In the City Lord's Mansion, Mu Xu sat on the high chair of the main seat. The Elf King and the Dwarf King sat behind the table on his left, and Lu Yunrui sat alone on his right. The courtyard and hall were filled with soldiers of the Azure Dragon Knights. Xu Qiang stood behind Mu Xu with a sword hanging from his waist. In the middle of the hall, Fang Qian, Liu Hu, and Gu Feng were kneeling on the ground facing Mu Xu. Liu Hu's weapon had long been taken away.
A soldier entered the hall and knelt down."Your Majesty, we've investigated and found out that the heads hanging in public are indeed the heads of the villagers of the three villages of Ancient Peak. The so-called bandit head was a complete lie!”
Mu Xu slammed the table and shouted,"Liu Hu, what else do you have to say?”
"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Liu Hu hurriedly kowtowed. It was only because the bandits were rampant and the city lord urged me to do so that I lost my mind and came up with this plan. I hope Your Majesty will remember that I have guarded the border town for many years and show mercy!”
Fang Qian also hurriedly reported," Your Majesty, there have always been many bandits in the border areas. There are even bandits around Pengcheng. They have attacked many passing caravans over the years." It was also because I was anxious about the peace of the border town that I gave General Liu a time limit to clear out the bandits, causing General Liu to do such a wrong thing! I hope Your Majesty will carefully examine the details and relax the handling of this matter so that the soldiers at the border will not be cold hearted. We will definitely repay Your Majesty's deep kindness with our lives!”
Hearing this, Mu Xu's expression relaxed. He looked at Lu Yunrui and said,""Lord God's Chosen One, you see…"
"The so-called bandits in the border towns are pure nonsense!" Lu Yunrui snorted coldly and said. I think Mr. Fang and General Liu know better than me whether the bandits were responsible for the attacks on the caravan in the past few years!”
"What does Your Excellency mean by this?" Fang Qian's expression changed slightly.”
"The meaning is very clear!" Lu Yunrui sneered. There weren't bandits around Peng City, but someone had done it deliberately!”
"What do you mean, Lord God's Chosen One?" asked Mu Xu.”
Lu Yunrui smiled at Mu Xu and said,""Your Majesty, don't be anxious. Let's first ask the Dwarf King to tell us about the situation in the past few years!”
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on Sanger.
Sanger picked up the wine glass on the table and took a big gulp. Then he said,"Over the years, merchant groups that come to our dwarves to do business are often attacked in the Mulberry Valley. People are killed and goods are stolen. Our army has been dispatched many times, but we have never found any traces of bandits within a hundred miles. The most puzzling thing is that those bandits seem to know the situation of our dwarves very well. Every action of our army seems to be under their control. This question had troubled us for many years, until a few days ago, when another caravan was attacked, we finally solved the mystery.”
Sang Ge smiled at Lu Yunrui.""Mr. Lu, you've experienced the situation yourself. It's better for you to tell us!”
Lu Yunrui didn't continue, but changed the topic.""Six days ago, I entered Peng City with a caravan.”Then, he looked at Fang Qian and Liu Hu and said,""The two of you should be very clear about this, right?”
"Have you been to Pengcheng before?" Fang Qian asked in surprise. Why didn't I know about it?" "Do you know?" he asked Liu Hu.
"I don't know!" Hu Liu shook his head.
Lu Yunrui ignored him and continued,""In the city, I heard two big pieces of news. First, there was a mysterious disappearance in the three villages of Gu Feng. In addition, five days ago, the entire Divine Wind Legion had gone out and fought fiercely with the bandits for a night. Nearly four hundred people had died, and General Du Tong had gone missing. The army had only returned the next afternoon. I've already found out that you massacred the ancient peak and the three neighboring villages that evening and spent the night on the nearby mountain. You didn't fight anyone at all. I would like to ask General Liu, since you didn't fight with anyone, how did the three hundred soldiers die? How did Du Tong go missing?"
"Of course they died fighting the bandits," Liu Hu said.”
"You didn't encounter any bandits, so how could you have fought?"”
"Our troops have indeed not encountered any bandits." Liu Hu sighed. However, before the army was dispatched, Du Tong led more than five hundred people on a patrol mission and encountered a few thousand bandits in the Mulberry Valley. Our army is few and outnumbered. Nearly 400 soldiers have died. In order to cover the retreat of his comrades, General Du Tong was trapped in a group of bandits. His whereabouts were unknown, and he was probably already dead.”
