Chapter 139: One Hundred and Forty-Six: True or False Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan? Caught on the Spot!

One Hundred and Forty-Six: True or False Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan? Caught on the Spot!

"Where are we going?"

Below the stage, the open-air lunch ended; Assistant Magistrate Official Diao led the local gentry, wealthy merchants—including the three Liu brothers—away from the venue.

Liu Liu Zilin frowned and asked the Assistant Magistrate walking ahead.

"Didn't they build a stage here? Isn't the ribbon-cutting ceremony happening today?"

Not only Liu Liu Zilin was puzzled; the guests who had come from afar, both inside and outside the county, also wore expressions of curiosity.

Just moments ago, they had seen the newly erected open-air stage and naturally assumed the ribbon-cutting ceremony would take place atop it.

The stage overlooked the water, with the Di Gong Lock just behind it; facing south with the lock as backdrop, it was perfectly suited—anyone would think so.

Yet now, Assistant Magistrate Official Diao, who was to preside over today's ribbon-cutting, suddenly informed everyone that the ceremony would be held elsewhere.

Assistant Magistrate Official Diao offered a polite smile:

"Apologies, everyone. That was merely the dining area. The ribbon-cutting ceremony this afternoon will take place in front of the inner lock of Di Gong Lock.

"My colleagues at the government office have already prepared everything there. We simply need to proceed there—please, if you would be so kind as to move along."

Upon hearing this, the crowd murmured among themselves.

Assistant Magistrate Official Diao smiled on the surface, silently grumbling about the magistrate's arrangement.

Indeed, this small change had been orchestrated by Magistrate Magistrate Ouyang; Official Diao was merely following orders.

That morning, the dull-witted man named Liu Ashan, under the magistrate's command, handed him the revised schedule for today's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

From morning until now, Official Diao had strictly followed every instruction on the magistrate's list.

So now, even Official Diao himself didn't know why they had to move the ceremony to the inner lock, wasting the perfectly prepared waterside stage and adding unnecessary trouble.

Never ask why—just say it's part of the plan.

This was the hard-won lesson Official Diao had learned working under this magistrate.

Just follow the magistrate's prior arrangements—that's all you need to do.

"Actually, the inner lock is the most important and final completed section of Di Gong Lock, carrying greater symbolic meaning. After the officials cut the ribbon, we can all enter together for an inspection—hence the choice of location."

Official Diao casually fabricated an excuse.

He turned, waved to summon a clerk, and smiled broadly at the guests rising to leave their seats:

"Everyone, follow him to the inner lock. There will be attendants waiting. I'll go fetch Senior Officials Shen, Wang, and Magistrate Ouyang."

With that, Assistant Magistrate Official Diao headed toward the large tent.

Left behind were Liu's three brothers and the other gentry guests, warmly guided by the clerk toward the inner lock of Di Gong Lock.

Behind the crowd, Liu Liu Ziwen and Liu Liu Zian remained silent throughout.

Seeing Official Diao's retreating back, they turned to each other, frowning.

"Brother, is this… the Burning Sky Shark Oil? Was it meant to burn us?" Liu Liu Zian pondered, whispering.

Liu Liu Ziwen slowly nodded, pausing briefly, gazing northward toward Mount Mount Dagu.

The young master of the Liu family chuckled and shook his head:

"You, you… you've arranged so many moves, and even after death, there's still so much drama left. If he were still alive now, what chaos would he cause? What a pity."

He spoke with genuine sympathy.

He mourned the man who had built the stage but could no longer perform the play.

Liu Liu Zilin listened, half-understanding, and asked, "Then what do we do now?"

Liu Liu Ziwen smiled, gave no answer, and simply stepped forward, leading the crowd toward the inner lock.

Liu Liu Zian shook his head, followed, and muttered with a sneer:

"What else can we do? Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan set up the stage but has no life left to perform. Then we and the Immortal Maid will take over this stage and put on a grand show for him—consider it… an honor."

Liu Liu Zilin's expression grew thoughtful, then brightened; he hurried to catch up with his two brothers, exclaiming:

"This is true murder through psychological destruction."

Liu Liu Ziwen and his two brothers, along with the other guests, entered the inner lock of the new watergate first and waited.

Hua Xuanji after, Assistant Magistrate Official Diao arrived with a smile, leading Senior Officials Shen, Wang, and others, strolling as if after a meal.

Magistrate Magistrate Ouyang was among them, his expression calm, closely followed by the red-clad female private secretary.

Under the bright midday sun, the once ordinary inner lock had been lavishly decorated by the government office clerks that morning.

The inner lock lay at the core of Di Gong Lock, partially open-air.

It had a drainage outlet connected to several lock chambers.

The outlet, roughly ten feet wide, sat beside the chamber; faintly audible below was the sound of water channeled by Di Gong Lock into the river.

