Chapter 280: The Items Have Been Found

Xiao Moting pondered for a moment, then rose and walked out the door.

He had never seen the Tribute Fruit, but had Zhao Li not seen it?

Inside the room, Zhao Li was discussing matters with his subordinates when the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang.

Xiao Moting strode in.

"Commandant Zhao, my soldiers have heard rumors of the Tribute Fruit, but we are not certain if it is indeed the Tribute Fruit. Could I ask you to have someone draw a picture of the Tribute Fruit so we can compare it while we search?"

"Searching for the Tribute Fruit?" Zhao Li looked Xiao Moting over with surprise. "The Tribute Fruit has all been eaten by the villagers; where do you expect to find it?"

"I have only heard rumors; perhaps what the villagers said was not the truth," Xiao Moting said glibly. "The Tribute Fruit is so precious that selling it in the city could fetch a great deal of grain. Perhaps some villagers coveted its value and hid it away, intending to take it to the city to trade for rice and grain."

Zhao Li was stunned for a long while, and when he came to his senses, he almost laughed.

He had come to search for the Tribute Fruit himself and had investigated for a long time without finding it; in his heart, he already knew that it was unlikely to be recovered.

Yet Xiao Moting was volunteering, insisting on running around to find the Tribute Fruit.

Besides, searching for the Tribute Fruit was just a pretext; the goal was to spy on the Northern Frontier Army's intelligence and find an opportunity to suppress Xiao Moting.

Now that Xiao Moting wanted to take on this errand, he could just throw this matter onto him.

Zhao Li kept mocking Xiao Moting for being stupid in his heart, but he remained calm on the surface.

"Prince, if you want to take on this errand of searching for the Tribute Fruit, then I shall hand this matter over to you."

"When the time comes and the Tribute Fruit cannot be found, and the Emperor demands accountability, it will no longer be my concern."

Xiao Moting nodded. "Leave this matter to me. When the Emperor asks about it later, it will not be your responsibility."

Zhao Li was overjoyed; he was eager to throw this matter away.

The Emperor had sent him here to use the Tribute Fruit affair to spy on military intelligence, not because he truly did not want this batch of Tribute Fruit.

Now that this batch of Tribute Fruit had all been eaten by the villagers, after returning to Shengjing, even if the Emperor did not fly into a rage, he would still make a note of this in his heart, believing that he had handled the matter poorly.

He hurriedly nodded. "Fourth Prince, then this matter is left to you. I will find someone right now to draw a picture of the Tribute Fruit for you to use in your search."

Zhao Li found a painter and had the appearance of the Tribute Fruit drawn.

He held the drawing and handed it to Xiao Moting himself.

"Prince, the matter of finding the Tribute Fruit is now in your hands."

After Xiao Moting left, Zhao Li instructed his subordinates.

"Spread the news of the execution, and let the villagers from the surrounding ten miles come to watch the execution."

He wanted Xiao Moting's reputation for being 'cruel' to spread far and wide.

……

Xiao Moting took the drawing and, as soon as he returned to his room, he sent it to Bai Wei via Teleportation.

"Bai, this kind of precious fruit is the Tribute Fruit that the Western Regions presented to the Emperor."

Bai Wei received the drawing, looked down, and was stunned on the spot.

This Tribute Fruit, why did it look somewhat familiar...

It was dark at the mining site.

In the middle of the night, gusts of wind carried sounds of weeping.

The villagers were locked in a sheep pen, surrounded by soldiers holding blades and spears; everyone was shivering from the cold, crying and sobbing.

A dozen or so deserters were locked on the other side, wearing shackles, all looking dejected and full of regret.

Er Gou regretted his actions deeply.

"If I had known it would implicate the whole village, I would rather have starved to death than steal the Tribute Fruit."

A companion said, "Who knew that thing was the Tribute Fruit? The people in the village were about to starve to death; if we hadn't gotten food, everyone would likely have died long ago."

