This Martial Saint’s Health Bar is Too Thick!
Chapter 494: 35 Imperial Envoy

Chapter 494: Chapter 35 Imperial Envoy

“Li Fei requests a retrial of Shangguan Xiao’s case!”

This was tantamount to openly questioning the original decisions of the Grand Secretary and the Cabinet!

Even the Crown Prince’s face changed upon hearing this.

He never expected the ‘First Scholar of Qing History’ he had personally recommended to be so audacious!

“Your Majesty.”

While everyone was still stunned by Li Fei’s audacity, Ming Qi, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

He too bowed before the Emperor:

“I also do not seek any rewards, and earnestly request Your Majesty to reconsider this case!”

“Oh?”

The Emperor looked at Ming Qi with surprise, “Are you also related to this case?”

Ming Qi shook his head: “I have nothing to do with this case.”

The Emperor laughed: “Then why do you also request a retrial of this case?”

Ming Qi turned to glance at Li Fei,

From the beginning until now, others only observed Li Fei’s boldness and thought him arrogant because of his talent.

Only Ming Qi saw the earnestness in Li Fei’s heart and the sincere affection between him and his master.

Ming Qi understood this!

Therefore, he spoke up to plead for Li Fei and was willing to exchange his own rewards for a chance to have the case reviewed.

Li Fei had not expected Ming Qi to speak in his support, and was warmly moved.

He actually didn’t hold much hope of actually reopening the case; he merely adopted a try-and-see approach.

If it were only for his own sake, for Shangguan Xiao and for the reputations of those behind Hao Yi, this case would never be reopened under any circumstances.

Because on the other side were a Governor and a Great Grandmaster!

But Datong Prefecture had already openly torn relations with that side, along with a direct competitor to Hongyi University, Wu’an University.

Thus, Li Fei was not fighting alone.

If the case were truly reopened, both Datong Prefecture and Wu’an University would surely be pleased.

Sure enough, immediately, a minister stepped forward from the ranks:

“Your Majesty, this humble minister was also involved in the deliberation of this case initially. I had felt there were peculiarities and numerous doubts in the case back then. This humble minister believes that this case can be reconsidered!”

This person was Fang Xingmao from the Monitoring Pavilion.

When Shangguan Xiao’s case was ‘stabbed’ to the Central Government by Bian Jingru, it was Fang Xingmao and Duan Qi who were first responsible for the ‘preliminary review.’

The two had openly argued in the Zixu Hall of the Cabinet Office.

The ‘Lu Family of Canglin’ had representatives in the Cabinet, and Bian Jingru, the Garrison Commander of Datong Prefecture, also had his own connections.

“Father!”

Seeing Ming Qi also join in, and now with a Cabinet minister speaking up, the Crown Prince thought this was a good opportunity and quickly spoke out:

“Although I am recently acquainted with Li Fei, I trust his character and he most certainly would not slander nor disrespect the laws of the court. Moreover, this is not just his solitary disagreement; the entire Datong Prefecture has objections!

Father, why not reconsider this case, to satisfy the hearts of these two national paragons, and also pacify the hearts of many officials of Datong Prefecture.”

The Eldest Prince could not hold back any longer:

“Father, I implore that this cannot be done. How can the formal decree of the Grand Secretary and Central Cabinet be overturned without any concrete evidence? How can this calm the hearts of many officials in Anfeng Province? How can this pacify the hearts of the many ministers of the Cabinet?”

As soon as his words ended, other Cabinet ministers immediately stood in support.

These ministers, some were Eldest Prince’s people, and others belonged to the ‘Lu Family.’

The Emperor did not speak but quietly observed everyone making their points.

A moment later, Duan Qi, who had just come forward from Zhi Ge Pavilion, suddenly cried out loudly:

“Your Majesty, this humble servant has something to say!”

“Speak.”

The Emperor lifted his eyes.

Duan Qi said: “Both esteemed gentlemen said they do not want rewards and are willing to exchange these for a chance to revisit the case, but fundamentally, this does not make sense. Even though both are the ‘First Scholars of Qing,’ what merit have they shown to the country? To seek rewards before establishing any merit, this indeed is difficult for people to accept!”

