Hu Xiaotian stood there smiling, as carefree as could be, as though the whole affair had nothing whatsoever to do with him.
Someone shouted, "Take him to the authorities and demand justice!" "Yes! Drag him before a magistrate!" "Does being a minister's son make him so special?"
Hu Buwei's expression remained as still as an ancient well. He turned back to Tang Wenzheng and said quietly, "Brother Wenzheng, rest assured. I will get to the bottom of what happened today. But shouldn't we have these people disperse first? In all this noise and confusion, there are bound to be people with ulterior motives spreading inflammatory rumors. Not only will that solve nothing, it will make an even greater mess of things."
Hu Buwei had a point. Tang Wenzheng held his daughter, his chest filled with fury, but Hu Buwei's official rank kept him from venting it. While he hesitated, weighing his options, his two sons had already run out of patience. Tang Tiehan roared, "What do you mean, get to the bottom of it? The facts are right before us! Everyone saw it! That turtle's bastard abducted my sister and ruined her chastity! His crimes are monstrous! We won't rest until we kill this villain-" Before he could finish, Tang Wenzheng raised his hand and slapped him hard across the face. "You insolent fool! Who gave you leave to speak?"
Tang Tiehan deserved that slap. In his anger, he had let "turtle's bastard" slip out. If Hu Xiaotian was a turtle's bastard, wasn't that the same as calling Hu Buwei an old turtle to his face? On top of that, he had shouted that Hu Xiaotian had ruined his sister's chastity, and everyone had heard him loud and clear. Whether Hu Xiaotian had actually ruined Tang Qingxuan's chastity was beside the point-what would people think of her afterward? The Tang Family had mobilized such a large force, and Hu Xiaotian's abduction of Tang Qingxuan was a fact. What exactly had happened during that time? People could hardly help speculating. Even if nothing had happened, Tang Qingxuan's reputation would inevitably suffer.
Just then, Capital Prefect Hong Baiqi came hurrying over with several subordinates, accompanied by the Tang Family's third son, Tang Tiexin. At the sight before him, Hong Baiqi inwardly groaned. He did not care how the Hu Family and the Tang Family fought, but today Murong Feiyan had brought several constables to the Minister's Residence as soon as she heard the news, inevitably dragging him into the affair. If Murong Feiyan had not gotten involved, Hong Baiqi would never have bothered wading into these muddy waters. You two families can make whatever trouble you please. Once you're done, I'll help send the injured to a physician and collect the corpses of the dead. As for who's right and who's wrong, we can discuss that afterward. Being an official in the capital was no easy task. Capital Prefect sounded impressive, and he could just about count as a major official in charge of a region, but in this capital, who knew how many officials outranked him-not to mention all those imperial relatives? Serving in the capital meant taking every connection into account. The slightest misstep could offend someone without his even knowing it. He was truly struggling to survive in the cracks, every step fraught with difficulty.
Hong Baiqi approached and first paid his respects to Hu Buwei and Tang Wenzheng. Hu Buwei said, "Lord Hong, you've arrived at just the right time. You handle this matter."
Hong Baiqi groaned inwardly. How did your families' troubles end up on my shoulders? Aren't you just making life difficult for me? He coughed and said, "My lords, I think we should have the uninvolved parties withdraw before proceeding." By uninvolved parties, he naturally meant the helpers the two Tang brothers had brought.
Although Tang Wenzheng was furious, his mind remained clear. Even if his side had justice entirely on its side, they had still barged into the Minister's Residence and come to blows. It would be best to send these people away first.
Tang Tiehan was still nursing his wounded pride, a hand over the cheek his father had just slapped. When he heard the Capital Prefect demand their departure immediately upon arriving, all the anger in his chest flared up. He protested loudly, "Why should we leave? Unless our Tang Family gets justice today, we're not going anywhere!"
There was strength in numbers, and most of them believed the law could not punish an entire crowd. At Tang Tiehan's words, they immediately began clamoring again.
Tang Wenzheng really did not know what to do with this son of his. He inwardly cursed the fool for failing to read the situation.
Just then, a languid voice said, "Indeed, we can't let them leave!"
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw Hu Xiaotian walking over. Who knew when the fellow had found himself a blue robe to wear? But he had no trousers underneath, leaving his bare calves exposed. He looked even more absurd than before.
Hu Buwei frowned as well. To his mind, his son was hardly a clever man; his head still was not right. Only by sending these people away could they reduce a major affair to a minor one, then let the minor one fade into nothing. If this blew up, it would certainly hurt the Hu Family.
Hu Xiaotian said, "You people smashed our gate, beat our servants, besmirched our family's good name, and slandered my reputation. You've done every wicked thing there is, and now you want to dust off your backsides and walk away? Where in this world can you get off that easily?"
Tang Tiecheng was the most eloquent of the three brothers. He stepped forward, pointed at Hu Xiaotian, and said, "You're spouting lies! You abducted my sister first, and now the villain is rushing to accuse his victims!"
Hu Xiaotian chuckled. "What evidence do you have that I abducted her?"
Tang Tiecheng said angrily, "We all saw it! My sister herself is a witness!"
Hu Xiaotian pointed at the grass pavilion, which was still burning. "Did you set that grass pavilion on fire?"
