Chapter 604: First Volume_Chapter 604: A Distant Uncle

First Volume_Chapter 604: A Distant Uncle

Such a crude trick—nobody would fall for it.

However…

Yet Zhao Li agreed without a moment's hesitation: "Well spoken!"

"For the State Peace Talks to proceed smoothly, this general is willing to trade the Minister of Justice, but…"

"Qin Feng Xiao'er, you'd better not go back on your word. If you can't even keep this little bit of credibility, won't the whole world laugh at you?"

As he spoke, Zhao Li had already dismounted.

The officers tried hard to stop him, but Zhao Li was adamant and strode toward Qin Feng.

Before Zhao Li could reach him, Qin Feng shot Ning Hu a look. Without a word, Ning Hu shoved the Minister of Dali Temple backward, then pounced and pinned Zhao Li to the ground.

"General!"

The officers of the Longhu Army and the Eastern and Western Camps were all furious. For a moment the Beidi War Intelligence surged, especially the Longhu Army Cavalry, who nearly charged in outright.

Fortunately, at the last moment Ning Hu put his blade to Zhao Li's throat, forcing the Garrison Army soldiers to fall back.

For a while, roars and curses rose one after another.

Seeing the Minister of Justice still in Qin Feng's hands, Zhao Li "raged": "Qin Feng, you went back on your word!"

Qin Feng grinned, unconcerned: "When life and death hang in the balance, who still keeps faith with you?"

"Commander Zhao, you are a man of iron and bone—of course your word is your bond."

"But I am nothing but a yellow-haired whelp. What is credibility? How many taels a pound?"

Zhao Li gnashed his teeth, glaring at Qin Feng: "Stinkin' brat, you remember this—the Holy One will never let you off!"

Qin Feng paid no heed to Zhao Li's cursing. With a sweep of his hand, the Tianji Camp Guards hauled Zhao Li back into the formation.

Listening to Zhao Li's hysterical tirade, Qin Feng found it secretly hilarious.

This Commander Zhao's acting was just too poor.

But at this point there was no time to fuss over such trifles. Truth and falsehood blurred together—nobody could tell them apart.

With this, Qin Feng held three hostages in his hands, all heavyweight figures.

But these bargaining chips still seemed to fall a little short.

Just as Qin Feng was quietly considering who to seize next, suddenly a commotion rose from the Rear.

He turned and saw a group of Ministry of War Officials running toward them.

Running and shouting: "Minister, please hurry and talk some sense into Marquis Qin. He mustn't keep going down this wrong path."

"If Qin Feng can Xuan Ya Le Ma, the Holy One is magnanimous and will surely deal with him lightly."

Qin Tianhu, sheltered within the crowd, felt a secret thrill seeing his Old Subordinates come running.

On the surface, however, he feigned alarm, waving both hands and shouting to stop them.

"Go back, don't get dragged into this."

The Vice Minister of War moved with great speed, covering the distance in a few strides. Under the gaze of all, he actually wiped a tear, looking utterly heartbroken.

"Minister, Marquis Qin—you are both meritorious ministers of Shedynasty. Why must you act like this?"

"Turn back before it's too late."

"Surrender now, stop struggling."

The Ministry of War Officials who came to urge Surrender numbered over a dozen, from Vice Minister down to Directors, spanning the Fourth and Fifth Rank.

Good lord—even if they came to "deliver meat," they wouldn't all show up, would they? This little act was indeed a bit too fake.

However…

No matter how fake, it didn't matter—as long as it worked. In Jingdu affairs, truth and falsehood had always been intertwined; even when one saw through something, one wouldn't expose it.

Qin Feng waved his hand and accepted them all.

His soldiers seized the Ministry of War Officials and hauled them into the formation. Once out of sight of the uninvited onlookers, they quickly let go.

The guards cupped their fists in salute, apologizing to the Ministry of War Officials.

"My lords, pardon the offense."

The Vice Minister of War chuckled lightly, waved his hand to show it was nothing, then turned to look at Qin Tianhu and shook his head with emotion.

"Minister, every Official in the Ministry of War who can be named has come."

Qin Tianhu's face broke into a broad smile: "My thanks to you all."

"Today's kindness, I, Qin Tianhu, will keep forever in my heart. So long as I remain Minister of War, you will all forever remain Officials of the Ministry of War."

The Ministry of War Officials and Qin Tianhu exchanged smiles.

At the same time, the Minister of Dali Temple stood with hands behind his back, watching Qin Tianhu with a baleful gaze.

After a long while, he let out a sigh.

"Brother Qin, must you and your son poke a hole through the sky before you'll stop?"

"Since the founding of Shedynasty, when has anyone ever kicked up such a storm?"

Facing the Minister of Dali Temple's rebuke, Qin Tianhu laughed heartily and hurriedly clasped his hands in salute.

"Nothing for it. Who told me to have an unfilial son? I can't very well let a white-haired man send off a black-haired one, can I?"

"Brother Zhao, great kindness needs no words of thanks."

The Minister of Dali Temple shook his head, his eyes full of helplessness.

Just then, Qin Feng squeezed over as well, looking thoroughly puzzled.

"Lord Cheng, in court you've always kept yourself clean and never formed factions. Why have you lent a hand today?"

Before the Minister of Dali Temple could explain, Qin Tianhu lifted his leg and kicked Qin Feng squarely on the backside.

He glared at Qin Feng in annoyance: "What 'lord' or no 'lord'—hurry up and call him Uncle Cheng."

Huh?

Uncle Cheng?!

Qin Feng's face went blank—when did the Chief Justice of Dali Temple become his uncle?

Before Qin Feng could react, the Chief Justice of Dali Temple sighed and said earnestly, "My ancestral land is also Beixi County."

"And your mother, née Cheng of the Qin Family, and I are distant relatives."

"Back then, my father was nothing more than a minor County Magistrate. It was only thanks to the Qin Family elders' patronage that he climbed his way up step by step to Jingdu."

"But now, I hold the high position of Chief Justice of Dali Temple, and everything requires avoiding any appearance of impropriety. That is why I have had little contact with your Qin Family."

Qin Feng stared in astonishment—he had never expected the Chief Justice of Dali Temple to actually be his distant uncle.

If today's conflict hadn't happened, he probably would have gone his whole life without ever knowing about this connection.

This Chief Justice of Dali Temple certainly knew how to keep his composure—after all these years, he had never let the slightest hint show.

Only now did Qin Feng finally understand why his mother back in the day had been so overbearing in Jingdu, even daring to sue the First Prince and the Imperial Consort.

Turns out, she had someone backing her.

Her husband was a distant relative of the Minister of War, and her distant relative was the Chief Justice of Dali Temple—what enormous backing!

Seeing the smug look gradually creeping into Qin Feng's eyes, the Chief Justice of Dali Temple gave a cough.

"Boy, don't go getting any ideas. If it weren't for the sake of old ties, how would I ever help you shoulder a risk like this?"

"The moment you led your men into the Execution Ground, I had already taken the Minister of Justice and left."

At these words, another mystery in Qin Feng's heart was solved.

The reason he had been able to catch the Chief Justice of Dali Temple and the Minister of Justice was not because of his own good luck.

It was because…the Chief Justice of Dali Temple had walked into the trap willingly.

Good lord, Qin Feng couldn't help but recall a famous saying passed down through the ages.

Having someone up above makes everything easier!

It could be said that without the Chief Justice of Dali Temple's covert help today, Qin Feng's situation at this moment would likely have been far more perilous.

Qin Feng immediately bowed with great solemnity and formality: "Uncle Cheng, if there's anything you need from me in the future, just say the word."