Rising Phoenix

As soon as Helian Zheng finished speaking, a group rushed into the inner yard. The man in the lead yelled: “New Magistrate taking over. Ji Yang will be under curfew! No strange guests allowed in the Jing Yang Magistrate Mansion! Report your identity or piss off!”

The group wore the local Yamen’s uniform, their accents clearly foreign. Their arrogant leader wore a plain black gold gauze cap and Golden Lychee waist band around his round-collared red shirt embroidered with flowers. From his attire, he was a Fourth Rank Official.

A pale faced Sub-Fifth Rank man stood beside him, smiling coldly. He frowned as he faced the inner yard, calling out: “Our Mansion is sealed today. We are not entertaining guests. His Greatness Shen has sent Left Advisor Liu to handle the transition. All strangers must immediately leave!”

Magistrate Peng ran over, his face covered in sweat. He yelled angrily: “Even if I must resign, what does that have to do with my guests. You are too domineering!”

“Old Peng.” The pale faced Shen Junxin glanced sidelong at him, “Shut up. Do you not understand the situation? The Mud Bodhisattva could not protect himself while crossing the river, and you still want to argue about these minor matters? You need to plan the words of your confession letter!”

“I am receiving Imperial Guards today!” Magistrate Peng replied furiously, stamping his foot. “You are committing outrage!”

“Silence!” Fourth Rank Advisor Liu yelled. “What Imperial Guards? Just some Sixth Rank guard, do you think they can protect you from your crime? With me here, no one will help you!”

“Preposterous!” Magistrate Peng spat. “Imperial Guards guard His Majesty’s family! Outside of Dijing they represent the dignity of the Imperial Family! Your arrogance knows no bounds! You even dare disrespect the bodyguards of the Son of Heaven?”

Advisor Liu cocked his head and peered at Magistrate Peng for a long moment. Finally, he burst into laughter and whispered into the outraged magistrate’s ear: “You are right. In Longxi, the Commissioner’s Yamen controls the three offices and seven counties. Lord Shen is your heaven!”

Magistrate Peng stepped back in shock, and then he sighed heavily: “I always knew the Shen Family was proud, but I never thought their arrogance was this great!”

“Take off your cap and your robes and go to your study. You cannot leave while we wait for Master Shen’s orders.” Shen Junxin declared, arrogant in his confidence, pushing Magistrate Peng to the side and sending Yamen Bailiffs to take his cap.

“What is my crime!”

“Corruption and bribery!”

“Search my yard!” Magistrate Peng cried out, pointing to his personal yard. “If you find more than ten tael of silver, send me to Dijing!”

“Dijing?” Advisor Liu glanced at him. “Master Shen is not enough to sentence you? The Commissioner has the authority to punish any officials in his jurisdiction!”

“I am innocent!”

“Disrespecting Master Shen is a crime!” Shen Junxin yelled. He turned, jabbing a finger at Feng Zhiwei’s house. “You little Sixth Rank Guards, if you dare refuse Master Liu his due, you will be guilty as well!”

“Pa!”

A boot flew out from the yard and smashed into Shen Junxin’s face.

Shen Junxin cried out in pain as white sparks flew before his eyes and an indescribable odor filled his nose.

“Guilty my ass! I’ll give my courtesy to your dead body!” A man declared, climbing out of a window, a single boot on his feet. He rolled up his sleeves as he yelled out abuse: “You Han people really are f***ing despicable! Disgusting!”

Feng Zhiwei sat by a half closed window playing blindfolded chess with Ning Yi over a pot of tea. As Helian Zheng yelled, she sighed and shook her head.

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Helian Zheng immediately whipped his head back and smiled apologetically, saying: “I wasn’t talking about you.”

Feng Zhiwei calmly replied: “It’s fine, truly disgusting.”

“If my Eight Valiants were here,” he cried out, the veins on his face bulging, “I would have already let him taste their whips!”

“You can invite him yourself.” Feng Zhiwei reminded him.

“Daring!” Shen Junxin yelled furiously, finally recovering from the smell of that boot. “You dare attack people in the Magistrate’s Mansion! Courting death! Officers…”

“Pa!” Helian Zheng lashed out with his whip and sent him tumbling to the ground.

“How dare you!” Advisor Liu cried out, apparently somewhat trained in Kung Fu as he stepped on Helian Zheng’s whip. “Where did this arrogant brat come from? Take him down!”

Helian Zheng shook his wrist and sent Advisor Liu tumbling as well. The Helian Prince was furious and amused, and he shook his head while he said: “A thief cries out about thieves; a domineering man curses others for being domineering! This daddy thought I was domineering when I was in the steppes, but now I know I still have much to learn!”

“You dare hit a Fourth Rank Imperial Court Official!” Advisor Liu cried out indignantly, grabbing the whip and reaching for his blade.

But before his blade left its sheath, his hand was crushed by a foot. A man stepped down on his right hand, looking down at him.

Advisor Liu could not see the man’s face, only the bright eyes behind his veil.

The man slowly reached down and grabbed Advisor Liu’s token, examining it and slowly reading out: “Sub-Fourth Rank.”

Then the man untied the token around his own waist and showed its blue gold characters “Yong Chen Palace, Weapon Bearing Guard” before smashing it into Advisor Liu’s face. “Fourth Rank.”

“…”

Then the Fourth Rank Weapon Bearing Imperial Guard walked over Advisor Liu.

“Daring! Outrageous!” Advisor Liu and Shen Junxin stuttered in their rage, clambering to their feet and yelling at the top of their longs. They kicked at the Yamen Bailiffs and yelled for them to take down Helian Zheng and the others, but none of the bailiffs could even near Helian Zheng before being bounced back like rubber balls.

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Magistrate Peng froze, his trembling fury suddenly doused by the unexpected scene.

“You are the outrageous ones!” A voice cut through the chaos. Feng Zhiwei tossed a chess piece out into the yard and flung the windows wide, calling out calmly from her seat: “The Northern Hu Zhuo Tribe’s Helian Prince has come to your Ji Yang Mansion with Longxi Province’s Imperial Censor! How dare you cause an uproar!”

The long title stunned all the bailiffs and their arrogance was instantly extinguished. They turned stunned eyes towards each other — weren’t they just some Sixth Rank guards? Where did this Censor and Hu Zhuo Prince come from?

With those words, Feng Zhiwei turned back to her tea. She had talked the matter over with Ning Yi: Shen Xuru had reacted too quickly. He had almost certainly received news about their escape and wanted to block them here in Ji Yang, framing Magistrate Peng so that he could control the region with his own man.

They could no longer rely on Magistrate Peng and the Ji Yang soldiers to escort them. Ji Yang was already controlled by the Shen Family, and with the Imperial Envoy’s troops still on the way, they could not reveal the full extent of their Imperial identities. If their names were discovered, the Shen Family might throw caution to the wind and throw all of the mansion’s troops against them. Then, even with Gu Nanyi and Helian Zheng protecting them, they situation would be incredibly dangerous.