Chapter 505: Change of Perspective

Chapter 505: Chapter 505: Change of Perspective

"Your Majesty? His Majesty wouldn’t bother with such trifles." Pang Ban smiled and shook his head.

"I think His Majesty will definitely intervene."

"Oh? Go on, then."

Shen Hao slowly recovered himself. It seemed Pang Ban was deliberately testing him? But wasn’t this kind of test a bit too advanced for someone like him who had just taken up the post of Deputy Thousand Households in a local region?

But since he was asked, Shen Hao wouldn’t back down. He quickly sorted out his thoughts before saying: "In my opinion, ever since the Ministry of Justice became involved in the Qin family’s attempt to smear us, the matter has completely changed its nature. And with Prince Shou brazenly defying our arrest warrant to help Qin Xiuyuan escape—well, it’s only this morning I fully tasted the flavor of this intrigue.

The core of this affair should be that the Civil Servant Group is taking this opportunity to suppress our Xuanqing Guard and thereby diminish His Majesty’s authority, while Prince Shou helps Qin Xiuyuan to side with the Civil Servant Group, aiming to win its support."

"Now, with the shifting situation in the South, if internal voices can’t be unified, that’s a massive headache. If His Majesty doesn’t want to directly move against the Civil Servant Group, he can use our testimony as an entry point. First, have Prince Shou hand Qin Xiuyuan over—this is a matter between His Majesty and his son, and no one else has the standing to interfere. If Prince Shou doesn’t want to confront His Majesty head-on, he’ll surely give way."

"After that, I believe the task of interrogating Qin Xiuyuan will fall to the Ministry of Justice, while we will attend as ’supervisors’ and as eyes and ears throughout the investigation."

"However, judging by his previous blunders, Qin Xiuyuan is utterly unreliable. Even if the Ministry of Justice uses gentle methods, they’ll extract plenty from him. By then, the Ministry of Justice and the entire Civil Servant Group will have to consider their own survival."

Pang Ban: "Are you so certain that once Qin Xiuyuan confesses, it will overturn the whole situation?"

"Yes, my lord. As long as Qin Xiuyuan admits it was the Qin family that instigated all this, everything that followed won’t be a problem anymore."

"Why? The complaint received by the Ministry of Justice accuses you, Shen Hao of Fengri City’s Black Banner Battalion, of slaughtering innocents. Does that not bother you?"

Shen Hao paused, then said solemnly: "I’m Deputy Thousand Households of the Xuanqing Guard. I eat the Emperor’s food, do the tasks the lords assign, and act according to Xuanqing Guard’s own regulations. Whom I kill, how I kill—there’s no need to consider the faces of the officials in the Ministry of Justice. I don’t care what they think."

To put it plainly, Shen Hao’s logic was: as long as it was proven the Qin family was deliberately casting filth on the Xuanqing Guard, everything else was irrelevant.

Could it really be that simple?

First, a flicker of doubt flashed in Jiang Cheng’s eyes. A moment later, he glanced back at his own disciple, his gaze full of relief.

Meanwhile, Pang Ban’s eyes lit up at Shen Hao’s words.

"Before, I told Lord Jiang I’d thought Shen Hao lacked vision, wasn’t seeing things clearly enough. But this time, I’ve changed my mind. Your analysis is excellent! Few at your age possess such insight. You’ve hit the key to this matter with a single stroke."

As long as it was proven the Qin family’s private motives were behind deliberately tarnishing the Xuanqing Guard, those so-called accusations of ’slaughtering innocents’ no longer needed any explanation—except to the Emperor. That’s how the Xuanqing Guard had always operated. If the Ministry of Justice didn’t like it? That’s their problem!

With that, the civil servants had their narrative overturned from the outset, and all subsequent accountability thrust at the Xuanqing Guard could be written off as self-serving maneuvering.

’Hoist with their own petard’ was the phrase that fit best here.

As for Prince Shou jumping into the mix... Shen Hao hadn’t even mentioned him. First, Prince Shou’s actions weren’t targeted at the Xuanqing Guard or him personally. The prince just wanted to cozy up to the Civil Servant Group for his own gain. For Prince Shou, it was simple too: no matter how things developed, he’d made clear his stance, and later the civil servants would be obliged to repay him.

Shen Hao was genuinely surprised at Pang Ban’s praise, and hurriedly bowed in humility.

"No need for modesty. You’re Jiang Cheng’s disciple—you ought to learn his uprightness as well. Just handle this case as you see fit. Apart from submitting a sea arrest warrant to the Government Office for Qin Xiuyuan, I’ll also send Prince Shou a formal inquiry from the Commander’s Office. He should make a move in response."

Shen Hao could only answer obediently upon hearing this.

They chatted a while longer. Although things hadn’t played out exactly according to Shen Hao’s plan, at least he’d secured the key evidence and wiped the stain from the Xuanqing Guard—the handling rights were successfully handed over, too.

Stepping out of the Commander’s Office, it was just noon. Jiang Cheng remarked he hadn’t had a drink with Shen Hao for ages and invited him out—Shen Hao, of course, gladly accepted, knowing Jiang Cheng must have something to say to him.

Jiang Cheng led Shen Hao to a small tavern hidden down an alley. There seemed to be quite a few such taverns in the Imperial City. Even that ’No Loss’ chicken place Shen Hao once visited had been tucked into an alleyway.

They followed Jiang Cheng in, took a seat, and ordered a few snacks supposedly unique to the place, said to be evolved from big-pot army meals. Jiang Cheng loved them, and assured Shen Hao he would as well. Shen Hao laughed along, curious about how the military ’big pot meals’ had turned into such delicacies.

A big pot—fire roaring beneath, spicy broth boiling within. The waiter brought thinly sliced meats, offal, meatballs, vegetables on a tray...

Why, this was hotpot!

"It’s called ’hotpot.’ Never tried it, have you?" Jiang Cheng, clearly a veteran, tossed in ingredients while teaching Shen Hao how to mix his dipping sauce.

"Back in my army days, we ate hotpot all the time. Of course, it didn’t have as many spices or as much meat and vegetables. The taste wasn’t nearly as good, but the memories linger—can’t forget it."

To Shen Hao, it was like something from another world. The rough crockery aside, the eating method was exactly the same as hotpot from that mountain city elsewhere. Right—just needed the nine-part divider, and it’d be perfect. He went through the motions of ’first time eating,’ inwardly marveling at the coincidence. If Jiang Cheng hadn’t said this hotpot originated from army mess halls, he’d have wondered if the tavern owner was a fellow outsider like himself.

After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, Jiang Cheng poured Shen Hao a bowl of wine, then fished out a magic disc from his robe, set up a concealing array, and finally smiled, "What do you think of Lord Pang?"

"Lord Pang? Frankly, I haven’t met him more than a couple of times, and I don’t know him well. I just get a bit nervous in his presence."

"Nervousness is normal. In the Xuanqing Guard, everyone gets nervous around Lord Pang, without exception. But while his face looks kindly, he’s rarely truly kind to anyone. Yet you are, strangely enough, one of the exceptions. Know why that is?"

Jiang Cheng’s sudden change of topic took Shen Hao by surprise. All the more, it made him realize Pang Ban never seemed as fearsome as the rumors claimed, at least not in his own experience—and listening to Jiang Cheng, was it possible he’d been specially favored?