Startled, the masked man dodged to the side, but the prefect suddenly turned his blade and stabbed at the masked man's subordinate.
This scene terrified the people; some of the more timid ones dared not even open their eyes to look.
This startled Qiu Dafu and his two companions, causing them to stare blankly.
Jiang Lian shivered and hid behind Qiu Dafu, silently praying that Prefect Xu would not get into trouble.
With a soft thud, the man who had been stabbed opened his eyes wide, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and collapsed in front of the masked man before he could utter a single word.
He was truly unwilling to die like that.
Among the crowd, a woman with tears streaming down her face shook her head repeatedly at the prefect.
Beside the woman, an elderly woman was supporting her with both hands, her eyes filled with worry.
Zheng Hong glanced at the woman; she was delicate and frail, thin, with red and swollen eyes. "Third Young Master, who is that woman?"
Seeing her sorrowful and distressed appearance evoked pity in one's heart.
Jiang Lian glanced at the woman casually, paused for a moment, and lowered his voice to say to Zheng Hong, "The prefect's daughter, Xu Qing, Miss Xu."
Zheng Hong shook his head: "Please don't let anything happen."
The masked man's lips curled into a sneer as he swiftly drew his long sword, instantly pressing it against the prefect's neck.
"Since the Prefect is determined to seek his own death, then I will grant your wish today!"
Xu Qing ran a few steps, but Zheng Hong grabbed her arm, saying, "Are you out of your mind?!"
Xu Qing paid no attention to the man who had suddenly appeared. She only glanced at him indifferently before forcefully breaking free of his hands: "Let go of me!"
Zheng Hong wouldn't let go, and Xu Qing, lacking strength, collapsed to the ground, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.
The old woman beside her cried as she covered her eyes with her hands.
The prefect was unable to dodge in time and had no choice but to close his eyes and face death.
The masked man's actions, coupled with his cold words, terrified the civilians.
They knelt and prostrated themselves in the direction of the masked man, beginning to beg for mercy for the prefect.
"Please, please spare us adults..."
The masked man looked at the prefect again. After all, he was the prefect of a city, and he should still make use of him if possible.
I'm giving you one last chance!
Actually, the masked man wanted the prefect to help them stabilize public sentiment first, and then make further plans.
His goal was to first implicate the prefect.
Not only the prefect of Huaiyuan, but all the officials in this area were to be treated as their own.
The mountains here are high and the emperor is far away. By the time the news reaches Emperor Dongjin, these cities will have already become his possessions.
The prefect glanced at his daughter seemingly unintentionally, his eyes filled with both reluctance and reproach.
He had clearly made proper arrangements for his family that night, but this daughter…
He stopped his daughter's crying with a look and said calmly, "Kill her if you want!"
Masked man: "Want to die? Then I'll grant your wish!" What's the point of keeping a useless person around?
Since the prefect of Huaiyuan was unyielding and could not be used, he had no choice but to kill him, which would also intimidate the people of Huaiyuan.
"stop!"
As soon as Qiu Dafu finished speaking, he suddenly appeared in front of the prefect and used his own flesh and blood to grasp the blade in the masked man's hand.
Zheng Hong and Jiang Lian were both stunned, unsure whether Qiu Dafu's actions were right or wrong.
Xu Qing stopped crying and looked at Qiu Dafu at the same time as the old nanny beside her.
For Xu Qing and her servant, Qiu Dafu's appearance was like a ray of warm sunshine on a cold winter day, warming their desolate hearts.
The other people were also surprised that, at this critical moment, someone would risk their own life to save the prefect.
Anyway, they wouldn't dare.
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