This Martial Saint’s Health Bar is Too Thick!
Chapter 587 - 91: Authority

Chapter 587 -91: Authority

The Cabinet occupied an extensive area within the Imperial City.

Aside from the Zixu Hall located right in the center, it was surrounded by six separate palaces, like stars encircling the moon.

These six separate palaces were where the Six Ministries of the Cabinet conducted their business within the Imperial City.

Li Fei was led into the palace where the Inspection Department was located, which was comprised of individual pavilions.

These pavilions served as private offices for each of the cabinet ministers.

After the court assembly concluded, the participating ministers had all returned to the Cabinet to continue their work.

In particular, the Monitoring Pavilion, having taken over the “Heavenly Altar Assassination Case”, had been lit up almost continuously in recent days.

“Greetings to Marquis Jing’an.”

“Greetings to Lord Li.”

“…”

On his way, Li Fei encountered numerous officials from the Monitoring Pavilion, including several cabinet ministers.

These individuals had all attended this morning’s court assembly and recognized Li Fei at a glance, greeting him proactively and affably.

When you ascend to high positions, good people surround you, and all you see are smiling faces.

“Lord Li, Lord Lou is waiting for you upstairs.”

The sitting official escorting Li Fei brought him to a pavilion and said.

After nodding his thanks, Li Fei entered the pavilion and made his way to the second floor.

A middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe adorned with sun, moon, and stars turned to look as Li entered.

The man had a slender frame and eyes sharp as a hawk’s.

He was the current Supervision Pavilion Master, Lord Lou Hongtao, at the realm of a Martial Arts Master!

Although the Monitoring Pavilion did not have direct combat functions, they had to oversee officials that included Martial Artists from the Zhi Ge Courts across the land, hence they themselves must possess a certain level of martial prowess.

Each regional Inspection Bureau would have a contingency of Martial Artists, and naturally, the cultivation of the Pavilion Master of the Monitoring Pavilion would not be low.

“Greetings to Lord Lou.”

Li Fei was the first to bow and offer greetings.

His current rank was that of a 15th Rank sitting official, while Lou Hongtao was an 18th Rank cabinet official, sitting at the apex of cabinet officials and indeed the pinnacle of Da Lan Dynasty’s civil servants!

Throughout the entire Da Lan Dynasty, there were no more than ten officials at the 18th Rank.

Thus, the person before Li Fei was an individual who would rank among the top twenty of the empire, no matter how one counted.

Before today, Li Fei would not even have the qualifications to converse as an equal with the person in front of him.

“Marquis Jing’an, there’s no need for such courtesy, please take a seat.”

Lou Hongtao stood to greet Li Fei and invited him to sit.

He did not address Li Fei by his official title but by his noble rank, as in terms of official rankings, the Blue Patrol Envoy answered directly to the Supervision Pavilion Master; he would be Li Fei’s immediate supervisor, and in his presence, Li Fei must address himself as a subordinate.

However, Li Fei was also a Marquis.

According to the system of the Da Lan Dynasty, “Hold both a noble rank and an official position, and one is addressed by the higher status.”

The lowest noble rank, Baron, corresponded to the ‘honorary title’ of a Third Rank assigned official.

Viscounts and Earls corresponded to the ‘honorary title’ of a Fourth Rank sitting official.

Marquises and Dukes corresponded to the ‘honorary title’ of a Fifth Rank cabinet official.

Li Fei’s official position was of the Fourth Rank, but his noble rank was of the Fifth Rank.

Therefore, Lou Hongtao addressed Li Fei as “Marquis Jing’an”.

“Your official robes, nameplate, and gold seal are being prepared; they will be ready soon. I’ve also ordered your office pavilion to be arranged. If there’s anything else you need, feel free to let me know.”

Lou Hongtao spoke with a serious and no-nonsense demeanor.

“Thank you, Lord Lou.”

“There’s no need for thanks; it is my duty. Since His Majesty has entrusted the Heavenly Altar Assassination Case to you, I shall conduct a formal handover with you. Are you available now, Marquis Jing’an?”

“I have come precisely for this matter.”

“Good, let me first give you a brief overview of the case. The assassin’s name is Wei Hongwen. He is the Director of the Inspections at Zhi Ge Pavilion, responsible for dealing with the offenses and disciplinary actions of Martial Artists within Lanling City.”

