Northern Liang City did not punish people for their words, so some people with ulterior motives were spreading dangerous talk among the crowd.
But the common folk held fast to their own beliefs. The heir was the prince's only son, so how could he possibly be a bad person? The people who had been killed were the bad ones.
The assassins were the bad ones. Just hearing what they were called was enough to know they were no good.
"Look over there!"
The common folk who had been chatting suddenly saw a group of people heading aggressively toward the prefect's residence. One by one, they sprang to their feet. Something big was about to happen!
Every one of those people had fury burning in their eyes. Clearly, they were going to make trouble.
There were plenty of clever people in the crowd, and they immediately guessed the reason.
"The heir killed quite a few assassins yesterday. Could these be the people behind them, rushing over to get the prefect to make trouble for the heir?"
"Really? That's a bit too brazen, isn't it?"
"Tsk, tsk, you can tell at a glance they're no good. Even Wu Zouyou is here, and he's a notoriously crooked merchant."
"There really are a few pieces of shit among them. Looks like the heir's in serious trouble this time."
"Hmph, the heir is the prince's only son. What can these people do to him?"
"They're just overestimating themselves!"
The common folk pointed and gestured at the group, making no attempt to hide their disgust. Although the heir was ignorant and incompetent, he was the prince's son and had never caused trouble for the common folk, so they had a favorable impression of him.
These people who had come to cause trouble had immediately become villains in their eyes.
"Hmph, ignore these lowly commoners. They're utterly useless."
"We'll go to Huang Yuntao. Even if he can't do anything to Lin Yi, we can't let him go on slaughtering people!"
The group paid no attention to the common folk's gazes and headed straight for the prefect's residence.
They were not going to make trouble, but to ask Huang Yuntao to rein in the heir, Lin Yi. Going to Lin Yi now, when his eyes were red from killing, would accomplish nothing except getting them killed again.
Besides, their people had all been eliminated. If they wanted to deal with Lin Yi, they could only rely on the emperor.
Before that, however, they had to make Lin Yi settle down, or they would be unable to sleep at night.
But just after they entered the prefect's residence, before they could lodge their complaint, they spotted a familiar figure. Their expressions changed drastically.
"The heir, Lin Yi!"
"What's he doing here? What did he come for?"
The expressions of the whole group who had come looking for trouble changed drastically. The situation had suddenly become awkward.
They had come to make trouble for Lin Yi, but that did not mean they could do it to the heir's face. Wouldn't the heir remember every last one of them?
They knew full well that even if they impeached Lin Yi, he could not possibly lose his life. After all, he was the Prince of Northern Liang's only son.
If this Great Demon King who wreaked havoc in the world settled scores with them afterward, none of them would be able to withstand it.
What misery!
They subconsciously looked at Huang Yuntao, hoping to glean some information. But at that moment, he wore a kindly expression. He had turned into Maitreya Buddha and entered sage mode.
I can't see!
I can't hear!
Don't look at me!
The group was furious, but there was nothing they could do to Huang Yuntao. He was a veteran prefect who had held the post for seven years, not someone they could easily shake.
The scene gave them a faint sense of foreboding. Could Lin Yi have come for them?
Evidently, they had guessed right.
When Lin Yi saw them, his eyes immediately lit up. He complained to the prefect, "Lord Prefect, it just so happens the parties involved are here. I hope you'll stand up for me! These people even dared to bully me. What wouldn't they dare do? No wonder they dared join forces to assassinate me!"
"Your Highness, this..."
Hearing those words, Huang Yuntao had black lines appear on his forehead, but he said nothing, weighing his options instead.
???
A row of question marks appeared above the heads of the people who had come looking for trouble. They had no idea what Lin Yi meant, how they had become the parties involved, or why he wanted the prefect to stand up for him.
Who would dare bully you?
And we joined forces to assassinate you? Stop making things up.
A man stepped out of the crowd. It was Cao Shen, one of the more respected among them. He was a councilor in Northern Liang. Although his official rank was not high, his status was.
"Your Highness, what do you mean by that? How did we bully you?" he asked with a frown.
Lin Yi ignored him. He was not about to indulge people who had come looking for trouble. He merely watched Huang Yuntao, waiting to see what choice he would make.
Huang Yuntao's scalp went numb under his gaze. He gritted his teeth and finally made a decision.
Huang Yuntao slammed his hand on the table, commanding respect without showing anger, and said in a low voice, "Guards, arrest these people!"
At his command, a large group of yamen runners immediately surrounded them, ready to make the arrests.
Holy shit!
Those words instantly made the group unable to sit still. They all glared at him. He actually intended to arrest them. Had he gone mad?
"Huang Yuntao, what do you mean by this? How dare you arrest us?" Cao Shen said angrily.
"Have you gone mad? How dare you frame loyal and upright people!"
"Stop right there! What gives you the right to arrest us? We're all good people!"
They were on the verge of going mad. They had come to lodge a complaint, yet now they were the ones being arrested. This was simply outrageous.
If Huang Yuntao did not give them an explanation, they absolutely could not let the matter rest.
Huang Yuntao glanced at them and sneered. "Hmph, I'm not afraid to tell you. Your crimes have come to light!"
"Our crimes have come to light?"
"That's right. The heir reported you under his own name for taking part in the attempt on his life. We also have the assassins' confessions here. Until the truth has been established, all of you must be held in custody!"
"What? He reported us under his own name?"
"The assassins' confessions?"
Everyone was dumbfounded. They were going to arrest all of them on the strength of a confession? Could the heir have forged it?
They could not help glaring at Lin Yi as they said coldly, "Lin Yi, have you gone mad? How dare you frame us like this? Your father is only a prince, not the emperor!"
This was going too far. Such a breach of martial virtue had always been their own exclusive privilege, yet now Lin Yi was using it against them. It was simply too shameless.
As for the assassins' confessions, that was even more absurd. The assassins had all been killed, so where would the confessions have come from? This was plainly a frame-up.
Hmph!
Zhao Hu gave them a cold glance and said disdainfully, "Our heir never falsely accuses anyone, much less a good person. These are the confessions the assassins gave yesterday. If you have a problem, go take it up with the assassins."
"Our heir is so kind and merciful, yet you still tried to assassinate him. You're worse than pigs and dogs! You and I cannot live under the same sky!" Zhang Long also rebuked them angrily.
Then he threw a thick stack of testimony to them. The confessions inside named each of them, and their expressions changed drastically.