ChangNing’s Imperial Army

Changan city, the great scholar’s residence.

When Han Huanzhi arrived at the great scholar’s residence, it was already almost nightfall. Hence, he saw a pair of eyes that seemed to be emitting a gloomy shade of red in the darkness, which naturally belonged to the great scholar. Mu Zhaotong seemed to have aged ten years overnight. He was not young in the first place – he was almost seventy years old. One could imagine how big of an emotional impact the death of his son would create.

Even a person like Han Huanzhi felt somewhat afraid when he saw Mu Zhaotong’s eyes. He walked from the darkness, hence he was not afraid of the dark. And at this moment, Mu Zhaotong was not akin to darkness at all – he was practically an old wolf whose fur had turned white and yet it was still bloodthirsty.

“Great Scholar?” called Han Huanzhi softly.

Mu Zhaoton lifted his head like a robot. Thereafter, he slowly lowered his head. He sat behind the desk. There were finger marks all over the desk. Hence, Han Huanzhi looked at Mu Zhaotong’s hands, which were placed on the desk. Between his fingers, apart from some fragments of wood lacquer, there was blood. One of his fingernails had already been torn out. Looking at it made one feel pain.

“His Majesty sent me here to ask you if there are any instructions from your end. I am about to rush over to the Navy with my men to investigate.”

“Instructions?”

The great scholar lifted his head. In a split second, his eyes seemed to have lit up.

“You are Han Huanzhi. You are the Han Huanzhi who ghosts are afraid of!”

He seemed to just have had an epiphany. He suddenly stood up and staggered to a cabinet on one side before pulling it open. He took out a stack of banknotes before staggering back to Han Huanzhi and stuffed them to him. “Take it, take it. Take all of it. I will give you everything. Help me find out who killed Feng’er and help me hack him to pieces. I will give you all of it.”

Han Huanzhi took multiple steps back; the banknotes fell to the ground.

“Great Scholar, this is inappropriate.”

“Don’t you like money?”

Mu Zhaotong’s hands trembled; he pointed to the banknotes on the ground. “You don’t want these money? I know. You don’t love money, you love power…do you know who I am? I am the great scholar, an official in the cabinet of the current imperial court. Even His Majesty has to listen to me. I can help you get promoted. Tell me what rank do you want? Third pin? Is it enough? If not then Second pin!”

All of a sudden, he pounced over and grabbed Han Huanzhi’s arms. “Kill him, kill him!”

Han Huanzhi sighed softly. “Great Scholar, this is truly inappropriate.”

At this moment, the door creaked open. Mu Zhaotong’s wife entered, as she was being supported by a servant girl. When she saw the mess in the room, she could not help but instruct softly, “Help master inside and let him take a rest.”

Two servant girls quickly walked over and supported Mu Zhaotong before walking him out of the study.

His wife slowly squatted and picked up the banknotes on the ground, one by one. She looked at the fireplace in the room and casually tossed them into the fire. Nobody knew how much those banknotes were worth.

“Please understand why he behaved inappropriately. Regardless of how strong and steady he is in the imperial court, he is ultimately a father. My son died a tragic death, how can he not be sad? If his words and actions alarmed you, let me apologize to you on his behalf.”

She bowed. Han Huanzhi quickly supported her up. “You are too polite. I did not see anything earlier. The Great Scholar was too sad to the extent that he became bedridden. I did not see him today, I only saw you.”

She became more relaxed after hearing what he said. She bowed once again. “On behalf of the entire Mu family, thank you.”

“If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. After all, I still have to rush to Jiangnan.”

“In that case, please enforce the law impartially, and help my son redress the injustice soon.”

“The people of the Commandant of Justice’s office has always been impartial when it comes to carrying out investigations.”

After Han Huanzhi walked out of the great scholar’s residence, he could not help but let out a long sigh. Even a person like Mu Zhaotong was unable to withstand such a blow. From his behavior today, it seemed like he was already crippled.

