Chapter 193 : Chapter 193
Chapter 193 Cheng Yu: Raid Duke Dingguo’s Estate and Take Down Ning Dingyuan, That Rebel!
Inside the main hall of the Command Office.
The atmosphere was exactly as the other Jinyiwei had imagined. It had fallen into an awkward silence.
Lu Zhi and the three Deputy Commanders had indescribably strange expressions.
If others saw this scene, they would certainly be dumbstruck.
What sort of great figure or major event could make the four greatest lords of the Jinyiwei, at least on the surface, look like this?
And in truth, the reason the atmosphere was so awkward was very simple.
Cheng Yu had not come!
In the Imperial Prison, he had violently abused Duke Dingguo’s son without any warning, forcing Duke Dingguo to break into the prison and seize the man away.
He had caused such a huge incident.
Yet Cheng Yu remained unhurried, leaving his four immediate superiors waiting to one side.
Zhang De was already somewhat guilty, and he kept feeling that something was wrong with the way Lu Zhi looked at him.
At this moment, he gritted his teeth, slapped the table, and stood up.
“Outrageous! A mere Commandant caused such a massive disaster, yet he still has the nerve to make us wait for him!”
“Does he truly think this is Jiannan Circuit, where everything is decided by him?”
He roared to vent his anger.
The Lu father and son exchanged an expressionless glance. Fang Xiaolin, his expression grave, stood with his arms folded and said nothing.
The atmosphere froze again.
Fortunately, in the next moment, Cheng Yu’s figure finally appeared.
He cupped his fists and smiled. “My lords, forgive me for arriving late.”
Lu Zhi had just been about to nod and let him sit down.
But Zhang De immediately jumped out from the side.
“With several lords waiting for you, you still dared to arrive so slowly. Are you looking down on us?!”
When Cheng Yu saw Zhang De so eager to jump out and bite, he immediately sneered.
A traitorous dog who ate from one side while serving another—was he even worthy of speaking here?
Cheng Yu paid him no attention at all.
He walked straight to his own seat, sat down openly, and poured himself tea.
“You bastard!”
Seeing Cheng Yu ignore him like this again, Zhang De’s anger suddenly surged into his heart.
He slapped the table, stood up, and glared viciously at Cheng Yu.
Yet at that moment, a terrifying force appeared and pressed Zhang De back down onto his chair.
Lu Zhi had acted!
He waved his hand casually, a faint smile on his face.
“Deputy Commander Zhang, if you have something to say, say it later. Let us discuss the proper matter first.”
Zhang De widened his eyes, seemingly shocked by Lu Zhi’s strength.
After not seeing this beast for some time, he had not expected Lu Zhi to already be capable of suppressing him with a casual gesture.
He could only lower his head and sit back down.
“As you command.”
Seeing this, Cheng Yu also raised his brows, somewhat surprised by the strength of this Commander-in-Chief of the Jinyiwei.
He had only just come into contact with a true Grandmaster.
Yet from Lu Zhi’s aura just now, he had clearly sensed a trace of “Dao.”
Lu Zhi.
He was not far from the Grandmaster Realm!
Had he even walked farther than Cheng Zhenjiang? His name should be on the Heaven Ranking!
He had hidden himself far too deeply!
If he could enter the Grandmaster Realm, then the Jinyiwei’s two generations of Commanders would be two Grandmasters from a single line.
It seemed that the power of the Great Qian Court and the imperial family was far stronger than Cheng Yu had imagined...
“Duke Dingguo, Ning Dingyuan, broke into the Imperial Prison. What do you all think about this matter? His Majesty will know very soon. We must provide an explanation, must we not?”
As soon as Lu Zhi finished speaking, Zhang De could not wait to stand up.
“This matter is an undeserved disaster for our Jinyiwei. If Cheng Yu had not acted recklessly, how could this have happened?”
“It was precisely because Cheng Yu privately used severe punishment that he forced Duke Dingguo into such a state, making him offend the Jinyiwei by breaking into the prison!”
He stared fixedly at Cheng Yu, his expression filled with ferocity.
“The only blessing amid this misfortune is that Young Lord Ning Cen was not killed by him. Otherwise, this matter would have become completely uncontrollable!”
“Cheng Yu, do you admit your crime or not?”
His second brother Zhang Fen had already devised a strategy for him. He had to bite Cheng Yu to death and muddy the waters!
They had to make Cheng Yu shoulder the responsibility completely.