Lu Yunrui couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Mu Xu looked at Lu Yunrui unhappily."Lord God's Chosen One, what are you laughing at?”
"I'm laughing at them for not even knowing how to lie!" said Lu Yunrui. Your Majesty, do you know why those soldiers died? Where is Du Tong now?"
Mu Xu shook his head.
Lu Yunrui recounted what he had experienced in the Mulberry Valley. Finally, he said,"At that time, I was thinking that even if Du Tong and the others were blinded by greed, they wouldn't have the power to mobilize the army. There must be a higher authority hidden behind him. Sure enough, after a few days of investigation, I finally have evidence of these people! Not only did these people not know how to restrain themselves, but they also started to massacre innocent people in order to cover up their crimes. If I hadn't been prepared, tens of thousands of people would have fallen under their butcher knives today. If these people were not eliminated soon, they would definitely become a huge threat to Xia Country and sooner or later, they would endanger the country!”
" Over the past few years, due to the many attacks on merchant groups, the number of merchants coming to the dwarfs has decreased significantly, which has seriously affected the development of the dwarfs," Sanger interrupted. The Dwarf Race and Xia Country had always been on good terms, but to destroy the diplomatic relations between the two races like this, he wondered if Emperor Mu Xu was behind it? Otherwise, how could someone have such guts!”
"There's no such thing!" Mu Xu hurriedly said. How could I let someone do this!"
After saying that, he glared at Liu Hu."Look at what you've done. You actually made me take the blame! Men, capture Liu Hu and bring him back to the capital. We'll punish him after we investigate the entire matter!”
Lu Yunrui saw that Mu Xu still had the intention to protect him and could not help but say angrily,""Since His Majesty Mu Xu has the intention to protect the traitor, I have nothing to say. Gaia, Sanger, let's go, bring the people out of the city! Just tell them that the king of Xia Country would not make decisions for them!”
Gaia and Sanger stood up at the same time.
"Your Majesties and Lord God's Chosen One, please calm down!" Mu Xu hurriedly stood up to stop them. I didn't mean to be biased. You've misunderstood! Please sit down and listen to my punishment."
Lu Yunrui snorted and slowly sat down.
"Someone come! Bring Liu Hu out and behead him. Immediately search his entire family, regardless of gender, old or young, behead them, and confiscate all his property!”
Mu Xu did not dare to be ambiguous this time, afraid that he would anger them.
A group of soldiers swarmed in and dragged Liu Hu out of the hall. Soon, Liu Hu's head was brought into the hall for inspection. Mu Xu waved his hand, and the soldiers immediately brought the heads out.
Mu Xu smiled obsequiously at Lu Yunrui." Lord God's Chosen One, Liu Hu is dead. His entire family will also be executed. Can we end this matter?"”
Lu Yunrui shook his head." Although Liu Hu is dead, his accomplices are still around. This matter is not over yet."”
"Does that Liu Hu have any accomplices?" Mu Xu quickly asked. Who are they?"
"They're right in front of His Majesty!" Lu Yunrui pointed down.”
Mu Xu looked at Fang Qian and Gu Feng who were kneeling in the hall and asked,""Daren, are you talking about Gu Feng?"
"Gu Feng is only one of the accomplices," Lu Yunrui shook her head."I'm referring to the other mastermind who is in cahoots with Liu Hu!"”
"Are you talking about Fang Qian?" Mu Xu asked in surprise.”
"Not bad!" Lu Yunrui said.
"Fang Qian has always had a good reputation as an official and is supported by the people," Mu Xu said in shock. Did Milord make a mistake?"
Fang Qian also kowtowed and said,""Your Majesty, this humble subject is wronged! Your Majesty, please help me!"
Lu Yunrui ignored Fang Qian and shouted at Gu Feng,"Gu Feng, I already know all the crimes you have committed. Do you still want to deny it?”
Gu Feng was a little hesitant and did not answer immediately.
Lu Yunrui said casually,""It's fine if you don't plead guilty. I'll produce evidence to prove your crimes. Even if you want to deny it, you can't avoid it!”
When Gu Feng heard this, he immediately kowtowed."Milord, I know my sins. It's all my fault for being greedy. I beg Milord to have mercy.”
Before anyone else could say anything, Fang Qian had already pointed at Gu Feng in a rage and scolded,"I didn't expect you to do such a heinous thing behind my back. I've nurtured you for so many years and put you in an important position. I didn't expect you to be such a shameless person.”
