After a brief silence, the court officials inevitably began to discuss. The details of the Sangbo case were now widely known.
The fugitive Zhou, formerly a Hundred Household of the Imperial Guards, was indeed the main culprit who had secretly communicated with the demon race and smuggled gunpowder into the imperial city.
As for whether he was truly the mastermind, opinions differed among the wise. In any case, there were few unintelligent individuals among the bigwigs in the court. Therefore, Wei Yuan’s words fell like a giant stone into the imperial court, causing a great commotion.
Although Wei Yuan, that old eunuch without descendants, was disliked, he was also a respectable opponent. His words carried significant weight.
Someone was about to be finished… This was the unanimous inner thought of the court bigwigs.
The Minister of Rites’ face changed abruptly, his graying beard trembled, and his pupils suddenly froze as he stared straight at Wei Yuan.
This old man was usually praised for his composure, and it was rare to see him lose his composure like this.
Emperor Yuan Jing said in a deep voice: “Summon!”
…
Xu Qi An sat in the driver’s seat and lifted the curtain to look at Zhou Chixiong. The man was still unconscious. To prevent him from committing suicide, Xu Qi An had asked Chu Caiwei for a large dose of anesthetic.
The reason for choosing Yunlu Academy to take over this person, instead of putting him into the Book of Earth fragment, was due to two concerns: First, this person was in the Spirit Refining realm, a higher level than him, so he didn’t dare take risks.
Second, the existence of the Book of Earth fragment was a secret that couldn’t be openly revealed. He couldn’t just take out the Book of Earth fragment in front of the Emperor and court officials in the Hall of Golden Chimes.
Of course, if there was no other way, he would still choose to use the Book of Earth. But now that he had ample connections to handle matters, he tried to avoid using the Book of Earth as much as possible.
“Senior Brother Song, which disciple of the Supervisor is Yang Qianhuan?” While waiting for news from the court, Xu Qi An chatted casually with Senior Brother Song.
Senior Brother Song’s dark circles were rarely seen in the world. In his previous life, he would have been considered an enthusiast of group activities, but Song Qing was a tech guy who stayed away from women.
He only had eyes for human-beast hybrids, not women.
“He is the senior brother of Caiwei and me, the third disciple of our teacher,” Song Qing stepped closer and said in a low voice, “That senior brother of mine has problems with his head.”
Are there any normal ones among the Supervisor’s disciples? Xu Qi An doubted this. He put his hands behind his back, imitating Yang Qianhuan’s posture.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Song Qing nodded repeatedly. “He always likes to turn his back to people, doesn’t speak properly, and all his fellow disciples find him annoying. But he doesn’t feel ashamed, instead, he’s quite pleased with himself.”
“Why is that?” Xu Qi An recalled the brief moment he spent with Yang Qianhuan that night at the courtesan house.
“He says he needs to turn his back on the world to show the demeanor of a great man,” Song Qing said.
Is he cosplaying the Primordial Emperor… Xu Qi An choked on his words, feeling very uncomfortable.
This wasn’t chuunibyou syndrome, which is a deviation in cognition where the essence of thinking becomes problematic. This was a “pretentious king” because showing off was a conscious action, not a problem with cognition.
Xu Qi An thought for a moment and said, “Senior Brother Song, can you help me pass a message to him?”
“Go ahead.”
Xu Qi An lowered his voice: “Holding the bright moon and plucking stars, in this world there’s none like me.”
How arrogant!
Yang Yan and Jiang Luzhong, the two Gold Gongs, twitched their ears as they heard this, instinctively turning their heads to look.
For martial artists, hearing such a sentence was like a hooligan seeing another hooligan showing off. It easily aroused a competitive spirit.
The last time Xu Qi An sang “With sword in hand, who in the world is a hero” at the Star-Gazing Tower, he was scorned by Nan Gong Qianrou for this very reason.
Such arrogant words, Senior Brother Yang will definitely like them, but if he says them everywhere… he’ll probably get beaten up, right? It’s good if he gets beaten up, I’ve long been annoyed by his attitude… Song Qing nodded happily: “I’ll pass it on.”
As they were talking, a eunuch leading a line of armored soldiers came out. He looked around at the palace gate and said loudly:
“Where are the Night Watchmen?”
Jiang Luzhong cupped his hands and said: “Here!”
After everyone took out their waist tokens and gold tokens to prove their identities, the eunuch nodded and said, “Follow me into the palace. His Majesty summons you.”
Yang Yan immediately lifted the carriage curtain and picked up Zhou Chixiong.
“Who is this?” On the way into the palace, the eunuch asked curiously.
