"It's a pity my father was transferred to Yanchuan... To be honest, although I lived in Yanchuan for a long time, I really felt it wasn't as comfortable as Qingdong City."
"I never imagined that Qingdong City would become like this, with even the Central Government Office in such a chaotic state!"
Xu An changed the subject, his gaze towards Du Laihua becoming sharp, and said, "There's actually someone claiming to be the only Marquis in Qingdong City. If my father heard this, how heartbroken he would be! Even the Emperor didn't strip him of his title, but someone else has!"
"I have absolutely no intention of disrespecting Marquis Qingdong."
Du Laihua looked directly into Xu An's eyes and said firmly, "But since the Marquis of Qingdong has been transferred to Yanchuan and is now serving as an official in Xidu, he should no longer concern himself with matters in Qingdong City. Moreover... you are not the Marquis of Qingdong, but merely his son."
"Does Marquis Yanxi mean that I have no status and therefore no right to interfere?"
"The words may be rough, but the principle is sound; that's the truth."
"Who says Xu An has no status?" Zhao Cheng said sternly, "I have already petitioned to promote Xu An to the position of the deputy military advisor to my deputy military advisor!"
Du Laihua shouted, "Zhao Cheng, I beg you, don't interrupt!!!"
"I don't care about status or anything like that," Xu An said with a smile that remained unchanged. "Anyway, I don't care what official business you're carrying out today, Marquis Yanxi. If you touch my brothers, you're touching me. You try touching one of them!"
Zhao Cheng smiled slightly. Xu An had been pretending to be a good boy for too long and was finally about to revert to his spoiled nature.
Du Laihua looked towards He Shun.
He Shun was young and not one of the people from when Qingdong Marquis was alive. He had no scruples about Xu An and strode over.
"Smack!!"
Without hesitation, Yue Jiti slapped him across the face, drew his sword, and roared, "Anyone who dares to touch the young marquis, I'll chop off their head and kick it around like a football!"
Da da da—
Seeing Yue Ji's angry gait, several hundred garrison troops followed.
Several hundred more troops gradually gathered behind He Shun.
In the blink of an eye, the garrison camp was split in two.
The conflict escalated again.
"General He, are you going to go against me?" Yue Jiti glared at He Shun.
He Shun, whose face still bore the marks of a slap, drew his sword and said, "I only know that when the prefect is not here, the marquis is the most powerful. I am just following orders!"
"Fool!" Yue Jiti brandished his sword and shouted, "Then you come here, but don't hurt the brothers below, let's fight one-on-one!"
"Nonsense!" Du Laihua roared, "Yue Jiti, this is treason!"
"Stop talking nonsense to me!" Yue Jiti showed no respect for Du Laihua and mocked, "If Old Marquis Yan Xi were here, I would naturally respect him, because he is capable and can help Prefect Huang govern Qingdong. But what are you? Just a fool who received favors from his father's generation, yet you dare to point fingers at me?"
"Even if the young marquis hadn't arrived today, I wouldn't want to waste my breath on your nonsense!"
Yue Jiti became more and more excited as he spoke, pointing at Xiao Luofeng and saying, "Commander Xiao has fought against pirates and bandits. How much suffering has he endured over the years to protect the people of Qingdong City? Look at the wound on his neck!"
"You haven't seen the wounds on his body, have you? While he was killing the Southern Zhou traitors in the Champion King's army, you were still in a brothel, drinking and cuddling with girls, weren't you?!"
"When I first learned that you were going to arrest Xiao Shouwei, I only thought that I wouldn't do it myself and would let someone else do it."
"But now, I, Yue Jiti, am putting my words here!"
"I'll be the first to object to anyone trying to arrest Commander Xiao!!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Tian was the most moved. He subconsciously looked at Xiao Luofeng, holding back the tears in his eyes.
He had always opposed Xiao Luofeng joining the army, and often said that he had not made a name for himself and was a good-for-nothing. In fact, he was just trying to provoke him with his words.
With only two sons, Xiao Luofeng and Xiao Luomu, and a solid family fortune, there's no need for them to be outstanding; as long as they live peacefully, that's enough!
But when Xiao Tian first saw the scar on Xiao Luofeng's neck, he was furious. The angrier he appeared, the more distressed he was inside!
This is fatherly love.
Gradually, Xiao Tian put his hand on Xiao Luofeng's shoulder.
Xiao Luofeng turned around and saw his father. He choked up and said, "Father..."
Xiao Tian patted Xiao Luofeng's shoulder heavily, saying nothing, only smiling.
Xiao Luofeng seemed to understand something, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Yue Jiti's words also touched some officials in the central government office. The elderly Jiang Xue was the first to stand up, pointing at He Shun and saying, "General He, you're confused! Prefect Huang values Commandant Xiao the most!!"
Yu Feng also said, "I can't handle this case today. Let Prefect Huang handle it himself!"
Seeing that everyone in the hall was starting to turn against him, and seeing He Shun's expression as he struggled with a decision, Du Laihua could no longer contain himself and roared, "Am I really that worthless in your eyes?"
"You're not even as good as a mere Xiao Luofeng?!"
"I am a Marquis of the Great Jing Dynasty! Xiao Luofeng is merely a merchant!"
"And then there's Zhao Cheng, so domineering and arrogant, he castrated the prefect's son!!"
"Are you all stupid? Why are you all siding with him?!"
"You're all insane!!"
Du Laihua jumped onto the ceremonial table and said that others were crazy, but he himself was the one who was the most crazy.
"I will bring you to your senses!!"
"Everyone come out here!!!"
As Du Laihua shouted, another group of people appeared outside the courtroom.
Most of these people ran in through the doors on both sides, numbering in the hundreds. Then another group appeared directly from the roof, some with bows drawn and others with crossbows, all aiming at the courtroom.
Seeing this, Zhao Wu instinctively protected Zhao Cheng.
Yue Jiti quickly blocked Xu An's path, angrily shouting, "Du Laihua! The imperial court has a clear decree prohibiting private soldiers from possessing bows and crossbows. Aren't you the one plotting a rebellion?!"
"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures!" Du Laihua said sternly, "In order to suppress you rebellious madmen, I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure!"
Zhao Cheng said coldly, "The crossbowmen arrived so promptly; they must have been lying in ambush all along, right?"
"Don't interrupt!!"
Du Laihua already had an instinctive resistance to Zhao Cheng speaking, and his eyes revealed murderous intent.
"Brothers, prepare to fight!" Yue Jiti raised his sword and said, "Who are the traitors and rebels? His Majesty will make a fair judgment!"
"Stop!"
Just as chaos was about to break out, Xiao Luofeng suddenly shouted.
"Du Laihua, all this trouble you've caused is just to get back at me, isn't it?"
Xiao Luofeng broke free from Xiao Luomu and Xiao Tian's restraints and slowly walked towards Du Laihua.
"Let's end this farce."
What do you want from me?
"I will grant your wish."
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