Chapter 619 - 398: Convincing with a Single Word

Early the next morning, after having breakfast on the street, Duan Rong strolled toward the Ministry of Justice to report.

As soon as he reached the entrance of the government office, he saw a table set up on one side of the stone steps, with a man with a pockmarked face sitting there, and surprisingly there were four or five people queuing in front of that table.

Duan Rong didn’t know what the queue was for; he only saw two burly guards standing with knives at the entrance of the government office, coldly scanning the surroundings, so he prepared to show the Taiyi Order and Sect Cloud Scroll to go directly inside.

But as he reached the stone steps, he saw a young man in front of the raised table hold up a dark token to the pockmarked man.

"It’s the Taiyi Order!"

Duan Rong suddenly stopped and turned around to look. No wonder those four or five people lining up were all Outer Disciples!

After all, this was the Ministry of Justice of the Divine Cloud Prefecture!

In the Four Southeast Prefectures, with just one Taiyi Order, he was almost treated like a distinguished guest everywhere, even the Mansion Master would respectfully call him Imperial Envoy.

But here in front of the Ministry of Justice, they could only queue up for announcements. Even in front of a minor government clerk who might not even have a rank, they had to be respectful.

The pockmarked man glanced at the Sect Cloud Scroll handed over by the young man, then flipped through the yellow booklet in his hand, wrote something on a note, and said: "Come over at 3 p.m. three days later, Lord Huang will be available then."

The young man received the appointment note and turned away.

At this point, Duan Rong had reached the end of the line, waiting at the very back.

Turns out the queuing was just for appointments, this Ministry of Justice really had quite the air!

The speed of the pockmarked man was fast; soon it was Duan Rong’s turn.

Duan Rong handed over his Sect Cloud Scroll and Taiyi Order.

The pockmarked man took one look at Duan Rong’s Sect Cloud Scroll and immediately looked up at him, abruptly asking, "When did you arrive?"

Duan Rong was taken aback by the question and responded: "Arrived at the inn yesterday, came to report early this morning."

The pockmarked man oh-ed, pressed the yellow booklet and some documents with a paperweight, then stood up and said to the three people behind Duan Rong, "Please wait here for a moment, I’m going inside and will be right back."

Then he turned his head to Duan Rong and said, "Lord Duan, please follow me."

Duan Rong followed the pockmarked man inside the Ministry of Justice, while the two guards at the entrance just glanced at him.

Inside the Ministry of Justice, it was unexpectedly maze-like, with halls like a forest and many people both in official attire and out of it, coming and going.

The pockmarked man guided Duan Rong through a corridor into a secluded room in the corner, Duan Rong noticed the room seemed to have no plaque or number.

The pockmarked man said, "Lord Duan, please wait here. The Ministry of Justice is large and has many rules, I ask that you don’t move around freely."

After saying this, the pockmarked man walked out the door and closed it.

Duan Rong surveyed the room in front of him. The furnishings were quite simple, the tables and chairs were commonplace items, and there were hardly any decorations.

He walked to a Grandmaster’s Chair, reached out and touched it; the chair was spotlessly clean.

Duan Rong sat down, crossed his legs, and muttered to himself: "Such a big government office, and not even a cup of tea offered."

Just as his words fell, the door was pushed open.

A slightly chubby middle-aged man dressed in plain clothes came in carrying a wooden tray.

Duan Rong hadn’t expected someone to enter just after he sat, so he awkwardly lowered his crossed legs.

The man placed a cup of tea and a plate of snacks from the wooden tray onto the table beside Duan Rong, then bent over and retreated, casually closing the door as he exited.

When the man entered the room, his eyes only looked at the floor, and when placing things, his eyes only looked at the table; throughout the process, he didn’t glance at Duan Rong even once.

While exiting the door, he kept his head down the whole time.

"The rules are certainly strict here at the Ministry of Justice!"

Duan Rong sighed and took a sip from the teacup at hand.

During the two or three years of being an Outer Disciple, he always drank good tea, even at home, Xiao Yu never treated him poorly, and thus his palate had become quite discerning.

He took a sip of tea and slightly shook his head. The tea at the Ministry of Justice was too ordinary.

Duan Rong glanced at the plate of osmanthus cake beside the teacup, picked up a piece, and immediately hummed; the osmanthus cake was very authentic.

While eating osmanthus cake and sipping tea, after about half an incense stick’s time, suddenly two people walked in.

The two looked young, around thirty years old, but both were dressed in official attire.

Duan Rong took a glance at the insignia on the front of their official attire, one was a peacock, the other a leopard.

The peacock was the insignia of a Third Grade Civil Servant, the leopard of a Third Grade Military Officer.

Their rank was quite high, and one was civil while the other was military.

As the two entered, they stood side by side and scanned Duan Rong from top to bottom.

The civil servant was dark-skinned and muscular, while the military officer had a pale face, appearing somewhat sinister.

The military officer abruptly walked up to face Duan Rong, brusquely sat down, and unceremoniously asked, "Are you Duan Rong?"

Duan Rong cleared his throat, "Yes."

The dark-skinned and muscular civil servant smiled and politely asked, "My family’s ancestor mentioned there’s a secret letter for Lord Duan. I wonder if Lord Duan is aware of what case you’re here at the Ministry of Justice for?"

Duan Rong’s heart skipped a beat. The ancestor definitely referred to Zhu He, and it seemed this person was also Zhu He’s descendant.