Outside, there was a black carriage waiting in silence. It seemed was though the emblem of a pair of white scales on the carriage was capable of emitting a gust of cold air. It was clearly a government office that carried out justice, but more often than not, when it was mentioned, it made everybody tremble with fear. When the pedestrians on the streets saw the carriage, they did not dare to come close either. Even when they passed by, they would take more steps and go around it.

Han Huanzhi got into the carriage and sat down. He was silent for a moment before he ordered, “Go to Yanta Academy.”

After Han Huanzhi left, Mu Zhaotong returned to the study once more. His wife got someone to clean the room while he was gone. His servants were very scared and on edge by their master’s ghost-like appearance. They did not even dare to breathe out loud. They hastily tidied up the room and left immediately, leaving only Mu Zhaotong and his wife behind in the study.

After a long time, Mu Zhaotong took a few deep breaths before looking out of the window. His wife walked over and shut them immediately after.

“Did my performance go wrong?”

“No.”

When his wife answered him, her tone sounded rather heavy. That was because her heart was aching. A lot.

“There’s no way Han Huanzhi came here to ask if I have any instructions. There is no way in hell he is going to investigate anything at the Navy’s. His Majesty favors Zhuang Yong and that unruly boy, Shen Leng. He arranged for the Navy to head down to the south, and got the people of the Commandant of Justice go to Pingyue with the Navy to investigate. My son died in the Navy’s camp, while Bai Shangnian was killed on Yanping Island. What’s the freaking point of going to Pingyue to investigate!”

He slammed his hand against the desk. His wife shook her head slightly. Mu Zhaotong took deep breaths and tried his best to calm himself down.

“Han Huanzhi came here to see how I’m like on behalf of His Majesty.”

His wife tried to speak as calmly as possible, “Can you blame His Majesty for favoring them…you are already thinking of killing him, and yet you blame him for discriminating against you? Earlier, the way you reacted was very good. Han Huanzhi should not be able to see through it.”

“How can I let him see through anything!”

Mu Zhaotong said coldly, “I have already sent someone to spread fake news within the cabinet. Right now, I have to act my part as a lunatic well – a lunatic who lost his rationality and intellect after losing his son. I will make them think that I am already crippled…I purposely made Han Huanzhi see those banknotes, as well as how I behaved inappropriately. He will tell everything he saw to the emperor. I need time. Right now, what I need most is time.”

“Feng’er will not die in vain.”

His wife walked over and stood next to him. “I will make the person who kills Feng’er pay for it.”

“My lady, you don’t have to worry over these things. I know that in actual fact, you are more upset than I am. Feng’er was raised single-handedly by you, of course you’re sad. You are just afraid that I would collapse too.”

“My lord…”

His wife’s eyes were red. Ultimately, she could not hold back her tears.

“I will fulfill His Majesty’s wishes and let him see a cripple. Only me becoming a cripple will cause him to let his guard down. It’s just a mere Navy. We lost our son; this price is too high…and precisely because of this, all the more I want those people to pay double the price!”

Mu Zhaotong continuously took deep breaths, but his face was gloomy the entire time.

The Commandant of Justice’s carriage followed along the main street and slowly moved forward. Even though they were sent down to the south to investigate under the emperor’s orders, Han Huanzhi did not appear to be particularly anxious or worried. That was because he was very clear that His Majesty was not anxious or worried. If he managed to finish investigating this case and get a clear answer before the battle between the Navy and the Qiuli people began, His Majesty would not be happy. If he found the answers after the battle was over, His Majesty would be unhappy as well. Since he would be unhappy in both situations, there was no need to be anxious.

Han Huanzhi unexpectedly had the mood to allow his entourage to buy some snacks on their way there. The carriage stopped in front of the peddler, scaring him till his legs weakened. His hand that was taking the food was trembling so hard. When he spoke, his teeth chattered.

Han Huanzhi personally took the money out to pay for the food. Regardless of whether the peddler wanted it or not, he tossed it on the counter and left.

Han Huanzhi opened up the greaseproof paper bag and smelled the freshly made steamed dumplings, lifting his spirits. He comfortably exhaled a breath before taking a small bite and drinking the soup. He looked very satisfied.

