Seeing his difficulty, Zhao Jiaqi lowered her eyes. After a moment, she looked up and said, "I am not an imperial envoy, just a commoner, born a farmer. Even if I have some money, I'm merely wearing fine clothes, with just a servant who knows some martial arts!"
The magistrate...
He somewhat disbelievingly picked at his ear, feeling a pang of doubt, even suspecting he had misheard.
When he recalled saying "imperial envoy," and they had neither denied nor admitted it, the magistrate's old face flushed red. He had been tricked, and by three simple folk at that.
At this, his anger surged. He immediately summoned the remaining yamen runners, struck his gavel, and declared them thrown into prison to be executed at noon tomorrow.
Not only Zhao Jiaqi was stunned, but even Fan Zehao was momentarily dumbfounded. This... was how a magistrate judged cases, completely by his own whim. The fate of several living souls decided by his single thought!
Now, Fan Zehao was thoroughly enraged. Without waiting for the yamen runners to seize him, he lunged forward and yanked the magistrate directly from his chair.
"You expect to sit in this sacred place with your character? Not flaying you alive is already a great mercy!"
The magistrate's mind went blank. He took several heavy blows to his body, and his head hit the corner of the desk before he came to his senses. He scrambled around, holding his head, and shouted, "Insolent! Insolent! You scoundrel, how dare you assault a court official! Watch... Ow!"
Before he could finish speaking, he was severely beaten again.
"This Prince is beating you, you scoundrel! You dared to try and kill me, you must have the heart of a leopard!"
Fan Zehao's brow was tightly furrowed, not because he had made a mistake, but because the magistrate had blurted out "court official."
Within his inner city, the Prince's mansion was supreme. Since when had his mansion become part of the imperial court?
These traitors, taking his salary yet yearning for Yun Country, it was a stab to the heart.
It seemed he had been too kind to them, so much so that they no longer recognized who their master was!
Hearing his words, the magistrate was even more terrified and bewildered, forgetting even his own name.
Previously, he had thought they were imperial envoys and could have lamented his plight. Now, he truly wept, tears and snot streaming down his face, suddenly looking like an old man from his youth.
His attitude did a complete 180-degree turn, bowing and scraping: "Your... Your Highness, good day. Your... Your... Your Royal Highness Consort, peace!"
Fan Zehao kicked the man on the ground fiercely and cursed, "Peace my ass! With a pack of scum like you, how can I have peace? Only when you are all dead will I be at ease!"
The magistrate knelt on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Sweat dripped from his forehead, pooling on the ground and soon forming a small puddle.
Even the yamen runners who had been beaten slumped to the ground, hearing this.
However, the innkeeper felt something was amiss. They had all pretended to be imperial envoys earlier. Who knew if this person was truly a Prince and Princess now?
Besides, if it were the Prince and Princess, he, as the innkeeper, would naturally have received instructions from above. But he had not. Therefore, he remained highly suspicious of these three people's identities!
He walked over to the magistrate, squatted down, and whispered a few words. The magistrate's body stiffened. After a moment, he shook his head. However, the turbidity in his eyes had cleared considerably.
In that instant, he thought a great deal. Based on what the other party had said, he was doomed anyway. If he could kill this person, then his own life would be saved. After all, the other party claimed to be a Prince, but no one could prove it.
Better to kill a thousand innocent than let one guilty escape.
Suddenly, the magistrate stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked up openly, meeting Fan Zehao's gaze.
"You claim to be a Prince, who can prove it?"
"You dare to deceive me! First, you used the pretense of being an imperial envoy, and now you claim to be a Prince. Speak, what is your purpose?"
After the magistrate spoke, the yamen runners slumped behind him were also confused.
Now, between the two people on the dais, whose words were true, and whose were false?
To whom should they, the servants, listen?
For a moment, everyone began to speculate whether they were truly the Prince.
However, some clever ones decided that regardless of who the other party was, they would just feign death, offending no one, at least preserving their lives.
If they bet on the wrong side, their heads could roll off at any moment, especially since this Prince was a strongman who could kill a dog with a single punch.
At that moment, the last person inexplicably fell to the ground, lying perfectly still. No matter how much the people around him called, the person who had fainted made no movement.
He had already decided that unless a knife was put to his throat, he wouldn't wake up even if beaten.
Those with quick minds followed suit, suddenly falling to the ground and fainting. The magistrate saw this and understood everything.
Seeing some about to imitate, he immediately stopped them: "Anyone else who faints, I will run them through with a sword!"
They exchanged glances. Since they couldn't faint while standing, they might as well fight. Thus, two yamen runners raised their hands and struck each other's necks.
This time, they truly fainted. In moments, the entire hall was filled with people on the floor.
The remaining three who hadn't fallen were either too slow or it was too late. At this point, the magistrate urgently called out, "If you punish these wicked individuals with me, I will be the magistrate, and you will be the deputy magistrates, your strength solely under me!"
Hearing such excellent treatment, the three remaining awake were tempted. They looked at each other.
Under great temptation, some still held onto hope!
Seeing this, Zhao Jiaqi looked at the three relatively young men: "If you bet wrongly, your heads will roll. Assassinating a Prince is a crime punishable by nine generations of extermination, including your parents and children. That is more cruel than having no descendants!"
The magistrate glared at Zhao Jiaqi, then turned to the three yamen runners: "Don't listen to this bewitching woman. Our Prince and Princess are always benevolent and never exterminate nine generations. This person spewing such words clearly shows they are fake. Follow me and kill them, and when the Prince and Princess learn of it, they will surely grant you noble titles!"
Where did this confidence come from?
Were titles and promotions so easily obtained?
Zhao Jiaqi had tried her best to persuade them. What they did next was up to them. However, she could tell that this magistrate was making a desperate gamble!
Did he want to kill them and then present their heads to Huangfu Xi in Yun Country to claim merit?
But that was only if he could survive leaving here.
Fan Zehao narrowed his eyes, staring at the three young yamen runners. Seeing that they showed no sign of changing their minds, he let out a cold laugh and said loudly, "Your courage is commendable, but your fate is unfortunate. You have heard the wrong person and trusted the wrong person. This Prince can promise you that before you die, you will be reunited with your families!"
"This Prince will explain the rights and wrongs of this matter to your families, and we will absolutely not exterminate nine generations. If an individual makes a mistake, this Prince will never implicate their family."
Hearing this, the three youths hesitated.
Fan Zehao continued, "However, while your families will be spared the death penalty, they will not escape punishment. From now on, they will live as the families of criminals in their villages or towns!"
Killing a person's body and soul, it couldn't be more so.