After a brief silence, the court officials began to discuss the tax case, which had become well-known.

The fugitive former commander of the Jinwu Guard, Zhou Baihu, was the mastermind behind the smuggling of gunpowder into the imperial palace by colluding with the demon race.

As for whether he was the mastermind, opinions varied. However, the high-ranking officials in the court were rarely of low intelligence. Therefore, Wei Yuan's words were like a giant stone thrown into the temple, causing a huge commotion.

Although the annoying eunuch Wei Yuan was from a disgraced family, he was still a respectable opponent, and his words carried weight.

Someone was in trouble... This was the unanimous thought of the high-ranking officials in the court.

The Minister of Rites turned pale, his white beard trembling as he stared fixedly at Wei Yuan.

The old man was known for his ability to control his emotions, and it was rare for him to lose his composure like this.

Emperor Yuan Jing said in a deep voice, "Announce!"

...

Xu Qi'an sat in the driver's seat and lifted the curtain to look at Zhou Chixiong, who was still unconscious. To prevent him from committing suicide, Xu Qi'an had asked Chu Caiwei for a large dose of sleeping pills.

Xu Qi'an had two concerns about why he chose to take over Zhou Chixiong at the Yunlu Academy instead of putting him in the ground book fragments. First, Zhou Chixiong was in the Divine Refinement Realm, and his level was higher than Xu Qi'an's, so he didn't dare to take the risk. Second, the existence of the ground book fragments was a secret and could not be shown off openly. He couldn't just take out the ground book fragments in front of the emperor and the court officials in the Golden Luang Hall.

Of course, if there was no other way, he would still choose to use the ground book. But now that he had enough connections, he would try not to use the ground book.

"While we're waiting for news from the court, Song Senior Brother, what position is Yang Qianhuan in among the disciples of the Supervisor?" Xu Qi'an chatted with Song Qing while waiting for news from the court.

Song Qing's dark circles were rare in the world. In his previous life, he would have been considered a lover of group activities, but he was a straight-A science student who had no interest in women.

He only cared about humans and beasts, not women.

"He is the third disciple of our teacher, Caiwei, and me." Song Qing approached him and whispered, "My senior brother has a problem with his brain."

Were there any normal disciples of the Supervisor? Xu Qi'an was skeptical and imitated Yang Qianhuan's posture with his hands behind his back.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Song Qing nodded repeatedly. "He always likes to turn his back to people and doesn't speak properly. His senior brothers are all annoyed with him, but he doesn't feel ashamed and is rather proud of himself."

"Why is that?" Xu Qi'an remembered the brief moment he spent with Yang Qianhuan at the Official Brothel Sector.

"He said he wants to turn his back on all living beings to show his superior demeanor," Song Qing said.

Is he cosplaying the Unbeginning Emperor? Xu Qi'an choked on his words and felt uncomfortable.

This wasn't chuunibyou, which was a cognitive deviation and a problem with thinking. This was just showing off, because showing off was something one actively did, not a problem with thinking.

After thinking for a moment, Xu Qi'an said, "Song Senior Brother, can you pass a message to him for me?"

"Sure, what is it?"

Xu Qi'an lowered his voice and said, "I hold the moon and stars in my hands, and there is no one in the world like me."

Arrogant!

Yang Yan and Jiang Lvzhong, the two Jinluo guards, twitched their ears and heard it, subconsciously turning their heads to look.For cultivators, hearing such a sentence is like a thug seeing another thug showing off. It easily stirs up a sense of competitiveness.

Xu Qian was once sneered at by Nangong Qianrou when he sang "With a sword in hand, who is the hero of the world" at the Observatory. It's the same principle.

Yang Shixiong would definitely like this kind of talk, but if he talks nonsense everywhere... he will be beaten... it's good if he gets beaten, I've been annoyed by his attitude for a long time... Song Qing nodded happily, "I'll bring him along."

As they were talking, a eunuch led a column of soldiers out and looked around at the palace gate, loudly asking, "Where are the Nightwatchers?"

Jiang Lvzhong arched his hand and said, "Here!"

After everyone took out their waist and gold plaques to prove their identities, the eunuch nodded and said, "Follow me into the palace. The emperor wants to see you."

Yang Yan immediately lifted the curtain and grabbed Zhou Chixiong by the neck.

"Who is this?" On the way into the palace, the eunuch asked curiously.

