Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Wang Lian's face darkened, and he swept his eyes across the crowd fiercely, shouting, "My Lords, are you planning to openly defy the Emperor's orders?"

The academician hurriedly bowed and explained with a look of panic, "I have absolutely no intention of disobeying your order. However, what that student Zhang said does have some truth to it, and I have to consider it carefully."

Lu Hui also stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said, "Besides, Wang Changshi's brother is still imprisoned in Yunzhou Prison. If anything goes wrong during this period, it will be difficult for me to explain to the Lord Changshi."

Upon hearing this, Wang Lian frowned, glared at Lu Hui, and said sternly, "Grandmaster Lu, are you blatantly threatening me?"

Lu Hui quickly shook his head and waved his hands, responding with deep fear, "How dare I, I'm just discussing the matter at hand."

At this time, the inspector standing nearby spoke up, "Your Excellency, in my humble opinion, the thief can be escorted to the capital. However, according to the laws of the Celestial Empire, even if someone is spared the death penalty, they must be punished alive. First, he should be shackled, his hands and feet broken, and then blindfolded and dragged all the way to the capital for public display! Only in this way can the majesty of the law be fully demonstrated."

After hearing this, the Imperial Censor nodded repeatedly and praised, "This plan is brilliant! It will not only punish the thief severely, but also serve as a warning to others."

Wang Lian was so angry that he was shaking all over. He pointed at everyone and shouted angrily, "You are simply abusing lynching! How can you do such a vulgar thing in this open world?"

If the scapula is pierced and the tendons of the hands and feet are severed, the person will be disabled. Even the strongest body will not be able to withstand such torture.

At this point, the Provincial Administration Secretary began to smooth things over. He bowed to the Censor and Wang Lian and said, "The highest-ranking officials here are the Censor and the Chief Secretary. If you disagree, why don't we find a compromise? If we don't want to use torture, we could send people from Yunzhou to escort the rebel general to the capital. What do you think?"

Wang Lian's eyes widened in anger as he declared righteously, "How could I dare to hand over the task Your Highness has instructed me to do to anyone else? This matter is of grave importance, and I must do it myself. I dare not slack off or neglect it in the slightest!"

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Censor's face darkened and he sternly said, "This is not acceptable, and that is not acceptable. This Imperial Censor believes that the Chief Secretary is completely devoid of sincerity! Could it be that the Chief Secretary is intentionally protecting someone?"

Lu Hui, standing by, quickly chimed in, "That's right! Yesterday in the back hall, Prince Jin actually openly ordered me to release Han Ye and Wang Jue without permission. This clearly shows that Prince Jin has been plotting to capture these two wanted criminals!"

Wang Lian snorted coldly, crossed his arms over his chest, and asked coldly: "In that case, it seems that there is nothing to talk about between us today?" His eyes revealed a hint of determination and firmness.

Zhang Jingwei kept shaking his head and laughing coldly.

Lu Hui frowned and asked in confusion, "Jingwei, why are you laughing?"

Zhang Jingwei's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mocking smile. He said, "I laugh at you, a bunch of high-ranking officials, fighting fiercely over a trivial position as a barracks lieutenant. Yet, you haven't said a word about the millions of people in the world!"

Wang Lian, who was standing by, heard this and his face darkened. He shouted angrily, "How dare you interrupt the adults when they are talking!"

Zhang Jingwei met Wang Lian's angry gaze fearlessly and retorted loudly, "In the eyes of you officials, what do the lives of ordinary people really mean? And what about the limestone kilns at the Water Defense Camp? Who knows which powerful official will take over and mine them? My teacher, Lord Liu, once personally visited Jia Village. The villagers there could still resist the brutal soldiers, but at the mere mention of the officials, they all turned pale and silent!"

At this time, Liu Yanzhi, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke: "Jingwei..."

Zhang Jingwei turned to look at Liu Yanzhi, his eyes filled with anger. He asked anxiously, "Teacher, please tell me, where exactly did all this go wrong? Why did it turn out like this?"

The censor said with a gloomy face, "Zhang Linsheng, please step back!" His voice was not loud, but it was filled with unquestionable majesty.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingwei looked anxious and quickly said, "Your Excellency the Censor, I..." However, before he could finish his words, he was interrupted again by the Censor.

"Back off!" The censor suddenly raised his voice. This angry shout resounded like thunder in the hall, shocking everyone present.

At the same time, Lu Hui and Liu Yanzhi, who were standing nearby, saw that the situation was not good and almost simultaneously reached out to grab Zhang Jingwei's sleeve, winking at him to quickly back away. The two men moved quickly and in tacit coordination, obviously having anticipated this situation.

After Zhang Jingwei walked out of the door, he saw a guard sticking to the door, eavesdropping on the conversation. When the guard saw Zhang Jingwei, he quickly stood at attention, his face full of embarrassment.

The guard stood straight, raised his hands quickly, clasped his fists, gave a standard military salute, and shouted, "Sir!"

Zhang Jingwei frowned slightly, looking unhappy, and said unhappily: "I'm not an adult! Don't call me that!"

After Zhang Jingwei took two steps, the guard couldn't help but say what was in his heart: "I think what you just said is right, you will definitely be a good official in the future!" After that, he saluted Zhang Jingwei respectfully again.

Zhang Jingwei just paused, then quickly walked out of the prefectural mansion. He pretended not to see Commander Li greeting him. He was really not in the mood to pay attention to them. He didn't even know where he was going.

He didn't want to go to Sun Yaolang's house to disturb Mu Tou's rest, but he couldn't go back to the Marquis' Mansion. After thinking it over, he decided to go to the brothel.

The brothel was extremely deserted during the day, with only one or two tables of diners dining in, and the tables were not even set. Zhang Jingwei took a look and wanted to leave, but was stopped by a waiter.

"Master Zhang, I'm sure you're aware of the turmoil in our shop yesterday. We're opening late today, so why don't you share a table with us?"

No matter how bad his mood was, he still refused with a smile: "No, I'd better go home."

"You are so poorly received! Please forgive me, Zhang Lang!"

When this familiar voice sounded, Zhang Jingwei felt a little better.

Zhang Jingwei asked doubtfully, "How did Miss Ningxiang know I was coming?"

Ningxiang looked worried as she leaned gently against Zhang Jingwei's chest and said softly, "I didn't know Zhang Lang was coming, but I just looked forward to it day and night!"

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Zhang Jingwei put his arm around her shoulders and stroked her pretty face with the other hand.

"Come upstairs with me, I'll massage your shoulders." Ningxiang took Zhang Jingwei's hand and went upstairs.

Zhang Jingwei followed Ningxiang with a smile on his face, and said gently, "Then I'll have to trouble Ningxiang."

The diners at the two tables had eyes full of envy, while a scholar in blue clothes in the corner had a sly grin on his face.