitement.
This young man also seemed to have realized that this latter part was a bit exaggerated.
But it didn't matter whether they understood each other's thoughts; what was important was that everyone got what they needed and helped each other.
"Alright, next it's Gang Leader Chen's turn."
After encouraging Jiang Shanao, Zhao Feng continued.
Chen Tan was startled, and hesitated:
"Me, should I also kowtow to Chief Zhao?"
Chen Tan was a bit puzzled. Although the Money Gang was an underground organization, he truly had no criminal record and didn't need the Internal Affairs Bureau to clear his name.
But the other party saved him, and he was also the Chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau, so kowtowing wouldn't be too much of a loss for Chen Tan.
The most important thing was that Zhao Feng was a Third-Rank Martial Artist.
Chen Tan couldn't afford to offend him.
Chen Tan was also adaptable, and he made a gesture as if to kowtow to Zhao Feng.
Jiang Shanao grinned foolishly from the side, as if happy that Chen Tan couldn't escape this fate either.
There were only a few people present just now, and Jiang Shanao suspected that Chen Tan had used ventriloquism to tattle on him.
Now, the tables had turned, and it was his turn to enjoy Chen Tan's predicament.
Zhao Feng quickly stopped him and said:
"Gang Leader Chen, you've misunderstood."
"I want to ask you what exactly happened to the Money Gang."
Chen Tan smoothly shifted his body, straightened his knees again, and said:
"Oh, so that's how it is."
"Haha, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
Chen Tan let out a few awkward laughs to ease his embarrassment, then his face hardened, and he said seriously:
"This is a long story. The current situation is that the Money Gang has been taken over by Prince Zheng. Although there are still some brothers in the gang who support me, when one is under another's roof, one has no choice but to bow one's head and can only choose to feign compliance."
"Before, I was framed with some charges and then secretly imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice Prison. If it weren't for my prestige within the gang, I'm afraid they would have eliminated me long ago."
"Tonight, using the prison break of that Great Desert envoy, they could shift the blame for my murder to a Great Desert person. Then they could legitimately elect a new gang leader and even use the pretext of avenging me to completely absorb the Money Gang into their control."
Chen Tan briefly analyzed the other party's intentions. As the person involved, he could only sigh helplessly and shake his head.
He also knew very well that the moment Prince Zheng showed his true colors, he had no power to resist.
This was not an enemy he and the Money Gang could contend with.
No matter how powerful the Money Gang was, it was still just a Jianghu gang.
It wasn't a Martial Arts Holy Land of the Jianghu, with enough strength to make people wary.
The Money Gang's most outstanding qualities were its ability to make money and its members spread throughout the world.
Chen Tan had previously not sided with any force precisely to avoid becoming a tool in someone else's hands.
He also knew that only by doing so could the Money Gang survive.
Unfortunately, the arm ultimately couldn't twist the thigh. When Prince Zheng got serious, Chen Tan couldn't bear it.
Logically, with the Money Gang's years of operation, it shouldn't have been so easily dealt with.
It was Chen Tan's own fault for being indifferent to Prince Zheng's erosion of the Money Gang over so many years, which led to too many turncoats among the gang's core members today.
Originally, Chen Tan had tried not to offend Prince Zheng, but it ultimately harmed him.
But as long as he was alive, there was still hope.
If pushed to the limit, he could throw all his savings from these past few years, and he could still hire many Upper Three Ranks experts to help him give Prince Zheng some trouble.
The Money Gang's strongest foundation was still the wealth they had accumulated over so many years.
Only Chen Tan knew how much this wealth actually amounted to.
After being captured, Chen Tan was able to survive until today thanks to his steadfast secrecy of this secret.
Prince Zheng's men had interrogated him for several days, precisely to obtain all of the Money Gang's wealth.
It was obvious that a considerable portion of the Money Gang's wealth must have been hidden by Chen Tan in a place only he knew.
Under Zhao Feng's questioning, Chen Tan recounted the events of the past few days and laid bare the current situation of the Money Gang.
There was only Jiang Shanao, an outsider, present, and it was inconvenient for him to hear these things, but he had just pledged his loyalty to Zhao Feng and could now be considered one of their own.
Moreover, Zhao Feng recruited him precisely to contribute to this matter, so he naturally needed him to understand the situation.
Jiang Shanao listened and gradually realized something was wrong, but by the time he wanted to withdraw, it was already too late.
Just like that, Jiang Shanao, in a daze, joined them in their actions against Prince Zheng.
After hearing about Prince Zheng's theft of the Money Gang, Jiang Shanao, who still wanted to extricate himself, couldn't help but say:
"His Royal Highness Prince Zheng has a good reputation; he shouldn't do such things, right?"
"Is there some misunderstanding in this?"
Jiang Shanao, of course, wished it was a misunderstanding.
But the firm gazes of the two men and one cat forced Jiang Shanao to abandon that possibility.
"Alas, I'm just a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist, at most a bit resilient. How much help can I be?"
"You are mistaken, Hero Jiang can be of great help!"
Zhao Feng immediately retorted, patting Jiang Shanao's shoulder, looking very expectant of him.
Jiang Shanao knew that he couldn't get off this pirate ship.
He had heard what he shouldn't have heard, and seen what he shouldn't have seen.
Now, if he wanted to leave, he might not even be able to return to the Ministry of Justice Prison.
"By the way, Chief Zhao."
"How did you know that I was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice Prison?"
After finishing the situation of the Money Gang, Chen Tan couldn't help but ask.
"We learned this news from your gang's Vice-Gang Leader Yang Wanli, but he also seems to have his own difficulties. On the surface, he is cooperating with Prince Zheng's people, but he secretly conveyed the message to us."
Hearing this, Chen Tan breathed a sigh of relief.
He was truly afraid that his escape tonight was also Prince Zheng's scheme.
If the news came from Yang Wanli, it could put Chen Tan at ease quite a bit.
Zhao Feng saw the change in Chen Tan's expression and couldn't help but ask with a smile:
"It seems Gang Leader Chen trusts this Vice-Gang Leader Yang very much."
Chen Tan chuckled and replied, "Of course! He's my iron buddy!"
Some things, Chen Tan didn't explicitly say.
Regarding the Money Gang's wealth, Yang Wanli was also half-informed.
If Yang Wanli had also defected to Prince Zheng, Chen Tan would have been silenced long ago.
Every time Prince Zheng's people came to interrogate him, Chen Tan could confirm that his brother had not betrayed him.
Now, he was sure that his trust had not been betrayed, how could he not feel relieved?
"Good brother, I will save you from this sea of suffering!"
Chen Tan secretly vowed in his heart.