Chapter 621: Authority

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

Beyond the Purple Void Hall located in the center, there are six separate palaces surrounding it, like stars arching over the moon.

These six separate palaces are where the six ministries of the Cabinet conduct their official business within the Imperial City.

Li Fei was led into the palace housing the Inspection Ministry, which contained rows of individual pavilions.

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

After the morning court session concluded, the participating ministers had already returned to the Cabinet Court one after another to continue their work.

The Inspection Pavilion, in particular, had its pavilions almost constantly lit up at night recently after taking on the "Altar Assassination Case."

"Greetings, Marquis of Jing'an."

"Greetings, Lord Li."

"."

Li Fei encountered many officials from the Inspection Pavilion along the way, including several Cabinet Elders.

These people had all attended the morning court session, recognized Li Fei at a glance, and took the initiative to greet him 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 official leading the way brought Li Fei to a pavilion and said to him.

After nodding in thanks, Li Fei entered the pavilion and arrived at the second floor.

A middle-aged man wearing an official robe embroidered with blue sun, moon, and stars was sitting at a desk, turning his head to look over.

The man was thin, with eyes like a falcon—extremely sharp.

He is the current Master of the Inspection Pavilion, Lou Hongtao, a Martial Arts Grandmaster!

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

Every local Inspection Court has a contingent of martial artists, so the cultivation base of an Inspection Pavilion Master is naturally not low.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master Lou."

Li Fei took the initiative to cup his hands in salute.

His current official rank is a Level 15 Seat Official, while Lou Hongtao is a Level 18 Cabinet Official, located at the pinnacle of Cabinet Officials and the pinnacle of civil officials in the Great Lan Dynasty!

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

Therefore, the person before Li Fei is a big shot who, no matter how you count, would never fall out of the top twenty in this empire!

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

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

Lou Hongtao rose to welcome Li Fei and invited him to sit.

He did not address Li Fei by his official rank, but by his title, because if one were to speak of official rank, the Lan Patrol Special Envoy is directly under the Inspection Pavilion Master; he is Li Fei's direct superior, and Li Fei would have to refer to himself as "this subordinate" in front of him.

But Li Fei is also a Marquis.

According to the Great Lan Dynasty's system, "when a title and an official rank are both held, the higher position takes precedence."

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

Viscount and Count are equivalent to the "nominal title" of a fourth-rank Seat Official.

Marquis and Duke are equivalent to the "nominal title" of a fifth-rank Cabinet Official.

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

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

"I have already ordered people to prepare your official robes, command tablet, and gold seal; they will be delivered shortly. I have also had people tidy up your office pavilion. If you need anything else, just let me know."

Lou Hongtao's expression was serious and stern as he spoke.

"Many thanks, Pavilion Master Lou."

"It is my duty, no need for thanks. I have been personally responsible for the Altar Assassination Case until now. Since His Majesty has handed it to you, I shall perform a formal handover. Is the Marquis convenient now?"

"I came here specifically for this matter."

"Good. Let me briefly introduce the case. The assassin's name is Wei Hongwen. He was the Chief of the Investigation Division of the Stop-Gong Pavilion, responsible for handling illegal activities by martial artists within Lanling City."

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

Theoretically, any martial artist acting illegally falls under the jurisdiction of the Stop-Gong Pavilion.

But martial artists elsewhere are completely different from those in Lanling City.

Under the feet of the Son of Heaven, few martial artists dare to cause trouble, but once they do, it is never simple!

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

Elsewhere, the Stop-Gong Court always has a sense of superiority over local martial artists, making people fear them.

But in Lanling City, the Stop-Gong Pavilion officials responsible for handling such events are often like "aggrieved little daughters-in-law," frequently pleasing neither side and getting caught in the middle.

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

Wei Hongwen was just such a person.

"This person had a clean background and a spotless record, with no flaws or suspicions. He had served as Chief of the Investigation Division for six years, and during his tenure, he had deep connections with many officials in the capital, children of noble families, and even members of the Imperial family."

Lou Hongtao said in a steady tone:

"Over the past half-month, we have thoroughly investigated almost everyone and everything he has come into contact with over the last six years, attempting to find some clues, but there are no results for now."

This understated sentence demonstrated the power of the Inspection Pavilion.

To uncover everyone and everything a person had contacted over the past six years in just half a month!

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

After the Crown Prince's reminder, he knew it wasn't that the Inspection Court hadn't found any clues, but rather that there were too many clues to investigate, yet all of them involved big figures. Investigating any of them would be sensitive and might play right into the hands of the mastermind.

That is why the Inspection Pavilion remains empty-handed.

"I will have someone send the detailed files once your office pavilion is tidied up. If the Marquis wishes to ask anything, you may do so now."

Lou Hongtao said.

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

Lou Hongtao shook his head: "As a Lan Patrol Special Envoy, you patrol the world. If the Pavilion has a designated task, you may be sent to a certain place for open or covert investigation. If there is no designated task, you do not need to stay in Lanling City; you may travel and patrol everywhere under heaven."

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

"Gan Province, Qingsong Prefecture, Cui City."

"Then I would like to take a trip to Gan Province."

