I'm going to kill you today

The back hall of the Mingzhou magistrate's residence.

The finest official kiln teacup was placed on the table, and the tea inside had long since gone cold.

"Bang!" Chen Wanshan slapped the armrest of the nanmu armchair, causing the teacups to clink.

His face was livid, and he shouted to Liu Mian, who was at the head of the group, "Master Liu, we have dozens of skilled fighters, carefully setting up a deadly trap! We can't even handle a single scholar? And we've lost most of our forces. What do you think we should do?"

Liu Mian sat upright in the main seat, his official robes meticulously dressed, his face so gloomy that water could drip out of it.

He didn't look at the furious Chen Wanshan, but only at Mr. Zhou, who was leisurely fiddling with the lid of his teacup. His voice was filled with subtle anxiety: "Mr. Zhou, the arrow clearly penetrated his lungs, even a god couldn't save him. Who could have expected Tuoba Hong to interfere? Who could have imagined his miraculous medicine from Beishuo?"

He turned to Chen Wanshan and said, "Master Chen, please be patient. The most urgent thing is to figure out how to deal with the aftermath. The princess is unharmed, and Shen Qingyan's life or death is uncertain, but she is not dead. Her words on the riverbank were too inflammatory, and the people are already uneasy."

"Clean up the mess? The people are uneasy?" Chen Wanshan sneered, a murderous glint in his eyes. "Lord Liu seems to be sitting on the Diaoyutai. That little girl is guarding here. As long as Shen Qingyan, that lunatic who checked the accounts, is not dead, how can you and I clean up the mess? Are we just waiting to be skinned alive by them?"

"Mr. Zhou, please say something!"

Mr. Zhou finally stopped fiddling with the tea bowl lid, and the "click" sound was particularly clear in the silence.

He raised his eyes and slowly swept his gaze across the two people's faces.

"Enough of the bickering?" His voice was low and flat, but it brought a sudden silence to the room. "No one's dead, the situation is broken. That's a fact. Blaming each other won't help."

He leaned forward slightly. "Lord Liu is an official appointed by the imperial court, and the head of the Chen family is a prominent local family. They should both know the importance of this matter. The most important thing now is Jing. As for the princess, the nobles in the capital will handle it. As for Mingzhou..."

He looked at Liu Mian, "You're the prefect. You don't need me to teach you what to do, do you? Suppress the rumors, appease the people, and muddy the waters. Delay until the nobles take action, until Shen Qingyan dies from his injuries, and until the princess is forced to leave Mingzhou."

His gaze finally fell on Chen Wanshan's face, gloomy and dangerous. "Master Chen, manage your people and wipe out this tail completely. No trace of them can be left at Anji Bridge."

He paused, his voice suddenly becoming colder. "Whatever was said in this room today came out of my mouth and entered your ears. If even a single word of it leaks out..."

He stopped talking, and Liu Mian and Chen Wanshan felt a chill running up their spines from the soles of their feet.

Chen Wanshan opened his mouth, but ultimately snorted heavily and turned away. Liu Mian steadied himself and picked up the already cold teacup, his fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

Sudden.

A petty official rushed into the back hall, his voice changing tone: "Sir, this is bad! The government office is surrounded!"

"What?" Liu Mian stood up suddenly, his face changing suddenly.

Mr. Zhou was still sitting in the shadows, his body motionless, but his fingers fiddling with the tea bowl lid were frozen.

"What are you panicking about?" Liu Mian, a long-time official, suppressed his fear and sternly rebuked the clerk, "I am the governor appointed by the imperial court. Even if Her Royal Highness the Princess were to arrive, she should have been informed according to etiquette. How can you say we're surrounded? Come with me and take a look."

He straightened his official robe, tried hard to maintain the dignity of a prefect, and walked out quickly. Chen Wanshan and Mr. Zhou looked at each other with complicated eyes, and Chen Wanshan followed.

The gate of the prefectural government office was wide open.

Outside the door, the sunlight is glaring.

The princess's palace guards, wearing bright silver armor, and the capital's guards, wearing distinctive armor, had surrounded the main gate of the government office, and a murderous atmosphere was overwhelming.

The people around also watched the incident quietly.

Liu, trying to maintain composure, stepped out of the doorway, and addressed the crowd of soldiers outside with a deep voice, "I am Liu Mian, the prefect of Mingzhou. Who are you? Why are you leading troops to besiege the prefectural government office? What is your punishment for disturbing the local people?"

