Inner City, Da Ning Imperial Palace.
Wei Xianzhi hastened along the immaculate blue-brick road, and the patrolling guards didn’t block his way; instead, they bowed and called out, “Lord Wei.”
Only a few high-ranking officials could enter the imperial palace freely, and they naturally recognized him.
It was just that only Wei Xianzhi would enter the palace at midnight.
Most of the time, it was because the Emperor had summoned him. If not, then… something big was about to happen.
The moonlight was crisp, and the night wind cut like a knife.
“Looks like another big shot is going to lose their head!”
An elderly guard whispered a sentence.
On the other side, Wei Xianzhi hurried to the Imperial Study.
The golden plaque with the inscription “Stone Canal Pavilion” was ahead, but he slowed down and eventually stopped.
Hiding in the shadows, he hesitated for a moment before suddenly turning to look at the night sky behind him.
In the vast darkness, there seemed to be a fleeting flash of light.
Ordinary people would not have noticed this anomaly, but as a third-rank expert, Wei Xianzhi clearly saw the shape of the firelight.
A faint, barely perceptible smile appeared on his face as he quickened his pace, taking two rapid steps before reaching the entrance to the Imperial Study.
“Lord Wei?”
The old eunuch guarding the door looked surprised, his voice shrill as he asked, “You’re coming to see the Emperor at this late hour?”
“I do, I have an urgent report to make!”
Wei Xianzhi replied with urgency, “It’s a matter of great importance, please, Lord Li, hurry and inform the Emperor!”
“Don’t worry, Lord Wei, I’ll go right away.”
The old eunuch didn’t hesitate, leaving behind a single sentence before entering the Imperial Study. He soon returned.
“Lord Wei, the Emperor will see you.”
“Good!”
Wei Xianzhi bowed, stepping across the threshold.
The intricately carved screens, bookshelves, and other ornaments were exquisitely crafted. Behind the massive, fan-shaped desk sat a man wearing a loose, white robe – the current Emperor of Daming, Ning Yongnian.
“Lord Wei, you’re coming to see me so late. I fear it’s not good news.”
Ning Yongnian smiled, his tone relaxed, “Speak, I’m in a good mood today.”
“Your Majesty, Zhang Hongwen is harboring a demon in his mansion!”
Wei Xianzhi didn’t beat around the bush, directly stating the facts: “The spy reported that the demon is extremely vicious, and if it escapes, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
“But please, Your Majesty, rest assured that I’ve already dispatched people to Zhang’s mansion. We won’t let this demon wreak havoc in the capital!”
“Zhang Hongwen, harboring a demon?”
Ning Yongnian was taken aback, asking, “When did this happen?”
“This is still unknown; we need to interrogate Lord Zhang to get to the bottom of it.”
“I’m asking when you found out about this.”
“Ah, I learned of it an hour ago.”
Wei Xianzhi’s expression remained unchanged, “I made arrangements to capture the demon and immediately came to report to Your Majesty, not wasting a single moment.”
“You… would you dare to do such a thing?”
Ning Yongnian smiled, asking, “Are you afraid I won’t permit you to take action against Zhang Hongwen?”
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“Your Majesty, I didn’t mean that.”
Wei Xianzhi still wore an expression of righteous indignation.
He, of course, knew that Ning Yongnian was already aware that he had taken action without permission and that Ning Yongnian knew he was aware of it. But some things couldn’t be said out loud.
When serving the Emperor, it didn’t matter how complex the situation was; as long as you understood it in your heart, that was enough.
“Very well, tell me more about Zhang Hongwen’s demon…”
As expected, Ning Yongnian didn’t intend to make Wei Xianzhi admit his wrongdoing, instead redirecting the conversation back to Zhang Hongwen.
“Yes, Your Majesty…”
Meanwhile, back at the Zhang mansion, the people from the Suspenseful Bureau were still unaware of the purpose of their mission. Some of them had previously carried out highly classified tasks, but at the very least, they were informed of the specific situation once they arrived.
