Chapter 11

Hong Baiqi was truly in a bind—if he stayed silent he feared offending Hu Buwei, but if he spoke up for him it would be abetting evil, clearly slandering the Tang family; just as he was struggling with this, Tang Wen Zheng spoke.

Tang Wen Zheng couldn't stay silent; if he didn't speak, he wouldn't know what trouble his son had stirred up. He said softly, 'Sir Hu, Sir Hong, I think we should sit down and sort this out first.' Clearly he was the one being bullied, yet he voluntarily gave in—not because Hu Buwei's official authority frightened him, but because his son's blurted remark had put him on the defensive, overturning the grass pavilion; how could this boy be so stupid as to fall for their scheme?

Hong Baiqi still showed no stance, his gaze fixed on Hu Buwei.

Hu Buwei nodded and said, 'As officials, there's nothing we can't resolve; first let's calm our anger, sitting down to speak clearly is best.' His meaning was already clear—today's matter need not be brought to court. No matter who's at fault, you, Tang Wen Zheng, first yielded to seek negotiation; but if you dare to pester my son relentlessly, I will investigate your son's crime of leading people to burn the grass pavilion, and before the Emperor I will repeat his words verbatim—hehe, even if I don't get you killed, I'll make the Tang family lose their skin.

When it comes to judging horses, ten Hu Buweis couldn't match one Tang Wen Zheng; but when it comes to deceit and cunning, a hundred Tang Wen Zhengs aren't a match for one Hu Buwei. Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat's son knows how to dig holes; a tiger father has no cowardly son—Hu Xiaotian's performance just now fully proved this principle.

Hu Buwei invited everyone to the front hall; those unrelated had mostly left. He had Hu Xiaotian change clothes, and sent maids to find suitable attire for Tang Qingxuan to change into, with Murong Feiyan naturally accompanying them the whole way.

Once everything was arranged, everyone gathered in the front hall. Since it wasn't a formal trial, there were fewer formalities: Hu Buwei sat in the left-side grand master's chair, with Hu Xiaotian standing honestly behind him. Prefect Hong Baiqi of Jingzhao Prefecture sat on equal footing with Hu Buwei, while Murong Feiyan and another constable stood behind him.

As for Tang Wen Zheng, his rank originally didn't qualify him to sit on equal footing with the two, but because of today's special circumstance Hu Buwei extended him special courtesy, seating him beside Hong Baiqi. All four of Tang Wen Zheng's children stood behind him; Tang Qingxuan had changed into new clothes, her loose hair re-combed, her emotions considerably calmer, though her beautiful eyes were red and swollen from crying, and the swelling wouldn't fade quickly.

After the servant brought tea, Hu Buwei lifted a blue-and-white porcelain Chazan, lightly brushed the lid across its rim twice, then sipped some fragrant tea at the edge and said softly, 'We should still get to the bottom of today's affair; if my son is truly at fault, I, the official, will show no favoritism—I will certainly give Brother Wen Zheng an explanation.' As he spoke he gave Hu Xiaotian a cold sideways glance, then slammed the Chazan down on the redwood tea table: 'You wretch, what do you have to say?'

Hu Buwei had just witnessed his son's talent for turning black and white with a silver tongue, which is why he asked this—he wanted to give his son the first move advantage as much as possible.

Hu Buwei appeared fair and impartial, but his true thought was to favor and protect his son; unfortunately Hu Xiaotian seemed not to appreciate it, his eyes fixed on Tang Qingxuan. This Tang little miss, having changed clothes, really is pretty—aside from her bad temper, her face and figure are quite nice; tsk tsk, compared to the Li family's paralytic, she's who knows how many times better, radiating youthful health and beauty, truly a feast for the eyes.

Everyone noticed this guy still lecherously staring at Tang Qingxuan; the Tang family were all furious, and Hu Buwei was rather helpless—when did his son become such a **? He gave an embarrassed dry cough.

Prefect Hong Baiqi of Jingzhao said, 'Young nephew, what do you have to say?' Addressing him as 'young nephew' was highly inappropriate; as soon as he said it he regretted it, as if telling everyone he wanted to favor Hu Xiaotian. At least for now this guy is still a suspect; as the chief official of Jingzhao Prefecture, at least on the surface he should keep things balanced.

Hu Buwei felt grateful for Hong Baiqi's favor in his heart, and said to Hu Xiaotian, 'Did you hear what Sir Hong said?'

Tang Wen Zheng watched from the side, sighing inwardly; indeed officials protect each other, and today the Tang family likely will suffer loss—who let the other side hold higher office, a higher rank crushes people. He had just had Murong Feiyan ask about his daughter, confident her purity remained, so his anger faded a third; as long as his daughter wasn't defiled by that scoundrel, he didn't want to pursue the matter too fiercely.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Miss Tang should know this matter clearly; why don't you speak first?'

Hu Buwei couldn't help but sigh inwardly; he guessed his son had just had a flash of inspiration, and such a good opening was given to him, yet he voluntarily gave it up, handing the speaking rights to Tang Qingxuan—really unwise.

