A Father's Wisdom

Jianhong's face remained expressionless. "Zeng Anmin solved this case and redeemed himself through meritorious service. He has already cleared you of suspicion."

Huh?

Zeng Shilin's expression froze.

Only then did he notice that his only son was still standing beside Emperor Jianhong.

Zeng Anmin wore an innocent look as he blinked at his father.

That's right, it was me.

Confusion appeared on Zeng Shilin's face.

He knew perfectly well what his son was like.

Taking him to a brothel or letting him play a few rounds at a gambling den was certainly no problem, but solving a case?

Utterly absurd...

So his first thought was that his son must have used sweet words to deceive Emperor Jianhong.

But he could fool him for a moment, not forever. If it were discovered afterward, would that not hand their enemies the very weapon they needed?!

And on top of that, he had failed to guard the Dragon Survey Map. That would only pile crime upon crime...

Zeng Shilin's expression abruptly turned solemn. He suddenly bowed to Emperor Jianhong, his voice filled with grief:

"Your Majesty, this criminal subject's son has deceived the court. I beg Your Majesty not to punish him. All blame lies with this subject alone. This subject is willing to die and go to prison."

He would rather believe that his son had spouted nonsense and committed the crime of deceiving the sovereign.

Zeng Anmin was somewhat helpless. He spoke up:

"Father, I didn't deceive the sovereign..."

But before he could say anything more, Zeng Shilin angrily cut him off:

"You brat still wet behind the ears, what do you know about solving cases?! Get over here and kneel! Beg His Majesty for forgiveness!"

Having said that, he hurriedly turned back to Jianhong.

"Every fault, every mistake, is this subject's doing. Your Majesty, for the sake of this subject's decades of unwavering loyalty to the Holy Dynasty, please do not hold it against this unfilial son."

Zeng Shilin, who had stood proud and aloof in officialdom for more than a decade, now bent his back with utter humility.

Anyone could see the deep, overflowing instinct to protect his child.

What a loving father and filial son!

Jianhong watched Zeng Shilin's actions, then looked at Zeng Anmin standing where he was.

Zeng Anmin's figure from that day came to mind—his calm certainty, the orderly way he had solved the case.

Jianhong could not help thinking of his own princes, who fought each other in a tangled mess.

He felt an urge to scrap the whole account and start over.

Feeling thoroughly disheartened, Jianhong was in no mood to speak.

So he merely cast a faint glance at the White-robed Venerable.

Receiving Jianhong's look, the White-robed Venerable understood at once. He stepped forward and helped Zeng Shilin up.

Zeng Shilin, however, pulled his hand away and assumed a listening posture.

He gave the White-robed Venerable only a sidelong glance, then imperceptibly widened the distance between them.

Such a tiny movement, yet such devastating harm...

The meaning was obvious.

Crude Martial Artist, don't stand so close to this official.

The White-robed Venerable's eyelid twitched, and he clenched his back teeth.

These Confucian Cultivators who looked down at people through their nostrils! They were truly infuriating!

Suppressing his displeasure, he said:

"At Chen Shi today, the Xuanjing Division and I were ordered to go to the governor's residence... Wang Daoyuan used words to guide Zeng Anmin, intending to have him finish Wang off while he fled... How laughable. Even I could see through his intentions, yet he himself remained unaware."

"Fortunately, Zeng Anmin did not disappoint me and did not blindly trust Wang Daoyuan."

"I saw that he possessed a certain strength of character, so I helped Zeng Anmin meet His Majesty and secure him a chance at survival."

"..."

It had to be said that his account was stuffed with quite a bit of self-serving embellishment.

Even Zeng Anmin could hear it.

His own process of solving the case had been glossed over in a few brief sentences, while whenever the White-robed Venerable himself appeared, he could talk at least another hundred or two hundred words...

What was with this edgy youth? Did he love showing off that much?

"Finally, with my assistance, Zeng Anmin successfully solved this case."

After the White-robed Venerable finished speaking, his face was full of satisfaction.

Having repeated the story in his heart exactly as he imagined it, he was in an excellent mood.

"This..."

Zeng Shilin looked at his son with uncertain suspicion.

The White-robed Venerable had added plenty of his own spin, but Zeng Shilin was an old hand after all. Naturally, he could grasp the crucial points.