"A wanted criminal, Zhou Chixiong," Xu Qian answered.

"Why is he still wearing a sack? Let me see." The eunuch seemed very interested and leaned over.

Jiang Lvzhong blocked him and shook his head, "No one can come into contact with the prisoner before seeing the emperor."

The eunuch frowned and looked at everyone's faces, saying in a deep voice, "Before seeing the emperor, we need to verify identities. How do we know if this person is a malicious person disguised as Zhou Chixiong, trying to assassinate the emperor when he enters the palace?"

"Of course, we are not saying that you are accomplices, but wise men can make mistakes, and it is possible to be deceived." Jiang Lvzhong still shook his head.

"What do you mean?" The eunuch stopped and squinted, scrutinizing everyone. "We now suspect this person's identity and need to verify it."

The column of soldiers stopped and stared solemnly at Jiang Lvzhong and the others.

This argument was well-founded and faultless, but it suddenly made things sensitive.

Xu Qian knew many ways to silently kill people, and he believed that the two Nightwatchers knew even more. As martial artists, they were probably unable to stop it, and martial artists were good at violent output.

And if Zhou Chixiong died silently in a coma, who would be responsible? It would definitely not be the eunuch in front of him, because the identity of the prisoner was part of the normal process.

This eunuch belonged to a faction... probably the faction where the Minister of Rites was... sure enough, if I came alone without the two Nightwatchers, the scholar Zhang Shen, and the senior brothers and sisters of the Observatory... I would probably slip up on the eve of victory.

Thinking of this, Xu Qian smiled and said, "Eunuch, when we meet the emperor later, I will say that you tried to kill Zhou Chixiong to silence him."

"You brat!" The eunuch was furious. "How dare you slander me? Seize him!"

"Eunuch..." Xu Qian raised his voice. "Have you thought about the consequences of starting a conflict here? The emperor is not a fool, and the court officials are not fools either. Have you weighed the consequences?"

When you're just trying to make great content at pawread.com .

The eunuch sneered, "Yellow-haired kid, have you thought about the consequences?"

Xu Qian walked over with one hand on his sword and whispered in the eunuch's ear, "Don't mess with a desperado like me. It's not worth it. As long as you do your job wholeheartedly, you don't have to be a core member of the royalist party. Don't ruin yourself."The eunuch in his thirties' face changed for a moment and he sharply said, "Our household doesn't share the same knowledge as you."

...

Outside of Jinyuan Palace, the eunuch went to report and soon, Emperor Yuan Jing summoned Xu Qi'an and his group into the palace.

Stepping over the exaggerated threshold, Xu Qi'an entered the main palace of the imperial palace and once again saw this group of people standing at the pinnacle of power in The Great Feng.

Especially that middle-aged man in Daoist robes who sat high on the dragon throne.

The court officials slightly turned their bodies and looked towards the gate of Jinyuan Palace, watching Xu Qi'an and his group enter.

Still a little nervous...the core of The Great Feng's power stage...Xu Qi'an exhaled a long breath and suppressed his anxiety.

Wei Yuan's gentle gaze fell on Xu Qi'an's face and he nodded slightly.

Xu Qi'an was no longer afraid and took Zhou Baihu from Jiang Jinluo, removed the sack and grabbed the back of his neck, forcing him to raise his face while unconscious.

"Your Majesty, this is the wanted criminal of the court, Zhou Chixiong, the former captain of the Jinwu Guard."

The discussion erupted.

The face of the Minister of Rites slowly turned pale.

Xu Qi'an quickly pressed several acupoints on Zhou Chixiong's body and he moaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes.

Then he was stunned.

In front of him was Emperor Yuan Jing sitting high on the throne, with court officials on both sides, the grand "Jinyuan Palace" plaque above his head, and the crystal-clear floor beneath his feet.

Perhaps he didn't open his eyes correctly...Zhou Chixiong closed his eyes again.

"Pa!" Xu Qi'an slapped him and sneered, "Sun thief, you've returned in glory."

Zhou Chixiong, whose limbs were numb, was knocked to the ground. Instead of standing up, he lay on the ground and cried, "I deserve to die, I deserve to die."

After the Yunzhou bandit stronghold was breached, Zhou Chixiong was knocked unconscious and sent to the capital on a fire feather beast. He was unconscious all the way and was only given water a few times, but not food.

