ChangNing’s Imperial Army

The Commandant of Justice’s office was a very, very special place. Even though they were managed by the Ministry of Justice, its minister, Yan Jugang, could not do anything about the Commandant of Justice. The Ministry of Justice investigated everything, including diverse trifle ones. However, the Commandant of Justice’s office only investigated one type of case…cases where officials were involved.

Whenever Yan Jugang saw Han Huanzhi, he had to be polite, even though Han Huanzhi’s rank was lower than his. This was because Han Huanzhi could even investigate a person like him.

It was such an independent yamen; naturally, His Majesty wanted to grab ahold of them tightly. The minister of the Ministry of Justice was considered to be Mu Zhaotong’s student. After the news of Mu Xiaofeng’s death arrived at the capital, the first thing he did was to go to Mu Zhaotong’s residence. However, all he could do was try to console him. This was because he knew that he was not able to handle the case. Even though it was mentioned in the decree that he would be personally supervising the investigation, in reality, what could he supervise?

At dawn, 120 black cavalry, got into formation and left the Commandant of Justice’s office; their horses were black and they were wearing clothes that were made from black brocade and they were also wearing a black cloak. It was all black in color, so much so that it made people scared.

Commandant of Justice’s office’s black cavalry – sometimes, it was used as a synonym for malevolent yakshas.

120 black cavalry were protecting a black carriage as they set out. There was a person on four sides of the carriage. Similarly, they were decked in clothes made from black brocade. The only difference was that the four of them were of a higher status compared to the black cavalry. They were the qianban of the Commandant of Justice’s office.

The structure of the personnel of the Commandant of Justice’s office was very simple. The Commandant of Justice was Class A Fourth pin; below him was their official registrar, who happened to be two ranks higher than the ordinary official registrar – Class A Fifth pin. Below him were eight qianbans, and below them, were tingshi’s. Lastly, at the bottom were the ordinary officials of the Commandant of Justice’s office.

The Commandant of Justice was leaving the capital and took 120 out of 300 black cavalry with him. He even took four qianbans with him as well. This was the first time getting into such a formation ever since His Majesty ascended the throne. Several people were watching them, wanting to see what the Commandant of Justice and his men were capable of investigating.

As troops were passing through the main street, the civilians could not help but stop in their tracks to watch them. Of course, they did not dare to approach them. The all-black cavalry truly made them feel oppressed. It seemed like a black cloud had left the capital.

On the other side of the city gate, there were at least a dozen carriages lined up in a row, about to leave the city. The soldier who was guarding the gate was about to inspect them, but a Sixth pin military officer who was on duty walked over to stop him. He gestured with his hand, indicating that he would inspect them personally instead. He scrutinized every single carriage before he let them pass. The coachman gave him a thumbs up and he smiled, with an unusual radiance in his eyes.

Within the carriages were men in white with swords.

Inside leading carriage was a middle-aged man with a white velvet overcoat. He gave off a tranquil and gentle aura. That carriage was meticulously decorated. The carriage was created with special materials. It was soundproof and cozy. There was a thick hidden layer of metal net on the inside of the carriage. Hence arrows could not pierce through the carriage. The interior of the carriage was cushioned with soft materials; they even laid out two thick layers of rug – one of them was velvet, which reduced the bumpiness of the ride to the minimum.

Next to the middle-aged man’s hands was a heater. On the other side, there was a stack of approximately a dozen books.

When the head of Liu Yun Sect traveled out of the capital, he always made it somewhat grand and extravagant.

Black on one end and white on the other; both troops were well coordinated enough such that they avoided each other entirely. They would absolutely not run into each other, but they were heading in the same direction.

The great scholar’s residence; the door of the residence was tightly shut.

Bai Mei kept pacing up and down outside Mu Zhaotong’s study, like ants on a hot pan. He was truly anxious. Bai Shangnian had died, the Bai family might be at risk of being uprooted. Nobody could guarantee their safety.

At that time, when Mu Zhaotong pulled some strings and made the Bai family join forces with the empress, every single person in the Bai family was extremely happy. They felt that their family was not exactly powerful, but they finally found the door to attain a higher level. Regardless, the empress was still the empress.

Later on, they came to realize that the entire setup was not created specially for them. It was purely because the empress selected them.

