Chapter 658

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

"Father, what should we do now?" Qi Tianheng was somewhat panicked.

Indeed, they had never experienced this before; previously the Qi family sat securely on the fishing terrace, and there was absolutely nothing that could threaten them.

Since half a year ago when half a ledger used for records at home went missing, the Qi family searched high and low with great fanfare, but in the end fished up nothing.

Later, after several months of living in fear and trepidation, they discovered that the government office and the imperial court had not moved against the Qi family, only then did they slowly let down the hearts they had raised.

Pity this heart had not been put down securely for long before Yuanshui City welcomed the Emperor's great favorite, the Jing Prince, acting on behalf of the Emperor to inspect; he stayed for several days and then there was news of the ledger, but the booklet had already been handed over to the Jing Prince.

Qi Tianheng's whole face was at a loss, his eyes staring fixedly at his birth father, urgently wanting to hear his birth father's arrangement.

Qi Chengyun:...

"What are you panicking for?! The Jing Prince is still in Yuanshui City," inside and outside Yuanshui City were all under the Qi family's say-so; to become cowardly like this before the final step, how could he rest assured handing over the Qi family's business!

Qi Tianheng stammered and called out "Father," indicating that the Jing Prince had guards and imperial guards with him; even though their Qi family was the local emperor/despot of Yuanshui City, they did not dare oppose the imperial court.

Daring to go take the Jing Prince's life today, tomorrow they could await the imperial court's great army's encirclement and suppression; the Qi family did not have three heads and six arms, they could not handle it.

Qi Chengyun, angered, slapped the table heavily, "Muddle-headed! Steal the ledger out, perhaps with heavy profit, would the Jing Prince not be tempted?"

Which family's man doesn't have seven emotions and six desires; the Jing Prince is not an immortal, without desire or seeking, single-mindedly loyal to the sovereign and loving the country without wavering.

Qi Chengyun being so many years older than Qi Tianheng was not for nothing; he had witnessed the Former Emperor's absurdity in his early years; Qi Tianheng was also lucky to become his son; if it were those half-brothers by different mothers... they would have been buried in the earth for decades already.

This son Qi Tianheng was still slightly more simple compared to this father Qi Chengyun; upon hearing that the Jing Prince could be bribed, the person instantly turned from panic to peace of mind, and even casually mentioned the treasures the family could produce, all priceless, qualified to be used as tribute.

Qi Chengyun stroked his beard, laughing heartily, letting Qi Tianheng not rush for now, "Since the ledger matter is in the Jing Prince's hands, as long as he does not leave Yuanshui City for a day, we need not worry about it leaking out.

Rather, those corpse bones at the government office entrance you mentioned are the Qi family's top priority."

Qi Tianheng:... Huh? Why?

"Those corpse bones likely came from the Yuan Shui; our Qi family has controlled Yuan Shui river transport for many years, accumulating grievances and resentments unknown how many; among them the Qi family won more and lost less, and the solved corpses were also often buried in the Yuan Shui, not afraid of discovery.

As a result, corpse bones that should have been in the Yuan Shui suddenly appeared; it must be someone dissatisfied with the Qi family's doings, wanting to borrow the opportunity of the Jing Prince's arrival to make trouble for them!

Hmph!

Qi Chengyun coldly snorted, ordering Qi Tianheng to set about handling the corpse bone matter; it absolutely could not be allowed to develop further, otherwise their Qi family would all suffer a fall.

Upon hearing this, Qi Tianheng acknowledged and turned around to mobilize manpower to inquire throughout the city.

The fish demon's methods in handling this matter were comparatively rough, but it couldn't be helped that the demon was not human, and the times chosen were all nights when the masses were sound asleep; the Qi family busied themselves thoroughly, and in the end locked their gaze on the government office.

This newly appointed prefect had not had too much intersection with their Qi family; whether it was the Qi family showing goodwill or warning, he unhurriedly pushed back and refused; if he could not refuse, he would find ways to fob off the entire government office, absolutely not letting himself and the Qi family be bound by any private relationship.

