When Yu Shu came to the door with great fanfare, Zhou Yede and his family were having lunch in the backyard. Zhou Nie was also there. The steward ran in in a panic and explained the situation outside. Zhou Nie was the first to smash his bowl and chopsticks and scolded,
"That female yaksha still dares to come. I think she hasn't had enough food in prison. Father, you don't have to worry about her. I will go out and teach her a lesson. "
"Sit down!" Zhou Yede scolded him and said with a straight face, "It's all your fault for looking for trouble. You went to her house to make a fuss and caused a death. Aren't you courting death if you go out now?"
"Master," Zhou Furen glared at her son and turned her head to Zhou Yede, "Our son only accidentally injured a servant. Do you want him to pay with his life? In my opinion, this Yu Nuyu is too insensible. She's just a mere fifth-ranked official, yet she dares to come to our residence to seek trouble. Laoye, you should go see her and send her away. "
Zhou Yede also felt that Yu Shu was too arrogant. It was true that the Xue family had collapsed, but he, the one surnamed Zhou, still had the merit of becoming a dragon. Why would he be afraid of a little girl? So he hurried forward, taking a few guards with him.
When he arrived at the front gate, Zhou Yede saw the formation outside and immediately recognized the black-robed guards standing in front. He couldn't help but frown and stare at the soft sedan in the middle of the crowd. He stood on the steps and asked in a loud voice, "I wonder what crime my son has committed that requires the Celestial Commissioner to come and arrest him?"
No matter what, he was a dignified third-grade commander of the Imperial Guards of Imperial Insignia. For a fifth-grade female official to bring her soldiers to his door and behave atrociously for whatever reason, it was an act of insubordination and overstepping her authority.
Yu Shu sat in the sedan and did not speak. Wen Shao'an walked forward and bowed to Zhou Yede, saying, "Zhou Daren is too polite. My Daren is here today to arrest the criminal Zhou Nie, who forged official marriage documents and married without permission. He is also the second young master of your residence. We are here to enforce the law. I hope that Daren will not make things difficult and quickly call your son out."
Zhou Yede was so angry that he laughed. He looked at him and said, "Who do you think you are? How dare you point fingers at me. "It was the Xue family who forged the official marriage document, so he wasn't afraid of them.
Wen Shao 'an was neither embarrassed nor annoyed. He lowered his head and replied, "I am an administrator of the Kunling Bureau."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Zhou Yede raise his leg and kick him in the waist, sending him tumbling over. Young Master Wen immediately rolled down the steps, clutching the spot where he had been kicked and inhaling air, but he didn't scream or yell.
"Hmm?" A snort came from the sedan chair. A few black-robed guards pulled out their swords and stepped forward, threatening Zhou Yede.
Zhou Yede knew that the Blackguards were not to be trifled with, so he couldn't help but take two steps back, letting the guards protect him in the center. He saw the curtain of the sedan lift, revealing half of Yu Shu's pale face, the other half was in the shadows.
"Commander Zhou, are you trying to protect the criminal and obstruct my Kunling Bureau from handling the case?" Her voice was low and slow, with the femininity of a woman, but her tone wasn't weak at all. It contained a strong sense of warning.
Zhou Yede sneered, "When the Kunling Bureau is handling a case, the Right Commander should personally handle it. You are just a silly little girl. You are just using a chicken feather as a command arrow, but you dare to come to my door and behave atrociously. You have overstepped your authority! Do you believe that I will call the Jinwu Guards here right now and put you in prison again? For the sake of the Chief Commander's face, get out of the sedan chair now, apologize to me, and I can consider letting you go. Otherwise, don't even think about leaving today. "
As he spoke, he took the token and sent someone to summon the Jinwu Guards from the nearby barracks. Half of it was to scare Yu Shu, and the other half was to prevent the soldiers outside from colliding.
Yu Shu's hand rested on the windowsill, her slender index finger slowly tapping. She didn't stop them, nor did she show weakness. She waited for Zhou Yede to send someone over. She sat quietly in the sedan chair and waited.