Someone suggested, "Er Gou, I heard that the Prince of Northern Zhen, Xiao Moting, is benevolent. Shall we beg him for mercy and ask him to spare our lives?"

Er Gou shook his head dejectedly and said with a bitter smile.

"We have committed several capital crimes; even if the Prince of Northern Zhen is benevolent, he cannot violate Military Orders."

He had once served as a soldier in Yannan and knew well that Military Orders were as heavy as mountains; even Xiao Moting could not openly defy them.

Besides, they were villagers with low status in the Daliang Kingdom; why would Xiao Moting save them?

The night of bitter wind and rain passed quickly.

Before dawn, a squad of soldiers walked over, and the leader waved his hand.

"Escort them to the Execution Ground and prepare for the execution!"

The crowd, which had just been quiet, immediately fell into chaos, with people crying and shouting.

The dozen or so deserters were the first to be dragged out.

Their parents and relatives, who were locked in the sheep pen nearby, became anxious and began to cry out.

"My son!"

The deserters, wearing shackles and handcuffs, also cried incessantly.

The escorting soldiers were impatient and kicked them.

"What are you dawdling for? You stole Tribute, you're going to die anyway, it's just a matter of dying sooner or later."

"Hurry to the Execution Ground, the King of Hell is already waiting for you!"

"We will behead you dozen or so main culprits first; your families and parents will be executed in a few days once their sentences are finalized. You go down first and wait for them."

Zhao Li led a group of Imperial Guard and had already arrived at the Execution Ground, waiting in the cold wind.

Outside the Execution Ground, many commoners had crowded in; they were people from the surrounding villages and towns who had heard the news and run over to watch.

The villagers in the nearby towns usually interacted with each other, and many of them knew one another.

Hearing that Xiao Moting was going to punish these villagers, everyone was very indignant.

The villagers dared not make a scene, but they were all whispering to each other.

"I heard that it's not just the person who stole the Tribute Fruit; every villager who ate the Tribute Fruit is to be beheaded. That's hundreds of people being killed all at once."

"And they say the Prince of the North is benevolent; that's not the case at all."

"It was just stealing a few fruits, yet they are dragging the villagers out to be beheaded. The Prince of the North is truly cruel."

Zhao Li stood in the crowd, listening to the whispers drifting on the wind, a smug, cold sneer appearing on his face.

Lowering the prestige of Xiao Moting in the hearts of the people of Beijiang and destroying the reputation he had built up over many years—his goal would then be achieved.

He had been at the mine with the Imperial Guard for several days without finding any useful information, and he hadn't even recovered the Tribute Fruit; he was feeling anxious.

Now, even if the Tribute Fruit wasn't recovered, as long as Xiao Moting lost the support of the people, he would be able to answer to the Emperor when he returned to Shengjing.

The sky was still dim, and torches were lit all around the Execution Ground.

The morning mist in the mountains was thick and white, cold enough to make people shiver.

In the hazy shadows, a dozen figures were escorted onto the execution platform.

The execution platform was set up on the mountainside, a distance away from the surrounding crowd.

Xiao Moting stood at the edge of the execution platform, his handsome face cold and stern.

A dozen deserters, their heads covered with black cloth bags, knelt in a row.

The Executioner walked onto the platform and raised a gleaming, sharp broadsword.

"Wait!" Zhao Li suddenly stood up and shouted an order to his men, "Go up and inspect them; verify the identities of this group."

Xiao Moting narrowed his eyes, "Commander Zhao, do you still have doubts?"

Zhao Li offered a cold, insincere smile, "Prince, this subordinate is merely acting according to the rules, just in case. If the people being beheaded were mixed up, that would be a major issue..."

Before he could finish speaking, a fast horse suddenly galloped over, and an Imperial Guard jumped off the horse, panting, and rushed forward quickly.

"Commander Zhao, the lost Tribute Fruit has been found!"