Chapter 411: The Handsome Superintendent

As the sky grew dark, the gatekeeper of the Minister's residence was about to close the Main Gate when he saw a carriage rushing toward them in a mighty procession.

The carriage's insignia was……

The gatekeeper took a deep breath, scrambled and crawled into the residence.

"Sir! Minister Sir!"

"What's all the noise for!"

Fei Zhen was discussing matters with Fei Tian in the Study when he heard the gatekeeper's shout and felt very displeased.

"Sir, the Superintendent's carriage is coming into the residence!"

The gatekeeper spoke, panting.

"What!"

Both men slammed their hands on the table and stood up, faces full of shock.

"Out of the blue, what is this harbinger of death doing in our residence?" Fei Zhen stroked his white‑speckled beard, utterly bewildered.

"He couldn't have already found out about our plan, could he!"

Fei Zhen turned the thought over in his mind, and suddenly a grim premonition arose.

"Father, don't panic… perhaps it's something else; our plan hasn't really begun yet, so he couldn't have discovered it this early."

Fei Tian was utterly confident, having done everything flawlessly; no matter how arrogant Xuan Che became, it would be of no avail!

Fei Zhen went out to meet them, saying, "No matter what, today we must not let Xuan Che catch hold of any evidence against us!"

"The imperial edict has arrived——"

Yan An had just stepped through the door when he held up the imperial edict with both hands and shouted.

His piercing voice echoed throughout the Minister's residence, and everyone came out to greet.

The ladies, not understanding why, followed behind Fei Zhen and knelt down.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Now a subject of His Highness accuses the second‑rank Minister Fei Zhen and his son, the fourth‑rank Minister of the Imperial Stables Fei Tian, of suspicion of secretly hoarding dragon robes, with intent to rebel."

"My heart feels little pity, therefore I have dispatched the Eastern Depot Chief Xuan Che to investigate thoroughly. If the allegations are true, Fei Zhen shall be removed from his Ministerial post; in consideration of his past merits, he shall be spared the death penalty, reduced to commoner status, and all the property of his household shall be confiscated into the National Treasury, with his family barred from ever entering the capital. Fei Tian shall be stripped of his post as Minister of the Imperial Stables, imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, and executed on a chosen date. Such is the imperial command."

"Secretly hoarding dragon robes! How could that be!"

Fei Zhen dared not believe as he took the imperial edict; upon seeing the imperial seal stamped upon it, he nearly collapsed to the ground.

At his age, to bear this unfounded charge—Fei Zhen is absolutely unwilling!

"Superintendent Sir, who exactly has accused your humble servant!"

Fei Tian stood up as well, his face full of displeasure as he looked at this man, not much older than his son, who spends all day putting on airs as the Eastern Depot Chief.

"I am merely carrying out the imperial order; I do not know who the accuser is. I hope you two will show leniency."

Xuan Che smiled politely, bowed slightly, and said, "If you are guilt‑in‑heart and have not secretly hoarded dragon robes, His Majesty will surely provide compensation."

"Superintendent Sir truly doesn't know; I'm just afraid you'll shout 'catch the thief' while being the thief yourself!"

Fei Tian let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeve, and turned his back.

"Sir, my son…"

"No matter," Xuan Che interrupted Fei Zhen's defense, raising his hand to signal the depot guards holding torches behind him.

"You need not explain, Sir; given your age and frailty, it's best you stay out of these unclean affairs." He implied something, and the smile on his face grew ever broader.

"Search."

At the command, all the depot guards surged forward and stormed into the Minister's residence.

The ladies were terrified, yet knowing the dragon‑robe matter was of grave importance, they dared not obstruct.

Fei Zhen furrowed his brows deeply, feeling utterly uneasy inside, and even failed to catch the implied meaning in Xuan Che's earlier words.

The depot personnel brought a chair for Xuan Che, letting him sit and wait.

Amid the glow of the torches held aloft everywhere, Xuan Che wore a relaxed expression, his fingertip rubbing the jade thumb ring.

