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

Changsun Wuji grunted in agreement. He knew he had no choice but to spar with him; he stared at him and said:

"what happened?"

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "The matter is as follows: Your son nearly injured someone while riding his horse in Pingkang Ward today. As a witness, I request that Magistrate Wei deal with him according to the law."

"At the time, to prevent your son from escaping, I had my eldest and second eldest brothers temporarily detain his horses."

Cheng Jun shrugged and said, "I don't think I did anything wrong."

Changsun Wuji asked:

"Then let me ask you, do your eldest and second eldest brothers have the right to detain you?"

"Here it comes..." Wei Yaoguang, who was listening nearby, felt a tightness in his heart. After all, he was the Minister of Personnel, which was incomparable to his son. His words hit the nail on the head.

Now it was Cheng Jun's turn to take the challenge... Wei Yaoguang turned to look at Cheng Jun, waiting for him to continue.

Cheng Jun said slowly, "Detaining horses is not about whether you have the right to do it, but whether it is right or wrong."

"If it is detained without cause, then of course it is not authorized."

"But if the reason for the detention is to prevent your son from escaping, then it is justified."

Cheng Jun said solemnly, "Therefore, my eldest and second brothers are not at fault at all."

"Excellent answer..." Wei Yaoguang secretly applauded.

If Cheng Jun's answer was that his elder brothers had the right to seize the horses of the Changsun family, it would be tantamount to inviting trouble.

After all, Changsun Wuji was the Minister of Personnel.

He knew better than anyone whether Cheng's eldest son and second son had the right to detain other people's horses.

In Wei Yaoguang's eyes, Cheng Jun's answer was just right, neither too much nor too little.

Just then, Changsun Wuji's voice rang out:

"Now that my son's matter is over, you should return his horse. Where is my son's horse? Hand it over!"

Cheng Jun spread his hands and said, "I'm not entirely sure where your son's horse went either."

"In short, one thing is certain: my eldest and second eldest brothers ran into trouble on their way to Wannian County Government Office."

"Perhaps your horse bumped into something, forcing my two brothers to stop and clean up the mess; or perhaps your horse went mad, injuring people indiscriminately; or maybe your horse was having suicidal thoughts and jumped into the moat..."

Changsun Chong couldn't help but say, "Why does it all sound like it's my horse's fault? Could it possibly be your eldest or second brother's fault?"

Cheng Jun looked at him and said, "No way, because I know my older brothers."

As he spoke, he looked at Changsun Wuji and said earnestly:

"Minister Changsun, don't worry, the horse will definitely not be lost."

"Don't worry."

After saying that, he changed the subject and said, "However, while you are not worried, I am, because as I just said, your horse is very likely to be injuring someone somewhere in Chang'an right now."

"If it hurts someone or gets on my ears, I will definitely intervene."

When Changsun Chong saw Cheng Jun looking at him, his heart tightened. He felt as if Cheng Jun was warning him, so he turned his head away and avoided meeting his gaze.

Seeing this, Changsun Wuji stepped forward, shielding Changsun Chong, then turned to Wei Yaoguang and said in a deep voice:

“Wei Mingfu, everyone says you are an auspicious beast, but I still can’t figure out what’s so auspicious about you.”

Wei Yaoguang was watching the two sparring from the sidelines. When he saw Cheng Jun turn his attention to Changsun Chong, he was analyzing Cheng Jun's motives.

Now that he saw Changsun Wuji pointing his finger at him, he immediately panicked.

Just then, Cheng Jun's voice rang out:

"I think it's pretty good."

Wei Yaoguang suddenly felt a strange warmth in his heart.

Changsun Wuji turned to stare at him and said, "So, it's you, Rui?"

Cheng Jun shrugged and said, "Perhaps it's because you're not sincere?"

Seeing that Changsun Wuji's eyes widened as if he was about to swear, Wei Yaoguang quickly stepped in to smooth things over:

"These are just rumors from the outside world; they shouldn't be taken seriously."

Changsun Wuji snorted coldly and asked Cheng Jun, "Cheng Jun, have you heard some news?"

Cheng Jun countered, "What news?"

Changsun Wuji was not surprised when he denied it, after all, this kid was the kind of person who didn't get involved in trouble.

If he admits it, it would confirm that he is using his position to settle personal scores.

Given this kid's personality, how could he possibly be implicated in such a crime?

Changsun Wuji raised a finger and said calmly:

"I want to see my son's horse delivered to my residence by your Cheng family, intact, within a day."

"Otherwise, this isn't over!"

After saying that, he suddenly flicked his sleeve, snorted coldly, grabbed Changsun Chong's wrist, and walked out, saying, "Chong'er, let's go back."

Changsun Chong said somewhat reluctantly, "Father..."

Changsun Wuji glared at him.

Changsun Chong had no choice but to lower his head and leave the Wannian County government office with him.

Watching their departing figures, Wei Yaoguang turned to Cheng Jun and said:

"Imperial Censor Cheng, Minister Changsun has issued you an ultimatum."

Cheng Jun stroked his chin and said, "Why do I feel like he's trying to save face?"

Wei Yaoguang thought for a moment, then felt it was more like a warning like 'Don't say I didn't warn you,' and sighed, saying:

"He is, after all, the Minister of Personnel. If you go against him like this, you will always suffer losses."

Cheng Jun shook his head and said, "It's not me going against him, it's him going against me."

"Prefect Wei was busy with official duties and was unaware of what was happening in the imperial court."

Cheng Jun said in a deep voice, "If I'm not mistaken, he transferred you to the capital to serve as the magistrate of Chang'an in order to deal with me."

"..."

When Wei Yaoguang first heard this conclusion, he was taken aback. "Use me to deal with you? I'm just a county magistrate, how could I possibly deal with you?"

Cheng Jun said slowly, "Because he thinks you are an auspicious beast."

"So, he wants to use you to intimidate me."

"Now, I think he's starting to regret it."

Cheng Jun chuckled and then said, "Of course, I didn't cause trouble for him because of you."

"It's because he wants to send me to the front lines to fight."

The front line... Wei Yaoguang keenly noticed the key words and secretly pondered them.

Cheng Jun then stopped there, saying, "There are some things I can't tell you, please forgive me."

Wei Yaoguang nodded quickly and said, "Understood, understood."

Cheng Jun cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, "The matter is over, I'll be heading back now. Farewell!"

Wei Yaoguang returned the greeting first, then escorted him to the entrance of the county government office. Watching the other man mount his horse, he sighed, thinking about what had happened that day:

"It really is true what they say, being a county magistrate in the capital is truly difficult..."

Cheng Jun, standing in the stirrups, smiled and said upon hearing this:

“Mr. Wei is joking. If you ask me, you are the most suitable person to be the Wan Nian Ling. If it were someone else, it wouldn’t be so easy to resolve today’s matter.”