Ruffian 018

Looking at his grandson who threw himself into his arms, Wang Shi'an murmured, "You won this bet."

News of the turmoil in the capital was blocked for a month. It was only a month later that the news spread out, accompanied by the announcement of the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

Everyone who knew Fang Zhiyi felt their hearts tighten. They didn't know exactly what had happened. The Heaven-Shrouding Guards frequently tried to enter the capital to gather intelligence, but their intelligence network had been cut off as well.

The most crucial point was that Fang Zhiyi had not returned.

Instead, several eunuchs arrived bearing the new emperor's imperial decree, summoning Zuo Qianqiu and others to the capital to seek an audience with His Majesty. When they arrived in the capital, they discovered that besides the leaders of the Heaven-Shrouding Guards, many martial artists from the Jianghu had also been summoned by the decree.

Everyone was utterly bewildered.

That was until they saw the familiar figure standing beside the little emperor.

"Teacher, are they the martial arts experts?" the little emperor asked, his face full of curiosity.

Fang Zhiyi smiled and said, "Yes, every single one of them is an expert. Do you want to learn martial arts?"

The little emperor nodded repeatedly.

"You may."

News that shook the Jianghu spread once again. The imperial court had established a special agency named the Martial Virtue Department. The Heaven-Shrouding Guards were placed under its jurisdiction. In addition, the founding members of the Martial Virtue Department were all concurrently held by the sect leaders or elders of the major martial arts sects.

Simply put, these sects had secured permanent government positions.

Some cursed them for surrendering to the court, but even more people were calculating the future landscape of the Jianghu.

Following the establishment of the Martial Virtue Department, the public security management law for the Jianghu was freshly introduced. It was said that this law was named by Fang Zhiyi, discussed by representatives of the major sects, and finally approved by Qijue.

It explicitly stated that in the future, if vendettas occurred in the Jianghu, the Martial Virtue Department would have the absolute right to investigate. Such violations included, but were not limited to, brawls, frictions between sects, and murder for treasure.

At the same time, the Martial Virtue Department announced to the world that all old, accumulated cases related to the Jianghu would be thoroughly investigated. They encouraged commoners to file lawsuits, striving to create a fair and just order in the martial world.

Initially, some people did not take it seriously, but as soon as they committed a crime, they felt the pressure. Almost all the major sects issued arrest warrants. Combined with the pervasive reach of the Heaven-Shrouding Guards, the offenders were apprehended before they could even remain at large for three days.

Along with changes in some of the court's policies, many preferential policies for martial artists emerged. Many sect disciples chose to join the army, and some even entered the official system through special recruitment. With this step taken, the chaotic order gradually stabilized, and in Western Shu, there was no longer a distinction between the imperial court and the Jianghu.

"My Lord." Someone hurriedly found Fang Zhiyi holding a petition stamped with dozens of bloody handprints. Fang Zhiyi was currently supervising the miserable-looking little emperor reciting his texts. Hearing the voice, he turned to look at his subordinate, whose face was full of excitement.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." The subordinate bowed to the little emperor. The little emperor returned the greeting, "Master." He had never expected that just because he said he wanted to learn, Fang Zhiyi would arrange over a dozen masters for him, nearly torturing him to death. Yet, his grandfather thought it was great, believing that as an emperor, he needed some means of self-defense.

"Dozens of commoners are suing Jiang Gucheng of the Jiang family in Jiangnan for indiscriminately killing innocents!"

Fang Zhiyi smiled. He had finally waited for this.

The Jiang family had a sharp sense of danger and had locked Jiang Gucheng securely at home, thinking that the matter would just blow over like this?

"I will handle this case personally." Fang Zhiyi took the petition.

"This world is too strange. How did everyone become the court's running dogs?" Jiang Xue snorted angrily.

Xiao Yidan comforted her, "I heard that Fang Zhiyi is quite ruthless. He won over many sect leaders and even pulled Qijue into that so-called Martial Virtue Department. But it's none of our business."

"We sons and daughters of the Jianghu are meant to settle our gratitude and grudges freely. Why do they need to meddle in our affairs?" As Jiang Xue was speaking, Jiang Gucheng's agonizing screams came from the backyard.

"My brother is having another episode." Jiang Xue closed her eyes in some pain.

After a good while, the commotion in the backyard ceased, and several people walked out carrying two corpses.

Seeing Meng Xiaodie, Jiang Xue hurried forward. "Sister-in-law, how is my brother?"

Meng Xiaodie smiled and rubbed her head. "He fell asleep. It's fine. Your father found a new miracle doctor for him, who will arrive this afternoon."

Jiang Xue looked at the two dead people; one was a maid, and the other was a middle-aged man. She frowned slightly. "What a bullshit doctor, bah!" She was very angry because recently her father had forbidden her from going out as well, saying that the situation outside was delicate.

Jiang Xue simply didn't understand. The Jiang family was large and powerful; how could a delicate situation affect their own family?

Even those major sects were exceedingly respectful when they came to celebrate her father's birthday every year. Could a mere Martial Virtue Department scare her father that much?

She was just about to speak when a commotion erupted in the front yard.

A servant came running in a hurry. "Miss, Miss Meng, you two need to take the young master and leave immediately!"

Jiang Xue was confused. "Why?"

"Those peasants sued our young master, and the court has sent people to arrest him!"

Jiang Xue was instantly furious. "Who gave them the nerve! Don't they know this is the Jiang family?"

Fortunately, Meng Xiaodie was worried about Jiang Gucheng's condition. After much persuasion, Jiang Xue finally agreed to take her brother away first.

"Great Hero Jiang, your son has committed the crime of murder multiple times. You aren't going to harbor him, are you?" The person who came was the eldest disciple of the Lingshan Sect, wearing the uniform of the Martial Virtue Department with a token hanging at his waist.

Although Jiang Jun was displeased, as an experienced veteran of the Jianghu, he knew that the Martial Virtue Department was currently very powerful, and he could not confront them head-on. "My Lord, my son is ill, as everyone in the martial world knows. He has been at home and hasn't stepped out the door. This must be a false accusation by someone."

"Whether it's a false accusation or not, we will know once we interrogate him. Hand him over."

"This..."

Seeing the butler winking at him, Jiang Jun immediately changed his attitude. "Go ahead and search, but don't think you can just search my, Jiang Jun's, residence today and leave it at that!"

"Oh? Is there a problem with us handling a case?"

"The old Prime Minister is an old acquaintance of mine, and the Governor-General of Jiangnan is also an old friend. Boy, even your master has to call me senior when he sees me. Don't be too arrogant." Jiang Jun was already harboring some anger, and at this moment, he toughened his stance.

So what if it was the imperial court? Didn't he have a background in the court as well? He really didn't believe that a mere Martial Virtue Department would dare to challenge the Jiang family.

"Are you comparing backgrounds with me?"

Only then did Jiang Jun realize that the person speaking to him was the one standing behind the eldest disciple of the Lingshan Sect.

He didn't recognize this person, but he still maintained the demeanor of an expert. "What if I am? My Jiang family has never meddled in Jianghu affairs. I ask myself and believe I have done right by the court and my friends in the martial world. If your Martial Virtue Department throws its weight around to bully people, I, Jiang Jun, will definitely not let this go!"

The man laughed. "Your background is just the Jiang family as a local power, a retired old Prime Minister, and a Governor-General of Jiangnan, right?" He slowly walked to the front of the crowd and gave a toothy smile. "I'm so scared. You have people above you. But, there is no one above me anymore."