“The wanted criminal, Zhou Chixiong,” Xu Qi An replied.
“Why is he still in a sack? Let me see,” the eunuch seemed very interested and came closer.
Jiang Luzhong blocked him and shook his head: “Before seeing His Majesty, no one is allowed to touch the prisoner.”
The eunuch frowned, scanning everyone’s faces, and said in a deep voice: “Before seeing His Majesty, we need to verify identities. How do I know this person isn’t someone with evil intentions, disguised as Zhou Chixiong, trying to sneak into the palace to assassinate His Majesty?
“Of course, I’m not saying you all are accomplices, but even the wisest can make mistakes. You may have been deceived.”
Jiang Luzhong still shook his head.
“What do you mean?” The eunuch stopped, narrowing his eyes and scrutinizing everyone. “I now suspect this person’s identity and need to verify it.”
The line of armored soldiers stopped, staring sternly at Jiang Luzhong and the others.
These words were reasonable and without fault, but bringing them up at this time suddenly made the situation sensitive.
Xu Qi An knew many ways to make people die silently, and he believed the two Gold Gongs knew even more. As martial artists, they probably wouldn’t be able to prevent it, as they excelled in violent output.
And if Zhou Chixiong died, silently dying while unconscious, who would take the blame? Certainly not this eunuch standing before them.
Because verifying the prisoner’s identity was part of the normal procedure.
This eunuch must belong to a faction… most likely the faction of the Minister of Rites… Indeed, if I had come alone, without bringing the two Gold Gongs, the great Confucian scholar Zhang Shen, and the senior siblings from the Bureau of Astronomy… I might have stumbled at the brink of victory.
Thinking of this, Xu Qi An smiled and said, “Eunuch, when we see His Majesty later, I will say: the eunuch tried to kill Zhou Chixiong to silence him.”
“You brat!” The eunuch flew into a rage, “You dare slander me? Come, arrest him!”
“Eunuch…” Xu Qi An said loudly, “Have you thought it through? If we clash here, His Majesty is not a fool, and neither are the court officials. Have you considered the consequences?”
The eunuch sneered, “Young man, have you considered the consequences?”
Xu Qi An put one hand on his saber and walked over. He whispered in the eunuch’s ear, “Don’t try to bully a desperate man like me. It’s not worth it. Eunuch, you’re doing someone else’s bidding, just do your best. You’re not a core member of the Wang party, don’t ruin yourself.”
The eunuch in his early thirties changed expressions a few times, then said in a shrill voice, “I won’t stoop to your level.”
…
Arriving outside the Hall of Golden Chimes, the eunuch went to report. Shortly after, Emperor Yuan Jing summoned Xu Qi An and his group to enter the hall.
Stepping over the exaggeratedly high threshold that reached their knees, Xu Qi An entered the main hall of the imperial palace, once again seeing those figures standing at the pinnacle of power in Da Feng.
Especially that one, wearing a Taoist robe, sitting majestically on the dragon throne, the imposing middle-aged man.
The court officials turned slightly, looking towards the main doors of the Hall of Golden Chimes, watching Xu Qi An and his group enter.
Still a bit nervous… the core of Da Feng’s power stage… Xu Qi An let out a long breath, suppressing that slight anxiety.
Wei Yuan’s gentle gaze fell on Xu Qi An’s face, slightly nodding.
Xu Qi An was no longer afraid. He took Zhou, the Hundred-Household, from Jiang, the Gold Gong, removed the sack, gripped the back of his neck, forcing him to raise his face while still unconscious:
“Your Majesty, this is the wanted criminal, the former Imperial Guard Hundred-Household Zhou Chixiong.”
A burst of discussion arose.
The Minister of Rites’ face slowly turned pale.
Xu Qi An’s fingers quickly pressed several major acupoints on Zhou Chixiong. “Mmm…” With a painful groan, Zhou slowly opened his eyes.
Then he was dazed.
In front of him was Emperor Yuan Jing sitting high on the throne, on both sides were the court officials, above was the magnificent “Hall of Golden Chimes” plaque, and beneath his feet were shining crystal diamonds.
Maybe he opened his eyes the wrong way… Zhou closed his eyes again.
“Slap!” Xu Qi An swung a palm across his face, sneering, “You scoundrel, you’ve come home in glory.”
With numb limbs, Zhou Chixiong was slapped to the ground. He didn’t stand up, but prostrated himself, trembling and crying out, “This subject deserves death, this subject deserves death.”
