Ye Guan looked at Granny Li. “Senior, take me to the Inner Cabinet!”
Granny Li shook her head. “Young Master Ye, having that intention is enough. As for going to the Inner Cabinet, forget it!”
Ye Guan was puzzled. “Why?”
Granny Li spoke softly. “This matter is very complicated!”
Ye Guan said gravely. “Senior, are you referring to the aristocratic faction and the sect faction?”
Granny Li nodded. The power of those two factions was too great. She did not want Ye Guan to get dragged into that muddy water.
Having the intention was already sufficient.
Yet Ye Guan insisted. “But I still want to go to the Inner Cabinet!”
Granny Li looked at him, puzzled. “Why?”
Ye Guan said quietly. “That day, when Miss Guanzhi spoke up for me, she must have known the consequences, yet she still did it!”
Granny Li fell silent, hesitating.
Ye Guan said earnestly. “Please take me to the Inner Cabinet, Senior. As for anything else, say no more. My mind is made up!”
Granny Li stared at Ye Guan for a moment. Seeing his resolute attitude and that he was not pretending, she finally nodded. “Fine!”
In truth, she too had been holding back a burst of anger inside.
Ye Guanzhi had clearly done nothing wrong. Why should she be punished?
There was no such reasoning in the world!
Soon the two of them changed direction.
Before long they arrived in front of the Inner Cabinet Hall of Guanzhi Academy. Below the grand hall stood a towering statue.
The Human Sword Sovereign!
Ye Guan glanced at the statue of the Human Sword Sovereign, then walked toward the Inner Cabinet Hall.
Just as he drew near the entrance, a terrifying aura instantly enveloped him. “Halt!”
Ye Guan stopped. At that moment a voice suddenly echoed from all around. “What is the matter?”
Ye Guan looked straight at the Inner Cabinet. “I am here to lodge an imperial complaint!”
Lodge an imperial complaint!
His words rang out clearly and forcefully.
His action immediately drew the attention of some passing academy students. When they saw it was Ye Guan, they were all stunned.
Nowadays Ye Guan’s name carried great weight across the Guanzhi Cosmos. After all, he was the man bold enough to challenge a Child of Destiny head-on.
Lodge an imperial complaint!
Upon hearing his words the crowd of students instantly grew interested.
Very quickly news that Ye Guan was lodging an imperial complaint spread throughout Guanzhi Academy. More and more students hurried toward the scene.
South Garden.
When Ye Guanzhi learned that Ye Guan had gone to lodge a complaint against the Inner Cabinet for her sake, she too was stunned. She had never imagined he would do such a thing on her behalf.
After a long silence a touching smile bloomed on her face. An inexplicable joy filled her heart. She tried to keep reading, yet for some reason the book simply would not hold her attention any longer.
A sudden wind rose, rippling a whole pond of spring water.
In front of the Inner Cabinet Hall the surrounding students were utterly shocked. This Ye Guan was truly fearless!
He had dared to confront a Child of Destiny directly, and now he was coming to lodge an imperial complaint against the Inner Cabinet. Of course, they were even more curious about whom exactly Ye Guan intended to accuse.
Ye Guan stared straight at the Inner Cabinet Hall with no trace of fear in his eyes.
After a brief silence another voice emerged from within the Inner Cabinet. “Whom are you accusing?”
Ye Guan replied calmly. “I am accusing the Inner Cabinet!”
Accusing the Inner Cabinet!
The moment those words landed the entire crowd erupted in uproar!
Had Ye Guan gone mad?
To accuse the Inner Cabinet?
What was the Inner Cabinet?
It was currently the most powerful institution in the entire Guanzhi Cosmos. Accusing the Inner Cabinet?
Did he think the academy was run by his family?
Utterly audacious!
Inside the Inner Cabinet that voice fell silent.
At that point Ye Guan suddenly spoke again. “I, Ye Guan, competed for a spot on the martial rankings in the Upper Realm. Because the True Dragon Clan forcibly violated the rules of the martial rankings, I formed enmity with the An Clan and the True Dragon Clan. Miss Guanzhi handled the matter impartially and punished the An Clan, thereby offending the aristocratic faction and the sect faction. As a result she was deliberately suppressed, stripped of her chief position, and imprisoned in South Garden.”
He looked toward the Inner Cabinet, his gaze icy. “I ask the Inner Cabinet, is this academy the academy of the aristocratic faction and the sect faction, or is it the academy of the Human Sword Sovereign?”
At those words the expressions of the surrounding students changed instantly!
