Under the icy gaze from within the carriage, Rong Juan remained rooted to the spot.
The subordinate snapped out of his daze, looking at the person before him with a mix of awe and avoidance for the first time.
This guy must have eaten a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall to be this bold!
Could it be that when he fainted from the horse scare last time, he damaged his brain and developed madness?
Rong Juan shamelessly repeated, “I, Song, am willing to bow to you as my Godfather.”
System: [Little Rong, I’m seriously going to curl my toes.]
Like, excavating a hanging garden with my toes.
“Suit yourself, just don’t dig around in my cerebral cortex.”
Finally, a voice came from inside the carriage.
“You want to acknowledge a father?” The man’s tone wasn’t heavy, yet it made everyone, including his subordinate, feel a sudden palpitation of fear.
Rong Juan was no exception.
This sense of oppression stemmed not only from the aura of a superior but also from martial prowess.
Throughout his years of transmigration, Rong Juan had encountered plenty of martial arts masters who could fly over eaves and walk on walls.
With internal energy leaking out like this, this person’s strength was definitely extraordinary. It further confirmed just how fake that so-called “internal injury” was.
The force of that pressure seemed directed solely at him. If he tried to keep his back straight the whole time, he’d probably grit his teeth into dust.
But bending down would be practically kneeling for real.
A man has gold beneath his knees; he cannot kneel, but he can do a backbend.
Rong Juan had the System help him preemptively, making a move to bend his spine in the opposite direction: “Yes, Godfather!”
The Chief Superintendent was slightly taken aback.
He had seen all sorts of people, but never one with bones this soft.
A moment later, the curtain fell back into place, and an indifferent voice came from within: “Last time was an accident; no need to take it to heart.”
Someone’s “heroic feat” of acknowledging a father was ruthlessly rejected. The carriage wheels began to turn as they continued on their way.
The commoners watching from afar, confirming the Superintendent Bureau’s carriage had gone, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Rong Juan, who appeared unsteady on his feet and weak, they all rushed to spread the news, eager to share this explosive gossip.
Some who had just arrived didn’t understand what was going on and only caught the tail end of the scene.
“Who was that just now?”
“The Prime Minister’s son. He actually—right in the street—”
…
Inside the carriage.
With a flash of snow-white light, the subordinate sheathed his sword and sat down.
“Does this subordinate need to handle it?” He was referring to the people on the street.
Even though it had caused a huge stir, they had ways to suppress the news.
The Superintendent Bureau was divided into four branches with different functions and levels of authority. His position was middling, but because he was deeply trusted by the Chief Superintendent, this man named Bu San held significant influence in daily affairs.
Bu San chuckled, “You just publicly stated you wouldn’t pursue the horse-startling incident. If Prime Minister Rong still packages his son off to Grand Tutor Su’s place, the Emperor will definitely become suspicious.”
In officialdom, forming cliques for private gain was the biggest taboo.
He didn’t forget to mock Rong Juan’s cowardice: “Look at how scared that kid was, acknowledging a thief as his father right in the street.”
The Chief Superintendent glanced at him quietly.
“Acknowledging a father as a thief…”
Bu San came from a martial background and had a limited vocabulary. He eventually gave up on correcting himself and stiffly changed the subject: “The kid has good luck, though. He stumbled into giving everyone a way out.”
He carefully gauged the Chief Superintendent’s meaning. “But he’s still a variable. Should I go give him another warning?”
He received a cold response.
“No need. He’ll be dead soon.”
Bu San was stunned. He instinctively looked back through the window and noticed a suspicious figure following the young man, clearly someone with bad intentions.
“If not for the horse incident, Prime Minister Rong originally intended for his other son to marry the Su family daughter,” the Chief Superintendent said expressionlessly. “Now that the groom has changed, someone is bound to be unwilling.”
For example, the current mistress of the Prime Minister’s residence.
Bu San understood immediately and felt happy to see it happen.
Outside the carriage, the sneaky shadow continued to follow carefully.
