Firmament Sword

”Brother Guard, Your Majesty summoned me so urgently. Is something the matter?” On the way, Xu Luo asked the stern-faced young Imperial Guard with a wide smile.

The young Guard gave Xu Luo a speechless look and didn’t answer, thinking to himself, ’If His Majesty hadn’t ordered me to come get you, do you really think you would have walked out of the Wei Family’s estate alive?’

”No need to be so serious, right? I’m guessing… you must be from a sect, aren’t you?” Xu Luo continued to pester him.

”Then Qiqi should be your junior sister, right?” Seeing the other man ignore him, Xu Luo just smiled, looking completely unbothered as he went on.

”The Seventh Princess and I are not from the same sect.” Pestered relentlessly by Xu Luo, the young man finally replied, his face still stern.

”Heh, so the Royal Family is backed by more than one sect…” Xu Luo said, as if it had just dawned on him.

The young man rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply.

Xu Luo asked again, ”Is His Majesty very angry?”

”What do you think?” The young man curled his lip, looking at Xu Luo. ”You’ve got some serious nerve!”

”Hehe.” Xu Luo chuckled, then added, ”You don’t think His Majesty will lock me up this time, do you? Or maybe he’ll want to chop my head off?”

The young man rolled his eyes dramatically. ”Frankly, I hope His Majesty does chop off the head of a menace like you!”

”Hey, don’t be like that, Brother Guard. I’ve never done anything to you, why do you hate me so much?” Xu Luo grumbled with a wronged expression, then pouted and followed the young Guard.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. It wasn’t until they entered the Imperial City and reached the entrance of the great hall that the young Guard stopped. He looked at Xu Luo and said softly, ”His Majesty doesn’t seem to be furious, but Prime Minister Wei is. So are many of the Civil Servants. They’re pressuring His Majesty to punish you severely, so… be careful!”

”Why the sudden warning?” Xu Luo was a little surprised. This Imperial Guard clearly didn’t like him, so why the sudden kind reminder?

The young Guard’s face hardened. He curled his lip at Xu Luo and said, ”I practically watched the Seventh Princess grow up. I just don’t want her to be sad when she finds out you’re dead.”

”Er…” Xu Luo rolled his eyes. ’So in the end, I still have Qiqi to thank for this.’

But regardless, the man had warned him. Xu Luo smiled and thanked the young Guard, then walked into the great hall with a calm and composed expression.

Behind him, the young Guard shook his head slightly, thinking, ’He’s just the son of a worldly General’s family, so where does he get this kind of nerve? Back when I was in my sect, if I’d caused this much trouble, my first instinct would have been to find a place to hide… No wonder the Seventh Princess likes this kid. Ai, I hope he makes it through this in one piece.’

The moment Xu Luo stepped into the great hall, dozens of eyes turned toward him.

Most of these gazes were hostile; many were looking at him as if he were already a dead man.

Some of the Imperial Censors on Prime Minister Wei’s side were already eager to verbally tear Xu Luo to shreds before His Majesty.

They had been preparing for this day for a long time!

Finally… their chance had come!

”This time, we’ll make sure he dies without a proper burial!”

”Even if he’s the son of the Grand General of National Guardian, he must be severely punished!”

”If a Prince breaks the law, he’s judged the same as a commoner. What makes him so special?”

The group of men sneered and whispered amongst themselves.

As Xu Luo walked past an Imperial Censor who was staring at him with a vicious sneer, he suddenly stopped, raised his hand, and viciously slapped him across the face.

SLAP!

The sound was loud and crisp!

It stunned everyone in the entire great hall into silence.

The slapped Imperial Censor stood there in a daze. He couldn’t even process what had just happened. Subconsciously, he absolutely refused to believe that Xu Luo would dare to strike him in Jinluan Hall!

”You dare look at me, a Marquis, with those eyes? Are you tired of living!” Xu Luo’s face was full of hostility. Seeing that the man didn’t react, he slapped him again.

SLAP!

This slap felt like it landed on everyone’s faces. The way many people looked at Xu Luo changed, as if they were staring at a terrifying madman.

Xu Luo’s gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the Golden Hall. This time, he no longer saw the mockery and sneers from before. It had all been replaced by deep fear.

The Imperial Censor, who had been slapped twice by Xu Luo and now had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, finally came to his senses. He let out a shrill cry, ”You dare humiliate me! In the Golden Hall… you dare humiliate me like this! Your Majesty! Your Majesty, did you see that? Xu Luo is acting this arrogant just because of his military merits! Is there no justice, no law?! If Your Majesty will not intervene, then I shall die here before you!”

With that, the Imperial Censor, his cheeks red and swollen, charged headfirst toward one of the pillars in the Golden Hall.

”Enough!”

From the highest point of the Golden Hall, upon the Dragon Throne, came a deep, angry shout. ”Until I have convicted Xu Luo of a crime, he is a third-rank official of this court, the Seven-Colored Mighty General, and the Seven-Colored Marquis! It was wrong of him to strike you in the Golden Hall, but with the look you were giving him, even I would have been tempted to beat you!”

GASP!

