Chapter 28

It wasn’t just Qu Yu and Zhang Yu, even Xie Xian was shocked. No one had expected that someone would fight to announce the decree.

There were others who were even more shocked than them. Of course, it was those who had been exempted from their duties. The entire courtyard was silent.

Xie Xian shot a glance at Pan Shuo, who burst into laughter. Did he tell Pan Shuo to say whatever he wanted?

Pointing at the young masters in the courtyard, Pan Shuo said, “To think that this day would come for all of you! Didn’t you say that the lower class isn’t even worthy of carrying your shoes? Do you think they are worthy now?”

Xie Xian sighed in his heart. It was his fault for scheming against others. He would just treat it as cleaning after his mess.

“Literary Assistant Zhou Dun, Secretary Cai Zhizhang, Crown Prince Official Yuan Zhang…” Xie Xian read out the names of the eight young masters of the influential families.

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“You are removed from your official position and you can never be an official in your life.”

At this moment, Qu Yu could not help but stick his thumb upright from the bottom of his heart. There were so many names and so many positions. As they traveled out of the Imperial Palace and entered the office, Xie Xian did not have the time to check the name list at all. For him to be able to issue this decree with such ease, it was obvious that he remembered it very well.

It was easy for the Emperor to dismiss all the officials from their official positions, but when issuing an imperial decree, it couldn’t be this simple and crude. Regardless of who was an official or how they were exempted, they had to make things clear.

Otherwise, it would be a joke.

Pan Shuo, on the other hand, was just enjoying himself.

Suddenly, Yuan Deng sprang up from the chair and pointed at Xie Xian.

“I don’t believe it. Xie Xian, you flattery villain, you must be the one scheming and slandering us! This was just a normal fight, how can it lead to a dismissal?!”

“Yes, there must be a misunderstanding. We request to see the emperor!”

“We want to see the emperor!”

“Your Majesty, don’t be fooled by these crafty villains!”

Yuan Deng’s words called upon the rest, who all stood up and crowded outside. It was only now that they realized the seriousness of this matter.

“You good-for-nothings are just wasting your lives and waiting for death everyday. Who are you calling evil villains? I think you are the real villains!” Pan Shuo stomped his feet and scolded. He jumped higher than the young masters of the aristocratic families and was even more furious.

However, no one listened to what he was saying. A wave of people rushed towards them, wanting to rush out of the office to find the emperor to reason things out.

Before they could reach Xie Xian, Qu Yu shot a glance at the guards behind him. They had already rushed over and surrounded those young masters.

“Thank you.” Xie Xian clasped his hands and left.

He was not as enthusiastic as Pan Shuo and was about to leave after delivering the message. However, he was pulled back by Pan Shuo.

“Xuan Hui, the emperor asked us to pass down the imperial decree. They have been exempted from their official duties, but they haven’t been punished yet. If you leave now, it’ll be a dereliction of duty. We can’t complete half of the work, right?”

He had to personally witness these young masters getting beaten up.

Xie Xian, “Have you forgotten that there’s still one decree that hasn’t been delivered?”

Pan Shuo got even more excited. Yes, there was also Fatty Wang! “…We’ll go to the Wang family after we’re done!”

Xie Xian choked. Alright, he would give up his life to accompany him then.

He turned around and stopped walking.

When Zhang Yu saw that the two of them were carrying out the Emperor’s decree loyally and conscientiously, he quickly ordered his men to bring two chairs over. Pan Shuo pulled Xie Xian and sat down, his face smiling like a flower. Especially when he saw the young masters of the aristocratic families being pressed onto the ground, and the planks crisscrossing in the air, with the screams like pigs being slaughtered echoing, the smile on his face grew even wider.

The young masters of the aristocratic families had been pampered since they were young. They had never been treated like this. They could not curse when they were in pain as it was not refined. They also could not scold the emperor. They had only scolded the lower class for being unfit to carry their shoes for them and the Emperor had taken it personally, causing them to lose their official positions. They could only scold Xie Xian and Pan Shuo. If they did not scold them, not only would their buttocks hurt, but their hearts would also hurt!

