Free Web NovelChapter 678: Chapter 678: So This Is How You Want to Play
"What is going on?" Imperial Censor Qi asked loudly, bewildered and anxious.
A door being pounded in the middle of the night is terrifying for anyone.
The knocking suddenly ceased.
After a brief silence, the butler’s anxious voice could be heard.
He retreated while scolding in panic: "Miss Qin, how dare you intrude into someone else’s mansion! My lord is already asleep. If you have anything, come back tomorrow!"
"No, this is urgent and must be reported to the lord immediately!"
Hearing the unfamiliar female voice coming from outside the courtyard, Imperial Censor Qi and his servant exchanged glances. "Who?"
The servant shook his head; he didn’t know either.
During this brief moment, footsteps had already reached outside the door.
The butler and two guards holding wooden sticks blocked the door to Lord Qi’s room.
And in front of them stood Qin Yao, holding a martial artist tied up with ropes.
She, a woman holding someone, managed to get to the door, overpowering the three men who couldn’t stop her.
"Lord Qi! I am your new neighbor, the one you met before. You must remember, right?" Qin Yao shouted towards the door.
Imperial Censor Qi was greatly shocked within, thinking how improper it was for a married woman to break into a neighbor’s house at night!
The door creaked open, and the butler, seeing his master, opened his mouth to explain something, but upon seeing Imperial Censor Qi’s dark expression as he gestured for them all to withdraw, sighed helplessly, looking more displeased with Qin Yao.
He must go inform the madam, or else there will be many misunderstandings.
"Lady Liu?" Imperial Censor Qi looked at Qin Yao, who held the martial artist, frowning so hard it could crush a mosquito.
Qin Yao nodded and politely addressed Lord Qi, pulling the cloth from the martial artist’s mouth and whispering in his ear:
"This is Imperial Censor Lord Qi, who is responsible for supervising all officials. This is a rare opportunity; speak quickly."
The martial artist, with a look of surprise, glanced between Qin Yao and Imperial Censor Qi, quickly figuring out the situation and knelt down with a thud.
"My lord! I am a common martial artist with something to report to you!"
The moment the martial artist spoke, Imperial Censor Qi felt a bad premonition, raising his hand to silence him, but the martial artist, having just eaten, was full of energy and spilled everything about the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace covering up Prince Feng’s embezzlement and disregard for human life in one go.
Initially, Imperial Censor Qi was merely shocked, but halfway through realizing he shouldn’t hear this, he tried to cover his ears, but the martial artist’s voice was as loud as a bell, making it impossible for him not to listen.
In the end, not only did Imperial Censor Qi hear everything clearly, but the rest of the Qi household, hurriedly called by the butler, also heard about sixty to seventy percent of it.
The martial artist kowtowed deeply, his eyes red as if crying blood, shouting hoarsely: "Please, my lord, seek justice for this humble one!"
For a moment, the entire courtyard was so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Mrs. Qi reacted first, glaring fiercely at the servants around and quickly dismissing the idlers.
Soon, only Imperial Censor Qi and his wife, along with Qin Yao and the kneeling martial artist, were left in the courtyard.
Mrs. Qi strode forward, grabbing the back-facing Qin Yao, gritting her teeth and angrily questioning:
"What ill intentions do you harbor? Just because we didn’t attend your housewarming banquet, you retaliate against the Qi family like this, you malicious woman!"
Qin Yao yanked back her hand in one move, with Mrs. Qi stumbling and nearly falling from the force she didn’t control.
Mrs. Qi appeared to be in her thirties. It was Qin Yao’s first time seeing her. This lady typically stayed within the inner residence and seldom attended banquets; just meeting her was quite difficult.
"Mrs. Qi, these words are incorrect. Although I, Qin Yao, am just a humble citizen, I know to separate public from private matters."
Facing Imperial Censor Qi, who stood trembling at the study door, unsure if angered or scared, Qin Yao spoke loudly:
"Supervising all officials and impeaching with suggestions is precisely the duty of the Imperial Censor. This martial artist was being pursued by assailants, fainting in the back alley between our two houses today. I initially thought it was a thief and was preparing to hand him over to the government office, unexpectedly unveiling such a huge matter."
"This involves the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace and Prince Feng. As a humble citizen, I am deeply afraid and have come seeking the Imperial Censor’s justice for the people. What’s wrong with that?"
Imperial Censor Qi took a deep breath, raising a hand to still his wife, who was about to speak, nodding towards Qin Yao: "There is nothing wrong, it is indeed my responsibility."
"However..." Imperial Censor Qi walked up to the martial artist, eyes piercing, staring hard at him, "Do you know what you just said, martial artist? Matters involving the crown heir, without concrete evidence, I cannot present such accusations to His Majesty based on just a few words from a humble citizen."
"If not handled properly, both you and I would lose our heads!"
The latter remark was directed at Qin Yao as a warning.
Now he was only hoping that everyone in this manor would keep silent about tonight’s incident, so everyone could remain safe.
"Has the madam told a third person about this matter?" Imperial Censor Qi solemnly confirmed.
However, Qin Yao’s response was unexpected.
She suddenly smiled slightly, raising a hand to her ear, making a gesture to "listen" towards the outside.
Imperial Censor Qi and Mrs. Qi instinctively held their breath, listening towards the street.
The sound of the copper gong resonated, and someone was knocking on every door in Kuanzheng Square, shouting: "Thief caught! Everyone come out and see!"
"The thief dropped a lot of gold and silver jewelry; everyone come see if there’s anything you lost!"
The sound grew louder, spreading wider, as it wasn’t yet the time for deep sleep. Most families were still awake, and hearing the gong, quickly opened their doors to ask: "Where’s the thief? Where is he?"
Someone pointed towards the Qi mansion: "Already sent to the Imperial Censor’s house, everyone hurry and reclaim your property!"
The faces of Imperial Censor Qi and his wife changed drastically.
The butler came shouting: "My lord, madam, this is not good! Many people are heading towards our house, you should go out and see, even the workshop owner has arrived!"
In the capital, each of the more than a hundred markets had a workshop owner responsible for daily mediation of various matters within the market.
Excluding the residences that occupied a whole market like those of the nobles and royal mansions which didn’t have workshop owners, the remaining markets had eighty-five workshop owners.
These workshop owners were generally respected middle-aged or older men.
Even the officials living in the square would give the workshop owner some respect when encountering them.
Listening to the noise outside, it seemed like the entire Kuanzheng Square was waking up.
The martial artist turned back in awe at Qin Yao standing behind him, suddenly feeling truly fortunate to have met her.
Perhaps he really could seek justice for the deceased class leader and his companions, without dying unjustly.
Qin Yao looked at the trembling with anger Imperial Censor Qi couple, "Given the situation, I have a..."
Imperial Censor Qi raised his hand in horror: "I don’t want to know, don’t say it, shut up!"
Qin Yao pressed down his hand gently, smiling amicably: "No, you do want to know, because you’ve heard it."
"I have a way where nobody needs to lose their head. We’ve already stirred things up; indeed, as long as you, my lord, follow the law and hand over this martial artist - the thief - to the workshop owner, sending him to the Capital Prefecture government office."
