"My brother, what are you doing in the middle of the night? Don't you recognize this uniform?"
Seeing the man's serious expression, Wang Tie Zhu's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive.
"We received orders from above today that everyone entering or leaving the city gates will be strictly checked!"
"Open your dog eyes and see clearly, I am a patrol inspector from Kaifeng Prefecture!"
Although this position meant nothing to the truly powerful, it was useful for bullying these gatekeepers.
After all, although the city gates were under their jurisdiction, once inside the city, it was Kaifeng Prefecture's territory.
"Never mind being a patrol inspector, even if you were the Junior Magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture, I would still check you tonight!"
To Wang Tie Zhu's surprise, even after revealing his identity, the soldiers didn't seem to give him any face.
"Alright, alright, check! If you find anything, I'll admit it, but if you find nothing today, I'll remember your face. Don't let me find your home address, or I'll visit your house three times a day to see if you're hiding any contraband!"
"Check!"
Faced with Wang Tie Zhu's threat, the soldiers scoffed, waved their hands, and soon someone approached him and began to search him.
"Damn it, be gentle! I've already had a fall outside today, and now I've run into you bastards!"
Wang Tie Zhu spoke as he allowed them to search his body.
The item was tied to the sole of his foot, so he wasn't afraid of them searching.
"Old Wang, take off your boots for the patrol inspector!"
After meticulously searching his body, the sleazy soldier suddenly looked at his boots again.
"If you want to take them off, you take them off yourself. Can't you see I'm in a hurry to see a doctor? I'm already this injured, and you're still dawdling. Do you want a beating?"
Wang Tie Zhu spoke as he reached for the hilt of his saber at his waist.
"Patrol Inspector Wang! Hold on! Hold on!"
Just as both sides were on the verge of drawing their weapons, an old, seasoned soldier who had been observing from the side immediately stepped forward.
"My brother, we are all on duty. We just need to go through the motions with the orders from above. We've searched, we've checked. Patrol Inspector Wang is already this injured. Making him take off his boots now is deliberately making things difficult for him. Besides, what could be hidden in such a small pair of boots?"
"This Patrol Inspector Wang is a well-connected figure in Kaifeng Prefecture. If you truly offend him, you might not care, but what about your families back home? You all live in Kaifeng City, can you avoid dealing with Kaifeng Prefecture?"
Looking at Wang Tie Zhu's boots, which were already stained with blood, Niu Er quickly lowered his voice and said to the soldiers around him.
"Forget it, forget it. What bad luck. Let him pass!"
Hearing Niu Er's words, the soldiers' faces showed hesitation.
Niu Er had a point. They, as Imperial Guards, didn't need to fear Wang Tie Zhu, but their parents and siblings were different.
They all lived in Kaifeng Prefecture, who could guarantee they would never have to deal with Kaifeng Prefecture in their lives?
"Bad luck? I'm the one having bad luck encountering you guys! You want to check? Then check! If you don't find anything today, I'm done with this!"
Seeing that the other side had backed down, Wang Tie Zhu became even more defiant.
"Brother Wang, we're all brothers. This is also a task assigned from above. Don't be angry! Hey, you! What are you standing there for? Go find a carriage for Brother San!" Seeing Wang Tie Zhu's angry expression, Niu Er quickly said.
"Now that's what I call talking sense!"
Seeing Niu Er's fawning expression, Wang Tie Zhu snorted coldly.
"Brother San, please don't be angry. It's almost dawn anyway. How about this? I'll drive the carriage for you myself and take you back to your residence. What do you say?"
"Forget it, forget it. You're also on duty. I left my residence in a hurry today, and the candle in my lantern ran out halfway! I fell in a daze and I'm in a bad mood, so my words were unpleasant. Brother, please don't take it to heart!"
"Not at all! Not at all! We're all brothers, it's too formal to say such things!"
As Niu Er spoke, someone had already found a hired carriage.
"Alright, tonight's incident was my fault. Once the leg injury heals, I'll host a banquet at Zhuangyuan Tower to apologize to you brothers!"
"Gladly! Gladly!"
Upon hearing the name Zhuangyuan Tower, Niu Er's face broke into a smile.
A table at Zhuangyuan Tower was almost equivalent to their annual salary.
To be able to eat there once was enough for him to brag about for years.
"Alright, brothers, I'll be leaving now!"
"Farewell!"
It wasn't until the carriage had traveled nearly a hundred paces away from the city gate that Wang Tie Zhu finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Don't go back to Kaifeng Prefecture for now. Take me to Zhaode Fang!"
"Third Master, your condition doesn't look good. Are you going there at this hour?"
Having lived in Kaifeng Prefecture for a long time, these carriage drivers naturally recognized him. Upon hearing his words, the driver asked with a fawning expression.
"What can I do? We eat from the public pot, so we have to be at their beck and call! Even in this condition, I have to go to their residence to report my safety!"
"Alas, what kind of world is this!"
The driver sighed and then turned the carriage around, taking Wang Tie Zhu to Zhaode Fang.
"Third Master, this looks like we're nearing Prince Xin's residence."
Following Wang Tie Zhu's directions, after arriving near Prince Xin's residence, the driver asked with some confusion.
"You shouldn't pry into matters within noble households, don't you know that? If you're not discreet, it's hard to get by with the family. If it weren't for the Junior Magistrate's business, I wouldn't have bothered to make this trip personally!"
"I understand! I understand! I won't ask. Shall I stop in the alley then?"
"Alright, alright, just here. Quickly forget this place and don't cause trouble for the family!"
Wang Tie Zhu spoke as he took out a piece of silver from his怀 and threw it to the driver.
"Understood! Understood!"
After receiving the silver, the driver quickly turned the carriage around with a smiling face and left.
Following the rear wall of Prince Xin's residence into a small alley, and confirming that no one was around, Wang Tie Zhu, enduring the intense pain in his leg, climbed over the low wall.
"What foolish thief is this? Catch him!"