Chapter 283: Repay Them in Kind, Return the Blow to Their Own Body!

"What?!"

"What did you say?!"

Chen Tongyuan first tilted his head slightly, a buzzing sound filling his ears, as if he hadn't heard clearly.

The slanting daylight from outside the window streamed in, falling on his suddenly pallid face, reflecting the shock in his eyes as if it were about to spill out.

The disbelief churning in his eyes swirled like a disturbed deep pool, erupting a panic he had never felt before.

Qi Qian, hearing this, carefully repeated it once more.

"Isn't there someone watching over those villagers?"

"How could they come to Chang'an to seek justice without any warning?"

The blue veins at Chen Tongyuan's temples throbbed, his usually slightly drooping eyelids suddenly flung open, his habitually concealed eyes widening to a rolling roundness, the pupils looking as if ice shards had fallen in, yet also as if sudden sparks were igniting.

He paused, then continued: "Besides, didn't I just kill dozens of people?"

"How could there be a staggering one thousand two hundred?"

"What a baseless claim!"

A few newly sprouted strands of white hair at his temples swayed gently with the slight tremor of his head.

His normally upright shoulders collapsed slightly at that moment, as if struck by an invisible boulder.

Seizing civilian fields is true, forcibly taking civilian women is true, killing is also true.....

But where could such an exaggerated number possibly come from?

It multiplied by dozens of times!

Moreover, those remaining villagers all have dedicated overseers!

"Old Master, the exact number no longer matters....."

Qi Qian, seeing this, reminded: "What matters is that the people of Chang'an have taken it as truth!"

Some matters, whether weighed at four ounces or a thousand jin, cannot be suppressed.....

Especially since the people of Chang'an have fixed on that figure, they will not listen to our lord's explanations!

"Who is spreading the rumors!"

"And who is scheming against our Weiguo Gongfu!"

Chen Gubai suddenly grasped the seriousness of the situation, could no longer sit still, clenched his fists, and roared out loud.

His pupils suddenly contracted to needle points, the youthful complexion of his face instantly drained of color with a swish, and even his lips turned a bluish‑gray.

The one spreading rumors and scheming is striking far too harshly, targeting the very lifeline of our Weiguo Gongfu.......

"Someone capable of doing all this....."

Chen Tongyuan's expression darkened, he sighed and gave a wry smile: "To accomplish it so silently, it could only be the Supervisor of the Bright Mirror Office!"

Holding such a deep grudge against the State Duke Mansion, wishing it dead, and possessing the skill to handle matters so perfectly ruthless, the answer could not be clearer.

There is only that one......

"Is it the elder brother?!"

Chen Gubai blurted out "the mastermind behind it".

He paused, then continued: "What benefit does destroying the reputation of the Weiguo Gongfu bring him?"

At that moment, Chen Gubai's brain was about to overheat.

He could not find any explanation after endless thinking.

But he couldn't understand, while Chen Tongyuan saw it clearly and sneered: "What he wants to destroy is our father and son!"

"Once he chose a side among Old Master's old troops, he has no longer any scruples......"

"What follows, I fear, is the righteous extermination of kin!"

The white hair at his temples trembled rustlingly.

This time, however, it was not from astonishment but a bone‑deep chill crawling up his spine, freezing his fingertips numb.

The four words 'righteous extermination of kin' were pronounced with extra weight.

What does this mean?

It means that Chen Yan still remembers the grudge from his time in Tianlao Siyu, and will repay them in kind!

He will also use the law, handling them with rightful authority......

"Old Master, there's more than this....." Qi Qian said upon seeing this.

"The situation has already deteriorated to this level, what else could there be?" Chen Tongyuan asked casually, unconcerned.

It's already at the bottom; could it possibly get worse?

Qi Qian exhaled a breath of foul air, chose his words carefully, and said in a deep voice: "Chen Xiangqi led the mansion's private soldiers to suppress the people of Taiping Village who came to Chang'an to seek justice!"

He paused, then added: "They say it was following your command, Old Master......"

"Is this damn adding fuel to the fire?"

