Chapter 101
Wu Qi lifted his buttocks slightly and separated them from his heels placed underneath . While in a semi-kneeling position, he carefully poked half of his head up, peering through the dark ocean of human heads and saw Qin Qingshui, who kept slamming his forehead onto the ground on the forefront of the grand hall . Perhaps driven by great fear, the sounds of head knocking against the floor was loud, even echoing out through the entire hall and filling their ears with buzzing noises . Very soon, a large patch of skin on his forehead was broken, and blood was seen oozing and flowing down his face . His long horse face had become ever uglier .
Sitting on the second layer of the dais, Jing Ke was still holding on his jade wine funnel and gulping down fine wine endlessly, as if he didn't notice Qin Qingshui playing a game of knocking forehead on the hard floor . A middle-aged scholar was sitting beside Jing Ke . He had a casual and elegant bearing and looked intelligent . His eyes were half-opened, as his gaze was on a pair of white jade chopsticks held in his hand . He didn't say anything . On the other side of Jing Ke was a middle-aged general, clad in black armor and had his hair worn in a bun with a red string; he too remained silent . The only exception was a man who sat on the leftmost . He was a tall man who looked in his thirties, and he had a rather unnatural expression .
Qin Qingshui was still kowtowing and begging for forgiveness . When the floor was smeared with a large patch of blood nearly two feet in diameter, the tall man who was sitting on the second layer of dais could no longer constrain himself . He rose to his feet, knelt down on both knees towards Yan Dan and bowed his head while saying, "Your majesty, Qingshui has just taken over the position of Central Wind Guard Chief Supervisor for a few years . The short period had given him with insufficient experience, and that had made him commit such mistake . I hope your majesty can pardon his sin .
He brought his hand and rubbed on his temple, but suddenly laughed . "Since Wuyang has talked, then I'll spare him this time . Qin Qingshui, your ancestor has asked me to spare you, then you'll be forgiven this time . I want you to investigate and find out all the ins and outs of Yan Buji's death within three months . For those who were involved in this incident, I want to see their heads in three months’ time . If you fail to do this, you can go ahead and have your retired cultivation!"
He paused for a brief moment, then continued scolding with a stern voice, "The Chief Supervisor of Central Wind Guard is a very important position . He is the ears and eyes for the Imperial Court in the entire territory of Great Yan Dynasty . Scouting Office, what is the true meaning of scouting? Go back and think for the answer yourself . The initial purpose of establishing Scouting Office was to ask you to investigate any detailed clues and traces that you can find through every grape vine . Yet for a big case like this, the drowning of a Duke, you didn't find any traces that caused the accident even after so long . As the Chief Supervisor of Central Wind Guard, are you only capable of framing someone at the city entrance with the death of an innocent life?"
Wu Qi raised his brows, looking toward Yan Dan with a surprised expression . The so-called framing someone at the city entrance was exactly what Qin Qingshui and few other men did to Wu Qi today when he just came back to Ji City . Wu Qi never thought that Yan Dan, who just came out from his secluded cultivation, had already learned about the news, and even using it to condemn Qin Qingshui .
Just as what Wu Qi expected, he heard Yan Dan continue giving out condemning speech, "Haoying Zhengqi, although you are the Minister of Criminal and Justice, those younger generations from your clan are really unworthy . I suppose Haoying Fenglong is your eldest grandson of lineage? The unruliness of this son has crossed the line . Are the patrolling officers from the department of Criminal and Justice the tool for him to frame someone? I heard the Hao Hai Kingdom at the northernmost has just discovered a vast snowfield filled with abundant resources . Ask Haoying Fenglong to build a kingdom there, and let him bring three hundred thousand people with him . "
Among the line of Three Prime Counselors and Nine Ministers in the grand hall, a fat middle-aged man, whose skin was as fair as a sixteen years old virgin, had his body suddenly trembled . Without hesitation, he quickly rose and left his seat, hastening in front of Yan Dan . He knelt down and kowtowed towards the emperor, thanking for the pardon and acknowledging the emperor's imperial order respectfully .
With just a casual comment, Yan Dan had deprived Haoying Fenglong's right of inheriting the legacy of Haoying Clan . At most in three days, Haoying Fenglong would have to bring together three hundred thousand ordinary civilians and his personal guards, travel tens of thousands of miles and venture deep into the northernmost land, a world of ice and snow, to the land discovered by the Hao Hai Kingdom and endure great hardships in pioneer work to establish his own kingdom .
This was the kindness given by Yan Dan, as well as the punishment for Haoying Fenglong .
If Haoying Fenglong were lucky enough, perhaps in few hundred years from now, there would be a new vassal kingdom erected and flourishing amidst that savage land of ice and snow . He would be the founding monarch of that vassal kingdom, establishing himself a great foundation and have his name recorded in the history books of Great Yan Dynasty . But if luck was not on his side or his abilities were inferior, all three hundred thousand civilians brought by him would be devoured by the vast snowfield, and Haoying Fenglong would also vanish from this world .
Since Great Yan Dynasty was established two thousand years ago, there would be a great number of concubine sons from influential clans, or some descendants who had committed crimes and had their status deprived, who would bring out a random number of civilians and protected by personal guards every couple of years . They ventured into different parts of the world, into remote mountains or savage lands, to be the pioneers for their own foundation . Some succeeded, and the result was those over few hundred vassal kingdoms and tens of thousands of cities that hadn't been declared as a kingdom . But some failed, and no one could remember their name ever since .
Wu Qi knew this was a custom of the Great Yan Dynasty: to discover new lands and establish a city, then develop it into a kingdom . This was a path that many descendants of prestigious and influential clans would choose ultimately . After all, the resource for each clan was limited, and it was impossible to let more and more members of their clan enjoy the blessings from the clan . By risking their life and leaving Great Yan Dynasty in braving the wilderness, it was considered a way out for them . As a matter of fact, not only the descendants of influential clans would do this, among one hundred imperial clans of Great Yan, when many descendants reached their adulthood and accumulated a certain degree of abilities, resources, and connections, they would make the same choice as well .
Poor Haoying Fenglong! A brief smile of cold emerged on Wu Qi's face . In fact, by sending Haoying Fenglong to the northernmost lands, Yan Dan was actually protecting him . If he were banished to some place in the west of Great Yan Dynasty, that would land him right in the boundary under the command of West Supervisor, Lu Chengfeng . With that, Wu Qi would have one hundred methods to let Haoying Fenglong, together with all three hundred thousand civilians following him, die and vanish without a trace .
While pondering hard for methods to bring more troubles to Haoying Fenglong, Wu Qi heard Yan Dan speak again . "Qin Qingshui, What was the reason that made Taba Qingye commit such deed? As the prince hostage from the Xian Kingdom, not only did he not stay put in Ji City, he marched during the wee hours of the night and brought military-grade ballista to assault an Imperial member . Was he trying to revolt? For this matter, I give you three days to give me an explanation . Report back to me immediately once you find out the reason . And for that Taba Haofeng, order him to bring himself to West Supervisor Court and be punished with thirty strokes of cane . As the prince from a vassal kingdom, he shouldn’t be creating troubles in Ji City, or else, severe punishment will await him . "
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