Finally arriving in the capital, Xu Qi'an thought his condition was good, so he let him remain unconscious and gave him more sleeping pills.

Emperor Yuan Jing's face was solemn as he looked down at Zhou Chixiong and asked, "Who instructed you to collude with the demon race and smuggle gunpowder?"

Zhou Chixiong kept saying, "I deserve to die..."

Emperor Yuan Jing no longer looked at this ant, but stared at Zhang Shen beside Xu Qi'an and said gently, "Mr. Zhang, thank you for your efforts."

Zhang Shen coldly snorted and didn't respond to the emperor's words. He walked out with his hands behind his back and recited the "Juncheng" in his mouth: "A gentleman should be honest, and so should a commoner."

An invisible breeze swept through the entire Jinyuan Palace, and for a moment, everyone's minds were occupied by the two words "honesty."

"Who instructed you to collude with the demon race and smuggle gunpowder?"

"It was...Minister of Rites Li Yulang." Zhou Chixiong cried.

For a moment, Jinyuan Palace was in chaos, and the ministers completely lost their composure.

One of the officials stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this is absurd. Zhou Chixiong is slandering..."

Song Qing interrupted coldly, "Zhou Baihu did not lie."

Chu Caiwei repeated like a machine, "Did not lie."

The divination technique cannot be used on officials above the fourth rank, but it can be used on Zhou Chixiong.

The face of the Minister of Rites turned gray.There was no point in arguing. Zhou Chixiong had already lost when he was caught. Unless he had known about it beforehand, intercepting halfway was useless.

"Li Yulang, what do you have to say?" Emperor Yuan Jing asked.

The Minister of Rites took a deep breath and suppressed his despair. "I am innocent."

It seemed like a dying struggle, but he didn't even have any unnecessary words of defense, only three pale words.

Wei Yuan immediately said, "Your Majesty, please let me interrogate this criminal and find his accomplices."

The Minister of Punishments also stepped forward and challenged Wei Yuan. "Your Majesty, this case should be handled by the Ministry of Punishments."

Emperor Yuan Jing did not answer, silently overlooking the courtiers in the imperial court, causing them to stop discussing and bow their heads involuntarily.

After a long time, Emperor Yuan Jing announced loudly, "This case will be handled by the Ministry of Punishments."

...

After the court dispersed, the Minister of Rites, who had been stripped of his official robes and hat, was escorted out of the palace.

"Stop!"

The Minister of Rites, who was ashen-faced, turned around, and the officials from the Ministry of Punishments also turned around to see the Nightwatcher's small copper gong catching up.

The officials from the Ministry of Punishments stepped forward to stop them.

Xu Qi'an didn't insist and stopped, looking at the Minister of Punishments and the Minister of Rites, and said lightly, "I heard about the recent events in the court from Duke Wei. If you royalists had quelled the situation earlier, this wouldn't have happened."

This scene was watched by many officials who stopped and watched.

In the distance, Wei Yuan stopped by the carriage and looked over.

Yang Yan whispered, "Father, should we call him back?"

Wei Yuan shook his head. "It's natural for him to hold a grudge. If he doesn't vent now, when will he? Keep an eye on him and don't let the conflict escalate."

He smiled gently, "I also want to see what he has to say."

The Minister of Punishments, Sun, squinted his eyes and sneered, "A child spouting nonsense."

Xu Qi'an wasn't angry at all and said, "Do the two ministers know that I have some talent in poetry? I don't dare to spout nonsense, I just want to present a poem to Minister Sun and Minister Li."

"A poem?!"

The courtiers were stunned at first, then excited, and they swarmed over, not caring about Sun's face.

"Let's go and listen." Wei Yuan's eyes lit up, and he strode over.

Minister Sun's face changed, remembering Xu Qi'an's reputation and his poetry. He felt a strong sense of unease.

Xu Qi'an recited loudly:

"People all raise their children to be smart,

But my intelligence has led me astray."

"I only wish my child to be foolish and crude,

To face no disasters and troubles in court."

PS: I recommend a book called "Beware of the Demoness," I'm an old author, and you should have read my previous book, "The Empress's Little White Face."

Also, I talked with my good friend Rong Xiaorong about his new book today, and time passed by while we were chatting. I'm sorry about that. After all, when I started writing this book, he talked to me every day and gave me a lot of inspiration and help.