Outside the gates of the Northern Suppression King’s Manor, hundreds of figures dressed in mourning clothes had gathered. In front of them stood four pitch-black coffins, and inside lay the bodies of Zhao Hai and the other three, who had been killed the previous night.
Before the coffins stood four high-ranking officials of the court… Zhao Quan, Vice Minister of Revenue; Qian Hai, Minister of Personnel; Sun Zhou, Prefect of the Capital; and Li Zheng, Left Censor of the Censorate. Their expressions were dark, and their eyes burned with overwhelming fury.
“Isn’t that Vice Minister Zhao and the others? What’s going on? Why are they carrying coffins to the Northern Suppression King’s Manor so early in the morning?”
“You don’t know? Last night, the Heir of the Northern Suppression King’s Manor killed all four of their sons at the Snow Moon Tower!”
“What?! That really happened? My heavens… this Heir is completely lawless!”
A large crowd of commoners had gathered around, their discussions and accusations rising nonstop.
At that moment, the manor gates slowly opened. Chu Tianyuan, his hair and beard completely white, walked out surrounded by attendants.
Though aged, his posture remained upright and imposing. The moment he appeared, the surrounding noise diminished significantly.
His gaze swept across the scene, his brows furrowing deeply. His voice was hoarse, yet carried unquestionable authority as he said, “So early in the morning, you come to wail at my manor gates. What kind of conduct is this?”
“Northern Suppression King!” Zhao Quan roared, his eyes bloodshot like a mad beast. “Your grandson Chu Feng killed the sons of me and my three colleagues without reason! Today, you must give us an explanation!”
“That’s right! Even the Son of Heaven is subject to the law! Even if he is your grandson, he must be handed over today to pay for blood with blood!”
“If you dare to shield him, we will jointly submit a memorial to the palace and seek justice from His Majesty!”
The other three also shouted angrily, filled with righteous indignation.
Behind them, hundreds of family members and servants knelt on the ground, beating their chests and wailing loudly toward the coffins.
For a moment, the expressions of the surrounding citizens grew complicated.
“What’s going on?” Chu Tianyuan’s face darkened as he looked at Uncle Fu beside him.
Uncle Fu immediately bent forward and quickly explained everything Chu Feng had done at the Snow Moon Tower the previous night.
“Outrageous!”
Chu Tianyuan trembled with anger after hearing it, glaring fiercely as his beard quivered.
“That brat! I thought he had changed, but it seems a dog never changes its habits!”
Just as Chu Tianyuan was seething with rage, a squad of Martial Artists dressed in black uniforms, with standard long blades at their waists, approached swiftly.
Leading them was a middle-aged man in a black brocade robe. He stepped forward, bowed, and said, “Commander Jiang Feng of the Royal City Division greets the Northern Suppression King!”
“What are you people from the Royal City Division doing here?” Chu Tianyuan’s voice turned cold.
Jiang Feng lowered his head, his tone respectful yet steady. “Reporting to the King, the Royal City Division has received a report that last night the Heir committed public murder, killing four people. According to the laws of the Great Qian Empire, I have come to take the Heir back for investigation.” Follow the newest chapters on novelping dot com.
“Heh…” Chu Tianyuan laughed in anger. His cloudy eyes suddenly flashed with a terrifying light as he swept his gaze over Jiang Feng and the four officials. His voice was not loud, yet it thundered in everyone’s ears.
“Do you think I, Chu Tianyuan, can no longer wield a blade, or do you think my Northern Suppression King’s Manor has fallen?”
“A mere Royal City Division dares to come to my manor to arrest my grandson?!”
Immediately, Zhao Quan and the others stepped forward, shouting loudly, “Northern Suppression King! Are you trying to use your power to oppress others and openly shield your murderous grandson? Do you really think your manor can cover the sky with one hand in this capital?”
Their voices were deliberately loud so that every citizen could hear clearly.
For a moment, the people’s gazes toward Chu Tianyuan were filled with doubt and even disgust.
Meanwhile, in a private room on the second floor of a teahouse not far away, a noble-looking young man sat by the window, watching the commotion with interest, a cold smile on his lips.
