The people were well aware of the wicked man's notorious reputation, and his question clearly indicated that he intended to kill Prefect Tai Xuan.
An old man stepped forward, his eyes sweeping over the girl tied to the raft, his eyes filled with heartbreak. "To be honest, Your Excellency, my daughter is on that raft."
"How can a father watch his child die in vain?"
“But we have seen how hard the prefect and the other officials have been working day and night... Praying to the gods is just a last resort.”
The old man burst into tears, his lifeless voice filled with heartbreak, "My child's mother died young, and I raised her all by myself. How could I bear to see her die like this?"
"The prefect said to try the sacrifice to see if it can recede the flood. Choosing our daughter is her fate. If it can bring blessings to thousands of families... even death... would be worth it!"
The old man's words were somewhat incoherent, but the wicked husband understood them. He then asked, "Does he usually do anything illegal, or engage in favoritism or corruption?"
"No!"
The people's voices were resolute.
This surprised the wicked husband even more, and he subconsciously glanced at the pale-faced Tai Xuan.
"In that case, what he did was not only ineffective, but it also only killed these children and girls!" The wicked man frowned, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible doubt.
"Grand Commandant!" At this moment, a middle-aged man in a mud-stained official robe stepped forward, his tone tinged with helplessness, "We also strongly opposed it at the beginning, and even denounced the Prefect, but seeing the people displaced and countless people... dying... alas!"
The middle-aged man in his official robes, his once resolute face now etched with stubble, was now filled with sorrow, tears welling in his eyes. "We are truly at our wits' end..." he murmured.
The wicked man fell silent for a moment. At this moment, whether it was ordinary people or colleagues, they were all speaking up for Tai Xuan, which showed that he must be a good official.
"In the end, it's still ignorance... Popularization of education is imperative!"
This era was far too backward. Faced with natural disasters and floods, they had no other choice but to place their hopes on ghosts and gods, and were even willing to offer their daughters and children as sacrifices.
This deeply moved the wicked man, who knew that changing such superstitious ideas was not something that could be done overnight, and that there was still a long way to go.
"Gentlemen, hear me out." The wicked man's voice rang out in the silence, carrying an unquestionable authority. "Natural disasters are merciless, but man-made calamities are even worse. The King and the court have not stood idly by while you suffer, and you must not let ignorance blind you."
He turned to face the middle-aged man in official robes, his tone revealing a hint of determination: "I understand your helplessness, but as an official, you should focus on guiding and appeasing them, rather than letting them fall into the abyss of superstition."
The wicked man looked around and his gaze fell on the old man. He said slowly, "Old man, I know you are in pain and I understand your righteousness, but your daughter's life and the lives of other children are equally precious."
His words were powerful, causing everyone present to fall into deep thought.
The wicked husband's stern gaze fell upon Tai-hyun, and he was somewhat at a loss for words when it came to judging this person.
When people say he's no good, everyone stands up to plead for him!
He was capable, yet he didn't hesitate to harm children and young girls for baseless accusations.
After pondering for a long time, the wicked man slowly spoke: "Tai Xuan, should I kill you today? Fortunately, you haven't committed any serious crimes yet, otherwise you would already be a headless corpse, and your relatives and friends would be implicated as well."
Tai Xuan's body trembled, and a great fear of walking through the gates of hell filled his heart, making him appear somewhat lost and disoriented.
"As an official in charge of a region, I govern the people of that region. This disaster was not my wish. The people are starving and naked, and the former prosperity has turned into a vast expanse of water... My heart is even more uneasy."
"After my death, Longxi County will be entrusted to you. You must hold out until the disaster relief envoy arrives..."
"If today's sacrifice cannot quell the flood, I, Tai Xuan, will throw myself into the river... to quell the flood with my own body, my heart will remain unchanged even if I sink." Tai Xuan's deputy, Prefect Ling Zhen, could not bear to see her husband misunderstand Tai Xuan, so she revealed all of Tai Xuan's words of entrusting his son to her the night before.
Lingzhen choked up a little, bent her knees and knelt down, and cried out: "Grand Commandant, please forgive the Prefect. Only the six of us know the reason for the sacrifice. You do not know our predicament. If there were a way out, who would want to harm the children's lives for nothing?"
"Please forgive the prefect, Grand Commandant!"
All the officials from Longxi present knelt down and shouted in unison.
Although Tai-hyun and other insiders did not explain, they knew that Tai-hyun was a good official in his daily life and naturally could not bear to see him killed by his wicked husband.
The wicked man took a deep breath and said coldly, "The sword is drawn. Merit is merit, and fault is fault. How can this Grand Commandant's sword return unsucked without drinking blood?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Erhe immediately presented him with his sword, and the wicked man drew his long sword from its sheath.
Everyone's expression changed drastically, and even the common people knelt down, pleading, "Grand Commandant, please, Grand Commandant, spare the Prefect!"
The scene before him made the wicked husband both laugh and cry; how come he seemed to be the bad guy instead?
"Hahaha...."
The wicked man's gaze fell on Tai Xuan, and he asked in a deep voice, "Speak, who told you that sacrificing to the so-called River God could quell the flood, and what price you paid? Tell me the whole story."
Tai-hyun was taken aback upon hearing this. "This... it was those sorcerers who found me and demonstrated their abilities to avoid water and retrieve objects, which is why I believed them."
"As for the price, they want fifty acres of fertile land and three large mansions..."
Upon hearing this, the wicked man's murderous gaze immediately turned to the sorcerers and wizards, his eyes filled with the ferocity of a wolf or tiger, causing them to tremble in fear.
"Isn't this a complete fraud?"
The wicked man instantly labeled the group as fraudsters and lost all interest in their water-avoidance techniques.
"Come here, all of you!" The wicked man beckoned, as if he were calling out to his dogs.
The group trembled at the sight of the gleaming sword in his hand, pushing and shoving each other, none daring to take the first step.
"If you don't come over here, I'll come over and chop you all up!" the wicked man roared.
Upon hearing this, the sorcerers and wizards hurriedly stepped forward and stood in front of the wicked man, swallowing hard as they looked at the sword in his hand.
"Taehyun!"
The wicked man ran his fingers along the sharp blade, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger, "You may be a bit stupid, but considering you've never done anything wrong before, and the people and officials have pleaded for you, and you haven't really committed a serious offense today, I, the Grand Commandant, will spare your life."
Upon hearing this, the officials and common people kneeling on the ground breathed a sigh of relief, and genuine smiles appeared on their faces.
"but!"
The wicked man's tone shifted, his voice turning cold as he said, "But this Grand Commandant's sword is already drawn; how can it be sheathed without drinking blood?"
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