Up ahead, Rong Juan stopped and started as he walked.
After nearly doing a backbend to bow to his “father,” he was out of breath and too tired to walk back to the manor. He decided to find a place to sleep quietly.
When the waiter at the restaurant saw him, his eyes nearly popped out. “Young… Young Master Rong!”
Seeing such a huge reaction and noticing the massive restaurant didn’t even have a sign, Rong Juan immediately realized something. “Is this the place whose memorial archway I smashed?”
“…Signboard.”
Before the waiter could finish correcting him, Rong Juan grandly declared, “Give me your best private room.”
The waiter forced a smile and led him to a large private room with a soft couch on the top floor. The window faced the Qin River, keeping it cool even in summer.
As soon as he entered, Rong Juan kicked off his shoes and lay down on his side.
He had been forcibly woken up this morning and tossed around until nearly noon. Once the news of his public apology reached the manor, he wouldn’t get a good sleep tonight either.
Covering his stomach, he uttered that classic line: “I won’t be disturbed sleeping here.”
Having used too much energy earlier to gather information while out of body, he withdrew, and the System also went into standby mode: [zZZ~]
Breathing in the room became even. After an unknown amount of time, a figure clumsily climbed in through the window.
Seeing Rong Juan lying defenseless on his back, the intruder smiled viciously and prepared to put poison in the tea.
“If you want to blame someone, blame your own bad luck. When you get to the underworld, remember to report the Prime Minister’s wife’s name.”
The Right Prime Minister wanted to dispel the Emperor’s suspicions by marrying into the Su family, which also served to make up for some of his guilt toward his first wife. But his current wife wasn’t willing. With the Su family as a backer, who knew if this brat would stir up trouble in the future?
Just as the intruder approached the round table, Rong Juan, who had been fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
In standby mode, the System activated self-defense protocols. If a living creature approached within three meters, it would trigger an automatic alert.
The intruder was startled and quickly hid behind the screen.
Rong Juan only saw a few buzzing mosquitoes. Ignoring them, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
A few minutes later, confirming the target was asleep, the person behind the screen carefully emerged.
He took a small step, and whoosh—Rong Juan opened his eyes again.
The intruder hastily retreated!
Over the next while, the intruder repeated the process: advance, retreat, advance, retreat… His patience was nearing collapse, and he considered just strangling the guy.
But he wasn’t a professional assassin.
The Prime Minister’s childhood sweetheart was even more cunning than her husband when it came to these matters. She understood that hiring an actual assassin could easily link her to the crime.
Therefore, she directed someone to find the husband of the woman who had been harassed, offering him a substantial profit. That way, even if the crime was uncovered, everyone would assume it was just a personal vendetta.
The killer was stuck in a dilemma, and Rong Juan wasn’t in a great mood either. He regretted choosing this place; being near the river in summer meant lots of mosquitoes.
“I’m still too diligent.”
He’d rather be woken up repeatedly than get up once to swat mosquitoes and close the window.
Finally, he decided to close the window. As he got up, the wind blew in a strange scent.
Rong Juan narrowed his eyes, gradually locking onto the screen.
The intruder seemed to realize he’d been discovered and was terrified. If he failed, not only would he not get a single copper coin, but he’d also end up in prison.
In that split second, he had a brainstorm!
First, he casually tossed the poison out the window into the river, then actively jumped out from behind the screen.
“Help! Help me—” He shouted twice, then picked up a vase and smashed it directly onto his own head.
The entire sequence was executed in one smooth motion.
Under normal circumstances, a useless young master would be scared into fleeing upon seeing this. Once he ran, there would be no way to explain himself.
This way, the intruder could claim the other party failed to steal someone else’s wife and tricked him into coming here for revenge.
System: [What are you doing?]
Seeing someone performing acrobatics, the curious System floated over to ask.
Under extreme nervous tension, the intruder was startled. The intense fright caused his heart to tighten painfully.
The System detected highly toxic drug components in his palm and, being helpful, adjusted the angle of the strike.
