“Who are you?” the deputy officer pointed at the group and asked.
“The newly appointed South Prefecture Sima, Su Wu Ming.”
Yu Yang chuckled, unconcerned: “A Sima from a lower prefecture, not worth mentioning.”
“Fan Yang Lu Clan, Lu Ling Feng!”
Yu Yang’s mocking smile froze on his face. Just a moment ago, a Qing He Cui Clan had slapped his face, and now another Fan Yang Lu Clan was here?
Wei Ming smiled towards Yu Yang and the others, his smile cold and indifferent: “Wei Ming, the current Mountain South West Circuit Inspectorial Censor!”
With a bang, Yu Yang and his deputy officer both jumped up from their stools in fright.
Inspectorial Censor, and it’s freaking Wei Ming?
This would be the end of him!
Yu Yang admired and worshipped the incredibly talented Wei Ming, often boasting about his own pitiful talent and shamelessly claiming to be comparable to Wei Ming.
However, apart from his outstanding reputation, Wei Ming was also the Inspectorial Censor.
Inspectorial Censors, representing the Emperor to inspect the local area, had the authority to investigate, supervise, and evaluate officials. They could report to the Emperor, and some even had the special authority to execute first and report later.
If Wei Ming found out that he had kidnapped a civilian woman and intended to do something immoral, or if the previous woman he murdered and threw off the cliff was exposed.
Forget about future promotions, he probably wouldn’t even be alive.
The key was that Wei Ming was a disciple of Di Gong, a guardian of the Tang Dynasty’s law, who would absolutely not condone corruption or bribery.
“You… you… you really are the Inspectorial Censor… the Poet Immortal Wei Ming?!”
Wei Ming smiled faintly: “Poet Immortal is a title I dare not claim, but I am indeed the Inspectorial Censor.”
The deputy officer quickly pulled Yu Yang aside and whispered a few words: “Captain, if he is really Wei Ming, we’re in trouble. If they find out we kidnapped the woman in the side room, we’ll both be imprisoned.”
“In that case, let’s just go all out, kill them all…”
Yu Yang narrowed his eyes, walked forward, and bowed: “Zhe Chong Du Wei Yu Yang, greetings to Censor Wei. I apologize for not greeting you properly upon your arrival, please forgive me.”
“Come, Censor Wei, please have a seat. Yu will treat you to some wine and food. Speaking of which, Yu has always admired poetry and literature. Among the people I most respect is Censor Wei. From the moment you became famous in Chang An with your poem about passing the exam, to your essay about the lotus flower that became renowned throughout the world, Yu has always admired you.”
“Come, come, come, Yu will toast Censor Wei. Oh, right, and also this Lu gentleman and Sima Su.”
Lu Ling Feng pulled out a short knife and coldly snorted: “I, Lu Ling Feng, would never drink with a dog official like you.”
Yu Yang’s men, upon seeing Lu Ling Feng draw his sword, all stood up and drew their swords, immediately creating a tense atmosphere.
Su Wu Ming was about to say something, but Wei Ming stopped him with a wave of his hand.
Yu Yang said with a forced smile: “If I have done anything to offend Censor Wei, just tell me, why be so aggressive?”
Wei Ming glanced at the meat on the table. In addition to chicken, there were a few dishes of meat. If he wasn’t mistaken, what Yu Yang and the others were eating was… monkey meat! The human kind!
“Captain Yu Yang, Gan Tang County is part of Mountain South West Circuit, right?”
Yu Yang’s brow furrowed, unsure why Wei Ming was asking this, but he held back his anger and patiently answered: “That’s right, Gan Tang is located at the junction of the Capital Circuit and Mountain South West Circuit, but administratively it belongs to Mountain South West Circuit.”
Wei Ming asked again: “Captain Yu, do you know the powers of an Inspectorial Censor?”
“I do!” Captain Yu impatiently replied: “To supervise officials and government offices within a state or circuit, to investigate cases in the court and prison, to assess and evaluate the merits and demerits of officials, to report directly to the Emperor, to speak to the Emperor about the truth, although the position is not high, it has great power.”
Wei Ming nodded, his tone flat: “Very good, then please explain to this Censor why you intercepted the civilian woman Zhu Ling Ling on South Mountain? And why did you kidnap the civilian woman Song A Mi?”
Song A Mi walked in from outside and identified Yu Yang: “It’s him, it’s him who killed my fellow villager Zhu Ling Ling and kidnapped me, intending to do something immoral to me.”
Upon hearing this, the deputy officer’s face changed drastically, killing intent flashing in his eyes. He gave his deputy a signal, and the deputy rushed upstairs.
Yu Yang himself, however, chuckled and refused to admit it, arguing: “Censor Wei is a man of righteousness, you can’t just listen to this woman’s lies.”
“My men and I were passing by South Mountain when we encountered a group of bandits who wanted to forcibly take the woman. Yu was kind-hearted, saw injustice and acted, but during the rescue, a woman was pushed by the bandits and accidentally fell off the cliff. I was also heartbroken, but there was nothing I could do.”
“As for this woman, it was out of sheer kindness that I saw her alone, traveling at night, unsafe, and escorted her for a while. How is that wrong?”
Hearing Captain Yu Yang’s shameless argument, everyone present was furious.
Lu Ling Feng, known for his quick temper, said: “You’re talking nonsense, a bunch of lies!”
This wasn’t over. Yu Yang then bit back: “It’s this woman, instead of repaying her benefactor, she’s accusing me. I am a government official, a fifth-rank Zhe Chong Du Wei. She is committing a crime by attacking a superior, a crime even worse! Censor Wei? Wei Da Ren, don’t wrongly accuse an innocent person!”
