"You're mistaken."

"I'm not mistaken. You definitely took advantage of me when I was groggy. I still remember that feeling—so full, so warm, so comfortable. I felt completely filled..."

"I didn't."

"You did!"

"Absolutely not. You must have been confused!"

"You definitely did. Just consider it helping me out, okay? While no one's here, Teacher Qin, could you do it again quickly..."

Ming Shuiyun couldn't listen anymore and burst in, exclaiming, "Qin Leyin!"

Le Yin, standing by Li Ying's bedside, nodded to them without surprise, "Good morning, don't you have classes later?"

"We skipped class." Ming Shuiyun replied straightforwardly and walked over quickly to glance at Li Ying and Le Yin, "What were you talking about just now?"

"Ah?" Li Ying was taken aback, then quickly realized something, her face blushing deeply, stammering, "Shuiyun, don't get the wrong idea. I didn't mean that when I was talking with Teacher Qin... Right, Teacher Qin?"

"Hm?" Le Yin looked at Li Ying, "Are you saying that last night I penetrated you, making you feel very comfortable, warm, and full, as if your body was completely filled? If that's what you meant, then they didn't misunderstand."

Kui Nianruo awkwardly covered her face, yet couldn't help but peek through her fingers, her legs clamped tightly together, her face so red as if it was on fire; Qian Yuya didn't react much; Qin Yueshi and Lin Xue both had odd expressions.

"Teacher Qin, don't say nonsense! I'm still a virgin!"

Li Ying thought she would see Le Yin frantically explaining, but unexpectedly, Le Yin blatantly admitted it, as if she really took full advantage of her. This was not acceptable. She was just habitually cracking a dirty joke!

Although Qin Leyin wasn't entirely out of the question—if Qin Leyin insisted on being her subordinate, Li Ying could reluctantly accept this male charmer—but the problem was, Ming Shuiyun was right there beside him!

Li Ying could already see the cold, murderous gleam in Ming Shuiyun's eyes. If Ming Shuiyun misunderstood that she stole her man, Li Ying feared that after Ming Shuiyun ascended the throne, she would end up as her accessory—a skull ornament.

"Shuiyun, listen to me. I just recalled that Teacher Qin seemed to have treated me last night, so I was hoping he could treat me again. The two of us are completely innocent, we swear by the sun and moon!" Li Ying jumped up from the bed and hugged Ming Shuiyun, her eyes brimming with tears, like a wronged little kitten.

Le Yin glanced at Li Ying, "You can be discharged this afternoon, still need treatment?"

It was just Le Yin manually checking her abdomen, intentionally avoiding her organs. The injury would heal after a night in the Medical Bureau, though it might shave a few months off her lifespan. But in these times, the odds of Li Ying dying of old age were lower than Le Yin retiring after this job.

He had heard Ming Shuiyun's footsteps earlier, intending to use Li Ying's mouth to make them misunderstand that he's an old pervert—though that wouldn't really be a misunderstanding—but unexpectedly, Li Ying, who seemed to like this type, couldn't handle his even more risqué comments.

Ming Shuiyun sighed in relief, "I knew it, you wouldn't go after Li Ying..."

"Hey, hey, hey, Shuiyun, what do you mean by that?" Li Ying was upset. Who wasn't a pretty girl?

"I didn't mean it like that..."

Ming Shuiyun apologized sincerely, yet her face still read, 'That's exactly what I meant.' Li Ying's appearance was her greatest weak spot, enraging her enough to tackle Ming Shuiyun onto the bed as they wrestled.

"Li Ying, you're all lively and jumping around, why aren't you going to class?"

"I got stabbed in the stomach! And you're still making me go to class, that's inhumane!"

"Was it Teacher Su who stabbed you?" Kui Nianruo clenched her fists, angrily speaking, "Teacher Su is really terrible, luckily Teacher Qin avenged you!"

Li Ying heard this, glanced at Le Yin, only to find Le Yin looking at her too.

"Ah... yes... it was Teacher Su who stabbed me..." Li Ying said softly.

"I knew it!"