A sharp gasp echoed through the Golden Hall. Nearly everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the expressionless middle-aged man on the high Dragon Throne.

Wei Feng, who had been standing silently with his eyes closed as if in meditation, trembled slightly upon hearing the Emperor’s words. He let out a soft sigh, but did not even open his eyes.

The rebuked Imperial Censor stood frozen like a statue. He had never imagined the Emperor would say such a thing. Overcome with shame, he once again charged headfirst toward the pillar.

Xu Luo curled his lip, feeling a bit disgusted. However, he knew that if this Imperial Censor actually died here today, this group of people who already detested him would definitely pin the blame on him.

Not that he was afraid—otherwise he wouldn’t have acted this way—but he figured it was best not to hand his opponents such obvious leverage right in front of His Majesty.

With this in mind, Xu Luo’s figure blurred. He caught up to the Imperial Censor who was seemingly rushing to his death and kicked him squarely in the rear.

THUMP!

The Imperial Censor was sent flying seven or eight steps by Xu Luo’s kick. He stumbled and fell flat on his face in a most undignified posture, knocking out two of his front teeth.

The Emperor watched this scene with cold eyes, then frowned. ”Get him out of my sight! What a disgrace!”

Then, he looked coldly at Xu Luo. ”Now get over here!”

Xu Luo chuckled and trotted to the front of the Golden Hall. He glanced at the composed Lord Leng and the other high officials, then at Wei Feng, who appeared to be meditating with his eyes closed but was in fact trembling all over. He then bowed to the Emperor and said, ”Your subject, Xu Luo, greets Your Majesty!”

”Spare me the pleasantries. Xu Luo, I ask you, do you admit your guilt?” The Emperor’s expression turned cold, his voice icing over. He stared at Xu Luo, his gaze like two sharp arrows.

Xu Luo’s expression was perfectly composed. ”I do admit my guilt, Your Majesty. My greatest crime is failing to sweep away all the demons and monsters of this world for you, allowing so many insidious and sneaky villains to remain in this very court. It is all my fault!”

A group of officials stared at Xu Luo, gnashing their teeth in hatred. If looks could kill, Xu Luo would have died many times over.

To call them insidious and sneaky villains right in front of the Emperor… was there a more vicious curse than that?

”Nonsense! I ask you, what crime did the Hongcheng Wei Family commit that you would massacre their entire household, not even sparing the women and children?” The Emperor’s voice sounded furious, but who in this court wasn’t a shrewd veteran? Everyone could see that, at least for now… the Emperor wasn’t angry at all!

’Such immense favor!’

’Unbelievable favor!’

Nearly everyone who hated Xu Luo felt a strong sense of powerlessness welling up inside them.

The Emperor’s favoritism toward Xu Luo had reached a point that left people speechless!

Many even found it incredibly strange.

’When the Star Festival failed, who was the first to mock Xu Luo? It was the Emperor!’

’The one who compensated the Xu Family but repeatedly ignored Xu Luo… that was also the Emperor! No one else!’

’So why the sudden change? Could it really be that Xu Luo’s performance in the Southern campaign moved the Emperor?’

’Or was it because he found a cure for the Seventh Princess, which made the Emperor start to appreciate him?’

These might all be contributing factors, but to say they were the whole story… these old foxes of the court simply didn’t believe it!

Yet they couldn’t find any other reasonable explanation.

Xu Luo raised his head, looked at the Emperor, and bowed. ”Your Majesty, the Hongcheng Wei Family, from top to bottom, was brimming with evil. They were rotten to the core. The people I killed were all deserving of death! If Your Majesty knew of the various deeds of the Hongcheng Wei Family, I’m afraid you would be overcome with rage and wish you could have killed those beasts with your own hands!”

”Xu Luo! That’s enough! This is the imperial court! You are in the presence of all the civil and military officials and His Majesty the Emperor! How dare you spout such nonsense?” Wei Feng suddenly opened his eyes and roared, ”Do you really think you won’t be punished for the crimes you have committed?”

”You’re full of shit!” Xu Luo’s counterattack was unexpectedly sharp. His extremely vulgar words, however, made many of the ministers who disliked Wei Feng feel a sense of profound satisfaction.

”Xu Luo!” the Emperor snapped. ”Watch your tongue!”

”My apologies, Your Majesty. I was impulsive.” Xu Luo immediately gave an elegant bow to the Emperor. He then raised his head, a mocking smile on his face as he looked at Wei Feng. ”As the Prime Minister of a nation, you can’t even manage your own clan. Oh, or perhaps you know exactly what kind of scoundrels your kinsmen are, but you just love to spew bullshit! You love to lie with a straight face. Right, that’s one thing your son learned from you perfectly… not much talent, but first-class when it comes to snatching credit and scheming! The crimes *I* have committed? My greatest crime is that I can’t chop off your old dog head right here, today, in front of His Majesty! Wei Feng, if you don’t believe me, why don’t you take a step closer and see if I have the guts?”

”You… you… You’ll be the death of me!” Wei Feng became so unsteady he had to be supported by the person next to him. He pointed at Xu Luo, ”You treasonous official! You deceitful courtier! Such insolence! You’ll be the death of me!”