Had Ye Guan truly lost his mind?
To openly provoke the aristocratic faction and the sect faction in public? Many students already looked at him with hostility, because they themselves were disciples of sects and aristocratic families.
Yet Ye Guan’s expression remained calm.
Aristocratic faction?
Sect faction?
To hell with them!
Whoever treats me well, I treat well in return!
“Insolent!”
At that moment an old man suddenly walked over from the side. He glared at Ye Guan and roared. “Who are you? How dare you question the decisions of the Inner Cabinet?”
Ye Guan looked at the old man. “Are you from the Inner Cabinet?”
The old man said coldly. “No!”
Ye Guan frowned slightly. “Then what business is it of yours?”
The crowd: “…”
The old man flew into a rage. “You are outrageously rude! I am an elder of the Central Hub Courtyard. How dare you show me such contempt!”
Ye Guan glanced at Granny Li beside him, puzzled. “What is the Central Hub Courtyard?”
Granny Li explained. “Any decision made by the Inner Cabinet is sent to the Central Hub Courtyard for execution.”
Ye Guan nodded slightly, then looked back at the old man. “I am accusing the Inner Cabinet. What does that have to do with your Central Hub Courtyard?”
“You!”
The old man was furious beyond words. “Ye Guan, do not think you can act recklessly just because you have the Sword Sect behind you!”
Ye Guan looked at him. “Have you seen me act recklessly?”
The old man opened his mouth to speak, but Ye Guan shook his head. “Stop yapping. I do not want to hear your nonsense. If you are unhappy, we can settle it one-on-one. I will bury you!”
The old man was livid and about to retort when another elder walked out from inside the Inner Cabinet Hall.
Upon seeing the newcomer everyone in the crowd quickly bowed. “Greetings, Elder Zhang!”
Elder Zhang!
Elder Zhang was not an official of the Inner Cabinet, yet he was the only person allowed to enter and leave freely. Becoming a member of the Inner Cabinet was merely a matter of time for him.
After all, back in the day he had been personally promoted by the Human Sword Sovereign himself!
Seeing Elder Zhang, the Central Hub elder hurriedly gave a respectful salute. “Elder Zhang!”
Elder Zhang glanced at the old man. The old man quickly added. “This Ye Guan is lawless and should immediately have his academy student status revoked, then be sent to the Divine Zhao Prison…”
“Insolent!”
Elder Zhang suddenly roared. The sound exploded through the area like a clap of thunder!
Everyone froze.
The old man looked utterly stunned. “Elder Zhang?”
Elder Zhang stared at him. “You say Ye Guan is lawless. Then let me ask you, what law exactly has he broken?”
The old man trembled. “He is accusing the Inner Cabinet…”
Elder Zhang remained expressionless. “Who stipulated that one cannot accuse the Inner Cabinet?”
The old man was instantly dumbfounded.
Soon his face turned extremely ugly. Damn it, something was wrong. Elder Zhang seemed to be favouring Ye Guan.
Elder Zhang fixed his gaze on him. “Elder Yu, who exactly stipulated that Ye Guan cannot accuse the Inner Cabinet? As far as I know, the Human Sword Sovereign never made such a rule! What, are you greater than the Human Sword Sovereign?”
Elder Yu’s face changed dramatically. He slowly knelt down. “Elder Zhang, I was wrong!”
The surrounding crowd looked at Elder Yu with strange expressions. The man had tried to flatter the Inner Cabinet and ended up kicking the wrong horse!
Elder Zhang nodded slightly. “Those who hold authority in the academy are like people carrying sharp weapons. It is easy to develop murderous intent. Therefore we who wield such power must be cautious and must never abuse it. Understood?”
Elder Yu hurriedly replied. “Understood! This subordinate knows his mistake!”
Everyone around nodded quickly in agreement.
Ye Guan glanced at Elder Zhang. This old man seemed pretty decent!
Elder Zhang waved his hand. “Step back.”
Elder Yu glanced at Ye Guan, then quickly retreated!
Elder Zhang turned to Ye Guan. He studied him for a moment, his expression softening. He smiled. “You wish to accuse the Inner Cabinet?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes!”
Elder Zhang nodded. “Then come in with me.”
With that he turned and walked toward the Inner Cabinet!
Ye Guan hesitated, then said. “You are not going to trick me inside and then gang up on me, right?”
He remained wary of this Inner Cabinet. After all, even someone as good as Ye Guanzhi could be locked up. It had to be thoroughly corrupt!
Hearing Ye Guan’s words, Elder Zhang laughed in spite of himself. “Are you afraid?”
