Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 464 - 373: Please Take Divine Skills_1

Chapter 464: Chapter 373: Please Take Divine Skills_1

"Earl Jingan!"

Lin Youzhen no longer possessed the calm and elegance he exhibited when he first met Li Xuan.

This deputy Zuodu Yushi from the Inspectorate had a pale complexion, with dark circles under his eyes - making it hard to believe that such an unflattering facial color could appear on a refined and learned official.

He glanced at Li Xuan through the bars of the prison, then bowed to Li Xuan in a salute: "Sir, I came to apologize. I was confused by others when the case was unknown. If I have offended you in any way, I ask you, Earl Jingan, for your forgiveness. Moreover, I was commissioned by my colleagues in Dali Temple and the Inspectorate to politely request for your release."

Li Xuan was slightly surprised to see him. He had not anticipated that Lin Youzhen would arrive so swiftly. He assumed that as the deputy Zuodu Yushi of the Inspectorate, Lin would maintain a certain level of dignity.

But here he was, standing outside his cell the very next day, presenting himself in a far more humble manner than Li Xuan could have imagined.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, "Are you joking, Sir Lin? The Inspectorate’s arson case is not yet clear. As a primary suspect, can I go free at this time?"

"Earl Jingan, you may not be aware that just six hours ago, a clerk of our Inspectorate voluntarily surrendered, claiming responsibility for the arson."

Lin Youzhen, half-bowed, sincerely stated, "We have also found corroborative evidence that confirms his confession. Your suspicions have essentially been cleared."

"Whether or not suspicions have been cleared is not for you to decide," Li Xuan shook his head unconvinced. "May I ask Sir Lin, do you have the official document issued by Minister Yu of the Ministry of Punishments?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Lin Youzhen’s face, he did not possess Yu Shiyue’s order.

Minister Yu Shiyue considered there to be many uncertainties in the case; how could a mere clerk have the audacity to set fire to the record room of the Inspectorate? Hence, he concluded that there must be someone else behind the scenes, with the clerk merely being a scapegoat, and has been refusing to close the case.

However, whether Yu Shiyue’s actions were intended to clear the case or to delay time to strike at the Crown Prince and his political opponents, it was hard to say.

Just this morning, the Tongzheng Division received over 1,300 complaints regarding the Crown Prince’s misconduct, and some even proposed the discussion of replacement. As for the left Zuodu Yushi, there were even more complaints, with numerous court officials denouncing him.

Lin Youzhen himself was not exempted. Despite only having been in charge of the Inspectorate for three months, he drew criticism due to his previous affiliation with the Emperor’s party. His pressure was still less than that of the left Zuodu Yushi.

Public opinion now believed that the arson at the Inspectorate was instigated by the Crown Prince, who conspired with his subordinates the Inspectorate to fabricate and entrap Earl Jingan, Li Xuan.

The unclear case of the Inspectorate arson coincided with people’s speculations. The strange incidents and large-scale collapses in the Dali Temple prison the previous day further confused them.

The current situation was such that, the longer Li Xuan stayed in the Dali Temple prison, the more speculation and evaluation were cast on the Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince, and the personnel at the Inspectorate by the people outside.

Moreover, the longer the Jade Qilin stayed at the Chengtian Gate of the Forbidden City, it put enormous pressure on all of them. It weighed on their chests like a mountain making it hard for them to breathe.

"Although I don’t have Minister Yu’s order, I do have a document signed by the left Zuodu Yushi and the Qing of Dali Temple."

Lin Youzhen took an official document from his sleeve and held it up, "Yesterday, the Dali Temple prison collapsed and could not be used anymore. The opinions of the two members were that Earl Jingan could return home before this case is cleared, and the Dali Temple can simply send officers to supervise,"

However, Li Xuan was not swayed. He glanced at the document then chuckled again, "This is against the rules. It is easy for me to return home now, but what if this case has any changes in the future? How can I clear my name then?"