The intruder slipped and successfully smashed himself too hard.
A dull thud echoed. Blood flowed from his forehead, and the killer fell straight to the ground, dead.
Rong Juan: ? What was he doing?
System: [I just asked that too.]
And then the guy was gone.
Hearing the shouts, the waiter soon arrived, banging on the door anxiously. “Young Master Rong, are you alright? Young Master Rong!”
Rong Juan was rigorous with his subject: “I am fine.”
The body lay not far from the door, crimson blood flowing out through the cracks.
The stream of blood washed over the tips of the waiter’s shoes, terrifying him instantly.
“Someone come! Quickly!” The waiter disregarded everything else, panic-stricken as he called others to help force the door open.
As the door opened, the body was shoved aside, making the death scene look even more gruesome.
“Ah—” Everyone screamed in unison, the volume shaking the heavens.
After discovering the only other living person in the room, the sole solution sluggishly appeared in their minds: God damn it, this dandy has started killing people!
The restaurant owner, who arrived later, swayed on his feet and hurriedly went to report to the officials.
Rong Juan, as if boneless, slumped back onto the couch.
System: [Little Rong, two minutes ago, you could have totally thrown the body into the river and disposed of it secretly.]
Rong Juan yawned. “That’s too much trouble.”
Destroying a corpse required a lot of follow-up work.
There was a fresh, warm corpse lying in the room, but he was long accustomed to such things.
Ignoring the smell of blood filling his nose, Rong Juan half-closed his eyes. “Sigh, later, when I go to sleep in prison, surely I won’t be disturbed.”
His tone was somewhat airy, vaguely laced with other implications.
Although the System had worked with him for a long time, most of the time, it couldn’t figure out what this host was actually thinking.
Fortunately, mission failure carried penalties, so no host would easily joke with their life.
At the foot of the Imperial City, in the blink of an eye, the officers arrived.
As the sole suspect, even if he was the son of the Right Prime Minister, the officers couldn’t turn a blind eye.
A group of saber-wielding officers immediately blocked the front. “Young Master Rong, please come with us.”
Rong Juan was very cooperative. “If you could let me take a carriage, it wouldn’t be trouble.”
“…”
On the way to being escorted to the majestic government office, the shock from his earlier father-acknowledging was still present, and discussions were boiling everywhere.
“Did you hear? The Prime Minister’s son wanted to acknowledge the Chief Superintendent as his Godfather in the street.”
Who didn’t know the Chief Superintendent and the Right Prime Minister were political enemies? To think someone would switch families like that.
“I think he’s crazy. Now look, he didn’t succeed, and maybe the Right Prime Minister will kick him out of the house in a fit of rage.”
“Comrades, you’re behind the times.” Rong Juan, sitting on the small pushcart, said bumpily, “We’ve fast-forwarded to the Prime Minister’s son killing someone.”
The crowd was startled by the sudden voice. Looking back, they saw Rong Juan being escorted under guard, and their jaws nearly dropped.
In a single day, one incredible event followed another. While the commoners were too busy spreading the news to catch their breath, there was one place that remained dark and silent, unlike the rare excitement outside.
Even the daily sunlight was stingy about shining on this secluded place.
Since the Emperor established the Superintendent Bureau, he mandated that all cases involving officials and their families fall under its jurisdiction. So, not long after the arrest, the entire case, including the suspect, was transferred to the Superintendent Bureau.
Learning that the dead person wasn’t Rong Juan, Bu San was exceptionally surprised.
He looked at the Chief Superintendent, who said nothing, his thoughts unknown.
Bu San felt it was a good thing regardless. A life for a life; they just needed to interrogate and close the case quickly.
Except for the lack of onlookers, the interrogation hall of the Superintendent Bureau wasn’t much different from a regular government office. After sunset, the stone statues at the entrance revealed a fierce aspect.
When Rong Juan entered, two staff from the Superintendent Bureau were carrying out the suspect from the previous case. The wind lifted a corner of the white cloth; there wasn’t a patch of good flesh to be seen.
