Who put the yellow robe on me?

Sixteenth Prince Jiang Chen calmly replied, "Yes, Prime Minister He. I heard that after the Autumn Examination, a child came to Jingzhao Prefecture with a blank petition, claiming that two scholars were being hunted down."

Jiang Chen glanced at the Jingzhao prefect, Yang Weiqian, and saw his expression suddenly turn grim. "This petition was intended to report problems with the Autumn Examination and seek justice, but the Jingzhao prefect has imprisoned me."

Emperor Liang frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Oh? Is there such a thing? Where is the Jingzhao prefect?"

Yang Weiqian, the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, knelt respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I have received a letter from the advisor and know about this matter."

"That child is pleading for mercy on behalf of two scholars, who are suspected of arson during this autumn's imperial examination. Therefore, Master, you have temporarily detained this child. I believe that these two scholars should be apprehended as soon as possible."

After listening to Yang Weiqian's words, Jiang Chen continued to ask, "Master Yang, are these two scholars the real arson suspects? Has the trial been completed?"

Yang Weiqian suddenly looked embarrassed and replied, "All signs indicate that it is, but there has never been a trial."

Jiang Chen frowned slightly, his tone becoming even more stern. "You're detaining a child without a trial? Sir Yang, do you want to get to the bottom of this case, or do you not want to?"

Jiang Chen then turned to Emperor Liang and said, "Father, there are many suspicious points regarding the arson during the Autumn Examination. Lord Xiong was at the scene and discovered some clues, and we now have a clue."

After hearing this, Emperor Liang turned his gaze to Xiong Zhiheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. "Sir Xiong, is what Jiang Chen said true?"

Xiong Zhiheng stepped forward and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Sixteenth Prince is right. The arson at the Autumn Examination Hall is full of suspicions. I have some leads, but without further investigation and solid evidence, I dare not speak rashly."

Jiang Chen turned to Yang Weiqian and said, "Master Yang, the arson in the autumn examination is still suspicious. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for you to directly detain the person in the prison?"

Yang Weiqian was even more embarrassed. "Sixteenth Prince, when Master Gong imprisoned the child, I was not at home. Master Gong's actions are questionable. When I return home, I will definitely punish Master Gong."

When Jiang Chen heard that Yang Weiqian had blamed all the troubles on Master Gong, he felt contempt for him.

Emperor Liang immediately issued an order: "Xiong Zhiheng and Yang Weiqian, thoroughly investigate the Autumn Examination arson case. All those involved will be severely punished without mercy."

The two men accepted the order in unison: "I accept the order."

Jiang Chen immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Father, I am willing to investigate together."

Emperor Liang said in a deep voice, "Alright, you will also investigate this case together. You must find out the truth and make no mistakes."

Apparently, Jiang Chen's detection of the traitor case in the Western Regions left a very good impression on Emperor Liang.

Jiang Chen was overjoyed and bowed in thanks, "Your son, I accept your order."

After the court meeting ended, Jiang Chen left the court, followed closely by the commander of the imperial guards Lin Shigong and the Minister of Personnel Wu Jinyan.

Lin Shigong passed by the court and saw Emperor Liang's approval of Jiang Chen, and now he showed great respect for Jiang Chen.

He said respectfully, "Your Highness the Sixteenth, you may choose any guard within the capital. All the imperial guards are at your disposal."

The Minister of Personnel Wu Jinyan was fawning over him in various ways, his words full of compliments, which made Jiang Chen feel extremely uncomfortable.

Jiang Chen originally wanted to talk about it later, but he considered that Luo Shihua and Qin Yiliang were very likely to be hunted again recently.

He turned around and asked Lin Shigong and the others, "When can we go to select the Imperial Guards?"

Wu Jinyan immediately replied: "Anytime, you can go anytime, right?" As she said that, she gave Lin Shigong a wink.

Lin Shigong understood and added, "Yes, Sixteenth Prince, if you trust me, I can recommend four capable people to you."

Then he reported the names of four people.

When Jiang Chen heard that Dianzhang was not among the four, he thought of what had happened to Dianzhang in the Imperial Guards.

Then he said to Lin Shigong coldly: "I don't trust you!"

Lin Shigong looked embarrassed, but did not dare to refute, so he could only step aside silently.

Jiang Chen turned to Wu Jinyan and said calmly, "I'll let you know as soon as I've decided on a candidate."

Seeing Jiang Chen's outstanding performance in the court today, Wu Jinyan naturally did not dare to neglect him and quickly said, "I will wait for the arrangements of the Sixteenth Prince."

After saying goodbye to the two, Jiang Chen went straight to the martial arts training ground and found Dianzhang.

The two men talked in low voices in the corner, and Jiang Chen told Dianzhang everything that happened in the court today.

When Dian Zhang heard that his official rank had been promoted, he was so moved that he wanted to thank Jiang Chen, but he was pulled up by Jiang Chen and said with a smile: "We will talk about the polite words later. I came to you this time to discuss something."

Dianzhang asked doubtfully, "Is it about selecting four guards?"

Jiang Chen nodded and said, "Yes, if we choose four guards, you must be one of them, and the other three can be chosen from the remaining candidates. What do you think?"

Jiang Chen then told Dianzhang about the four people recommended by Lin Shigong.

"I'm not familiar with these four people. Which one of them has the best martial arts skills and is useful to us?"

Dianzhang frowned in thought. Seeing this, Jiang Chen asked, "What's wrong?"

Dian Zhang explained, "These four people are all of average level in terms of martial arts and abilities. Moreover..."

"Hmm?" Jiang Chen gestured for Dianzhang to continue.

"And... they seem to have some relationship with other princes." After Dianzhang finished speaking, Jiang Chen understood Lin Shigong's intention.

Jiang Chen's heart tightened, and he secretly felt lucky that he did not adopt Lin Shigong's suggestion.

It turned out that Lin Shigong wanted to clear out these four people with connections as soon as possible, and he also wanted to create the illusion that he wanted them to leave.

Lin Shigong's scheming is quite deep...

He said to Dianzhang, "Then recommend me three more people. They should be highly skilled in martial arts, have good character, and preferably have no complicated connections in the court."

Dianzhang thought for a moment, nodded and said, "There are three suitable candidates."

Then, Dianzhang introduced the situation of the three people to Jiang Chen in detail.

The first one is Zhou Liangwei, who was originally a captain on the frontier. He was skilled in martial arts and was loyal and reliable.

The second is Xu Ningce, who once served as a guard in the palace. He was an upright person and was deeply respected by his colleagues.

The third one is Deng Yunde, who was originally a chivalrous knight who was appreciated for rescuing important officials of the imperial court. His martial arts and moral character were impeccable.

After hearing this, Jiang Chen nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, these three are the ones."

Then he said to Dianzhang, "Let these three get ready. The commander of the Imperial Guard will come to find them soon."

Dianzhang took the order and left, while Jiang Chen went to the Imperial Guard camp to look for Lin Shigong.

Lin Shigong readily agreed to Jiang Chen's request. It was obvious that these four people were not popular among the Imperial Guards.

Jiang Chen sighed inwardly, thinking that perhaps it was because of their straight male nature and lack of worldly wisdom that they seemed out of place in the complex power struggle.