The Crown Prince’s lips quivered slightly, ultimately choosing not to speak.

This merit was initially his, and he had already claimed it as his ‘duty,’ then strategically shifted it to seek rewards for the two paragons.

Now with how things had evolved, if he jumped out now saying this merit was his and he wished to exchange it for something,

it would be seen as leveraging merit for rewards, which differed in nature.

The Crown Prince understood the Emperor, he knew this was the last thing he liked!

The Emperor was generous to his ministers, but always strict with his own children.

If one were to put it in one sentence it would be, ‘I give you, then you can take. If I haven’t given, you cannot grab.’

“Additionally, Li Fei feels the results of the Feng Province investigation team were in error, he doesn’t believe nor accept the final verdict of the Central Cabinet. Then even if the case is retried, and someone else investigates to find the same results, would he be convinced?”

Duan Qi posed a new question.

Indeed, this was a problem.

If the case is revised and the findings are the same, would Li Fei be convinced?

Likely not.

Doesn’t this mean the case must be resolved in a way Li Fei believes to be correct for him to be convinced?

This statement was even more severe than what the Eldest Prince had said earlier!

Glancing at the silent Crown Prince, the Emperor looked at Duan Qi:

“What do you suggest then?”

Duan Qi clearly had a prepared response, and without hesitation, he said:

“This humble servant believes that if indeed anything is to be claimed for merit, merit must be established first! And if we wish for Li Fei to be fully convinced, he probably needs to be involved in the investigation from start to finish.

In that case, this humble servant does have a suggestion. Recently, the Daluo Sect lost an Elixir meant for Your Majesty; how about allowing Li Fei to investigate this case first. Firstly, if he can indeed retrieve the Elixir for Your Majesty, naturally he should be rewarded, and can use this merit to gain the qualifications to personally investigate the case of Shangguan Xiao.

Secondly, the disappearance of this Elixir has been troubling colleagues in Zhi Ge Pavilion for many days; if Li Fei can clarify this case, it would also prove his capability, and then allowing him to investigate Shangguan Xiao’s case would convince everyone.”

Hearing this suggestion, many ministers in attendance took a deep breath, secretly marveling at Duan Qi’s ruthless approach!

The case of Daluo Sect’s missing Elixir had been ongoing for a while, but those from Zhi Ge Pavilion responsible had not yet provided a concrete direction.

There was nothing bothersome about it; it was just too tricky!

Involved in it was the ancestral home of Taoism. Even though Zhi Ge Pavilion was known for “suppressing the major sects all over the World and ending the strife among Martial Artists,” it still didn’t dare to act rashly.

After all, seated in Daluo Sect were a True Monarch and a Martial Saint of the age!

Moreover, this incident had led to involvement with Pudu Temple, and now Buddhist clans were concocting Sha Qi for the Da Lan Dynasty.

This vortex was becoming bigger and bigger; who knew how many dangerous parties were involved?

Thus, the big shots of Zhi Ge Pavilion had been losing their hair over this case lately.

Now that Duan Qi was actually pushing the case onto Li Fei for investigation, it was clearly sending him to his death!

Many present realized that Duan Qi must be a man of the “Canglin Lu Family,” otherwise his tactics wouldn’t be so ruthless.

If Li Fei dared not accept it, all could be dropped and his chances of revisiting the case in the future, even if he really achieved something, would be slim.

If Li Fei did accept, then there was no need to say more. Duan Qi wasn’t worried at all that Li Fei could retrieve the Elixir because it was lost in the Daluo Sect!

The ancestral home of Taoism, swarming with countless experts, even containing a True Monarch and a Martial Saint,

who would dare to steal an Elixir from there? Moreover, an Elixir intended for the Emperor?

Even if someone dared to steal, looking all over the world, how many could possibly have such ability to steal an Elixir?

Thus, the more Li Fei sought to investigate the truth, the more he courted death!

