Mountain Patrol Military Officer

This man squinted his eyes and snorted coldly, flicking his sleeves.

Xu Liang frowned, wanting to speak, but the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who presided over the court etiquette, spoke first,

"No noise is allowed in the court."

Saying this, he glanced lightly at Xu Liang,

"Xu Shaoqing, without the emperor's permission, do not disrupt the order. It is not yet your turn; step back."

Seeing this, Xu Liang said nothing more, his expression returning to calm as he rejoined the queue.

This made the expressions of other officials in the hall become quite intriguing.

It seemed that what Xu Shaoqing meant, the matter related to the memorial submitted by that Colonel from Shu had not been reported.

If it hadn't been reported, there were two possibilities: one was that it was held up by the Ministry of Communication, or it was rejected by the Six Departments of the Imperial Secretariat right from the start.

In this Jinluan Hall, everyone standing was no fool; they could naturally see that someone did not want this Colonel to have an easy time and that humiliation and disgrace were inevitable.

Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Communication was aligned with the Prime Minister's faction, while the Ministers of the Imperial Secretariat belonged to the Imperial Censor's faction.

The most crucial thing was that our emperor, sitting on the dragon throne, said nothing.

This revealed many things!

Does the emperor not know?

Evidently, the emperor did not wish to see that rough general from the frontier!

Killing the Patrol Angel and the court's Heavenly Soldiers was a significant matter.

No one was willing to touch this bad luck, so they pretended to know nothing, eyes watching noses, noses watching spirits, and no one spoke.

Then, the affairs of the court meeting continued to proceed.

After Minister Zhao Tianming of the Ministry of Communication finished presenting the memorials, the Six Ministries began to report one by one. When it was the Ministry of War's turn, an official came forward and reported,

"Reporting to Your Majesty, word from the Northern Sea states that Marquis Wei Yuan, leading the court's Heavenly Soldiers, clashed with the Beihai Giant Demon and achieved a great victory. They will soon return to the court!"

As soon as this news came out, the entire court changed expressions, and whispers began to rise.

"The Marquis's martial skills are exceptional, achieving new merits yet again; truly a pillar of our Daqian."

"I heard a Dragon's Nest appeared at the Northern Sea, causing chaos for some time. The Unbeatable Marquis suppressed it within half a year."

"....."

The Marquis mentioned by these officials was a great general of the Divine Capital, titled Marquis for his Battle Merits, undefeated in his lifetime, known as the Unbeatable Marquis, with illustrious achievements and high prestige among military generals. Most notably, he held the position of Great Commander of the Imperial Guard, guarding the Dragon Court, a special position.

The civil and military officials, upon hearing of the Marquis's great victory at the Northern Sea, all gave him some face, speaking well of him before the emperor.

"Good!"

"Great rewards, pass my orders....."

On the high platform, Emperor Wu of the current dynasty, delighted, began issuing commendations, his voice like thunder.

Following this, the court officers continued their reports.

When the affairs of the Six Ministries ended, other officials were allowed to report freely.

Xu Liang, Xu Shaoqing wanted to step forward but was always preempted by other officials, leaving him no opportunity to speak.

As someone passed by, they whispered in his ear, in a voice only one person could hear,

"Xu Shaoqing, why bother? The emperor does not wish to hear."

Xu Liang did not say much, obviously displeased with these conniving factions. He naturally saw through their intentions, but he knew it was best to have the Ninth Mountain's Colonel meet the emperor quickly, to prevent some ministers from having enough time to cause trouble, with the Martial Temple behind Taichang Temple mediating.

The longer it dragged on, the more variables there would be.

He had traveled with Colonel Chen all the way to Shu, investigated the relevant facts, gaining more understanding, and was willing to lend a hand at this juncture.

After all, Colonel Chen had only him as an acquaintance in the court.

Meanwhile, another person, Gou Yue, the Vice Inspector of the Three Roads, kept his eyes down in the military officials' lineup. He sent a message to the Inspector, but there was no response.

