Even while surrounded by guards, that fool Wu Nao still found time to turn back and explain to Xiao Yu.
The young man wore an awkward smile. At this moment, those watching the Celestial Screen realized that despite his high position, this scion of a noble family was only in his early twenties, having just undergone his Capping Ceremony not long ago, his hair tied in a messy fashion.
“Xiao Yu, rest assured. Although I truly need your help in navigating officialdom—I’m not a complete fool, you know!”
While keeping an eye on the eager guards around him, Wu Nao whispered bitterly, “Why did I come back? Because just as I was about to depart, I received an urgent reply from the Sixth Prince. He said he was racing here on horseback, whipping his steed onward.”
“Xiao Yu, we grew up together and studied at the Wu family’s Academy. Through ten years of diligent study, we earned our scholarly honors. Now, let us believe together once more.”
Believe that a miracle would happen. Believe that a fool would rush here because of a plea for help and the injustice against fairness.
Believe that a fool—one whom Emperor Yunqi appointed as the new Jiangnan Inspector, daring to take on this mess—was a better choice than either the Crown Prince or the Third Prince.
They did not even dare hope that this fool could accomplish much more. If only he could arrive here… if only he could arrive here, that would be enough.
If only the Sixth Prince could arrive here, under the checks and balances of multiple forces, they would surely not die.
The Circuit Intendant’s unshakable calm finally shattered. He had never imagined that merely pinning the blame on the Prefect of Lin’an—whom even the Wu family had abandoned—would prove so difficult.
How laughable. Faced with the powerful figures of Jinling City, even faced with him, they were clearly as insignificant as ants in this world. Why did they still struggle, refusing to die?
This world had never known the words “fairness” or “justice.” He, too, had believed in such jokes in his youth, but after being taught a harsh lesson by the ways of officialdom, he no longer believed.
And now, what gave these two fledglings fresh from the nest the right?
An indescribable emotion sprouted and grew within the Circuit Intendant’s heart, churning and shattering everything.
Thus, he began to grow hysterical: “Everyone, heed my order! Seize the Deputy Commissioner! Those who stop the Deputy Commissioner will be richly rewarded! A promotion of three ranks, plus one hundred taels of silver!”
The eyes of the surrounding attendants instantly lit up.
The Circuit Intendant thought to himself that this was a necessary action. Even if it meant tearing relations with the Wu family, he had to do it. He had to force Xiao Yu to sign the confession statement today; otherwise, once the Sixth Prince arrived, his mission would fail.
The Circuit Intendant felt his consciousness growing somewhat hazy. He could almost see the powerful figures of Jinling City looking down upon him from on high. Behind Xiao Yu stood a household of relatives; behind him, was it not also a household of relatives?
The air in the hall suddenly froze.
Before the Circuit Intendant’s words had fully faded, two attendants, driven by the reward of silver, pounced on Wu Nao like starving tigers. This scion of a noble family abruptly retreated half a step, an iron ruler—a ceremonial instrument carried by judicial officers—already in his hand.
“Chief Commissioner, if you insist on this course, then this student must offend!”
Wu Nao flicked his wrist and raised the ruler. In his youth at the Academy, he had practiced martial arts. Though no match for battlefield generals, he was more than a cut above Xiao Yu and could still hold his own against ordinary yamen runners.
The iron ruler clashed with the standard-issue waist saber, sparks flying, momentarily keeping the two yamen runners at bay.
The Circuit Intendant, enraged to the point of laughter, exclaimed, “What a fine member of the Wu family! This official will see just how far you can hold out—I’ve changed my mind. As long as he doesn’t die, all of you may deal with this fine Deputy Commissioner as you please!”
Now, even more attendants’ eyes lit up.
“Apologies, young Master Wu!”
The attendants accompanying the Circuit Intendant immediately turned serious. Even though Wu Nao had spent many years practicing martial arts at the Academy as a child, he was now struggling to hold his ground against far greater numbers.
Moreover… he realized these men seemed truly willing to get rough.
