Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 32 Do you like her?

Inside the Jingbian Division compound.

Huang Yue clutched his throbbing right hand, wincing in pain, and looked at Lin Xuan with extreme shock.

He originally thought the two were evenly matched, but he didn't expect Lin Xuan's punch to be so domineering and fierce. His fist bones were probably already cracked.

Many of the banner officers looked at Lin Xuan with surprise in their eyes.

Lin Xuan and Huang Yue had both recently broken through to the eighth rank, but the power of his punch was far greater than Huang Yue's.

At this moment, a figure stepped into the courtyard and said calmly, "What's all this commotion?"

Everyone looked at the figure and clasped their hands in greeting: "Greetings, Lord Shen."

Despite the excruciating pain, Huang Yue scrambled to Shen Baihu's feet, pointed at Lin Xuan, and accused him: "Lord Baihu, I just found a woman who is suspected of being a Nanzhao spy. I brought her back to the office for questioning, but Lin Xuan and Zhang Hu not only obstructed me, but also attacked me. I suspect that Lin Xuan and Zhang Hu are also Nanzhao spies. I beg you, Lord Baihu, to investigate thoroughly!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding banner officers exchanged bewildered glances.

Lin Xiaoqi and Huang Yue had some personal grudges, so it was understandable that he would retaliate after gaining power.

But to accuse him of being a spy for the Nanzhao Kingdom is an accusation that is far too much. How can someone be so shameless?

Shen Qingya glanced at Lin Xuan and Zhang Hu, and asked calmly, "What explanation do you two have?"

Lin Xuan clasped his hands slightly and said, "Reporting to Commander Baihu, this young lady is my neighbor. She usually runs a stall in the city, selling pastries for a living. A few days ago, Huang Yue, under the guise of a monthly allowance, forced her to pay one tael of silver every month. After I stopped him, he held a grudge and then falsely accused her of being a spy for Nanzhao. This is clearly an abuse of power and personal revenge. Please, my lord, see the truth..."

"You are so slanderous!"

Huang Yue felt a little guilty and quickly said, "Sir, this woman's origins are unknown, and she deliberately rented a room next to the flag officer of Jingbian Division. Her behavior is suspicious. Lin Xuan is protecting this woman, and there must be something he's hiding. He clearly has something to hide. Sir, you should investigate thoroughly!"

Shen Qingya glanced at Huang Yue, and from his flickering eyes, he already guessed the answer.

However, Huang Yue was the first loyal dog he promoted after arriving at the Jingbian Division. Huang Yue's contribution was indispensable in his ability to so quickly sideline Deputy Commander Wu.

Lin Xuan was once a confidant of Deputy Commander Wu. This incident served as a good opportunity to reprimand him, both to appease Huang Yue and to make an example of him, letting others know who the real master was in the Jingbian Division.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke: "The Nanzhao spies have infiltrated the southwest on a large scale, causing huge losses to the court. It is the duty of the Jingbian Division to apprehend suspicious persons. Even if there is a misunderstanding, it should be handled according to the law and handed over to me for trial. Lin Xuan, as a banner officer, you should not question your colleague's handling of the case, let alone use such a ruthless method against your colleague in the office, in full view of everyone. This trend must not be allowed to continue..."

"As a banner officer, he knowingly broke the law and openly assaulted a colleague. The circumstances were egregious. If he is not severely punished, how can we convince the public?"

Shen Qingya's expression darkened slightly, and he spoke again: "Banner officer Zhang Hu roared in the office and attempted to attack a colleague. He is fined half a month's salary as a warning to others. As for Lin Xuan, he assaulted a colleague without cause. He is fined one month's salary and will be confined in the office for three days starting today. He is not allowed to leave during his confinement. Do you have any objections to this?"

Zhang Hu's eyes were bloodshot, and he wanted to say something more, but Lin Xuan stopped him with a look.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath, clasped his hands slightly, and said, "Yes."

Commander Shen was clearly biased towards Huang Yue, so there was no point in saying anything more.

Shen Qingya finally looked at A'Luo and said calmly, "As for this woman, remove her shackles first. After verifying her identity, if there are no problems, release her..."

Although Huang Yue felt that the punishment for Lin Xuan was too lenient and not enough to satisfy his anger, he was just saying it casually and did not really expect that Commander Shen would beat Lin Xuan into a secret spy of Nanzhao for his sake.

He bowed to Shen Qingya and said, "Thank you for upholding justice for me, sir!"

Then, he looked at the two flag officers behind him and urged, "What are you all standing there for? Didn't you hear what Lord Shen said? Lock Lin Xuan in the solitary confinement room!"

Just as the two flag officers were about to take action, a cold voice suddenly came from behind them.

"enough."

Everyone turned around and saw a woman holding a sword, leaning against a pillar.

Her face was stunningly beautiful, but it was expressionless, exuding a cold indifference that kept people at a distance.

It was Wenren Zongqi, who was not often seen at the Jingbian Division.

Wenren Yue, carrying her sword, slowly walked over from the corridor. She first went to A'Luo's side and said calmly, "Release her."

The two guards immediately looked at Commander Shen, who sighed softly and nodded slightly.

A border guard stepped forward and immediately removed A'Luo's shackles.

After breaking free of her shackles, A Luo immediately hid behind Lin Xuan, clutching his clothes, her beautiful eyes filled with terror.

Huang Yue stared blankly at the scene, then looked at Commander Shen and said, "Sir, this..."

Shen Qingya said calmly, "Shut up."

Huang Yue immediately shut his mouth and dared not speak.

Even if he were stupid, he could tell that Commander Shen was very wary of this Commander Wenren.

