Led by Ren Huaian, Fang Ling came to a big room in the front yard of the Ministry of Justice and saw a middle-aged man in his thirties. He had a mustache and wore a officer's uniform. He sat in front of the long office table.
As soon as Ren Huaian entered, he bowed respectfully and said, “Lord He, I’ve brought him.”
Lord He nodded and casually asked Fang Ling to sit down. Then he picked up a piece of paper and a pen and motioned Ren Huaian to hand them over. He said with a smile, "Young man, it's good to figure it out. As long as you write down this prescription, everything will be fine."
Fang Ling looked at the paper and pen that were handed over, but he didn’t immediately take them. He only lightly asked, “Official He, how much money did Yu give you?”
“You little brat...” Ren Huaian glared at him and immediately cursed.
Officer He waved his hand in a superior manner. “If you want to know, then I’ll tell you honestly, three hundred taels of sliver.”
Fang Ling said, “If that’s the case, can you give up if I give you a higher price?”
He smiled arrogantly. “Brat, you can’t do things just because you have money. Do you know what you lack? Status. Strength. Without these two conditions, no matter how much money you can give, no one will work for you. So, stop trying to play your little tricks.”
Fang Ling wasn’t angry. Instead, he calmly said, “It seems like you are more like a businessman. No wonder you opened a gambling house.”
Officer He's expression changed slightly when he heard that. He changed his friendly attitude and said coldly, "Young man, you know what you shouldn't know, but you probably don't know the consequences. I advise you to watch your mouth!"
Ren Huaian sneered and said, "Boy, our head is a sixth-class official. He can crush you a hundred times with one finger. Don't ask for trouble!"
Their arrogant attitude caused the atmosphere in the room to become heavy. Fang Ling’s expression did not change as he lightly smiled and said, “In that case, if I don’t hand over the prescription, the consequences will be disastrous.”
He looked at him with disdain and said, "Then let's get to the point. Originally, we just wanted to find the prescription, lock you up in prison for a few days, and teach you a lesson. But it seems that we didn't find the prescription, so we could only ask you. If you don't tell us, the prison of the Ministry of Justice is not a joke. I promise to answer whatever you are asked. I advise you to be obedient and not to cause such a situation!"
Fang Ling tranquilly replied, “Officer He is correct. There is no need to cause such a huge ruckus. It is better to peacefully settle this matter.”
"That's more like it. I like smart young people. However..." Officer He laughed out loud and said with a gloomy face, "I hope you can keep your mouth shut after you go out. If you dare to talk nonsense outside, the jail of the Ministry of Justice is waiting for you at any time!"
Fang Ling took the pen and paper slowly and said, "I can't write this prescription, so I'll give it to you." Then he took out the waist token from his arms and gently put it on the white paper.
“Kid, don’t play any tricks on me!” Ren Huaian laughed coldly as he grabbed the token, and his eyes instantly stared wide open while seeming as if they were embedded in his face, causing him to be unable to move in the slightest.
“What is it? What is this fuss about?” He Hong waved his hand wantonly.
Only then did Ren Huaian come to his senses. He ran over in a panic and handed the waist token to He Hong. He Hong's eyes suddenly widened as big as copper bells. He took a deep breath but couldn't breathe, and his lips trembled unconsciously.
The waist token in front of him was made of brass and was decorated with cloud patterns. There was a hole in the middle, and four words were carved horizontally above it: Ministry of Internal Order.
There were only eunuchs in the Ministry of Internal Order, and the level of the owner of this brass token was at the sixth-class.
In the Chu State, every official had a token to represent their status. As the officer of the sixth grade in the Ministry of Justice, He Hong naturally had a token as well, and it was also made of brass.
However, when these two waist tokens were placed side by side, even though they were of the same rank, their status were vastly different.
One was a small supervisor of the Ministry of Justice, who was outside the palace. When he saw an official who was a little higher than his rank, he had to bow respectfully and did not dare to overstep the etiquette of seniority.
As for sixth-ranked eunuchs, they were the representatives of sixth-ranked officials in the Ministry of Internal Order, and they held the position of Vice Attendant in the Ministry of Internal Order, second only to the Vice Governor and Chief Governor. That was to say, they were the third or fourth-ranked figures among the eunuchs. Let alone a mere sixth-ranked official, even a second or third-ranked official would have to be polite to them.
How could He Hong not know the weight of this waist token? He was scared out of his wits, but he was still holding onto a thread of hope that this waist token definitely wasn’t Fang Ling’s. After all, he was still young, so he gathered his courage and questioned, “This... where did you get this waist token from?”
Although his words were doubtful, he had no confidence at all. It was just that the eunuchs in the palace had entered the palace at a young age, so they were generally not too old. Those who were slightly older had already got an official position. If they wanted to do something out of the palace, they would naturally ask the little eunuch to do it. Was Fang Ling just a little eunuch?
Fang Ling looked at the changes in their expressions with interest and slowly said, “I thought that you are a smart person, but it seems you are still confused. Could it be that you believe that this prescription is mine?”
