Whom the gods would destroy, they first drive mad. Du Laihua's current state reminded Zhao Cheng of this saying.

Unlike when Xiao Luofeng and Xiao Tian brought their men before, this time outside the courtroom, it was as if dark clouds were pressing down, and the ground beneath our feet trembled.

The fully armed Qingdong City garrison trotted in in perfect unison, and for a moment the only sounds in the courtyard outside the court were the footsteps and the rustling of armor.

Swish swish swish—

Under He Shun's command, most of the garrison lined up outside the court, and only about a hundred people squeezed into the court, making the court three layers higher than the previous three.

The once solemn and dignified place for judging cases has suddenly transformed into a noisy and crowded market, packed with more than three hundred people!

Outside the court, there were nearly a thousand soldiers and onlookers, making it quite a lively scene.

Many people gasped in surprise. Du Laihua had actually transferred a thousand-strong force from the garrison!

“He’s gone mad, he’s really gone mad…” a clerk sitting to the left of Du Laihua shook his head and muttered.

Du Laihua, no longer caring about anything else, gesticulated wildly and said, "Lock Xiao Luofeng and Zhao Cheng in jail!"

Zhao Wu said, "My master is General Zhaoyong, how dare you..."

Du Laihua said, "I don't care what kind of general you are, just lock him up first!"

Xiao Luomu said, "My brother is innocent, you can't arrest him!"

"Anyone who dares to obstruct us will be thrown in jail!" Du Laihua waved to He Shun and said, "If the Xiao family tries to disrupt the court proceedings, arrest them all!!"

The garrison troops were much more obedient than the soldiers in the central government office. Upon receiving orders, they began to arrest people. The Xiao family members had no weapons and most of them did not know martial arts. They were dragged out one by one like chickens.

The scene immediately descended into extreme chaos.

Zhou Chuan and Zhou Nuo protected Yan Lan in the middle of the crowd. Zhou Chuan placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked at Zhao Cheng.

Zhao Cheng shook his head slightly.

The reason Zhao Cheng stopped Zhou Chuan from taking action wasn't out of fear. Things had already escalated to this point; Zhao Cheng wanted to kill Du Laihua more than anyone else, but the matter had already blown up and would likely spread throughout Qingdong City very soon.

Du Laihua is a marquis, and there is nothing wrong with him presiding over this case in the central government office. It was his oversight to easily mobilize the garrison troops, but if Zhou Chuan resists and kills, Zhao Cheng will be in the wrong.

Zhao Cheng is waiting.

Waiting for that bullet that's about to fly over.

The garrison was efficient; in no time, they cleared out most of the Xiao family members and detained them in the courtyard.

Just then, four more people walked over from not far away.

Unlike the chaos here, the four of them walked slowly, as if taking a leisurely stroll.

The young man in the lead, in particular, was pointing and gesturing around as he walked, as if he were on a picnic.

Upon seeing this person, Zhao Cheng and Xiao Luomu were stunned for a moment.

Isn't that Xu An?

Xu An was accompanied by an old man and two attendants. Zhao Cheng vaguely remembered the old man; he had accompanied him when Xu An gambled heavily at the brothel and when he asked for the estate deed. Zhao Cheng seemed to recall Xu An calling him Uncle Cheng.

Traveling with only three people is not in the style of Young Master Xu!

Xu An peeked out from outside the courtroom, saw Zhao Cheng, and waved, saying, "I was wondering why I couldn't find you guys. You've all come to the Central Secretariat? What, is the Central Secretariat fun?"

As he spoke, Xu An looked deeper into the courtroom and asked doubtfully, "Are there girls in the Central Court?"

"Young Marquis!" Xiao Luomu, without leaving Xiao Luofeng's side, bowed to Xu An from afar.

"Greetings, Young Master Shang!" Xu An smiled at Xiao Luomu.

Zhao Cheng walked towards Xu An and said, "Why did you only bring so few people with you this time? That's not like you!"

Xu An curled his lip and said, "Do you think this is Yanchuan? Bringing so many people all the way to Qingdong, you don't have to spend money on the road?"

Zhao Cheng was surprised and exclaimed, "The young marquis is actually afraid of spending money?!"

"It's not easy to make money!" Xu An sighed.

Cheng Bo, standing next to Xu An, laughed and said, "Young Prime Minister, you should thank me for this. Ever since you made my master the boss, he has become more frugal."

"Sigh, with the current economic climate, it's not easy for business owners..."

After a sigh, Zhao Cheng asked, "Didn't Li Guanyu come with you?"

Xu An said, "He has to stay at the club."

Seeing Zhao Cheng chatting casually with Xu An as if no one else was around, Du Laihua jumped up in a panic and shouted at He Shun, "What are you all standing there for? Lock them up right now!"

"Oh dear, looks like you're in trouble..." Xu An glanced at Du Laihua, sneered, then glared at He Shun who was walking towards them and asked, "You dare touch me?"

Seeing Xu An's arrogant demeanor, Du Laihua asked suspiciously, "And who are you?"

Xu An did not answer directly, but looked at Uncle Cheng.

Cheng Bo took a few steps forward, his gaze landing on the face of the clerk below Du Laihua, and said, "Jiang Xue!"

The clerk raised his head and carefully examined Cheng Bo.

Cheng Bo cursed, "You old geezer, have you gone blind from all these years of working as a scribe? You don't even recognize me anymore?"

“You… Old Cheng!” Jiang Xue laughed, pointing at Uncle Cheng and saying, “Old man, you’re back!”

"Uncle Cheng!" An official from across from Jiang Xue walked over and said with a look of surprise, "It really is you, Uncle Cheng!"

“Yu Feng!” Uncle Cheng pointed at the slightly younger official and laughed, “You’ve matured.”

"Uncle Cheng!"

"Old Cheng!"

Following Jiang Xue and Yu Feng, several more officials walked toward Cheng Bo.

For a moment, everyone was stunned. The garrison also stopped arresting the Xiao family members, and the courtroom turned from a vegetable market into a family reunion.

After a brief conversation, Jiang Xue turned his gaze to Xu An and asked suspiciously, "Could this be... Xiao An?"

Xu An flashed a bright, sunny smile and grinned, saying, "It's me!"

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