Not long after, several depot guards came running out of the eastern side room, carrying a large chest.

"Reporting to you, Sir, this chest contains the dragon robe!"

"Impossible!"

Fei Tian ran over as if gone mad, his face a mix of panic and disbelief, shouting, "Are you crazy! How could there possibly be a dragon robe in here!"

"Oh?" Xuan Che slowly lowered his raised leg, smoothed his robe, and said, "Then what do you say should be inside?"

"Of course it is……

Fei Tian suddenly felt a chill run through his whole body.

Inside the chest were his correspondence with several important officials, and the treasury treasures that had not yet been sent out.

Every word of those letters spoke of schemes to seize the throne and coerce the palace.

If discovered, the crime would be far graver than merely hoarding a dragon robe—perhaps even warranting the execution of the entire household!

Fei Zhen let out a deep sigh, and in an instant felt as if he had aged ten years.

What else could he not understand? Today's affair was surely orchestrated by Xuan Che alone, precisely because he had learned of their plan.

He spared the Minister's residence from total extermination only out of lingering affection for the service he once rendered to the state of Jin.

Rather, he staged this dragon‑robe incident.

He patted his son's shoulder, knowing they had been utterly defeated.

Fei Tian listened to the weeping of his family's daughters, then glanced again at Xuan Che's smiling face, feeling as if he had plunged into an icy cavern.

He now fully understood the terror of this man.

Xuan Che, having savored their family's expressions, rose to his feet and suddenly changed his countenance, becoming immensely imposing.

"The crime of secretly hoarding a dragon robe—Fei Tian, do you admit it or not!"

"Your humble servant…… admits it!"

Fei Tian gritted their teeth, head bowed, admitting guilt.

At this moment, the weeping of the entire Fei family shook the heavens.

He was furious and grieved, yet could do nothing about Xuan Che.

He was furious and grieved, yet could do nothing about Xuan Che.

All they could do was hope time would pass more quickly, waiting until they died of natural old age, which would be the moment they ascended to the Blissful Immortal Rank.

——

Inside the Ziyu Palace.

Jin Chen didn't know that Xuan Che had later been summoned to the Imperial Study, and merely thought that today's Dongchang affairs were busy, so returning to the Ziyu Palace would be a little later.

He feigned rest in the hall, also refusing many visitors' calls; in fact, his consciousness had withdrawn, entering the space to check on 0731's condition.

"How did it grow bigger again?"

Jin Chen poked the curled-up, sleeping 0731; its pink wings had grown from palm-sized after the first upgrade to now half an arm long, and the seven-colored horns and pink tail on its head had also grown considerably.

It just… looks even more outrageous.

If we ignore the Pixiu setting, it now looks like a mutated white lion.

Although there was treatment from the Bai Ze of the Spirit End, Jin Chen still couldn't rest easy, and now had no way of knowing what had happened when it went to the Quick Transmigration Bureau to get medicine.

He hovered his hand above its head, tentatively channeling Spiritual Power into its body.

Jin Chen stood frozen, frowning at the prone 0731.

How could it not reject his Spiritual Power at all, even saying it was a perfect match?

A thought rose in his mind; he instinctively felt it unlikely, yet had no other explanation.

Could it be that, before he entered the Quick Transmigration Bureau, 0731 was already his beast pet?

Was his taste in beast pets always this outrageous?

Perhaps the flow of Spiritual Power made 0731 feel very comfortable, even starting to happily purr.

Jin Chen: "……"

He was just worrying needlessly.

He no longer paid attention to that certain system sleeping soundly, and his consciousness returned to his body.

He lay down in a different pose, quite the salted fish.

While he was still not the emperor, let him enjoy a leisurely salted-fish life a bit more!

Only when he heard footsteps outside the hall—not those of his wife—did Jin Chen sit up straight and resume his cold demeanor.

He even picked up the brush before the desk.

"Your Highness, the servant, now that deep autumn is cold, the small kitchen has warmed a horse-hoof silver ear soup for you; the maidservant has specially brought it over."