Chapter 347

The Cabinet Academy occupies a vast area within the Imperial City.

Apart from the Purple Void Hall located in the very center, it is surrounded by six individual palaces, like stars arching around the moon.

These six individual palaces are where the six departments of the Cabinet handle their official business within the Imperial City.

Li Fei was led by someone into the palace where the Inspection Department is located, inside which are rows of individual pavilions.

These pavilions are the individual offices of the various Cabinet Elders.

After the morning court session ended, the ministers who attended have now returned one after another to the Cabinet Academy to continue their work.

Especially the Inspection Pavilion; since taking over the "Tian Tan Assassination Case," the pavilions inside have been almost constantly lit up at night recently.

"Greetings, Marquis of Jing'an."

"Greetings, Lord Li."

"."

Along the way, Li Fei encountered quite a few officials from the Inspection Pavilion, among whom were several Cabinet Elders.

These people had all attended this morning's court session, recognized Li Fei at a glance, and took the initiative to greet him one after another with amiable attitudes.

When you reach a high position, everyone around you is a good person, full of smiling faces.

"Lord Li, Pavilion Master Lou is waiting for you upstairs."

The guiding official led Li Fei to the front of a pavilion and said to him.

After Li Fei nodded in thanks, he walked into the pavilion and arrived at the second floor.

A middle-aged man wearing official robes embroidered with blue suns, moons, and stars was sitting at his desk, turning his head to look over.

The man was thin, his eyes like those of a falcon, extremely sharp.

He is the current Pavilion Master of the Inspection Pavilion, Lou Lou Hongtao, a master of the Martial Dao Master realm!

Although the Inspection Pavilion has no direct combat function, the hundred officials they must inspect include martial artists from the various Courts of Stopping Weapons, so they themselves must also possess a certain level of martial strength.

Every local Inspection Court has a portion of martial artists, so naturally, the cultivation of the Inspection Pavilion's Pavilion Master cannot be low.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master Lou."

Li Fei took the lead in cupping his hands in salute.

His current official rank is a 15th-grade Seat Official, while Lou Lou Hongtao is an 18th-grade Pavilion Official, located at the pinnacle of Pavilion Officials, and also the pinnacle of civil officials in the Great Lan Dynasty!

In the entire Great Lan Dynasty, the number of 18th-grade officials does not exceed ten.

Therefore, the person before Li Fei is a big shot who, no matter how you count, cannot fall out of the top twenty in this empire!

Before today, Li Fei did not possess the qualifications to converse with the other party as an equal.

"Marquis of Jing'an, no need for such formalities, please sit."

Lou Lou Hongtao stood up to welcome Li Fei and invited him to sit down.

He did not address Li Fei by his official rank, but by his noble title, because if one were to discuss official rank, the Blue Patrol Special Envoy is directly subordinate to the Inspection Pavilion Master; he is Li Fei's direct superior, and Li Fei would have to refer to himself as a subordinate before him.

But Li Fei is also a Marquis.

According to the system of the Great Lan Dynasty, "When noble title and official rank are both present, one is judged by the higher position."

The lowest Baron is equivalent to the "empty title" of a third-rank official.

Viscounts and Earls are equivalent to the "empty title" of a fourth-rank Seat Official.

Marquises and Dukes are equivalent to the "empty title" of a fifth-rank Pavilion Official.

Li Fei's current position is in the fourth rank, but his noble title is in the fifth rank.

Therefore, Lou Lou Hongtao addressed Li Fei as "Marquis of Jing'an."

"Your official robes, identity plaque, and gold seal, I have already ordered people to prepare, and they will be delivered in a moment. I have also already had people tidy up your office pavilion; if there is anything else you need, feel free to tell me."

When Lou Lou Hongtao spoke, his expression was serious, and he was not one to joke.

"Many thanks, Pavilion Master Lou."

"It is my duty, no need for thanks. The Tian Tan assassination case was previously handled by me personally; now that His Majesty has handed it to you, I will perform a formal handover for you. Is the Marquis of Jing'an free now?"

"I came here specifically for this matter."

"Good, let me first briefly introduce this case. The assassin's name is Wei Wei Hongwen. He was a Division Chief of the Investigation Department of the Court of Stopping Weapons, responsible for handling matters of martial artists violating laws and discipline within Lanling City."

Hearing this, Li Fei understood why the Crown Prince said this assassin involved all parties.

