Chu Chenyi looked speechlessly at the two figures walking ahead, feeling utterly insulted. They were bullying him mercilessly, acting this way simply because he was alone. It was truly… despicable.
Especially Ling Mohan, who had now become so infatuated that he'd forget his loyal friends of so many years, the ones he'd faced life and death with.
“Your Highness Prince Jing, if you don’t hurry up, you’ll have to ride by yourself.”
Reaching the entrance, Feng Jin suddenly remembered someone had been left behind and quickly urged him on.
Time was of the essence, and if Chu Chenyi didn’t come soon, she’d have to leave without him.
Hearing her voice, Chu Chenyi strode forward, but the other two were already long gone.
“Your Highness Prince Jing, my young general and his lady are waiting for you in the carriage,” Lu Shi reported.
Chu Chenyi glanced at the carriage behind him, a few dark lines appearing on his forehead. If he’d had any sense, he wouldn’t have gotten into the carriage to share it with these two.
“I’ll ride my horse!” Chu Chenyi said through gritted teeth, then mounted his horse.
He, a dignified prince, how had he now been reduced to a mere scout on horseback? The drop in status was truly immense.
Feng Jin lifted the carriage curtain and saw Chu Chenyi walking at the front. She couldn’t help but chuckle and said to the man beside her, “You know, having Prince Jing lead the way on horseback really does give off a majestic aura.”
“You pulled me into the carriage first, just so Prince Jing would ride ahead of you.”
Ling Mohan had been wondering why Feng Jin had been so hasty in dragging him into the carriage. So this was her plan.
“When we return to the capital, I still have to do things for him. Having him lead the way on horseback now is sort of paying back a favor.”
Feng Jin, enjoying her moment of borrowed power, hadn’t had enough before they’d already arrived.
“Let’s get off.” Ling Mohan went down first, extending his hand to help Feng Jin out of the carriage.
“Why is it so close? I just started to feel something, and it’s already over.”
Feng Jin grumbled with dissatisfaction, blaming Fan Shun for building his estate so close to the post station. It had only taken less than fifteen minutes. She even suspected that Chu Chenyi might have sped up on purpose, embarrassed by the situation.
“There will be plenty of opportunities later. Let’s go inside and watch the show first.”
Ling Mohan held Feng Jin’s hand and walked forward. As he stepped over the threshold, he felt a gust of wind brush past his ear.
When Feng Jin shifted her gaze, all she saw was Chu Chenyi’s proud back, walking in like a peacock displaying its feathers.
He was quite arrogant now. She wondered if he’d still be so haughty when they returned to the capital.
“Your subordinate greets Your Highness Prince Jing, General Ling!”
Upon hearing the news, Fan Shun hurried over. From a distance, he looked like a ball of fat bouncing towards them. Feng Jin instinctively hid behind Ling Mohan, intimidated by Fan Shun’s sheer size, estimated to be around two hundred pounds.
In this harsh border region with its scarcity of food and clothing, it was quite an achievement for Fan Shun to have maintained such a portly figure.
How much did he have to eat every day to get so fat? Feng Jin did a rough calculation in her mind, resulting in an astronomical figure that stunned even herself. Truly a hearty appetite, a hearty appetite indeed…
Fan Shun’s eyes lit up as he caught sight of Feng Jin hiding behind Ling Mohan. “Is this Madam Ling? I only caught a fleeting glimpse of you that day and was already astonished by your beauty. Now, to…”
“Ah…” A pig-like scream pierced the sky, startling the sparrows perched on the trees, causing them to flap their wings and fly away in a panic.
Ling Mohan had put all his strength into that kick. Fan Shun, already corpulent, was sent flying several meters away and landed on the ground, unable to get up for a moment, resembling an overturned turtle.
Feng Jin couldn’t help but laugh at his pathetic state, mockingly saying, “Look… look at him now, doesn’t he resemble… resemble a flipped turtle…”
With Feng Jin’s reminder, Chu Chenyi couldn’t help but draw the parallel. The more he looked, the more it fit. He struggled to suppress his laughter.
“If you utter another word of nonsense, I will pull out your tongue and feed it to the dogs!”
Ling Mohan’s eyes were filled with murderous intent, his thin lips tightly pursed, his anger barely contained.
Fan Shun, with the help of his servants, finally managed to stand up. His chest ached fiercely from the kick, and even speaking felt like his chest was about to split open.
“Your subordinate… your subordinate would never dare…”
Ling Mohan, his face cold, grasped Feng Jin’s hand, asserting his claim, and walked directly towards the inner hall.
Sensing that the situation was unfavorable, Fan Shun whispered a few words to the servant beside him before being helped by a few others to the inner hall.
Before Fan Shun could even speak, Ling Mohan threw a stack of impeachment memorials onto his face.
“These are accusations from the citizens of Yuncheng, charging you with bullying the weak and seizing property… Fan Shun, do you acknowledge this!”
Fan Shun glanced at the scattered impeachment memorials, and his heart sank. He realized that the game was up. Not only would his future wealth and honor be lost, but his very head might not be spared. Fan Shun quickly explained, “Your Highness, General, your subordinate has never done such things. This has… has nothing to do with your subordinate. Someone must be trying to harm me… frame me!”
Ling Mohan had expected Fan Shun to deny it. However, he still had one last card to play.
“Since you refuse to admit it, then we shall hold an open trial. Press Fan Shun into hard labor first, and when the yamen opens, this general will personally preside over this case.”
“Yes, Young General!”
Lu Shi beckoned, and the men behind him stepped forward and dragged the terrified and stunned Fan Shun away.
“You’re being overly complicated. Why bother opening the yamen to convict Fan Shun? It would have been more satisfying to just lop off his head directly!” Chu Chenyi stretched, feeling that Ling Mohan was simply too idle, always wanting to do things in such a roundabout way.
“Fan Shun has been the commander here in Yuncheng for nearly ten years. His influence is deeply entrenched, a veritable local emperor. If killing just Fan Shun could resolve the matter, would I go to such great lengths? What I am worried about is that after Fan Shun’s death, some of his subordinates might cause trouble. This time, we need to eradicate these cancerous growths completely.”
He had planned this for a long time, waiting for this day to remove the great cancerous growth, Fan Shun, from Yuncheng.
“This Prince has already requested an imperial decree from His Majesty to appoint a new commander for Yuncheng, ensuring no unrest.”
“Your Highness Prince Jing’s consideration is indeed thorough. It must have been difficult for you.”
Compared to before, Ling Mohan was deeply gratified that Chu Chenyi could think this far. Fortunately, there had been some progress in recent days.
“Everything this Prince considers and does is thorough and proper!”
Chu Chenyi stated, then walked straight ahead.