Late Night Tales Of The Capital - Chapter 151
Chapter 151 You Need to Have Proof to Arrest Someone
“Court of Judicial Review is here for official work, and all people uninvolved stand to one side.”
The low and serious tone gave the speaker an air of authority. Dozens of his men stood at the doors with sabers hanging by their waists. From their official dress, however, they were evidently from two different departments. Most of them were obviously bailiffs from the Luoyang Court of Judicial Review, while the rest strangely seemed to be important personnel from the military department.
Since the past, civilians never fought with officials. Even though they might have their own ideas, and might not be willing to give way, not many of them had the guts to protest to the bailiffs. A passageway wide enough for two people to pass through quickly emerged from the path from the entrance of the seminary up to the platform. Everyone’s gaze was fixed outside the doors.
As the Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, He Fei actually did not wish to get involved in this troublesome matter.
The investigation of the Generals’ Manor could already be considered as having been concluded in private earlier on. One had to know that even with the old Emperor’s support, everyone was still wary when holding the investigation. It was easy to search and seize the manor, but there might be traps waiting for them there. Even though the 200 thousand strong Ye Army had left Luoyang, and the old General himself had passed on, there was no guarantee that some dead soldiers or disciples would be waiting for them.
The extermination of an entire clan had always been a taboo subject.
Unless there was a way to ensure that there would be no loose ends left, and that there would be any aftermath.
When the investigation had progressed to the halfway mark, news of the demise of the entire Ye Army in You Prefecture spread silently, and it was at this moment that He Fei regained his senses. He knew that the Emperor was trying to wipe out the entire Ye clan in one sweep.
“The old Ye Family is doomed!”
This was the first reaction He Fei had. Without even waiting for his superiors to pass down their instructions, the efficiency of the Court of Judicial Review’s investigation suddenly amplified. Overnight, the entire manor was searched cleanly, and everyone remaining in it was imprisoned in a huge dungeon. Even the young maids and attendants were not spared. The only person who managed to escape the dragnet was probably Xiao Huating; she was nowhere to be found even after a comprehensive search of the whole manor.
The maids who had served her before revealed after questioning that Xiao Huating had never appeared in the manor after Master Ye Yunhai went out on an expedition with the Ye Army. It was as if she had vanished.
In fact, there was something else that made He Fei somewhat suspicious. How could the established Ye Family, which had roamed the Tang Dynasty for dozens of years, not resist in the least bit when it was about to be destroyed? Their enemies had not even met with a respectable soldier, and it seemed to be even weaker than normal mercantile families.
It had nearly surrendered without even fighting.
“Could it be that the Sun is going to set in the West now?”
“How could a noble family respected by the court end up in such a bad state?”
“There wasn’t even a loyal soldier present to guard the manor!”
The Court of Judicial Review had nearly sent all of its officials to the General’s Manor, but upon arriving, they realized that they had overdone things.
The case looked to be closed, but both the old Emperor and the Court of Judicial Review knew that things were not as simple as they seemed. They did not even have to think hard to know that some survivor from the Ye Family would emerge to get their revenge.
If the survivors could stomach such grievance, then the soul of the Ye Family could really be considered as destroyed.
As such certain people were already marked by the old Emperor in his secret edict as Blood Colored Fugitives. The edict could not be revealed to public, but if they were to be discovered, they could be severely punished or even slain on the spot.
The list of fugitives included Xiao Huating, Ye Yunhai, the old generals of the Ye Army, and of course, Ye Que, the illegitimate son of the late general.
To the Court of Judicial Review, it was completely impossible to conceal Ye Que’s identity. It had originally predicted him to die in the Imperial Mausoleum, however, and none of its officials expected him to return to Luoyang.
The city guard had seen Ye Que’s official documents yesterday, but he did not act immediately because he had to seek confirmation on the information he had gathered. It reached the Court of Judicial Review only today, and it had been passed to He Fei.
He did not hesitate at all. He gathered his men and charged directly to search for Ye Que.
As for the men from the military department, most of them who were present at the seminary worked for the old Emperor and the Second Prince. They played a part in the destruction of the Ye Family and naturally felt nervous about Ye Que’s appearance. As such, they would definitely come to survey the situation.
The Court of Judicial Review had a portrait of Ye Que, therefore He Fei could immediately identify the youth on the platform with one look. With a wave of his hand, three bailiffs charged forward.
“Hold it.”
“What are you people doing?”
“This is the Divine Sect Seminary, and no one is allowed to do as he or she pleases here!”
Naturally, ordinary students of the seminary would not dare to defy the officials, but the official disciples would not simply stand and watch. They were once hooligans who lived off the streets, and they did not really fear bailiffs on duty at all.
Did it mean that a court handling an investigation did not have to play by the rules?
The three bailiffs were immediately stopped before Ye Que even spoke.
He Fei’s trusted lieutenants were handling a big investigation, and those that dared to step up to seize Ye Que had some skills.
The three bailiffs were of Rank 2 martial artist level, and they did not use any weapons, but their hands were moving. One of them immediately used a Dragon Claw Move to lock up the disciple blocking him, and he reached his foot out forward. The bailiff then channeled internal force throughout his entire body, intending to subdue the disciple in one move. Even though they were at the Divine Sect Seminary, and it seemed to be a place where martial arts were being taught, one look told them that they were surrounded by ordinary streets and shops. Whoever heard that real martial arts would be taught here. What a joke!
However, he no longer thought that this place was a joke in the next second.
First, his Dragon Claw completely missed its target, and his feet seemed to have struck a metallic object. Even his internal strength seemed to have instantly frozen up, and a strange aura was directly surging upward from his feet to his chest.