Before he finished speaking, a young but aggressive figure stepped out from the crowd.

Pan Hao was wearing silver armor, and his handsome face under the helmet was tense. He ignored Liu Mian's authority and rushed to him in a few steps. Without saying a word, he raised his leg and kicked him hard in the chest!

"You dog official, kneel down and answer!"

"Ugh!" Liu Mian was caught off guard and was kicked with such force that he staggered back several steps. His official hat was askew and he looked in a disheveled state.

He clutched his aching chest, shocked and furious. He pointed at Pan Hao and shouted, "How dare you assault an official appointed by the imperial court! I will report this to the court and accuse you of deceiving the emperor!"

"Official?" A cold and calm female voice sounded, with a condescending indifference.

The soldiers silently separated to the sides.

Ning Lingyi walked out slowly.

She was still dressed in plain riding clothes, her black hair tied up high, and her face was expressionless. The sun fell on her, and her eyes passed over the embarrassed Liu Mian, swept across the pale Chen Wanshan behind him, and finally fell back on Liu Mian's face.

"Liu Zhizhou," she said, her voice low but clear enough to drown out the sound of the wind, "I found something in the secret compartment of your study in the government office."

She raised her hand slightly, and a soldier from the Jingji Guard immediately brought a tray with several thick account books and several opened letters on it.

When Liu Mian saw the covers of those account books, his pupils suddenly shrank. Those were the account books that he had carefully managed for many years.

But he was, after all, a veteran official. He forced himself to remain calm, even straightening his back. He spoke in a timid voice, "Your Highness, I don't know what you are referring to! I have served diligently and conscientiously, and the things I have hidden are nothing more than some local official documents! Your Highness has gone beyond the rules by searching the residence of an official appointed by the court without any evidence. Even as a princess, you have no right..."

"Last December, over 1,570 refugees froze to death. The government warehouses were stockpiled with grain, but they used old grain as new grain and resold it, earning 18,000 taels of silver. This spring, there's a shortage of grain, and you colluded with grain merchants to drive up grain prices, causing hundreds of people to starve to death. Remember your share of the profits in the account books."

Ning Lingyi interrupted him, her voice still calm, as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with her. "During this summer's floods, the court allocated 50,000 taels of silver for dike repair, but less than 30,000 taels reached you. The dike was hastily reinforced with 2,000 taels of silver, and a light rain in August caused two sections to collapse, flooding thousands of acres of fertile farmland. Do you still need me to settle these accounts with you?"

Liu Mian's face turned from pale to blue, cold sweat instantly soaked his shirt, and his lips trembled: "You... you are slandering me! That... that is a false accusation by the people! It's..."

"You neglected your duties, embezzled money, exploited the people, and caused the deaths of thousands." Ning Lingyi looked at him, "This one offense alone is enough to get you killed a hundred times."

"Your Highness, even if I have made a mistake, I will be tried by the three judicial officials and can only be convicted after the emperor personally makes the decision! You have no right to interfere, this is the law of the court! The princess should report to the court and inform the emperor and father, and then discuss this matter..." Liu Mian shouted at the top of his lungs.

But in his heart, he was calculating rapidly. What if the account book was in her hands? As long as he left the Mingzhou area, his followers would pass on the news during the escort, and his old friends in the capital would always be able to make things happen.

As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no need to worry about firewood.

A mere few thousand refugees, what did they matter? All they had to do in the memorial was state that a few disaster victims intended to commit violence and theft, and that to maintain peace in the prefecture, they had to be driven out. And then, if a few of the ringleaders died of illness and took the blame, they could cover up the huge hole, and turn a big thing into a small one, and a small thing into nothing!

Even if the princess keeps pestering him, the worst that can happen is that he can be demoted three levels, and then he can give her some money as bribes. He can lie dormant for a few years and then he will be reinstated. At worst, he can be stripped of his official title. As long as he is alive, he can become a rich man with the connections and money he has accumulated over the years. When the storm is over, he may be able to make a comeback!

How could this princess, pampered in the deep palace, understand the twists and turns of the court? She was just acting on impulse.

Accompany her through this drama, bow her head, admit her mistakes, what can they do to me? This imperial law! It is both a shackle and a talisman.

As long as he plays by the rules, Liu Mian still has room for a comeback!

Thinking of this, Liu Mian's back straightened a little and he felt a little braver.