Inside, the main lock chambers had been arranged in a row, and as planned by Master Chen and the other lock builders, they had been filled with ballast stones and tightly sealed.

Yet perhaps due to the last-minute change in ceremony plans—or perhaps the builders had deliberately left something undone—

the central chamber among this long row—the one closest to the drainage outlet—had no stones blocking its door.

Instead, before this door hung a curved ribbon shaped like a smiling mouth, with a red embroidered ball, resembling a dragon's head, tied at its center.

Clearly, this was where today's ribbon-cutting would take place.

And Liu Liu Ziwen, watching coldly from the sidelines, could even guess: had Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan not been beheaded at Donglin Temple, had the Lady Yuzhi Immortal Maid not performed her substitution—

then the living Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, after cutting the ribbon with Shen Shen Xisheng and Wang Wang Lengran, would likely have rushed straight to the main lock chamber, thrown open the door.

Exposing the Burning Sky Shark Oil to all eyes, publicly accusing the Liu family, and staging a grand drama to destroy them.

Liu Liu Ziwen stood with his hands behind his back, eyes lowered.

He seemed uninterested in what was about to unfold.

Behind him, Liu Liu Zilin, gazing up at his elder brother's back, turned to look at the main chamber's door adorned with ribbons and embroidered balls, and sneered:

"Magistrate Ouyang, you thought your plan was perfect. But sorry—today's stage belongs to the Liu family. My brother's play comes first."

Liu Liu Ziwen did not look at Liu Liu Zilin; he calmly turned his gaze toward the "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" ahead.

The latter remained expressionless, his eyes sweeping the crowd, pausing briefly at Liu Liu Ziwen's position.

Their gazes met.

"Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" raised a hand to adjust his chin, gesturing subtly toward Shen Shen Xisheng before the main chamber door and the nearby drainage outlet capable of swallowing several people.

Kill and flee.

Liu Liu Ziwen gave an almost imperceptible nod.

He glanced at Chenjun Xie Ling, who stood silently behind "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan," her expression calm.

And in his sleeve, his palm had, at some unknown moment, quietly closed around a small red-clothed white porcelain bottle.

Chenjun Xie Ling did not notice Liu Liu Ziwen's gaze; her eyes mostly remained fixed on her senior brother's back.

Yet at one moment, for no clear reason, her gaze shifted from her senior brother's back and turned toward the main lock chamber.

At this moment, guests arriving from all directions and the common folk of Longcheng City had gathered around the inner lock to watch.

Liu Liu Ziwen and his two brothers stood near the front row, close to the main chamber.

Shen Shen Xisheng, Wang Wang Lengran, and "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" walked together to the door adorned with ribbons.

"Senior Officials Shen, Wang, and Magistrate—please!"

Assistant Magistrate Official Diao bowed respectfully, then turned to the crowd and announced loudly:

"The ribbon-cutting ceremony begins. Please, esteemed officials, inspect the lock and cut the ribbon."

"Senior Official Wang, please go first."

Shen Shen Xisheng turned to his colleague and politely urged him.

But the latter bowed deeply, humbly declining: "No, Senior Official Shen—please. You are the chief official today; you should make the first cut."

Shen Shen Xisheng looked slightly surprised, then regained his composure, glancing at the countless eyes watching from the crowd behind.

He smiled elegantly and stepped forward without hesitation, arriving before the main chamber door.

Assistant Magistrate Official Diao held a tray; on it lay a delicate pair of scissors, covered by a red cloth.

As Official Diao moved to present it, "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" stepped forward and blocked him.

"I'll do it."

"Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" smiled at Official Diao, reached out, took the small scissors from the tray, and walked toward Shen Shen Xisheng.

The latter stood directly before the main chamber door.

She was ten paces away, and as she approached to hand over the scissors, the distance narrowed.

Yet the Lady Yuzhi Immortal Maid noticed with slight surprise:

Chenjun Xie Ling, who had been following closely behind her within three steps, had hesitated and slowed her pace.

The gap between them widened.

Chenjun Xie Ling seemed embarrassed to appear too attached to her senior brother before the entire crowd.

But in that instant, the Lady Yuzhi Immortal Maid felt only mild surprise—not delight.

Hmph. Even if she had stayed glued to her side,

Chenjun Xie Ling, already weakened by the Cicada Bone Softener, could not have stopped her from plunging the poisoned dagger into Shen Shen Xisheng's heart and leaping into the drainage outlet to escape.

The entire crowd fell silent, no murmurs.

"Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan," her back turned to Chenjun Xie Ling, Assistant Magistrate Official Diao, and the crowd, her eyes suddenly turned cold—but her face still smiled.

Halfway there, she gripped the scissors' tip with one hand, holding the handle outward, offering them to Shen Shen Xisheng—while in her sleeve, the other hand silently let the cold blade's hilt settle into her palm.