Only then could the matter of the Zhang Brothers allowing Ning Dingyuan to leave be diminished!
When Cheng Yu heard Zhang De madly attacking him, he did not care at all. He merely kept drinking his tea.
Only after putting down the teacup did he slowly rise.
Calmly, he said, “I admit it.”
Zhang De’s expression became increasingly hideous. “I knew you would try to soph—wait, what did you say?”
His expression froze. He suddenly realized that something was wrong and stared blankly at Cheng Yu.
Cheng Yu had admitted his crime?!
This—this was not right, was it?
Zhang De’s mind went blank. Cheng Yu had admitted his crime so readily that none of the speaking tactics his second brother had taught him could be used!
A trace of a smile appeared on Cheng Yu’s face. “Privately beating and scolding a prisoner in the Imperial Prison is punished according to the Jinyiwei regulations by docking half a month’s salary. I admit my crime and accept the punishment. Is there any problem?”
For a moment, Zhang De did not know what to do. He could only grit his teeth and refuse to let go.
“Was that merely beating and scolding? You nearly played him to death!”
“How was it not beating and scolding? Just tell me this: is the man dead or not? The contents of the Jinyiwei regulations were not decided today. There is no use arguing with me over this.”
Cheng Yu calmly spread his hands and looked at Commander Lu Zhi with a burning gaze.
Lu Zhi helplessly raised his brows. After thinking for a moment, he nodded.
“According to the regulations, if he is not dead, then it is indeed beating and scolding.”
Cheng Yu smiled and cupped his fists. Then he looked at the bewildered Zhang De.
“In that case, my problem is over... Next, what should be discussed is the grave crime of certain people eating from one side while serving another, watching with their own eyes as an outsider broke into the Imperial Prison and left, is it not?”
The smile on his face instantly became incomparably sinister.
He slammed his palm heavily onto the table and stared fiercely at Zhang De.
“Incompetent dereliction of duty, betraying your colleagues, and disloyalty to His Majesty. Zhang De, according to the law, you and your brother should be beheaded! Do you admit it or not?”
Upon hearing three nearly sky-high charges placed upon his head, Zhang De’s mouth fell open.
Had he not merely intended to take advantage of the situation, avoid offending Duke Dingguo, and by the way force him into joining the Moderate Faction?
How had he not known that the nature of the matter was so vile?
He immediately retorted loudly, “You are making false accusations!”
Cheng Yu shook his head disdainfully.
“Many people saw what you brothers did. I am too lazy to argue with you, and you have no need to explain it to me!”
Go explain it to Lu Zhi!
Cheng Yu did not give Zhang De any chance to interrupt.
He continued, “Aside from that, there is another matter of the utmost importance! Duke Dingguo, Ning Dingyuan, trespassed into the Imperial Prison, broke a prisoner out, grievously injured multiple Jinyiwei, and showed contempt for His Majesty. His crime is equivalent to treason. According to the law, his household should be raided and his family exterminated!”
“I request that the Commander-in-Chief seek instructions from His Majesty, raid Duke Dingguo’s Estate, and take down Ning Dingyuan, that lawless rebel!”
Upon hearing these words, Lu Zhi and the others froze. They could no longer bother with anything else.
Raid and exterminate Duke Dingguo’s household?
Since when had the Jinyiwei become this powerful and unyielding?
More importantly, according to Cheng Yu’s explanation, what Duke Dingguo had done truly would not make raiding his household and exterminating his family excessive at all.
The corner of Lu Zhi’s mouth twitched, and he said helplessly, “Commandant Cheng, things are not as simple as you imagine.”
Raiding the household of a ninth-rank noble and aristocrat...
The clash of interests behind it and the trouble it might cause were far more complicated than anyone could imagine...
Cheng Yu immediately frowned.
“Lord Lu, do you mean that before a noble and aristocrat like Duke Dingguo, we Jinyiwei are worth less than dog shit? As the Emperor’s personal troops, are we so lowly that even His Majesty’s dignity is worth less than dog shit?”
“If even His Majesty has lost his dignity, then what need is there for this Great Qian to continue existing?!”
“Stop talking!”
The expressions of Lu Zhi and the others changed drastically. If Cheng Yu kept speaking like this, they might all become useless ministers of a fallen nation!
According to Cheng Yu’s reasoning, if the Jinyiwei did not destroy Duke Dingguo, then there was no need for them to exist.
Was it really that serious?
How could he even place such a black accusation on his own head?!