Chapter 165: with translation of chapter title

"General Duan, you'd better not ask what you shouldn't." Official Xue reminded coldly.

As a senior official in the court, Official Xue naturally did not want to provoke public resentment, so he had always been careful with his words, never spelling things out completely.

By rights, at this point, even if Duan Wu were as stubborn as ever, he should have realized the problem.

Yet the person kept pressing on, asking relentlessly, which really annoyed him.

Duan Wu looked at Official Xue's increasingly grim face and hehehed, "Please, sir, tell this subordinate what is not to be asked."

Official Xue's old face twitched; after decades in office, he was used to speaking indirectly so others could figure it out, but this time he had already hinted clearly enough as an exception, and yet Duan Wu acted like he had no brain, which instead made him feel a bit tricky.

"Duan Wu! You, you pig!" Official Xue swore through clenched teeth, at the same time frantically giving him a look.

Duan Wu steadfastly feigned ignorance, showing a blank, puzzled expression, "Sir, what's wrong with you? Why is your head twitching, and your eyes keep darting to those nobles? Do you have epilepsy?"

Official Xue's vision went dark; he nearly fainted from anger.

Dealing with such a blockhead, he felt he would lose years off his lifespan.

"Since you're indisposed, sir, I'll settle this quickly so as not to waste your time," Duan Wu waved his hand, "Men, behead the Longyuan Governor!"

A soldier immediately drew his sword and walked toward the Longyuan Governor.

Several Xiao clan nobles' faces changed instantly.

Official Xue was even more anxious, striding forward to rush onto the trial platform.

Duan Wu waved his hands at him repeatedly, "Beheading doesn't need your help, sir; just watch from below."

"Stop!" the noble lady shouted, trembling with anger, disregarding decorum, "If you dare harm his life today, I will exterminate your nine clans!"

Duan Wu snorted coldly, "The Duan clan has only me left; if you want to exterminate my nine clans, you'll have to ask King Yama. How strange—just beheading a governor, do you ministers and nobles really need to get so worked up?"

The noble lady angrily said, "I'll tell you, the Longyuan Governor is——"

"No," Official Xue quickly grabbed her, lowering his voice to stop her, "If you make the relationship clear, it might provoke criticism from the crowd, leading to gossip among the people, losing popular support and damaging the Xiao clan's dignity……"

"They're just ants; I've never regarded them!" the noble lady snapped, face dark, "When have lofty nobles needed to fear them? Official Xue, you're far too timid!"

Official Xue's face looked awful, yet he still wanted to continue persuading.

But the noble lady could no longer hold back, raising her voice, "The Longyuan Governor is my maternal aunt's nephew! Although he is not a Xiao clan noble, he is still a distant relative of mine!"

Duan Wu grinned, "Oh, I get it—you came all this way just to save his life, huh? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Anyway, now that it's out in the open, the noble lady declared righteously, "That's right—don't say you're just a lowly warrior; even if the Heavenly King himself came, he couldn't kill him."

At this, the hearts of the onlookers turned cold.

Watching from this morning onward, the evildoers had been judged one after another, and everyone was waiting to see this most deserving governor get his comeuppance—yet suddenly a powerful backer appeared.

The people were full of indignant resentment, yet no one dared to speak.

The noble lady glanced around sideways, smiling at Official Xue, "See, you worried too much; ants are ants, they don't even dare to fart, so what's there to care about the so-called popular sentiment? Are you afraid they'll rebel?"

Official Xue could only force a smile, "You're right; I was overthinking."

In the crowd, Xiu Mei's mood was worse than having eaten feces.

Just now seeing the Imperial Censor personally present, she had thought the court valued this case and had come to help judge the Dog Official.

But it turned out they had come to protect the Dog Official.

"Sigh..." Xiu Mei lowered her head and sighed; despite feeling myriad resentment, she could only mutter helplessly, "I'm so stupid, actually thinking those high officials, those exalted people, would treat us commoners as something……"

Xiu Mei's husband softly comforted, "At least the county magistrate's entourage has been dealt with; plus we have General Duan and Miss Ning helping us, so we should be content."

Xiu Mei hummed in agreement, then said nothing more.

The couple's reaction was merely a microcosm of many ordinary folk; Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli watched, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.

At this point, the noble lady began urging Duan Wu, not only ordering him to personally release the person, but also demanding he kneel and apologize.

Seeing the moment was just at hand, Duan Wu, with righteous indignation, pointed at several Xiao clan nobles and scolded, "If he's merely a distant relative, there's no need for you to come personally to pressure me; you must be relying on him to extort wealth! The true leeches sucking blood from the people are you!"

Official Xue frowned, then immediately rebuked, "Duan Wu! Stop spouting nonsense!"

