Chive Minister

The Ministry of Revenue's backer was gone.

Pang Mingjing's mind was in utter chaos.

"Lord Pang, come with me to the Imperial Prison." Zhou Hen's voice exploded beside Pang Mingjing's ear like a thunderclap.

The Imperial Prison stood alongside the Demon Sect Ministry of Justice Heavenly Prison and the Evil Sect Divine Prison.

Pang Mingjing took a deep breath and calmly produced the Gold-Character Command Token. "Lord Zhou, I am a Principal Seventh Rank court official. Without formal documentation, how can you..."

It was as if Pang Mingjing's throat had suddenly been seized. His voice cut off abruptly.

In Zhou Hen's hand hung a crimson sash, and beneath it dangled a bronze official seal.

"Which document would you like Lord Zhou's official seal stamped on?" Zhou Hen sat astride his horse, lowering his head slightly to block the sunlight. His shadow pressed down upon Pang Mingjing like half a mountain.

Pang Mingjing swallowed, his throat bobbing. He stared at the seal and said nothing.

Li Qingxian smiled. "Lord Zhou, Lord Pang is actually right. He may not have been the one who forged the documents; perhaps someone behind him gave the orders. We Night Guards have a principle: never wrong a good man, and never let a bad man go. I think Pang Mingjing is a good man. The bad man is behind him."

Pang Mingjing's body shuddered. He looked at Li Qingxian in disbelief, unable to believe such words had come from a sixteen-year-old child.

The others also looked at Li Qingxian in surprise.

Pang Mingjing turned and glanced toward the Night Guard Yamen. With a sigh, he said, "I confess. Li Gangfeng and I were at odds, so I forged official documents to retaliate against Li Qingxian. It was all done by me, Pang Mingjing, alone."

"The bad man turned himself in. Now I can rest easy," Li Qingxian said.

"Take him away!" Zhou Hen waved a hand, and two Night Guards leaped down from their horses and walked toward Pang Mingjing.

Pang Mingjing slowly lowered his head, his face dim and lifeless.

Li Qingxian shook his head and saw Zheng Hui grinning broadly.

Zheng Hui's skin was dark, making his teeth especially white when he smiled.

The next moment, Li Qingxian's face darkened.

Zheng Hui's clothes were ragged and torn.

"Wait." Li Qingxian spoke.

The two Night Guards stopped and looked toward Li Qingxian along with everyone else.

"Lord Pang, since you've confessed, it would be terribly improper for you to keep wearing a Night Guard uniform. You can't bring disgrace upon the Night Guard! Strip him of those clothes!" Li Qingxian said coldly.

The Night Guards froze for a moment, then looked at Zheng Hui, their eyes revealing undisguised envy.

Zheng Hui had not expected Li Qingxian to still be thinking of him, and he smiled happily.

"Li Qingxian, don't go too far in how you conduct yourself!" Pang Mingjing gritted out.

"The one stripping your official uniform isn't the Li Qingxian of today, but the Li Qingxian who might have ended up as a corpse exposed on Ministry of Revenue Street! Tell me, has this gone too far or not?" Li Qingxian demanded coldly.

Pang Mingjing was left speechless.

"Strip him!" Zhou Hen ordered.

The two guards rushed forward and, in three strokes and two cuts, removed Pang Mingjing's official hat and uniform, leaving him with only an undershirt and long trousers.

Li Qingxian added, "Keep stripping!"

A chill rose straight up Pang Mingjing's back.

At that moment, he finally felt regret.

"Strip him!" Zhou Hen ordered expressionlessly.

Pang Mingjing only twisted symbolically a few times, then accepted reality with a face full of humiliation and fury.

His upper garments, boots, and socks were all stripped away, leaving only a pair of trousers below his waist.

Li Qingxian walked over, leaned forward, and whispered into Pang Mingjing's ear.

"If you want to kill me, be prepared to be killed by me first!"

The near-noon sunlight poured down upon Li Qingxian, making him dazzlingly bright.

Pang Mingjing's face was ashen. Before his eyes, the sunlight was cold as snow.

"Escort him back to the Imperial Prison!" At Zhou Hen's command, a squad of Night Guards rushed over and took Pang Mingjing, along with his guards and coachman, away.