“Wait—! What are you doing? Where are you aiming those strikes? Are you serious? Hey, do you know who my father is? I don’t believe you’d actually dare to strike me—Damn it! You really are striking!”
Wu Nao warily watched the attendants closing in. From the start, he had sensed the Circuit Intendant was up to no good, but he never expected the attendants to actually draw their sabers and attack upon hearing their master’s orders.
“If you truly dare to strike me, my father will not let you off! And you!”
The iron ruler could not hold back multiple waist sabers. Wu Nao, terrified, hastily retreated several steps to evade the attendants’ attacks. They were not joking—their standard-issue sabers left deep marks on the ground as they struck, showing no mercy.
That old bastard, the Circuit Intendant, had completely torn off the mask… Wu Nao’s voice trembled with fear, but he still stood in front of Xiao Yu, refusing to yield an inch.
“Hahaha—You really are a pampered young master! Recognize your place quickly, and perhaps our lord will spare you out of respect for your father.”
The saber-wielding attendants pressed closer, attacking in unison. Wu Nao was no match for them, yet he still did not retreat.
He wouldn’t even utter a single word of submission.
“Pah! A wolf in official robes! This case remains unresolved precisely because there are too many like you!”
Facing several cold, gleaming sabers, Wu Nao raised his eyebrows defiantly, growing even more arrogant. Xiao Yu, pulling at him from behind, couldn’t hold him back: “Say less, I beg you—”
How did this person manage to draw all the hatred onto himself while trying to save someone? Now, the Circuit Intendant had eyes only for Wu Nao, almost forgetting Xiao Yu entirely.
Wu Nao kept pressing on, shouting sternly, “Just you wait! The pen of history is as sharp as a blade—it will not spare you—”
“It seems you won’t yield until you see the coffin. Very well, this official was just thinking of where to find a few more to balance the accounts. Since you’re so eager—you’ll sign too.”
Wu Nao’s words were deeply insulting, especially directed at his superior. The Circuit Intendant’s face darkened almost instantly. He waved his hand, his gaze turning sinister: “Your father will thank me.”
“Thieving scoundrel! Thank your whole family!”
Wu Cheng, who had been lying in the courtyard unable to rise due to the earlier Celestial Screen content, suddenly regained his strength. Furious, he jumped up and pointed at the Circuit Intendant, cursing, “That’s my son! Did I say you could kill him? If anything happens to my son, I’ll never let you off!”
“My father never would.”
Wu Nao, however, flashed a bright smile. “My father taught me from childhood about the majesty of the law and the pursuit of perfection. His only mistake was failing to see what kind of person you are—”
Xiao Yu had already rushed forward to cover Wu Nao’s mouth. “I’m begging you, just shut up!”
Outside the Celestial Screen, at the Wu residence in Gusu City.
Upon hearing this, Wu Cheng burst into tears: “My son, you truly understand your father! You are indeed my son! What I regret most now is having entrusted you to that scoundrel to serve as an official!”
The Wu family servant: …This is what they call flesh and blood, truly flesh and blood.
[“No need to be cautious anymore. Just restrain these two and have them sign the confession statement first.”
The Circuit Intendant was too weary to be angry. After uttering these words, his attendants swiftly shifted their focus, rushing forward to seize control of the two men.
Xiao Yu was the first to be pinned down. A wolf-hair brush, fully saturated with ink, was forced into his fingers, the shaft pressing so hard that his knuckles turned white. The unfolded confession statement was then thrust before him. On that document, every word and sentence had already been meticulously crafted into an ironclad case. All it awaited was his signature to drag him, along with the Prefect of Lin’an’s residence, into the abyss.
The Circuit Intendant sat arrogantly at the head of the room, having regained his composure as if the earlier hysteria had been nothing but an illusion on the part of the two men.
He leisurely used the teacup lid to skim off the tea foam, his voice as gentle as if discussing household matters: “Prefect Xiao, why resist? Signing earlier will spare you physical suffering and preserve the camaraderie we once shared as colleagues.”
