[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-996":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338201,4570,"Chapter 996: Lin Prefect","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-996",996,"\u003Cp>The two exchanged what they had discovered, and dawn was nearly upon them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao didn’t feel sleepy, only his eyes were bloodshot; he said, “The Feng family’s martial arts wedding selection is the day after tomorrow. I must be there at the hour of the snake. Will you come?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun nodded: “I’ll go to watch the spectacle. Will you take the stage?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao shook his head: “Before the martial arts selection, we must gather all the evidence of his crimes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: “So we only have one day left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao: “We still have one night.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True enough—nighttime can still be used for action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Pan Yun now, going without sleep for two or three days was no problem, but Xue Shao needed to rest a bit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So as soon as Pan Yun left, he lay down on the bed. Xi Jin woke up drowsily, turned to look at the young master sound asleep, and muttered, “The young master is sleeping in too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun returned to her room to meditate, cultivated two full cycles of qi, then went out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She felt there were still many more points to investigate at Feng Hongde’s estate and granaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such massive encroachment of military land, official land, and private land must involve someone trading with him and helping him conceal it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did those people want, and what did they gain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as for the grain in the three granaries—through whose hands was it shipped out, and where was it sent?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it directly exchanged for silver on the market, or did it have other destinations?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we could trace this thread, we might uncover the person backing Feng Hongde.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Guangdong Regional Military Commissioner’s Office knew nothing of this situation with the Qinzhou Battalion Commander, then who is concealing him—how could they possibly hide it from the Regional Military Commissioner’s Office?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Guangdong Regional Military Commissioner’s Office did know, why did they turn a blind eye? Who did Feng Hongde bribe?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Does the Five Military Directorates know about these matters?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since we’ve already caught the tail, why not follow the vine? She wanted to see just how long the vine was and how deeply its roots had spread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if she didn’t pull it up, she had to find out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao, by virtue of his Provincial Graduate status, suddenly became Feng Hongde’s honored guest and his most desired son-in-law; he not only showed him around his own mansion but also introduced him to Lin Jing, the Prefect of Chaozhou, and other officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within a single day, not only the other prospective sons-in-law in the guest villa, but even the teahouses and taverns in the city knew: the Feng Battalion Commander had found his ideal son-in-law—the Xue Wen, the Provincial Graduate who had won first place at the Fragrant Pavilion poetry gathering the day before yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this even a martial arts wedding selection? That Xue Scholar clearly looks like a frail bookworm—he’d get crushed on the stage!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Zhi was another top contender for son-in-law; before Xue Shao appeared, he was the most likely to win the maiden’s hand. Rumor had it that Feng’s daughter had secretly watched him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were rumors in the Feng household that Feng’s daughter was very pleased with Yuan Zhi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gambling dens had lowered Yuan Zhi’s odds to the minimum, but since Xue Shao appeared, Yuan Zhi’s odds skyrocketed, leaving those who had bet on him anxious and unable to withdraw their stakes—they could only hesitate, wondering whether to scrape together more silver and place another bet on Xue Shao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He can’t win a fight, but will Yuan Zhi even get to the stage? If the Feng Battalion Commander has already set his sights on the Xue Scholar, he’ll have ways to ensure the Xue Scholar wins.” “He’s just a Provincial Graduate, isn’t he? I think Yuan Zhi is better. The Feng Battalion Commander is a military man—he should pick someone with martial skill, so their son can inherit the position, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Short-sighted! Even if it’s hereditary, the grandson can only become a Battalion Commander at best. To rise further, he must go to war and earn merit—but on the battlefield, only real ability matters. Otherwise, how will he even know how he died? But if he marries the Xue Scholar and sires several clever sons, they can take the imperial examinations. Who knows? They might lift the entire Feng family out of military status and onto a smooth path—better than keeping your head on a belt?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While everyone was buzzing with speculation, Xue Shao met privately with Prefect Lin Jing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prefect Lin Jing stood before Xue Shao, drenched in cold sweat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao flipped through the ledgers on the desk and turned to the Embroidered Uniform Guard standing by: “Is this what you uncovered?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Embroidered Uniform Guard glanced at Lin Jing and said, “Prefect Lin knew of the Grand Secretary’s plans. To prevent him from ruining them, we had to act first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jing immediately said, “Grand Secretary Xue, I did not inform Feng Battalion Commander. You just saw—he recommended you to me and knows nothing of your true identity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wiped sweat from his brow, stammering: “These… these records—I had no choice. If I refused to take them, I wouldn’t just lose my post as Prefect of Chaozhou—I wouldn’t even be allowed to resign alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao closed the ledger and asked, “How can a mere Battalion Commander wield such power?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jing quickly complained: “Officials like me are outsiders. Feng Hongde holds military rank here and, after inheriting his military post, remains stationed here. Though he was transferred elsewhere temporarily, he always rotated within Guangdong and Fujian—no one knows why, but he was eventually reassigned back to Chaozhou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jing sighed bitterly: “When I took office, he was already ‘Half the City.’ He’s the Battalion Commander of the Garrison, theoretically responsible only for military affairs—but all the gentry and major merchants here take orders from him. One word from him, and my government office can’t collect even thirty percent of the taxes, let alone send them to the imperial treasury or even feed our own staff.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Without salary, who in my government office would do any work? Your Excellency, even if I had talent, without rice or silver, what can I do?” Lin Jing wiped his forehead and hurried to the bookshelf to pull out a copy of the Analects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of Xue Shao and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he peeled open the cover—the two saw it wasn’t the Analects at all, but a ledger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jing offered it with both hands: “Your Excellency, please see—this is my personal record. Every item Feng Hongde sent me, I dared not keep a single copper coin—I used it all for the people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao opened it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jing stole a glance at Xue Shao’s expression and quickly added: “I know military and civil affairs are separate, and Censorate inspectors are few and rarely reach military matters—but since three years ago, I’ve anonymously reported to the Censorate that several prefectures under the Guangdong Regional Military Commissioner’s Office have been embezzling military pay and seizing military farmland. Chaozhou Prefecture was listed first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao: “Anonymous?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jing grimaced: “If I didn’t remain anonymous, I wouldn’t be alive to meet Your Excellency.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao closed the ledger and asked: “Has any Censor come to investigate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Three Censors have come in three years—you are the fourth. But…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Shao cut in: “What happened to them? Did they uncover anything?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Jing lowered his eyes: “The first, Censor Deng, arrived and declared Chaozhou had no issues. Since the report was anonymous, he assumed the accuser was hiding his identity and acting out of personal malice—so he dropped it. But not long after, a second Censor, Huang, arrived. He was killed by mountain bandits during an investigation outside the city. Feng Battalion Commander led troops to exterminate that gang. Last year, a third Censor, Zheng, came and investigated for two months before leaving—no news has come since.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1345,"2026-06-20T22:04:01.137Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bbc06b1732e962b48d36ac943352def1ac7c08aa6eea6f278c6659588487477d","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-997","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-995",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]