Yu Yang sarcastically retorted towards Song A Mi: “Everything I said is true. If you don’t believe me, ask my subordinates!”
“On the other hand, do you have any evidence? Without evidence, you are accusing me falsely!”
The surrounding soldiers all waved their weapons and shouted: “That’s right, we can all testify for Captain Yu!”
Song A Mi’s eyes reddened, she took a few steps back, her beautiful face turned pale. She couldn’t believe it. How could someone be so shameless?
Twisting the truth, arguing fallacies, lying through their teeth, utterly shameless!
Yu Yang’s face showed a flash of smugness and lustful greed.
Wei Ming’s tone became even more flat: “Are you done?”
“No, not yet!”
Yu Yang stretched out his hand: “You claim to be the Mountain South West Circuit Inspectorial Censor Wei Ming, but I haven’t seen your official credentials. Censor Wei, would you please show me your Gao Shen and Chi Die?”
Wei Ming calmly glanced at Yu Yang: “Firstly, even though we are of the same rank, you have no right to inspect my official credentials. Secondly, I am the Inspectorial Censor of Mountain South West Circuit, one of the ten circuits of the Tang Dynasty, acting as the Emperor’s representative to inspect the area. You, a mere Zhe Chong Du Wei, are not qualified to see my credentials?”
At this moment, the deputy officer shouted from upstairs to Yu Yang: “That Cui Wu Ji jumped out the window and ran!”
Yu Yang’s face turned cold, realizing that time was of the essence and he could not delay any longer. He needed to quickly deal with Wei Ming and the others, then chase after Cui Wu Ji and kill him to ensure that everything went smoothly.
Whether Wei Ming and the others’ identities were real or fake, it no longer mattered. Even if it was really Wei Ming, he had to die today!
Yu Yang snorted, no longer bothering with pretense. He immediately addressed his subordinate soldiers: “One of these people is pretending to be Inspectorial Censor Wei Ming, yet they cannot produce their official credentials. Another is pretending to be a noble family member and is wielding a blade, trying to commit murder.”
“Based on my judgment, all of you are nothing but a group of bandits.”
“Come on, arrest all of them for me and execute them on the spot!”
Lu Ling Feng had been waiting impatiently. With the incident in Chang An weighing on him, he was pent up and needed to vent. Tonight, if his blade didn’t taste blood, he would be unable to calm down.
Wei Ming knew that Lu Ling Feng had been wronged in the Chang An Red Tea case and was filled with resentment, but he also worried that Lu Ling Feng might kill recklessly. After all, Lu Ling Feng was already a convicted criminal, and once he started killing, there would be no turning back, thus permanently ruining his future.
Wei Ming didn’t care about himself, but he was afraid that Lu Ling Feng would regret it in the future, so he said: “Lu Ling Feng, where are you?”
“Lu Ling Feng is here!”
“Go, remember, you can beat them, you can disable them, but absolutely do not kill!”
“But…”
Wei Ming smiled: “Don’t you trust me, Brother Lu?”
Lu Ling Feng nodded, no longer hesitating. He charged forward with his spear.
For a moment, the courtyard of the post station was filled with the sounds of clanging swords and clashing weapons.
Lu Ling Feng’s fighting skills were not at the top tier in the Tang Gui world, but they were among the best.
His martial arts were impressive, and soon he had taken down Captain Yu Yang and the others.
Especially Yu Yang, he received special treatment. His tendons were severed, completely disabling him.
At this moment, Xue Huan arrived with Gan Tang County Magistrate Wang Nai Ling and the county guard.
Wang Nai Ling stepped forward and bowed: “This humble Gan Tang Magistrate Wang Nai Ling greets Censor Wei.”
Wei Ming nodded and smiled, pulling out the imperial edict: “Your subjects bow!”
Everyone bowed their heads in respect.
“Imperial Edict: Inspectorial Censor Wei Ming of the Censorate is promoted to Inspectorial Censor of Mountain South West Circuit, acting as the Emperor’s representative to inspect the area, investigating all government offices, evaluating and assessing officials, acting at discretion, this edict shall be enacted as soon as it arrives, and shall be obeyed.”
“Magistrate Wang, you arrived at the perfect time, you can be a witness for Wei.”
Wei Ming picked up a long sword and walked towards Yu Yang, who was terrified.
“Censor Wei, spare me, Censor Wei, I was wrong, Yu Yang admits his mistake.”
Wei Ming held the imperial edict in one hand and raised the butcher knife in the other: “This Censor was on a mission to inspect Mountain South West Circuit when I encountered a corrupt official, Yu Yang, who committed murder and kidnapped a civilian woman at the Gan Tang Post Station.”
“According to Tang law, those who intentionally kill must be put to death! Unless there is a special pardon, they shall be executed in the autumn.”
“Wei holds the Emperor’s mandate and acts with discretion.”
“Tonight, we slay the villain!”
Plop!
As soon as the words left his lips, the head fell!
Song A Mi looked at the figure in the courtyard, a light for her, an irreplaceable light!
Next to Song A Mi, Zhu Ling Ling’s transparent figure knelt down and kowtowed deeply.
Everyone looked at the figure, with many words inexplicably stuck in their throats, unable to say them. They could only bow in respect.
Immediately afterwards, many pythons swarmed around the post station, the smallest of which was tens of meters long and as thick as an infant’s thigh.
Everyone was terrified: “Snakes! So many snakes!”
However, led by a white python, they seemed to possess a certain degree of intelligence and avoided the crowd, surrounding Yu Yang’s corpse and his subordinate officers.
Hiss!
“Ahhh!”
“Help…”