Chapter 29
(Fifty-Seven) Recapture Baihua City (Eleven)
Suddenly, a feeling of boredom arose in my heart.
I looked up and stared at the young marquis's fair and tender face.
In fact, the young marquis is not as handsome as Wei Zhen, nor as tall as Wei Zhen, nor as imposing as Wei Zhen.
Then I thought, he is not as courageous as Wei Zhen. Wei Zhen went to the battlefield at the age of sixteen, but he has been fighting crickets at home.
"Aiding the tyrant?" I repeated the young marquis's words. "What the marquis is saying is that if you speak up for your murderous father-in-law who stole the city lord's position, it won't count as aiding the tyrant, right?"
The young marquis was stunned for a moment, probably because he didn't expect me to speak to him like this.
He smiled bitterly and said to me, "Thirteen, you have changed."
I smiled brightly at the young marquis.
"My Lord, please don't play the emotional card with me when we are talking to each other. Let's discuss the matter in public."
After that, I pointed at Su Cen and said, "I have three things today that I would like to discuss openly with my uncle Su Cen. First, Baihua City was a city bestowed upon me by the current emperor as a merchant city. You are merely a general in Baihua City, so why have you been sitting on the throne of Baihua City's lord? Doesn't this behavior constitute disobeying the emperor's orders and deceiving the emperor? Second, you are suspected of attempting to assassinate Wei Zhen, the Prince of Pingnan. You must give a clear explanation to the emperor and our Wei family. Third, you have always enjoyed conscripting able-bodied men to fill your troops and slaughtering people in the barracks at will. You were so arrogant as to cut off the heads of three loyal blacksmiths and hang them outside the city tower without clear evidence. As the saying goes, all the people in the world are subject to the king, yet you wantonly murdered people who have high aspirations for the country. Your vicious heart is evident."
Everyone began to discuss in low voices.
Su Cen cleared his throat and stood up from the main seat.
He walked over to me and sighed.
"Thirteen, be honest, how have I taken care of you and your parents over the years?" Su Cen's eyes suddenly became red.
"You ran away from home on your own. I searched everywhere for you, but you kept hiding from me. I couldn't find you, so I ordered people back to the city. Many people in Baihua City know this. Furthermore, your father is a man without ambition. He indulges himself in his carpentry every day, leaving your mother to handle the whole situation alone. If I hadn't done my utmost to help your mother quell the rebellion all those years ago, Baihua City would have been in chaos long ago. Everyone has witnessed this."
"Indeed, that's right." The people on the side echoed.
Su Cen wiped away his tears. "During those days, your mother fell ill from the pressure, and your father only wanted to stay home and play with his woodworking. I couldn't bear to see the chaos in Baihua City, so I was forced to take the position of City Lord. Please don't wrongly accuse me..."
I gritted my teeth and said, "Go on, there are still two things you haven't explained."
The young marquis suddenly stood up as well. "The Wei family father and son have always been fond of doing evil and atrocities. Even if we kill them, it doesn't matter. Such actions will only make the world applaud."
"Everyone in the world?" I glared at the young marquis. "Who do you mean by 'everyone in the world'? Could it be your Gu family and my dear uncle's family? When will you be able to represent everyone in the world?"
The young marquis looked at me with complicated eyes.
"Thirteen, you've been led astray by Wei Zhen. I'm very disappointed in you."
My rage intensified, and I couldn't help but point at the young marquis and loudly question him, "What on earth has Wei Zhen done to deserve such hatred from a righteous man like you, that you keep accusing him of being a wicked man?"
(Fifty-Eight) Recapture Baihua City (Twelve)
The young marquis seemed angry too.
His fair face flushed red, and he took a sip of water from the cup, but his hand holding the cup was shaking.
The young marquis put down his water cup before speaking, and his tone became harder than ever before.
"Aren't you and Yunniang victims of their plunder?"
I turned around and looked at Wei Zhen, who had been sitting there drinking tea and watching the show. He was also looking at me.
Wei Zhen raised his eyebrows at me, and his face showed that he wanted me to continue performing.
I glared at him.
Turning to the young marquis, he said, "Wei Zhen and I are very much in love. Who on earth has been saying that I was raped?"
The young marquis's breathing became unstable, and he was obviously very angry with me.
"You still have a scar on your forehead from the day you were forced to get married. It was Wei Zhen who forced you to get married, and you still refuse to admit it!"
Princess Chunyang suddenly rushed out from the back room and said to me in tears, "Sister, ever since my husband and I got married, he has missed you every day and was worried that you would be bullied by Wei Zhen. How could you treat him so cruelly?"
When Princess Chunyang rushed out, one of her dogs was tied up and hung on her chest, which looked a little funny.
"Now Wei Zhen isn't even going to let me go, he even tried to kill me. Luckily, I was lucky enough to only have one arm broken. My father killed the three accomplices, the blacksmith, to avenge my anger. What was his fault?"
"Did Wei Zhen break your arm in front of you? Otherwise, what basis do you have to say that he wanted to kill you?" I immediately counterattacked Princess Chunyang.
"So how did Princess Chunyang get injured?" said a man who looked like an important figure and whom I didn't know.
"Sir He, why are you only worried about Princess Chunyang breaking her arm, but not about my head being broken and me almost dying?" Wei Zhen finally spoke and said to Sir He.
Lord He also took a leisurely sip of tea before smiling and saying slowly, "We've all heard that the Prince of Pingnan is a brave warrior with great martial arts skills, so this minor skin injury is probably nothing to worry about. But Princess Chunyang is a woman in a wealthy family, so she's inevitably a bit delicate. The pain of breaking her arm must be enough for her."
Wei Zhen continued without thinking, "Master He really loves to joke around. He's talking as if I, Wei Zhen, am not made of flesh and blood. Anyone who falls and gets a bloody head or broken bones will feel the same pain."
Lord He immediately chimed in, "How could the once valiant and warlike Prince Pingnan have such a drastic change of character after a fall that he's now become obsessed with women?"
After saying that, he burst into laughter.
Following his lead, several other officials also laughed a few times.
Isn't this just everyone bullying Wei Zhen?
I got furious on the spot.
"Stop those useless teasing remarks. Everyone here is a prominent figure. Let's discuss the matter objectively. Today, everyone will witness whether Baihua City belongs to our Shang family or the Su family!"
Princess Chunyang began to cry again, "Sister, you can't treat us like this. Whether it's my father or the young marquis, we all took care of you sincerely. Now you want to turn against all of us for that evil man Wei Zhen?"
I really can't stand this group of people labeling Wei Zhen a bad guy all the time.
I collapsed and started screaming, "Give me evidence! What bad things did Wei Zhen do? Why do you keep saying he's an unforgivable criminal?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
