Promotion to Imperial Guard Vice Thousand Households Commander! (Thanks to Wanwu Chunfeng Qi for the gift!)

Half an hour later, inside the imperial palace's grand hall.

The Emperor of Great Xuan accepted the memorial Lei Chongxiao presented. The more he read, the deeper his frown became, until he saw that Ling Dingfan had colluded with members of the White Lotus Sect.

He suddenly slammed the memorial onto the dragon desk.

"I pay them salaries and entrust them to govern the people and guard the land, yet they link arms with White Lotus rebels and line their own pockets! Lei Chongxiao, deal with every Qingzhou official involved according to the law. Leave none alive."

"This subject obeys the decree."

Lei Chongxiao replied with a bow.

"In this case, Su Fei, Hundred Households Officer of the Qingzhou Imperial Guard Thousand Households Office, deserves great credit. He solves cases as if possessed by a god, his Martial Arts are outstanding, and his temperament is steady. In this subject's view, he is material worth cultivating. He may be transferred into the Southern Commandery Investigation Department and entrusted with important duties, with generous rewards bestowed upon him as well."

The Emperor pondered for a moment and looked at Lei Chongxiao.

"What position should he be given?"

"This subject requests that Your Majesty make an exceptional promotion, elevating Su Fei to Vice Thousand Households Commander of the Southern Commandery Investigation Department, fifth rank, and grant him further rewards."

"Issue an edict to the Qingzhou Thousand Households Office. Summon Su Fei to the capital at once to take up his post."

The Emperor's expression became contemplative.

"To rise from Hundred Households Officer to Vice Thousand Households Commander is rather fast. But Su Fei is only eighteen—a Grandmaster Realm expert at eighteen—and he has rendered so many merits. Granting him the post of Vice Thousand Households Commander can be justified."

"Your Majesty, precisely so. Su Fei's methods in Qingzhou are ruthless and precise, exactly what the Southern Commandery Investigation Department needs now. Give him an opportunity, and perhaps he can bring a breath of fresh air to the imperial city."

At those words, the Emperor smiled. He picked up his vermilion brush and wrote the two words "Approved" upon the memorial.

"Do as you say. Convey My decree and have Su Fei enter the capital as soon as possible. I wish to see with My own eyes just how much true ability this man Lei Chongxiao favors possesses."

Lei Chongxiao accepted the decree and withdrew. As he walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, sunlight shone down upon him.

He gazed in the direction of Qingzhou, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.

Su Fei and the others listened to music for five straight days, visiting nearly every brothel, great and small, within Qingzhou Prefecture.

It was not until the sixth day that the judgments for these Qingzhou Prefecture officials and White Lotus Sect members arrived.

According to Commander Feng, when the names of those involved in the collusion were reported to the throne—

The imperial court was enraged and ordered that every one of the Qingzhou Prefecture officials and White Lotus Sect members be executed, without the slightest mercy.

Execution by decapitation!

Those to be executed today were Ling Dingfan and eight other officials involved in the case, along with more than thirty White Lotus Sect members. Qingzhou Prefecture had not seen an execution on such a scale in ten years.

Bound to the centralmost pillar was Ling Dingfan.

He was the highest-ranking prisoner to be executed that day, the fifth-rank Tongzhi of Qingzhou Prefecture.

He wore ragged prison garb, and his hair had turned from black to white. The past few days in prison had made him seem to age ten years.

Several sixth- and seventh-rank officials were bound on either side of him.

There was the Sihui Canjun who had once overseen household registration, an assistant magistrate responsible for relay station correspondence, and two Dian Shi from county yamen.

These men had all been figures of some standing in Qingzhou Prefecture in ordinary times, yet now they were like homeless dogs. Some were ashen-faced, while others wept in low voices.

Ling Dingfan remained silent, merely staring blankly ahead with hollow eyes.

"Did you hear? The one in the middle is Vice-Prefect Ling. A grand fifth-rank official, and he actually joined the White Lotus Sect!"

"The one on the left is Assistant Magistrate Wang. Last year, I asked him to deliver a letter home, and he swindled me out of five taels of silver."

The people's discussions surged like a tide. They pointed at the prisoners upon the high platform, venting years of pent-up resentment.

When the hour of noon and three quarters arrived, the entire grounds fell silent in an instant.

The Execution Supervisor unfurled the case file and proclaimed in a ringing voice.