So many corpse bones, and even white bones, it must be the government office that did it!

Government Office:... Truly a huge black pot

Qi Tianheng returned to the Qi Mansion, planning to go warn this prefect early tomorrow morning; no matter what, the Jing Prince could not stay in Yuanshui City for long; he had best be sensible and understanding to serve out his term and leave; otherwise the Qi family would absolutely not let the other party have an easy time.

"Young Master, something has happened."

"What are you doing, so flustered so early in the morning?"

Qi Tianheng had just gotten up from the bed, about to go to the government office to see the prefect, not expecting the steward's one sentence to directly scare him so his heart nearly jumped out.

What?

Large amounts of corpse bones have also appeared at the junction of Yuanshui City East and City South?!

One after another, when clearly many corpse bones that had just died not long ago were placed at the Qi family's main gate, whether it was Qi Tianheng or Qi Chengyun, both realized this matter was not simple; their Qi family seemed to really be in for bad luck!

'Only realizing now? That's a bit slow,' Lin Xingzhi and the Yuanshui City prefect had even dug the pits, just waiting for the Qi family to jump in and then bury and trample them firm.

It seems the Qi family has been glorious and unlimited in Yuanshui City for many years, and early lost their previous vigilance; this Qi family head is also not that shrewd.

The System saw the Host still this calm, itself anxious and jumping up and down, 'Lin Xingzhi is going to have an accident, Host not helping?'

How can you still sit at the relay station saying sarcastic remarks; the Qi family is about to make a move.

Shen Yao raised an eyebrow, 'Let them move; the Qi family making a move is exactly what I want.

Besides, fighting on the Yuan Shui, who has stronger external aid than what I invited?'

Even masters with the best water nature cannot deal with fish demons that make water their home.

Those fish demons that took several bottles of my Clear Qi Pills will definitely spare great effort to guarantee Lin Xingzhi's safety; this is their token for exchanging for alchemy medicine.

System:...

The System was speechless, because what the Host said was not wrong; Lin Xingzhi's importance in the fish demons' eyes was even stronger than those messy people.

After all, opportunities to encounter Clear Qi Pills are not many; if they don't seize the time to grasp it well, who knows when the next time will be.

The System no longer spoke, but ran to the side of the Yuan Shui to watch the excitement.

Lin Xingzhi and the Yuanshui City prefect sat on a ship waiting for the Qi family to come knocking.

Lurking in the surroundings were quite a few government office constables and imperial guards as well as Prince's Guards.

"Prince, in a moment please leave from the cabin," once eyes turn red they don't distinguish who is who; the Yuanshui City prefect's surname is Zheng, usually most afraid of trouble.

If not for the Qi family pressing step by step too aggressively these two years, Prefect Zheng also could not have joined forces with the Jing Prince to cause trouble.

The Jing Prince's safety still had to be guaranteed; he did not want his official career to end.

Lin Xingzhi still did not know Prefect Zheng's inner thoughts; hearing this, he raised his head to gaze into the distance, "Too late," the Qi family had already dispatched people over.

As his words fell, earth-shaking shouts of killing rose from outside; Lin Xingzhi couldn't help but furrow his brows tightly; under Prefect Zheng's shocked and worried gaze, he led people directly onto the bow.

The bow?

Prefect Zheng was simply terrified to death of this recklessly bold Jing Prince Highness; ai yo fei, how dangerous.

He had already planned in his heart that if something happened he would stake this life to also protect the Jing Prince; it was also for the Zheng family descendants' glory, wealth, and honor; absolutely could not let the Jing Prince have an accident.

The result was that what one feared most came to pass; seeing their own forces retreating step by step, the Qi family's people were about to bury their heads and kill their way onto the ship, when Prefect Zheng saw the originally calm water surface suddenly give rise to one black vortex after another, fish heads the size of human faces emerged, opening their fish mouths to spit out streams of water arrows.

