In the Great Feng capital, there were a total of 134 government offices. Excluding those without official positions and military personnel, there were over ten thousand officials who ate the emperor's food.

Of these officials, only one-tenth were able to attend the early morning court, and only a little over one hundred were able to enter the Golden Luang Hall and speak directly with the emperor, nobles, and royal family.

The civil and military officials who waited outside the Wu Gate at the Yin hour gathered in groups of two or three, talking about trivial matters with hidden meanings.

"Your Majesty has been going to court more frequently lately."

"Because the imperial inspection is coming."

"Last year, Your Majesty wasn't as diligent during the imperial inspection."

"Of course, it's because of the Sangpo case. It's a troublesome year. Your Majesty will be in a bad mood today, so don't anger him."

"I'm just a civil official. The Sangpo case has nothing to do with me or us."

"Oh, then who does it have to do with?"

Everyone smiled at each other.

Who could it have to do with?

Of course, it had to do with the leader of the five guards of the capital, the Nightwatcher, and the Nightwatcher's leader, Wei Yuan.

In front of the Wu Gate, Wei Yuan stood alone in his blue clothes, looking out of place among the civil and military officials.

Wei Yuan was a very special person. There was no eunuch in the court who had more power than him, even the head eunuch by the emperor's side did not hold as much power in his hands.

Only Wei Yuan was different. He was both the leader of the Nightwatcher and the censor-in-chief of the Metropolitan Inspection Department.

Both of these institutions had the power to inspect and supervise the officials.

Emperor Yuan Jing's meaning was very clear. Wei Yuan was his knife. Whoever didn't listen to him would have the knife fall on their necks.

Wei Yuan not only served as Emperor Yuan Jing's knife to control the officials, but also played a role in attracting resentment.

Civil and military officials dared not resent the emperor, but they could vent their emotions towards Wei Yuan.

At present, the Yongzhen Mountain and River Temple had been destroyed, and Emperor Yuan Jing, who had been lazy for a long time, was coming to court today, obviously with a lot of anger to vent.

Wei Yuan was bound to be the first to bear the brunt of it.

The civil and military officials were happy to watch the show.

At the Mao hour, the heavy sound of the bell echoed in the dark night, sounding desolate.

The civil and military officials entered through the slowly opening East Gate, while the royal family entered through the West Gate.

Emperor Yuan Jing sat high on the dragon throne, looking down at the hundreds of officials who entered the Wu Gate in an orderly manner, divided into civil and military officials.

Then, over a hundred officials, nobles, and royal family members entered the Golden Luang Hall.

After the performance, a censor from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and said loudly, "Last night, thieves broke into Sangpo and destroyed the Yongzhen Mountain and River Temple. This is a shame for our Great Feng. As the leader of the Nightwatcher, Wei Yuan failed to protect the imperial city. I ask Your Majesty to execute him to appease the public anger."

"I agree!"

"I agree!"

Immediately, several professional complainers from the Ministry of Justice jumped out, demanding that Emperor Yuan Jing chop off Wei Yuan's head.

The attacks in the court were similar to buying vegetables at the market. Generally, they would chop off heads and seize assets without much consideration. No matter how big or small the matter was, chopping off heads was the norm.

If the emperor did not agree, then bargaining would take place, from beheading to exile, from exile to removal from office.

Of course, they could not openly suggest removal from office. They had to give the emperor some bargaining room. Otherwise, if the emperor saw that they did not give him a chance to bargain, what would the emperor do?

They would be acquitted.As expected by the officials, Emperor Yuan Jing directly rejected the impeachment against Wei Yuan, and praised his work.

This left the officials confused, whispering to each other.

"Silence!"

The emperor's personal eunuch cracked his whip, warning the officials sharply.

The matter was settled, but the impeachment against Wei Yuan did not stop, it just changed targets.

Another official from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward and said, "Nightwatcher Xu Qi'an openly killed a guard at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, defying imperial authority. I humbly request Your Majesty to punish this thief and execute his entire family."

When Wei Yuan was accused, he remained indifferent, but now he squinted his eyes and spoke up, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice ordered the guards to obstruct Nightwatcher's investigation. Their intentions were malicious. I suspect that Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice colluded with the thief and destroyed the Sangpo Bridge. I ask Your Majesty to remove him from office and send him to the dungeon for me to interrogate."

The officials of the Imperial Censorate all agreed.

"Nonsense!"

"Your Majesty, Wei Yuan is slandering. His heart deserves death."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has a big problem. We agree to dismiss and investigate all officials of the Ministry."

The two sides immediately began to argue, with other factions occasionally chiming in and stirring the pot. In the court, various factions entered a fierce struggle.

As the current chief minister, the six department heads, and Wei Yuan rested their eyes.

Emperor Yuan Jing was not angry at all. When the officials had argued enough, he signaled for the eunuch to scold them and restore peace to the Golden Phoenix Palace.

"Nightwatcher Xu Qi'an, you already have crimes on your record. Your actions are inevitably biased, but you worked together to solve the case instead of obstructing each other. If there is another incident, I will punish you severely." Emperor Yuan Jing said sternly.

Wei Yuan opened his eyes, revealing a look of surprise.

He was confident that Xu Qi'an was innocent, but he did not expect Emperor Yuan Jing to speak up for the little copper gong.

