"—What...is this divided?"
Xiao Che's seemingly innocent question was like an invisible giant hammer forged from the Nine Heavens Black Iron, smashing down with the force of thunder onto the already fragile nerves of Prefect Wang and Master Gao!
Boom!!!
Prefect Wang felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and a buzzing sound filled his ears, as if countless bees were frantically swarming! His plump body, which had just gotten up from the ground, could no longer support him, and with a "thud," he collapsed to the ground once again!
This time, it wasn't an act.
It's true, I was so scared I was paralyzed!
Meanwhile, the previously composed and dignified Master Gao was struck dumb! The color drained from his face in an instant, visible to the naked eye! For the first time, his sharp, hawk-like eyes revealed an unprecedented, soul-deep fear!
How...how could he have known?!
The "30/70 split" was the most crucial and secretive deal between him and Prefect Wang! No one but the two of them and a few of their closest confidants could possibly know about it!
This "Master Xiao" in front of me... who... who exactly is he?!
Looking at Xiao Che's smiling face, he felt as if he wasn't looking at a person, but at a... demon god who had crawled out of the deepest hell to take their lives!
It’s over!
This time, it's completely, utterly, utterly over!
All escape routes have been completely blocked by this demon god!
"Someone come here!"
Prefect Wang collapsed to the ground, pointing at the sandalwood box, and roared in a voice more grating than a sob:
"Take...take down these two...unscrupulous merchants who dared to openly bribe an official of the imperial court in court!"
He's been driven to the brink and decided to resort to desperate measures!
He wanted to use the charge of "bribery" to turn the tables on Xiao Che!
However, his words seemed so pale and so powerless.
Everyone present was not a fool!
When that sandalwood box and the phrase "three-seven split" appeared simultaneously in the courtroom, everyone understood!
What "misunderstanding"?
What "small matter"?
This is clearly irrefutable evidence of collusion between officials and businessmen, and of power-money transactions!
"Take it down!"
This time, before Xiao Che could speak...
The head constable, who already harbored deep hatred for Prefect Wang and the Gao family, suddenly let out a furious shout!
With a wave of his hand, several equally hot-blooded constables rushed forward like wolves and tigers!
However, they were not rushing towards the composed "Master Xiao".
Instead, it was Prefect Wang, who was already slumped on the ground, and Master Gao, whose face was ashen!
"What...what do you want to do?! Do you want to rebel?!" Prefect Wang was dragged off the ground like a dead dog by two yamen runners, and he roared hoarsely.
However, this time, no one listened to him anymore.
The foreman walked up to him, a cold smile full of endless mockery on his face.
He took out a black waist tag from his pocket and, at the instruction of the "real adult," held it high!
"By order of the 'Imperial Censorate Inspector'!"
"Arrest Wang Defa and Gao Tai, criminals suspected of embezzlement, corruption, and collusion between officials and businessmen, on the spot! Imprison them! Await the Censorate's formal judgment!"
"As for you..." He turned his head and glanced at the young master beside him, who was already terrified, "Take him with you!"
Thus, the trial of the century, which lasted for two days and stirred up the entire city of Suzhou, finally came to an end!
Gao Changsheng, a murderer, was sentenced to immediate execution, with the final execution to be carried out in the autumn!
The mastermind behind it all, Young Master Gao, has been imprisoned and is awaiting retrial!
The corrupt prefect Wang and lord Gao from Jiangnan were arrested on the spot, and they will face the most severe trial from the capital!
The dark clouds that had lingered over Jiangnan for decades were finally blown away completely at this moment!
The sky over the Jiangnan prefectural government has finally cleared up!
When Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan walked out of the government office, which had become noisy and chaotic, side by side.
The scene before them, however, left them stunned for a moment.
At the entrance of the government office, the wide bluestone street was now filled with a dense, dark crowd kneeling down.
Tens of thousands of people spontaneously rushed over from all directions! They knelt from one end of the street to the other, completely blocking the street!
When they saw Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan walking out of the government office.
In the crowd, someone, I don't know who, was the first to shout!
"Your Honorable Lord!"
The next second, a roar like a tsunami, like rolling spring thunder, instantly resounded throughout the entire city of Suzhou!
"Your Honor! Your Honor!"
"Splash! Splash! Splash!"
Countless people kowtowed deeply to them!
On each of those simple faces, there were tears of genuine, heartfelt gratitude!
They may not know what the "Censorate" is, nor what "national law" is.
All they knew was that these two seemingly ordinary outsiders had eradicated a scourge that had plagued their village for decades!
It was they, and it was for them, that this bright and clear world was restored!
In their hearts, these two people were living bodhisattvas sent by heaven to save them! They were the legendary upright officials who spoke up for the people!
Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan were completely shocked by the sudden scene before them!
They stood there quietly, looking at the dark mass of people kneeling before them, listening to the deafening shouts of endless gratitude. For a moment, they were overwhelmed with emotion and speechless.
Just then, an elderly figure, supported by the crowd, slowly walked up to them.
It's Granny Liu.
She changed into a clean set of coarse cloth clothes. Although her wrinkled face still bore traces of tears, the despair and numbness in her cloudy eyes were gone. Instead, they were filled with a light of endless gratitude and rebirth!
Behind her followed several young people, struggling to carry something.
It was an enormous one, meticulously crafted from red silk and yellow satin...
Umbrella for All!
That umbrella was enormous! On its surface, eight large characters, "Virtue Spreads to All Directions" and "Blessings for Jiangnan," were embroidered with gold thread!
The rest of the umbrella was covered with countless names written in dense black ink!
Those are the names of all the people in the city!
Granny Liu walked up to Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan and slowly knelt down.
"My benefactor! Madam!" Her voice was hoarse, yet full of strength. "This old woman has no way to repay you! This umbrella of ten thousand people was made overnight by the people of our entire city pooling their money! Please, you two...really accept it!"
Xiao Che looked at the umbrella of ten thousand people before him, which was even larger and heavier than his dragon throne, and at the countless names on it, each representing a burning heart of the people…
His heart was completely overwhelmed by an unprecedented and immense emotion!
During his many years as emperor, all he received were memorials praising his achievements and priceless tributes.
But all those things combined can't compare to the weight of this rough yet incredibly sincere umbrella for the people before me!
He slowly reached out his hand and, under the watchful eyes of thousands of people, personally accepted this umbrella, which was heavier than his empire.
Looking at the sincere, hopeful smiles on the faces of the people, he was overwhelmed with emotion.
He... suddenly understood the true meaning of being an emperor.
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