In Great Jin, the vice minister of punishments was a Principal Third Rank official, one rank above Wang Ye's position as deputy chief of the Court of Judicial Review, and even half a rank above the court's chief. Yet the man's age made Chen Qing marvel at just how damn impressive connections could be.
Judging by his face, he probably wasn't even thirty, was he?
In modern times, he would at least be the head of the supreme court or the supreme procuratorate. Thirty... tsk, tsk... perhaps only that president of France who had found himself an older auntie could compare.
"This humble official greets Lord Fei!" Chen Qing grumbled inwardly, but his face was full of respect as he bowed.
The handsome young vice minister glanced expressionlessly at Chen Qing and said mildly, "You have yet to assume office. Calling yourself an official is inappropriate."
The corner of Chen Qing's mouth twitched. He cupped his hands. "This student failed to consider that properly. Forgive my discourtesy..."
Fei Jun drank his tea, silently studying this young man. Even after that jab, he still wore a gentle smile. He seemed nothing like a young man, but rather an old hand in officialdom.
The decree said the two were to investigate together, but it also contained another instruction: Chen Qing was to take the lead!
That made him quite curious about just what strengths this young fellow possessed.
"How long are you going to keep putting on airs, Lord Fei?" Yuchi Peng grew impatient beside him. "Did our superiors give us that much time?"
"The greater the matter before you, the less you can afford impatience. Unless you correct that failing, General Yuchi, you will hardly be fit for great responsibilities!"
"Ha..." Yuchi Peng gave an angry, cold laugh. "Whether I'm fit for great responsibilities is hardly for you to decide, Lord Fei!"
Seeing the two about to bristle, Chen Qing broke into a sweat. How could someone who had become a third-rank official so young be this aggressive in his dealings? Had he really relied entirely on his cousin the crown prince's staunch backing?
"My lords, perhaps we should discuss the matter at hand first?" Chen Qing hurriedly took out the list Wei Gongcheng had given him and said cautiously, "There are a great many people on this list. Investigating them will take considerable work."
"That list of yours is useless..." The man did not even raise his eyelids. As he drank his tea, he produced another list. "The Ministry of Rites' list was merely for the court to see, to show that the crown prince's selection of a consort took a broad range of opinions into account. In reality, there aren't nearly so many predetermined candidates. The crown prince will only choose someone from this list."
Chen Qing paused, then carefully accepted the list. The new list was indeed much shorter, with fewer than thirty candidates in total, making it far easier to investigate than the previous one.
"If this student may venture a question... how many people know about this list?"
At that, Fei Jun set down his teacup and finally looked Chen Qing squarely in the eye. "You do have some quickness of mind, at least."
Beside them, Yuchi Peng listened in bewilderment. What did that mean?
"Apart from that young duke beside you who understands nothing, all eight dukes permanently residing in the capital know!"
Chen Qing frowned at this, and only then did Yuchi Peng catch on. They were narrowing down the person behind the scenes!
Anyone who could help Thousand-Faced Fox set up this scheme had to wield considerable power. If Thousand-Faced Fox wanted to take part in this consort selection, they would first have to know someone aware of this list in order to lay their plans in advance!
"You should watch your words, Lord Fei!" Yuchi Peng's face darkened. "You can look down on me, but the eight great dukes aren't people a yellow-beaked brat like you can slander at will. Don't the nine ministers know about this list too?"
Faced with Yuchi Peng's challenge, Fei Jun could not even be bothered to look at him. He merely replied mildly, "Though the nine ministers know about the list, their motives are far weaker than those of the dukes."
"Heh... who can say for certain?" Yuchi Peng sneered. "Most of you sorcerers are remnants of the former dynasty!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room plunged to freezing point. A terrifying blue-green light shone in Yuchi Peng's eyes, while Fei Jun opposite him was even more startling: there was actually a trace of burning flame in his eyes!
Caught between them as a mortal, Chen Qing felt unbearably uncomfortable. Even breathing became difficult!
Fortunately, the two stopped after only a brief confrontation. Otherwise, under that pressure, Chen Qing seriously suspected these two bastards' presence would crush him until he burst...
It seemed that once this affair was over, he would have to hurry along his progress toward transcending mortality. Being so fragile that someone could casually swat him dead like a bug felt far too awful...
Fei Jun glanced at Chen Qing, who was gasping for breath, and a flicker of doubt crossed his eyes. Was he really a mortal?
Meanwhile, Chen Qing used the interval of labored breathing to rapidly consider the situation.
Judging by their exchange, the conflict between Great Jin's sorcerers and bloodline families seemed considerable, having already developed into a divide between civil and military officials!
