#30 - He is so steady!

Chapter 30 He's Too Cautious!

Inner City, Great Ning Imperial Palace.

Wei Xianzhi walked quickly on the spotless bluestone road. The patrolling guards not only didn't stop him, but bowed and called out "Lord Wei" when they saw him.

There were only a few important officials who could freely enter and exit the palace, and they naturally recognized them all.

However, Wei Xianzhi was usually the only one who entered the palace in the middle of the night.

Most of the time, it was the Emperor summoning him, but if not... then something big was about to happen.

The moonlight was cold and the night wind was like a knife.

"Another big shot is going to lose his head!"

An older guard muttered softly.

On the other side.

Wei Xianzhi hurried all the way to the Imperial Study.

The gold-edged plaque with the three characters "Shiqu Pavilion" was just ahead, but he slowed down his pace instead, and finally stopped altogether.

Hiding in the dark, he lingered for a while before suddenly turning his head to look at the night sky behind him.

In the boundless night, a spark of fire seemed to flash and disappear.

Ordinary people would definitely not notice this abnormality, but Wei Xianzhi, as a third-rank master, saw the shape of the fire clearly.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his face. He took two quick steps again, and in the blink of an eye, he was at the entrance of the Imperial Study.

"Lord Wei?"

The old eunuch guarding the door was a little surprised and asked in a shrill voice, "You're here to see the Emperor in the middle of the night?"

"Yes, I have something important to report!"

Wei Xianzhi said "eagerly": "This matter is of great importance, please, Eunuch Li, quickly go in and inform the Emperor!"

"Lord Wei, don't worry, this old one will go right away."

The old eunuch didn't linger, leaving a sentence and entering the Imperial Study, soon returning.

"Lord Wei, the Emperor invites you in."

"Good!"

Wei Xianzhi cupped his fist and stepped over the threshold.

Screens, bookshelves, and other objects were exquisitely luxurious. Behind a huge fan-shaped desk sat a man in a loose white robe, the current Emperor of Great Ning—Ning Yongnian.

"Wei Qing, you've come to me so late, I'm afraid it's not good news."

Ning Yongnian looked over with a smile, his tone relaxed: "Speak, I'm in a good mood today."

"Your Majesty, Zhang Hongwen is raising a demon in his residence!"

Wei Xianzhi didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: The spies said that the demon is extremely ferocious, and the consequences of its escape are unimaginable."

Ning Yongnian was stunned and asked, "When did this happen?"

"This is still unknown, and it will only be clear after interrogating Lord Zhang."

"I'm asking when you found out about this."

"Oh, I only learned about it an hour ago."

Wei Xianzhi's expression remained unchanged: "After arranging the demon-catching, I immediately set off to report to Your Majesty, without delaying for a moment."

"You... is it necessary to be so serious about this kind of thing?"

Ning Yongnian asked with a smile, "Are you afraid that I won't allow you to touch Zhang Hongwen?"

"Your Majesty, I don't mean that."

Wei Xianzhi still had a righteous expression.

Of course, he knew that Ning Yongnian already knew that he had acted first and reported later, and he also knew that Ning Yongnian already knew that he knew he had acted first and reported later.

But the words still couldn't be spoken frankly.

When mixing with the Emperor, no matter how many layers there were, it was enough to understand in your heart.

"Forget it, you should tell me in detail about his raising of the demon..."

Sure enough, Ning Yongnian didn't insist that Wei Xianzhi admit it, and changed the topic back to Zhang Hongwen.

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

......

Just as Wei Xianzhi was explaining to Ning Yongnian how terrifying the demon was, as if he had seen it with his own eyes, the Xuanyi Guard at Zhang's residence didn't even know what they were doing there.

Some of them had carried out highly confidential missions before, but at least they would be told the specific situation when they arrived.

But now, the nearly one hundred people up and down in Zhang's residence had been completely controlled in the courtyard, but the "supreme commander" Wei Changtian still didn't say what crime the Zhang family had committed.

This made everyone a little confused.

"Young Master Wei..."

Looking at the densely packed men, women, old and young kneeling in the courtyard, Commander Huang asked Wei Changtian in a low voice again: "This Zhang family..."

Wei Changtian interrupted directly: "Have you searched Zhang's residence thoroughly?"

"Uh... there are still a few brothers who haven't returned."

"Then wait for them to come back."

"...Yes."

Commander Huang nodded helplessly.

Forget it, they had waited this long, so it wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer.

Only he could wait, but Zhang Hongwen couldn't.

"Is this how the Xuanyi Guard acts?!"

His face was livid, and his eyes were full of anger as he questioned: "Breaking into my residence for no reason, forcing my clansmen to kneel here without even a reason, how is this different from bandits and outlaws?!"

"Let me go! I want to see the Emperor!"

"I don't believe that the Xuanyi Guard can really cover the sky of Great Ning..."

To be honest, although the old man Zhang Hongwen's body wasn't great, his tongue was quite sharp, and a few words put a big hat on the Xuanyi Guard.

"Noisy."

Wei Changtian glanced at him and turned to ask: "Lord Huang, can you shut him up?"

"This..."

Commander Huang explained in a low voice: "According to the law, officials of the fourth rank or above cannot be gagged, forced to kneel, or subjected to severe torture before being convicted."

"What a load of crap."

Wei Changtian muttered in a low voice, then turned his head to another person beside him.

It was Xu Qingwan, who he had appointed as his "personal bodyguard".

Pointing at Zhang Hongwen, Wei Changtian ordered: "Miss Xu, go and make him shut up and kneel down, I'll be responsible if anything happens..."

"Swish!"

Before Wei Changtian could finish his words, the pretty figure flashed out instantly, and in the blink of an eye, she was behind Zhang Hongwen.

It had to be said that Xu Qingwan's sense of obedience was indeed very strong.

She didn't care about the identity of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in front of her, and kicked Zhang Hongwen in the back of the knee.

"Thump!"

Zhang Hongwen immediately fell to his knees on the ground. Before he could shout, a section of his sleeve was missing, and then the next second, the missing section appeared in his mouth.

Kicking, tearing cloth, gagging... Xu Qingwan completed this set of actions in one go, and Wei Changtian almost cheered for her.

But Commander Huang next to him was frightened.

Damn it!

If it turned out that Zhang Hongwen had a problem, it would be fine, but if nothing was found... not to mention Wei Changtian, everyone present today would probably be screwed.

He regretted why he had gotten involved in this case, and the last few constables searching Zhang's residence in the distance returned empty-handed at this time.

He quickly reported: "Young Master, Zhang's residence has been searched thoroughly, including all the maids and servants, and everyone is here. There is indeed no one hiding!"

"Good."

Wei Changtian breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the "reveal" moment was finally coming.

The reason why he was so cautious was entirely to prevent Zhang Hongwen from having any chance to make trouble.

Monsters were not gold or silver treasures. Although they were locked up now, they still had legs.

If someone from Zhang's residence was hiding in the dark, and secretly released the monster when they heard that the situation was not right, it would undoubtedly add a lot of trouble.

What's more, Wei Xianzhi and Qin Caizhen's teachings of "uprooting weeds to prevent future trouble" were still vivid in his mind.

If he went straight for the monster, how could these people from Zhang's residence be so lucky as to be caught without a fight like they were now?

Since he was playing the villain, and there was no blessing of luck, it was better to be careful in everything.

Tsk tsk tsk, I'm really too cautious!

Praising himself a little in his heart, Wei Changtian finally looked at Zhang Hongwen and shouted in a deep voice:

"Lord Zhang!"

"Do you know your crime?!"