EWRN - Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Hand in Hand to Jiangnan (III)
After enjoying the Jiangnan scenery for several hours and having supper on the pleasure boat, Huo Jinyu ordered the boatman to begin the return journey.
When the Prefect heard that his most beloved eldest son had been beaten and seized, and that a crowd of commoners had witnessed it, he felt he had lost all face. What was baffling, however, was that the Prefect felt disgraced not by his son's conduct, but by the fact that he had been made a public spectacle. It was hard to imagine the Prefect's own daily conduct was ever very dignified.
The Prefect directed all his anger at Huo Jinyu. He thought that if it weren't for Huo Jinyu, none of this would have happened, and his precious son wouldn't have suffered so! The person who reported the incident had told him his darling boy was beaten black and blue, his face swollen beyond recognition! His wife might be able to stomach this insult, but he certainly could not. So he boarded his carriage, gathered a troop of prefectural soldiers, and rushed toward the riverbank. He had to intercept them and teach that insolent whelp who didn't know his place a harsh lesson. He would beat the boy until even his own mother couldn't recognize him, and preferably break his arms and legs, leaving him bedridden for life. And believe it or not, the esteemed Prefect of Yuan'an City had indeed done such depraved things before.
Three years ago, his precious son saw a beautiful woman and abducted her. The woman's husband, unable to bear the injustice, brought friends to confront him, only to be severely beaten and have his limbs broken by the Prefect's men. Having lost his beloved wife and suffered grave injuries, the man died in his bed not long after from sheer grief. When the abducted woman in the Prefect's manor heard of her husband's death, she could no longer endure the humiliation and killed herself by smashing her head against a wall. The Prefect ordered the bodies to be disposed of hastily and suppressed the entire matter.
Thus, what was unfamiliar the first time became familiar the second. The Prefect felt this matter was just as simple: he only needed to have the person who offended him beaten to death.
The Prefect sat in his carriage, waiting by the riverbank, thinking with relish.
He waited for over four hours.
A massive pleasure boat slowly approached the dock. Hundreds of prefectural soldiers had sealed off the area completely.
The pleasure boat glided into the dock and moored, but for a long time, there was no movement. The Prefect alighted from his carriage. He assumed the people on the boat were scared and didn't dare to make a move. The Prefect smiled smugly, but the smile didn't last long on his face before it froze.
Suddenly, the main doors of the pleasure boat flew open, and a foot kicked several figures out. A few thugs, bound hand and foot, tumbled down the dock's ramp. The thugs wailed for mercy, and upon seeing the Prefect, they acted as if they had seen their savior, clamoring for Lord Prefect to save them. The scene was utterly pathetic.
Then, the person in the doorway kicked again, and a figure familiar to the Prefect rolled out. It was none other than his precious son. Even though his face was swollen and bruised, the Prefect still recognized him. "My son!" The Prefect let out a pained howl and was about to rush forward to retrieve him when a squad of men suddenly poured out from the doorway. Each held a sharp weapon, and they placed a blade against his son's neck. The Prefect was so frightened he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide with fury, staring intently at the white-robed young master who was strolling out of the pleasure boat.
This handsome, dashing, and suave young master in white was Huo Jinyu. Yan Xi followed closely behind her as she stepped off the boat.
"You little thief! Do you know who I am? How dare you take my son! Do you believe I will exterminate your entire clan?" The Prefect was so enraged that he actually threatened Huo Jinyu with the extermination of her nine relations.
"The old saying is true! Like father, like son. Today, your son feared not even the Heavenly King himself, and now you, the Prefect, want to exterminate Our nine relations! What audacious gall!" Huo Jinyu clasped her hands behind her back, her voice stern and severe. An overwhelming aura, unlike that of any ordinary person, formed a terrifying pressure that bore down directly on the Prefect. Startled, the Prefect dropped to his knees! He… he… he hadn't misheard, had he? "Our"? Could it be the Emperor in person?! No! Impossible! He must have misheard!
The Prefect knelt on the ground, trying to rise but unable to. The sheer force of that aura made cold sweat stream down his face. He couldn't believe his ears. No! This was absolutely impossible!
"Father! Father, save me! Who cares who he is, just have the soldiers kill him! As long as we suppress it, it'll be fine, Father!" The Prefect's eldest son on the ground slowly regained consciousness. Still unaware of what was happening, he saw his father before him and began to clamor without a second thought.
With a clang, a cold blade was drawn from its sheath, stirring a gust of wind as it came to rest against the neck of the Prefect's eldest son. The one who had drawn the sword was Huo Jinyu. She could no longer stand the prattling of this brainless fool, so she had casually drawn the sword from a nearby guard and placed it on his neck.
The Prefect's son was instantly scared half to death and fell silent. Suddenly, Huo Jinyu heard a dripping sound. Looking down, she saw that the Prefect's son had actually wet himself in terror!
Huo Jinyu frowned in disgust. With a flick of her wrist, she drew a line of blood across his neck. "Aaaahhh!!" Feeling the pain, the Prefect's son let out a terrified shriek.
The Prefect, kneeling on the ground, was already dumbstruck. A breeze blew past, lifting the corner of Huo Jinyu's robe and revealing a gleaming, dark gold Jade-Inlaid Gold Medallion hanging from her waist.