“Then... then whose is it?” stammered He Hong.
Fang Ling stood up from his chair, clasped his hands behind his back, and said, “This prescription was given to the Vice Attendant by a concubine, and then given to me by the Vice Attendant to earn money outside the palace. Now, Lord He wants to cut off the Vice Attendant’s income for the sake of a little money?”
Speaking of this, He Hong's forehead was covered with cold sweat. Ren Huaian seemed to have withered, without any prestige at all. Who would have thought that this prescription could even involve a concubine?
After all, even though the Empress controlled great authority in the Imperial harem, Emperor Chu doted greatly upon these Imperial Concubines. Moreover, every single one of these Imperial Concubines was from a great clan and possessed a great deal of power in the palace.
The prescription was given to the Vice Attendant by the concubine to make money. Although they had heard of bounties and silver rewards, they had never heard of prescription. However, since Yu Tiancheng wanted to get his, it was likely that it would earn a lot of money.
Not to mention that he cut off the Vice Attendant's way of making money, if the concubine said something about it to the emperor, the emperor would definitely think of it.
Thinking of this, He Hong even wanted to die. He cursed Yu Tiancheng's eight generations of ancestors and then came out in a panic. His legs went weak and he knelt down with a plop. When Ren Huaian saw his master like this, how could he still stand? He hurriedly knelt down and lowered his head, not daring to get up.
He Hong's face had long turned liver-colored, and he said in a trembling voice, "Eunuch... Eunuch, I really didn't know that there was such a connection behind the prescription. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to hurt you no matter how bold I was."
Fang Ling squinted his eyes as he calculated. Although He Hong was only a supervisor, he was still a member of the Ministry of Justice. If he could be used by Fang Ling, it might be somewhat convenient in the future. As such, Fang Ling casually inquired, “Then what do you think we should do now?”
He Hong hurriedly said when he saw there was a favorable turn in the situation, “I’ll send you out right now. Those 300 taels of silver can be considered as an apology to you.” After that, he suddenly waved his hand towards Ren Huaian and said, “Quickly, quickly give the banknote to him!”
Fang Ling did not refuse. Instead, he smiled slightly and helped him to his feet, saying, “If you are so tactful, then I will consider these three hundred taels of silver as a sign of filial piety to the Vice Attendant.”
“Right, right. Then I’ll prepare another three hundred taels of silver for you, Eunuch.” He Hong was delighted when he heard this and immediately had an idea. If he could use this chance to get into the good graces of Vice Attendant, wouldn’t promotion be just around the corner in the future?
When Fang Ling heard this, he knew that this fellow had earned quite a bit from opening a gambling den. However, he naturally kept the six hundred taels. If he did not, he would instead be suspected by this fellow. After all, there were many greedy eunuchs in the palace. The greedier a eunuch was, the less suspicion he would have about his identity.
Seeing Fang Ling accept the banknote, He Hong was relieved and said flatteringly, "Eunuch, I will send someone to bring back Yu Tiancheng. You can deal with him however you want."
Fang Ling waved his hand and said, "I don't care how you deal with Yu Tiancheng, but my identity must be kept secret. After all, it's not good to spread this matter."
He Hong’s heart felt even warmer when he heard this, and he hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, I understand.”
Fang Ling said, “That’s right, I will bring someone in the same prison with me out. Mr. He, you don’t need to see him off. Otherwise, others will suspect. I will visit you in the future when I have time.”
He Hong bowed and scraped as he gave orders to Ren Huaian to release her. He said respectfully, "I'll wait for your arrival at any time."
After Fang Ling and Imperial Physician Chen left, He Hong heaved a long sigh of relief. He thought to himself, "The ancestors have done good deeds. If this eunuch really gets angry, it will be difficult for me to keep my life."
Ren Huaian gave a thumbs-up. “Congratulations to you. You’ve turned the tides this time. If you can build a relationship with Vice Attendant, the higher position of Minister of Justice is just around the corner.”
He Hong laughed loudly as well, then his face darkened as he shouted, “Go call that damned Yu Tiancheng over. He nearly killed me this time, but he still says he’s just a young man. He really has dog eyes!”
Ren Huaian hurriedly said, "I'll go now!"
He Hong paused slightly and added, “Wait, bring more people with you. Bring him back from the store and make a big fuss. Only then will Fang be satisfied. As for the crime, it’s intended to bribe officials, but I refused it righteously!”
Ren Huaian raised his thumb again and praised, “You are truly brilliant. If this is the case, the common people will definitely praise you for being an upright and honest official.”
He Hong laughed loudly and proudly said, “Officialdom is just a business place. If you want to do business well, you naturally can’t lose money. Let’s take back the money we just lost from Yu Tiancheng.”
Ren Huaian chuckled and said, “I’ll carry it out immediately. I guarantee that both you and the Vice Attendant will be satisfied!”
Read all chapters free on Meganovel:https://m.meganovel.com/book_info/31000218135/Fantasy/Cultivation-Life-with-Alchemy
