Li City, Flower House, Brocade Pavilion.
Li Bing downed his cup of wine in one gulp, then slammed the cup to the ground, shattering it into pieces. The two songstresses beside him were so frightened they immediately knelt and shakily started picking up the shards.
There were also two pale-faced young men sitting by Li Bing's side, both dressed in black brocade robes. They were his subordinates from Team B and Team C, Small Banner Officers Zhang Hu and Liu Wenjing.
"General Flag, calm down, calm down." Zhang Hu fetched another cup and placed it in front of Li Bing, filling it with wine, putting on a fawning smile.
Liu Wenjing also accompanied him with a smile: "Shen Hao, that turtle bastard, is basically not even human, arrogant and overbearing, thinks he's something just because he got lucky. If he keeps this up, he'll die fast."
Li Bing said nothing, downing seven or eight cups in a row before his expression eased a little.
"Fuck his mother! That little punk Shen Hao, I'll make sure he pays!"
"Yeah, that bastard has been flipping through our flag's files these past days. He's dead set on causing trouble. We can't let him go on like this, or there'll be serious trouble."
"No way, right? Sure, there's some problems in our files, but the connections involved run deep. Even Tang Qingyuan would have to think twice about coming after us, let alone Shen Hao, that newly appointed scum. I doubt he'd dare mess around."
"You can never tell. Some people lose their heads as soon as they get a taste of power. What if that bastard really is looking to die?"
Li Bing was both annoyed and angry. He'd served as General Flag in Li City for over seven years now. Maybe he wasn't a kingmaker, but wherever he went, he was respected—he didn't even put Tang Qingyuan in his eyes most of the time.
Over the years, Li Bing had made far more than the Court's meager salary—which he never cared for anyway. He was raking in hundreds, thousands of times that. He didn't lack elixir either. Honestly, among the entire Li City Guard Station, his days were the richest—Tang Qingyuan was nowhere close.
Once his cultivation rose further, he'd squeeze out Tang Qingyuan in one go. By then, Li City would be his to command. That's what Li Bing had always thought.
As for his reliance? Li Bing's reliance was himself, along with the sprawling web of over thirty Noble Offspring under his command.
Li Bing's father, Li Longcheng, was an outright Fifth-Grade Viscount. His grandfather and maternal grandfather were both nobles—an Eighth-Grade Viscount and a Seventh-Grade Viscount. His ancestors had been ennobled during the national war between the Jingjiu Dynasty and the Black Stone People, earning significant honors. His was an old and highly reputable noble family, through and through.
And the people Li Bing recruited were made up half by the Noble Offspring from each city in Li City's jurisdiction. Not all these Noble Offspring had their fathers' ability or skills—most were arrogant and incompetent, nothing unusual.
This is why the Jia Flag had earned the mocking nickname "young master soldiers," though behind this label there lurked a hidden web of power most people overlooked.
Just as Liu Wenjing had said, facing such a vast web of connections, even if Tang Qingyuan knew something was wrong, he wouldn't dare act rashly.
"We start tonight. I'll go home and have the old man spread the word. You two do the same. Best if we get a joint complaint and send it to the Thousand Households Station. If Tang Qingyuan turns a blind eye to Shen Hao, I refuse to believe Households Commander Jiang would put up with that bastard too!"
Li Bing still couldn't swallow this anger. Every time he recalled going to Tang Qingyuan's public office to complain, remembering Tang's mocking face, his chest felt like it would burst.
Can't wait any longer. He had to vent this anger now—or it would fester into an obsession, a knot in his heart.
"Alright, General Flag, don't worry. I'll coordinate with Liu Wenjing on this. We've got dozens of brothers in our flag, and everyone's got connections in Fengri City. Getting a joint complaint together isn't hard. Even getting it straight to Households Commander Jiang isn't difficult. Just wait and see."
"Yeah, yeah, just leave it to me and Brother Zhang. General Flag, just wait to see Shen Hao lose his head."
"Lose his head? That's too easy. I'll ruin him and then sell him to a brokerage to be handed over to those Foreign Race freaks, let him live in hell for life. Only then will my hatred be sated."
There were some things Li Bing didn't say out loud. Truthfully, he hated Tang Qingyuan—who shielded Shen Hao—even more than he hated Shen Hao himself. At least, that's how he saw it.
...
On the other side, in stark contrast to Li Bing and company's drunken revelry with song and wine, the public office region of the Xuanqing Guard Black Banner Battalion was still brightly lit.
Wang Jian, looking travel-worn, only returned from Yunyang after dark. He squatted by the wall, slurping a bowl of noodles, while Shen Hao sat in a chair, carefully reading the covert investigation transcript Wang Jian had brought back.
"Zhang Kui's actually the acting Deputy Chief Officer of Yunyang Government Office?!"
"Slurp! Yep. I went to Yunyang to see some of my friends. Turns out Zhang Kui's a big name there—no need for an investigation. After Lin Haokun was taken away, Zhang Kui was pushed up as the new 'parent official' in Yunyang. And unless something unexpected happens, the 'acting' title will be removed as soon as the end of this year."
Shen Hao gestured for Wang Jian to finish his noodles, then kept reading through the transcript.
The transcript was extremely detailed, and every single line was sourced clearly, so anyone could immediately find the person who spoke each line if they had to verify anything.
It showed that Zhang Kui had been County Magistrate of Yunyang City even before Lin Haokun's arrest—second-in-command. His family was hugely wealthy, and he descended from someone ennobled in the past; their status wasn't low.
Zhang Kui had always resented Lin Haokun, thought Lin Haokun had no background or ability but was placed above him. They'd had fierce arguments in public many times over the years.
Lin Haokun had repeatedly tried to get rid of Zhang Kui, but Zhang Kui used his own connections to make it impossible for Lin Haokun to move him.
According to one of Wang Jian's friends, Zhang Kui once, after drinking, even swore to wipe out Lin Haokun's entire family.
Apart from Zhang Kui, Lin Haokun barely had any enemies in his circle, and his reputation in Yunyang was actually decent. Maybe he wasn't especially talented, but he wasn't mediocre either—he had some skills.
At the end, the transcript even included a portrait of the main figure, Zhang Kui—he looked about fifty, square-faced, high-bridged nose, long beard, a pretty tough presence.
Shen Hao had just reached the portrait when Wang Jian finished his noodles nearby.
"General Flag, don't you think this Zhang Kui's face looks familiar?"
"Hmm? Now that you mention it, there is something familiar. But I don't remember ever seeing him in person."
"Remember Zhang Hu, the Small Banner Officer of Team B under Jia Flag? Zhang Hu is Zhang Kui's own son. No wonder you think Zhang Kui looks familiar."
"Zhang Hu and Zhang Kui are father and son? Interesting." Shen Hao hadn't expected yet another layer to this web of connections.
Wang Jian wiped his mouth, excitement in his voice: "General Flag, Zhang Kui had motive and means to frame Lin Haokun. I think we can dig deeper into the details of this case."
"No rush. Your transcript's detailed, but it's not enough—we need concrete proof. For example, if Zhang Kui wanted Li Bing to help him frame Lin Haokun by leveraging his son, he'd have to pay a steep price. That means there must be deals involving money and authority—these are easier to trace. Keep following this line quietly. Don't alert anyone just yet."