"You're a scumbag too!" Duan Wu shouted loudly, "You've also taken plenty of benefits from him, haven't you? Otherwise you wouldn't indulge his havoc—colluding in wickedness, you're worse than pigs and dogs, yet you dare to be an Imperial Censor!"

Official Xue's old face turned bluish-black, but he had not yet lost his reason; his intuition told him something was off, and after quick thought, the more he pondered, the more he felt Duan Wu had been leading him on step by step.

Careless!

I've actually fallen for this brat's trick!

No matter what, from now on we must not let him lead us by the nose; we must absolutely not admit to any interests with the Longyuan Governor.

Official Xue's mind worked quickly, but he couldn't keep up with the noble lady's faster tongue.

The noble lady, dazed with anger, blurted, "So what if we rely on him to extort wealth? The realm of Daxuan belongs to us! Lowly commoners ought to support us! You, as base as they are, have no right to spout off! When the Daxuan nobility needs you, you're a watchdog; when they don't, you're not even a dog!"

Official Xue's vision went dark again.

Such talk may be true, but usually it's only whispered in private within the Capital Royal City; how could it be spoken openly in broad daylight before so many people?

"Official Xue!" the noble lady's eyebrows shot up, "We usually let the Longyuan Governor not forget to give you benefits, yet at the crucial moment you're timid and hesitant, unable to handle even a small matter—what good are you?"

Official Xue clutched his chest, suppressing a mouthful of old blood that threatened to burst out, and gritted his teeth, "Duan Wu! I now relieve you of your post and investigate you! Men, seize him for me!"

At the order, his attendants again rushed onto the trial platform.

The dozen or so Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Army soldiers on the platform simultaneously drew their swords and stepped forward.

Official Xue roared, "Still thinking of defying my orders? Are you planning to rebel?!"

Seeing this, the noble lady lifted her chin and signaled to the guards she had brought.

The guards also surged forward, completely encircling the trial platform.

The people were both anxious and angry, yet no one dared to confront the nobles and officials.

"These beasts..." Xiu Mei trembled all over, "Heavenly Father, please open your eyes… save General Duan……"

"The one who should be relieved of duty and investigated ought to be you, Official Xue." A low, angry voice suddenly sounded on the trial platform.

Xiu Mei stared, then quickly turned to look beside her, astonished, and asked Ning Jinli, "When did he get up onto the platform?"

Ning Jinli smiled and said, "Just just now."

Xiu Mei panicked, "He... he isn't this just courting death?"

Ning Jinli winked at her, "Don't be scared, there's a good show to watch."

After Xiao Qidi's voice rang out, the Imperial Censor Chief and a few Xiao clan nobles felt it was somewhat familiar, but because they were standing below the table and their view was blocked by the two groups confronting each other on the table, they couldn't see the speaker's appearance for a moment.

"Bold madman! Dare to speak rudely to this official!" Sir Xue shouted, "Seize this person as well!"

Bang bang bang!

A series of striking sounds suddenly rang out.

In the blink of an eye, Sir Xue's attendants were flung backward and fell off the trial platform.

In the chaos, it could be seen that a dozen or so soldiers had moved to attack, and behind the soldiers and Duan Wu was a tall figure.

"Rebellious! All of you, attack this official! Kill without pardon!" Sir Xue's eyes reddened with rage, and he ordered the noble guards surrounding the trial platform to act.

Just as those guards were about to leap up.

Duan Wu shouted loudly, "His Majesty is here—who dares to act rashly!"

The guards froze, pausing their actions.

At that moment, Xiao Qidi also walked out from behind Duan Wu, standing directly at the front of the trial platform, lowering his gaze and giving a cold sweep.

The guards beside those Xiao clan nobles had all seen Xiao Qidi before.

Although Xiao Qidi was now dressed in commoner's clothes and looked a bit disheveled, seeing him up close, they quickly recognized him.

Frightened, they dropped their weapons and knelt down one after another.

Sir Xue's mind went blank; he could hardly believe his eyes, staring blankly up at the tall figure that had fully appeared in his field of vision.

The few Xiao clan nobles beside him also stood there dazed on the spot.

The common folk were even more stunned, the whole venue fell silent, even the sound of breathing disappeared.

Xiao Qidi said in a deep tone, "What a 'kill without pardon,' Sir Xue—are you trying to kill me as well?"

"Your... Your Majesty..." Sir Xue, eyes full of terror, fell to his knees with a thud, forehead touching the ground, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty, please forgive Your Majesty, your subject... your subject didn't know you would be here..."

Xiao Qidi's icy cold gaze swept over those few nobles.

