Chapter 371: Sir, You're Losing Your Composure

At the Public Security Division of the Prefectural Capital Ironclad Department.

Xu Wenjun stared at the case file before him, scanning it back and forth several times before falling into silence.

Zhao Chonghong sat quietly, eyes closed in feigned slumber.

Lu Yunchen and Yang Ling stood before the hall, also silent.

After roughly the time it takes a full cup of tea to steep, Yang Ling clasped his hands and said:

"Sir, our Special Task Force has concluded its investigation. The one who killed Kong Xinghu was almost certainly the Star Observation Academy head."

"Wangzhi's testimony has already proven that Blood Hand Scholar was working together with Kong Xinghu."

"We request that you bring this testimony back to the Capital and make a visit to the Star Observation Academy."

Xu Wenjun looked at Yang Ling, then at the testimony before him.

Then he looked at Zhao Chonghong, then at Lu Yunchen.

Suddenly, he couldn't help but laugh.

One day. The case was solved in one day?

His father-in-law, Wangzhi, had become a criminal in the case.

And behind it all, it even implicated the Star Observation Academy.

Implicated the Third Prince!

"God damn it!"

"Sir, what did you say?"

Yang Ling and Lu Yunchen both looked at Xu Wenjun.

Zhao Chonghong also slowly opened his eyes and gazed at him.

Xu Wenjun smiled. "This official said nothing. You misheard."

After a pause, he picked up the case file and slowly tore it apart:

"This case no longer needs investigating. Your Special Task Force can be disbanded as of today."

The testimony was shredded into pieces.

Yang Ling remained very calm.

Lu Yunchen remained very calm too.

Xu Wenjun's movements paused slightly as he glanced at Zhao Chonghong:

"Zhao Sir..."

"There were several copies of that testimony. One of them has already been sent to the Capital."

Xu Wenjun's face turned extremely grim:

"Do you people have any idea how big this case is going to get?

Any one of the big shots involved in this can crush you with a flick of their fingers."

With that, he looked at Yang Ling and let out another laugh:

"You little brat. Earlier when you wanted to leave, this official should have just let you go. It's all my fault for insisting you stay."

Yang Ling remained silent. It was too late to say that now.

"The testimony has already been sent to the Capital. Whatever happens, happens. Let's just wait here for His Majesty's word."

Xu Wenjun said with a faint smile: "This official is willing to make a bet with you.

This case will fizzle out into nothing.

The key witness Kong Xinghu is already dead and buried. Wangzhi's testimony can't be verified as genuine or false.

All it proves is that Wangzhi did indeed keep Black List fugitives.

That he privately purchased Fire Oil, and used that Fire Oil to murder over a hundred Vagrants."

"By those crimes, Wangzhi is as good as dead, but it wouldn't warrant Confiscation of assets."

He spoke as if he weren't talking about his own father-in-law, but some completely unrelated person. There was not a trace of grief or anger in his tone about his own father-in-law's impending death.

"This official just shredded that testimony, precisely not to save Wangzhi's life, but because I don't want to commit this stupidity together with you!"

Xu Wenjun laughed in fury:

"Do you people know that once this testimony reaches the Capital, while it won't stir up much of a splash, it will bring you countless invisible troubles?"

"Not just us. The Special Task Force operation this time was commanded entirely by you, Sir."

Yang Ling corrected: "The case records we sent to the Capital together already state that clearly.

We were able to solve this case because of you, Sir. Your contribution was the greatest, ours second."

"God damn it."

"Sir, what did you say?"

"I said, god damn all of you!"

Xu Wenjun stood up and pointed at Yang Ling:

"You, god damn it."

Then he pointed at Lu Yunchen: "You, god damn it!"

Then he pointed at Zhao Chonghong:

"You..."

Zhao Chonghong looked at him.

Xu Wenjun forcibly swallowed his words back down and sat again.

"Sir! What happened!?"

Hong Ruohai and the others, who had been outside the hall, hurried in to see what was going on.

"You, god damn it."

Xu Wenjun lashed out in a torrent of abuse:

"Get the hell out!"

"Yes..."

Hong Ruohai and his men went silent as mice and immediately withdrew.

The great hall fell into dead silence.

Zhao Chonghong suddenly let out a chuckle:

"Xu Sir, you're a Fourth-Rank official. How have you become so incoherent?"

Xu Wenjun took a deep breath, then looked at Zhao Chonghong and said patiently:

"Zhao Sir, you've lived this many years. These juniors can't see it, but you should understand, shouldn't you?"

"Is this case really just about the Star Observation Academy head and the Third Prince?"

"This case implicates the entire court of civil officials represented by the Star Observation Academy head and the Third Prince!"

His voice rose several notches:

"Once this testimony spreads through the Capital, every civil official will think that we, the Ironclad Department, and you, Zhao Sir, are fabricating evidence against them!"

"They'll think we're trying to strike at them, to fight them for power!"

"Do you truly believe this realm belongs to the Zhao family?"

"This realm belongs to the civil officials!"

Lu Yunchen gasped sharply, unable to believe those words came out of Xu Wenjun's mouth.

Just because he had a Third-Rank Grandmaster Supreme for a father, he dared to speak such treason!?

Yang Ling's expression shifted. It seemed he really had overlooked this point.

The civil official faction.

This was something Lu Yunchen had mentioned to him before.

Civil officials. Not civil officials in the literal sense.

This was a group of people skilled in both letters and martial arts.

They possessed abilities that reached the heavens.

And the capability to govern the family and the state.

He had simply thought that no matter how powerful the civil officials were, they were still subjects of the Zhao State.

But the words Xu Wenjun let slip in his loss of composure revealed a terrifying piece of information.

"It's not the Zhao family ruling this realm..."

A chill suddenly rose in Yang Ling's heart.

"Zhao Sir, His Majesty trusts you so much, and yet to this day, you're still just a Prefectural Governor of one prefecture."

"Haven't you seen the truth yet?"

Xu Wenjun grew more animated as he spoke, his smile filled with mockery and derision:

"Your testimony will soon appear before His Majesty. Of course... it will pass through the civil officials' hands first, and only then reach His Majesty."

"His Majesty would certainly want to make something of this, but in the end, it will all fizzle out."

"What exactly happens in between, I don't know, and neither do you."

"Xu Sir, have you said enough?"

Zhao Chonghong said flatly.

Xu Wenjun shut his mouth and stared at Zhao Chonghong.

Zhao Chonghong's expression was indifferent:

"This official only did what this official should have done. That is sufficient."

"But by doing this, Zhao Sir, how am I, Xu Wenjun, not completely innocent?"

Xu Wenjun cursed with a laugh: "To hell with this Xiangfeng Prefectural Capital. This official should never have come, should never have come!"

With that, he swept a glance at Yang Ling:

"Yang Ling, that Vital Qi Age Defying the Ironclad Department rewarded you—have you eaten it?"

"I've eaten it."

Yang Ling nodded.

"You're a pig! So greedy! Is a Vital Qi Age Defying something you're supposed to eat? What a waste of a treasure."

Xu Wenjun cursed openly.

At that moment, everyone could see that Xu Wenjun had truly lost his composure.

"Scared to this extent by civil officials... just how much power do the civil officials wield in Zhao State?"

"Why is it that in the prefectural cities, even in the provincial capitals, I can't see many signs of it?"

"Is the true authority of the civil official faction concentrated only in the three Princely Capitals and the Capital?"

Yang Ling was lost in thought, and casually replied:

"Sir, you're losing your composure. Also..."

"That Vital Qi Age Defying really is delicious."

[Score went up another 0.1! 8.5 now! Six chapters today, thanks to all my brothers!]