The smell of blood in the inner hall was much heavier than a typical crime scene.
Upon entering, Rong Juan felt an unfounded pressure. The source wasn’t tonight’s presiding judge, Bu San, but the Chief Superintendent himself, who was actually there.
He sat to the side, seemingly there to audit the trial, eyes half-closed. The people around him didn’t dare breathe loudly.
A late-night interrogation… for Rong Juan, this was equivalent to torture already.
So, he let out the cry of every torture victim: “My Lord, I am wrongly accused—”
Bu San, who had intended to use the silent treatment to scare him first, choked on the theatrical tone, his temple throbbing.
“What are you shouting for?”
Bu San shouted sternly, “Investigation confirms the deceased is the husband of the woman who was harassed in the street. Apart from you, there was no third person at the scene. Did a ghost commit the crime?”
This dandy did plenty of wicked things daily; adding them all up, a beheading wouldn’t be an injustice.
Now that there was an excuse to punish him, it was perfect. It would completely cut off any possibility of the marriage alliance.
Rong Juan didn’t follow his lead. His demeanor was completely opposite to his tone when crying injustice.
“My Lord, to judge a case, you must at least clarify the cause of death, the weapon, and so on.”
“I am, after all, the Prime Minister’s son.” Having emphasized his status, Rong Juan said calmly, “Right now, you don’t even know how this person died, yet you’re pinning it on me. Isn’t that a bit trifling?”
Bu San signaled to the side with his eyes, and a man in a long gown who looked refined and scholarly stepped out.
Coroner: “The deceased’s fatal wound is on the head, obviously struck by a heavy object before death. After verification, the weapon is the broken vase on the floor. It is confirmed there are no traces of a third person at the scene.”
“You’re lying!”
Actually, how the man died wasn’t important. Rong Juan looked at the coroner, lowered his eyelashes, and suddenly rushed forward as if he had lost his reason in anger and was about to hit someone.
The coroner was also a martial artist. He was tall with a lean face. After grabbing the other’s wrist, he looked down at him with disdain like a tall, thin ghost.
The next second, the coroner’s expression changed inexplicably.
Every profession has its specialization. An ordinary coroner wouldn’t treat illnesses, but the Superintendent Bureau only recruited talents. Not only did they have to solve cases, but they also had to know how to kill.
The pulse was floating and weak, a rare poison in the system. Clearly, this poison wasn’t from a day or two, but a chronic invasion over the years.
Currently, he was an arrow at the end of its flight. Saying he lacked the strength to truss a chicken wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Looking at Rong Juan again, the coroner almost silently cursed.
Is it appropriate for you to let me know such a shocking secret?
Should I report it or not? Who knows how deep the water is here?
He hated his own professional competence.
The hall suddenly fell silent.
Bu San looked at the suddenly petrified coroner. “What are you standing there for?”
Holding the prisoner’s wrist like that made for a very strange scene.
Rong Juan was almost half-turning his back to Bu San at this moment, smiling slightly at the coroner.
Sure enough, he has some skill. Saves me from making other arrangements.
The coroner narrowed his eyes. This kid did it on purpose. He definitely knows he’s poisoned.
Concealing information was a major taboo. The coroner could only walk stiffly over to Bu San and whisper a few sentences.
Bu San instantly lost his previous indifference, frowned, walked down the steps, and carefully reported to the Chief Superintendent.
The Chief Superintendent finally opened his eyes, examining Rong Juan directly for the first time.
A moment later, he actually stated calmly on the spot: “Xue Ren has never misdiagnosed a pulse. He says your internal organs are corroded by chronic poison, and your strength is failing. No wonder you were knocked unconscious by a frail woman when you were forcibly abducting her.”
No one around dared to interrupt; they looked at each other in dismay.
“Smashing someone to death is physical labor.” The Chief Superintendent lifted his teacup, the corner of his mouth curving into a casual arc. “In that case, it seems you really were wrongly accused.”
Bu San and the coroner exchanged glances. Weak strength doesn’t mean no suspicion of doing evil.