At this point, Li Fei understood why the Crown Prince said that this assassin was connected to various parties.

In theory, the Zhi Ge Pavilion oversaw any Martial Artists who violated the law and discipline.

However, Martial Artists from other places and those from Lanling City were completely different entities.

At the foot of the Emperor’s throne, few Martial Artists dared to cause trouble, but once it happened, they were certainly not simple!

Some were Tributors to certain noble families, some were subordinates to Princes, or related to some cabinet ministers in the court…

Elsewhere, the Zhi Ge Courts always had a sense of superiority over local Martial Artists, invoking fear.

But in Lanling City, the inspectors from the Zhi Ge Pavilion who were in charge of such incidents often felt like “the wife who bears the brunt”, frequently displeasing both sides and caught in an uncomfortable middle.

Therefore, the position of Director of the inspectors was not one that just anyone could fulfill; one had to be astute and maintain good relations with all parties.

Wei Hongwen was such a person.

“This man’s background is clean, with a spotless record, no blemishes or suspicious points to note. He has served as the Director of the inspectors for six years, and during his tenure, he formed not insignificant relations with many officials, nobles’ sons, and even the imperial family in the capital.”

Lou Hongtao spoke in an even tone:

“Over the past half month, we have carefully examined almost every person and event he has been involved with in the past six years, trying to find clues, but so far without results.”

That casually spoken line reflected the strength of the Monitoring Pavilion.

To uncover every person and event someone has been involved with over the past six years in just half a month!

But it also allowed Li Fei to understand the difficulty of the case.

Taking the Crown Prince’s reminder to heart, he knew that the Inspection Bureau was not without clues; rather, there were too many clues to follow. Each of these leads connected to influential figures, and investigating any of them would be sensitive and might play right into the hands of the mastermind behind the scenes.

Thus, the Monitoring Pavilion still had no leads.

“The detailed files will be brought to your office pavilion once it’s ready. If you wish to ask anything now, please do so,” Lord Lou said.

Li Fei thought for a moment and asked, “Lord Lou, will I need to come to the Cabinet for work every day in the future?”

Lou Hongtao shook his head: “As the Blue Patrol Envoy, you’ll inspect all under heaven. If the Pavilion assigns specific tasks, you may be sent to some place for overt or covert investigation. If there are no specific tasks, there’s no need for you to stay in Lanling City; you’re free to visit and inspect any place in the empire.”

“Then may I ask where Wei Hongwen’s hometown is?”

“Gan Province, Green Pine Prefecture, Cui City.”

“I’d like to make a trip to Ganzhou.”

“That’s possible. Any personnel from the Pavilion, below the rank of cabinet official, who are not currently assigned duties, you may command as necessary.”

“Then, I thank the Pavilion Master.”

“It’s my duty; there’s no need for thanks.”

Lord Lou Hongtao said once again.

His attitude towards Li Fei, the newly promoted Marquis, was not particularly enthusiastic; he was simply attending to official matters.

This actually made Li Fei feel at ease, as there was no need for insincere pleasantries.

After discussing some information related to the ‘Heavenly Altar Assassination Case’ with Lord Lou, someone upstairs notified them that the loft prepared for Li Fei had been tidied up.

So Li Fei stood up to take his leave and followed the person to his new office loft.

“Marquis!”

Outside the loft, six young men stood in a row, all bowing to Li Fei in salute.

“Marquis, this will be your place of work from now on. These individuals are the officials assigned to assist you. Should you need additional personnel, you’re welcome to request them from the Pavilion.”

The official leading the way said to Li Fei.

“Alright, thank you.”

“You’re too kind, Marquis. I shall take my leave now.”

“Good.”

Li Fei turned his head to look at the six men bowing to him.

They shared the common trait of being young with visible cultivation.

Considering Li Fei’s youth, it seemed they had deliberately matched him with young officials, all of whom were martial artists.

With his current realm, Li Fei could tell at a glance that five of the men were Martial Artists in the Qi Change Stage, and one was a Refining Strength Martial Master in the Qi Change Middle Stage.

His gaze rested on the sole Refining Strength Martial Master, curious as to why someone so young with such cultivation would willingly serve as an official:

“What’s your name?”

