Chapter 14 Raising troops to investigate crimes
At dawn, three hundred fully armed soldiers filed out of the Privy Council, led by Bai Jin, and marched through the streets and alleys of Lin'an City, heading straight for the Tianji Pavilion. Seeing this, the people at the morning market all stepped back and looked at this aggressive team with awe and curiosity. This kind of scene has not appeared in the peaceful and harmonious Lin'an City for many years.

In front of the Tianji Pavilion, the eight Golden Sword Captains in charge of night watch were waiting for their shift change. A sleepless night had left them with some fatigue on their faces. This time of day was the most difficult and sleepy time for them. They leaned lazily on both sides of the porch, chatting with each other to barely lift their drowsy spirits.

Suddenly, a uniform sound of footsteps came from the distance on the street, instantly waking up the eight golden sword lieutenants. Hundreds of people marched in unison, and although the sound was not overwhelming, it was also very generous and powerful, with extraordinary momentum. As the footsteps got closer, the inexplicable sense of oppression became stronger, so much so that the eight golden sword lieutenants could vaguely feel that the ground under their feet seemed to be shaking slightly.

One of the young lieutenants stuck his head out and looked into the distance with a pair of curious eyes. It would have been fine if he hadn't looked, but he almost collapsed to the ground in fear when he saw it. He saw three hundred soldiers in armor and with steel swords on their waists approaching the Tianji Pavilion quickly, and they were right in front of him in a trance.

"Who are you?"

The lieutenants had long since shed their sleepiness and consciously stood in a row on the steps, blocking the gate of the Tianji Pavilion with their bodies. At the same time, the lieutenant commander had stepped forward, holding back the approaching soldiers with his sword, and shouted, "The Tianji Pavilion is a restricted area, no outsiders are allowed to approach!"

"How dare you!" Bai Jin, who was standing in front of the three hundred soldiers, shouted angrily, "You dare to stop the West Palace's Imperial Guard?"

"I don't care whether you are from the Imperial Guard or the Guard Battalion. No one is allowed to enter the Tianji Pavilion without the order of Tianji Marquis!" The captain commander had a stern face and showed no sign of weakness. At this moment, a captain behind him saw that the situation was not good and quickly ran back to the Tianji Pavilion. A moment later, more than a hundred golden sword captains rushed out of the gate and formed a confrontation with the troops led by Bai Jin.

"You guys think you can stop the West Palace Guards?"

Bai Jin sneered disdainfully. At the same time, three hundred soldiers shouted in unison and quickly took a step forward, with great momentum and intimidating momentum.

"Be bold!"

Qiu Han stepped out of the Tianji Pavilion with a cold look in his eyes. He stared at Bai Jin with a dagger-like gaze and said in a deep voice, "You again?"

"When you were obstructing the work of the West Palace in Tianxing Tower, you should have thought that sooner or later I would come to Tianji Pavilion to ask for clarification." Bai Jin retorted without any hesitation, "Please ask Marquis Tianji to come out and see me." Although Bai Jin used the word "please", there was no respect in his tone.

Qiu Han looked around at the soldiers of the Imperial Guard behind Bai Jin and said, "Do you think you can see the Marquis whenever you want? I advise you to disperse the soldiers quickly, or else don't blame me for not caring about my colleagues!"

Before Qiu Han finished speaking, more than a hundred golden sword captains had already drawn their swords and glared fiercely at the imperial guard battalion opposite, ready to charge at Qiu Han's command.

"What? You, just your small Tianji Pavilion, think you can rebel against Xifu?" Bai Jin snorted disdainfully. After that, he suddenly raised his right hand to the sky. Three hundred soldiers roared in unison, and then three hundred shining sharp knives were immediately revealed.

The two sides formed a standoff in front of the Tianji Pavilion. Qiu Han and Bai Jin each led a group of brave men and refused to give in to each other. The two of them took a step forward and glared at each other. They stood less than half a foot away from each other, so that the tips of their noses were almost touching. But even so, they still had no intention of making peace.

The atmosphere suddenly fell to the bottom, and the whole street was shrouded in a suffocating feeling of depression. The people who had gathered in the distance to watch the excitement also fled one after another. A gentle breeze blew away the last fallen leaf on the street. When the dust settled, the whole street was as quiet as death.

"If you don't let Tianji Hou come out, then we'll have to force our way in!" Bai Jin threatened.

“If you have the guts, just force your way in. If you want to walk into the Tianji Pavilion in a swagger, you’ll have to step over the dead bodies of me and the hundred brothers behind me first!” Qiu Han refused to give in.

Both groups were ready to go, and even their breathing became unusually heavy.

"presumptuous!"

Just when Bai Jin was about to give the order to force his way in, a cold shout suddenly came from the Tianji Pavilion, and then Zhao Yuan, accompanied by Liu Xunyi and Qin Wei, slowly walked out of the gate.