After about the time it took to eat a meal, the servants of the Zhou residence came back with a group of guards. The number of people was more than twice the number of soldiers that Yu Shu had brought. There were about forty to fifty people. Zhou Yede suddenly had confidence and was no longer afraid of the Blackguard. He raised two fingers and pointed at Yu Shu in the sedan chair. He said sternly,
"I will count to three. If you don't get out by then, don't blame me for being impolite."
Three … "After the count of three, Yu Shu's sedan chair was still in place. Zhou Yede couldn't back down. Even though he didn't want to make a big deal out of this, if he let her go like this, everyone would think that he was a coward who was afraid of the Celestial Commissioner. If he couldn't even deal with a woman, how could he stay in the officialdom? The Crown Prince was about to ascend the throne, how could he have the face to climb up?
Emperor Qing had passed away and his body had to be sent back to the capital. It had to be laid in the palace for forty-nine days before being sent to the imperial mausoleum for burial. The Crown Prince had to mourn for three months before he could ascend the throne. Historically, a new emperor brought a new court. This meant that the position of the Celestial Commissioner's Chief Commander would be replaced in at most three months. Thinking about it this way, the Chief Commander, who was not far from leaving his position, was no different from a tiger with its teeth pulled out. He didn't need to be as timid as he was in the past.
Zhou Yede thought about it further and his expression became more and more unfriendly. He immediately ordered, "Take them all down and escort them to the Celestial Commissioner. Today, I will seek justice from the Chief Commander!"
With this order, the Jinwu Guards, who were used to obeying orders, rushed forward without hesitation. The officials brought by Yu Shu didn't resist and obediently allowed themselves to be captured. The black-robed guards didn't do anything at all. They just guarded the sedan chair and didn't let anyone get close.
But Zhou Yede thought that Yu Shu was afraid and after gaining the upper hand, she forced them to turn the sedan chair around. He immediately ordered the servants to bring the horses and escorted the group of people to the Imperial Astronomer's Office.
.....
He led the group to the gate of the Celestial Commissioner and was stopped by the guards at the side of the gate. Zhou Yede didn't force his way in. He dismounted and said, "Send someone in to inform the Chief Commander that the Jinwu Guards, Zhou Yede, is here to punish you!"
There was no turning back. With the scorching sun over his head, he looked up at the tall plaque of the Celestial Commissioner. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any fear. If this was half a month ago and the old Emperor was still alive, he didn't believe that he would be able to stand at the gate of the Celestial Commissioner and curse.
After waiting for a moment, the main gate of the Celestial Commissioner was slowly pushed open from the inside. Zhu Muzhao, who was wearing a plain mourning mourning mourning, walked out of the gate. Only Ren Qiming and two armed guards followed behind him.
He walked slowly to the sun and looked around the gate that was blocked by the Jinwu Guards. His eyes fell on Zhou Yede, who looked like he was going to punish him. He said coldly, "Commander Zhou, why are you shouting in front of the Celestial Commissioner's gate?"
Zhou Yede swallowed his saliva and tried his best to keep a straight face. He hurriedly bowed to him and stood up to complain, "Chief Commander, you may not know this. This morning, a female imperial official from the Kunling Bureau brought her soldiers to my mansion to pick a fight. She slandered my son as a criminal. Without any evidence, she insisted on arresting him. May I ask Chief Commander, is this how the Celestial Commissioner allows her subordinates to handle the case?"
He had already thought it through. If the Chief Commander was covering up for Yu Shu, he would make a scene in front of the Crown Prince and let the Crown Prince see how arrogant the Celestial Commissioner was. He didn't believe that the Chief Commander could cover up the truth with one hand.
Zhu Muzhao didn't respond to his words and asked to the side, "Lianfang, you speak."
Zhou Yede turned his head and saw that Yu Shu had gotten off the sedan chair at some point. Her hair was disheveled and there was a scarf tied around her forehead. Her loose robe made her look skinny, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
"Replying to Grand Secretary," Yu Shu replied unhurriedly, "Previously, the young miss of the rebellious official Xue Lingnan's residence and Commander Zhou's son were engaged. The official marriage document that Commander Zhou took out that day was forged. It was a brush supervisor of my Kunling Bureau who was bribed and stole the previous Right Commander's seal to issue the document."