Xiangning was far enough from Changan; the Bai family was nothing out of the ordinary as well, hence, the gifted and talented young people and children from the empress’ family, who were destined to be unable to rise the ranks, were sent over to the Bai family. They were nurtured by the empress’ family, as well as in the Bai family, learning Bai family’s useful skills. For more than a decade, the Bai family depended on those young people to rise to power progressively. Even though they were still worried, they did enjoy a lot of major benefits. However, Bai Shangnian’s incident was way too scary. Bai Mei immediately sent someone to send a letter back to Xiangning before rushing over to the great scholar’s residence. He entered through the backdoor and waited for two full hours, and yet Mu Zhaotong still did not seem to have the intention to let him in.

Just as he was about to knock the door down in a panic, the door creaked open. Bai Mei rushed in as fast as he could; he even tripped over the doorstep and almost fell.

“Look at you.”

Mu Zhaotong’s voice was heard from within the room; it was steady and powerful, shocking Bai Mei.

He steadied himself before lifting his head and taking a look. He discovered Mu Zhaotong was sitting upright in his chair. He did not look any different or peculiar. His clothes were tidy and his hair was properly combed. Even though he looked somewhat pale, he did not look as bad as the rumors said. The word was spreading like wildfire, saying that because the great scholar lost his son in his late years, he had became a cripple…

“Great…great scholar, you’re fine?”

“You were hoping that something bad happened to me?”

Mu Zhaotong gestured, indicating him to shut the door tightly. Bai Mei quickly turned around and was about to shut it. When he turned around, he realized there was a young man, who looked cultured and elegant, standing by the door. He had already closed the door. The young man nodded slightly at him. He was a young man who was very easy on the eyes. Even though he looked very delicate and graceful like a woman, or even more beautiful than a woman, he was not feminine at all.

“Young…young master Bai.

Bai Mei’s status in the Bai family was not low. He was the younger cousin of the head of the Bai family, Bai Zheng. If his status was not high enough, he would not be placed in Changan city for a long period of time, to be in charge of getting in touch with the great scholar and the person in the palace. Even then, when he saw that young man, he still had to call him ‘young master Bai’. Hence, young master Bai was certainly not a young master from the Bai family.

Young master Bai was very famous, and he only became very famous recently. His name was Bai Xiaoluo.

“Everyone, sit down and talk.”

Mu Zhaotong said in a low voice. He looked like he was in a rather good state of mind.

“Great scholar, I’m glad you’re fine. You are our backbone.”

Bai Mei who was overwhelmed and panicky sat down clumsily. He still looked very pale.

“Why are you so panicky.”

Mu Zhaotong glared at him. “I need to put on an act for other people to see at a time like this. Don’t tell me I can show them how calm and composed I am, thinking of ways to seek revenge? You have been in Changan for so many years. Why are you still so careless?”

“I’m…scared.”

Bai Mei tried his best to control his emotions. However, his voice was still trembling.”

“This time, Bai Shangnian truly wrecked the Bai family.”

“Are you trying to say that I wrecked the Bai family?”

“No, no, no. I dare not think that.”

“It’s not that you don’t dare, it’s that you don’t want to.”

Mu Zhaotong lifted his cup of tea and took a sip. Bai Xiaoluo, who was standing on one side, walked over and poured more tea for him. Mu Zhaotong looked at him and nodded. Evidently, despite his status, he did not dare to take Bai Xiaoluo lightly either.”

“Xiaoluo might be young but he has nerves of steel, unlike you. In the future, you should learn more from the young instead.”

Bai Mei acknowledged and agreed, but deep down inside, he thought to himself: Naturally, he does have nerves of steel. He is a member of the empress’ family, and he calls her his aunt. No matter how dire the situation is, he will not be implicated. What is there for him to be worried about?

“We have not lost yet.”

Mu Zhaotong consolidated his thoughts and emotions first before he continued, “Right now, what is most important is not revenge for my son’s death, or Bai Shangnian’s death. Even I have let it go for the time being. Naturally, the Bai family will be able to do that too.”

Bai Mei quickly nodded. “We can let it go, we can let it go. Bai Shangnian is dead, so be it…”

Naturally, he had to say that. He was worried about whether or not His Majesty would let them go. They did not have the capacity to think about seeking revenge. Undoubtedly, the empress’ family and the great scholar needed the Bai family’s help. But from the very beginning, on the contrary, the Bai family was relying more on them instead.

