"My lord! My lord, what's wrong?!"
"Quickly! Summon a doctor! The prefect has fainted!"
Prefect Wang's obese body, as large as a small mountain, collapsed to the ground with a "thud," instantly plunging the already chaotic courtroom into even greater chaos!
The yamen runners were in complete chaos. Some tried to pinch Prefect Wang's philtrum, while others ran outside shouting to fetch a doctor. The entire courtroom instantly turned into an unmanaged marketplace!
The moment Young Master Gao saw Prefect Wang faint, a look of wild joy instantly burst forth in his eyes!
Heaven is helping me!
He knew this was his only and last chance!
Taking advantage of this chaos, he can lead the core members of the Gao family to escape! Once they return to the Gao mansion, lock the doors, and burn all the account books and evidence of their crimes, even the Heavenly King himself wouldn't be able to do anything to them!
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated at all, turned around abruptly, and was about to take advantage of the chaos to slip away!
However, as soon as he turned around, a cold voice, like a death knell, echoed softly in his ear.
"Young Master Gao, where...are you headed?"
Suddenly, Xiao Che appeared, silently and stealthily, blocking his path.
His face still wore that calm, harmless smile.
But in those deep eyes, there was a chilling glint that seemed to see right through everything!
"You, surnamed Xiao! What...what do you want?!" Young Master Gao was startled by his elusive appearance and shouted, his voice trembling with fear, "The Prefect has already fainted! This case will be retried on another day! What else do you want?!"
"I don't want anything." Xiao Che slowly shook his head, and his "kind" smile instantly became meaningful.
He slowly turned around, no longer paying attention to the young master Gao, who was already a stray dog.
His gaze passed over the chaotic scene of the constables and landed directly on the constable leader, who was holding a fire-and-water stick and looked completely bewildered.
The foreman, around forty years old, had a square face and dark skin, and seemed to possess a certain air of righteousness. Among this group of yamen runners who were rotten to the core, he was an anomaly.
Xiao Che looked at him, and suddenly spoke loudly!
That loud voice, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly silenced all the noise and chaos in the courtroom!
"Your Excellency, the Prefect, so concerned for the country and its people, was overcome with anxiety and fainted! You are truly... a role model for us all!"
These words shocked everyone present!
Everyone stared at Xiao Che in disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost!
Even Lin Wanwan was stunned by his sudden and outrageous move!
This guy... he's so mean!
Fatty Wang was clearly scared unconscious by him, but in his mouth, it became "concerned about the country and the people, and his heart was filled with anxiety"?!
This...this is putting that fat Wang on the hot seat!
The head constable was stunned by Xiao Che's words and didn't react for a long time.
Xiao Che didn't give him any chance to think. Instead, he took a step forward and locked his sharp eyes on the squad leader. His voice suddenly rose in pitch!
"but!"
"Although Your Excellency has fainted, the laws of the land must not be disregarded!"
"You! As the head of the Jiangnan prefectural government! Although your official rank is low, you still receive a salary from the imperial court! You are responsible for maintaining the peace of this region!"
"I ask you! The real culprit is right before our eyes! The ringleader has not yet been brought to justice! If you let the Gao family escape now, let them go back and destroy the ledger that records their numerous crimes! Tomorrow, when the prefect wakes up, how will you explain yourself?!"
"How are you going to explain this to the people of Jiangnan with your men?!"
These words were spoken with resounding force and righteous indignation!
In an instant, the head constable was pushed into a desperate situation where he could neither advance nor retreat!
yes!
The prefect was stunned, but the case was not closed yet!
If the Gao family really escapes and the evidence is destroyed, the first person the prefect will kill to silence him when he wakes up tomorrow is this incompetent headman!
But……
If the Gao family isn't allowed to leave...
He glanced at the young master Gao beside him, whose face was already contorted with rage, and couldn't help but shudder again.
He offended the Gao family, and... his whole family probably won't see the sun rise tomorrow!
Just as he was struggling with his inner turmoil and sweating profusely, that devilish voice once again echoed in his ears.
Xiao Che slowly walked up to him and once again showed him the Imperial Censorate waist tag that he had made up himself, which had the character "察" engraved on it!
This time, he was no longer acting as a "distant cousin".
Instead, he spoke coldly in an unquestionable tone, filled with supreme authority:
"I am now officially issuing this order to you in my capacity as an 'Inspector of the Censorate'!"
"Immediately, lead all your men to seal off the Gao family mansion! Seize the Salt Transport Office!"
"Confiscate all account books and documents! Anyone who dares to obstruct this will be treated as an 'accomplice' and executed without exception!"
He paused, and a chilling killing intent flashed in his cold eyes!
"I'll take full responsibility for the consequences!"
Boom!!!
These words were like a shot of adrenaline, forcefully injected into the already wavering heart of the head constable!
He looked at the waist plaque representing the supreme power of the "capital," then glanced back at the dark mass of agitated people outside the hall, and then at Prefect Wang lying on the ground like a dead dog...
The passion in his heart, which had long been dulled, was finally ignited at this moment!
Let's do it!
Damn it!
Either way, I'm going to die!
Rather than living a life of meekness as a dog for these corrupt officials, it's better to... make a big splash and do something spectacular!
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and slammed the water-fire stick in his hand heavily onto the ground!
"Let's do it!"
He turned around and, facing the group of dumbfounded constables behind him, roared at the top of his lungs:
"Brothers! What are we doing here?! Are we just here to be the watchdogs of these corrupt officials who prey on the people?!"
"no!"
"It's for the sake of our fellow villagers! It's for the sake of the 'national law' above our heads!"
"Today! The Prefect is 'sick'! Let's take care of this case on his behalf!"
"Come with me!"
After saying that, he was the first to stride out of the courtroom!
After a brief moment of astonishment, the remaining constables were also stirred by their leader's words, which ignited their fighting spirit!
Yeah! Let's do it!
"Let's go! Follow the foreman!"
In an instant, all the constables of the Jiangnan Prefecture government were mobilized! The mighty procession, with an indomitable and resolute momentum, headed straight for the Gao family mansion and the Salt Transport Office!
The people outside the courtroom were completely in an uproar after witnessing this scene!
"Your Honorable and Upright Official!"
"Our Jiangnan region is finally saved!"
They cheered and jumped for joy, spontaneously following the search party. The vast crowd, like a rolling torrent, swept through the entire city of Suzhou in an instant!
An unprecedented storm was ignited in a way that no one could have predicted, thanks to the actions of a "businessman from out of town"!
The weather in Jiangnan is about to change!
In the courtroom, only the Gao brothers and a few trusted servants remained, standing there blankly, like trash abandoned by the times, ignored by everyone.
Lin Wanwan walked to Xiao Che's side, looking out the window at the crowd of people cheering and jumping for joy as if it were a festival, her eyes filled with admiration and smiles.
Looking at her husband's calm and collected demeanor, his ability to turn the tables and manipulate the entire Jiangnan officialdom with ease, she felt both proud and amused.
She quietly raised her head and looked at the top of Xiao Che's head.
Sure enough, there, a pixelated emperor figure, dressed in a dragon robe, with his hands behind his back and a "lonely at the top" expression, was looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and slowly floated over.
The line of smaller print below, imbued with a Versailles-esque feel, revealed his true emotions:
[I acted pretty well, didn't I?.gif]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com