"Captain Ma, there must be some misunderstanding."
"My Sun family has always been on good terms with the Prefectural Yamen, and we have actively cooperated with Lord Zhu's policies. How could we have disobeyed Lord Zhu's orders?"
Several people in the family had died or been injured.
The eldest son, who had been placed under the highest hopes, was also still of unknown fate.
Sun Bingwen was already physically and mentally exhausted.
Yet facing Ma Liu, who had clearly come with hostile intentions, he could only force himself to rally and deal with him.
It was still the same old saying.
Ma Liu himself was nothing.
But behind him stood the Prefectural Yamen.
And behind the Prefectural Yamen.
Stood that Lord Zhu who killed without batting an eye.
The fox borrowing the tiger's might.
A fox basking in borrowed authority was certainly loathsome, but the tiger itself was crouching right beside them, alive and well, and might look over at any moment.
They could not afford the slightest carelessness.
"Cooperate?"
"Heh."
Ma Liu cast a sidelong glance at Sun Bingwen and said disdainfully:
"When have you wealthy clans ever taken the Prefectural Yamen seriously? If Lord Zhu were not wise and mighty enough to frighten you cowards into submission, how could you have obediently obeyed?"
His gaze swept around the room.
At last, it stopped on the people who had scolded him earlier. He said sinisterly:
"Don't be in such a hurry."
"Your turn will come sooner or later."
Those people's expressions immediately turned ugly. They wished they could hack this bully who relied on his backer to death with a single stroke.
Yet they could not lose their tempers.
They could only endure it.
"Captain Ma, just tell us what the Prefectural Yamen wants." Sun Bingwen said in a