She glanced at Zhou Yede and said, "That brush supervisor who stole the seal has already admitted that he was first threatened by Xue Lingnan and then received a bribe of five hundred taels from Zhou Nie. The law states that forging an official marriage document is an additional crime compared to adultery without a matchmaker. Both the man and the woman should be arrested. The light punishment is thirty strokes of the stick. The heavy punishment is that the man will have to serve and the woman will be sent to a nunnery to cultivate. I acted according to the law and went to arrest Zhou Nie today. What crime did I commit? On the contrary, Commander Zhou was unforgiving and sent the Jin Wu Guards to arrest me. He looked down on the Celestial Commissioner and publicly used force during the period of national mourning. Such treason and heresy should be punished with death. "
What was a national mourning? It was when the Emperor and Empress held a funeral and the entire country mourned. Marriages, banquets, and wars were forbidden. Inside and outside the capital, even the military camps stopped training. Fighting and using force were even more forbidden within the city.
Zhou Yede's expression changed slightly when a big hat was put on his head. He rushed to say, "It was clearly you who offended your superior and overstepped your authority first. How can you blame me for using force without authorization? Don't you know that the Jin Wu Guards are the Imperial Army of the capital and have the right to enforce the law? "
Yu Shu shook her head and turned to Zhu Muzhao, saying, "The Grand Secretary has heard it. This lowly official has nothing to say against Commander Zhou's sophistry. I hope you can make the decision."
Zhu Muzhao looked coldly at the self-righteous Zhou Yede and waved his hand. A group of Yulin Royal Guards in light armor suddenly rushed out from the opposite street corner. There were about a hundred of them and they surrounded the Jin Wu Guards outside the Celestial Commissioner's door.
Zhou Yede turned pale with fright. He turned to look around and saw the Left Commander of the Yulin Royal Guards, Yin Yuanrong, standing out like a crane among chickens. Yin Yuanrong rode on a horse and passed through the parted crowd. He stopped a few steps away and lowered his head to look at Zhou Yede. He raised his eyebrows slightly and teased, "I have long heard that the Jin Wu Guards are tyrannical. Now that I have finally seen them, they really live up to their reputation."
Although the Yulin Royal Guards and the Jin Wu Guards were both part of the imperial army, the former was the Emperor's personal guard. Their military strength was more than twice that of the Jin Wu Guards and their authority was even higher than the Jin Wu Guards. The two groups of people usually did not see eye to eye with each other. Some time ago, Zhou Yede defected to the Crown Prince and even the Jin Wu Guards became arrogant. Yin Yuanrong had been swallowing his anger these days and had long wanted to teach them a lesson.
Zhou Yede forced himself to be calm and questioned him, "Yin Yuanrong, what are you trying to do?"
Yin Yuanrong sneered, "I am on duty today and happened to pass by here. I saw someone abusing his military power during the national mourning period and threatening the Celestial Commissioner. What do you think I am trying to do? Yulin Royal Guards, listen to my order. Capture all these rebels and bring them away! "
Seeing the Yulin Royal Guards swarming forward, the Jin Wu Guards were no match for them. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen of them were taken down. Zhou Yede did not have time to escape and was kicked down by Yin Yuanrong. He rolled on the ground twice and just happened to be lying at the feet of Yu Shu. Lu Hong and Xu Qing, who were guarding behind her, pressed down on his shoulders. He was completely stunned.
This scene was so familiar. More than half a month ago, this was how Yu Shu was lured to the gates of the Zhou Residence and was caught like a turtle in a jar.
Yu Shu lifted the hem of her robe and squatted in front of Zhou Yede. She lowered her eyes and looked down at him. In a gentle and slow voice, she said, "I forgot to inform Commander Zhou that I am now the Right Commander of the Kunling Bureau. You are of the third rank and I am also of the third rank. How can I be insubordinate and overstep my authority?"
After being hit on the head, Zhou Yede finally came to his senses. He had fallen into a trap and would most likely not be able to return today. Cold sweat broke out and he struggled with all his might to shout, "Yin Yuanrong! You and the Celestial Commissioner colluded to frame me. I want to see the Crown Prince. I want to sue you for forming a clique to eradicate dissidents. I want to see the Crown Prince! "
Yin Yuanrong ignored him and directly had someone stuff a sweat towel into his mouth to stop him from talking nonsense.