Ye Guan shook his head. “Not afraid!”
With that he followed!
In his mind, however, he said. “Tower Grandpa, do you know any big shots in the academy?”
The small tower replied calmly. “I know every big shot in Guanzhi Academy!”
Ye Guan’s face darkened. “Tower Grandpa, I am talking about serious business. Stop showing off! I do not know who you picked up that habit from, but you really need to change it!”
The small tower fell silent.
Why was it that every time he spoke the truth this guy never believed him?
Soon, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ye Guan and Elder Zhang entered the Inner Cabinet!
Outside the hall the students were all wondering whether the Inner Cabinet would punish Ye Guan.
Challenging the authority of the Inner Cabinet?
That was definitely unacceptable. He was probably about to be made an example of.
Granny Li watched Ye Guan with eyes full of worry. She could not gauge the Inner Cabinet’s attitude either!
After entering the Inner Cabinet Hall Ye Guan discovered it was very spacious. Not far away stood a large desk covered with memorials. Behind the desk sat a woman who was currently reviewing something.
At that moment the woman set down her pen. She looked at Ye Guan and smiled. “You wish to accuse the Inner Cabinet?”
Ye Guan nodded. “Yes!”
The woman smiled. “Elder Zhang, bring him a chair and place it in front of the desk!”
Elder Zhang nodded, then carried a chair over and set it before the woman. She looked at Ye Guan and smiled. “Sit.”
Ye Guan felt puzzled. The people in the Inner Cabinet were surprisingly easygoing.
Without thinking too much he walked over and sat down in front of the woman. She looked at him with a smile and said nothing.
After thinking for a moment Ye Guan took out Tower Grandpa. No other intention, he simply felt that having Tower Grandpa there would steady the scene.
If something happened, Tower Grandpa could block the first wave!
If Tower Grandpa could not handle it, then he would step up!
The small tower: “…”
Seeing Ye Guan bring out the small tower, the woman immediately burst into laughter. What a clever little rascal.
When she laughed Ye Guan hesitated, then asked. “Senior, do you know my Tower Grandpa?”
The woman blinked. “I know him!”
Ye Guan was shocked. “You know him?”
The woman nodded. “Yes!”
Ye Guan said softly. “Tower Grandpa really gets around!”
The woman laughed out loud.
Elder Zhang beside her also chuckled. He looked at Ye Guan with eyes full of gentleness.
Ye Guan was confused. “Senior, what are you laughing at?”
The woman smiled. “Nothing. Were you not going to accuse the Inner Cabinet? Go ahead and start.”
Ye Guan thought for a moment, then said gravely. “Senior, in what way did Miss Ye Guanzhi do wrong?”
The woman smiled. “She did nothing wrong.”
Ye Guan frowned slightly. “Then why did you imprison her?”
The woman replied. “We imprisoned her wrongly.”
Ye Guan was stunned. What the hell?
The woman smiled. “We have already investigated thoroughly. She committed no fault, so we are preparing to release her!”
Ye Guan fell silent. You are so reasonable that I hardly know what to do now.
The woman smiled. “Do you have anything else to ask?”
Ye Guan asked. “When will you release Miss Ye Guanzhi?”
The woman gave a slight smile. “Very soon. We are currently gathering evidence of the crimes committed by the An Clan and the True Dragon Clan back then. Once we have collected it, we will release Miss Ye Guanzhi. After all, we must follow the academy’s procedures. You understand, right?”
Ye Guan glanced at the woman. “You are not just brushing me off with empty promises?”
The woman smiled. “Rest assured, we will not play games.”
With that she opened her palm. An official decree appeared before Ye Guan. “Look, the decree to release Miss Guanzhi has already been signed. Once the procedures are complete, she will be released immediately!”
Ye Guan looked at the decree, then nodded. “Good!”
As if something occurred to him, he hesitated before asking. “Senior, is the Qingxuan Sword of the Human Sword Sovereign inside the academy?”
The woman nodded. “It is!”
Ye Guan said. “May I borrow it for a while?”
The woman smiled. “You may, but only after you win the martial contest!”
Win the martial contest!
Ye Guan was silent for a long time before nodding. “Fine!”
The woman smiled gently. “Anything else?”
Ye Guan stood up and cupped his hands. “Since Senior is busy, I will take my leave!”
With that he turned to go!
The woman suddenly called out. “Wait!”
Ye Guan turned back, puzzled. The woman pointed at the small tower and smiled. “Are you leaving your tower behind?”
The small tower: “…”