Prefect Zheng: ……Huh???

Prefect Zheng felt he was a bit ill; how could he see such huge fish heads? The key point was the fish heads could still spit water arrows, and could still speak.

Speak?!!!

Prefect Zheng simply rolled his eyes in fright and fainted, collapsing in a daze.

Lin Xingzhi: ……

Knowing the premise that his wife was a yaoguai, Lin Xingzhi did not feel afraid upon encountering fish yaoguai, merely curious why these fish yaoguai would appear to help him; could it be that these were all his wife's friends?

The black fish yaoguai nodded its big fish head, indicating they were indeed friends, and extremely good friends at that; otherwise why would they have jumped out to help?

"You there, do you need us fish yaoguai to deliver these corpses to the government office?"

The water surface was full of blood color, a fishy smell lingered, paired with one fish head after another, the entire scene became strange and gloomy.

Lin Xingzhi shook his head with a smile, dressed in white robes standing at the bow of the ship, like a dashing young nobleman untouched by turbid qi; in reality, he was the chief culprit who caused all this bloodshed earlier.

"Thank you for your trouble, Fish Brother; from here on we will handle it."

These corpses, whether delivered to the government office or sunk to the bottom of the water, would not affect the overall situation.

Seeing this, the black fish yaoguai gave a sound of acknowledgment, turned its head to call its friends back to the bottom of the water, still happily pondering in its heart that this transaction was not bad, it would get another bottle of Qi-Clearing Pills.

Sigh

Truly hope this man called Lin Xingzhi can stay in Yuanshui City for a few more days, so they fish yaoguai can stockpile more Qi-Clearing Pills.

The Qi family's ending was thereby already predestined; after all, assaulting a court-appointed official and a current royal prince, how many heads did the Qi family have enough to be chopped like this?

Even if the Qi family argued they were unaware, clearly someone deliberately framed them, the account books' power could not be underestimated, evidence was ironclad, the Qi family had no defense, and could only let the Imperial Guards escort them back to the capital.

Next was to hand it over to the Emperor to deal with the Qi family; the death penalty could no longer be escaped now; the only thing the Qi family could beg for was to not implicate their marriage allies; otherwise if the nine clans were truly exterminated, the Qi family would not have a trace of existence left.

A person lives one lifetime; brought nothing at birth, takes nothing at death; what one seeks and thinks of is just that bit of fame and profit.

"The Qi family has fallen, suffered heavy losses, letting the aristocratic families in the city see the situation clearly; as Xingzhi wished, next they can keep their heads down for a period of time."

Lin Xingzhi's purpose for this trip has been achieved; it is also time for them to set off and leave.

Lin Xingzhi heard this and smiled, embracing Shen Yao beside him, giving a light nod of acknowledgment, "Tomorrow early morning, we will head for Hejian Prefecture."

The next city after Yuanshui City is larger and more prosperous than Yuanshui City. Likewise, the problems inside are more numerous, and even more in need of intervention to rectify.

The second day early morning, Prefect Zheng brought a group of government office officials to see them off.

Shen Yao brought the child and got into the carriage compartment a step ahead; outside the window Lin Xingzhi was exchanging pleasantries with these people; the Qi family had already fallen into the net, and this water transport business would also be taken over by the court.

"The local commoners should have it a bit better, right? With no middle merchants earning the price difference, they are all Li Country subjects; could it be that exploitation is still as severe as before?"

The system's naive and innocent words made Shen Yao somewhat not know how to refute.

Mm

Perhaps these commoners will live a little better than before, but the greater possibility is still maintaining the status quo, or losing the Qi family's restrictions, becoming even more miserable.

System: ……Ah?

"Swapping one for another, they are all the ruling class; why do you feel the commoners' plight at the bottom can improve?"

Lowering her eyes to look at her own exquisite and beautiful nail guards, Shen Yao gave a cold laugh, "No great difference."

To describe it as fifty steps laughing at a hundred steps; they are all deserters; could it be that it is still very glorious?