When his son organized the details of the case, his logic had been meticulous, his thoughts smooth, every step well ordered.

After decades in officialdom, he had handled not a thousand cases, then eight hundred. Naturally, he knew what sort of intelligence and experience it took to accomplish such things!

Seeing his father's expression, Zeng Anmin naturally knew what he was thinking.

He had already prepared for this.

"Ah."

Zeng Anmin gave a bitter smile and looked at Zeng Shilin.

"After such a sudden upheaval, would it not have been ridiculous if your son had remained as muddleheaded as before?"

"I watched Uncle Qi fall with my own eyes, yet I was powerless to do anything..."

"Whenever I caused trouble in the past, Father was always there behind me to support me. This time, it should be my turn to help Father."

"As for solving the case, it was not actually difficult. Your son firmly believed that Father could never have colluded with the Demon Race. With that lead, everything became much simpler. As for meeting His Majesty, I had already prepared myself to die..."

After saying this, Zeng Anmin pressed his lips together and fell silent.

Zeng Shilin's body trembled lightly. His expression was immensely complicated as he looked at his son.

Zeng Anmin was right. The hardest part of solving a case was having no leads.

Once there was a lead, following the thread downward would naturally become much smoother.

After a long while, an expression of deep gratification appeared on his face.

"You've grown up. Good..."

A sudden upheaval could indeed make a person more mature.

There had been no shortage of such examples throughout history.

To everyone present, it was perfectly reasonable.

The more Jianhong watched this scene from the side, the worse he felt.

The more he watched, the more he wanted to scrap the whole account...

Deciding that out of sight was out of mind, he turned to leave.

"Beloved Official Zeng, now that the matter has been clarified, return home. I am tired."

However, to his surprise, Zeng Shilin's stubborn voice came from behind him.

"This subject will not leave."

Huh?

Jianhong frowned and narrowed his eyes as he looked over.

Zeng Shilin did not avoid that gaze in the slightest.

"As long as Your Majesty has not pardoned this subject's crimes, this subject has no right to leave prison."

"This subject earnestly begs Your Majesty to issue a decree proclaiming this subject's injustice to the world!!"

Jianhong's eyelid twitched.

Zeng Shilin clearly meant to lock horns with Emperor Jianhong.

Oh, so if you say I colluded with the Demon Race, then I colluded with the Demon Race; if you say I am innocent, then I am innocent?

You want me to leave? Fine. Issue an Imperial Decree and announce it to the world.

In summary, it came down to two words.

Apologize!

Silence.

The entire prison cell was silent.

"Yes, Father Emperor, an Imperial Decree should indeed be issued."

Ning An, who had ruined countless good things for Zeng Anmin, stabbed Jianhong once more at this moment.

In her innocence, she felt that Zeng Shilin's words were perfectly reasonable.

Zeng Anmin nearly laughed aloud.

It seemed this girl's brain did not work properly, and it was not aimed only at him. She targeted everyone equally.

Jianhong ignored Ning An and fixed his gaze on Zeng Shilin.

Their eyes met, and Zeng Shilin remained utterly composed.

"That can be done." Jianhong looked at Zeng Shilin and spoke slowly.

"Since rewards and punishments must be clearly distinguished, let us be thorough. Zeng Anmin has rendered merit by solving the case, so I shall grant him an appointment in the capital. How about making him an Imperial Guard?"

Shameless!

Old fox!

Son of a bitch!

These words surfaced in the minds of Zeng Anmin and his father at the same time.

But his father reacted quickly. He immediately shook his head.

"My son does not cultivate the martial path, so he naturally cannot serve as an Imperial Guard. As for this merit... Your Majesty might as well issue a decree converting it into cash, so that this subject may build bridges and pave roads, bringing benefit to the common people."

Emperor Jianhong merely gave Father a deep look before rising and walking straight out.

All he left everyone was the back of his head.

Seeing him leave, Ning An and the White-robed Venerable followed directly after him.

Only the father and son remained in the prison cell.

"This..."

Zeng Anmin looked at his father in confusion.

"Let's go."

A smile appeared on Zeng Shilin's face. He grabbed Zeng Anmin by the sleeve and followed Jianhong out.