Chapter 604

The drowsy guards, upon hearing someone again coming to beat the Peace Drum, were instantly jolted awake.

Several people hurriedly looked ahead, only to see a tall, sturdy, robust man in plain single garments, his black hair scattered over his shoulders, slowly walking toward the Peace Drum.

His features were extraordinarily handsome; though he wore no armor nor carried weapons, simply standing there he exuded a heroic martial aura.

"Zhao... General Zhao?"

"It... it's the Pillar-of-State Grand General arriving!"

The guards began muttering among themselves.

They too were from the ranks, but being older and unskilled at ingratiation, having earned no merit, with only average martial skill, that's why they were assigned to guard the Peace Drum.

Now seeing the youthful hero, the Pillar-of-State Grand General, their hearts surged with excitement.

Zhao Lang achieved merit at a young age; although he has just come of age, he already boasts illustrious military achievements.

He can even stand shoulder to shoulder with Senior General Cheng and Prince Rui, something these lowly soldiers seldom see.

Now seeing the famed General Zhao in plain single garments, hair loose, walking toward them, they were momentarily speechless, each frozen in place.

The Peace Drum has become a trouble spot in Shang Jing; not long ago it just killed a Southern Qi scholar, and now a general has come.

The townsfolk, faces full of gossip, gathered around; the dramas around Peace Valley came one after another, more than they could watch.

"Zhao... General Zhao, why... why have you come?"

The guard watching the Peace Drum stepped forward.

Zhao Lang's expression stern, he slowly walked to the Peace Drum, raised his hand and took up the already tattered drumstick.

The instant he picked up the drumstick, those around let out a sudden gasp.

"What... what is General Zhao intending to do?"

"Yes, not long ago the young lady herself just beat the Peace Drum, causing a lawsuit that led to a scholar being struck dead here; now General Zhao also joins the commotion?"

"Who knows what trouble he'll stir up this time?"

One of the guards watching the Peace Drum, his expression slightly halted, hurried forward to salute: "General, be cautious; this drum is not to be beaten at random."

Another seemed to recall that earlier the general's manor's young lady had beaten the drum without rolling the nail, which caused the civil and military officials to stir up such a major death case.

He hurried forward and cautioned carefully: "General, the ancestral rule states that beating the Peace Drum requires rolling the iron nail; look..."

"Yes, yes, although Prince Rui last time said the young lady's weak body exempted her from rolling the nail, in the end it still left no way to settle things, and now you..."

Zhao Lang grew impatient, his handsome brows slightly raising: "Did I say I wouldn't roll the nail? I know the Peace Drum's rules; otherwise why would I come here? Do you think I'm idle?"

Several people were instantly silenced by his rebuke, then reacted, their faces all turning white in unison.

"What did General Zhao just mean? Is he going to roll the nail?"

The news of Zhao Lang beating the Peace Drum quickly spread to the palace city and also reached the Prince Rui's residence.

Xiao Yin hurriedly brought Gu Jiu Ling over here.

After all, earlier he had sent word through Jinzhi asking her to intervene; these days he has suppressed and demoted the officials of Shang Jing, leaving those remaining too afraid to speak.

Therefore, if Jinzhi came today to beat the Peace Drum, nobody would dare to come out and gossip.

But Jinzhi didn't come, while Zhao Lang did.

Xiao Yin's heart stirred slightly; he hurriedly brought people over to have a look.

Zhao Lang is now the Pillar-of-State Grand General; although he too is a military officer, even he must be given some face.

The Pillar-of-State Grand General himself coming to beat the Peace Drum—he knew nothing of it at all, unaware what Zhao Lang intends to do.

The Peace Drum involves too much idle gossip; as Xiao Yin rushed over, the civil and military officials, including generals, also hurried over in droves.

Especially those several generals who usually get along well with Zhao Lang, all came riding hard on horseback.

If today's matter blows up, the civil officials and military officers might very well end up fighting around the Peace Drum.

Gu Jiu Ling lifted the carriage curtain, stepped down behind Xiao Yin, and upon seeing the tall youth standing before the Peace Drum, she couldn't help but frown slightly.

Originally Xiao Yin had arranged everything, but now Jinzhi was suddenly replaced by Zhao Lang, catching them all off guard.

Zhao Lang gripped the drumstick tightly in his hand, not even looking at the approaching Xiao Yin, then felt in his bosom and produced a petition.

It was written in copious detail, nearly seven or eight pages; just moments ago it had bulged in his bosom, and now taken out it feels weighty.

Zhao Lang slowly knelt, raised the petition high, and proclaimed loudly: "I, Zhao Lang of Longxi, today beat the Peace Drum to appeal for the wronged Azure Dragon Army who died unjustly in the Qi Sha Gu case!"

Having spoken, Zhao Lang placed the petition on a stone slab beside the Peace Drum and weighed it down with a paperweight.

According to past custom, after beating the drum, the petition must be sent by the guards into the palace.

He had just weighed down the petition when, sure enough, low murmurs of discussion came from the surrounding civil officials.

These days the civil officials have been almost completely suppressed by Xiao Yin, left with no livelihood; now seeing Zhao Lang come to beat the Peace Drum, they no longer care about right or wrong, black or white.

They simply don't want these military men to be too arrogant; the resentment they've been swallowing now naturally erupts before so many people.

If capable, Xiao Yin would have them all killed and driven out of Shang Jing.

"Good, another military officer comes to beat the Peace Drum."

"Last time the Zhao family's young lady appealed for her father; now what kind of grievance is this?"

"Could it be that the Peace Drum was established for the Southern Qi's military officers?"

"Yes, worst case we just go to the palace to beg for an imperial edict—painless, itchy, how nice."

Suddenly a civil official standing in the front row had his voice cut off as flying sand and stone struck his face, splitting his lips and drawing blood.

The remaining civil officials instantly flared up, raising their voices: "Is General Zhao intending to commit violence in public?"

Zhao Lang slowly rose, turned his face slightly aside, still pinching a few gravel bits in his hand, and coldly laughed: "Gentlemen, you may criticize me, Zhao Lang, but to disparage my wife is to court death!"

Zhao Lang, worthy of a battlefield-hardened warrior, spoke with weight; those civil officials instantly shut their mouths.

Xiao Yin's brows furrowed: "The Peace Drum is such a sacred place; if anyone dares to spout nonsense again, drag them out and give them thirty blows!"

The surrounding civil officials opened their mouths, but ultimately dared not speak further, retreating a few steps.

Yet in the end some reckless souls shouted loudly: "Though Prince Rui forbids us to speak, we would still say it even if we get beaten."

What connection does General Zhao Lang have with Qi Sha Gu? On what basis does he come to seek redress? Moreover, when one beats the peace drum, one is supposed to roll the nails—how could it just pass by so painlessly? This ruins the ancestors' rules.

Before those people had finished speaking, Zhao Lang gave them a cold glance.

That glance alone made those people retreat a few steps.

Zhao Lang shouted, "How can the Qi Sha Gu case have nothing to do with this general?"

"The former deputy commander of the Azure Dragon Army, General An, was my father-in-law; as the saying goes, a son-in-law is half a son. As his son, what business is it of yours for me to seek redress for my father?"

"Moreover, which blind fool sees that I, Zhao Lang, have not come this time to roll the nails?"

"This general will not just roll the nails; you had better add a few more nails, so that when the skin itches, you can really scratch it to your heart's content!"