This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Seeing them rushing towards him, Yuchi Baolin took a deep breath, turned to his six retainers, and shouted, "Disarm!"

The six retainers he brought with him were all carrying swords, as a form of intimidation.

Although Yuchi Baolin was the son of a military officer, he knew that he absolutely could not use a knife when facing these more than 600 clerks.

If it's fists and feet, at most you'll be fined, but if weapons are used, it could be fatal.

"promise!"

The six retainers standing behind him took off their swords and placed them on the ground.

Yu Chi Baolin pointed at the money-collecting clerks rushing towards him and said, "Anyone who dares to charge, beat them!"

"promise!"

Six burly henchmen stood in unison before Yuchi Baolin, glaring menacingly at the money-collecting clerks.

Although they were few in number, they were all elite soldiers who had fought alongside Yuchi Jingde.

Although there were many clerks on the opposite side, most of them were clerical staff.

They probably wouldn't even know how to fight, let alone draw blood.

Among the more than 600 money-catching officers, a few of the bolder ones charged forward with their fists raised.

The next second, they were lying on the ground.

When the others saw that these six people were highly skilled, they all stopped and hesitated to approach.

For a moment, the two sides were once again locked in a stalemate.

Lin Lingshi was anxious and helpless. Yuchi Baolin was the son of a Duke, but the people on his side were all subordinates from various departments. They were not afraid of him, so there was no use in being anxious.

Just then, the sound of clattering hooves suddenly rang out in the distance.

Everyone turned around and saw an elderly man in his fifties, wearing a scarlet official robe, with a cold expression and holding the reins, walking towards them.

Behind him followed twenty burly men with solemn expressions, each with a sword at their waist.

“The Dali Temple is investigating…” Yu Chi Baolin recognized the identities of those people at a glance, and his expression changed.

The Dali Temple Inquiry Officer was a constable in the Dali Temple who carried out punishments with a cane.

Lin Lingshi exclaimed excitedly, "Minister Liu, we've finally been waiting for you!"

Liu, the Vice Minister... In the distance, Cheng Jun heard this name and smiled. He had finally waited for the person behind the scenes to arrive. This person should be Liu Linfu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

He was the father of Liu Xiangdao, the former Imperial Censor.

At this moment, the old man in red came to Lin Lingshi, dismounted, and turned to the twenty judges from the Dali Temple, saying, "Surround this place!"

"promise!"

The twenty judges from the Court of Judicial Review clasped their hands in response and surrounded the area.

Liu Linfu glanced at the six retainers of the Duke of Wu's residence, snorted coldly, and said, "Tie them up!"

"promise!"

Twelve men emerged from the Dali Temple's interrogation room. Seeing the men's imposing figures, they all gripped their swords and cautiously approached. Whenever the six men made a move to retaliate, the men immediately drew their swords.

The six retainers dared not make any rash moves, after all, the other party was from the Dali Temple and was under the command of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. If they acted inappropriately, they might implicate Yuchi Baolin. They had no choice but to let the twelve questioners who came over tie their hands and take them aside.

In an instant, only Yuchi Baolin remained standing at the Du family's door.

Upon seeing Liu Linfu's gaze upon him, Yuchi Baolin's throat tightened, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

He couldn't afford to offend the person in front of him.

Even if Yuchi Jingde came, we still have to give him face!

Because the other party comes from the Ministry of Personnel, which is the head of the Six Ministries!

The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for the appointment, dismissal, evaluation, promotion, demotion, and transfer of officials. In short, if you offended someone, your career was essentially over.

Moreover, this Vice Minister Liu was the second-in-command of the Ministry of Personnel.

His power was second only to that of the prime minister.

"I have met Vice Minister Liu."

Yu Chi Baolin had no choice but to lower his head and bow.

Liu Linfu did not respond, but instead listened intently to what the Lin-surnamed clerk in charge of collecting money from the Ministry of Personnel was saying. After a long while, he looked up and asked:

“Yuchi Baolin, Du Jingjian is involved in matters concerning the government’s capital. Why did you stop him and prevent Lin Lingshi from taking him to the government office?”

Yuchi Baolin's thoughts raced, and he asked in return, "Minister Liu, why would you trouble yourself to come over for such a trivial matter?"

Liu Linfu glared at him and said, "I'm the one asking you a question, answer me directly!"

Yu Chi Baolin said, "I have something that went missing at Du Jingjian's house, and I haven't found it yet."

What did you lose?

Liu Linfu asked.

Seeing that Yuchi Baolin was stammering and unable to answer, Liu Linfu said coldly, "I heard from Lin Lingshi that you were guarding the door and threatened that if anyone dared to offend you, you would lie on the ground and act like a rogue?"

"You pour one out for me to see!"

Liu Linfu strode towards Yuchi Baolin, looked closely at his panicked expression, and sneered, "Weren't you so fierce just now? Now you know fear?"

"go away!"

Liu Linfu shouted.

Yu Chi Baolin shrank his neck and had no choice but to step aside. He watched as Liu Linfu was about to push open the door of the Du family's house, and he was extremely anxious.

Why isn't Brother Chuxia here yet? I can't hold on any longer...

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out in the distance.

Liu Linfu had just raised his hand to the door, about to push it open, when he heard the sound of horses' hooves. His hand froze in mid-air, and he turned to look in the direction from which the sound came.

A burly young man wearing a xiezhi crown and imperial censor's robes, holding the reins, was riding a horse and galloping towards them.

"Brother Chuxia!!"

Yu Chi Baolin shouted excitedly, "We've finally got you back!"

Cheng Jun dismounted, loosened the reins, and let the black Turkic horse graze by the roadside. Holding a basket in one hand and a letter in the other, he smiled and said, "Brother Baolin, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"It's alright, it's good that you're back!" Yuchi Baolin suppressed his excitement, pointed at Liu Linfu, and whispered a reminder: "If you hadn't come back, I really wouldn't have been able to hold on. He is Liu Linfu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and he has brought the Dali Temple to investigate matters. I dare not go against him."

"You've done a great job."

Cheng Jun praised him, then handed him the basket in his hand. Meeting Liu Linfu's gaze, he smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Cheng Jun, the Censor, greets Vice Minister Liu!"

Liu Linfu lowered his arms, stared at him, and said, "I still find it hard to believe that someone as big and burly as you could send my son to the Imperial Medical Academy with just words. I don't know whether to call you a silver tongue or a disgrace to warriors."

"Liu Zhongcheng..."

Cheng Jun paused abruptly, then said apologetically, "I was wrong. It's not Liu Zhongcheng, it's Liu Taiduan. I almost forgot, your son has been demoted."