Watching their noisy quarrel, Le Yin said, "Then you guys take care of her, I just happen to have something to do, I need to leave first."

"Qin Leyin." Ming Shuiyun stopped him, quietly looked at him, and asked, "Is it all good?"

Le Yin stood straight, glanced around, made eye contact with everyone, seeing their concern, enthusiasm, and trust in their eyes, and revealed a faint smile.

"Nothing will happen."

With that, Le Yin left the Medical Bureau, went to the conference room on the third floor of the Guards Department teaching building, pushed the door open, and said, "I wasn't late, was I?"

"Right on time, Teacher Qin," Cha Huan said.

In the conference room, several people were already seated, Cha Huan sat at the main seat quietly drinking tea, as if watching a play. Beside him sat two people: one was an old man with silver hair and black clothes, wearing steel chain gloves with silver bells attached that tinkled pleasantly with movement. The other was a slim middle-aged man with a purple edge on a blue base, his look sharp and scrutinous.

Behind them stood three black-clad operatives wearing pure white masks, silent as wood, and thin like steel.

Le Yin sat opposite them as Cha Huan introduced, "This is Silver Bell Elder Crane Tears, and the other is Assistant Minister Zhong Shujun of the Patrol and Punishment Department."

The Assistant Minister of Patrol and Punishment, a purple and blue official, even in Yanjing qualifies as a big shot. Le Yin looked at the three white-masked black-clad operatives behind, confidently asked, "Judges?"

"I'm just a mere clerical officer. The specific tasks still need to be executed by the Judgement Unit," Zhong Shujun said with a sinister smile, "Teacher Qin, a pleasure to meet you."

The Judges, the direct investigative unit of the Patrol and Punishment Department, before the Statistical Department's birth, were the most notorious violent institution of the Imperial Court, wielding the power to instantly execute people, unleashing a storm of blood wherever they went, able to stop babies from crying at night. However, after the even more unscrupulous Statistical Department started taking on the dirty work, the Judges rarely appeared, yet no one would underestimate these white-masked killers.

"It's an honor to meet Silver Bell Elder and Assistant Minister Zhong," Le Yin said, "The Principal's urgent call for me, is there something going on?"

"Qin Leyin, you've committed a transgression!"

Crane Tears slammed the table hard, and Cha Huan glanced at him. Crane Tears flinched subconsciously but quickly hardened again, "Committing murder in broad daylight, ignoring the laws of the Imperial Court, do you think you can get away with it?"

"Speaking of the Imperial Court laws," Le Yin said, "Did you catch the mastermind behind the group that attacked the Platinum Tower before? Have the spies infiltrating the Outer District of Yanjing been investigated clearly?"

"They will be. All traitors and criminals will ultimately be caught in the vast net of the law," Zhong Shujun said lightly, "Now, let's first deal with the death of Su Qian and Ying Sheng's incident. Qin Le Yin, were you away from the Imperial Academy at 9:15 PM last night?"

"Yes."

"Did you encounter Ying Sheng and Su Qian?"

"Yes."

"Did you initiate an attack on the two of them first?"

"Yes, but they attacked my student Li Ying first."

"Hmm, the Criminal Department will consider your plea," Zhong Shujun said, "Then you threw them into the wine cellar of the Drunken Immortal Inn next door and used a sharp object to cut Ying Sheng's throat in the wine cellar, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you chased after the fleeing Su Qian and used a light explosion to shatter his internal organs, right?"

"Yes, but he was holding my student Li Ying hostage."

"But at that time he showed an intention to escape, not to kill Student Li Ying or you, Teacher Qin, right? It was you who insisted on pursuing and killing him to prevent his escape, right?"

"Yes."

Zhong Shujun nodded slightly, "Thank you very much, Teacher Qin, for your cooperation. Since all witness evidence, physical evidence, and crime evidence are present, the matter becomes much simpler."

The Assistant Minister of the Criminal Department turned to look at Cha Huan, "Principal Cha, you also heard Teacher Qin's answers just now. Although there may be a reason for Su Qian's provocation, first, they did not harm Student Li Ying. They might have wanted to inquire about something, but because of their deaths, we will never know what they truly intended, and we only have the surviving person's words as evidence."

