Chapter 149 Brother-in-law, these sisters are...
Seeing the old master's anger, not only did Huang Zhuo's face turn pale, but Liu Si and Fang Hongxiu's expressions also changed slightly.
Even Xiao Wang, who was sitting to the side, was somewhat surprised.
He thought the old man would just let it go as calmly as before.
I didn't expect the old man to have such a strong reaction.
Huang Zhuo wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a trembling voice, "My lord, please calm down. This matter... this matter was not investigated properly by me. It was my dereliction of duty. I hope you will forgive me."
Upon hearing this, the old man still stared at him and asked, "I ask you, who gave you the audacity?"
"Did the Liu family of Jingzhou send you?"
"Or is it the Shu Prefecture Provincial Administration Commission?"
Huang Zhuo immediately knelt down, his expression drastically changed.
"My lord, please forgive me. No one instructed me. It was all my dereliction of duty. I hope you will investigate thoroughly."
"You think you can get away with just a word about dereliction of duty? Do you really think I'm too old to lift a sword?"
"without……"
Seeing this, Xiao Wang frowned and looked down at the hall, only glancing at the old master out of the corner of his eye, clearly not expecting this scene.
What is the boss trying to do?
Are you really going to put this Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department to death?
Seeing Huang Zhuo only kowtowing and admitting his mistakes, Liu Si thought for a moment and tried to speak:
"My lord, please calm your anger. Commander Huang's hasty conclusions without thorough investigation are indeed regrettable..."
The old man glanced at him and interrupted him coldly, "Prefect Liu was unaware of the progress of the investigation by the Provincial Judicial Commissioner?"
Liu Si immediately broke out in a sweat, cursing Huang Zhuo to death in his heart.
The old man's words seemed simple, but in reality, no matter how he answered, it would be wrong.
He was the prefect of Shuzhou, in charge of all matters of public security, and the Judicial Commissioner was naturally within his jurisdiction.
To say he didn't know would make him, the prefect, appear negligent and derelict in his duties.
But to say I know...
Between two evils, choose the lesser; Liu Si had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:
"Please forgive me, Lord Marquis, but Commander Huang did not inform his subordinates in advance."
"I don't know?"
"The Prefect is so busy with state affairs that he should indeed be unaware."
Upon hearing this, Liu Si immediately knelt beside Huang Zhuo and bowed his head to admit his mistake: "Please forgive me, Your Excellency."
Seeing that both superiors had knelt down, Fang Hongxiu also knelt down behind them.
Seeing this, the old man snorted, "A prefect and a commander of the provincial judicial office can't even figure out such a small matter. If word gets out, people will laugh their heads off."
"Fortunately, you are not soldiers of the Dingyuan Army, otherwise I would have chopped off your heads today."
Upon hearing this, Liu Si and Huang Zhuo not only did not breathe a sigh of relief, but became even more apprehensive.
Or rather, Liu Si was somewhat apprehensive.
Since they were not soldiers of the Dingyuan Army, they were naturally not considered one of the old Marquis's own men.
"Your Excellency is too kind. I am currently in Shu Prefecture and will certainly not forget my roots!"
Huang Zhuo's face was ashen, and he pressed his head against the floor, not daring to utter a word.
He was blinded by greed, actually believing what others said and daring to speak ill of the old Marquis.
Fang Hongxiu, however, was completely oblivious, clearly not understanding the implied meaning.
At this moment, Xiao Wang glanced around and suddenly spoke up: "Boss, in my opinion, why don't we send the prefect back to investigate this matter first?"
The old man glanced at him. "What? You really think I'm going to deal with them?"
"I……"
Before he could speak again, the old man had already looked at Liu Si and the others and waved his hand, saying:
"Go back and find out the truth before you come back."
"If this was done by someone from my Xiao family, even if it was my own brother, I would still kill him!"
Xiao Wang was slightly taken aback, then his face darkened, and he said no more.
He could naturally tell that it was such an obvious veiled insult.
But compared to that, he was more concerned about the old man's words and actions today.
Something feels off.
Upon hearing this, Liu Si and the other two quickly bowed and took their leave without a moment's hesitation.
After everyone had left, Xiao Wang also got up to leave.
At this moment, Old Master Xiao spoke up and asked:
"Second brother, if I were to kick the bucket one day, who would be able to support this vast Xiao family?"
Xiao Wang paused, turned his head to look at him, and felt a chill run down his spine when he saw him looking straight at him.
"What does the boss think?"
"you."
"I……"
But just as he was about to speak, the old man shook his head and said, "You're not good enough."
"Second brother, don't blame me for being harsh."
"Although your martial arts are so-so, military campaigns are not a one-man show, and commanding thousands of troops is not something that can be compared to leading the people of the Punishment Hall to do some things."
Xiao Wang's face immediately darkened. "I have no such intention."
"There is only one heir to the Xiao family, and that is Wu Ge!"