Chen Tongyuan heard this, didn't think further, and cursed angrily.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly sensed something wrong, "Wait!"

"When did I ever issue this order?"

Until now, he hadn't known this information!

He even learned it from Qi Qian.....

How could he possibly have given the order?

And those are Old Master's personal troops; they would never act on their own!

"Old Master, wasn't that your order?!"

Qi Qian was also startled, his voice trembling in a way he hadn't even noticed, and said in a deep tone: "Then who could possibly move Chen Xiangqi and his men?!"

Chen Tongyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, turned his head toward someone not far away, and said, "Gubai…".

"Dad, please don't look at the child!"

Chen Gubai felt his scalp tingle under the stare, and hurriedly defended, "The child just found out too…".

"Even if they learned it in advance, Chen Xiangqi and the others could never follow the child's orders!"

Looking at it that way, indeed Chen Gubai was the biggest suspect…

But what could he use to manipulate, and on what basis could those Private Soldiers obey him?

"Then who could it be?" Chen Tongyuan nodded slightly, acknowledging Chen Gubai's explanation.

He racked his brain but could not think of anything.

Apart from his Handwritten Letter, who else could mobilize?

Even Chen Yan now could not do it…

It couldn't possibly be Old Master's reincarnation, could it?

Qi Qian seemed to recall something, and, trembling, continued, "Lord, after Chen Xiangqi led his troops to charge, the already boiling public resentment was directly ignited…".

"Even the Capital's Jing Zhao Fu Inspector went there!"

"After that they went…".

Upon reaching that point, Qi Qian's voice abruptly stopped.

Chen Xiangqi's actions were nothing less than a cover‑up that only highlighted the crime, effectively cementing the Crime List and further inciting the people.

It pushed the Duke of Wei's mansion toward an abyss from which there was no return…

"Where did they go?"

Chen Tongyuan pressed on, already losing patience, urging, "Stop beating around the bush, just tell me!"

After Qi Qian swallowed a mouthful of saliva, he slowly said, "They went to the Mingjing Office!"

"They say they want to ask Chief Chen to act for the people!"

"What?!" Chen Tongyuan was instantly stunned, "They went to the Mingjing Office looking for Chen Yan?!"

With a "thud", he slammed heavily onto the chair behind him, the chair legs scraping a harsh sound on the Blue Bricks.

The jade belt at his waist dug into him painfully, yet he lacked the strength even to lift a hand to loosen it, letting his legs sag weakly apart.

His once‑upright back collapsed completely, as if all his sinews and bones had been drawn out.

He was hurrying to bring the evidence right to the doorstep…

Could such a monster be let go?

"Yes…", Qi Qian nodded in response.

"What about Chen Xiangqi and his men?"

Chen Tongyuan snapped back to his senses and asked, "Did they return?"

He needed to quickly find out why they had done this…

"Chen Xiangqi and his men were captured on the spot by the Liu Inspector!," Qi Qian said truthfully, "They are now in the Jing Zhao Fu Prison!"

"Dad, this isn't the time to talk about that…," Chen Gubai reminded, "The situation has gotten so big, what should we do!"

"I… I don't know either… maybe we should ask Elder Zhao, the Grand Counselor…"

Chen Tongyuan's hands hung lifelessly on his knees, his fingertips still trembling slightly, as if he had just exhausted all his strength, or had it all drained away.

His whole being was in utter chaos, at a loss.

"Lord, something terrible has happened!"

At that moment, Steward Chen's voice cut through the house's dead silence like a flame‑seared scream.

He rushed in, half‑unbuckling the leather strap at his waist, his greying hair plastered sweaty to his forehead, and his usually steady face now filled with collapsing terror.

"What now!?" Chen Tongyuan gritted his teeth, asking weakly.

Steward Chen lunged forward, his knees giving way as he fell to his knees, his voice trembling off‑key: "Azure Dragon Mirror Master… Embroidered‑robe Envoy… have surrounded our Duke's mansion…!"

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PS: The evening wind ran into a problem (breakup), these past few days have been off, updates will be irregular, (>_<)