Ning Lingyi looked at him quietly, her face calm.

She even nodded: "You're right."

"According to the law, you should be brought to the capital, examined by the three courts, and wait for the emperor to make the final decision. That is your fate."

Liu Mian's heart was pounding. It worked! As expected! This empress was so easy to fool!

He even forced a look of mixed sorrow and regret on his face, ready to play the role of "a minister awaiting punishment" again.

This Mingzhou, Liu Mian, will be back soon!

"But," Ning Lingyi turned her wrist, pointed the tip of the sword directly at Liu Mian's heart, and her voice suddenly rose, "I am determined to kill you today!"

Before you finish your words, the sword flashes!

“Puff!”

Quick and neat!

The cold sword edge instantly pierced through Liu Mian's chest and came out through his back!

"Ah" All of Liu Mian's luck was shattered in an instant. His eyes bulged out and he looked at the sword tip protruding from his chest in disbelief.

How dare she?! She clearly...

The touch from the hilt of the sword was unusually clear. There was no panic as expected, only a determination to end it with one's own hands.

Rules? Laws? If rules and laws became another kind of darkness, Ning Lingyi wouldn't mind severing them with a single blow.

Ning Lingyi twisted her wrist suddenly and drew her sword.

"Swish!" A fountain of blood spurted out!

A few spots of scarlet splashed onto her plain collar. Liu Mian slammed heavily on the bluestone slab like a broken bag, and blood quickly spread.

"Ah!" Chen Wanshan collapsed and became incontinent. The prefect was killed by her, so what about him?

The people watching outside the government office fell into deathly silence the moment the sword flashed.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden killing.

Someone uttered a suppressed cry in the dead silence:

"Killed? Liu...Liu Baopi was killed by the princess with one sword?!"

This sentence is like a spark thrown into boiling oil!

"Oh my God, it really killed me!"

"Liu Papi is dead. The princess killed him!"

"Well done, well done!" A ragged old man suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed in the direction of Ning Lingyi, tears streaming down his face. "My frozen child... Liu Baopi! You have come to this day!"

"Princess... Her Royal Highness the Princess has avenged us!"

"But that's the prefect, an official appointed by the imperial court..." Some well-dressed merchants turned pale, their voices trembling, their eyes filled with fear, "This...this is too..."

The news spread like wildfire, sweeping from the gate of the government office to the entire Mingzhou city!

"Have you heard? The princess stabbed Liu Zhizhou to death with one sword at the gate of the government office!"

“Is this true?!”

"It's absolutely true! My second uncle saw it with his own eyes right at the street corner! Her Highness was so decisive! Liu Bapi was trying to argue, but Her Highness didn't waste a word and just pierced his heart with her sword!"

"It's so good! It's so good! Heaven has mercy on us! Her Royal Highness the Princess is a living Bodhisattva!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down, don't say anything, that's killing an official..."

"What are you afraid of?! The princess killed the corrupt officials! She was ridding the people of harm!"

"But... this method is too horrifying..."

The people, who had been suppressed for too long, applauded and spread the news.

Many people rushed to the government office, hoping to see Liu Baopi's body with their own eyes, and also to see the princess who had made the decision for them. Meanwhile, the gentry and wealthy families in the city were all in danger, terrified by the princess's cruel methods and decisive actions, which far exceeded their imagination.

Ning Lingyi turned a deaf ear to the noise erupting behind her.

She lowered her eyes and glanced at her bloody right hand. Sticky blood was sliding down her knuckles, dripping "tap...tap..." onto the bluestone slab.

She flicked her wrist, shook off the blood drop, sheathed the sword, and a crisp "clang" sound drowned out the noise.

"Search." She looked at Chen Wanshan, who was shaking like a sieve.

Pan Hao hurried out of the government office and lowered his voice, "Your Highness, the back hall is empty. Someone committed suicide by taking poison. It seems he came from the capital. His body was as clean as if he had just washed with water. There was not a single piece of paper or a single word left."

Ning Lingyi finally shifted her gaze away from Chen Wanshan.

She raised her other clean hand and slowly wiped away the slightly cool blood on her jaw with her fingertips. The skin beneath her fingertips was delicate, but the touch of the scarlet left a mark on her face.

There seemed to be something completely different in her calm eyes.

The golden branch can still angrily kill corrupt officials and wash away the deep-rooted diseases with blood. But it is a pity that the common people are crying out in anger, how can they ever see the blue sky?