After saying that, he walked straight out of the quiet house.
The old man watched him walk away, a look of desolation on his face, and sighed deeply.
I'm telling you, you really can't do it.
Even if you were to tie Dongchen and Qiuyun together with you, you still wouldn't be able to support the Xiao family.
"If Wu Ge weren't so young, how could I have..."
...
At this moment, outside the Marquis's residence.
Liu Si's face was extremely ugly as he looked at Huang Zhuo and said in a deep voice:
"If I didn't know you were always so brainless, I might have thought you were being manipulated by someone else."
Huang Zhuo mumbled, gripping the hilt of his knife, looking furious but unable to speak out.
"Please forgive me, Your Excellency, I will certainly investigate the truth and give you an explanation!"
"Give it to me? You'd better think about how to appease the Marquis's anger."
Just as they were about to say a few more words, a carriage bearing the red flag of the Xiao family drove up beside them, and the group quickly moved aside.
After the carriage entered the Xiao residence, Liu Si gave Huang Zhu a few more instructions before getting into the carriage to leave.
Just then, a chief magistrate ran over excitedly:
"Your Excellency, Prefect, Commander, Commander, the murderer has been found!"
The three were taken aback. "What murderer?"
"The murderer who killed Liu Jing has been found."
Huang Zhuo was overjoyed, "Tell me quickly, who is so bold?"
"It was done by a guard from Huilin Hall. He was acting suspiciously outside Huixian Tower today. When we questioned him, he tried to escape, but luckily we outnumbered him and we joined forces to capture him."
"Only after asking did I learn that he was the one who did what happened that night."
After listening to his words, Liu Si asked thoughtfully:
"Is Huilin Hall a property of the Wan family?"
Huang Zhuo nodded and said with a smile, "It is indeed the Wan family. I didn't expect..."
Before he could finish speaking, the smile on his face vanished.
If it was done by the Wan family, then what he said at the Marquis's residence just now was truly nonsense.
Liu Si nodded, got into the carriage, and in a mysterious tone ordered, "Have the interrogation completed, and hold court tomorrow."
Huang Zhuo bowed and agreed, then hurriedly got into his carriage and left.
After the carriage had gone some distance, Fang Hongxiu, who was standing to the side, felt that something was strange about the matter.
"How do you think the Wan family's strength compares to the Xiao and Liu families?"
The inspector who came to deliver the news thought for a moment and said, "It's far from perfect."
"Is it possible that he did this to frame the Xiao family?"
"Lord Centurion, what's wrong with us..."
Seeing the forensic officer pointing to the Xiao family's plaque not far away, Fang Hongxiu nodded, "Let's talk about it back home."
There must be more to this story than meets the eye.
After the outside quieted down, Chen Yi, who had been lingering inside the Marquis's residence for quite some time, finally stepped down from the carriage.
He glanced at the screen wall outside the door, then turned and walked towards the backyard without changing his expression.
"The murderer has been found? The Wan family?"
"Another powerful family in Shu Prefecture?"
After a moment's thought, Chen Yi looked at the quiet house and vaguely understood.
This is the old man's handiwork; it's almost certainly the same.
[Chance +2]
[The man arrived, but the scene was nowhere to be seen. Xiao Yuan was furious and ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to arrest the real culprit.]
After scanning the contents of the light screen, Chen Yi became even more certain that this was the old master's arrangement.
"The previous attempt by the hidden guards to frame someone failed, but the old master succeeded."
"What is this? A frame-up?"
"Unfortunately, despite rushing as fast as I could, I still missed it. I wonder how furious the old man was."
Chen Yi muttered a few words to himself, but he understood the old man's intention in doing so.
This was likely a way to save face for both the Xiao and Liu families.
Of course, it can be said that the Xiao family took a step back first.
"Back down?"
"It seems that the old master still hopes to minimize the damage and resolve the issue altogether."
"If the Liu family can accept this outcome, it will be a win-win situation for everyone if both sides take a step back."
Chen Yi felt much more relaxed after thinking about it.
The old man knew perfectly well that he didn't need his son-in-law to "cause trouble."
"This is one of the few pieces of good news lately."
Not long after, Chen Yi returned to Chunhe Garden.
But then they saw Xiao Wan'er sitting in the pavilion chatting and laughing with several older women.
Only Xiaodie and Cui'er were serving her, like at a tea party, bringing her tea, water, and snacks.
Seeing him return, Xiao Wan'er smiled and stood up, giving him a subtle wink as she said:
“Brother-in-law, these ladies came to visit at noon. They said they wanted to meet the academy instructor who is skilled in calligraphy.”
"This must be Mr. Qingzhou."
"He is indeed a handsome man. No wonder my son told everyone he met at noon that a Mr. Qingzhou had come to the academy. He is very skilled in calligraphy."
Chen Yi: "..."
Damn, the news spread so fast?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
