Chapter 415

Li Fei's voice resonated in the wind and snow.

Tang Zhan, who had lost a hand, stared fixedly at him, his face flushed red.

Being humiliated in public by a junior at the Dao Foundation stage made Tang Zhan extremely angry, and he couldn't help but want to rush up and fight Li Fei to the death!

"Please stop!"

Qin Ziyu hurriedly called out to stop him.

His expression was uncertain, but eventually, he managed to squeeze out a smile, took a few steps forward, walked out of the mansion gate, and cupped his hands to Li Fei:

"The Marquis of Jing'an is truly the number one Dao Foundation stage martial artist of all time; you are indeed worthy of your name, and I admire you!"

Li Fei looked at this heir, not intending to follow this exit:

"I wonder if there are any other masters in Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion who would like to offer some pointers?"

Qin Ziyu's smile froze.

Martial Arts Grandmasters weren't cabbages; Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion only had Tang Zhan as a Martial Arts Grandmaster, and the rest were all out on the battlefield following Wang Shizi Cheng.

There was no one else left who could spar with Li Fei.

"You—"

Tang Zhan, hearing this, was about to speak and fight again.

"Uncle Tang!"

Qin Ziyu immediately stopped him, giving him a sharp look.

Tang Zhan gritted his teeth and said nothing more.

Qin Ziyu turned his head back to look at Li Fei, gritting his teeth:

"The mansion's experts are mostly fighting in the army; if there is an opportunity in the future, I will personally introduce them to the Marquis of Jing'an!"

He was ultimately unwilling to retreat again and again, unable to help but bring up the experts in the Northern Frontier army.

This was also the true foundation of Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion.

Even setting aside military power, Wang Shizi Cheng himself was a Grandmaster!

"Good, I hope you don't make me wait too long."

Li Fei said calmly.

These words made Qin Ziyu's expression change again.

From the time Li Fei started practicing martial arts until now, it had only been a little over two years.

With the terrifying potential and talent he had shown, what realm would he be in two years from now?

Martial Arts Grandmaster? Or Grandmaster?

At that time, even if Wang Shizi Cheng personally took action, would he necessarily be able to take down this Marquis of Jing'an?

A Dao Foundation martial artist who could defeat a Martial Arts Grandmaster was definitely worth far more than a Martial Arts Grandmaster!

Seeing that Qin Ziyu was silent, Li Fei turned to look at Song Jun, who was hiding far away, and waved his hand.

Song Jun hurried over, cautiously saying:

"Marquis?"

Li Fei: "Lord Song, continue with the case."

Song Jun glanced at the silent Qin Ziyu and the one-handed Tang Zhan, his back already soaked with sweat.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and pleaded:

"I ask the Marquis to give me some guidance."

Maintaining the original verdict now was certainly not possible, but he couldn't possibly punish Xi Yuchen severely either.

His youngest son was currently fighting in the Northern Frontier border army, and it could be said that his life and honor were tied to Wang Shizi Cheng; even if Li Fei broke his legs, he wouldn't dare offend Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion!

Li Fei glanced at Song Jun: "Since Lord Song doesn't know how to judge, I will ask the person involved for you."

After saying this, he walked toward Xi Yuchen, who was lying on the stretcher.

Xi Yuchen immediately became nervous.

After witnessing Li Fei defeat Tang Zhan with his own eyes, the little pride and delusion in his heart had been completely shattered by Li Fei.

"Just now, Lord Song said that I acted too heavily and need you to understand; what do you think?"

Li Fei arrived in front of Xi Yuchen and asked from a high position.

Xi Yuchen's face was pale, and he avoided Li Fei's gaze, not daring to look him in the eye:

"... It was my reckless attack that collided with Lord Lu; the Marquis's action was justified."

"So, you admit you were wrong?"

"... This commoner admits his mistake!"

"Good."

Li Fei took a piece of paper from his bosom and threw it casually onto Xi Yuchen:

"I understand you."

After saying this, he turned and left without looking back.

Qin Ziyu's face was livid, staring fixedly at Li Fei's back.

A cold wind blew, blowing the paper Li Fei had thrown onto Xi Yuchen away, just happening to blow it to Qin Ziyu's side.

Qin Ziyu reached out and grabbed the paper to take a look, his expression becoming even uglier.

This was the letter of understanding He Jian had written for Xi Yuchen.

News in Lanling City had always traveled very fast.

