Chapter 159: Impersonation
Prefect Wang hurriedly stood up, straightened his clothes, and said with an embarrassed smile, "Young Master Yue, Miss, what brings you here so suddenly?"
He glared fiercely at the servants beside him, wondering why no one had come in to announce his arrival.
Seeing that he still had the leisure to watch the play and drink tea, Yue Huai felt a surge of anger.
"Prefect Wang is truly audacious. He was just a hair's breadth away from utter ruin, and you still have the mind to drink tea and listen to music here!"
"Young Master! You should be careful with your words!" Prefect Wang's smile faltered as he looked at the man before him: "What do you mean by 'utter ruin'? Dongping Prefecture is prosperous and thriving today, and the people live in peace and contentment. I simply enjoy tea and music in my spare time. What's wrong with that?"
Yue Huai looked at him coldly: "Dongping Prefecture is plagued by natural disasters and man-made calamities these days, and you still dare to say that it is prosperous and peaceful? As the prefect, how can you not know that countless elderly people and children in villages have died mysteriously? Isn't that dereliction of duty?"
Upon hearing this, Prefect Wang paused slightly.
He knew about it, but isn't it normal for an old person to pass away? Every year, several old people die.
Children are mischievous and sometimes they get hurt or even lose their lives by accident. How does that become what he calls dereliction of duty?
Moreover, the Taoist priest said it was a feng shui problem, and after they smashed the temple, the same thing stopped happening.
“My lord, birth, aging, sickness and death are the natural course of life. You cannot accuse me of dereliction of duty just because a few people have died. During the flood years ago, I personally went into the water and saved countless people. I was rewarded by His Majesty for this, and it is all recorded in the history books.”
Jingwu looked at his face, secretly performed a divination, then frowned and snorted coldly.
"You know better than we do whether it was the adults or your brother who saved the person back then."
Upon hearing this, Prefect Wang trembled, his face stiffened, and his hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched tightly.
How did she know? Could it be that this matter has been exposed?
Yue Huai had calmed down by now. He looked at the person in front of him and did a divination. After discovering the truth, his expression became even colder.
"Sir, you have quite the tricks up your sleeve. You've been impersonating someone else for so many years. Aren't you afraid that your brother will come looking for your life in the dead of night?"
Upon hearing this, Prefect Wang broke out in a cold sweat; the secret in his heart had finally been exposed.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by 'stealing the beams and replacing the pillars'? What do you mean by 'younger brother'? I don't understand!"
Jingwu stared straight into his eyes and called out his original name: "Is that so? Wang Xu, you've been impersonating your younger brother Wang Chu for ten years. Don't you feel even a little bit uneasy?"
The man in front of me is Wang Xu. He has a twin brother named Wang Chu. The two were born into a family of craftsmen and went to school together.
The younger brother was exceptionally talented and rose through the ranks to become an official through the imperial examinations, while he was neither good at literature nor martial arts and could only return home to learn craftsmanship from his father.
Wang Chu rose through the ranks and, after becoming the prefect, brought his entire family to live with him.
Seeing his younger brother's current success, living in a grand mansion and marrying a noblewoman, while he himself could only do hard craftsman work and marry a plain-looking merchant's daughter, Wang Xu became jealous.
So, ten years ago, during that great flood, he and his brother went into the water to save people, but he personally drowned his brother in the flood.
Taking advantage of the darkness, they took off their clothes, leaving only their undergarments, and hurriedly climbed ashore. As soon as they reached the shore, they shouted that their brother had been swept away by the water.
The two look alike and have similar builds; they are usually distinguished only by their clothing.
It was dark at the time, and he was only wearing an undergarment with his hair disheveled, so no one could tell his identity or suspect that he was not Wang Chu. Thus, the switch was successful.
Wang Xu impersonated his younger brother for ten years, constantly mimicking his brother's lifestyle and replacing all the people who served him closely, which is why no one noticed.
When Wang Xu realized that his plan had been exposed, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
He didn't believe in ghosts or the so-called mystical arts.
Upon seeing him during the day, he was secretly relieved, thinking that the Xuanmen sect was nothing special, lacking any real talent or ability, and unable to discern his true identity.
But now that his identity has been exposed, if word gets out, he will surely die.
Therefore, this matter must not be spread, and these two people in front of us must not leave alive.
Thinking this, Wang Xu immediately gave a wink to his trusted confidant standing next to him.
"Guards! Seize these two assassins! They attempted to murder me!" Wang Xu shouted immediately. "Grab them! Their lives are no object!"
"Yes!" Upon hearing this, the trusted aide immediately shouted, "Quickly! Catch the assassin!"
In an instant, countless constables rushed in, wielding weapons and surrounding the two men.
Yue Huai's expression turned cold, and he immediately took out a token: "The Crown Prince's token is here. Who dares to touch it!"
As soon as the token was issued, the restless people immediately quieted down. They hesitated and looked back at Prefect Wang.
Wang Xu stared at the token with a grave expression, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how to escape.
But Jingwu didn't give him that chance. He immediately teleported to his side, grabbed his collar, ripped off his hairband, swept all his hair to one side, and pointed to the birthmark on his scalp.
"This man is not your prefect, but his elder brother. Go to the other residence and fetch your matriarch. Have her take a look and see if the one with the birthmark on his head is the elder or the younger brother."
These words shocked everyone present.
The prefect's wife, who rushed over upon hearing the commotion, nearly collapsed to the ground upon seeing the scene.
Others may not know, but she does.
Her husband once told her that although his twin brother looked just like him, he had a birthmark on his head, which was how their mother recognized them since they were little.
Prefect Wang tried to break free from her grasp, but he didn't know why she was so strong, and he couldn't move an inch.
"Release me! Are all of you dead? Hurry up and arrest her!"
"Who dares!" Yue Huai spoke, waving the token in front of everyone: "Who dares to touch it!"
The constables were at a loss for what to do and looked at each other in bewilderment.
Jingwu grabbed his collar and pinched his chin, coldly saying, "You murdered your own brother, stole his identity for so many years, and only knew how to eat, drink, and be merry, indulging in pleasure and disregarding the safety of the people. A person like you will go to the eighteenth level of hell after you die!"
"Let go of me! I don't understand a word you're saying! I am Wang Chu! I have a birthmark on my head!" Wang Xu's face was contorted with rage as he glared at her fiercely. "You bunch of useless trash! That prince's token is fake! Arrest these two assassins right now!"
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