What if he hit a vital spot?
Didn’t the Superintendent hint earlier for us to close the case quickly? Why is he suddenly speaking up for him?
Rong Juan, however, bowed deeply at this moment. “Thank you, my Lord, for your keen observation. My Lord has uncovered the truth and returned justice to a commoner like me. Otherwise, I fear…”
As he spoke, he once again used his fingers as legs to “kneel” on his palm. “Thinking of how you suffered internal injuries from the horse scare, this one feels even more guilty. If you do not disdain it, I am willing to become your adopted son in the future, to serve you like a horse or dog.”
Hearing this, the Chief Superintendent laughed.
Others had no idea why he was laughing. Bu San was close enough to confirm he wasn’t seeing things—his boss was laughing genuinely.
Bu San couldn’t help but re-examine the audacious young man below.
He stood without proper posture, had dirt on his head, wore a skin paler and more glamorous than a woman’s, and looked like a consumptive ghost.
What exactly makes him worthy of the Lord’s favor?
Chief Superintendent: “The Right Prime Minister may not agree.”
Rong Juan: “He can be the concubine.”
Just assume I was raised by a little daddy before.
“…”
While everyone else was speechless, the Chief Superintendent clapped his hands and said, “Good. It is rare for you to have such filial piety.”
The phrase “filial piety” stunned the hall. A group of people who lived on the knife’s edge daily couldn’t manage their basic facial expressions for a moment.
He’s really going to take an adopted son!
The System was the same.
System: [Little Rong, what happened? How did you guys match as father and son?]
[The AI can’t compute it. Did I crash?]
Rong Juan said lazily, “Just taking what we each need.”
Today’s events would surely spread quickly.
Chronic poisoning was a long-term process.
Who had the ability to harm the Prime Minister’s son? Definitely not outsiders.
Those with the motive to do so were few. If people used their imagination a bit more, a version where the Prime Minister tacitly allowed his second wife to poison his first wife’s son might even appear.
After all, he wasn’t very considerate to his first wife either.
A normal father wouldn’t allow a stepmother to deliberately raise a child to be useless.
“The Chief Superintendent mentioned ‘forcibly abducting common women’ just now to remind me to reenact the ‘acknowledging a thief as a father’ scene from this morning.”
The Prime Minister’s son was so scared he didn’t dare go home, running to his father’s enemy to acknowledge a dad for safety. This would completely confirm the darkness within the Prime Minister’s residence.
Afterward, the other party could impeach the Prime Minister for improper conduct.
Rong Juan clicked his tongue inwardly.
This Chief Superintendent is also one who won’t lose the hawk until he sees the hare.
The phrase “it seems you really were wrongly accused”—the word ‘seems’ was key. Assuming he hadn’t understood the hint in those words and hadn’t declared his stance, the direction of the case would probably have been different.
Now that it was defined as a wrongful accusation, the Superintendent Bureau would naturally investigate the truth.
Anyway, he didn’t have to worry about a thing.
Now it was Rong Juan’s turn to examine his new dad. High cheekbones, a kind face, wide robes, and bound hair. Only the corners of his eyebrows were sharp, gathering a faint ruthlessness.
His new “thigh” seemed to notice his scrutiny, stopped drinking tea, and looked over.
Such an appraising gaze was presumptuous when directed at a superior. The Chief Superintendent asked, “What are you thinking?”
Rong Juan said honestly, “I’m thinking that clothes are better new, and people are also better new. Big Daddy is the best.”
Parents should be changed often; new ones are better than old ones.
The Chief Superintendent paused, then laughed again. Rong Chenglin had raised an interesting son.
Bu San, next to him, couldn’t laugh. He couldn’t even imagine the disputes that would follow. He swallowed. “Something big is really going to happen now.”
Once the news got out, it would cause a massive uproar both inside and outside the court.
But soon, he felt a bit of schadenfreude.
That usually high-and-mighty Right Prime Minister… his expression upon hearing the news would certainly be spectacular.