"Secondly, Su Qian already had the intention of fleeing. If Teacher Qin believed he committed crimes, he could report it to the Patrol and Punishment Department, he could seek help from his friend Inspector Xian Chan, or he could wait to tell you the next day, but instead, he chose to kill Su Qian on the spot."

"Teacher Qin has no law enforcement authority, yet he committed murder in public, deliberately killing a young man who lost the will to fight, causing extremely adverse social impacts. It is necessary for us, both sentimentally and logically, to take him back to the Criminal Department for interrogation to ascertain the truth."

Zhong Shujun said sincerely, "If Teacher Qin indeed acted in self-defense, the Criminal Department will not wrong a good person; but if Teacher Qin deliberately murdered, the Criminal Department will not let a bad person go."

"Many people are watching this case now. We must provide justice for the deceased and seek fairness for the living. What do you think, Principal?"

Cha Huan: "I think what you said sounds pretty good. You truly live up to the title of a high official wearing a purple-blue official robe."

"Cha Huan," Crane Tears put down his teacup and said calmly, "The Left Army led by Lord Yanxia is confronting the Ta Bai Army on the front lines. We, in the rear, enjoy peace under their protection and already feel uneasy inside. If we drag down the front-line soldiers by committing mistakes that comfort foes and distress friends, wouldn't that be more foolish than a pig?"

Cha Huan glanced at him, "You do have some self-awareness."

"Cha Huan," Crane Tears squinted, "Recently, you crossed out so many names from that list, causing people in Yanjing to be on edge. If it weren't for our Nobility, Imperial Court, and the military jointly suppressing, there would have been chaos in Yanjing long ago!"

"The Su family is ranked among the top five noble families in Yanjing and is currently an indispensable pillar of the Imperial Court! Even if they are not justified in this matter, we must appease them, not to mention this time it was Qin Le Yin who took the wrong step! Even if he didn't kill anyone, there's still room for maneuver! You know how protective Su Canjian is!"

"Cha Huan, Yanjing doesn't have the depth to let you act willfully. You don't want to see this big picture that everyone is striving to maintain be destroyed by such a trivial reason, do you?"

Cha Huan looked at the teacup silently. Crane Tears' eyes lit up, but his tone grew even more sinister, "Cha Huan, the Su family only wants an explanation, everyone only wants an explanation... a fair and just explanation."

"Cha Huan, you can certainly make the right decision."

The meeting room fell silent. After a long while, Cha Huan sighed faintly, "Qin Le Yin."

"Present."

"From today, you are no longer Acting Principal."

Crane Tears almost laughed out loud—he succeeded, he made the stubborn Cha Huan yield, after so many years, he finally won against Cha Huan!

Le Yin's face remained calm, as if it wasn't him who was being dismissed, "Yes."

Cha Huan stood up, "Crane Tears, come take a walk outside with me."

"Sure." Crane Tears agreed happily and said to Zhong Shujun, "I'll leave the rest to you."

"No problem," Zhong Shujun smiled, tapping the table lightly, and the pale-faced judges slowly approached Le Yin.

As Crane Tears reached the door, Cha Huan suddenly said, "By the way, regarding the disciplinary arrangements for Qin Le Yin next..."

"Let Vice Principal Qin Le Yin discuss them with you guys."

The pale-faced judges halted.

Zhong Shujun's expression stiffened.

Crane Tears was startled, then shouted in anger, "Cha Huan, you—"

"Come," Cha Huan hooked Crane Tears' neck and forcibly dragged him out of the meeting room, "It's noon, I'll treat you to lunch in the restroom."

As the footsteps gradually receded from the meeting room, Le Yin slowly stood up, walked over to Cha Huan's seat, sat down, placed his hands together on the table, and looked at Zhong Shujun with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Assistant Minister Zhong, I think Qin Le Yin acted righteously. It was Su Qian and Ying Sheng who attacked first and took hostages afterward. These two chose their own demise; Qin Le Yin acted in self-defense and should be immediately declared not guilty and released. Don't you think so?"