Zhao Yuan's face was as gloomy as water, and there was a hint of coldness in his eyes that made people dare not look him in the face. Even Bai Jin, who had been so arrogant just now, subconsciously took a half step back after seeing Zhao Yuan, and at the same time waved his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to put away their blades.

"Bai Jin, you are so brave? How dare you not kneel down and salute when you see Marquis Tianji?" Qin Wei shouted coldly.

The muscles on Bai Jin's face trembled slightly, and he took another half step back, kneeling on one knee, bowing his head and clasping his hands to Zhao Yuan, saying, "I pay my respects to Marquis Tianji!" As soon as Bai Jin knelt, the three hundred soldiers behind him also knelt down, saying in unison, "I pay my respects to Marquis Tianji."

Zhao Yuan did not ask for a waiver, but stared at Bai Jin, who was kneeling in front of him, with a meaningful look, and said without joy or anger: "Why are you leading the Imperial Guards to my Tianji Pavilion so early in the morning?"

"The last general..."

"Snapped!"

Without waiting for Bai Jin to answer, Zhao Yuan smashed the folding fan in his hand hard on Bai Jin's head, and immediately bright red blood flowed down Bai Jin's forehead.

This folding fan is extraordinary. It is made of a gold-wire fan leaf and fine iron ribs. Although it looks like a folding fan, it is actually a piece of iron. Even without applying much internal force, the force of the fan itself is enough to tear a person's skin apart.

"Bai Jin, you are so bold that you dare to bring people to break into Tianji Pavilion? And you dare to draw your weapons in broad daylight. Are you a rebel? Do you really think that no one can deal with you?" Zhao Yuan scolded again.

"I know..."

"Snapped!"

Without waiting for Bai Jin to open his mouth, Zhao Yuan hit him hard on the head with his backhand. This time, Bai Jin's head was bleeding profusely, and even his hair was soaked in blood and turned red. "What kind of place is Tianji Pavilion? You, a mere vice minister, dare to lead troops to force your way in. Do you still have me, the Marquis of Tianji, in your eyes? Do you still have the East Palace in your eyes? Do you still have the emperor in your eyes?" Zhao Yuan's voice was not loud, but his tone was frighteningly gloomy.

"Tianji Hou calm down, this humble general..."

"Snapped!"

Before Bai Jin finished speaking, Zhao Yuan hit him hard with the fan again. This time, Bai Jin's scalp and hair were curled up, revealing the scarlet flesh and the white skull. It was so horrifying that one could not bear to look at it.

Zhao Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief after hitting him three times. He slowly put away the blood-stained fan, pointed at Bai Jin and the three hundred soldiers behind him, and said expressionlessly: "Based on what happened today, I can make all of you lose your heads! But I don't think you are so brave. On whose orders did you dare to go wild in my Tianji Pavilion?"

"Marquis Tianji is indeed very imposing. He taught my subordinates a lesson in just a few moves and left them speechless. With such authority, let alone my small Privy Council, I think even if the current emperor came, he would not be taken seriously by you, right?"

Just as Zhao Yuan was interrogating Bai Jin, a sedan chair slowly came from the east side of the street. Before the sedan chair stopped, an old and hoarse voice echoed in the quiet street.

Hearing this, Zhao Yuan could not help but frown, while Bai Jin, on the other hand, was excited as if he had seen a savior. He did not even care about his own injuries, and turned around and knelt in front of the sedan chair, shouting loudly: "Your Highness, I am here to see you, Deputy Envoy!"

"It turns out to be Lord Qian, the Deputy Privy Councilor. Zhao Yuan is honored to meet you!" Zhao Yuan bowed slightly to the old man in the sedan chair with an unhappy look on his face.

Although Zhao Yuangui is a royal relative, he is only a "Marquis of Tianji" in title but not a real prince. In terms of official rank, he and the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council are both of the second rank. But in terms of actual power, Zhao Yuan, who is in charge of the Tianji Pavilion, is far inferior to the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council who holds the power of the military. Therefore, when he sees Lord Qian, Zhao Yuan has to be in awe.

"You are too polite, Marquis Tianji." The curtain of the sedan chair was slowly lifted, and the old man who had given the secret order to Bai Jin in the study of the Privy Council last night walked out of the sedan chair. He just casually greeted Zhao Yuan, but actually did not show any respect at all.

Zhao Yuan waved his hand to let Qiu Han and the other captains put away their swords. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "But I don't know what the battle today is..."

"It was the intention of the Privy Councilor." Lord Qian said slowly, "I came here to ask for an explanation from the Tianji Pavilion."

