Chive Minister

The Ministry of Revenue's backer was gone.

Pang Mingjing's mind was in utter turmoil.

"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 Devil Sect Ministry of Justice Heavenly Prison and the Evil Sect Divine Prison.

Pang Mingjing drew 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 could you possibly..."

Pang Mingjing's voice cut off abruptly, as though someone had suddenly seized his throat.

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

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

Pang Mingjing swallowed, his throat bobbing as he stared at the seal and sash without saying a word.

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 instructed him. Our Night Guard principle is to neither wrong a good man nor let a bad man go. I think Pang Mingjing is a good man. The bad man is behind him."

Pang Mingjing's body jolted. 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 to glance toward the Night Guard Yamen, then sighed. "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 his 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.

"Wait," Li Qingxian said.

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

"Lord Pang, since you have already confessed, it would be terribly improper for you to keep wearing the Night Guard uniform. You cannot bring shame upon the Night Guard! Strip off those clothes!" Li Qingxian said coldly.

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

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

"Li Qingxian, do not go too far in how you conduct yourself!" Pang Mingjing gritted his teeth.

"The one stripping your official uniform is not the Li Qingxian standing before you now, but the Li Qingxian who might have had his corpse exposed on Ministry of Revenue Street! Tell me, is this too far or not?" Li Qingxian demanded coldly.

Pang Mingjing was struck speechless.

"Strip him!" Zhou Hen ordered.

The two guards rushed over and, in the blink of an eye, removed Pang Mingjing's official hat and robes, leaving him only in an undershirt and long trousers.

Li Qingxian added, "Keep stripping!"

A chill ran up Pang Mingjing's back.

At this moment, he finally regretted it.

"Strip him!" Zhou Hen ordered expressionlessly.

Pang Mingjing merely twisted symbolically a few times, then accepted reality with humiliation and fury written all over his face.

His upper garments, boots, and socks were all stripped away, leaving only one 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, you had better be ready to be killed by me first!"

The near-noon sunlight shone down upon Li Qingxian, making him dazzlingly brilliant.

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

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

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

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

"Do not forget the incense money and tea money." With that, Xie Ming left without looking back.

"Yes, sir." Luo Jing looked utterly helpless.

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

Zheng Hui and Han Anbo rushed over. Zheng Hui placed both hands on Li Qingxian's shoulders and laughed. "Good lad! You have brought tremendous honor to our Street Patrol Office! This way of living was worth trading for! An Bo told me that we thought you were smashing a broken jar just because it was broken, but I never expected you to have a backup plan. Good! Good! Good!"

"Let us return to the yamen first," Han Anbo urged, stopping the excited Zheng Hui.

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

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

Zheng Hui was about to ask something, 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 it now?"

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

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

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

"But I did not burn incense or drink tea!" Li Qingxian found it unbelievable.

"Did Lord Xie and I come out for nothing? I do not want to collect it either, but it is the rule." The mole at the corner of Luo Jing's mouth twitched wildly.

"Does the Ministry of Revenue make empty runs?"

"More or less."

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

Seeing Luo Jing accept the money, Li Qingxian frowned. "I had never heard of this rule before. Could it be another thing the Chive Minister came up with?"

The Ministry of Revenue officials behind Luo Jing looked everywhere but at him.

Luo Jing laughed and cursed, "You dare call our minister by his nickname on Ministry of Revenue Street? Are you not afraid of being dragged into the Southern Court and beaten to death with clubs? Still... it was indeed a rule established by Lord Xue."

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

The Ministry of Revenue officials behind them lowered their heads.

Luo Jing lowered his voice. "You may want to die, but I do not."

Li Qingxian looked around. "Come, let us 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 had boarded the carriage, they followed behind it.

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

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

"What exactly happened?"

Luo Jing considered it, then said, "Lord Xue does not care about this matter. He even considers it a fine tale. Since he himself does not avoid the subject, there is no harm in my telling it. Before Lord Xue Ziliao rose to prominence, he was merely a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue and was equally inconspicuous in the Evil Illumination Sect. The current leader of the Evil Illumination Sect, Lin Zhaokong, was then the Minister of Revenue. Lin Zhaokong loved eating chives, and everyone in the Ministry of Revenue knew it. Back then, Lord Xue exhausted every means to climb upward. At last, one day, he got to meet School Leader Lin. Guess what was the first thing he did?"

"He recommended himself?" Li Qingxian asked.

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