Chapter Sixty-One: Scholars Kill Without a Sword

Li Jinglong suddenly stood up and hurried down the drilling platform.

Reaching Chen Qia's side, he asked with a suspicious look, "Lord Chen, are you certain it is not him?"

Chen Qia shook his head, his face full of displeasure.

"Is the Duke of Liang questioning this official, a proud Junior Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and a third-rank senior official of the imperial court, of lying?"

Chen Kan also ran down the platform, though instead of questioning why Chen Qia was covering for him, he glared at Shi Wen and Xing Fang nearby and cursed angrily, "Are you all fucking blind? People are riding roughshod over us, and you're still kneeling? Are you cowards?"

As soon as Chen Kan finished speaking, Shi Wen and Xing Fang stood up with fierce expressions, each delivering a kick that sent the two Brocade Guard officers pinning Fang Xu flying far away.

"Audacious!"

Xu Yuan shouted in fury, and his thousand-man commander instantly drew his waist saber.

Shi Wen did not show weakness either. With a wave of his hand, his own Brocade Guard officers likewise drew their weapons, confronting Xu Yuan's subordinates.

"What do you think you're doing? Do you take me for a dead man?"

Furious, Li Jinglong kicked Li Yan right in the stomach, bending him double onto the ground, and roared, "Are you trying to start a rebellion?"

"Hmph, put down your weapons."

Xu Yuan let out an angry snort, raising his hand to signal his men to sheath their weapons.

He then knelt before Li Jinglong, cupped his fists, and said, "Forgive me, my lord."

Shi Wen also waved his hand, and his Brocade Guard officers instantly sheathed their blades.

Seeing this, Chen Kan had no choice but to drop to one knee and say, "My subordinates lacked discipline. Please punish me, my lord."

At that moment, Chen Qia walked over to Chen Kan, looking at him with an inscrutable smile.

He then turned to Li Jinglong and said, "Did the Duke of Liang invite me to the Brocade Guard tonight just to watch a grand spectacle of the Brocade Guard slaughtering each other?"

Chen Qia emphasized the words "invite" and "slaughtering each other" heavily.

Yet Chen Kan felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

So scholars really didn't need swords to kill people; a single tongue was worth a thousand armies. Truly terrifying.

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Qia spoke, Li Jinglong's face flushed as red as a pig's liver.

"Where is the Assistant Commander of the Southern Garrison? Take Li Yan into custody. I suspect tonight's affair was engineered by him. Investigate thoroughly what connection this Li Yan has with the deposed Prince of Jin."

Li Jinglong was genuinely enraged. Tonight, the Brocade Guard had completely lost face in front of Chen Qia.

Especially this Li Yan. Li Jinglong had originally planned in his heart that if Li Yan could really drag Chen Kan down into the mud, he wouldn't mind using Chen Kan as a scapegoat.

Weren't brothers meant to be used as scapegoats anyway?

Yet he had not expected Li Yan to be so utterly incompetent. Even a supposedly fatal trap had been reversed by Chen Kan, making him look like a fool in front of an outsider.

Since that was the case, since someone had to take the blame anyway, if you couldn't make Chen Kan take it, then you, Li Yan, can take the fall instead.

"My lord, I am wronged! My lord, spare my life!"

Li Yan panicked.

He could not comprehend how he had tried to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used as bait.

Not only had he failed to drag Chen Kan down, but he had ruined himself in the process.

What was happening?

Never mind Li Yan; even Chen Kan was completely bewildered right now.

He remembered not hiring any actors with his money recently.

"What are you standing there gawking for?"

Glaring at the timid Assistant Commander, Li Jinglong could not help kicking him in the rear as well.

Assistant Commander Lu Yang felt a sudden surge of grievance. After all, they were both fourth-rank officials; why should Li Jinglong be allowed to beat and scold him at will?

Yet he dared not disobey Li Jinglong's command.

Looking thoroughly aggrieved, he signaled two Brocade Guard officers to haul the paralyzed Li Yan to his feet and drag him toward the imperial prison.

"My lord, he is lying! He is lying! Your subordinate is wronged..."

At that moment, Li Yan began to struggle fiercely, casting a pleading look at Xu Yuan as he fought.

"Lord Xu, please help intercede for me! He is the one lying, I am wronged!"

Xu Yuan's face darkened instantly, and he silently turned his head away.

He chanted inwardly: "I hear nothing, I see nothing."

Seeing that Xu Yuan ignored him, Li Yan turned his venomous gaze toward Chen Kan and cursed viciously, "It was you! It must have been you! You bribed him, it has to be you! Chen Kan, you will die a horrific death! My lord, I am wronged, all of this is Chen Kan's doing..."

"Shut your damn mouth."

Lu Yang, already nursing his own grievances, grew furious as Li Yan kept shrieking, and struck him forcefully on the head. If it weren't for this bastard, he wouldn't have been kicked by Li Jinglong.

Hearing Li Yan's voice instantly cut short, Chen Kan shrank his neck instinctively.

When it came to ruthlessness, people of your own faction were always the most ruthless.

"My lord, what should we do next?"

Chen Kan raised his head, blinking his innocent eyes rapidly.

Li Jinglong flicked his sleeve with irritation and snapped, "How the hell should I know what to do?"

"And what about me? Can I go home, or should I continue staying in the imperial prison?"

Chen Qia spoke up as well, placing all the pressure squarely back on Li Jinglong.

Li Jinglong's face turned white with anger.

However, since Chen Qia was a senior third-rank court official after all, Li Jinglong forced himself to endure and said, "I must trouble Lord Chen to return to the imperial prison for one more night. I will write to the Commander-in-Chief immediately."

"Very well."

Chen Qia nodded, and without waiting for a Brocade Guard officer to lead the way, he strolled off toward the imperial prison on his own.

Just before leaving, however, he cast another unfathomable look at Chen Kan.

"Ah—"

Li Jinglong could not help letting out a long sigh toward the heavens.

Chen Kan seized the moment to deliver another subtle strike, asking, "My lord, do you still wish to find out who made a move against the third-rank official first?"

"Find my ass! I am going straight into the palace to see His Majesty. You keep these little bastards in line and make sure they don't cause any more trouble for me. If those officials run into any more trouble, I'll hold you accountable!"

"Yes, your subordinate guarantees completion of the mission."

Watching Li Jinglong storm off in a furious rage with his men toward the imperial palace, Chen Kan could not help letting out a sigh.

It was truly a stroke of immense fortune. Had Chen Qia not covered for him for some unknown reason, the one locked up in the imperial prison today would surely have been him.

Had that happened, though he didn't think Zhu Di would actually execute him, spending a considerable stint behind bars was guaranteed.

Having just emerged from that prison, Chen Kan really had no desire to go back in.

However, with Li Jinglong rushing into the palace to see the Emperor right now, would he even be able to get inside?

The answer was obvious: he wouldn't.

Because in less than a quarter of an hour, Li Jinglong came storming back to the Brocade Guard compound, looking utterly furious.

"My lord?"

Chen Kan stepped forward inquisitively, pretending to know nothing as he asked, "What did His Majesty say?"

Li Jinglong was so angry he almost spat a mouthful of blood right onto Chen Kan's face, snapping angrily, "Chen Kan, stop playing dumb with me!"

"What are you talking about, my lord? Your subordinate doesn't quite follow."

But Li Jinglong clearly had no mood to entertain Chen Kan at the moment. Glancing at him coldly, he strode past him toward the direction of the imperial prison.