Chapter 25

"After leaving the Jinyiwei? Disappointed with everyone? Does this mean he’s on my side today? He seems so confident!" Baihu’s long-despaired heart suddenly felt a ray of sunshine, perhaps the future wasn’t destined to be completely dark.

"Enough nonsense! Don’t interfere with my investigation here!" Jia Jingzhong began to take action. Regardless of who was backing Ling Xiao, since there was no room for reconciliation, he might as well fight! He would start by throwing a big accusation to see how Ling Xiao would respond.

Ling Xiao looked at Jia Jingzhong with some admiration; he could still maintain his composure despite being so angry. No wonder he had been a seasoned eunuch in the palace for so many years! "What crime has Baihu committed?"

"Assisting a traitor and rebelling against the state, punishable by death!" The old eunuch answered with a righteous tone.

"Do you have any evidence?"

"The former Jinyiwei commander Qinglong and the Grand Tutor Zhao Shenyan conspired to rebel against the state. The evidence is clear, no trial is needed before execution!"

Ling Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t ask for the evidence, but since the old eunuch dared to say this in public, he must have a lot of so-called 'evidence'! He thought for a moment: "Who gave you the authority to investigate? The Eastern Depot seems to be overstepping its bounds!"

Jia Jingzhong coldly snorted, took a wooden box from a serving eunuch, and picked up a small square gold plaque with the character 'Jin' (錦) clearly engraved on it. "This is the imperial gold plaque, seeing it is like seeing the Emperor!"

"Long live the Emperor, may he reign for ten thousand years!" The guards all knelt down, and Jia Jingzhong’s expression was full of enjoyment, as if they were kneeling to him.

But one person stood straight, hands behind his back, chest out, exuding an indescribable aura. Baihu’s eyes were full of disbelief. Was this kid fearless or just tired of living? Wasn’t he giving the old eunuch an excuse? But no matter what, Baihu would never forget this day!

Jia Jingzhong really wanted to laugh. This fool had walked right into his trap, so he couldn’t blame him for being ruthless! "Guards! Ling Xiao is disrespectful to the Emperor, seize him!" The guards drew their swords and rushed at Ling Xiao.

"Shouldn’t you arrest her first? She looks more suspicious than I do!" Ling Xiao shrugged and pointed at Tuo Tuo.

The guards were taken aback, only then noticing that the Western Region woman was also standing straight! They looked at Jia Gonggong, waiting for instructions on whether to arrest her or not!

Jia Jingzhong was also uncomfortable. He hadn’t figured out this woman’s identity yet, so how could he give instructions! Just as he was at a loss, Tuo Tuo gave him a way out.

She gently pushed aside her veil and knelt down gracefully. Jia Jingzhong felt relieved, seeing that this woman was a friend, not an enemy, and didn’t hold her previous rudeness against her. He turned to look at Ling Xiao, but before he could issue an order, Ling Xiao interrupted him.

"Wow! That was really graceful! Even kneeling can be so enchanting!" While making fun of Tuo Tuo, he reached into his robe and pulled out another gold plaque. This one was much more exquisite than Jia Jingzhong’s, about the size of two palms, with two golden dragons intertwined, and the characters 'Bao Long' (保龍) engraved in the middle! Indeed, this was the imperial gold plaque of the Bao Long clan, which he had taken from Ling Lingfa before coming.

Seeing the gold plaque in Ling Xiao’s hand, Jia Jingzhong was troubled. This kid was too difficult to deal with, "Since you have a gold plaque too, I won’t pursue your disrespect. Quickly step aside, don’t delay my work, or you’ll regret it!" The last sentence was a clear threat.

"Don’t give me that! I’m here to take Baihu away today! Your gold plaque is just for commanding the Jinyiwei. It’s called a dispatch order, or more bluntly, a chicken feather! By the way, did you get the Emperor’s permission to use this chicken feather?" Seeing the old eunuch about to lose his temper, Ling Xiao decided to be more straightforward.