Even if the Prefect had never seen a pig run, he had eaten pork. He had naturally heard of the dark gold Jade-Inlaid Gold Medallion. Only members of the imperial family had the right to possess one—it was a symbol of status! A symbol of the imperial clan! And the person before him not only held such a medallion but also referred to herself as "Our"!
Standing before him was the very Heavenly King his son claimed not to fear—Huo Jinyu! The reigning sovereign! This time, his son hadn't just kicked an iron plate; he had stepped right into a furnace!
The Prefect sat on the ground, his legs weak, his whole body trembling with fear. Why would the Emperor be running around Jiangnan of all places? And how did his precious son manage to run into her? The Prefect's son was still wailing on the ground, but the Prefect knew with chilling clarity that not only was his official post forfeit, but his precious son's life was in grave danger! But perhaps there was still a chance to salvage this?
"Qing'er! Shut your mouth! Kneel and apologize to this Young Master at once!" The Prefect, still on the ground, summoned his strength and roared at his precious son with all his might. He was clever enough not to reveal Huo Jinyu's identity. "Why should I, Father! Father, save me! I don't want to die here!" The young man in green was a true fool, unable to read the situation and still shouting nonsense.
Huo Jinyu's face darkened. She withdrew her hand and returned the sword to the guard. "Before this beautiful Jiangnan scenery, We do not wish for it to be tainted by this scoundrel's blood. Silence him and bring him with Us to their manor. We intend to deal with these dregs of humanity properly." The guard acknowledged the order, sheathed the sword, and stepped forward to deliver another round of punches and kicks to the Prefect's son. He only stopped after the man had spat out two teeth, his face swollen to a great height.
Huo Jinyu took Yan Xi's hand, walked through the ranks of guards, and went straight to the carriage. The Prefect, supported by guards, stood up with trembling legs and ordered the driver to head for the manor.
A large contingent of guards followed the Prefect's carriage, marching grandly through the streets. What the common folk found astonishing was that the usually haughty Prefect was now walking wretchedly outside his carriage, looking thoroughly terrified. But an even greater shock was yet to come! At the rear of the procession, a guard was dragging a rope. At the other end of the rope was a living person, and this person was none other than the infamous eldest son of the Prefect, Zhang Yuqing, the scourge of Yuan'an City! At this moment, the young master who committed all manner of evil was being miserably dragged along the ground. The side of his body scraping against the pavement was already a bloody mess. Having been pampered his whole life, how could he endure this? He was howling in agony on the ground.
Along the way, the Prefect no longer cared about losing face. His most urgent concern now was how to protect his own life and the lives of his entire family. Offending the imperial family was already an unforgivable crime, let alone offending the reigning sovereign and trying to throw their weight around in front of her. This was the end of him! The Prefect sighed deeply. It seemed his life would be ruined at the hands of his eldest son.
Upon arriving at the Zhang Manor, Huo Jinyu led Yan Xi into the public hall and took the main seat.
The guards split into two rows and stood on either side of the hall. One guard dragged the Prefect's son in and threw him onto the floor in the center. His hands were numb from dragging this useless waste all the way here.
The Prefect also hurried in and fell to the ground with a thud. "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! My son is ignorant! He did not know it was Your Majesty in person and offended you. I beg Your Majesty to spare our lives!" The Prefect knelt on the floor, weeping bitter tears.
Huo Jinyu gave a signal with her eyes. A guard immediately brought in a basin of cold water from outside and poured it directly over the Prefect's son. The shock of the cold water revived him.
The young master felt a searing pain all over his body, and his face was so swollen he couldn't even manage a groan.
"Men! Administer the cane to this young master. And put some strength into it for Us!" Huo Jinyu slammed the gavel, her voice booming. The Prefect jumped in fright.
Two guards brought down their canes on the back of the Prefect's son, one strike after another, producing a sickening thud that set one's teeth on edge. The Prefect cried until he was about to faint, begging for mercy ceaselessly.
After a good while, Huo Jinyu waved her hand, and the caning finally stopped. The Prefect scrambled over, wailing loudly. His son was already breathing his last, with air only going out and none coming in.
Huo Jinyu watched for a moment longer, found it dull, and ordered the guards to drag the Prefect to the prison to be held. She then ordered two other guards to carry the son's corpse out of the city, dig a pit, and give it a simple burial.
Back on the pleasure boat, Huo Jinyu had already ordered her guard captain to send a rider back to the imperial city on a fast horse to notify the Minister of Personnel to arrange for a new Prefect to be sent to Yuan'an City.
As for the imprisoned Prefect Zhang, Huo Jinyu decided to let the new Prefect deal with him upon his arrival. The most important thing now was to confiscate the assets of this Prefect Zhang's household!
Huo Jinyu took the prefectural order and commanded the soldiers to raid the Zhang Manor. And raid they did, uncovering a great deal of treasure. Yuan'an City was the most prosperous city in the Jiangnan region. As its Prefect, he had received countless bribes of gold, silver, and jewels from wealthy merchants and officials during every festival, major or minor. This haul was truly bountiful! Huo Jinyu had the guards collect it all, to be turned over to the national treasury upon their return!
This trip to Jiangnan was not in vain! Huo Jinyu thought to herself with a secret delight.
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