The carriage departed from the official courier station, heading for the even more distant Hejian Prefecture.

Passing by Yuanshui, the black fish yaoguai couldn't help but poke its head out, blowing bubbles at the already faraway carriage fleet.

The originally overcast gray sky turned bright and cloudless; Lin Chengjing lay in Shen Yao's arms, his little chubby finger pointing outside shouting "Fishy fishy."

Raising her brow, Shen Yao turned her head to look, gazing straight at the fish yaoguai hidden among the passing crowds.

The fish yaoguai that had taken Qi-Clearing Pills no longer needed any disguise; after transforming into human form they could finally blend into the world.

"When we come again next time, Jing'er can meet the fishies face to face."

"Fishies? Meet?"

Lin Chengjing tilted his head, a pair of eyes smiling into crescent moons.

Good, good; she likes fishies, so big, so big a fish, can eat many, many meals, right?

Subconsciously smacking her lips, Lin Chengjing nestled securely back into Shen Yao's arms.

Fortunately Shen Yao did not know her own big treasure was thinking of how to steam, fry, stew, and boil; otherwise she would have to hold her forehead and sigh, seriously remind her that yaoguai meat is not tasty.

From Yuanshui City to Hejian Prefecture, this stretch of road encountered no problems.

The group spent roughly half a month; during this they also stayed in a few slightly smaller towns; they encountered neither mountain bandits blocking the road nor yaoguai jumping out to provoke trouble; even the town government offices were all normal, not a single wrongful, false, or tricky case needing Lin Xingzhi to step forward and resolve.

Suddenly becoming this relaxed, Lin Xingzhi said to Shen Yao with a bit of disbelief; could it be that the Qi family affair in Yuanshui City had such a large influence?

"Perhaps they are still watching and waiting," Shen Yao half-leaned against Lin Xingzhi's chest; after the Qi family was escorted to the capital they were not dealt with, but imprisoned by Jingzhao Prefecture.

The long sword suspended above their heads, about to fall yet not falling; at this time who would dare act rashly.

Lin Xingzhi smiled in agreement, indicating that even if this situation truly existed, it had nothing to do with them.

Shen Yao raised her hand and pinched Lin Xingzhi's cheek, thinking to herself that a small place might have scruples, but a large city would still do as it pleased; she reckoned Hejian Prefecture would not be affected much; the forces there were deeply rooted, harder to uproot than Yuanshui City.

"That's why Imperial Brother gave a blank imperial edict; the Qi family couldn't use it for now; hope the Hejian Prefecture aristocratic families don't disappoint this King Jing who acts as the Emperor's touring inspector."

"King Jing's carriage fleet has arrived outside the city; all of you present, what are your plans?"

Inside Hejian Prefecture

In a delicate separate courtyard in the east of the city, a group of aristocratic families chose to meet urgently.

The Qi family matter earlier truly startled them for a moment; they were also considering whether King Jing's procession would pass through Hejian Prefecture; now the dust has settled, the people have arrived outside the city; do they face it head-on or temporarily avoid it?

A family head with a fiery temper couldn't help but directly slap the table and rise, "Hmph! We are not like the Qi family, insatiably greedy; would the court deliberately make things difficult for us?"

"Brother An, don't be impatient; who among us can predict what attitude the court will ultimately take? For the present plan, it still lies in waiting."

The refined middle-aged man's words had just fallen, only to be sneered at and retorted by others.

"Wait, wait, wait—wait until when will it end? If the Imperial Court is targeting us like this, isn't it no different from tying our hands and waiting for capture?"

"……"

Once someone started arguing, others couldn't help but add their mouths, and in the end they all spoke at once to one another, each full of pride, with no one submitting to anyone else.

As the Initiator of this gathering, the old Family Head of the Hu Family had quite a headache.

Tsk

Knowing it would turn out like this, it would have been better to let things develop on their own.

Send a few more good-for-nothing aristocratic families to fill the pit, and the Hu Family could survive on their own.