The man Li Fei addressed had a handsome face with skin even fairer than many women’s.

He looked up, his face alight with joy:

“Officer Liang Chen, currently serving as a First-Rank Executive Aide in the Monitoring Pavilion.”

“What rank does a First-Rank Executive Aide hold?”

“Reporting to the Marquis, it is a twelfth rank.”

Li Fei nodded.

The twelfth rank was the pinnacle for Imperial Officials; in Xing City, this rank was equivalent to being a Chief.

To the Li Fei of the past, these were the mighty figures who could determine his fate, yet now they were serving as his officials.

And by the looks of it, in Liang Chen’s eyes, which gleamed with barely concealed excitement, he didn’t seem to mind the slightest.

Liang Chen wasn’t an Executive Aide before today.

Even the Monitoring Pavilion wouldn’t be so extravagant as to have a Refining Strength Martial Master serve as an ordinary clerk.

Liang Chen had actively sought out this role, using his family’s influence to secure a last-minute job change that landed him the opportunity to serve Li Fei.

Yes, it was a matter of seizing the opportunity!

A 19-year-old Marquis, a 15th-ranked Blue Patrol Envoy, with unparalleled natural talent for cultivation – any of these attributes alone made Li Fei highly sought after.

With all three combined, Li Fei himself wasn’t aware of how others perceived his status.

The other five men, like Liang Chen, had also temporarily changed their positions to snatch the chance to serve as Li Fei’s clerk.

Li Fei had them introduce themselves in turn, with the lowest rank among them being a Third-Rank Executive Aide, a tenth rank Imperial Official.

Watching the excitement in these young talents, Li Fei truly felt what it was like to be an influential person for the first time.

He stepped into the loft and proceeded directly to the second floor.

Incense burner, desk, screen, potted plants… the entire second floor was Li Fei’s study, obviously well-curated, and even the writing materials on the desk were all of exquisite value.

“Marquis, these are your official robes, your command plaque, and your gold seal.”

Liang Chen, along with another person, carried two wooden boxes upstairs and approached Li Fei.

“Place them on the desk.”

Li Fei instructed.

Official robes symbolize rank, the command plaque identity, and the gold seal power.

With these three items, his role as the Blue Patrol Envoy was truly legitimate.

“Tell me about this Blue Patrol Envoy role.”

Li Fei stopped the two officials who were about to leave and inquired.

Liang Chen was the quickest to respond:

“Reporting to the Marquis, the Blue Patrol Envoy is a unique position within the Monitoring Pavilion, directly reporting to the Supervision Pavilion Master, patrolling the lands, and reporting directly to the Emperor’s presence!

The Blue Patrol Envoy’s duty is to represent the Central Government in monitoring various areas, including local Inspection Bureaus, with powers to inspect officials, investigate corruption, rectify chaos, and pursue criminals.

The rank of Blue Patrol Envoy goes up to 15th rank, and you, Marquis, are a 15th rank Envoy, currently the only one in the Monitoring Pavilion.

Beyond Lanling City, you can execute first and report later on any Sitting Official below 15th rank, provided you have conclusive evidence!

You can demand that any Sitting Official below 15th rank be suspended to assist in investigations for up to a month!

Even for 15th rank Sitting Officials, if suspected by you, they must immediately report their case!”

Li Fei narrowed his eyes, “And what about those above 15th rank?”

At these words, a fervor flashed in Liang Chen’s eyes:

“For cabinet officials above 15th rank, you cannot directly investigate them, but you may report to the Central Government. With an express decree of approval, they are obliged to cooperate!”

Another young official eagerly interjected:

“Furthermore, you have the authority to command personnel from Inspection General Offices and Inspection Bureaus everywhere and possess the highest-level access to the Inspection General Offices.”

Li Fei nodded, finally understanding the extent of authority the Emperor had granted him.

No wonder individuals like Liang Chen eagerly took up the role of clerks under him.

For any official below the rank of Sitting Official, the power to execute first and report later!

Just that authority alone was enough to decide the fate of the majority of officials in this world!

Li Fei lowered his eyes towards his palm.

He slowly clenched his fist, feeling the power within.

A sway-inducing, mind-spinning authority, now firmly grasped in his hand!

…

There will be another chapter around 12 o’clock.