Xiao Yu merely stared blankly at the still-wet ink on the paper.
Wu Nao continued to shout: “This case is riddled with doubts! The accounts are unclear, and the evidence is insufficient. How can a verdict be reached based solely on a confession statement? This is not justice—this is coercion!”
He was pressed firmly against the ground, his cheek against the cold floor tiles. Struggling to lift his head, his eyes conveyed only three words: Do not sign.
But it was a hopeless situation.
Xiao Yu’s hand trembled. He knew that with this single stroke of the brush, not only would he lose his own head, but he would also confirm the “disappearance” of tens of thousands in official silver, becoming an accomplice to this nest of snakes and rats.
Yet, what could he do? The Sixth Prince was clearly too late to intervene. If he continued to resist, not only would his dependents perish, but even Wu Nao would be implicated because of him.
“Sign!” The Circuit Intendant’s voice lost its patience.
An attendant grabbed Xiao Yu’s hand, forcing him to grip the brush and move it toward the signature line on the confession statement.
Wu Nao’s eyes widened in fury as he screamed hoarsely: “Xiao Yu! You must not sign!”
The tip of the brush in Xiao Yu’s hand trembled, on the verge of touching the paper.
“Whoosh—!”
A sudden whistling sound tore through the stagnant air in the hall without warning.
A flash of silver light, like a cold star from the heavens, pierced through the thin paper of the closed window lattice from outside—a waist saber, identifiable by its design as a standard-issue blade of the Jinling Military Command.
“Thud!”
The back of the saber struck with pinpoint accuracy against the elbow of the attendant who was forcing Xiao Yu to sign.
The attendant felt his entire arm instantly go numb with excruciating pain, losing all strength. He involuntarily released Xiao Yu and staggered backward.
After being deflected, the saber carried a clever momentum. The hilt, propelled by the force, swung upward and struck precisely the wrist of the attendant restraining Wu Nao from behind.
The attendant’s wrist throbbed with pain, his fingers loosening their grip. This gave Wu Nao the chance to react. He sprang up and kicked the attendant to the ground.
The sharp blade spun through the air like a half-moon of cold light before embedding itself squarely into the crack of the blue brick floor in front of Xiao Yu, mere inches from the attendant who had been pinning him down. The attendant was forced to retreat in panic, unable to restrain Xiao Yu again.
An eerie silence fell over the hall.
“Creak—”
As the knife clattered to the ground, the tightly shut hall doors were slowly pushed open from the outside.
Sunlight instantly flooded in, shattering the dimness within the hall into fragments. Dust danced within the scattered beams of light.
A figure stood at the doorway, silhouetted against the light.
The glare was too intense, outlining his tall yet slightly slender frame. His face remained blurred in the backlight, revealing only the general form of a youth.
He wore a white round-collared robe, his half-tied ponytail fastened high, and a silver Eastern Lord cloud-pattern forehead ribbon bound across his brow.
The Circuit Intendant looked up, his expression instantly shifting.
Standing before the threshold was none other than the newly appointed Jiangnan Inspector, the Sixth Prince Xiao Chuan, acting as the Emperor’s personal envoy.
The Circuit Intendant reacted swiftly, bowing deeply with a respectful salute. “Your humble servant is alarmed. Why has Your Highness come here?”
Xiao Jingchuan tilted his head, flashing a purely innocent smile, yet his voice rang clear as jade. “I felt someone needed me, so I came!”
The Sixth Prince’s smile was even more foolish than Wu Nao’s, but his breathing was noticeably unsteady—clearly, he had rushed here by switching the Yan Carriage for horses.
Xiao Yu rubbed his wrist, staring blankly at the young man before him, who was several years his junior and not yet of age, as if beholding a sage emperor reborn.
So…
Would a fool respond to them?
It turned out he would.
And… just at the right moment.
Author’s Note:
Xiao Yu: I’ve fallen for that mighty king!