Wenren Yue glanced at Lin Xuan and Zhang Hu and said, "You two, come with me."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards a duty room.

Wenren Zongqi was Lin Xuan and Zhang Hu's superior. Upon seeing this, Lin Xuan took A Luo's hand and immediately followed.

After a moment of surprise, Zhang Hu quickly caught up.

Huang Yue stared blankly at the scene, muttering, "Lord Centurion, this..."

Shen Qingya waved his hand and said, "Since Commander Wenren has stepped in, let's just let this matter drop..."

After saying that, he left with his hands behind his back. Huang Yue stood there, looking down at his fist, which was still throbbing with pain, feeling extremely frustrated.

After all that fuss, was he the only one who suffered a loss?
Isn’t this just looking for fault?
……

Following Commander Wenren into her duty room, Lin Xuan released A Luo's hand, faced Wenren Yue's back, clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, Commander Wenren!"

Wenren Yue did not turn around, her tone calm: "You are my subordinates, you cannot be bullied like this in front of me."

She placed the sword in her hand on the table and said calmly, "Go back. Commander Shen will not make things difficult for you anymore."

Lin Xuan clasped his hands in thanks again: "Thank you, Commander Wenren. I will take my leave now."

Not long after the three left the duty room, a figure slowly walked in.

Shen Qingya rubbed his temples and said, "Cousin, in front of so many people, you have to give me some face. Otherwise, how will I manage my subordinates in the future?"

Wenren Yue said calmly, "That person's methods are too dirty; they disgust me."

Shen Qingya didn't continue the topic. He didn't really care whether Lin Xuan was punished or not. After a moment of silence, he spoke again and asked, "Cousin, can you tell me why Uncle asked us to come here this time?"

He was enjoying a comfortable life in the capital when suddenly he was sent to the southwestern border thousands of miles away, and he still doesn't know why.

Wenren Yue shook her head and said, "You don't need to ask me, I don't know either."

Shen Qingya stroked his chin and said, "Before I came here, I heard that the Zhao, Zhang, and Lin families had all sent their members to the southwest. In my opinion, the imperial court will definitely have some big plans for the southwest in the future..."

……

Inside the courtyard, Lin Xuan and A Luo had already returned home.

Zhang Hu looked at A Luo and asked with concern, "A Luo, were you frightened today?"

A Luo wiped her eyes and shook her head, saying, "I'm fine, but I almost caused Brother Zhang and Brother Lin to be punished. I'm really sorry..."

Chen Bao comforted her, saying, "Don't say that. We're the ones who dragged you into this. Huang Yue is after Lin Xuan. He used to work for Lin Xuan, and he was punished by Lin Xuan for accepting bribes. He must be holding a grudge..."

Zhang Hu gritted his teeth and said, "That damned Huang Yue, he rose to power by betraying Wu Baihu, he's a dog relying on his master's power, he better pray he doesn't fall into my hands!"

Then, he felt somewhat relieved: "Fortunately, Commander Wenren is a good person..."

After leaving the Jingbian Division, Lin Xuan remained silent.

After dinner, and after seeing off Zhang Hu, Chen Bao, and A Luo, he sat alone in his room, gazing at the flickering candlelight.

Lin Xuan didn't care much about Wu Baihu's loss of power.

He wasn't angry at all about being assigned to the most chaotic and impoverished district; in fact, he was secretly pleased.

But Huang Yue's use of such despicable means to treat A Luo crossed his bottom line.

This well-behaved and sensible girl was one of the few bright spots in his otherwise devastated life...

Under the heavy threat and pressure from Nanzhao, he didn't want to be promoted or get rich. He just wanted to lie low, develop his strength stealthily, find an opportunity to remove the Gu worms from his body, get rid of the man in black robes, leave Jingbian Division, and then live a peaceful life...

But even with such a small, not unreasonable request, some people still prevented him from having it.

Since you won't let him get better...

Then let's not have either!

Looking at the candlelight on the table, Lin Xuan gently tapped the tabletop with his index finger.

He and Huang Yue were both banner officers and could not do anything to each other, but Huang Yue had Shen Baihu as his backer, and he relied on his master's power, so Lin Xuan could not do anything to him and was at a complete disadvantage.

To deal with Huang Yue, we must first take down his backers.

However, it was clearly overestimating Lin Xuan's abilities to directly confront a centurion with a powerful background.

In the Jingbian Commandery, only Deputy Commander Wu is qualified to challenge Commander Shen.

Unfortunately, Deputy Commander Wu was completely sidelined by Commander Shen and had been deprived of his power. He didn't even go to the Jingbian Division anymore, which clearly meant he had admitted defeat.

Lin Xuan needs to think of a way to get him to stand up for himself.

As he pondered his plan, a slight sound came from behind him, followed by a familiar voice.

You were too impulsive today.

The man in the black robe still had a hoarse and aged voice.

Lin Xuan stood up, turned around, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to the man in black.

The man in black robes continued, "Acting on emotions is a cardinal sin for espionage. You shouldn't have attacked that man surnamed Huang. He has Shen Qingya protecting him, but who will protect you?"

Lin Xuan cursed inwardly, "I didn't want to be a spy either, didn't you force me to?"

He could only lower his head and say, "Your words are correct, sir."

The man in black robes looked at Lin Xuan, his sharp gaze beneath the hood seeming to pierce through his heart, and asked, "You wouldn't usually be so impulsive. Why did you act without considering the consequences this time? Could it be... that you like that girl?"

　A new week begins. I'm asking for more monthly votes to climb the rankings, and also for some short comments, even just a bunch of "short" comments would be great...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)