"President Jing is the president of the Da'an Newspaper, bestowed by His Majesty. His official rank is second grade. The Da'an Newspaper is directly under His Majesty. President Jing only needs to obey His Majesty. Other officials have no right to interfere with any of President Jing's actions."
President Jing's incognito trip to Ruzhou was ordered by His Majesty to establish a branch of the Da'an Newspaper. Liu Shou'er and Hu Yitong's collusion to frame President Jing and obstruct his work constitutes a blatant defiance of His Majesty's decree.
Moreover, Liu Shou'er was merely a prefect of the fifth rank, yet he dared to overstep his bounds and arrest Chief Jing, a second-rank official. This was tantamount to insubordination, and hardly any different from rebellion.
As an official, he was extremely skilled at labeling people, and with just a few words, he had Prefect Liu and Manager Hu completely under his thumb, leaving them unable to do anything.
After finishing speaking, he scanned the entire room and said coldly, "Now, is there anyone still pleading for them?"
"..."
After these words were spoken, the hall became completely silent; you could hear a pin drop.
Good heavens, this is blatant disobedience to the imperial edict and deliberate treason. Who would dare to plead for him? Wouldn't that make them an accomplice?
People aren't stupid; anyone who pleads for Prefect Liu and Manager Hu at this point would be truly foolish.
At this point, forget about pleading for mercy; the most reliable way is to sever all ties with them!
Not only should we distance ourselves from it, but we should distance ourselves as far away as possible to avoid causing any trouble!
Therefore, after Yu Li finished asking the question, not only did everyone remain silent, but those standing behind Prefect Liu and Manager Hu also tacitly took a few steps back to distance themselves from them.
The waiter and constable who had just pleaded for them all looked up at the sky, as if they weren't the ones who had spoken.
The fickle nature of human relationships and the tendency to push someone when they're down were vividly portrayed at this moment. Both Prefect Liu and Manager Hu could only manage a bitter smile, with Manager Hu placing his last hopes on one person.
He turned his head and saw the Crown Prince of Yu call the bald waiter to his side, whisper something in his ear, and the bald waiter nodded repeatedly. Then, he glanced subtly at Jing Zhe and Yu Li before running towards the counter…
When the Crown Prince of Yu turned around, he found that Manager Hu was staring at him. He immediately glared at him and looked away.
Shopkeeper Hu was stunned. He, who used to be able to read the eyes of the Prince of Yu, suddenly didn't understand...
...
Second rank!
After Yu Li introduced Jing Zhe's identity, everyone in the hall was once again shocked.
They had just realized that Jing Zhe's official position was not low; at the very least, it was higher than that of Yu Li, who was a third-rank official.
But they never expected that Jing Zhe's official position would be so ridiculously high!
A second-rank official! That's the most elite circle in Anguo. How did he, a young man not even twenty, manage to achieve that?
At this point, Yu Li's humble attitude and the charges he leveled against Prefect Liu and Manager Hu seem much more reasonable.
However, at this moment, there was an even more important question lingering in the minds of the people of Ruzhou: that someone so young had become a second-rank official and worked for a strange organization called Da'an Newspaper, which had now opened a branch in Ruzhou, indicated that this organization must have a high status in Jingzhou City.
Such a legendary young man, and the magical institution that nurtured him, should be very famous, so why have they never heard a single word about him?
Some people couldn't understand it, while some clever people had already vaguely sensed that an invisible wall was looming over Ruzhou...
"Liu Shou'er, Hu Yitong, do you know your crimes?"
Seeing that everyone already knew Jing Zhe, Yu Li seized the opportunity to interrogate the two of them.
"This humble official...this humble official did not know that he...was President Jing!"
Prefect Liu is now well aware of his situation. Once convicted and imprisoned, it will be difficult for him to recover.
"Don't know? That's no excuse for your favoritism and corruption! Just because President Jing is an ordinary person doesn't mean you can frame him at will!"
"..."
Prefect Liu remained silent for a moment, gritted his teeth, and, with the thought of "better to die than see my friend die," pointed at Manager Hu and said, "Governor Yu, it's all his fault! I only came here with the constables to arrest people because I received his report that Chief Jing had robbed money! My mistake was believing the rumors, but it doesn't warrant death!"
"..."
Manager Hu was instantly dumbfounded.
This hasn't even started yet, how come the ship of friendship has capsized so easily?
Since you won't let me be well, then let's not be well at all!
Manager Hu immediately jumped up and said, "You surnamed Liu, didn't you agree with the idea when it was proposed? How come you're now accusing me of framing President Jing? If you have the guts, then expose everyone!"
"..."
Good grief, they started fighting like dogs without even saying a word?
Jing Zhe sat there, thinking happily.
Perhaps due to the pressure brought about by Jing Zhe's change in status, Zhou Ziqiong felt uneasy sitting next to him and wanted to stand up, but her hand was held by Jing Zhe, so she could only continue to sit there.
But her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Jing Zhe noticed it too, but didn't take it seriously. His eyes were still fixed on Manager Hu and the others watching the show, but his hand gently stroked and patted Zhou Ziqiong's hand, which he was holding.
Zhou Ziqiong secretly glanced at Jing Zhe, and seeing that he was looking straight ahead without glancing to the side, she could only let him hold her hand.
...
"Manager Hu, you should just admit what you've done."
"Prefect Liu, was it just me who did it, or did we do it?"
"Hu Yitong, I advise you to think carefully about what you're saying!"
"Liu Shou'er, you should know what you've done!"
"..."
The feud is heating up, and onlookers are thoroughly enjoying themselves, as if if it continues, they might just hear some juicy gossip...
"Shut up, all of you!"
Such explosive information could not be allowed to be revealed by the two of them. While cursing them as "good-for-nothings" in his heart, the Crown Prince of Yu said, "You two are usually prominent figures in Ruzhou City, how come you've suddenly become shameless?"
"..."
Prefect Liu and Manager Hu then came to their senses and remained silent.
The Crown Prince of Yu breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "You must believe that Governor Yu will not investigate cases without evidence. I will follow the progress of this case closely and will not let a bad person go unpunished, nor will I wrong an innocent person!"
Because the Crown Prince of Yu was in the same boat as Manager Hu and Prefect Liu, if the boat capsized, he wouldn't survive either. So at this moment, he had to reassure the two of them and prevent them from implicating him, which would be disastrous.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Sure enough, with the promise from the Crown Prince of Yu, the two felt much more at ease and at least stopped arguing with each other.
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