Jia Jingzhong cleverly avoided the question about permission, "My token at least has something to do with the Jinyiwei. Yours seems to be just a symbol, it can’t do anything. What gives you the right to take Baihu?"

Ling Xiao looked at the flustered old eunuch and then at his own token, "My master’s token isn’t very useful. How about this one?" He smiled and took out another item.

A warm light shone in the dim prison, clear and translucent, with a rainbow glow! Two emerald green dragons intertwined, capable of repelling evil and avoiding miasma. It was the Emperor’s personal jade pendant, which he never left without!

"Long live the Emperor, may he reign for ten thousand years!" Another wave of people knelt down, and the old eunuch panicked! Ling Xiao holding the jade pendant meant two things: one, the Emperor had returned! Two, Ling Lingfa was favored by the Emperor!

Neither of these pieces of information was good news. The information Ling Xiao revealed would only make Jia Jingzhong more cautious in the future, but Ling Xiao didn’t care. Given Jia Jingzhong’s character, he wouldn’t leave any decisive evidence for the Emperor to punish him. Ling Xiao was just declaring his presence, showing his strength, and making it clear that he had the Emperor’s backing!

"Hey? You didn’t kneel! Looks like you’re not disrespectful, just a bit slow on the reflexes!" Ling Xiao said to Tuo Tuo with a curious look.

Tuo Tuo seemed to be filled with killing intent, standing there like a sharp sword. Ling Xiao didn’t doubt that she would lash out with her silver whip at any moment. But he wasn’t afraid of her, because someone would stop her, like Jia Jingzhong.

"This Western Region woman is not familiar with the language and culture of the Central Plains, so ignorance is no crime! Kneel down!" Jia Jingzhong barked at Tuo Tuo, also testing her to see how much she valued him.

Tuo Tuo knelt down for the greater good, but Jia Jingzhong was very unsatisfied. Her hesitation and the killing intent in her eyes showed that he was insignificant to her.

"That’s better." Ling Xiao swaggered over to Baihu, glancing at the fallen support beam, "Baihu! I’m arresting you for damaging public property. You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You can also have a lawyer, and if you can’t afford one, we can appoint one for you."

Baihu’s bright eyes widened. This was a new and creative approach. It sounded a bit strange at first, but it was profound upon reflection.

Baihu was shocked, and the others were frustrated. All this effort and fighting, and in the end, it was just for damaging public property!

"See? This is what professionalism looks like!" Ling Xiao scanned the crowd, looking down on them, a bunch of uncultured brutes! "Can you stand up?"

"We’re leaving." Baihu stubbornly stood up, leaning on his sword, and after a moment’s hesitation, he walked out stubbornly, his eyes lingering on Tuo Tuo, Xuanwu, and Jia Jingzhong.

Ling Xiao pursed his lips, "Being stubborn, hmph!" He ignored the murderous looks from the old eunuch and others and followed Baihu out.

With the troublemaker gone, Jia Jingzhong’s mood was indescribable. He took several deep breaths to calm down. "Who are you?"

Tuo Tuo gave a slight bow, "Tuo Tuo is here on my father’s orders to assist Jia Gonggong."

The entire scene suddenly turned cold, as if a storm had swept through. Tuo Tuo received the same treatment as Ling Xiao when he left, with a variety of looks from the crowd.

She really was surnamed Tuo!

Tuo Tuo suddenly remembered Ling Xiao’s words and her anger flared up. She wanted to kill these people, but thinking of her father’s cause, she said calmly, "We learned that Qinglong had escaped, and to prevent any complications, I will help Jia Gonggong deal with Qinglong."

"Miss, if you are from the Prince, do you have any proof?" Xuanwu stepped forward. Tuo Tuo turned gracefully and removed the remaining veil.

"Her figure is indeed good, uh, I mean, she is indeed from the Prince." Xuanwu’s eyes were dazzled by Tuo Tuo’s figure, and he accidentally let it slip, but he quickly recovered by seeing the mark of Prince Qing on her shoulder.

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