In the palace, Emperor Zhou listened to Fu An's report.
"Did you say that the kid burnt his cultivation level?" Emperor Zhou frowned and asked.
"That's right! The situation was critical at that time. If he hadn't brought Wu Lie along, he might have had a chance to escape. Bringing Wu Lie along consumed too much Qi and his stamina. He could only risk his life."
The Zhou Emperor muttered, "This brat is rather loyal. Regeneration of the body? Is this the ability he obtained from the Stellar Transposition? With such strength, he should have already condensed the Moon Palace. How long has it been since this brat obtained the secret manual? Such talent is truly terrifying."
The old eunuch at the side also had a solemn expression as he said, "Your Majesty, there are a hundred types of effects recorded about the Stellar Transposition. Some of them are terrifyingly powerful while some of their abilities are useless. However, no matter who it is, condensing the Moon Palace is an extremely difficult task. From this point of view, Su Wen's talent is truly formidable!"
"What a pity… what a pity! Fu'an, how could you let him drop a grade in his cultivation?" Emperor Zhou's tone seemed to be slightly blaming him.
"Your subject is guilty!"
Fu An immediately kowtowed.
"Forget it, I'll think of a way to make up for this cultivation. Men, summon Su Wen to the palace!"
At the prime minister's mansion, Su Wen heard Su Changqing's words and frowned.
"Old Su, I'm very disappointed in you. How can you be so inflexible? You clearly know that they are evil, but you turn a blind eye to them?" Su Wen shook his head and complained.
Su Changqing looked at him and said in a low voice, "It's not a family matter to govern a country. You can't be willful. The country has its laws and rules. I can't punish others because of a word from you. If today I can punish a bad person without evidence. Then tomorrow, there might be people who don't use evidence to punish ten thousand good people!"
"Even His Majesty can't say that he can kill a person and raid his house at will. Even if he is exempt from the laws, he has to place some crimes on his head. This is the reason. If you make judgements based on clouds and mist, wouldn't such a Great Zhou be even more terrifying?"
Su Changqing took a glance at Su Wen and said, "If you want to rule the world, you have to remain calm at all times. Don't let your anger get to your head. The matter of the Li Prefecture has passed, but it has not passed at the same time. You remember it, and I too remember it. Perhaps His Majesty will also remember it. There will be a day when he will settle the score."
As he spoke, he looked at Su Wen with a gratified expression and said, "I originally thought that you only had trickery but not hot-bloodedness. From the looks of it today, my son's hot-bloodedness is still there. Believe me, justice will come one day and those people will be punished."
"Hehe…" Su Wen looked at Su Changqing. This was the first time he disagreed with Su Changqing.
However, what he didn't agree with was Su Changqing's last sentence. As for having evidence, he was convinced by Su Changqing. He knew that he couldn't convince Su Changqing with just his mouth.
He turned and walked out the door, saying softly, "What's the use of belated justices? Those lives have already passed away. Countless people have sold themselves to become slaves. Every number in the memorial is a line of fresh lives, families that have been torn apart. And more people will continue to die. If your answer is only this, then I will find a way for myself."
Su Changqing shook his head as he watched Su Wen leave.
In the end, people's thoughts could not be completely the same. This fact had long been verified from his other two sons.
Su Wen had just left the Prime Minister's residence when he saw someone from the palace.
When the eunuch saw Su Wen, he was overjoyed. "Lord Su, I finally found you. His Majesty wants you to enter the palace. I didn't find you when I went to the residence just now. If I still can't find you here, I'm afraid His Majesty will be angry."
When Su Wen heard that the emperor was looking for him, he was elated. "That's great! I also want to look for His Majesty!"
Su Wen followed the eunuch into the palace.
Upon entering the hall, the Zhou Emperor smiled, "You brat, your performance this time was not bad. You have the most credit in exterminating the Moon Worship Sect!"
"Come, there's a bottle of Pure Yang Qi Nourishing Pills here. They're extremely precious. After you consume them, it won't take you more than ten days to half a month to recover your cultivation level. You might even improve further."
Emperor Zhou gave Su Wen a bottle of pills.
Then, he smirked as he commented, "Your martial arts talent is quite good. You managed to train the Stellar Transposition so quickly, having already formed your Moon Palace. This is something I didn't expect. Is your ability Body Regeneration?"
Upon hearing Emperor Zhou's question, Su Wen spoke in a half truth, "That's right. My ability is to recover from non absolute wounds. As long as I don't suffer any fatal injuries, I can use my True Qi to recover."
Emperor Zhou nodded in response.
Such an ability was already very scary.
"You may leave. Rest for a few days. In a few days, I'll find a new position for you. There's no need to go to the Profound Language Pavilion anymore."
Su Wen's performance was not bad, and Emperor Zhou generously forgave him for what he did previously.
However, Su Wen did not move even after he finished speaking. Emperor Zhou frowned. "Is there anything else?"
"Your servant requests to join the Secret Shadow Guards!"
Su Wen said in a solemn tone!
The Secret Shadow Guards had the power to supervise, imprison and interrogate. They wielded great authority!
Their main function was to monitor the officials of the Imperial Court!
As long as Su Wen could join the Secret Shadow Guard, he would have the power to investigate the matter in the Li Prefecture.
Emperor Zhou narrowed his eyes as faint wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. He began to ponder.
After a while, Emperor Zhou smiled and said, "It's not impossible for you to join the Secret Shadow Guard, but let's be clear. If you join the Secret Shadow Guard, your position in the Royal Court and Martial Inspectorate will be removed!"
"This subject is willing!" Su Wen did not hesitate.
"Alright, I'll write a note for you. Tomorrow, I'll report to Si Tu. However, if he doesn't want you, I can't do it either. You can only come back."
Su Wen raised his eyebrows. This Si Tu status was so special that even the emperor had no right to reject him?
Su Wen took the note and left.
Emperor Zhou tilted his head to look at the old eunuch and asked, "Why do you think this kid wants to join the Secret Shadow Guard? From the looks of it, he's not a greedy person."
The old eunuch shook his head. "This servant does not know."
Emperor Zhou tapped his fingers on the table and smiled. "Then tell me, will Si Tu want him?"
The old eunuch smiled and said, "If he were to approach Si Tu himself, he might not necessarily be accepted. However, since Your Majesty wrote a decree, even if Si Tu doesn't like him, he would probably just accept it after some difficulty. After all, Si Tu would never go against Your Majesty."
At this point, the old eunuch was a little curious. "Your Majesty, there have been countless people who want to join the Secret Shadow Guard recently. Your Majesty has rejected them, so why did you let Su Wen in?"
Emperor Zhou laughed and explained, "The Secret Shadow Guard has just been established. Although Si Tu's martial arts are high and he can be considered loyal, he is in the end still a person who rose up from the ranks of guards. Moreover, his style is not swift enough and his actions are too timid.
The Secret Shadow Guard is going to become a knife in my hands! Officials, even aristocratic families have to be afraid of them! Being a little domineering is a good thing. Right now, the Guard Corps is a little too rigid. Su Wen is used to being domineering. With such a huge authority in his hands, I don't even need to think hard to know that he will definitely let those guys know how powerful he is!"
"As for why I let him in, it's because although this kid is a little annoying occasionally, I still quite like him. He's an interesting little fellow!"