Chapter 144 Showdown!
Zhao Duan!
Upstairs in Hele, at the wine table, Zhou Cheng and Wang Shan saw him, and their expressions changed significantly.
Why is he here?
Especially Wang Shan, who was plump and beardless, with red eyes, shook his hand, the teacup in his hand rolled down, and the wine splashed.
Guilty, he avoided Zhao Duan's smiling eyes.
How does it feel to have the right person knock on your door as soon as you start planning loudly?
"Sir..." At this time, at the top of the stairs, a group of Dali Temple officials staggered up.
The leader of the Qingpao Temple, He Zheng, had a dark blue expression on his face:
"He brought people over to go upstairs, but the subordinates refused to let him go, so the group of people used force to force their way up."
three times!
In just this short period of time, He Zheng was beaten three times, and even the clay figure had to get angry.
But Zhao Duan didn't need to say anything. Hou Renmeng behind him grinned ferociously and raised his scabbard, ready to strike:
"A good dog doesn't stand in the way. It has repeatedly obstructed my master's handling of cases. He fails to remember each time and should be beaten!"
He Zheng and the group of Dali Temple officials behind him who were not good at using force retreated in fear and shrank to a corner of the second floor.
"Enough!!"
A sudden shout.
Beside the table, a court official wearing a crimson official robe and a black gauze slapped the table angrily, and the wine cup smashed to the ground.
Zhou Cheng's face was livid and furious.
Beating the subordinates of Dali Temple in front of him was tantamount to slapping him, the chief officer, in the face.
A similar scene happened a few days ago.
But one cannot be two.
"Zhao Duan! How dare you do the following?!" Zhou Cheng scolded angrily.
"Haha, Lord Tingwei, please don't be joking," Zhao Duan said with a smile and glanced at him. Hou Renmeng and others laughed and retracted their hands:
"The people below are ignorant and are joking with He Sicheng and the others. I will punish them when I get back."
joke?
Zhou Cheng almost laughed out of anger.
He took a deep breath to maintain the dignity of a court official.
Seeing this, He Zheng and others quickly came to the Dali Temple.
For a moment, the two groups seemed to be facing each other.
Zhou Cheng's face was as dark as water, and he did not dwell on the conflicts among his subordinates. He asked coldly:
"Zhao Du'an, do you really think that you can be lawless after you were lucky enough to escape last time? Or are you leading these dogs and horses today to capture me under His Majesty's order again?"
Hey, you guessed it right...
Zhao Duan had a smile on his face, but did not answer immediately. Instead, he walked gently towards the wine table.
He Zheng and the others' hearts trembled, hesitating whether to step forward to protect them or retreat to save their lives.
Wang Shan tried his best to lower his head and retreated into the crowd, trying to appear transparent.
Zhou Cheng didn't say a word. He saw Zhao Duan coming closer, glanced at the dishes on the table, and praised:
"It's very rich. I would like to advise Mr. Zhou. At such an old age, you should not touch big fish and meat. This should be done by young people."
As he spoke, he raised his hand to pull out a chair and sat down carelessly.
Looking left and right, as if looking for chopsticks, when he saw Wang Shan hiding in the crowd, he couldn't help but smile and wave:
"Brother Wang, why are you hiding so far away? Come closer, otherwise, wouldn't you let me down and come looking for you so early in the morning?"
Looking for me?
Wang Shan's heart skipped a beat and he looked at Zhou Cheng.
Zhou Cheng also focused his gaze and saw Zhao Duan turning his head, crossing his legs, and said to him:
"Mr. Zhou, please don't misunderstand me. I'm just a sixth-rank police officer. How dare you attack Tingwei?"
I came here today because a case involved Brother Wang, so I came to ask him to cooperate in the investigation.
He went to Brother Wang's house first, but missed it, so he had to chase him. Unexpectedly, he saw Ting Wei having a feast with him...
Tsk, the last arrest of Xia Jianghou was the same. Speaking of which, you and I are really destined. "
This is the reason again!
Zhou Cheng laughed angrily:
"What other case could Wang Shan be involved in? I would like to know."
Zhao Duan stared at him and said quietly: "I have a friend named Qin Qiu. We originally agreed to meet him these two days, but he suddenly disappeared.
I was concerned about the safety of my friend, and after making inquiries, I found out that he seemed to have gone to Brother Wang's house. Mr. Zhou, do you think he should be suspicious? "
Nonsense!
Wang Shan's expression changed. Qin Qiu disappeared? What does it have to do with me?
He was about to explain, but suddenly he was alerted. How did Zhou Cheng find him?
Did he tie up Qin Qiu?
If so, then Zhao Duan's sudden arrest can be explained.
He must have learned that Qin Qiu was missing, and even learned through Zhaoya's intelligence network that the kidnapper was Zhou Cheng.
With a little thought, it's not difficult to guess Zhou Cheng's purpose.
This is how I think of myself.
If it is deduced like this...
Could it not be said that Zhao Duan's purpose in arresting him was to shut him up and prevent him from taking refuge in Zhou Cheng and threatening himself?
Zhou Cheng's pupils shrank, Zhao Duan's hint was so obvious, of course he also thought of this.
I couldn't help but secretly scold He Zheng for his incompetence in doing things.
He kidnapped someone and was discovered by him in just one day.
He had just reached an "agreement" with Wang Shan and was ready to make a big fuss.
Zhao Duan rushed to fetch the person, and his reaction was not unpleasant.
"absurd!"
Zhou Cheng sneered and scolded:
"The imperial office handles the case so casually? Arresting a former commander based on baseless suspicion? Or is it an old subordinate of your imperial office? Besides, a friend is missing... Oh, when did this fall under the jurisdiction of the imperial office? Your majesty supports you. It’s not for individual people!”