Led by the noble lady, those few finally came to their senses from their daze, hurriedly knelt and paid respects, shouting in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The common folk, terrified, hurriedly knelt down, lying on the ground, not daring to breathe.

Only Xiu Mei had not yet reacted, her pupils trembling violently, and together with Ning Jinli they were the only two among the crowd who had not knelt.

For Xiu Mei, the shock she felt was no less than Sir Xue's.

She would never have dared to imagine, even if beaten to death, that the young man she had met a few days prior by chance, whom she had invited to her home and who had put on no airs before her... would actually be the King of Daxuan!

She had even, to his face, cursed the king until he was drenched in dog's blood!

"Xiu Mei, Xiu Mei!" her husband tugged at her sleeve, "Hurry up and kneel!"

Xiu Mei's legs went weak, she collapsed with a thud, feeling dizzy, her heart pounding like thunder, almost unable to catch her breath.

"Xiu Mei sister!" Ning Jinli hurriedly steadied her.

Seeing this, Xiao Qidi leapt down from the high platform, strode forward with long steps, personally helped her up, saying, "Xiu Mei sister, I had no choice but to conceal my identity; please forgive me."

The common folk were all dumbfounded.

The King of Daxuan actually personally helped up a lowly commoner?

And he even called her sister, and... even apologized to her?!

This isn't a dream, is it?

Xiu Mei's heart felt like it was about to jump out of her throat, she stammered, "Your Majesty... common woman... common woman has... has committed offenses, please... please forgive Your Majesty."

Xiao Qidi said, "You have no fault at all; why would you need forgiveness? I only hope I didn't frighten you."

Next, he also helped Xiu Mei's husband and daughter to their feet, then addressed the crowd, "Everyone, please rise."

The common folk slowly rose with utmost respect.

"Big brother, big brother," An An pulled Xiao Qidi's hand, tilted her head up and asked, "Are you the king?"

Xiu Mei and her husband were badly frightened, hurriedly trying to pull the daughter away.

Xiao Qidi, however, laughed as he lifted An An into his arms, "Mm, I am the King of Daxuan."

"Then... you're the biggest under heaven, right?"

"Hahaha, yes, the biggest!"

"Big brother, you must properly deal with those bad people!"

Xiao Qidi rubbed An An's little head, gently set her down, and said softly, "Since even An An says that, big brother will certainly not let them off."

Xiu Mei and her husband were in a daze for a moment.

The surrounding common folk now looked at her family with different eyes.

Xiao Qidi turned, looking toward the Imperial Censor Chief and others; his earlier gentle expression instantly turned cold, "I only had the commoners rise—who told you to also stand up?"

Sir Xue's legs went weak, and he hurriedly flung himself down again.

The noble lady and the several others, however, did not kneel again.

Xiao Qidi's gaze grew ever darker and more sinister as he stepped forward to stand before them.

"Your Majesty," the noble lady bowed with bent knee, forcing a weak smile, "You... how could you be here? Truly unexpected."

Xiao Qidi narrowed his eyes, "Compared to me being here, it's more surprising that your paternal aunt and several paternal uncles are here? Even more surprising is that I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that the heinous Longyuan Governor would be your cash cow; you truly have opened my eyes—if I hadn't lured you out to catch you red‑handed, I wouldn't know how long you'd have stayed hidden."

The other few men looked embarrassed, feeling guilty, and dared not meet Xiao Qidi's eyes.

The noble lady forced composure, speaking softly, "This matter is indeed somewhat improper... we ought to take it as a warning and not do it again; I hope you will, considering the Longyuan Governor's years of diligent service to us, spare his life—removing him from office would be enough."

Xiao Qidi's eyes grew dark with a cold glint, "Your paternal aunt calls this 'somewhat improper'?"

The noble lady felt creeped out under his stare, but thinking that no matter what she is his elder relative, even if he grew angrier, he wouldn't truly mete out harsh punishment.

Moreover, earlier his own maternal grandmother, the Empress Dowager, had conspired with the Marquis of Le'an to rebel.

Isn't that matter a million times more serious than squeezing some money and wealth out of the common folk?

Didn't he also let it go?

"Aunt knows she was wrong," the noblewoman put on an apologetic expression, speaking softly, "Aunt and these few uncles of yours hereby guarantee that we will never make such a mistake again."

"They are paternal aunt and paternal uncle," Xiao Qidi corrected coldly, especially stressing the word "paternal".

The noblewoman laughed and said: "Your father's close brothers and sisters are no longer among the living; although we are your paternal aunt and uncle, we are already your closest kin—why be so distant?"

Xiao Qidi gave a half-smile and said: "You mean we should just let this matter go like that? Why don't you tell me, how should we explain ourselves to all the common folk of He Wan County?"