Chapter 38 – Let the Jinyiwei Destroy Themselves

As the hour of wei approached, Deng Xingchao finally returned to the Commandant’s Office with the Jinyiwei.

Mu Nanjin, whose stomach had been growling the whole way, headed straight for the dining hall.

When she saw the dish of the day was shredded radish stir-fried with pork—again—she instantly flared up.

【Shredded radish stir-fried with pork, again—seriously?】

【I’m filing a complaint against the head chef! He’s clearly embezzling public funds. Every day, it’s the same dish—barely any oil, hardly any salt. There’s so little meat, and what’s there is so miserably tiny it can’t even fill the gap between my teeth!】

【He must be pocketing at least a thousand taels a day. That’s tens of thousands a month, hundreds of thousands a year! That’s no small amount.】

【And this is the Jinyiwei Headquarters, for heaven’s sake. You people turn a blind eye to blatant corruption right under your noses—just to protect whoever’s backing the chef?】

【You think this is a trivial matter, but have you ever considered that when a man’s stomach isn’t satisfied, he might betray you? He might take bribes from others just to eat better, leaking information to the enemy. That’s why some of your cases never get solved!】

【And when more and more cases go unsolved, the Emperor will start doubting the Jinyiwei’s ability. Once that happens, it’s only a matter of time before we’re disbanded.】

【…Actually, wait. If the Jinyiwei were disbanded, that’d be great! I wouldn’t have to work from dawn till dusk every day. Wonderful! Hehe, I’ve decided not to complain after all. Let the Jinyiwei destroy themselves.】

Mu Nanjin had been so riled up that she forgot her thoughts could be heard—every Jinyiwei of Sixth Rank and above within the Commandant’s Office heard her entire tirade.

Captain Liu, who had been on his way to greet her, froze mid-step when her words reached his ears. He turned toward Kan Chaoyan and the others.

Kan Chaoyan frowned deeply. “What she said isn’t wrong. His Majesty has already begun questioning the Left Division’s competence. If this continues, the Left Division will be replaced entirely.”

Colonel Jiang, seated to Kan Chaoyan’s left, wasn’t quite convinced. “People are greedy by nature. Even if we feed and clothe every Jinyiwei well, there will still be traitors among us.”

Kan Chaoyan nodded. “True, it can’t be completely prevented. But if we make sure our men eat properly, the chances of betrayal would certainly decrease.”

Colonel Jiang hesitated. “It’s easy enough to investigate the chef, but the people backing him won’t be so easy to deal with.”

Kan Chaoyan was silent for a moment. Then he said firmly, “I’ll handle this matter personally. Captain Liu, go to the dining hall now and find that girl Mu. Pretend you just noticed the food situation.”

“Yes, sir.”

Captain Liu headed to the dining hall and stormed in with feigned irritation.

“Mu Nanjin, I thought you’d forgotten you were supposed to return to duty at the Commandant’s Office today.”

Mu Nanjin glanced at him calmly, picked up a chopstickful of shredded radish, and put it in her mouth.

The other Jinyiwei quickly rose and saluted. “Greetings, Captain!”

Captain Liu nodded in acknowledgment and walked up to Mu Nanjin. “It’s already the hour of wei. Why didn’t you eat at home before coming here? You came all the way here just for a meal?”

Mu Nanjin replied evenly, “The food at home is too good. I wanted to try something lighter here.”

Captain Liu looked at her plate—nothing but shredded radish, not a trace of meat. “Radish rice? This is what you’re eating? Don’t you like meat?”

“Everyone eats the same thing.”

Captain Liu swept his gaze around the hall. Every Jinyiwei had the same meal—shredded radish and rice.

Some, starved from a day’s work, found it tasty enough. Others, less hungry, barely touched it.

Captain Liu’s expression darkened. “Why isn’t there any meat in today’s lunch?”

Mu Nanjin answered blandly, “There hasn’t been any meat for days.”

Captain Liu turned to one of the nearby Jinyiwei. “Is that true?”

The man stiffened, not daring to answer—afraid of offending the wrong person.

Captain Liu’s face hardened. Without another word, he strode toward the serving counter.