The carriage stopped right outside Yanta Academy. When the gatekeeper saw the carriage, he was immediately taken aback. Even though he was the gatekeeper of Yanta Academy, he showed deep respect towards a black carriage as such.

Han Huanzhi did not go down. He got someone to notify the academy head and sat within the carriage in silence as he ate his steamed dumplings. After he finished eating, he cautiously picked up a small residue of food and put it into his mouth and bit it with his teeth

“The academy head asks you to enter.

His subordinate’s voice was heard coming from outside the carriage. Han Huanzhi took a deep breath and got off the carriage.

There was a small lake in the academy. The students liked taking a walk by the lakeside. But it was currently winter. The sky had already became darker. Nobody would go for a walk outside. However, the academy head wore thick layers of clothes and sat on the bench by the lake as he waited for Han Huanzhi. At an older age, it was natural to be more afraid of the cold. The old man sat there and continuously tapped his feet. He looked rather adorable.

Han Huanzhi saw the academy head sitting there and could not help but start laughing. “Why so careful?”

The academy head laughed too. “This place is great. Earlier on, I specially instructed someone to make the light up this place a little more, to make it more convenient for people to see you and I. Humans have a standard habitual way of thinking – when they see us chatting by the lakeside, they will assume that we are not talking about anything private, since we are chatting out in the open. Even if it’s already dark right now, everybody can see us chatting. Isn’t this great?”

Han Huanzhi smiled and shook his head. He sat near the academy head on the bench. “I came here to ask, how long I should investigate this case?”

“I’m afraid you already have the answer deep down. Why did you still come here to ask me anyway?”

“Asking you about it gives me a peace of mind.”

“The best is none at all.”

The academy head laughed cunningly, “If you conduct the investigation before the battle, you will disrupt their state of mind. If you do it during the battle, it will affect the situation of the battle. And if you do it after it’s over, if they lose the battle, that is adding salt to the wound. If they win, you’ll be dampening their spirits…don’t you think this mission is hard?”

Han Huanzhi said, “Actually, I am here because of something else.”

“Spill.”

“The imperial censor, Lai Cheng, is also one of your students. He graduated from Yanta Academy. He is watertight…if I can’t find anything after the investigation, by then, it will be easy for me to report back to His Majesty. But it will be a story for the Censorate. Lai Cheng will not let me go.”

The academy head laughed out loud and rocked back and forth. “People have already called the Commandant of Justice’s men vicious dogs, and yet you’re afraid of the Censorate?”

“It’s not the same. We are all His Majesty’s dogs. The only difference is that we go after people who His Majesty wants us to go after, while the Censorate fellas would even go after His Majesty.”

The academy head smiled and said, “Yeah, the Censorate people would even go after His Majesty. And after that happens, His Majesty still has to tell them that they are welcome to do that again.”

Even a person like Han Huanzhi found that funny. He was smiling.

“I will try my best to say something. You have already mentioned earlier that Li Cheng is a fella who is watertight. Otherwise His Majesty would not have let him run the Censorate.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Han Huanzhi adjusted his clothes a little. He felt that it was too cold outside.

“In that case, I shall take my leave now.”

“You know why His Majesty sent you to Pingyue, right?”

“I know. To investigate.”

“Investigate…”

Han Huanzhi stood up. “Some people think that Nanyue just got vanquished and hence they have an opportunity to exploit. They took in several defeated Nanyue soldiers, and looted their supplies, gear and weapons. I heard that previously, Mu Zhaotong wanted the deputy of Jingji, Bai Guinan, to be transferred as the first-in-command there. He was thinking a little too big.”

The academy head nodded. “As long as you understand. Since His Majesty sent you to investigate, rest assured and boldly investigate all you want. In this entire country, His Majesty is the most powerful being.”

Han Huanzhi smiled earlier too, but he was not exactly relaxed. However, after hearing what the academy said, he smiled again. But this time, that smile made one feel extremely at ease.