"You may. You can mobilize any personnel in the Pavilion below the rank of Cabinet Official, provided they are not currently on an assignment."

"Then many thanks, Pavilion Master."

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

Lou Hongtao said again.

His attitude toward Li Fei, this newly minted Marquis, could not be called enthusiastic; it was strictly professional.

This actually made Li Fei feel at ease, as he did not need to engage in hypocritical pleasantries.

After discussing more information regarding the "Altar Assassination Case" with Lou Hongtao, someone came upstairs to inform them that the pavilion prepared for Li Fei had been tidied up.

So Li Fei rose to take his leave and followed the person to his office pavilion.

"Greetings, Marquis!"

Outside the pavilion, six people stood in a row and bowed to Li Fei in unison.

"Marquis, this will be your office from now on. These people are all clerks prepared for you to facilitate your work. If you need other personnel, you can tell the Pavilion."

The official leading the way said to Li Fei.

"Very well, thank you."

"Marquis is too polite. This subordinate will take his leave."

"Good."

Li Fei turned to look at the six people bowing to him.

The common trait of these six was that they were all young and possessed cultivation bases.

Perhaps considering that Li Fei was truly too young, the clerks arranged for him were also very young and were all martial artists.

With Li Fei's current realm, he could see at a glance that five of these six were Qi-Transformation stage martial masters, and one was a Qi-Transformation mid-stage martial master who practiced strength.

He looked at the only martial master who practiced strength, curious why someone so young with such a cultivation base 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 many women's skin.

He looked up with a face full of joy:

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

"What rank is a first-class executive secretary?"

"Reporting to the Marquis, Level 12."

Li Fei nodded.

Level 12, the pinnacle of imperial court officials; in Xingcheng, this would already be a Chief-level official.

For the Li Fei of the past, this was a big shot who could decide his fate, yet now they were here to be his clerk.

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

He was not an executive secretary before today.

The Inspection Pavilion was not so extravagant as to let a martial master who practiced strength run off to be a clerk.

Liang Chen had actively sought this out, and through the maneuvering of his family, he had changed his position temporarily today, just to snatch the opportunity to be a clerk for Li Fei.

That's right, it's snatching!

A nineteen-year-old Marquis, a level 15 Blue Patrol Special Envoy, and the number one cultivation talent in history—any one of these alone would be enough to make Li Fei a hot commodity.

With all three combined, Li Fei actually hadn't realized what kind of existence he was in the eyes of others.

The other five people, just like Liang Chen, had temporarily changed their positions and snatched up this opportunity to serve as clerks for Li Fei.

Li Fei had them introduce themselves one by one; the lowest-ranking among them was a third-class executive clerk, a level 10 official of the imperial court.

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

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

An incense burner, a desk, a screen, potted plants—the entire second floor was Li Fei's study, clearly having been meticulously arranged. Even just the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone placed on the desk were 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 came before Li Fei.

"Put them on the table."

Li Fei said.

The official robes represented rank, the identity plaque represented status, and the gold seal exercised authority.

With these three things, he could finally be considered a Blue Patrol Special Envoy in name and in truth.

"Tell me about this Blue Patrol Special Envoy position."

Li Fei called out to the two who were intending to take their leave and spoke.

Liang Chen reacted the fastest and was the first to speak:

"Reporting to the Marquis, the Blue Patrol Special Envoy is the most special position in the Supervisory Pavilion. It is directly subordinate to the Pavilion Master of the Supervisory Pavilion, patrols the world, and memorials can even be submitted directly before the throne!

The duty of the Blue Patrol Special Envoy is to act on behalf of the central government to supervise all regions, including the local Supervisory Courts. It possesses the authority to examine officials, investigate corruption, rectify wrongs, and investigate criminals, among other powers.

The highest level for a Blue Patrol Special Envoy is only level 15. You, Marquis, are a level 15 Special Envoy, and you are also currently the only level 15 Special Envoy in the Supervisory Pavilion.

Once outside Lanling City, for anyone below the rank of local magistrate, as long as there is conclusive evidence, you may execute them first and report it later!

You can unconditionally demand that local magistrates below level 15 be suspended from duty to cooperate with an investigation, and the suspension can last for up to one month!

Even for a level 15 local magistrate, as long as you suspect them, they must immediately submit a memorial to confess!"

Li Fei narrowed his eyes: "What about those above level 15?"

Upon hearing this, a flash of fervor appeared in Liang Chen's eyes:

"For pavilion officials above level 15, you cannot investigate them directly, but you can memorialize the central government. As long as the central government issues a clear decree of approval, the other party must also cooperate!"

Another young clerk to the side hurriedly chimed in:

"Also, you can directly mobilize personnel from the various local General Supervisory Courts and Supervisory Courts, and you possess the highest-level security clearance for all local General Supervisory Courts."

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

No wonder Liang Chen and the others were willing to come and serve as his clerks.

Below the rank of local magistrate, execute first and report later!

This single clause alone was enough to hold the power of life and death over the vast majority of officials in this world!

Li Fei lowered his head and looked at his own palm.

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

A power sufficient to dazzle and drive one to madness was now firmly grasped in his hands!

There will be another chapter around 12 o'clock.

(End of chapter)