At this moment, his eyes again carried the sharp light of weapons. His gaze was piercing: "Furthermore, Sir Lin, don’t you think that proving me innocent can just put this issue aside? Can that make me leave this prison?

And, in the case of a wrong, there should be someone to blame. On the day of the incident, you, Lin Youzhen, were one of the main culprits. But where is the other person? He must be quite bold, not even showing his face, yet wants to settle this matter? Sir Lin, you must be daydreaming!"

"Absolutely ludicrous!" Xue Yunrou snorted disdainfully from the side: "You’ve let my Xuan suffer from a prison disaster for several days for no reason at all, even conspiring with the ghostly spirits here with intent to harm him. And now you casually say, ’you are innocent,’ and that’s supposed to be the end of it?

Where on earth is such luck? Even if it were not for Xuan, I will not let this matter rest."

Upon hearing these words, Lin Youzhen fell silent and said nothing.

A bitter laugh suddenly echoed from the side, followed by the appearance of an slightly overweight figure. It was Earl Huichang - Sun Jizong. With complicated expressions on his face, he looked at Li Xuan, "I was not hiding, but was afraid that Earl Jingan would be angry to see me."

He bowed deeply to Li Xuan, "I was wrong, as was the Crown Prince. Here, on behalf of the Crown Prince, I apologize! I am uncertain what it would take for Earl Jingan to forgive us. How can we convince you to leave the prison? And how can we get you to call back the Jade Qilin? Earl Jingan, feel free to state your conditions. As long as I can bear it, I will not hesitate."

Li Xuan’s lips slightly curved up, but then he turned away, not giving a glance to the two men outside his celle. He even prepared a pot of tea beside Jiang Yunqi, "That would be your problem. You can wait until I am in a good mood, and naturally I will walk out of this prison."

"Earl Jingan..."

Sun Jizong’s face turned an ambiguous color, and then he muttered, "I have prepared two hundred thousand taels of patterned silver, and three top-grade magical implements, begging for Earl Jingan’s leniency."

Xue Yunrou let out a derisive laugh upon hearing this, "So ridiculous, you think my Xuan’s life is only worth these two hundred thousand taels of patterned silver? And a few magical implements?"

She glanced at Li Xuan, "Xuan, if you lack magical implements, I can have people send some to you right now. The assets of Longhu Mountain may not be comparable to those of the Liudao Division, but they can still pull out seventeen or eighteen top-grade magical implements."

Yue Qianqian then said in a sweet voice, "Xiaowei, some time ago, my parents came across a god-fallen iron from the extraterrestrial world in Nanyang. They planned to make a set of superior magical implements for my sister, with some leftover material which could potentially be used to forge two body armors. I wrote to ask them to forge one for you, and they agreed. It might be delivered to the Capital City by next March."

Sun Jizong’s face twitched ever so slightly, he indeed recognized Xue Yunrou, but who was this young girl who appeared so fragile?

A supreme magical implement-grade inner armor, were they just bragging? The Liudao Division could only refine two or three such pieces a year. But then his expression hardened, as he discovered that Yue Qianqian had several supreme magical implements on her person.

Sun Jizong’s face stiffened instantly. After a moment of thought, he grimaced in pain, "I have no more silver, however, I do have a supreme magical implement called the ’Dayan Divine Shield’, which I am willing to give to Earl Jingan."

His family indeed did not have much silver. After the coronation of the Jingtai Emperor, their Earl Huichang’s mansion was kept under close scrutiny, and any act of violating law and people’s rights would be punished, hence their income had drastically reduced in recent years.

Moreover, the silver they did have was needed to help the Crown Prince and the True Emperor maintain the status quo.

This ’Great Containment Thunder Shield’ was a gift from the previous emperor to the Sun family.

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan’s eyes sparkled slightly. He was familiar with this ’Dayan Divine Shield’, terribly formidable in defense and virtually equivalent to an immortal treasure.

However, Li Xuan’s face betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

The life of Li Xuan was not so cheap.

