Chapter 39 – Satisfying

The cook in charge of serving meals saw that the person approaching was dressed in a dark-blue Flying Fish Robe and hurriedly bowed. “Greetings, My Lord.”

Captain Liu ignored him and glanced at the massive basin of shredded radish stir-fried with pork in front of the cook. Yet, no matter how closely he looked, he couldn’t find even a single piece of meat, nor the glisten of oil.

Fuming, he snatched the ladle from the cook’s hand and stirred hard. Only after several scoops did he spot a few pathetic shreds of meat, each barely the size of a thumb.

“This… this is what the Jinyiwei are being fed?”

Guilt flashed in the cook’s eyes. “R-Reporting to My Lord, yes… yes it is.”

Captain Liu slammed the ladle back down. “If I recall correctly, the funds allocated to the canteen each month are no less than fifty thousand taels, enough to ensure every man gets two meat dishes and one vegetable dish daily. Now look around. What kind of slop are we eating instead?”

He had long known the food situation in the Commandant’s Office was poor, but seeing it with his own eyes still filled him with rage.

The five cooks instantly dropped to their knees in terror.

Knowing the minor cooks weren’t the true culprits, Captain Liu demanded coldly, “Where’s the head chef?”

“In… in the back courtyard.”

“Go fetch him. Now.”

“Y-Yes, My Lord.”

One of the cooks scrambled to his feet and bolted for the rear courtyard.

Moments later, the head chef rushed into the dining hall. Spotting Captain Liu, his face relaxed slightly. “Captain Liu.”

Captain Liu pointed to the basin of food. “Explain this.”

The head chef darted a glance around, lowered his voice, and said with a smirk, “Captain Liu, must you really ask when you already know the answer?”

Everyone in the Commandant’s Office knew he’d been skimming funds from the canteen. The money didn’t stay with him, though; it went straight to the man backing him, the Jinyiwei Vice Commander, a Second Rank official far above Kan Chaoyan and the others.

Captain Liu’s anger surged to his chest. But since Kan Chaoyan had already said he would handle the matter, Captain Liu decided he no longer needed to hold back.

“I don’t care what you mean by that,” Captain Liu said coldly. “All I know is this: if you can’t even keep the Jinyiwei fed, you’ve no business staying here. You have half a month to return every tael you’ve stolen. If you don’t, expect to lose your head.”

The head chef’s face turned ashen. “Captain Liu, I was personally hired by the Vice Commander! You have no authority to dismiss me. If he hears about this, you’ll be the one in trouble. Take my advice, mind your own business.”

The more the chef threatened him, the more determined Captain Liu became. He barked to the Jinyiwei present, “Throw him out of the Commandant’s Office!”

But none of the Jinyiwei moved.

Captain Liu’s expression darkened. “Did you not hear me?”

The men glanced at one another uneasily. No one dared to step forward. No one wanted to offend the Vice Commander.

The chef, seeing their hesitation, grew smug. “The man behind me is the Vice Commander himself. They wouldn’t dare touch me.”

The next instant, his collar was yanked up.

Everyone froze.

Mu Nanjin, face blank, was dragging the head chef toward the door.

The chef exploded in fury. “You damned girl, what do you think you’re doing?!”

Mu Nanjin didn’t even bother replying. When she reached the gates, she simply tossed him out onto the street.

【Ah, that felt good. Finally, no more pig slop tomorrow.】

Captain Liu walked up behind her. “Aren’t you afraid of offending the Vice Commander?”

Mu Nanjin replied calmly, “Aren’t you?”

Of course, he was afraid; without Kan Chaoyan’s support, a mere Sixth Rank officer like him would never dare cross a Second Rank official.

Seeing his silence, Mu Nanjin added, “If you’re scared, then let’s just go to the Emperor and report the Vice Commander ourselves.”

【After all, giving his embezzled silver to Prince Huang to fund a rebellion is more than enough reason to wipe out his entire clan.】

“What!?”

Captain Liu couldn’t help raising his voice. “The Vice Commander is colluding with Prince Huang?”

That revelation hit him like a thunderclap. The Jinyiwei had no idea their own superior had ties to a prince planning treason; it was terrifying.

He quickly looked around to make sure only Ninth Rank Jinyiwei were guarding the gates, then finally exhaled in relief.

“Don’t get involved in this matter,” he said hurriedly. “I have something else for you to do. Stay here and wait for me, a stick of incense at most. I’ll be right back.”

With that, he rushed back to the Left Division and reported everything to Kan Chaoyan.

Upon hearing it, Kan Chaoyan immediately summoned both Captain Liu and Mu Nanjin and led them straight into the palace.