As soon as Li Tianyi finished speaking, a few eunuchs carried the brass lock over.
The expressions of the hundred guards who had yet to change their swords turned ugly. However, when they saw that it was Li Tianyi who gave the order, they held back their anger. Only Lin Ran’s eyes darkened as if he was thinking about something.
Liu Tao hurriedly stopped the young eunuch and asked with a smile, “Eunuch Li, these people have yet to change their swords. If His Majesty finds out and blames me, I won’t be able to bear the responsibility!”
Li Tianyi’s expression darkened. “What? You’re being inefficient, so naturally you are to blame. Do you want me to wait for you here?”
Liu Tao hurriedly shook his head. “No, no, that’s not what I mean! But Eunuch Li, changing the sword is His Majesty’s order…”
“Locking down the Hidden Sword Pavilion is also His Majesty’s order!”
Li Tianyi reprimanded coldly. Liu Tao immediately lowered his head, not daring to talk back.
Li Tianyi snorted and waved his tai chi whisk at the eunuches. “Lock it!”
“Wait!”
Someone sounded.
Li Tianyi was furious. His face turned cold as he wanted to see who was so bold as to stop him. He turned around and saw Lin Ran walking out of the line.
Seeing that face, Li Tianyi immediately recalled the night the assassination was attempted on the emperor. He was so frightened by Lin Ran that he knelt down uncontrollably and made a fool of himself. The anger in his heart immediately rose!
When everyone saw this, they couldn’t help but feel puzzled, not knowing why Li Tianyi got so angry just because he was interrupted.
Naturally, they didn’t know about the grudge between Lin Ran and Li Tianyi. Besides, although Lin Ran had saved the emperor a few days ago, he had just entered the palace, so very few people knew him.
However, when the guards saw that someone was standing up for them, they couldn’t help but look happy. They looked at Lin Ran with admiration and gratitude, but when they thought about how he interrupted Li Tianyi, worry appeared on their faces.
Liu Tao sensed that Li Tian was angry and quickly went forward to stop Lin Ran. He pretended to be angry and said, “Who are you?! How dare you shout?”
Lin Ran stood still and cupped his hands. “Greetings, Lord Liu! I’m the new commander of imperial guards, Lin Ran.”
“Who is Lin Ran? That name sounds familiar!”
“Don’t you know? A few days ago, he saved His Majesty. Now, he’s highly valued and trusted by His Majesty!”
“I remember now! No wonder he dared to talk back to Eunuch Li. It turns out that he has the emperor’s support!”
…
After Lin Ran introduced himself, the guards in the courtyard immediately started discussing.
Liu Tao was delighted inwardly. The commander of the imperial guards was a third-grade official, one grade higher than him. From Lin Ran’s attitude, it was obvious that he was here to go against Eunuch Li.
“So it’s Commander Lin. It’s an honor to meet you!”
Just as Liu Tao was thinking about how to complement Lin Ran, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. “It’s the first time I met Commander Lin. How did Commander Lin know my name?”
“Well…”
Lin Ran’s expression froze. He couldn’t possibly say that he was here just now, right?
Fortunately, Lin Ran was quick-witted. He smiled calmly. “Lord Liu is the deputy commander of the palace arsenal and controls all the weapons in the palace. As the commander of the guards, I’ve heard a lot about you, but I’ve been too busy with work to visit you.”
Lin Ran’s flattery was just right. Not only did he praise Liu Tao, but he also did not degrade himself.
Liu Tao naturally did not suspect anything else. He waved his hand and said politely, “Lord Lin, you’re being too serious. I’m just a fourth-grade official. I should be the one visiting you!”
“Ahem!”
Li Tianyong coughed a few times to interrupt the two of them. He asked coldly with an unfriendly expression, “Lord Liu, Commander Lin, if the two of you want to chat, please find another place. Don’t delay my task of closing the Hidden Sword Pavilion!”
Only then did Liu Tao remember Eunuch Li was also here. He looked down and realized that Lin Ran was using an old sword. He immediately had an idea.
“Eunuch Li.”
Liu Tao bowed with a smile and continued, “I don’t dare to waste your time, but Commander Lin is still using an old sword. Can you wait for a moment?”
Li Tianyi glanced at Lin Ran coldly. “I’m in charge of the palace affairs every day. How can I waste time here? Lock the door!”
“You can try!”
Lin Ran took a step forward and asked without looking back, “Lord Liu, what did His Majesty say?”
“Commander Lin, previously, His Majesty issued an order to upgrade the swords for the palace guards. Before noon, the guards have to have their new swords.”
“Midnight?”
Lin Ran muttered softly and looked up at the sky. “It’s about seven in the morning. It’s not time to lock the door yet. Lord Liu, continue with your task!”
Hearing this, Liu Tao’s heart skipped a beat.
Although there was no sundial here, he had been delayed by the Ten Miles Sword God for a while. He knew that it was definitely past noon, so he did not disobey Eunuch Li. He did not expect Lin Ran to mention the time!
As expected, as soon as Lin Ran finished speaking, Li Tianyi scolded angrily, “Nonsense! It’s clearly past noon.”
Lin Ran ignored him and continued to look at the sky. He said indifferently, “Is that so? I think it’s seven in the morning! Isn’t that so, Lord Liu?”
“Huh?”
Liu Tao stood rooted to the ground and did not dare to speak. If he said yes, he would inevitably offend Li Tianyi, but if he said no, he would offend Lin Ran. This was really a dilemma.
Fortunately, the two of them were already in a confrontation, so no one cared about Liu Tao’s answer.
Li Tian’s expression darkened. Although he wanted to cut Lin Ran into pieces, he didn’t dare to do so in public.
After a short moment of thought, Li Tianyi said, “Commander Lin, I’m under orders. If you’re displeased, I can get Lord Liu to change your sword. However, it’s already late. I hope Commander Lin won’t continue to stop me from locking the door.”
Everyone present could tell that Li Tianyi was using the emperor to suppress Lin Ran.
Lin Ran smiled and didn’t answer. Instead, he asked politely, “After hearing what Eunuch Li said, I just remembered that I haven’t paid my respects to His Majesty today. Where is His Majesty now?”
Li Tianyi didn’t know what Lin Ran wanted to do. He hesitated for a moment before replying, “His Majesty just had lunch and should be resting.”
“Thank you.”
Lin Ran bowed and looked at Liu Tao. “Lord Liu, wait here for a moment.”
With that, Lin Ran turned around and left.
Everyone was confused. They didn’t understand why Lin Ran suddenly backed down.
Li Tianyi was also puzzled, but he did not waste his time dwelling on it. His intuition told him that he could not let Lin Ran see the emperor. Otherwise, he would definitely be in trouble!