The news of Xi Yuchen realizing the sword in the snow had just sparked discussion when the news of Li Fei breaking his legs in one move came out.

So people began to discuss whether Li Fei's strength had recovered.

Before everyone could discuss a result, the result of Li Fei and Tang Zhan's clash came out.

For a time, the whole city was in heated discussion!

The rumors from the previous few months about Li Fei being crippled were completely untenable; everyone knew that the number one Dao Foundation martial artist of all time was back!

After being silent for a few months, he defeated a Martial Arts Grandmaster as soon as he came out of seclusion, giving Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion a hard slap in the face.

Previously, the news of Li Fei kicking the First Imperial Wang Shizi was strictly kept secret and had not spread.

But what happened at the gate of Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion today spread very quickly.

The people of this city had witnessed the arrogance of the Marquis of Jing'an for the first time!

"Gansu Inspection Envoy Su Xuesong arrived in Lanling City two days ago; there will be a Grand Morning Assembly in five days, where Su Xuesong will attend and state the case to His Majesty in person."

Inside the car, Lu Wenxing introduced the three major cases that had recently become famous in the capital to Li Fei.

Li Fei had previously heard about these three major cases from He Jian, but that was from He Jian's perspective; he now needed to understand these three cases from other perspectives.

"Regarding the impeachment, the Chief of the Zhige Pavilion, Chi Chengyu, has also submitted a memorial and made a defense. The outcome will depend on the Grand Morning Assembly in five days."

"Regarding the case of Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion guest advisor colluding with the New Heaven Society, the Inspection Pavilion's special investigation team has been investigating for over a month; the news I heard is that the investigation team has already found results, enough to prove the innocence of the heir, Qin Ziyu."

"In my opinion, this case is the one with the least suspense among the three major cases; His Majesty still trusts Wang Shizi Cheng, so the heir, Qin Ziyu, must be innocent."

"Finally, there is the connection between the Third Imperial Wang Shizi and the Zhengfa Pavilion; I couldn't find out much news about this matter. It is Pavilion Master Lou of the Inspection Pavilion who is personally in charge of this case; there should be a report at the Grand Morning Assembly in five days."

"..."

Lu Wenxing summarized the various news he had gathered and informed Li Fei one by one.

After listening, Li Fei pondered for a moment: "So, the results of these three major cases will all be reflected at the Grand Morning Assembly in five days?"

On weekdays, the vast majority of government affairs would be directly decided by the Central Cabinet.

But these three major cases did not involve small figures, and the impact they could cause was also very large, so the Central Cabinet would first discuss a preliminary plan, and then it would be publicly discussed at the Grand Morning Assembly, with the Emperor making the final decision.

"Five days from now is the first Grand Morning Assembly of this year; I didn't expect it to be so exciting."

Lu Wenxing sighed.

Li Fei actually didn't care about the three major cases; what he really cared about was the Temple of Heaven assassination case.

This case was entrusted to him by the Emperor to supervise; only after investigating this case could he go to re-investigate Shangguan Xiao's case.

But from last year until now, although various clues were increasing, all kinds of traces were showing that the mastermind behind the Temple of Heaven assassination case was most likely the New Heaven Society.

But there was no such thing as "most likely" in investigating a case.

Investigating a case required solid evidence.

Yet, neither Li Fei nor He Jian currently had direct evidence to prove that the Temple of Heaven assassination case was planned by the New Heaven Society.

This was not because He Jian, the great detective, was incompetent, but because every time he investigated a key point, it would always involve very important figures and forces, thus encountering huge resistance!

The three major cases currently causing a sensation in the capital actually all originated from the Temple of Heaven assassination case.

Whether it was the Rushi Society accused by Su Xuesong, or Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion, or even the Zhengfa Pavilion, all had connections with the New Heaven Society.

If any of these three major cases could continue to be investigated in depth, and He Jian could be allowed to investigate freely, Li Fei could have finished his job long ago.

This was the reason why Li Fei was paying attention to the three major cases.

He now understood more and more why the New Heaven Society had assassinated the Emperor back then.

Knowing that there was absolutely no possibility of success, they still insisted on exposing an important mole they had planted inside the imperial court to die.

Because the New Heaven Society understood the corruption of the Great Lan Dynasty better than anyone else!

A Mingxin Reform could not fundamentally solve the problems of the Great Lan Dynasty; at most, it was just forcibly extending the life of this feudal dynasty that had existed for over five hundred years.