It was evident there was no opportunity to speak in the court at this time, as several factions seemed to have planned this, taking turns speaking, and soon it was time for the court meeting to end.

Xu Liang knew that today, he probably would not get a chance.

Just as the court meeting was about to conclude,

In the second row of the military officials' lineup, a general dressed in purple fish scale armor stepped out, pressing his sword, and, amidst the slight surprise of the officials, stepped forward to speak.

Being allowed to carry a sword into the hall meant his status was naturally extraordinary; he was the Commander of the Divine Capital Army, responsible for the Dragon Court in the Imperial Guard, as well as the safety affairs of the Divine Capital, commanding tens of thousands of elite troops.

This person generally refrained from speaking in the court, given the sensitivity of his position.

"Your servant has a matter to report!"

"Permission granted!"

"According to reports from subordinates, today at the hour, in front of the doors of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the Imperial Censor's families, several officials' houses were found with dozens of heads placed before them, shocking and horrifying....."

The Commander spoke in a tone so plain it seemed mechanical, recounting the "major case" that had occurred that morning, detailing the incident without bothering with subsequent details or handling—simply notifying the emperor.

This statement immediately caused a stir in the courtroom, with many officials changing expressions, becoming extremely peculiar.

Someone dared to place bloody heads before the government offices of the Three Ministers.

Specifically, the Huangfu, Meng Family, and Gongyang family.

This took tremendous courage!

And the information behind it was significant; placing heads before these heavily guarded government offices without detection required exceptional skill.

Clearly, there were significant grievances!

Many officials felt a chill at the thought—could it be?

Under the gaze of everyone, in the front row among the officials, three distinct figures in red and purple official robes with five-clawed python or celestial bird patterns, one opened slightly bewildered eyes, a cold glint flashing through them, another's face twitched before quickly returning to normal, and a third looked at the Commander, their expression slightly darkening.

They had evidently sealed off the news, not wanting it to spread, yet how did this Commander know?

Were they the emperor's eyes?

The Three Ministers on the court were outwardly calm, yet internally contemplating much.

The news would undoubtedly spread throughout the Divine Capital's streets after the court session, slapping the Three Families in the face.

Inside the hall, as these Three Ministers' emotions shifted, the atmosphere grew somewhat oppressive.

At this moment, on the high platform, upon hearing this news, Emperor Wu showed little reaction, letting his eyes droop slightly beneath the beaded tassels of his crown and faintly ordered the Commander to capture the culprit.

Then,

"I am tired today; let's leave it for now."

Saying this, he descended from the dragon throne.

"Long live the emperor, long live, long live!" The civil and military officials immediately knelt and shouted in unison.

"End of the court—"

A sharp cry resounded through the court, followed by the sound of the Silence Whip cracking once more.

The civil and military officials rose slowly, then retreated in order of their rank, only turning after leaving the hall. Meanwhile, the instruments on the plaza began to tidy their banners, the musicians of the Music Bureau's figures disappearing into the corridors, leaving only the copper bells on eaves ringing in the wind. Soon, the bells and drums signaling the end of the court session sounded.

.......

At this time, several tens of miles away from the Dragon Court at Xuankong Temple.

In a chamber, Chen Yuan looked at the returned rejected memorial on the table, then towards the Jinluan Hall on the horizon outside the mountains and, hearing the drifting sound of the bell, squinted his eyes slightly.

"General, that's the bell signaling the end of the court!"

Nearby, Gongsun Yang stood slightly bent, his tone suppressed with anger.

The General had not been summoned by the current emperor, and even the plea memorial was returned. The clerk who returned it claimed the format was wrong and needed rewriting, although they had clearly followed the correct format.

He was furious that a mere clerk dared to act so before the General, immediately wanting to confront them, but the General stopped him.

"That's their tactic!"

"Don't disrupt your own formation first!"

"Otherwise, you'll fall into their trap."

Chen Yuan, with his hands behind his back, gazed afar toward the Dragon Court as golden light in his eyes turned to deep black, letting out a cold laugh,

"I think those Three Families have already seen the gift I've sent!"