My family has been wielding knives for generations, but now it's my turn to wield a pen!

"Then Young Master Jiang can give it a try!!"

The soldier stared at Jiang Xiaobai, his face icy cold.

As he spoke, the soldier's hand was already on the hilt of his sword again, and his gaze turned fierce.

"OK!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaobai not only didn't stop, but laughed instead: "Then this young master will give it a try."

"Look at your knife, dare you even touch my head!"

Then, Jiang Xiaobai turned to Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang: "Neither of you are allowed to move from now on!"

Ok?

Zhang Xinnian was taken aback.

Tang Ningshuang also glanced at Jiang Xiaobai.

But Jiang Xiaobai didn't explain further. He turned around and walked directly towards the gate of the Minister's Mansion.

The leader of the guards' expressions changed, and his fingers suddenly gripped the hilt of his sword.

However, Jiang Xiaobai didn't even look at him and quickly walked past the group of soldiers.

The lead soldier had beads of sweat on his forehead, and the hilt of his sword was creaking under his grip.

But even as Jiang Xiaobai reached the gate, the knife remained undrawn.

boom!

Jiang Xiaobai raised his foot and kicked the gate of the Minister's Mansion.

The previously tightly closed door was suddenly kicked open halfway.

"So... are you going to pull the knife out or not?"

Jiang Xiaobai then slowly turned around and looked at the leading family soldier: "If you don't pull it out, this young master will go in!"

"If you're going to pull it out, I'll offer you my head right now!"

"you……"

The soldier's face was extremely grim; his hand gripping the knife was trembling, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.

Jiang Xiaobai looked at him and gently shook her head.

Then, he turned and stepped into the Minister's residence.

Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang exchanged a glance and followed.

Only after the three entered the mansion did the guards loosen their grip on their swords.

"Boss..."

One of the guards couldn't help but step forward and ask in a low voice, "The...they just let the person in like that?"

"What's wrong?"

Upon hearing this, the leading soldier turned around abruptly and roared, "Isn't scaring him enough? You actually want to slash him?"

"Are you out of your mind? Do you know the consequences of slashing him?"

The more the soldier spoke, the angrier he became: "His father was the Marquis of Zhenbei! If the late emperor hadn't passed away so early, he would be the Prince of Zhenbei by now!"

"And this Jiang Xiaobai is now a personally appointed inspector by His Majesty, and he even carries an imperial silver tally!"

"If we really harm him, not only you and me, but our entire clan will be buried with us!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the surrounding guards turned pale at the same time.

The person who had just asked the question immediately lowered his head and dared not say another word.

……

Here.

After Jiang Xiaobai led the way into the Minister's residence, he looked around.

"This Minister's residence is truly enormous!"

Jiang Xiaobai sighed as he walked.

Indeed, inside the mansion, there are artificial hills and flowing water, and winding corridors that make it easy to get lost.

While Jiang Xiaobai casually surveyed his surroundings, Zhang Xinnian's expression remained tense, his hand never leaving the hilt of his knife.

Tang Ningshuang didn't say anything, but her gaze kept sweeping around.

Ultimately, this is the Ministry of Rites' residence, and Jiang Xiaobai is conducting a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Rites.

Given such a hostile relationship, she naturally dared not be careless.

"You two relax!"

Jiang Xiaobai chuckled, and just as he finished speaking, he saw a maid carrying a teacup pass by on a side path.

"girl!"

After reading it, Jiang Xiaobai immediately stepped forward, smiled, and said, "I have a question for you."

"Young...Young master, please speak."

The maid glanced at Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang, her expression tense.

"Where is your Minister?"

Jiang Xiaobai asked.

"Your Excellency, Minister?"

The maid was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied, "The master is receiving guests at Tinghu Lake."

"Receiving guests?"

Jiang Xiaobai raised an eyebrow slightly: "What kind of guests?"

"this……"

The maid shook her head: "This servant is not quite sure. This servant only knows that two guests have arrived, and the Minister has instructed... that no outsiders are allowed to disturb them."

"Don't worry, I'm not an outsider, I'm... one of the people investigating him."

Jiang Xiaobai smiled and said, "So, could you tell me how to get to Tinghu Lake?"

"This...this servant dares not!"