The Great Lan Dynasty today was like a giant wearing a brand-new set of clothes, looking bright and beautiful.

And what the New Heaven Society wanted to do was to tear open this outer garment and let the world see the ugly, festering sores hidden beneath!

Perhaps they had tried many methods before, but none had had a very good effect.

So they chose the most violent method—assassinating the Emperor!

Such a case could not be covered up, and no one dared to be perfunctory; it had to be investigated thoroughly.

And the process of investigating the case was the process of tearing open the clothes.

If they wanted to truly ferret out the mastermind and even eradicate them, the imperial court had to tear off the gorgeous clothes themselves, go deep into investigating themselves, and thus expose all kinds of problems.

This was the New Heaven Society's open conspiracy!

After figuring this out, Li Fei couldn't help but think:

"Do He Jian and I count as having passively become a knife for the New Heaven Society?"

With this thought in mind, he took a car back to the Inspection Pavilion headquarters.

Walking into the Inspection Pavilion again, the officials he met along the way all showed looks of awe and bowed one after another.

Li Fei walked all the way to He Jian's office building and went straight to the second floor.

"Marquis!"

Seeing Li Fei, Yuan Mengfei jumped up from her chair in excitement:

"I heard you went to Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion and broke that Xi Yuchen's legs, and also defeated a Martial Arts Grandmaster?"

Li Fei smiled and nodded.

And so, the eyes with which Yuan Mengfei looked at him were full of little stars.

"Mengfei."

He Jian suddenly spoke, "You go out first; I have something to discuss with the Marquis of Jing'an."

"Oh."

Yuan Mengfei reluctantly moved her feet slowly and walked down the stairs.

"Actually, you didn't have to do that."

After Yuan Mengfei left, He Jian looked at Li Fei with a serious gaze:

"You stood up for me; if it was just because you wanted me to investigate the case better, or to help you investigate the case in the future, then that was completely unnecessary, because as long as it's investigating a case, I will go all out no matter what, and you don't need to do anything special.

And if you wanted to bribe this old man, that would be even more of a waste of effort; in the future, if you are involved in any case and the imperial court asks me to investigate, I will never protect you in any way!"

Even though he had just stood up for He Jian, He Jian was now saying such completely heartless words.

However, Li Fei didn't feel angry or disappointed after hearing this; instead, he smiled:

"Lord He, don't worry; I didn't stand up for you asking for any reward."

He Jian frowned, looking at Li Fei in confusion:

"Then what are you after?"

He asked himself that he didn't have a very deep friendship with this Marquis of Jing'an, and it was completely not worth it for the other party to offend Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion for him, to offend that Wang Shizi Cheng who held one hundred thousand troops.

"What am I after?"

Li Fei's gaze suddenly softened, and he murmured:

"Because your actions, Lord He, remind me of an elder; I didn't have the ability to help him with anything in the past... Now, I just don't want to leave any more regrets for myself."

Wang Shizi Cheng's heir had offered a humble apology at the Grand Morning Assembly first, and afterward, He Jian and his eldest disciple were retaliated against by Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion.

Under these circumstances, this old man still chose to continue investigating the case and reported the case where the Zhengfa Pavilion was suspected of colluding with the Third Imperial Wang Shizi.

Having just offended Wang Shizi Cheng's mansion, he didn't know how to restrain himself at all, and then went on to offend a powerful Imperial Wang Shizi and the entire Zhengfa Pavilion!

Li Fei had only seen one person before who was so reckless...

He Jian's refusal to bend and his lack of fear of powerful authorities made Li Fei seem to see the shadow of Hao Yi.

So, after learning the ins and outs of the matter, he chose to stand up for He Jian without hesitation!

He Jian was silent, and in the end, he didn't say thank you to Li Fei.

The old man coughed a few times and continued to look down at the files in his hands:

"At the Grand Morning Assembly in five days, there will be a result for the three major cases; as long as there is a breakthrough in one of these three cases, the Temple of Heaven assassination case should have a result."

Li Fei nodded: "Lord He."

"Hmm?"

He Jian looked up at him.

"Have you ever thought that perhaps the New Heaven Society is using us to constantly expose the problems within the imperial court, thereby disrupting the imperial court?"

Li Fei asked the confusion in his heart.

He Jian looked at him, his gaze without the slightest hesitation:

"This old man is only responsible for investigating the case, only responsible for revealing the clues found and the truth uncovered. As for how the case will be tried in the end, and how the problems will be solved, that is for those big shots above to consider."