Duan Qi’s move was both to resolve an imminent problem for the “Canglin Lu Family” and to rid Zhi Ge Pavilion of a hot potato, killing several birds with one stone.

The Crown Prince’s face abruptly changed!

He turned fiercely and gave Duan Qi a vicious look,

“Li Fei has never had such experience before, how can he dive directly into such an investigation?”

Duan Qi seemed unaffected by the Crown Prince’s glare, replying calmly,

“Li Fei’s records on the case of Shangguan Xiao also included his personnel information. Your humble servant saw that besides being a student at Wu’an University, he is also a secret inspector of Datong Prefecture’s Inspection General Office, with authority equivalent to a 9th grade official.

Having been appointed as a secret inspector and possessing 9th-grade authority, how could he lack investigative experience? Surely this unparalleled genius must also excel in this area!”

The Crown Prince was taken aback.

He too had read about Li Fei’s identity as a secret inspector when reviewing materials related to him.

However, compared to Li Fei’s ‘history-making’ talent and the Tao Foundation Stage Realm, this 9th-grade secret inspector position seemed insignificant.

He had not expected Duan Qi to play this card.

The Crown Prince looked at Li Fei with a severe expression and shook his head.

At this juncture, they could only let Li Fei decline the matter himself.

Atop the imperial steps, the Emperor listened to Duan Qi’s recommendation expressionlessly.

He looked at the equally expressionless Li Fei,

“Unexpectedly, you are already my subject. In that case, Li Fei, would you retrieve this Lifespan Extension Pill for me?”

“Father Emperor!”

The Crown Prince immediately wanted to speak.

But a look from the Emperor silenced him.

Silence fell like a chill!

Under the Emperor’s virtually concrete gaze, Li Fei slowly bowed,

“Your humble servant is willing to undertake this task!”

….

At 11:03 a.m., today’s court meeting concluded, and the court was dismissed.

Ministers trooped out of the Zhenlan Hall one after another.

Moments later, the Crown Prince, Li Fei, and Ming Qi walked out of the Great Hall together.

“Thank you for speaking up for me in the hall just now,”

Li Fei said sincerely as he bowed to Ming Qi after walking out of the Great Hall.

Compared to the Crown Prince’s intention to win him over, Ming Qi’s assistance seemed very pure.

And very precious.

“Amitabha.”

Ming Qi helped Li Fei up, showing a pure smile,

“The affection between Master Li and his teacher is touching. If his teacher indeed has grievances, this monk sincerely hopes you can vindicate him!”

“Thank you, Master, Li Fei will keep this in mind,”

Li Fei said, looking Ming Qi in the eye.

“Alas.”

The Crown Prince sighed, “Li Fei, you are too impulsive! Do you know how deep the waters of this Lifespan Extension Pill case are? This isn’t something you can handle!”

Li Fei turned and bowed to the Crown Prince,

“Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I still wish to try.”

He certainly knew how dangerous the case of the Lifespan Extension Pill was, but he accepted the case without hesitation anyway.

Because even if one day his power was enough to kill Xu Jing and wipe out the entire Lu Family,

unless he could overthrow the entire Da Lan Dynasty, he would never be able to vindicate Shangguan Xiao or clear Hao Yi’s name.

Both would forever carry infamy.

Another important reason was his dream.

This dream was both the opportunity and the driving force for his investigation.

It was highly likely that he had already been drawn into this incident. Rather than passively waiting for things to gradually unfold and finally lose all initiative,

it was better to proactively seek to understand and to fight for more advantageous leverage for himself!

Many ministers who left the Great Hall had diverse expressions, looking at Li Fei with complex eyes.

Li Fei had accepted the case of the missing Lifespan Extension Pill in the imperial assembly, and the Emperor’s edict had given him this opportunity to thoroughly investigate the matter at Daluo Sect.

In other words, Li Fei could now be considered an imperial envoy.

Either way, an 18-year-old imperial envoy, Li Fei had broken another historical record, adding another ‘first in recorded history’ to his name!

….

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