After the mountain stronghold in Yun Province was breached, Zhou Chixiong was knocked unconscious and sent to the capital riding a fire-feathered beast. He had been unconscious all the way. He was given water a few times during the journey, but no food.
Finally reaching the capital, Xu Qi An thought his condition was fine, so he simply kept him unconscious and gave him more anesthetic.
Emperor Yuan Jing’s face was serious as he looked down from above: “Zhou Chixiong, who instructed you to collude with the demon race and smuggle gunpowder?”
Zhou Chixiong lay on the ground, repeatedly saying, “This humble official deserves to die…”
Emperor Yuan Jing no longer looked at this insect, but stared at Zhang Shen beside Xu Qi An, saying gently, “Mr. Zhang, I trouble you.”
Zhang Shen snorted coldly, not directly responding to the Emperor, but stepped forward with his hands behind his back, speaking with heavenly authority: “A gentleman should be sincere, and so should a commoner.”
An invisible breeze swept through the entire Hall of Golden Chimes. In an instant, the minds of everyone in the hall were occupied by the two words “honesty”.
“Who instructed you to collude with the demon race and smuggle gunpowder?”
“It was… it was… Minister of Rites Li Yulang.” Zhou Chixiong burst into tears.
In an instant, the Hall of Golden Chimes exploded into chaos. The officials completely lost their ability to manage their expressions, causing a commotion.
A Giving Official stepped out to speak: “Your Majesty, this is absurd. Zhou Chixiong is slandering…”
Song Qing coldly interrupted: “Hundred-Household Zhou is not lying.”
Chu Caiwei repeated like a machine: “Not lying.”
The art of observing qi can’t observe officials above the fourth rank, but it can test Zhou Chixiong.
The Minister of Rites’ face turned ashen.
There was no point in defending himself. When Zhou Chixiong was captured, he had already lost. Unless he had known about this in advance and intercepted halfway.
“Li Yulang, what do you have to say?” Emperor Yuan Jing said.
The Minister of Rites took a deep breath, hiding his dejected look: “I have been wronged.”
It seemed like a last-ditch struggle, but he didn’t even have any extra words of defense, just three pale words.
Wei Yuan immediately said: “Your Majesty, please let me interrogate this scoundrel and find out his accomplices.”
The Minister of Justice stepped out in turn, contending with Wei Yuan: “Your Majesty, this case should be handled by the Ministry of Justice.”
Emperor Yuan Jing didn’t answer, silently looking down at all the court officials in their red and purple robes, causing the officials to stop their discussions and slightly bow their heads.
After a long while, Emperor Yuan Jing said in a clear voice: “This case will be handled by the Ministry of Justice.”
…
After the court session ended, the Minister of Rites, stripped of his official robes and hat, was escorted out of the palace.
“Wait a moment!”
The Minister of Rites, feeling as if his heart had died, turned back. The people from the Ministry of Justice beside him also turned back. They saw that young Bronze Gong from the Night Watchmen’s office chasing after them.
The people from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward to block him.
Xu Qi An didn’t insist, stopping in his tracks. He looked at the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Rites, saying calmly: “The matter in court some days ago, I heard about it from Lord Wei. If your Wang party had settled the matter peacefully earlier, today wouldn’t have happened.”
This scene was watched by many officials. They couldn’t help but stop and observe from the sidelines.
In the distance, Wei Yuan stopped by his carriage, gazing in this direction.
Yang Yan said in a low voice: “Adoptive father, should we call him back?”
Wei Yuan shook his head: “It’s inevitable that he has some resentment. If he doesn’t vent it now, when will he? Keep an eye on him, don’t let him escalate the conflict.”
Saying this, he smiled gently: “I also want to see what he has to say.”
Minister Sun from the Ministry of Justice narrowed his eyes and said disdainfully: “Young upstart, spouting nonsense here.”
Xu Qi An wasn’t angry at all and said: “Do the two Ministers know that I have quite a talent for poetry? I dare not spout nonsense, I just want to gift Minister Sun and Minister Li a poem.
“The poem is called ‘The Sangbo Case: Dedicated to Minister Sun’.”
A gifted poem?!
The surrounding officials were first stunned, then became excited. Not minding the trouble and not caring about Minister Sun’s face, they all surged forward.
“Let’s go listen,” Wei Yuan’s eyes brightened slightly as he strode over.
Minister Sun’s face changed, remembering Xu Qi An’s reputation and his poetry. A strong sense of unease welled up in his heart.
Xu Qi An recited in a loud voice:
“All raise children hoping for intelligence,
I’ve been misled by cleverness all my life.
I only wish my child to be foolish and slow,
To reach high office without disaster or strife.”