Li Fei: "What if this truth could be used by others?"

He Jian met his gaze, and in his deep eyes was a firm look:

"But the truth is right there; if I see it, I won't ignore it."

Li Fei met the old man's gaze for a moment and smiled again.

From beginning to end, the only thing the old man insisted on was: to investigate the evil he saw clearly!

This was his duty, and what he did was beyond reproach.

"I understand."

Li Fei reached out to He Jian, "Please give me your hand."

He Jian was startled, but still trusted him and reached out his right hand.

Li Fei gently held his wrist, and a faint green light spread from Li Fei to He Jian.

He Jian's spirit was lifted, feeling as if he were soaking in a hot spring in the cold winter, feeling comfortable from the inside out.

The internal injuries he hadn't fully recovered from were healing at an extremely fast speed!

Not only that, but his exhausted spirit was also recovering simultaneously!

Previously, Xi Yuchen had seriously injured him, and the injuries he caused were not only physical but also spiritual.

That was a spiritual injury caused by Dao energy, which ordinary medicine couldn't heal, and plus He Jian hadn't been resting well, consuming a lot of mental energy every day to investigate the case, so his spiritual state was getting worse and worse.

This was also an important reason why he had aged so much in just a few months.

Now, what Li Fei was using on He Jian was the fourth core-level extraordinary ability he had stimulated—Green God.

It could not only heal the body but also heal the spirit.

The main effect of the "Five-Phase Reverse Wheel Method" was to make the implants grow in reverse or reverse the abnormal state of the body; physical injuries and disabilities certainly counted as an abnormal state and could be reversed to the normal state before the injury.

But if the "Five-Phase Reverse Wheel Method" was used to heal injuries, the efficiency was actually very low, the treatment speed was slow, and the consumption of one's own energy was greater.

For the same injury, using the "Five-Phase Reverse Wheel Method" might take more than ten minutes and consume a large amount of internal energy to "reverse" it.

But if it were replaced with "Green God," the treatment could be completed in just one minute, consuming very little internal energy and the power of the implants.

And if it were another situation, where the body had an abnormal state, such as muscle hardening, meridian expansion, etc., "Green God" wouldn't work, because these were not injuries and couldn't be healed, only reversed using the "Five-Phase Reverse Wheel Method."

This was "professional alignment."

A few minutes later, He Jian's internal injuries were healed, his spirit was refreshed, and he looked full of energy.

Li Fei stopped using "Green God" and withdrew his hand.

He stood up and smiled at He Jian:

"Lord He, just focus on investigating the case; leave the rest to me to solve."

After saying this, he turned and left.

He Jian's answer also strengthened his inner resolve.

What the other party pursued was to find out the truth, while what he pursued was—

To ensure there are no more regrets in this life!

He Jian looked at Li Fei's back, a smile appearing on his serious face.

He placed the file he had finished reading on his left and pulled out a new one from the pile of files on his right, continuing to bury his head in research.

On the desk, the files he had finished reading on the left had already piled up into a small mountain.

And the files he hadn't read on the right were also a small mountain.

The wind blew from outside the window.

He Jian turned another page of the file in his hand.

January 10th.

The first Grand Morning Assembly of the 48th year of Hongguang was held.

At 7:30 AM, the gate of the square outside the Zheng Lan Hall opened, and a group of officials filed in, walked into the square, and walked toward the Zheng Lan Hall in front.

It had been snowing heavily every day for the past few days, but there was no snow at all on the square.

In front of the Zheng Lan Hall, the white snow fell on the eaves, fell on the pieces of glazed tiles, and all melted quickly, also not covering the roof of the hall with snow.

This hall was always as magnificent and majestic as that all year round!

Over a hundred officials climbed the steps one after another.

This was the first Grand Morning Assembly of this year, and the three major cases that shocked the court and the public might have a result today.

So the officials who came to attend the Grand Morning Assembly today all had solemn expressions.

The crowd behind suddenly became restless, and many officials turned their heads to look.

They saw a golden figure appear at the gate of the square, standing out from the crowd among a group of officials wearing blue official robes.

The person who came was none other than the Marquis of Jing'an—Li Fei!

Today was his first time participating in the Grand Morning Assembly as the Marquis of Jing'an.