Emperor Yuan Jing looked sharply at the officials and continued, "From today on, the city gates will be unsealed. Officials above the sixth rank are not allowed to leave the capital."

"Dismissed!"

...

At the beginning of the Mao hour, Xu Qi'an woke up on time, washed up and dressed, and went to his uncle's house for breakfast.

When he was a small delivery boy in Changle County, he had to arrive at the yamen at the beginning of the Mao hour to check in, which was equivalent to clocking in for work.

After becoming a Nightwatcher, because Xu Qi'an couldn't afford a house, he changed his check-in time from the beginning of the Mao hour to the third quarter of the Mao hour, giving him an hour and a half to rush there.

In this regard, the Nightwatcher's yamen was quite open-minded.

It was winter, and the temperature was very low in the morning. People were inevitably sealed in their warm blankets for a few more hours.

His plump and beautiful aunt was sealed in her bed and did not get up. His pretty little sister with her melon seed face was also sealed in her bed.

"You go and call Lingyin to get up. She developed a bad habit when she was young, and it's hard to correct it when she grows up." Uncle Xu said.

Xu Qi'an suspected that he just wanted a more lively dinner table, because Uncle Xu Lang had already returned to the Cloud Deer Academy since he had not arrived at the Mao hour.

He said that the dean was going to give a lecture this morning, and he had to leave the city at the beginning of the Mao hour to catch up.

As a result, only Uncle Xu and Xu Daling were eating at the table.

Xu Qi'an immediately went to the inner courtyard and knocked on Xu Lingyin's door. The maid who served Xu Lingyin opened the door.

The little maid said half expectantly, half cautiously, and half shyly, "What does... does Young Master want to do?"They knocked on the door while it was still dark outside. Was the master trying to take advantage of someone?

Xu Qi'an said he came to wake up Lingyin.

He walked in and saw Xu Lingyin curled up under the thick blanket, like a small pillow hiding under the covers.

Xu Qi'an slapped her on the butt, waking her up.

Xu Lingyin opened her eyes drowsily, wiped her mouth, and mumbled, "Is the big pot ready?"

"Get up and have breakfast."

"Oh..."

"Then get up!"

"Snore, snore..."

"Today's breakfast includes steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose, braised pork, braised duck, and soy sauce chicken..."

Bang, bang... Xu Lingyin suddenly convulsed on the bed, flailing her limbs. Her brain was still sleeping, but her body was eager to eat breakfast.

The maid helped her wash her face and brush her teeth. Xu Qi'an carried her to the front hall with her chin resting on his shoulder, her butt sticking out, wanting to sleep but afraid of missing out on the food.

"Don't fall asleep. Big brother will sing you a song."

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"Oh..."

"The little rabbit is good, open the door quickly, open it quickly, I want to come in. If you don't open it, my husband hasn't come back, and no one else will open it."

...

They arrived in the front hall. Xu Lingyin looked at the buns, soy milk, and fried dough sticks in amazement, almost crying.

"This is not the breakfast I wanted. Where are the steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose, braised pork, braised duck, and soy sauce chicken?"

"You remembered them all? Big brother was lying to you." Xu Qi'an rolled his eyes.

Xu Lingyin burst into tears, with her hands behind her back and her body leaning forward, emitting sound waves attacking Xu Qi'an.

...

After breakfast!

"If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have called her. She's making me feel suffocated." Xu's second uncle put on his helmet and grumbled as he left.

"Yes, I finally understand how hard it is for my sister-in-law." Xu Qi'an grumbled as he left.

Leaving Xu Lingyin to cry and eat under the care of the maid.

Although she didn't have the steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose, braised pork, braised duck, and soy sauce chicken she wanted, she could eat while feeling sad.

...

Wei Yuan left the Golden Luang Hall and reviewed the court situation in his mind. Suddenly, someone behind him shouted, "Wei Gong, wait for me."

He turned around and saw Liu Gonggong.

Before Wei Yuan became powerful, he also worked in the palace and had a great relationship with Liu Gonggong. He smiled and said, "Liu Gonggong, what's up?"

Liu Gonggong looked around and took out a few sheets of paper from his sleeve, handing them to Wei Yuan. "These are the ones we copied. Wei Gong can take a look."

Wei Yuan understood and smiled. "I'll invite you for a drink in the palace another day."

After leaving the Meridian Gate, he got on a carriage and Yang Yan drove in silence towards the yamen.

Wei Yuan took out the paper and looked at it for a while, with a smile on his lips.

"What is foster father looking at?" Nangong Qianrou, who was lazily leaning against the carriage as a bodyguard, asked curiously.

"I thought I would be criticized by the Emperor today, but I didn't expect to pass smoothly." Wei Yuan smiled.

"Passed smoothly?" Yang Yan asked in surprise from outside the carriage.On the way to court, Wei Yuan simulated the court situation in his mind, a habit he had before attending court and reviewing it afterwards.

In his original simulation, he was sure that he would be accused and reprimanded by Emperor Yuan Jing, or even punished.

Wei Yuan's guess was correct, and the Sangbo case had indeed become the pretext for his political opponents to attack him.

However, he did not expect the matter to be swept under the rug so easily.

Nangong Qianrou frowned and asked, "Did no one take the opportunity to attack my adoptive father?"

Wei Yuan smiled and handed her the crumpled paper.