Tang Qingxuan bit her lip and said, 'Alright, let's speak. Today I was peacefully riding and sightseeing at Cuiyun Lake—was it you who brought four lackeys charging out to block my path, frightening my horse and throwing me off?'

Hu Xiaotian looked at the little miss with a half-smile; Tang Qingxuan obviously wasn't telling the truth—actually she had been galloping wildly along the lakeside, disturbing passersby, and he hadn't been able to dodge in time, even receiving a harsh whip lash from her. Now this little miss was turning black and white, spouting nonsense, and Hu Xiaotian didn't rebut, just listened quietly to see what she would say next.

Tang Qingxuan said, 'I unfortunately fell into the lake; as for what happened after… I… I don't remember.' She pursed her lips, her eye sockets reddened, and two strings of crystal tears slid down her pretty face—truly pitiful; tears are a woman's most effective weapon, especially when a beauty weeps, the power is extraordinary. Even Prefect Hong Baiqi silently cursed Hu Xiaotian in his heart: truly reckless and shameless, daring in broad daylight to ** a respectable woman.

Tang Tiehan said, 'My sister doesn't remember, but I do. When I heard someone was bullying my sister, I took people from the horse market and rushed over; by the time I arrived at the scene, I saw this shameless wretch…' He hesitated there.

Hu Xiaotian grinned cheekily and asked, 'What did you see?'

Tang Tiehan pointed at Hu Xiaotian and said, 'This shameless wretch had his four lackeys surround him, holding my sister sideways on his lap, and…'

'And then what?' Hu Xiaotian pressed.

Recalling the scene made Tang Tiehan ashamed to speak; his dark face turned purplish-red. Tang Qingxuan had been unconscious the whole time, not remembering what happened; hearing her brother's words, she instantly felt ashamed, bowing her head wishing she could sink into a crack in the ground. She punched her brother lightly, signaling him to stop—it was mortifying.

Tang Tiehan said, 'I'm ashamed to speak!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'That means you saw nothing at all; you're just maliciously slandering me!'

Tang Tiehan angrily said, 'I saw it all—you're pretending to put my sister's head between your legs…' As soon as he spoke, the hall erupted in shock.

Tang Wen Zheng's old face also turned purple; although it was his daughter who suffered, hearing this made him feel unable to save face—his several sons were each more stupid than the last, such words couldn't be spoken in public. Tang Qingxuan wailed bitterly, then collapsed straight backward; Murong Feiyan, quick-eyed and quick-handed, rushed forward to catch her. Tang Qingxuan actually fainted from shame and indignation, eyes tightly shut, motionless.

However, Murong Feiyan noticed from Tang Qingxuan's breathing that she wasn't truly unconscious; likely Tang Tiehan's remarks had made her utterly embarrassed, so she only feigned fainting to avoid the awkwardness.

Tang Wen Zheng slammed his hand on the table, shouting, 'If I don't show my authority now, you'll think I'm a pushover!' He exclaimed, 'This is bullying to the extreme!' He clasped his hands: 'Sirs, please uphold justice for my daughter!'

Hu Buwei silently cursed, 'Granting you authority would be tantamount to dealing with my son.' Yet the turn of events really gave him a headache—clearly the situation favored his side, but his son had handed the initiative over to the Tang family; he really didn't know what trick this stupid boy had up his sleeve.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'What would I do with putting her head in my trouser pocket?'

Tang Tiehan said, 'You ask me, but I want to ask you too!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Let me ask you: when Tang Qingxuan fell into the water, unable to swim, who exactly pulled her out?'

Tang Tiehan was stumped by the question: 'Uh… I didn't see that!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'At least you're being honest—you didn't see it, but many people on the scene did, and my four attendants saw it clearly.' He walked over to Hong Baiqi, bowed deeply, and said, 'Sir Hong, I wish to have my four attendants testify.'

The Tang family's third son, Tang Tiexin, said, 'Your attendants will naturally speak for you; their testimony is surely false!' Tang Tiehan and Tang Tiecheng both said, 'Exactly!'

Hu Xiaotian turned to the three Tang brothers and said, 'Just now you testified for Tang Qingxuan—did I ever utter a word of protest? By your logic, my attendants would speak for me, so you brothers ought naturally to speak for your sister; what you just said is surely completely untrue, pure slander.'

Um…

Tang Tiehan, sweating profusely from anxiety, said, 'Sir, everything I said is the truth!'

Hong Baiqi gently stroked the three strands of beard below his jaw and said softly, 'What Master Hu said is indeed reasonable; since you can testify for Miss Tang, why can't his attendants appear to testify? As for right and wrong, truth and falsehood, I, the official, can still tell them apart.'

Seeing his son launch a desperate counterattack, Hu Buwei was pleasantly surprised by the clarity of his son's mind and the sharpness of his speech; looking at the three Tang sons, left speechless and flushed with embarrassment by him, their combined wit couldn't match his. Hu Buwei inwardly gloated, saying nothing and simply watching developments—he wanted to see just how capable his son really was.