Zhao Yuan was stunned when he heard this, and said, "The three yamen of the Privy Council belong to the West Palace, and my Tianji Pavilion belongs to the East Palace, but I don't know what Lord Qian wants to tell me?"

Lord Qian glanced at Zhao Yuan and said slowly, "Marquis Tianji, don't tell me that you have no idea what happened in Tianxing Tower last night?"

"This……"

"It would be easy if you had no idea!" Without waiting for Zhao Yuan to answer, Lord Qian said, "Bai Jin, point out the rebels who appeared in Tianxing Tower yesterday. I want to take them back and punish them!"

Hearing Lord Qian's words, Bai Jin immediately agreed and pointed to Qiu Han opposite him first.

"Wait a minute!"

Zhao Yuan pushed Bai Jin aside without any hesitation and bowed to Lord Qian, saying, "Lord Qian, there was no rioting party in Tianxing Tower last night. The people below were just following my orders. If you want to ask anything, just ask me. Don't embarrass them."

"Well!" Lord Qian smiled coldly and nodded slowly. "Then I would like to ask Marquis Tianji, why did you send people to interfere with the affairs of my West Palace last night? Not only interfered, but even fought with the people of my West Palace with swords. Marquis Tianji should know that your Tianji Pavilion is just a martial arts pavilion under the East Palace. According to the rules, it is only responsible for the protection and accompaniment of the second-rank and above officials of the East Palace. What qualifications do you have to interfere in the affairs of the West Palace? Do you know how important what my West Palace did in Tianxing Tower last night was? Do you know how long it took my West Palace to secretly arrange for what happened last night, how much manpower, material resources and financial resources were mobilized, and how much thought was spent? Do you also know that your people rashly interfered in the affairs of Tianxing Tower, which delayed a major event related to the life and death of the court? It concerns the country, the safety of the court, and the national affairs. How much do you know?" Lord Qian became more and more angry as he spoke, so much so that by the end he was spitting all over the place, and he almost spit on Zhao Yuan's face.

Zhao Yuan listened silently to every word that Lord Qian said. Although he was extremely surprised in his heart, he still appeared calm and unperturbed on the surface.

"The Privy Councilor is extremely angry about this matter and has decided to report it to the Emperor." Lord Qian pointed at Zhao Yuan as he spoke, looking as angry as if he wanted to skin him alive. "Marquis Tianji, Marquis Tianji, your Tianji Pavilion is really more of a hindrance than a help. Do you know that you have caused such a horrible disaster this time?"

"This..." In fact, Zhao Yuan didn't know the whole story of this matter. He was just following the orders of the East Palace. Therefore, he was scolded by Lord Qian and even made a scene that threatened to alarm the emperor. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy and whispered, "I don't know about this matter..."

"You don't know?" Lord Qian snorted. "Today, I am already being polite by bringing three hundred people to ask you for an explanation. If I had reported this to the Emperor and made him furious, would there be more than three hundred people coming today? And they would not have been so polite to you, Tianji Pavilion? This time, Tianji Pavilion not only hindered the work of the West Palace, but also destroyed the painstaking plan that the court had been planning for a long time. I think even if the prime ministers under the Secretariat jointly guarantee you, I'm afraid they can't save you. Just now, Tianji Hou kept saying that he wanted to chop off Bai Jin's head, now I think you have to find a way to save your own head first."

Zhao Yuan was speechless after hearing what Lord Qian said. Qiu Han frowned slightly when he saw this. He immediately stepped forward and said, "I made the decision on my own. It has nothing to do with the Marquis and Tianji Pavilion. If you want to punish someone, punish me alone!"

Qiu Han’s words startled Zhao Yuan. He looked at Qiu Han with trembling eyes, as if he wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a long time, he couldn’t utter a word.

"Sir Qian is a dignified deputy envoy of the Privy Council. How can he stand on the street and yell like a street thug? It is really offensive and also hurts the reputation of the West Mansion! Haha..."

With a slightly teasing laugh, another sedan slowly approached from the west side of the street. When the person in the sedan appeared, the anxious Zhao Yuan and the tense people in Tianji Pavilion breathed a sigh of relief. The person was none other than the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Lord Jia, who was rescued from Yanmen Pass by Liu Xunyi and Qin Wei.

"Minister Jia..."

"Marquis Tianji, there is no need to say more." Without waiting for Zhao Yuan to explain, Lord Jia waved his hand confidently and said, "What he did in the West Palace concerns the country. Are the things I do in the East Palace just trivial? What happened last night in the Tianji Pavilion was carried out by the secret order of the Prime Minister, but the people from the three yamen of the West Palace were ignorant of the current situation and dared to go to Tianxing Tower to hinder the East Palace's work. Today, I came here to see who is so bold that he dared to bring troops to my East Palace to question me when he made a mistake."

……

(End of this chapter)