Theoretically speaking, as long as there are martial artists violating laws and discipline, they all fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Stopping Weapons.

But martial artists elsewhere and martial artists in Lanling City are completely different.

At the feet of the Son of Heaven, there are very few martial artists who dare to cause trouble, but once they do, it is definitely not simple!

This one is a retainer of some noble family, that one is a subordinate of some Prince or Marquis, or perhaps they have a relationship with some Cabinet Elder in the court...

Elsewhere, the Court of Stopping Weapons always has a sense of superiority over local martial artists, making people fear them.

But in Lanling City, the Investigation Department of the Court of Stopping Weapons responsible for handling such events is often like a "little daughter-in-law who suffers," frequently pleasing neither side and suffering from being squeezed in the middle.

Therefore, not just anyone can be a Division Chief of the Investigation Department; one must be slick and able to maintain good relationships with all parties.

Wei Wei Hongwen was just such a person.

"This person had a clean background, a clean resume, without any stains or suspicious points, and had served as Division Chief of the Investigation Department for six years. During his tenure, he had dealings with many officials in the capital, children of noble families, and even children of the Imperial family, and his friendships were not shallow."

Lou Lou Hongtao said in a steady tone:

"Over the past half month, we have investigated in detail almost all the people and events the other party has come into contact with over the past six years, attempting to find some clues, but there are no results for the time being."

This understated sentence embodied the power of the Inspection Pavilion.

To investigate all the people and events a person has come into contact with over the past six years, it only took half a month!

But this also simultaneously made Li Fei realize the thorny nature of this case.

After the Crown Prince's reminder, he knew that the Inspection Court had not failed to find any clues; rather, there were too many clues that could be investigated, but these clues all involved some big shots. No matter who was investigated, it would be very sensitive and might fall right into the trap of the person behind the scenes.

Therefore, the Inspection Pavilion still has nothing to show for it now.

"Detailed files, after the Marquis of Jing'an's office pavilion is tidied up, I will have people send them over. If the Marquis of Jing'an wants to ask anything, you can ask now."

Lou Lou Hongtao said.

Li Fei thought for a moment and asked: "Pavilion Master Lou, do I need to come to the Cabinet Academy to work every day in the future?"

Lou Lou Hongtao shook his head: "Blue Patrol Special Envoy, patrolling the world. If the pavilion has designated tasks, you might be sent to a certain place for open investigation or secret visits. If there are no designated tasks, you do not need to stay in Lanling City; you can go to various places in the world to visit and patrol."

"Then may I ask where Wei Wei Hongwen's hometown is?"

"Gan Province, Qingsong Prefecture, Cui City."

"Then I would like to take a trip to Ganzhou."

"You may. As for the manpower in the pavilion, below the rank of Pavilion Official, as long as they do not currently have duties, you can mobilize them."

"Then many thanks, Pavilion Master."

"It is my duty, no need for thanks."

Lou Lou Hongtao said again.

His attitude toward Li Fei, this newly promoted Marquis, could not be called very enthusiastic; it was just official business.

This instead made Li Fei feel relaxed, without the need for hypocritical pleasantries.

After conversing with Lou Lou Hongtao about some information related to the "Tian Tan Assassination Case," someone came upstairs to inform them that the pavilion prepared for Li Fei had been tidied up.

Thus, Li Fei stood up to take his leave and followed the other party toward his own office pavilion.

"Greetings, Marquis!"

Outside the pavilion, six people stood in a row, bowing and saluting Li Fei together.

"Marquis, from now on this will be your place of work. These people are all clerks prepared for you, to facilitate your work. If you need other manpower, you can also tell the pavilion."

The guiding official said to Li Fei.

"Good, many thanks."

"Marquis, you are too polite; this subordinate will take his leave first."

"Good."

Li Fei turned his head to look at the six people bowing and saluting him.

The common characteristic of these six people is that they are all young and all possess cultivation.

Probably considering that Li Fei is truly too young, the clerks arranged for him are also very young and are all martial artists.

With Li Fei's current realm, he could see at a glance that five of these six are Qi Transformation martial artists, and one is a Strength Refining martial artist at the middle stage of Qi Transformation.

He looked at that one and only Strength Refining martial artist, somewhat curious why someone so young who could have such cultivation would be willing to come and be a clerk:

"What is your name?"

The person pointed out by Li Fei had handsome features and fair skin, even better than the skin of many women.