“Bullshit.”

Mu Zhaotong glared at him once again. “Of course, we cannot let people die in vain. Regardless of whether it’s my son or Bai Shangnian, they cannot die in vain. Bai Shangnian had already supported the Bai family and won half the battle for you. How can you take on such an indifferent attitude? Like I’ve said earlier, the most important thing right now is not seeking revenge. Instead, it is Pingyue, which we have spent several years preparing for. Presently, from the looks of it, my earlier judgment was right…”

“Why is His Majesty so insistent on objecting Bai Guinan to be the first-in-command in Pingyue’s office, even though he is the most qualified and suitable candidate? Yanta Academy’s old fool gave a whole load of nonsense as reasons, but they were just a joke. The real reason is because the emperor started to suspect that there is an impending problem over at Pingyue. This matter is of the utmost importance. If the preparations over at Pingyue were to go south once more, that will be the day where the entire Bai family will meet your demise.”

Bai Mei kept lifting his hand to wipe his sweat. “Great Scholar, feel free to give us orders. We will follow everything you say. As long as we get to protect the Bai family.”

“XIaoluo will go to Pingyue. All of you simply have to cooperate with him will do. I have already explained and made everything clear with regards to what has to be done. Moreover, he is capable. You don’t have to worry unnecessarily. Since I dare to guarantee that, it goes to show that for the time being, the Bai family is not in danger. If things go wrong in Pingyue, you will have to worry then.”

“Nevertheless…nevertheless, please state explicitly.”

“Kill Han Huanzhi.”

Mu Zhaotong’s voice was akin to a thunder. Bai Mei was so terrified that he fell off the chair.

“Gr…gr…great scholar, what did you say?”

“Kill Han Huanzhi.”

“Mu Zhaotong glared hard at Bai Mei for the third time. He thought to himself: Why are the members of the Bai family this stupid and cowardly? Initially, I was unable to see that. But when things go wrong, they panic to such an extent. They are not cut out to do big things…

“The Navy is indeed heading down south to fight a battle, but Han Huanzhi on the other hand is not going down south to investigate the Navy.”

Mu Zhaotong snorted. “If you cannot see this, then you disappoint me a lot…earlier on, before he set out, Han Huanzhi paid me a visit. He wanted to see whether or not I can still handle it. Hence, I made it clear for him to see, that I cannot take it anymore…but if I truly cannot handle it anymore, I’m sure you know what will be the consequences. Anything or anybody that Han Huanzhi wants to keep an eye on will not escape unscathed. Hence, the only thing we can do is to kill him.”

He looked at Bai Xiaoluo. “You have to do it personally.”

Bai Xiaoluo lowered his head slightly. “Understood.”

“Han Huanzhi only cares about investigating cases; he does not care about anything else. Hence, this person will be easy to get rid of, because he does not have much friends. Do a clean job as much as possible. Ideally, link his death to the Navy. He is going to investigate Zhuang Yong and Shen Leng in the first place, so let everyone assume that Zhuang Yong and Shen Leng killed him. Do a clean and thorough job when getting rid of him, and make sure you handle the Pingyue affairs well. The moment the huge batch of weapons and armor surfaces…ha…”

Mu Zhaotong let out a long breath. “I will have to die too.”

Bai Mei was so terrified that his shoulders trembled. Subconsciously, he shifted his gaze towards the young man named Bai Xiaoluo. However, he noticed that he was still as calm and composed as before, standing there as if nothing happened. It seemed as though he was entirely unaffected by Mu Zhaotong’s words. That young man seemed like he was not involved at all. He was calm and collected.

Naturally, Mu Zhaotong could see that clearly too. He was even more impressed with Bai Xiaoluo.

The young people these days were truly too frightening. Regardless of the ones on his side, or the ones on the other side.

He thought about how the emperor exceptionally held young men in high regard. Unexpectedly, Mu Zhaotong had a newfound sincere admiration for him.

“Go, go, go. I’m tired.”

Mu Zhaotong placed both hands on the desk and supported himself up. It allowed others to be able to tell how how weak he was.

Bai Xiaoluo looked at how he was; his eyes lit up slightly. It seemed to have a deeper significance.