"Didn't you see it clearly?" Wang Han asked, his voice tinged with anger.
"General, it's true, I didn't see it clearly!" Xie Duguan said in a trembling voice when he heard Wang Han's angry voice, his hands and feet shaking involuntarily.
"Didn't you see clearly either?" Wang Han's gaze swept over the kneeling officers and soldiers.
"General, we didn't see clearly." Seeing the angry look in Wang Han's eyes, Zhou Jin and his soldiers all said in fear. Who dared to say that it was the Divine General who had robbed them?
The wise know that General Shenwei is going to deal with the Grand Secretary, while the foolish just think that General Shenwei wants them to keep quiet.
"Were these the ones who kidnapped them!" Seeing that the kneeling people were quite obedient, Wang Han's tone softened slightly. He flipped his hand and took out eight portraits, which he threw out. The portraits stopped automatically in mid-air and unfolded. The people depicted on them were none other than Chao Gai, Liu Tang, the three Ruan brothers, Gongsun Sheng, Wu Yong, Bai Sheng, and the other eight.
"Yes, it's those eight people." Upon seeing the people in the portrait, the shrewd and experienced Steward Xie immediately understood Wang Han's meaning. He insisted that although he had never seen these eight people, Steward Xie had already guessed Wang Han's intention: to frame these eight people for this matter.
Xie, the steward, breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that General Shenwei wasn't after the Grand Secretary. This made sense; the Grand Secretary was a high-ranking official in the court with a very close network of connections. Moreover, the gifts he had given were substantial, amounting to 50,000 strings of cash. Furthermore, the Grand Secretary had never offended General Shenwei, so there was no reason for the General to target him. His words were merely a tactic to intimidate them, instructing them to cooperate in framing the eight people and handing them over to the Grand Secretary.
Moreover, the birthday tribute is gone for good. Those seemingly malicious words directed at the Grand Secretary were actually a trap to lure them into believing the Divine Might General was targeting him. The goal was to make them deny the goods were part of the birthday tribute, allowing the General to blatantly pocket the money. This way, even if the Grand Secretary knew the General had robbed them, he couldn't say anything. After all, they themselves admitted it was local produce, amounting to no more than thirty strings of cash; they'd only compensate the Grand Secretary thirty strings.
“Yes, it’s those eight.” Seeing that Steward Xie was adamant, the others quickly chimed in, assuming that the people in the portrait were scapegoats found by General Shenwei to be handed over to the Grand Secretary to get rid of the mess.
"Have you seen it clearly? Are you sure you haven't made a mistake this time?" Wang Han said with a smile. His tone was no longer angry.
“I’m sure I saw it clearly. We’d recognize them even if they were ashes.” Hearing this, and seeing that Wang Han’s tone was no longer angry, Steward Xie confirmed his guess and said firmly.
"Yes, yes, they were the ones who inflicted our injuries. They would never admit to anything wrong," Zhou Jin and his soldiers affirmed. Although they were lying through their teeth, they simply couldn't afford to offend General Shenwei.
“Since you’re so sure it’s these people, it’s unlikely that… it won’t change, right?” Wang Han said, pausing halfway through his sentence before continuing.
"It won't change, it's definitely these people," Steward Xie said with certainty. Although General Shenwei paused for a moment, he could no longer change his mind.
"Dong dong dong...!" Just then, the muffled sound of the grievance drum rang out outside the county government office.
"Go and see who is seeking justice?" Upon hearing the drumbeat, Wang Han instructed the magistrate of Yuncheng.
"Yes." Seeing Wang Han signaling to him, the magistrate of Yuncheng quickly instructed Song Jiang, "Song, go and see who is seeking justice at the gate."
“I’m sending you. Bring in the person seeking justice,” Wang Han said.
"Yes, General." Upon hearing this, the magistrate quickly replied and jogged out of the main hall. He inwardly complained about who was so inconsiderate to come seeking justice at this time.
"It's you!" Upon exiting the county government office, the magistrate's eyes widened. Dozens of people stood at the entrance, surrounding a donkey cart. These people were none other than Chao Gai and his entourage, who had come to present the demon's arm. The magistrate had just seen their faces in the portrait that Wang Han had shown him.
If it were Song Jiang, he would definitely advise them to leave immediately and escape far away, as the Divine General would question them for robbing the birthday gifts. Of course, Chao Gai and the others might not leave.
"Sir, do you know us?" Chao Gai asked, stepping forward after hearing the magistrate's words.
"I don't know you." Upon hearing this, the magistrate immediately shook his head and said calmly, "I've only heard of you. What grievances do you have? Come in and tell me!"
"Your Excellency, is General Shenwei in the county office?" Chao Gai asked.
"They're at the county government office," the magistrate nodded and said.
"We're not here to seek justice, but to present something important to General Shenwei." Hearing this, Chao Gai was relieved, nodded and smiled, and then called to the men behind him, "Brothers, bring the things in."
"So, do you think they've walked right into your trap, or are they here to confront you?" Wang Han said with a smile to Xie Duguan and Zhou Jin as he watched Chao Gai and his men enter the county government office. "They're also carrying things; could it be your birthday tribute?"
"They must have heard of the General's presence and, intimidated by his reputation, surrendered themselves," said Xie, the steward who had also seen Chao Gai and his group, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. At this point, he had nothing more to say. The Divine General could be shameless and renege on his promises—who told him to be so powerful and influential? He was just a lowly soldier, and the words he uttered were utterly undeniable before the Divine General.
"We, the humble people Chao Gai, Wu Yong, and Gongsun Sheng, pay our respects to the Divine General." Soon, Chao Gai and the others entered the main hall and bowed to Wang Han, making the already crowded hall even more packed.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