But at that moment, a loud "creak" echoed through the scene—the sound of a metal door being pushed open. All eyes, except Shen Shen Xisheng's, who faced away from the chamber, froze.

What they saw:

The main chamber door, adorned with ribbons, had been pushed open from within—and another Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan stepped out, head high, chest proud, holding the Jade-Handled White Sandalwood Knife. He casually slashed the ribbon before him, then faced the crowd openly, his eyes, adjusted to the sunlight, widening as he surveyed them without fear.

Wait, why "another one"?

Everyone in the crowd stared blankly at "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan," who had frozen mid-step between Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang and Shen Shen Xisheng, then turned to look at another Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan stepping out from the main lock chamber door.

Many in the crowd couldn't help rubbing their eyes to look closer; the air grew suddenly chaotic.

But before anyone could react, Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who had been waiting inside the main lock chamber, stepped out through the door, his dagger's tip thrusting forcefully toward the "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" before him, whose face was twisted in horror, and he roared:

"Who are you, demon, daring to impersonate me, attempting to assassinate an imperial official, overthrowing your superior, framing and entrapping? Who gave you the nerve—Liu Liu Ziwen? Reveal yourself at once!"

Not only did the "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" stagger back a step, but Liu Liu Ziwen in the crowd also froze rigid.

While delivering his righteous rebuke, Magistrate Ouyang Rong's other hand seized Shen Shen Xisheng, who stood dazed and glancing around, and yanked him behind himself; at the same time, his peripheral vision flickered almost imperceptibly toward the nearby drain hole.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was silently waiting for the Lady Yuzhi Immortal to flee in panic—there, beyond that drain, Ashan and the others had laid a death trap; if she entered the water there, she would walk straight into the net, with no chance of escape!

But what Magistrate Ouyang Rong never expected was that the Lady Yuzhi Immortal, who should have panicked and fled the moment exposed, held her startled expression for only a breath.

Wang Wang Lengran, the newly appointed Inspector of New Jiangzhou, cast a cold glance toward the Lady Yuzhi Immortal.

In the next instant, sensing that gaze, the Lady Yuzhi Immortal's expression turned sharply vicious.

She did not turn to flee; instead, she lunged forward with a sudden burst of speed, drawing a cold blade from her sleeve and stabbing—not at Magistrate Ouyang Rong, but at Shen Shen Xisheng beside him!

Damn it, a Qi Refining cultivator willing to die as a martyr? What's her goal!?

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's face froze—her move caught him off guard.

In an instant, as if shrinking distance, she crossed the five paces between them; the dagger's tip, gleaming with deadly frost, pierced toward Shen Shen Xisheng's chest as he stumbled backward in panic.

It's over… Magistrate Ouyang Rong's eyes widened; he decisively stepped forward, preparing to turn his back and take the blade for Shen Shen Xisheng.

But then his pupils shrank sharply—his clear, ink-black eyes reflected a flash of red.

Someone had stepped in front of Magistrate Ouyang Rong first.

The entire crowd fell utterly silent; the "Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan" stood frozen in place.

Countless eyes fixed on one spot:

A pale hand tied with a red cord gripped tightly onto another wrist—also tied with a red cord—that was thrusting the dagger forward.

Both hands, bound by the same red cord, halted mid-air.

Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang stood silently with her back turned, shielding her senior brother, the one wearing the skirt-dagger; in the sunlight, her red robe blazed brilliantly.

Almost no one in the crowd had seen how she moved.

Her figure had appeared like a lightning bolt from the clouds.

The sharp, poison-coated dagger halted half an inch from Shen Shen Xisheng's chest, unable to advance a single millimeter.

The Lady Yuzhi Immortal stared down, her gaze slowly tracing up from the red-corded hand gripping her wrist, until it met Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang's cold eyes.

That gaze was as hard and piercing as ice atop a ten-thousand-year snowpeak.

The Lady Yuzhi Immortal involuntarily shuddered.

On the other side, Magistrate Ouyang Rong could not help glancing at the silent back of his junior sister.

Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang had not spoken a word.

Yet immediately, a powerful, violent, yet unmistakable surge of spiritual energy rippled through the air.

The Lady Yuzhi Immortal cried out in pain as her dagger flew from her grasp.

Simultaneously, in an instant, two red cords—tied for less than half a day—shattered into crimson mist and dust.

Vanished utterly from heaven and earth.

Beneath the dazzling sunlight, Chenjun Xie Chenjun Xie Lingjiang lowered her head slightly, her eyelids drooping, lips tightly pressed.

The Lady Yuzhi Immortal's face was filled with shock—and terror.

I was too depressed in my little dark room these past few days, so today I got up early and went hiking, then got a massage and cupping after coming down the mountain—ah, feeling recharged and suddenly really want to spar with my brothers…

(End of Chapter)