Chapter 77: Just Messing with Them

Chapter 77: Just Messing with Them

“You join in first. Later, This Prince has some good news to share with you.”

Xiao Ce sat down in his seat, looking down on the crowd as he spoke.

Everyone listening felt their legs go a little weak. They couldn’t shake the feeling that the ‘good news’ from Xiao Ce’s mouth might not be all that good!

“Since you’re on our side now, Xiao Jiu, go get some rice porridge, steamed buns, and things like that to fill everyone’s stomachs a bit.”

Xiao Jiu bowed in agreement and clapped his hands.

A group of servants came in carrying many bowls of plain porridge and simple side dishes.

“Everyone, it has been a long time since you last ate. You shouldn’t have rich, heavy food right away. So, we’ll have you eat something light first. Another day, when This Prince officially hosts a banquet, you will certainly be treated with fine wine and delicious dishes.”

The merchants repeatedly waved their hands, indicating it was no trouble at all.

Xiao Ce also asked for a portion; he hadn’t eaten anything since early morning either.

…

Meanwhile, in the Rites Hall, the remaining members of the noble clans and prominent families had all gone to find their respective Family Heads.

They were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

At this moment, they were truly afraid…

They were scared to death.

Because the way those officials had been tied up with ropes earlier made it seem like Xiao Ce wasn’t just pretending.

After all, he even dared to kill Bao An.

Cai Tianming watched their panicked state and snorted coldly. “Enough, what are you all afraid of? Let me tell you, Xiao Ce is just trying to scare us… If he really wanted to kill people, he would have done it quietly and secretly. Why would he specifically tell us about it… what does that mean? It means he’s just trying to scare us!”

Lin Shou chimed in, “Exactly, everyone, you can all relax. If Xiao Ce wanted to kill us, he would have done so long ago. If he wanted to kill us, why would he keep us alive until now? He’s just trying to put psychological pressure on us. He wants to gain some advantage when negotiating with us!”

Liu Xuan nodded in agreement. “Everyone, as long as you stand with us on the same side. If we unite, Xiao Ce won’t dare touch us. Why did he go after those officials? Because those officials have no backing. Even if they are killed, it’s the lowest cost option!”

“And we are different. Not even mentioning us four Great Clans. Even you, from the various prominent families, he wouldn’t dare to touch! Understand?”

After listening to the words of the Family Heads of the clans, everyone became less panicked.

…

Just as they were discussing matters inside, a voice suddenly came from outside.

“Hey, everyone inside, queue up and come out quickly!”

The voice belonged to Xiao Jiu!

Hearing this, the Family Heads of the noble clans showed expressions of having guessed correctly.

They said to the Family Heads of the prominent families beside them, “See… he’s coming for us!”

“So what should we do later?”

Cai Tianming couldn’t help but raise his head slightly higher, then said, “What’s there to say? Later, just watch our expressions and act accordingly! No matter what he says, we won’t speak, and you shouldn’t speak either… and don’t be scared by them either.”

After hearing Cai Tianming’s words, everyone nodded repeatedly.

Kan Zongye said to the crowd, “However, everyone, no matter what, don’t be too aggressive. We need to escape first before we can contend with him.”

Everyone, for once, nodded in unified agreement.

A group of people lined up according to their noble clan, forming four lines, and then walked out.

Once outside, they saw a fully armed unit of one hundred soldiers standing by and watching.

Xiao Jiu glanced at them and said, “Alright, follow me.”

After hearing Xiao Jiu’s words, everyone followed.

However, after walking for a while, they realized something was wrong.

They had come here more than once or twice and were already very familiar with the layout of the area.

They were now heading towards the outside of the city.

Cai Tianming raised his voice, “Hey, where are you taking us?”

Xiao Jiu shot a glance at Cai Tianming. “To see the Prince, of course.”

“See the Prince? This is heading out of the city!” Cai Tianming said with a furrowed brow.

Xiao Jiu looked at Cai Tianming and said, “I know! If you don’t want to come, you can roll back to the Rites Hall!”

Cai Tianming’s face flushed bright red. He pointed at Xiao Jiu and said, “You…”

Fortunately, he was stopped by someone next to him.

……

On the city wall of the Temporary Palace, Zhang Yunqing had already brought the merchants to stand in an orderly line, watching from the wall.

An Execution Platform had been set up below the city.

Beside the platform were the heads of Bao An, Bao Cong, and Cai Wu. Xiao Jiu had sent people earlier to retrieve them.

Bao Cong had died the second day after Bao An’s death. Partly from infected wounds, and partly from being literally scared to death.

On the Execution Platform now knelt over forty officials.

These individuals had completely lost the arrogance and domineering attitude they had before. Their eyes were empty, and their bodies shivered uncontrollably.

“Shopkeeper Zhang, what does the Prince mean by this? Why did he have us come here? To watch a beheading?”

“We’ve already sworn our loyalty to the Prince. Doesn’t the Prince trust us?”

“Shopkeeper Zhang, it won’t be our turn next, will it… The food they gave us earlier, it wasn’t a last meal, was it…”

…

The more the merchants talked, the more frightened they became!

Zhang Yunqing said to everyone, “Everyone, don’t overthink it. The Prince simply wants you to watch. He said he would govern the Four Northern Desert Prefectures properly, and he means it. Starting with these corrupt officials! Besides, you don’t understand the Prince well enough! If the Prince really wanted you dead, he wouldn’t give you a last meal. Look at those about to die, the people kneeling there. They haven’t had a single bite to eat.”

Everyone’s expressions eased up a little.

“You’re sure we won’t die?”