But thinking about it, that made sense. Throughout Huaxia's history, civil and military officials had never gotten along particularly well. Whenever peace came to the realm, civil officials would devise ways to wrest power from military officers.
This world was unusual. With their formidable innate gifts, bloodline families naturally held an overwhelming advantage over ordinary scholars. Now that sorcerers had appeared, capable of contending with the bloodline families, hostility was only natural. Driving sorcerers over to the civil officials' side was, in fact, inevitable.
That made Chen Qing feel this case was no ordinary headache. One careless step could turn it into the fuse that set civil and military officials attacking one another.
At that thought, Chen Qing trembled a little.
"Let's look at the candidates first." Fei Jun spread out the list and explained, "To avoid risks, the daughters of certain great scholars from the former dynasty were excluded outright. Those on the selection list all come from official families with clean backgrounds, and almost all are scholarly households that have always lived in the capital."
Chen Qing took the list and examined it closely. Though the man was arrogant, his work was meticulous. He had annotated every person on the list with detailed backgrounds, family members, and risk assessments.
As he read the list, Chen Qing said, "Avoiding risks won't do much good. As long as the other party can learn about the list in advance, there's a risk of someone on it being replaced."
Fei Jun nodded. He agreed on that point. Bloodline families would not be considered for the crown princess's position, and to appease the military officers, neither would sorcerer families. Since that left mortal families, no amount of advance protection could eliminate the risk of replacement.
"My lord, you're close to His Highness the Crown Prince. Do you know whether he has someone he favors?"
"Nonsense!" Fei Jun snapped coldly. "How exalted is His Highness the Crown Prince's status? Why would he do something so dissolute as secretly meet a woman before marriage?"
"Are you certain he hasn't?" Chen Qing asked very seriously!
"Er..." For once, Fei Jun looked somewhat troubled.
Chen Qing rolled his eyes. He had known it. Among bloodline families, the purer the bloodline, the lustier the person. It was the body's biological instinct to reproduce. As the designer, how could he not know?
No amount of propriety could hold back the lecherous trait he had put into the design!
Under Chen Qing's stare, Fei Jun finally said, "The crown prince once happened to meet the second daughter of Yang Lin, vice minister of rites. That young lady is educated and sensible, with an exceptional bearing. His Highness felt a little... ahem... youthful admiration..."
Tsk, tsk...
Chen Qing's face twitched. A scholar indeed. He certainly knew how to choose his words.
"Have they had any private contact?"
"How could they?" Fei Jun instantly lost his earlier cold arrogance and demanded in exasperation, "What sort of person do you take His Highness for?"
"Lord Fei, as an official of the Ministry of Punishments, you should know that an investigation requires objectivity..." Chen Qing could not be bothered with his guilty rebuttal. "Are you certain they haven't?"
"Ahem..." In the end, Fei Jun could not hold out. He coughed lightly. "Youthful admiration... occasionally failing to restrain himself and meeting her in private is... understandable..."
"Yes, of course. Youth..." Chen Qing echoed, then asked the question that concerned him most. "Then did they overstep the bounds of propriety?"
"Wh-what do you mean, overstep the bounds of propriety?" Fei Jun asked guiltily.
"I mean, did they have illicit relations..." Unable to be bothered with the man's evasions, Chen Qing asked outright.
"Chen Qing!" Fei Jun flew into a rage. "Do you know the punishment for slandering the heir apparent?" As he spoke, he looked at the black-clad guard beside them, who was still taking notes. "What are you writing that down for?"
The black-clad guard looked at Fei Jun, froze for a moment, then wrote down: (Fei Jun said: What are you writing that down for?)
Fei Jun: "..."
Yuchi Peng: o-O!
Taking a deep breath, Fei Jun could not be bothered to argue with a paper man. He looked straight at Chen Qing. "Chen Qing, let me tell you..."
"Did they... or didn't they?" Chen Qing's face was grim as he cut him off!
"You..." Fei Jun swallowed. For the first time, he felt somewhat at a loss before a fellow even younger than himself.
Damn it, whatever rotten things that brat Xiao Yan did, the important thing was not to let me find out...
Yuchi Peng watched in wonder. This was also his first time seeing the perpetually arrogant Fei Jun look so guilty before someone else.
"Is this important?" Fei Jun drew a breath and asked coldly.
Though his tone was cold, it sounded somewhat feeble.
"Very important!" Chen Qing grew more serious still, and his expression turned extremely ugly.
Damn it, I was only asking casually. I never expected to actually draw out such a huge problem. Judging by his reaction, that crown prince really had done it!
Hopefully it isn't what I'm thinking. Otherwise...
What I'm facing now might be something approaching nine tails!
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