"A hero in youth," Xie Ming praised. His gaze fell upon Li Qingxian, and disappointment appeared on his face. "What a pity he is merely a commoner. Luo Jing."

"This subordinate is here." Luo Jing lowered his head.

"Don't forget the incense money and tea money." With that, Xie Ming left without looking back.

"Understood." Luo Jing wore a helpless expression.

"Back to the yamen." Zhou Hen glanced at Li Qingxian, turned his horse around, and proceeded slowly.

Zheng Hui and Han Anbo rushed over. Zheng Hui gripped Li Qingxian's shoulders with both hands and laughed. "Good lad! You've brought great glory to our Street Patrol Office! Trading lives like this was well worth it! An Bo told me all about it. I thought you were smashing a broken jar just because it was broken, but you still had a hidden move. Good! Good! Good!"

"Let's return to the yamen first." Han Anbo tried to calm the excited Zheng Hui.

"Right, right, right. Come on, let's go back to the yamen together!"

"You go on ahead. I'll meet Lord Zhou together with Lord Luo from the Ministry of Revenue," Li Qingxian said.

Zheng Hui was about to ask why, but Han Anbo grabbed his arm and led him away.

Li Qingxian walked forward with Luo Jing, who had come up to meet him, and smiled. "Do you believe me now?"

Luo Jing snorted lightly and held out his hand. "Two coins. One for incense, one for tea."

Li Qingxian asked in confusion, "I neither burned incense nor drank tea. Why do I still have to pay the Ministry of Revenue?"

"When have you ever seen anyone come to the Ministry of Revenue empty-handed? Asking you for two coins is the rule. Later, I'll have to submit 198 coins on your behalf. Burning incense and drinking tea costs at least a hundred coins."

"But I didn't burn incense or drink tea!" Li Qingxian found it unbelievable.

"Did Lord Xie and I come out for nothing? I don't want to collect it either, but it's the rule." The mole by Luo Jing's mouth twitched violently.

"Does the Ministry of Revenue ever make a wasted trip?"

"More or less."

"I understand." Li Qingxian shook his head, pinched out two coins from his money pouch, and pressed them into Luo Jing's hand.

After seeing Luo Jing accept the money, Li Qingxian frowned. "I've never heard of this rule before. Don't tell me it was dreamed up by that Chive Minister again?"

The Ministry of Revenue personnel behind Luo Jing looked around in all directions.

Luo Jing laughed and cursed, "Calling our Book of Documents by his nickname on Ministry of Revenue Street—aren't you afraid of being dragged into the Southern Court and beaten to death with cudgels? But... it really was a rule established by Lord Xue."

Li Qingxian asked curiously in a low voice, "Is the thing about chives stuck to his teeth real?"

The Ministry of Revenue personnel behind them lowered their heads.

Luo Jing lowered his voice. "You may want to die, but I don't."

Li Qingxian glanced around. "Come on, let's take the carriage."

"I can drive." Duan Heng headed straight for Pang Mingjing's carriage.

The people behind them slowed their pace. Once the two boarded the carriage, they followed behind it.

Inside the carriage, Li Qingxian leaned comfortably against the seatback and asked, "Can you tell me now?"

Luo Jing gave Li Qingxian a strange look, then nodded vaguely. "It's true."

"What exactly happened?"

After thinking for a moment, Luo Jing said, "Lord Xue doesn't care about this matter. He even considers it a fine tale, and since he has no taboo about it himself, it does no harm for me to tell it. Before Lord Xue Ziliao rose to prominence, he was merely a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue and utterly insignificant in the Evil Illumination Sect. The current School Leader of the Evil Illumination Sect, Lin Zhaokong, was then the Book of Documents of the Ministry of Revenue. Lin Zhaokong loved eating chives, and everyone in the Ministry of Revenue knew it. Back then, Lord Xue exhausted every trick in his climb through the ranks, until one day he finally had an audience with School Leader Lin. Guess what was the first thing he did?"

"Recommend himself?" Li Qingxian asked.

"No. The first thing Lord Xue did upon meeting him was grin like a fool. Then School Leader Lin burst into loud laughter. Because three whole pieces of chives were stuck to Lord Xue's teeth. From then on, Lord Xue caught School Leader Lin's eye."