The maid shook her head, looking frightened.

"Alright, I won't make things difficult for you. Just take a look in the direction of Tinghu Lake!"

As Jiang Xiaobai finished speaking, Zhang Xinnian also glared at her. The maid became even more frightened and finally turned her head to look in one direction.

"Okay, thanks!"

Jiang Xiaobai nodded, then led Zhang Xinnian and Tang Ningshuang in the direction the maid pointed.

……

At this moment, deep within the Minister's residence.

At Tinghu Lake, the water rippled slightly, a cool breeze blew by, and a few koi occasionally leaped out of the water.

Three people are sitting in a small pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Chen Zhanqiu sat in the main seat, while two men sat opposite him.

The man was young, dressed in fine clothes and with a handsome face. His demeanor exuded an indescribable elegance and composure.

If Jiang Xiaobai were here, he would definitely recognize the other person as Zhou Chaomian.

At that moment, Chen Zhanqiu was laughing heartily: "Haha, very good, very good! As expected of Young Master Zhao, this plan is brilliant!"

"Hehe, Minister Chen, you flatter me."

The young man smiled slightly: "I simply can't stand people like this who rely on their family background to buy their way into official positions."

The man spoke in a gentle tone, but his words were clearly tinged with coldness.

Chen Zhanqiu picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then looked at the man surnamed Zhao: "But Mr. Zhao, are you really sure that 'On Teachers' and 'On Horses' were written by Miss Lin?"

"Minister Chen, I can testify to this matter."

Before the man surnamed Zhao could speak, Zhou Chaomian interjected, "The 'On Teachers' was posted by Master Lin himself, while the 'On Horses'... well, I saw it with my own eyes—Miss Lin posted it herself!"

"These two essays, 'On Teachers' and 'On Horses,' share a similar style and theme, so they must have been written by the same person!"

After saying that, Zhou Chaomian looked confident.

Of course, he wasn't the only one who speculated about this; the entire Imperial Academy shared the same idea.

Neither Mr. Lin nor Ms. Lin Qinrou made a statement.

Isn't this... just defaulting?

"I also suspect that it was written by Qin Rou."

The man surnamed Zhao then spoke up: "Because my junior sister has always disliked competing for fame, the first post was personally published by my teacher!"

"The second one, because there wasn't enough time to notify the teacher, she posted it herself!"

"That's certainly true!"

Chen Zhanqiu nodded slightly and said, "Elder Lin's granddaughter is exceptionally talented. She disguised herself as a man and achieved the top scholar title, not for herself, but to give women all the honor in the world!"

After speaking, Chen Zhanqiu's expression showed a hint of admiration.

"Hehe, and besides... my junior sister hates nothing more than those who steal her master's teachings and fame!"

The man surnamed Zhao smiled and said, "Therefore... if word gets out that both articles were written by Jiang Xiaobai, my master will definitely expel this person from the sect!"

"And my junior sister will publicly testify to it, which will completely ruin Jiang Xiaobai's reputation!"

At this point, the man surnamed Zhao said confidently, "His Majesty will absolutely not allow a fraudster to hold such an important position as an imperial inspector!!"

"Hehe, that's natural!"

Chen Zhanqiu smiled and nodded.

Yes, he had heard about the brothel incident in the past two days.

Jiang Xiaobai used four absolutes to silence all the students in the capital.

But for him, keeping quiet was not an option.

That's right. If everyone shuts up, then it means the problem lies with their Ministry of Rites.

Therefore, students cannot shut up; they must continue to criticize Jiang Xiaobai relentlessly.

In this way, Jiang Xiaobai will be too busy to take care of itself!

Especially for someone with an extremely bad reputation, no one will believe the results of any investigation.

By then, Jiang Xiaobai's political career will inevitably come to an end, and he will no longer be able to stir up any waves.

"Hehe, my junior sister's book 'On Teachers' is now widely circulated."

At this point, the man surnamed Zhao continued, "His later work, 'On Horses,' has been regarded as a sacred work by some ambitious people."

"Stealing the credits of these two articles is something that ordinary people absolutely cannot afford!"

At this point, the man surnamed Zhao picked up his teacup and smiled faintly.

"At least, Jiang Xiaobai is absolutely out of the question!!"