He raised his head with a face full of joy:

"This subordinate is Liang Chen, currently a first-class executive clerk of the Inspection Pavilion."

"What grade official is a first-class executive clerk?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, 12th grade."

Li Fei nodded.

12th grade, which is the pinnacle of imperial court officials; placed in Xing City, it is already an official at the level of a Director-General.

For the Li Fei of the past, this was a big shot who could decide his fate, but it turns out that now he has come to be a clerk for him.

And looking at Liang Chen's appearance, there was uncontrollable excitement in his eyes; he did not feel aggrieved in the slightest.

He was not an executive clerk before today.

Even if the Inspection Pavilion were extravagant, it wouldn't go so far as to let a Strength Refining martial artist go and be a clerk.

Liang Chen had actively strived for it, through the operations of his family behind the scenes, and changed his position temporarily today, only then snatching an opportunity to be a clerk for Li Fei.

That's right, snatching!

A 19-year-old Marquis, a 15th-grade Blue Patrol Special Envoy, the number one cultivation talent in history—any one of these taken alone would be enough to make Li Fei highly sought after.

With the three combined, Li Fei actually didn't realize what kind of existence he is in the eyes of others now.

The other five people were all the same as Liang Chen, having temporarily changed their positions and snatched such an opportunity to be a clerk for Li Fei.

Li Fei let them introduce themselves one by one; the lowest position was a third-class executive clerk, a 10th-grade imperial court official.

Looking at the excited expressions of these young talents, Li Fei felt the feeling of being a big shot for the first time.

He stepped into the pavilion and went straight to the second floor.

Incense burner, desk, screen, potted plants... The entire second floor is Li Fei's study, obviously carefully arranged; just the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone placed on the desk are all precious items.

"Marquis, these are your official robes, identity plaque, and gold seal."

Liang Chen and another person carried two wooden boxes upstairs and arrived before Li Fei.

"Put them on the desk."

Li Fei said.

Official robes represent rank, identity plaque represents identity, and gold seal exercises power.

With these three things, he, this Blue Patrol Special Envoy, can be considered worthy of the name.

"Tell me about this Blue Patrol Special Envoy."

Li Fei stopped the two who intended to take their leave and spoke.

Liang Chen reacted the fastest and took the lead in saying:

"Reporting to the Marquis, Blue Patrol Special Envoy is the most special position in the Inspection Pavilion, directly subordinate to the Inspection Pavilion Master, patrolling the world, and memorials can even be submitted directly to the Imperial presence!

The duty of the Blue Patrol Special Envoy is to act on behalf of the central government to inspect all parties, including the local Inspection Courts. It possesses the authority to examine officials, investigate corruption and anti-corruption, set things right, investigate criminals, and so on.

The Blue Patrol Special Envoy only goes up to 15th grade at the highest; Marquis, you are a 15th-grade Special Envoy, and also currently the only 15th-grade Special Envoy in the Inspection Pavilion.

Once outside Lanling City, for anyone below the rank of Seat Official in various places, as long as there is conclusive evidence, you can execute first and report later!

You can unconditionally require Seat Officials below the 15th grade to be suspended from duty to cooperate with investigations, and the suspension time can be up to one month!

Even for a 15th-grade Seat Official, as long as you suspect them, they must immediately submit a memorial to state their case!"

Li Fei narrowed his eyes: "Then what about those above the 15th grade?"

Hearing this, a flash of heat passed through Liang Chen's eyes:

"For Pavilion Officials above the 15th grade, you cannot investigate them directly, but you can report to the central government; as long as the central government gives a clear decree of consent, the other party must also cooperate!"

Another young clerk on the side hurriedly interjected:

"Also, you can directly mobilize the manpower of the local Inspection General Courts and Inspection Courts, and possess the highest secret-level authority of the local Inspection General Courts."

Li Fei nodded, finally understanding what kind of position with authority the Emperor had given him.

No wonder Liang Chen and the others would willingly come to be clerks for him.

Below the rank of Seat Official, execute first and report later!

Just this one rule alone is enough to decide the life or death of the vast majority of officials in this world!

Li Fei lowered his head to look at his own palm.

He slowly closed his five fingers, feeling the power within.

The authority that is enough to make people dizzy and crazy for it was firmly grasped in his hands!

There will be another chapter around 12 o'clock.

(End of chapter)