Tang Tiecheng glanced at it. He was a man of mettle and was not afraid to admit what he had done. His eyes widened in a glare. "So what? Yes, I burned it!"
Hu Xiaotian said, "What punishment do you deserve?"
Tang Tiecheng said, "It's just a lousy grass pavilion. Never mind burning it-so what if I tore it down? At worst, I'll pay for a new grass pavilion!"
Hu Xiaotian jabbed a finger at Tang Tiecheng. "You're truly a traitor of the highest order! You actually want to tear down the imperial court and establish a new one! That's an insult to Great Kang! You're clearly plotting rebellion!" Tang Tiecheng had said "grass pavilion," but Hu Xiaotian deliberately twisted the similar-sounding words into "imperial court."
Tang Tiecheng's face flushed crimson with anger. "How dare you slander me! I said I would tear down the grass pavilion! When did I ever say I would tear down the imperial court?"
"I doubt you'd dare overthrow the imperial court anyway. Just look at your shifty-eyed, spineless face. Where would you find the guts?"
Tang Tiecheng could not withstand his goading. He roared, "So what? I'm not afraid of anything! What's the big deal about overthrowing the imperial court-" Only then did he realize he had fallen into the other man's trap. He froze on the spot.
Everyone on the Xu Family's side went pale with fright. Heavens, this fellow really will say anything!
Hu Xiaotian kept jabbing his finger at Tang Tiecheng. "Oh... so you really are a treasonous rebel! You actually want to overthrow the imperial court?"
Tang Tiecheng trembled all over with rage and bellowed, "I said overthrow the grass pavilion..."
Everyone heard him perfectly clearly: overthrow the imperial court again.
Hu Xiaotian spread his hands helplessly. "You all heard him. He wants to betray the country and rebel. Do as you see fit!"
Tang Tiecheng could not clear his name even with a hundred mouths. With a wild howl, he drew the saber at his waist and tried to lunge at Hu Xiaotian. "You've driven me mad, you villain! Your life is mine-" The blade had barely cleared its sheath by an inch when Tang Tiehan pressed it back in. Tang Tiexin rushed up from behind and locked his arms around him, shouting, "Second Brother, calm down!"
Hu Xiaotian surveyed the people behind the Tang brothers. "Who else helped burn the grass pavilion?"
They exchanged looks. No one answered.
"Who else?"
In a sudden rush, more than a hundred people scattered, vanishing in moments. Burning a grass pavilion meant prison at worst, but burning the imperial court meant losing one's head. Hu Xiaotian had just addled Tang Tiecheng's wits in front of everyone, goading him into talking about overthrowing the imperial court. If that charge really stuck, his entire clan to the ninth degree of kinship could be exterminated. No number of heads would be enough for the executioner. None of them were fools, and none wanted any connection to rebellion. If they did not leave now, what were they waiting for?
Capital Prefect Hong Baiqi watched the hundred-odd troublemakers flee in an instant without ordering his subordinates to stop them. His guiding principle in handling this affair was to smooth over the mess as best he could, reducing a major matter to a minor one, then letting the minor one disappear.
Tang Wenzheng, meanwhile, was so frightened that his soul had all but fled his body. Although he knew his son had been trapped by Hu Xiaotian, talk of overthrowing the imperial court was absolutely not something one could utter lightly. If this reached the emperor's ears, losing his post would be the least of his worries. Everyone in the Tang Family might well lose their heads. People all said Hu Buwei's son was a deaf, witless imbecile, but only after seeing him today did Tang Wenzheng realize that the boy was not merely brilliant, but sinister, cunning, and wicked to the core. His own son's intelligence was as far beneath Hu Xiaotian's as earth was beneath heaven. They were both sons-how had the other man managed to father one like that?
Hu Buwei had barely spoken. In fact, he had been calculating all along how to reverse the situation. With the facts laid out before them, how could he turn heaven and earth around and resolve this trouble? Hu Xiaotian's words had not only frightened away more than a hundred of the Tang Family's helpers; they had also left his father, Hu Buwei, shaken beyond description.
Hu Buwei stared at his son, dumbfounded, as though meeting him for the first time. Shock and delight mingled in his heart. Is this really my son? Confounding black and white, spouting lies, turning defeat into victory and danger into safety! We were utterly on the defensive, and he completely changed everything with just a few sentences! Grass pavilion! Imperial court! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I've served two emperors of Great Kang, spent decades in office, and schemed against countless people, yet even I never thought of such a marvelous idea. This son must be my own flesh and blood! So devious, so wicked, able to devise such a vicious trick-who but I, Hu Buwei, could father a peerless specimen like this? Hahaha! Wonderful! Wonderful! Heaven has eyes! Heaven has eyes! My house has an heir! My house has an heir!
Although Tang Tiecheng had uttered the treasonous words "overthrow the imperial court," Hong Baiqi had watched everything clearly from the sidelines. The foolish boy had simply been led into a trap by Hu Xiaotian's taunts. Hong Baiqi was angry at his ineptitude and pitied his misfortune. At a time like this, I'll play deaf and mute and pretend I heard nothing.
Hu Buwei finally spoke. "Lord Hong, what do you think..." Although he had said little of substance, the silence he left at that crucial moment carried extraordinary weight. He was clearly forcing Hong Baiqi to take a stand... The early days of a new book are an uphill struggle. Please remember to bookmark it and send plenty of recommendations!
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