His sharp gaze swept across all the officials in Lihuatang. With his official authority, in the past, he could only scold, but all the lower-level officials were frightened.
But the prickly people in Lihuatang looked relaxed and didn't care at all.
"Mr. Zhou, you are acting like this to prevent me from handling the case?"
Zhao Duan's smile faded and he mocked: "Still, you want to say that Wang Shan has also surrendered to your Dali Temple first? The same reason as Xia Jianghou?"
Zhou Cheng was not fooled. Wang Shan was invited by him. His situation was very different from that of Xia Jianghou. He only said coldly:
"I am reminiscing with my old friends today. You still want to take someone away from me?"
After a pause, his eyes also showed sarcasm:
"Or is Ma Yan hiding in secret again? Why not show up and see him?"
Zhao Duan had no expression.
Zhou Cheng's eyes were cold, as if he was looking down on him from a high position:
"Without Ma Yan's support, who are you? Are you so presumptuous in front of me?"
Opposite, the officials of Lihuatang glared angrily, but they felt powerless in the face of a third-grade official.
The following four crimes are never considered a frivolous crime.
Zhou Cheng was in the capital and had nothing to fear.
Even if he is a favorite of the empress, if he really dares to hurt him, all the officials in Dayu will stand behind him in order to protect their status.
That is the "etiquette" that even the imperial power cannot resist.
The atmosphere in the building was tense and solid for a moment.
Zhao Duan looked extremely calm:
"So, Mr. Zhou is determined not to let him go?"
Zhou Cheng reached out and took out a "Tingwei" badge from his waist, and placed it calmly on the table with a sarcastic expression: "Young man, you must know how to be respectful. You are a smart man and should know the rules of the court. Rules, if your cards are not as good as mine, you can’t take them away.”
Wang Shan breathed a sigh of relief silently and raised the corners of his mouth.
He Zheng and others straightened their backs and looked arrogant.
Hou Renmeng, Shen Juan and other officials from Lihuatang had expressionless faces. They held the handle of the knife tightly, but it was as heavy as a stone.
After all, officialdom relies on rules to operate. Anyone who steps into this system and benefits from it must abide by this set of rules.
If you don't comply, you are an enemy of everyone.
Zhao Duan lowered his eyes, stared at the third-grade Tingwei waist card on the table, and said softly: "Whose card is bigger..."
In full view of everyone, he suddenly reached into his arms and slowly took out a purple waist jade in the shape of a waist badge with two fingers.
It is an ingenious workmanship, with golden spikes hanging at the bottom, which seem to be stained with the fragrance of fairies.
When he took out the jade token, everyone else present had no reaction and looked confused.
Only Zhou Cheng, who was sitting opposite, had his pupils suddenly narrowed.
Of course he recognized this jade plaque.
He had seen it hanging on the waist of the empress many times and knew that it was Xu Zhenguan's personal token.
Why...appears on Zhao Duan?
What does it represent?
How can a mere pretty boy who is sleeping in the bed be qualified to hold the Empress’s token? !
“Pa!”
Zhao Duan placed the empress' waist jade on the table and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, my cards seem to be bigger."
Zhou Cheng said nothing.
People around him were stunned and didn't know why.
Zhao Duan stood up slowly, walked back to Lihuatang's men, turned his back to Zhou Cheng, and suddenly reached out and pulled out the standard saber from Shen Juan's waist.
Holding it upright in his hand, this action immediately alerted a group of people, and He Zheng shouted angrily:
"What are you going to do...ah!"
The next second, Zhao Duan flicked his wrist, and a violent and powerful energy poured into the blade.
With a "bang", the several-foot-long blade actually shattered into pieces, turning into a violent storm, wrapped in Qi, roaring in all directions.
Sitting in the big chair, Zhou Cheng, wearing a red scarlet robe, was stiff all over, feeling the strong wind blowing on his face.
A thin blade passed across his temple and pierced the black gauze hat on his head. The kinetic energy of the fragments wrapped the gauze and separated from his scalp. With a "click", it was nailed to the window lattice!
The remaining blades were either pierced into the floor or nailed to wooden pillars or window lattice, causing countless exclamations.
Immediately, there was deathly silence!
As soon as Zhao Duan let go, the bare handle of the knife fell to the ground and rolled several times.
He slowly turned around, looked at the frozen faces opposite, headed by Zhou Cheng, and smiled apologetically: "Oh, the swords in the weapons shop are so brittle that they can't even withstand the Qi movement. You are all shocked.”
Shen Juan's cheek twitched, and he tried hard to control the raised corners of his mouth, but he couldn't.
"What are you laughing at? Why don't you take the person away quickly so that you don't disturb Mr. Zhou's meal?" Zhao Duan scolded with a smile.
After receiving the order, Shen Juan and other officials stepped forward like wolves and tigers, captured the earth-colored Wang Shan, and took back the waist jade left by Zhao Duan.
No one stood in the way during this period.
"Master Zhou, Master Zhou..."
Wang Shan tried to ask for help, but after meeting Zhou Cheng's gloomy eyes, he shut his mouth.
After a while, everyone in the imperial office walked away.
There was only a messy restaurant left, and the people outside looking in from a distance to watch the excitement.
"Sir... shall we let him go now?"
In the dead silence, He Zheng stepped forward cautiously, pulled the black gauze hat off the window lattice with both hands, and bowed before handing it to Zhou Cheng.
The next second.
"Crack!"
After a slap on his face, Zhou Cheng stood up, his chest rising and falling with anger, which frightened a group of Dali Temple officials to the point where they knelt down.
"Zhao...du...an!"
(End of chapter)