"Prisoner Ling Dingfan colluded with the White Lotus Sect, committed collusion with the enemy and treason, embezzled funds and perverted the law. His crimes are heinous. He is sentenced to execution by decapitation."

When the words "decapitation" were read aloud, Ling Dingfan's body shuddered violently. Despair filled his eyes, yet he could not utter a single word.

"The remaining prisoners shall receive the same sentence. Execute them."

The Execution Supervisor's words struck the ground like iron. He threw down the command token.

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The executioners stepped forward in unison, raising executioner's sabers that gleamed with cold light.

As the highest-ranking prisoner, Ling Dingfan had been arranged to be executed last.

He watched as his colleagues' heads fell one after another, blood splashing across the blue stone slabs and gathering into little streams.

When the final official let out a miserable scream, he finally broke down.

He hurriedly dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.

"I am an appointed official of the imperial court! I know I was wrong, I admit my mistake! Please, do not kill me!"

But the executioner had no intention of paying him any heed. He had seen far too many prisoners begging for mercy at death's door.

The executioner's saber came down.

Ling Dingfan's head fell to the ground and rolled more than a zhang away, while blood sprayed from his headless corpse.

When the people saw that even an official as great as a Tongzhi had been executed, they erupted into thunderous cheers.

Then every White Lotus Sect member was slaughtered to the last.

"These rebels were killed well! They deserved to die!"

Su Fei stood at the edge of the crowd, his eyes utterly calm.

From beginning to end, none of the White Lotus Sect members he had expected appeared to raid the execution ground.

"Let's go."

Su Fei patted Wang Meng on the shoulder and turned to leave.

The sunlight was blinding. The bloodstains on the ground glimmered dark red, and the people's cheers still echoed in his ears, yet they seemed separated by a layer of water, blurred and indistinct.

When they returned to the Qingzhou Thousand Households Office—

Su Fei had barely stepped into the duty room when Commander Feng came forward with a smile on his face.

"Su Fei, you returned at just the right time. Someone has arrived from the imperial city."

Before he finished speaking, a burst of urgent hoofbeats sounded outside the Thousand Households Office.

More than ten guards escorted a eunuch carrying a bright yellow Imperial Decree as he strode inside.

The leading eunuch swept his gaze over everyone.

"Where is Su Fei, Hundred Households Officer of the Qingzhou Thousand Households Office? Receive the decree!"

Su Fei's heart stirred, and he stepped forward.

"This subject, Su Fei, Hundred Households Officer of the Qingzhou Thousand Households Office, receives the decree."

The eunuch unfurled the Imperial Decree, his shrill voice echoing through the courtyard.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Su Fei, Hundred Households Officer of the Qingzhou Thousand Households Office, has repeatedly solved major cases and captured bandits with merit. His wisdom is commendable and his courage praiseworthy. Therefore, by exceptional decree, Su Fei is promoted to Vice Thousand Households Commander of the Southern Commandery Investigation Department, fifth rank. He is awarded five hundred taels of gold and two hundred bolts of brocade. Within one month, he is to report to the Southern Commandery Investigation Department in the imperial city and assume his post. Respect this!"

"This subject thanks Your Majesty for his immense grace! Long live Our Emperor, long live, long live ten thousand years!"

Su Fei knelt to receive the decree, understanding dawning in his heart.

It seemed this Qingzhou case had ultimately alarmed the imperial city.

I'm a Vice Thousand Households Commander now. The rewards this time are quite substantial.

As he rose, the eunuch had already put on a genial smile and cupped his hands.

"Lord Su, you have achieved such success at so young an age. Truly, congratulations are in order. These rewards have already been loaded onto carts and delivered outside your residence. Please inspect them, my lord."

"As for the official robes of an Imperial Guard Vice Thousand Households Commander, Lord Su must collect them at the Southern Commandery Investigation Department in the imperial city."

Su Fei looked toward the entrance of the Thousand Households Office. Two carriages stood there, their compartments stuffed full. They were presumably the rewards mentioned in the Imperial Decree.

He smiled and cupped his hands.

"Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch. Please accept this small token of my appreciation."

Behind him, Wang Meng slipped a packet of silver into the eunuch's hand.

The eunuch accepted the silver, weighed it in his hand, and his smile broadened.

"Commander Su is too courteous. This servant must return to the palace to report, so I shall not stay any longer."