To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

The sergeant suddenly stopped pulling the rope in his hand, and used the torch to get close to Zong Yu's face to examine him carefully.

Although his face was covered in mud and he looked disheveled, the dark brocade with its subtle patterns and the white jade seal hanging at his waist clearly identified him as the Shaofu Ling, one of the Nine Ministers!

The squad leader and several armored soldiers looked at each other, their expressions incredibly varied.

Shao Fu Ling?

The dignified Junior Minister Zong Yu, instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, climbed the corner of the Marquis of Huguo's wall in the snow wearing a fox fur coat.

"Zong...Master Zong?"

The squad leader's Adam's apple bobbed. He sheathed his longsword and asked with a strange expression, "What kind of martial arts are you practicing here in the middle of the night, sir?"

Zong Yu felt as if his bones were falling apart, and the snow water flowing into his mouth tasted bitter and astringent.

Looking at the several lieutenant guards around him, he was so ashamed that he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground right then and there!

Shame!

This is utterly shameful!

"Get out of my way! All of you, get out of my way!"

Zong Yu pushed away the attendant who came to help him, clutched his aching waist and hip, and limped to his feet.

He dared not look the soldiers in the eye, and did not even bother to pick up his official hat that had fallen into the mud. With his head down and half of his face tightly covered by his sleeve, he stumbled and ran wildly toward the alley entrance.

"Back to the manor! Back to the manor now!"

Zong Yu's voice trembled as he climbed into the carriage and desperately urged the driver to crack the whip.

The carriage with its green canopy rushed into the street and disappeared into the night.

In the narrow alley, only five soldiers from the Lieutenant's Office remained standing.

The sergeant bent down, picked up the official hat from the mud puddle, looked up at the high wall, and after a long while, finally managed to utter a sentence:

"This is unbelievable... Tomorrow morning, Xianyang is going to be a lively place."

……

The next morning.

The wind stopped, and the snow gradually subsided.

As soon as the city gates of Xianyang opened, laborers clearing snow and early-morning merchants flooded the streets and alleys.

However, in less than half an hour, a message spread like wildfire throughout the entire city of Xianyang.

"Have you heard? Last night, in the latter half of the night, the brothers patrolling the Lieutenant's office caught a big thief in the east of the city!"

"What great thief? Now that the world is unified, where would a great thief come from under the emperor's nose?"

"You know nothing! This isn't an ordinary thief! It's Lord Lingzong of the Imperial Household Department!"

"Who? Lord Zong? He's in charge of the Imperial Treasury, his family is rolling in gold and silver, why would he become a thief?"

"Who said he went to steal money? Lord Zong braved the heavy snow last night and climbed over the back wall of Marquis Zhang, the Protector of the Nation! He was kicked off the ladder by the soldiers of the Lieutenant's Office on the spot, his face covered in mud, and his official hat was left in the alley!"

"Oh my! Climbing over Lord Zhang's wall? Does this old man perhaps have some kind of shady hobby?"

"You don't know! I heard that last night Lord Zong went to knock on the door, but Lord Zhang wouldn't see him. Lord Zong wasn't giving up, so he insisted on climbing over the wall to see if the Lord was asleep! Tsk tsk, the most honorable of the Nine Ministers, climbing over walls and peeking through windows, what kind of decorum is that!"

Teahouses, taverns, and markets were filled with the sounds of whispers and gossip.

The villagers, cracking roasted beans, listened with great interest, their faces beaming with delight.

Ordinary people love to see high-ranking officials make fools of themselves, let alone the incredible tale of a high-ranking official climbing over a wall in the middle of the night.

The study in a side hall of Xianyang Palace.

Ying Zheng had just finished reviewing several volumes of memorials and rubbed the corners of his eyes.

The eunuch Li tiptoed forward, replaced the teacup with a cup of hot tea, and his expression was somewhat strange. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to laugh but dared not.

Ying Zheng glanced at him, picked up his teacup, and said calmly, "What's wrong? Has any memorial been delivered from outside?"

Eunuch Li quickly bowed and lowered his voice, saying, "Your Majesty... it's not a memorial. It's a night patrol report sent by the Commandant's Office this morning, and... a joke that's been circulating all over the city."

"joke?"

Ying Zheng took a sip of hot tea. "Tell me about it."

Eunuch Li swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "Last night at three-quarters past midnight, the Minister of the Imperial Household, Lord Zongyu, went incognito to the Academy of Natural History to request an audience with the Marquis of Huguo. The Marquis of Huguo was already retired and did not receive him!"

After Lord Zong left... he went around to the alley on the east side of the Institute of Natural History, set up a half-finished wooden ladder to climb over the wall and spy, but was discovered on the spot by the night patrol guards, and fell into the snow pit!

The Lieutenant's patrol confiscated Lord Zong's lost official hat, and the man... fled back to his residence by carriage that very night.

"Pfft~"

Ying Zheng nearly spat out the mouthful of hot tea he was drinking.

He froze on the dragon throne, his fingers holding the teacup hanging in mid-air.

"Zongyu?"

Ying Zheng put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and chuckled, "He's a high-ranking official, one of the Nine Ministers, and has been in charge of the Imperial Treasury for many years... climbing over Zhang Fan's wall in the middle of the night?"

Eunuch Li bowed his head and said, "I have examined the official hat presented by the Commandant's Office. It is indeed the Liang crown of the Junior Treasurer!"

This morning, the Imperial Household Department sent a note saying that Lord Zong had caught a cold, his old illness had relapsed, and he was requesting three days of leave, closing his doors to visitors.

Ying Zheng snorted coldly, a sharp, profound glint flashing in his eyes.

"A cold? He's too ashamed to show his face."

Ying Zheng stood up, walked to the map and stood with his hands behind his back. "If the dignified Minister of the Imperial Household had not been extremely panicked, how could he have done such a despicable and absurd thing?"

Zhang Fan mobilized troops at the lieutenant's office, but before the commotion even got out of hand, Zong Yu was already terrified.

Ying Zheng turned around and waved to Eunuch Li: "Send someone to take that official hat back to Zong Yu's residence. Tell him to rest and recover from his 'cold'!"

"Yes, sir." Eunuch Li bowed, accepted the order, and withdrew.

……

The main hall of the Gewu Academy.

Zhang Fan sat on a cushioned armchair, holding a bowl of steaming mutton soup in his hand, enjoying it with freshly baked flatbread.

Luo Li and Luo Ying stood by her side, the two little maids with their eyes crinkled as they vividly recounted the rumors circulating in the marketplace.

"Young master, you didn't see the look on the gatekeeper's face when he returned!"

Luo Ying clapped her hands and laughed, "Everyone on the street is saying that the Young Master has gone mad. He tried to steal the secret mechanisms from our courtyard in the middle of the night, but ended up falling flat on his face!"

"What secret mechanism?"

The eldest son, Fusu, strode in from outside, still carrying the chill of the outside air. His expression was a mixture of amusement and helplessness: "Teacher, I overheard some gossip on the street and almost thought I'd misheard. Zongyu is a high-ranking official of the court, how could he have lost his mind like this?"

Zhang Fan swallowed the flatbread in his mouth, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and smiled: "He's not mentally unstable, he's just scared out of his wits."

Fusu took off his cloak and handed it to a servant, then sat down at the table, frowning as he asked, "Are you scared out of your wits? Just because we posted a notice about cracking down on organized crime in the East Market? It can't be that bad."

"The notice was just the beginning."

Zhang Fan picked up his teacup and rinsed his mouth. "Last night he even made up an excuse like 'moon viewing' to make sure he saw me!"

"If they can't see me, they'll even climb the wall!"