He was not wearing official robes, still wearing the Golden-Thread Jade-Scale Armor, with the Ghost-Slaying Blade hanging at his waist.

Last year, when he was enfeoffed as a Marquis in front of the hall, one of the series of rewards the Emperor gave him was—permission to bring a sword to the morning assembly!

This reward didn't have any practical benefits, but it was a huge honor.

Looking at the entire Great Lan Dynasty, there were not even ten people who had received this honor!

The Crown Wang Shizi, the First Imperial Wang Shizi, the Third Imperial Wang Shizi, including many military generals at the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm, did not have this qualification.

Since he could bring a sword to the morning assembly, not wearing official robes naturally didn't count for anything.

Moreover, the Golden-Thread Jade-Scale Armor Li Fei was wearing was also a treasure bestowed by the Emperor; wearing this divine garment to the morning assembly could better reflect that he did not forget the holy grace.

Li Fei walked toward the Zheng Lan Hall step by step, wearing his golden clothes and with a long sword hanging at his waist.

On the imperial road, a group of officials gave way to him one after another.

"Marquis of Jing'an."

"I pay my respects to the Marquis."

"..."

Inside the hall, a group of officials took the initiative to greet Li Fei.

Li Fei responded with a smile and walked all the way to the front of the hall, arriving before the group of elders of the Inspection Pavilion.

"Everyone, this is my first time participating in the morning assembly; I don't know which position I should stand in?"

Li Fei asked his colleagues in front of him with a smile.

"This..."

These elders looked at each other, and none of them gave an answer.

According to official rank, Li Fei was only a fourth-rank official and was not qualified to be in the same rank as the cabinet officials.

But according to his title, Li Fei was enough to be on equal footing with them.

But specifically which position to stand in, whether it was the front row or the back row, whether it was on the left or on the right, these seemingly subtle details were actually a reflection of status and influence.

What kind of status should Li Fei have now?

This question, the group of elders couldn't give an answer either.

"Marquis of Jing'an."

Just at this moment, Lou Hongtao, the Pavilion Master of the Inspection Pavilion further ahead, suddenly turned his head and shouted.

"Pavilion Master Lou."

Li Fei cupped his hands and bowed.

"You stand behind me."

Lou Hongtao said calmly.

"..."

The surroundings quickly quieted down, and many officials looked over.

Li Fei was startled and nodded: "Good."

Then he walked forward and came to stand behind Lou Hongtao.

In front of him stood the six pavilion masters, Level 18 officials, almost standing at the very front of all the civil and military officials in the court!

Looking further ahead, the First Imperial Wang Shizi turned his head and glanced, his expression somewhat gloomy, while the Third Imperial Wang Shizi turned and smiled at Li Fei.

Continuing forward, there were three chairs placed side by side; the Crown Wang Shizi and the Grand Secretary Ye Zean were sitting on two of the chairs, while the other chair was empty—that was prepared for the Grand Preceptor Yun Shu, who was in seclusion.

The Crown Wang Shizi also turned his head to look at Li Fei and nodded at him.

Opposite the Crown Wang Shizi and Ye Zean sat the Grand Marshal of the Military Affairs Council, Wen Wen Ren Zheng.

Further ahead of these three was the imperial dais.

Above the imperial dais was that dragon chair.

Participating in the morning assembly for the first time, Li Fei clearly saw his position in the imperial court now.

He suddenly felt something and turned his head to look at the row of officials on the right.

Those standing there were all military officials; he saw that the Wang Shizi Cheng's heir, Qin Ziyu, had also joined the ranks, and the position he stood in was in the same row as Li Fei.

The two, one civil and one military, happened to be on the outermost side of their respective teams, with a passage in between.

The two looked at each other and calmly moved their gazes away.

A moment later, Li Fei turned his head to look behind him and saw He Jian walking into the ranks.

The position He Jian stood in was already quite far back, almost approaching the gate of the hall.

Seeming to feel Li Fei's gaze, He Jian turned his head to look.

Li Fei gave him a smile and then nodded at him.

This made He Jian recall what Li Fei had said to him a few days ago:

"You just focus on investigating the case; leave the rest to me."

The last time he participated in the morning assembly, no official in the hall stood up to speak for him.

This time, it wouldn't be like that again.

Hum—

A clear bell sound rang out.

"His Majesty has arrived—"

The sharp and deep voice resonated through the entire hall and spread far away.

The first Grand Morning Assembly of this year had begun.

(End of chapter)