He turned to the refined middle-aged man sitting across from him, who was leisurely fanning himself, and said softly, “Sir, your plan is truly brilliant. If that old man shields his grandson, the Northern Suppression King’s Manor will lose its century-old reputation and all public support.”
“And if he doesn’t shield him and hands over that waste, once the man enters the Royal City Division, whether he lives or dies will be entirely up to us.”
“To blame, one can only blame Chu Feng for being too foolish, arrogant enough to kill the sons of four powerful officials in public. He practically handed us the knife himself.”
The refined man smiled faintly. “We merely went along with the flow.”
“Hmph, a waste is still a waste. Although he escaped disaster last night, I didn’t expect him to deliver himself to us anyway.”
The young man snorted coldly, a playful smile forming at the corner of his lips as he looked again toward Chu Tianyuan.
“Still, I’m curious… how will this old king, who has guarded the borders of the Great Qian Empire for half his life, choose this time?”
At the manor gates, Chu Tianyuan listened to the surrounding discussions and the clamor of Zhao Quan and the others, his brows tightly knit.
Uncle Fu leaned closer and whispered, “Patriarch, should we… have Miss Leng Yue take the blame? Otherwise, if we forcefully protect the Heir, the manor’s reputation will be ruined.”
“A man should bear the consequences of his own actions. It was I who ordered Leng Yue to kill them. How can I let her take the blame?” a cold voice sounded.
Chu Feng had appeared at the gate at some point, his expression calm.
“You little brat, you finally decided to show yourself! Look at the mess you’ve caused!” Chu Tianyuan snapped angrily. If not for the situation, he would have kicked him on the spot.
“Grandfather, leave this to me.”
Chu Feng gave the old man a reassuring look, then turned around. His gaze swept coldly over Zhao Quan and the others. “Your sons deserved to die. I killed them to eliminate harm for the people!”
“Outrageous! What did you say?!” the four men exploded in anger.
Chu Feng couldn’t be bothered to argue. He gave Leng Yue a look.
Understanding immediately, Leng Yue took out a thick stack of papers from her robe.
“These documents clearly record every crime your precious sons have committed. There are witnesses and evidence for everything!” Chu Feng’s voice rang throughout the area. “They deserved to die!”
The papers fell, and the curious citizens quickly picked them up to read.
“My god! Zhao Hai forced himself on a civilian woman three years ago, causing a family of five to hang themselves?”
“And this Qian Duo… beat an entire shopkeeper’s family to death over an antique vase?”
“This Li Fei… Sun Tian… heavens, their crimes are endless! These aren’t humans… they’re beasts wearing human skin!”
“People like this deserve to die! This is justice!”
“The Heir has done the people a service! We wronged him!”
In just moments, public opinion completely reversed. Countless angry gazes turned toward Zhao Quan and the others.
The four men’s faces changed drastically. They hurriedly picked up a sheet to read, and instantly their faces turned ashen.
“Fabrication! This is slander!” Zhao Quan shouted at Chu Feng, his tone fierce but lacking confidence. “My son was well-educated and virtuous! How could he do such things?”
“That’s right! All lies! Pure nonsense!” Qian Hai and the others echoed, though their voices lacked conviction.
“Whether it’s true or not, why not let the Royal City Division investigate?” Chu Feng said, his gaze shifting toward Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng’s expression changed slightly, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
He knew very well what kind of people those young masters were. These accusations… were likely all true.
But today, he had come under orders from a powerful figure.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Jiang Feng forced himself to speak, “Heir Chu, even if these four had committed crimes, they should have been tried by the Court of Judicial Review and dealt with by the empire. You had no authority to kill them privately!”
“Oh?” Chu Feng let out a cold laugh. “So it seems you’re already in league with these four old dogs?”
His expression turned icy, two sharp glints shooting from his eyes as they locked onto Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng’s heart jolted. A trace of inexplicable fear surged within him, as if he were being stared at by a grim reaper emerging from a mountain of corpses.
How could that be?
He was just a notorious wastrel… how could he possess such a terrifying gaze?
Jiang Feng’s mind churned violently as he forced himself to remain calm, opening his mouth to speak. “I…”
But before he could say more—
Crack!
A crisp, bone-breaking sound suddenly rang out across the chaotic scene.