But now, it seemed that the entire Zhang household, nearly a hundred people, were under control in the courtyard, while “Commander-in-Chief” Wei Changtian remained silent about the Zhang family’s crimes.
This left everyone feeling rather perplexed.
“Lord Wei…”
Huang Qianhu looked at the densely packed men, women, and children kneeling in the courtyard, asking Wei Changtian in a low voice, “This Zhang family…”
Wei Changtian directly cut him off, “Has the entire Zhang mansion been thoroughly searched?”
“Ugh… there are still a few brothers who haven’t returned.”
“Then let’s wait for them to come back.”
“… okay.”
Huang Qianhu nodded helplessly.
It didn’t matter; they had already waited for half a day, and it wouldn’t make a difference to wait a little longer.
Only, he could wait, but Zhang Hongwen couldn’t.
“Is this how the Xuanjing Bureau operates?!”
With an iron face and eyes blazing with anger, he questioned, “You barged into my mansion without a reason, forced my family members to kneel, and treated us like bandits! What’s the difference between this and the actions of mountain bandits?!”
“Let me go! I want to see the Emperor!”
“I don’t believe the Xuanjing Bureau can really cover up the sky of the Great Ning…”
To be honest, although Zhang Hongwen’s body wasn’t in good shape, his tongue was quite sharp, and he managed to put the Xuanjing Bureau in a difficult spot with just a few sentences.
“Shut up.”
Wei Changtian glanced at him and asked, “Lord Huang, can’t you make him shut up?”
“Uh…”
Huang Qianhu explained in a low voice, “According to the law, officials above the fourth rank cannot be silenced or forced to kneel before they are convicted.”
“What kind of stupid rule.”
Wei Changtian muttered under his breath and turned to look at someone else beside him.
It was Xu Qingwan, whom he had pointed out to be his “personal bodyguard”.
Pointing at Zhang Hongwen, Wei Changtian ordered, “Miss Xu, make him shut up and kneel down. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility…”
“Whoosh!”
Before Wei Changtian could finish speaking, Xu Qingwan’s lovely figure flashed out and appeared behind Zhang Hongwen in an instant.
It had to be said that Xu Qingwan’s obedience was indeed very strong.
She didn’t care about Zhang Hongwen’s identity as the Minister of Justice and lifted her foot to kick him in the knee pit.
“Thud!”
Zhang Hongwen immediately fell to his knees, and before he could even cry out, his sleeve was already torn, and the torn piece appeared in his mouth the next second.
Kicking, tearing, and silencing… Xu Qingwan’s series of actions were swift and smooth, making Wei Changtian almost praise her.
However, Huang Qianhu beside him was shocked.
Damn it!
If they found out that Zhang Hongwen had a problem, it would be fine, but if they didn’t find anything… not only Wei Changtian but also everyone present today would likely be in trouble.
He regretted getting involved in this case and wondered why he had agreed to take it on.
Just then, the last few searchers who had been searching the Zhang mansion returned empty-handed.
They hastily reported, “Young master, we’ve thoroughly searched the entire Zhang mansion, including the servants and maids, and everyone is already here. There’s no one hiding.”
“Good.”
Wei Changtian let out a long sigh of relief, thinking that it was finally time to “uncover the truth”.
He had been so cautious because he didn’t want to give Zhang Hongwen any opportunity to cause trouble.
These monsters weren’t like gold, silver, or jewels; although they were currently trapped, they still had legs.
If someone from the Zhang mansion was hiding in the shadows and heard that things weren’t going well, they might sneak out and release the monster, which would add to their troubles.
Moreover, the teachings of Wei Xianzhi and Qin Caizhen about “cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots” were still vivid in his mind.
If he had rushed to deal with the monster from the start, these people from the Zhang mansion wouldn’t have been so cooperative and willing to surrender.
Since he was playing the villain, and without the blessing of fate, it was better to be cautious in all things.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, I’m really too steady!
In his heart, he praised himself for a moment, and then Wei Changtian finally looked at Zhang Hongwen with a stern expression and shouted:
“Lord Zhang!”
“Do you know your crimes?”