After saying that, he suggested to Mu Xu,"Your Majesty, such a villain must not be left alive. It's better to quickly push him out and behead him!"”
When Gu Feng heard this, his eyes immediately revealed a look of resentment.
"Enough, Fang Qian, stop acting here!”"It's not your turn to speak here," Lu Yunrui said contemptuously."You'd better wait quietly for the trial!"”
Fang Qian hurriedly kowtowed to Mu Xu and said," Your Majesty, I really don't know how I offended the Chosen One. He has been biting me so hard that I won't let go. Your Majesty, please seek justice for me!"”
Mu Xu looked at Gaia and Sanger and sighed."Fang Qian, you'd better do as Lord God's Chosen One says. There's no need to say anything else!”
With that, he turned his head to the side. When Fang Qian saw this, he was also very helpless and could only say no more.
"Gu Feng, listen carefully!" Lu Yunrui said to Gu Feng. Your crimes have implicated your family. If you don't want to implicate your family, then tell them the whole story. I will take into account your confession and plead with His Majesty on your behalf, so that His Majesty will only blame you. If you don't confess, I'll let you destroy nine generations!”
Hearing this, Gu Feng looked at Lu Yunrui and asked,""Is that true?"
"I always keep my word," Lu Yunrui said."Besides, there are so many witnesses here!"”
"Thank you, sir!" Gu Feng immediately shouted.”
With that, he kowtowed three times to Lu Yunrui.
"You'd better tell the truth quickly. His Majesty is still waiting!" Lu Yunrui said.”
Gu Feng did not dare to be negligent. He hurriedly explained the entire incident, from how he had started it to how it had developed to this day. One by one, he explained everything, even some details. Everyone in the hall gritted their teeth and hated the viciousness of Fang Qian and the others.
After Gu Feng finished explaining, Mu Xu shouted angrily,"Fang Qian, you still want to deny it!"
Without waiting for anyone to speak, he continued to shout,"Someone come! Quickly push Fang Qian and Gu Feng out and behead them!”
A group of soldiers immediately rushed in and carried Fang Qian and Gu Feng out.
"Immediately search the city lord's mansion and execute everyone in the mansion!" Mu Xu roared.”
"Wait!" " Your Majesty," Lu Yunrui shouted," most of the people in the City Lord's Mansion are handymen and servants. Even if you want to punish Fang Qian's family, you shouldn't involve the innocent!"”
"The master is guilty, so those servants deserve to die!" Mu Xu said coldly.”
"If you put it this way, then the officials are guilty, so shouldn't you be guilty too?" Lu Yunrui also said coldly.”
Gaia and Sanger also interjected,"Mister Lu is right! Please take back your fame and spread the virtue of loving life!”
Mu Xu rolled his eyes and hurriedly said,"I was so angry that I fainted. Since that was the case, they would do as Lord God's Chosen One said and only take Fang Qian's family!”
The troops obeyed the order.
"Your Majesty, this matter involves a lot of people." Lu Yunrui asked. I wonder how Your Majesty will deal with this?"
"What suggestions do you have, sir?" Mu Xu asked.”
Lu Yunrui said," In my opinion, this matter involves too many people, especially the military. If it is not handled well, it will easily lead to a mutiny and cause unrest in the entire Xia Country. Now that the main culprit had been killed, there was no need to delve into the others. As long as he reprimanded her and punished her slightly, it would be fine. This way, it wouldn't cause chaos. At the same time, he put up a notice to inform the whole country to alert the officials. In this way, the stability of Xia Country would be guaranteed!”
Mu Xu could not help but laugh out loud when he heard that."Since that's the case, we'll do as Lord God's Chosen One says!”
As he was speaking, he heard a commotion coming from the streets outside the City Lord's Estate. Then, a soldier rushed into the hall.
"Your Majesty, when the people in the city learned the truth of the matter and that Fang Qian and the others had been killed, they flocked to the streets to celebrate and praise Your Majesty's wisdom and might!”
Hearing this report, Mu Xu smiled even more, unable to contain his joy.
"Your Majesty, why don't we go out of the manor and enjoy ourselves with the people on the streets?" Lu Yunrui said with a smile.”
"Alright!" Mu Xu immediately nodded. Good! Good! Let's go out together and enjoy ourselves with the people!”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。