Sun Jizong’s face continued to twitch: "I also have two Six-Turns Purple-Gold Elixirs that were refined during the previous emperor’s reign! One Six Wonders Mingshen Elixir! Plus various other elixirs, the total value should reach 2.22 million teal."

In particular, the ’Six-Turns Purple-Gold Elixir’ was enormously valuable, known as a miraculous pill that could transform an ordinary person into a master at the sixth house level. It could also allow Wu cultivators and Spellcasters at the seventh house level to increase their cultivation by one or two levels.

The Six Wonders Mingshen Elixir was an ’External Pill’. It could be understood as an external gold pill imbued with techniques, which could endow a person instantly with the mana and cultivation of the seventh house level.

Even Jiang Yunqi, who held a cup of tea in his hand, felt a tremor in his hand. He had heard long ago that during the reign of the previous emperor and the Zhengtong Era, the Sun brothers had been in charge of the palace pharmacy and had accumulated countless spirit pills and miraculous medicines. It turned out the rumors were true.

"Is that all?"

Li Xuan cast a glance at the enclosure outside and then said coldly, "If that’s all, Mr. Sun and Mr. Lin can leave."

Sun Jizong turned pale and anger surged within. He thought he had shown true sincerity.

Lin Youzhen, however, gave a bitter smile before removing his official hat and then kneeling outside the barrier: "I understand I’m deserving of punishment, but most of the Imperial Censors in the Inspectorate are innocent. I cannot claim they’re all selfless, upright, honest gentlemen, but the vast majority are clean and upright. I beg you, Earl Jingan, for their sake, please show mercy."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan’s expression grew somber, and he looked at Lin Youzhen with newfound respect, even some wariness.

Not everybody was capable of withstanding humiliation and humbling themselves enough to ask for help from their enemy. It was admirable that Lin Youzhen was perceptive and knew how to get to the point.

"We can’t come up with more money or elixirs. But what I do have are blank letters of appointment for six 4th-rank military officials in Weisuo. And the Crown Prince has said that after this crisis, he would personally apologise to Earl Jingan."

Seeing Li Xuan unmoved, Sun Jizong was filled with indignation and humiliation and found himself powerless.

The Empress Dowager was clear that they needed to make Li Xuan retract the Jade Qilin and be released from prison, even at a high price, before the Jingtai Emperor returns from Shanhai Pass.

The matter of changing the heir was almost a done deal now.

After the Crown Prince was deposed, the only thing they could rely on was their own virtue and reputation.

They needed to preserve their allies in Dali Temple and the Inspectorate as far as possible.

As Sun Jizong was growing frustrated, he caught a glimpse of Sun Chuyun standing next to Li Xuan from the corner of his eye.

Sun Jizong’s mind was buzzing, his face changing color in struggle for a long time, but in the end, he cast a pleading look at Sun Chuyun.

Seeing this, Sun Chuyun bit her lip nervously, then shook her head ever so slightly. She sympathized with Sun Jizong’s plight, but she knew her father reaped what he sowed.

Besides, what standpoint would she have to persuade Li Xuan?

Upon noticing her reaction, Sun Jizong clenched his fists, his voice hoarse in desperation: "Chuyun!"

Only God knew how much courage it took for him to utter that, how much bitterness and humiliation he felt.

Stunned, Sun Chuyun sighed softly, "Father, you must first promise me that you will never do anything detrimental to Xuan in the future."

Xue Yunrou lifted the corner of her lips into a cold smile upon hearing this.

Sun Jizong’s spirits lifted, he raised a hand and swore, "Of course! If ever there was a repeat of such an incident, may lightning strike me, may I be struck dead by lightning this very day."

Only then did Sun Chuyun turn her pleading gaze to Li Xuan, "Brother Xuan..."

Upon hearing her soft, appealing voice, Li Xuan’s whole body shivered. He then noticed that both Jiang Yunqi and Xue Yunrou were giving him meaningful looks.