HBWnovel Chapter 153 Official Duties
Chapter 153 Official Duties
Chapter 153 Official Duties
"Dispatch Li Longyuan, the Bronze-Rank Constable of Tianmen South Prefecture, to be fully in charge of this case. He is to travel to Jiangxia immediately without fail. So be it!" After reading the imperial edict, Chief Steward Wang smiled and said to Lin Fei, "Your Highness, shall we receive the decree?"
Lin Fei accepted the imperial edict, but he was filled with doubt. According to Su Wuming, a group of military officers, including Su Wuming and Grand Marshal Lu Bing, had already submitted a memorial to Emperor Li Yu of Tang, hoping to formally recognize Lin Fei's identity.
However, the imperial decree that arrived instead ordered Lin Fei to go to Jiangxia to handle a thorny case.
They didn't mention a single word about Lin Fei's matter, or even about the Second Prince's residence being burned down last night.
Not only Lin Fei, but even Su Wuming couldn't figure out what Emperor Li Yu of Tang was doing.
"Chief Steward Wang," Su Wuming asked tentatively, "Does His Majesty have any other instructions?"
"That's all." Steward Wang looked at Su Wuming with a half-smile: "Does Lord Su have something else he wants to report to His Majesty? I can pass on the message for him."
Su Wuming seemed quite embarrassed: "Well, it's nothing."
"Then I'll take my leave. Officer Li, please prepare to head to Jiangxia!" After saying that, he said to Lin Fei with a hint of deeper meaning, "Officer Li, you don't need to think too much. As long as you do your job well, His Majesty will naturally take notice of your abilities."
After Steward Wang left, Su Wuming sighed, "It seems His Majesty has other plans! Getting His Majesty to express his opinion won't be so simple."
"Someone, bring me the files!" Su Wuming ordered, and immediately someone brought over the files related to Lin Fei's official business.
Tianmen Prefecture is responsible for managing all kinds of major cases and criminals in the martial arts world. If there are any cases that the local government cannot solve or any martial arts masters who commit crimes, they must all be reported to Tianmen Prefecture.
The case that Lin Fei was in charge of this time was sent from a small county in Jiangxia Prefecture.
In this county, many people have recently died mysteriously. The county magistrate could not find the murderer and was unable to handle the case, so he reported the case to Tianmen Prefecture and then to the imperial court through the post station, hoping that the court could send someone to the county as soon as possible.
The case file had been delivered several days ago, but because it was an unsolved case, with no one even identified as the murderer, Su Wuming had temporarily put it aside and ignored it.
It's important to understand that while Tianmen Prefecture is responsible for maintaining order throughout the Southern Tang Kingdom, its primary focus is on dealing with well-known figures in the martial arts world, and only secondarily on unsolved cases from other regions. It's common for headless cases like this, where no culprit has been identified, to remain unsolved for one or two months within Tianmen Prefecture.
"Long Yuan, what do you think?" Su Lie handed the dossier to Lin Fei and asked casually.
Lin Fei carefully examined the case file and said thoughtfully, "The moment the body was discovered, its internal organs were completely decomposed. Some people even saw it walking on the street, only to suddenly collapse, indicating that the body had been dead for more than a month. Such a method of murder is quite bizarre, resembling the style of some unorthodox sect. I wonder which one it belongs to?"
Seeing that Lin Fei was completely absorbed in the case files, Su Wuming couldn't help but say speechlessly, "I didn't ask you about the case details. I was asking about His Majesty's thoughts. What's your opinion?"
Such cases occur dozens, if not hundreds, throughout the country each year. As the Commander of Tianmen South Prefecture, Su Wuming naturally wouldn't take them too seriously. What he cared about more was Emperor Li Yu's attitude.
Their petition, ostensibly accusing lawbreakers, was actually a plea for Emperor Li Yu of Tang to acknowledge Lin Fei's identity. Leaving aside the position of crown prince, they certainly wanted the title of prince.
It was clear that Prime Minister Wang You and his group did not want Lin Fei to openly regain his status as a prince, so they submitted a memorial to make things difficult and try to muddy the waters.
Unexpectedly, Li Yu's imperial edict did not mention Lin Fei at all from beginning to end.
Lin Fei snapped out of his thoughts, thought for a moment, and then said, "Regardless of His Majesty's decision, I believe that completing this task first is of paramount importance."
Su Wuming nodded, clapped his hands, and laughed, "That's right! Responding to all changes with constancy is the mark of a great general! His Majesty is probably still hesitant. This mission might be a test for you. You must complete it flawlessly before the old Marquis can try to persuade him to stay on your side!"
Lin Fei didn't think that much about it; he just felt that this case was quite interesting.
Since joining the Heavenly Gate Prefecture, he had merely held a nominal position and had never had the opportunity to handle any official business. Now that he finally had a case, Lin Fei's hands were itching to get involved.
As for the position of crown prince, to be honest, Lin Fei wasn't very interested.
Although the Southern Tang Kingdom ruled over a vast territory, it was actually completely powerless against those powerful sects.
Neither the Jade Emperor Sect nor the Thunder Sound Temple were actually under the control of the Southern Tang Kingdom.
Lin Fei understood very clearly that in this world, one's own strength is paramount. Otherwise, no matter how prestigious one's status or position, others will not take them seriously.
Let alone the title of a mere prince, even Emperor Li Yu of Tang would be nothing compared to figures like the head of the Jade Emperor Sect and the abbot of Leiyin Temple. Conversely, although Su Lie was only a marquis, with his cultivation as a Celestial Master, he would receive the highest level of courtesy wherever he went.
Su Wuming pondered for a moment before saying, "Although your cultivation is quite good, you have little experience in handling cases. I'll send someone over to lend you a hand."
"Isn't that unnecessary?" Lin Fei seemed somewhat dismissive of Su Wuming's seriousness: "It's just a small case, I can handle it on my own. There's no need for the Admiral to send anyone else."
"What do you mean, 'not use'?" Su Wuming glared at Lin Fei. "Do you think this case is so easy to solve?"
Seeing Lin Fei's confusion, Su Wuming continued, "The case itself might not be too difficult. However, I'm afraid some people won't just stand by and watch you complete the task smoothly!"
Lin Fei thought for a moment and immediately understood what Su Wuming meant.
Whether it's the Second Prince, Prime Minister Wang You, or even the sorcerer He Feng from Changqing Temple whom he had met briefly last night, they probably wouldn't be happy to see him complete his mission smoothly.
Sending people to cause trouble is secondary; they might even send assassins to intercept and kill Lin Fei on his way, eliminating this threat forever.
"Go back and get ready." Su Wuming waved his hand. "I'll send a message to tell her to come back. Once she arrives, you can head to Jiangxia."