“Xie Xian, you crafty villain, you bewitched the Emperor!”

“Xie Xian, Pan Shuo, you will get your retribution!”

“Xie Xian, Pan Shuo, the Cai Clan won’t let you off!”

“Xie Xian, you sick ghost, even if I die, you will die before me!”

The more they scolded, the happier Pan Shuo became. “Damn it, I thought that the people from the aristocratic families had a backbone and wouldn’t even let out a fart when they were beaten up! They are also cowards when they are beaten up!”

Qu Yu glanced at Xie Xian without leaving a trace. Xie Xian’s expression did not change and his heart did not skip a beat. His eyes were half-closed as if he was taking a nap under the sun.

“Assistant Minister Xie, what about Xiao Family and Jiangxia King’s subordinates…”

Zhang Yu was a fifth-rank official, and his attitude was much more respectful than Qu Yu and Xie Xian. He went up to Xie Xian and asked.

Xie Xian opened his eyes slightly and smiled.

“Since the emperor didn’t make any arrangements, there’s naturally no need to pursue the matter. The fault isn’t with the Xiao Family.”

This was actually obvious. However, this Jiankang magistrate was afraid that the emperor would pursue the matter afterwards and was unwilling to take responsibility for it. That was why he asked this question.

Zhang Yu smiled. “I will settle it this way.”

Xiao Baoxin came out of the room guarded by seven or eight maidservants with a bulging stomach. She could not stop Jiankang magistrate’s wife Madam Feng’s enthusiasm. She gathered almost all the famous snacks in Jiankang City, and from the moment she entered the office, she accompanied her to eat until someone informed her to go home. Only then did Madam Feng send her out reluctantly.

“…You must come visit often.” Madam Feng held Xiao Baoxin’s hand. In fact, Xiao Baoxin could no longer hear what she was saying. All she could hear was Madam Feng’s uneasiness. She was afraid that the Xiao family would take their anger out on the Jiankang magistrate if she did not keep her company this afternoon.

If Xiao Baoxin took her hand out now, Madam Feng would definitely think that she was angry.

“Madam and I hit it off very well. If you don’t mind Baoxin’s boorishness, I will definitely visit another day.” She paused for a moment. At least Madam Feng was listening to her attentively. Although her inner thoughts were less active, she still felt like she was being bombarded.

‘Indeed, a beautiful woman has a beautiful heart. Her words are nice too.’

‘Such an upright person, I have judged her wrongly.’

‘At least I didn’t let my husband down. We offended all the aristocratic families and even the officials around the emperor. I’m afraid we won’t be able to sell sweet potatoes even if we go home.’

…

“Sister!”

Xiao Baoxin and Madam Feng had just fallen into a brief moment of awkwardness when they saw Xiao Baoshu, who was standing on the other side of the corridor, waving his arm with a bruised face. He ran towards her excitedly with a man following behind him.

It was already 5 pm, and the sky gradually darkened.

The corridor blocked the light, and Xiao Baoxin could not see the man’s face clearly. She only saw that he was tall and slender, and his actions were unrestrained.

“Are you alright, Sister?” Xiao Baoshu grinned. “I was just next door to those young masters from aristocratic families. I heard that they were beaten up, and all of them were crying for their parents. How miserable.”

As he spoke, he completely forgot that he had also been so scared that his liver was trembling, afraid that the next round would be his turn.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Madam Feng wanted to leave, but Xiao Baoshu didn’t give anyone a chance to take advantage of the situation. His mouth was like a cannonball.

“Sister, let me introduce you— this is Yang Shao, Guard Yang. He’s a Central Scout soldier under the Jiangxia King. If it weren’t for his help today, you wouldn’t have seen me alive.”

Hearing the name ‘Yang Shao’, Xiao Baoxin frowned.