Lu Hong and Xu Qing picked Zhou Yede up from the ground. Yu Shu brushed the dust off Zhou Yede's shoulder and said softly, "Have a safe journey, Commander Zhou. When we meet again in the future, you must remember to be more polite to me. I'm not the kind of person who likes to hold grudges."
After saying this, she stepped aside and handed him over to the Yulin Royal Guards. She walked back behind Zhu Muzhao. Ren Qiming glanced at her with a complicated gaze and then looked at the carefree Da Tiao. He knew that the other had already made a decision and could only sigh at his bad luck.
Yin Yuanrong took Zhou Yede away while Zhu Muzhao took Yu Shu into the palace to see the Crown Prince.
.....
A little later, the Crown Prince listened to him narrate the process of Zhou Yede abusing his military power. He didn't even frown as he said, "This one has heard more than once that Zhou Yede is arrogant. Earlier, he suppressed the rebellion of Ning Wang's subordinates and thought that he had made a great contribution. He became even more disgraceful and dared to lead troops to surround the Celestial Commissioner. Fuhuang's corpse hasn't even turned cold yet and he has such rebellious behavior. He really deserves to be killed. Pass on this one's decree to remove Zhou Yede from his position as the Commander of the Jin Wu Guards and send him to the Supreme Court to be imprisoned. He will be punished after fuhuang's burial. "
Zhou Yede being removed from his position meant that the position of Commander of the Jin Wu Guards was now empty. The Crown Prince could have sent a more obedient person to fill it. He didn't need to act personally to take care of a troublemaker who was proud of his achievements. Killing a chicken to warn the monkey would not bring about a bad reputation. Why not?
Yu Shu was used to seeing the Crown Prince kill the donkey when it was no longer of use. She didn't feel any sympathy for the death of the rabbit. Zhu Muzhao had long set an example for her. What she was going to walk in the future was the dead end of being a puppet of imperial power.
"Many thanks to Your Highness the Crown Prince for helping this subject," Zhu Muzhao respectfully thanked the Crown Prince. He turned to the side to reveal Yu Shu behind him. He said, "Previously, Lianfang was meritorious in exposing the Xue family. This subject has made an exception to promote her to the position of Right Commander of the Celestial Commissioner, in charge of the matters of Kun Ling Bureau."
He was reporting to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince's gaze turned to Yu Shu. He first noticed her snow-white complexion and then saw the scarf on her head. He remembered her other identity and asked in an unusually gentle tone, "Have your injuries not healed yet?"
Yu Shu touched her forehead and answered, "Replying to Your Highness, this subject suffered a disaster earlier and left a scar on my face. I was afraid that I would startle you, so I used this to cover my disgrace."
"Oh?" The Crown Prince suspiciously reached out to touch her forehead. "Let me see."
Yu Shu's fingers trembled, but she didn't stop him. She let him take off the scarf. Seeing his shocked expression as he stared at her forehead, she quickly lowered her head.
The Crown Prince was stunned for a moment before he moved his gaze from her face to the side. He thought it was a pity, but he comforted her, "It doesn't matter. I saw that the scar is between your eyebrows. If I didn't look carefully, it would look like a flower that was deliberately drawn between your eyebrows. You don't have to care too much about other people's opinions."
Zhu Muzhao heard this and looked at Yu Shu's forehead. He felt that the Crown Prince wasn't lying. Her half-inch long scar was between her eyebrows. The scar was dark red and was a long and thin diamond shape. It didn't look ugly, but it looked out of place.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Yu Shu softly said.
The Crown Prince handed the scarf to her, but she didn't tie it back. Instead, she revealed the scar until she followed the Grand Commissioner out of the palace. The two of them walked on the official road outside the Meridian Gate and whispered to each other.
"This time, the Crown Prince won't have the idea of taking you into the harem."
Yu Shu touched the bump between her eyebrows and smiled. "The Crown Prince wants to imitate the Holy Ancestor. Unfortunately, I'm a disfigured person. The harem can't accommodate me."
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