His throat felt a little warm.
The bailiff knew that he had met an expert, and his opponent was at least one rank higher than himself.
The same thing happened to the other two bailiffs. All of them suffered the same fate.
It would be a miracle if they did not. If Rank 2 martial artists could survive a fight against Pre-celestial Realm practitioners, it was because the practitioners let them have it easy. All of the official disciples who stood beside Ye Que were hooligans who had entered the Divine Sect when it was set up. They began training the earliest, and got the most resources. Naturally, they had achieved more. Currently, most of them had already entered into Pre-celestial Realm, and those that progressed the furthest, like Chu Dongnan, who had left Luoyang, were already quickly reaching Psychic Realm.
The Divine Sect cultivation technique created by Ye Que sounded very simple, and there were no unique parts to it when one began to learn it, but if one managed to calm oneself down and train hard, one would quickly realize its uniqueness. After all, it was a technique refined from the Divine Book, and there was no other technique that was a match for it.
Ye Que divided the technique he created into nine realms. The First Realm of the Divine Sect corresponded with the Pre-celestial Realm, and the second with the Post-celestial realm, followed by the third, which matched the Psychic Realm. Based on this calculation, Ye Que, who was currently at the Starburst Realm, had already mastered the Divine Sect Technique up till the fourth stage.
“Who dares to prevent the Court of Judicial Review from its investigation? Do you want to be locked up?” He Fei frowned and grunted coldly after seeing his trusted lieutenants losing.
“Doesn’t the Court of Judicial Review have to follow rules even when it’s investigating a case? Since you’re talking about an investigation, what is it all about? Do you have an arrest warrant? Did our Sect Leader kill anyone or commit arson? Do you have proof? Also, how can you prove your identity as a member of the Court? Where’s your waist token? We can’t allow you to bring him back with you just because of your words,” said someone called Lin Dashu. His name sounded as though he was honest and simple, but in reality, he was extremely devious and entered the Divine Sect a long time ago. He was also quick-witted, and as such, he was earmarked by Qian Shuxiao for extra cultivation. Last night, before leaving, he even mentioned about Lin to Ye Que.
“You have a sharp tongue,” said an important Military Department official standing behind He Fei in a low voice. “How can ordinary citizens like you ask us to prove our identities?”
“Do you wish to die?”
Perhaps it was due to the fact that the men from the Military Department were always treated with respect, even by veteran, fearsome generals and soldiers. They even nodded or bowed as a show of respect, so what more Lin Dashu, a mere seminary disciple, who dared to ask about their token and proof of identity?
Since when did the Court of Judicial Review allow the suspect to question them while carrying out an arrest with the Military Department?
They determined whether the suspects were guilty or not. Even after being imprisoned, they could still be judged as guilty.
“If you can’t prove your identity, you can never hope to arrest anyone here,” Lin Dashu replied, his expression having changed a little. He made a few hand signals behind his back before turning to glance at Ye Que.
“Impudence!”
“How could our official dress be fake? We have an esteemed guest from the Military Department, kneeled down, quickly!” He Fei chided as he took a step forward, his voice breaking while speaking.
“Who can prove that he’s from the Military Department? Also, who says official dresses can’t be counterfeited? We now have reason to suspect that you people held bailiffs from the Court of Judicial Review under hostage and seized official dresses from the court,” Lin Dashu said before looking around him and continuing in a loud voice, “Don’t you think so, everybody? They must be fake, since they cannot produce any waist token or proof of their identities. They would have been impersonating then, and what sort of penalty would a fake court official have? Death!”
Before Lin’s voice died down, the people around him have already started to reply.
“They don’t have any waist tokens or order tables. They must be fake.”
“Could they be bandits?”
“I wonder how many bailiffs and important officials must have been kidnapped to gather so many uniforms. This is really something!”
The sounds of discussion rose and fell, and very quickly, the great hall had turned as noisy as a market. The expressions of He Fei and the important Military Department officials had turned dark by now.
“Enough!”
He Fei suddenly roared. “This is my waist token. Take a good look and see if it belongs to the Court of Judicial Review?”
A purplish-black waist token shot through the air and hurtled toward Lin Dashu. He Fei had secretly infused a stream of chilly internal energy in it, but Lin Dashu acted as if it was no big deal. He reached out to receive the token with his hand before looking carefully up and down and on both sides of the token. After that, he even turned it upside down for further observation.
“Have you seen enough?” He Fei asked in a chilly voice. “Can I arrest my suspect now?”
Lin Dashu’s lips broke into a grin as he raised his head to look at He Fei. “I haven’t seen enough of it yet, and you can’t take your suspect as well.”
Seeing that He Fei’s expression was turning increasingly ugly, Lin Dashu further explained, “Wait a minute, I’ll get someone else to look at it.”
He even remembered to add salt to the other party’s wounds, “Sorry, I can’t read!”
“Can’t read?”
He Fei felt that he had been fooled. If he could not read, why did he want to examine the waist token? Was this person not out to fool him?
He Fei could not bear this anymore. He let out a breath of air angrily and roared, “Seize the suspect!”
Dozens of bailiffs from the Court of Judicial Review dashed out from behind him just as his voice rang out. 10 of them blocked Lin Dashu and the other official disciples, while the rest of them dashed in the direction of the platform. It looked as though they wanted to devour Ye Que alive.
At this moment, someone tapped He Fei’s shoulder lightly. A clear woman’s voice could be heard beside him, “Tell them to stop.”
“D*mn your ‘stop’.”
“Scram!”