Zhang Yunqing said, “I’m sure you won’t die! The Prince’s meaning is simple! If you sincerely work for the Prince, the Prince will not treat you poorly! Of course, if you dare to become the Prince’s enemy, those people are your example!”

Everyone nodded repeatedly, their emotions were very complex.

Actually, it was such a simple principle, how could they not know it? What they didn’t know was how long Xiao Ce could last.

If Xiao Ce could establish himself here, pleasing Xiao Ce would definitely be a sure-profit business.

But, if Xiao Ce’s enthusiasm was short-lived, and Xiao Ce was later taken down by the people from the noble clans, they would be the next ones in trouble.

As they were talking, they saw Xiao Jiu leading a line of fully armed soldiers, bringing a group of Family Heads from the noble clans and prominent families.

After these Family Heads arrived, they lined up in a row.

Cai Tianming looked down at the base of the city wall. With one glance, he saw the officials they had arranged, kneeling one by one on an Execution Platform.

“What is the meaning of this!”

Xiao Jiu said to the crowd, “The Prince ordered that you all see this. These people have not only betrayed the Great Xiao Kingdom but also the common people. He wants you all to take a look.”

Cai Tianming looked at his son’s head, Cai Wu’s head, hanging there just like that. His face darkened, and his fists clenched tightly.

“He dares? Even if it’s the Death Penalty, it’s not his place to carry it out! The Great Xiao Kingdom has its own laws!”

Xiao Jiu walked straight up to Cai Tianming, staring directly into his eyes. “Do you object?”

Cai Tianming’s face twitched slightly. If normally a subordinate dared to speak to him like this, he would have died tens of thousands of times over.

However, he dared not show his anger now and could only suppress the fury inside.

“I was only stating the law of the Great Xiao Kingdom. Even if the Prince is a prince, he must abide by the law.”

Xiao Jiu said to Cai Tianming, “The Prince said that when he comes, he is the law of the Northern Desert. He hopes you get used to it!”

After saying that, he looked at Cai Tianming and asked, “Are you not convinced? I can take you to see the Prince! But I can’t guarantee that the Prince won’t make an example of you.”

Cai Tianming immediately shut his mouth.

Because he had previously thought that Xiao Ce would not dare to kill so many court officials.

But looking at the scene outside the city, there were thousands of onlookers.

These were all Bonded People with tattoos on their faces. They had long detested these corrupt officials.

Clearly, Xiao Ce had stirred up such a big commotion that not killing anyone would make it impossible to end the situation.

He was afraid that Xiao Ce might get carried away and chop off his head too.

Seeing that he stopped talking,

Xiao Jiu deliberately raised his voice and shouted, “Those of you watching here, watch properly and do not make any sound! You must take this as a warning! Do not do things that betray the country or the people!”

This place was not far from the Execution Platform, and Xiao Jiu was shouting loudly.

So, the people on the Execution Platform heard him.

They instinctively looked over. Many officials saw the Family Heads of the Four Great Clans.

Seeing them, they felt as if they had grabbed their last lifeline.

“Cai Tianming! You told me to listen to you… You said you would protect me! Come save me quickly! Save me! I don’t want to die…”

“Liu Xuan! Come save me… I’m dying for you… Come save me… If you don’t save me, I won’t let you off even as a ghost… You said you would take care of me… I don’t want to die…”

“Lin Shou! What are you looking at? Come save me quickly…”

“Kan Zongye, save me! If you don’t save me… don’t blame me…”

Those waiting to be executed, seeing this, no longer called them by their respectful titles but shouted their names directly!

They were all frantic because they knew Xiao Ce was fully intent on killing.

Their only hope for survival lay with them.

They pleaded and threatened at the same time.

Listening to their words, the Family Heads of the Four Great Clans found it extremely grating.

Some officials even began listing their crimes directly, saying they were the ones who deserved to die.

This made them furious.

Cai Tianming shouted directly, “Don’t you dare slander me! Don’t talk nonsense. Remember, your families are still over there! Whatever you do, think about your families.”

One official, seeing this, went mad and shouted out.

“Cai dog! You’re threatening me with my family. If you dare touch a single hair on my family’s head, I won’t let you off even as a ghost! Cai dog, I did so many things for you! And you threaten me even as I’m about to die… Then don’t blame me for being impolite…”

“Family Head Kan, remember how your beloved youngest daughter was violated by the Turks? That was arranged and paid for by Cai Tianming… Those weren’t Turks at all…”

Cai Tianming’s face turned red with panic. “You’re talking rubbish… Tian… You’re talking rubbish. I will wipe out your entire family!”

The official kneeling on the ground grew frantic and cursed back, “Fine! You want to kill my whole family! Then I have even more reason to talk… I’ll spill all your dirty secrets…”

Seeing this, Cai Tianming almost roared in desperation, “Shut up… shut up! You shut the hell up!”

Unfortunately, one was on the city wall, and the other was below. There was no way to stop it.

After Cai Tianming lost his composure, he could only curse back, and soon it turned into a dog-eat-dog shouting match!

On the city wall, Xiao Ce listened to the dog-eat-dog conversation, smiled, and said to Qian Lai beside him, “As expected, revelations among acquaintances are quite entertaining!”

Qian Lai looked at Xiao Ce with some admiration and said, “Prince, was this your plan?”

Xiao Ce smiled slightly at Qian Lai and said to him, “Add fuel to the fire. Send someone to whisper beside each of them that if they expose others well, perhaps This Prince will spare their lives.”

Qian Lai looked at Xiao Ce with surprise and said, “Prince, do you really intend to let them off? That might hurt the people’s trust. These commoners have finally…”

Before Qian Lai could finish, Xiao Ce interrupted him, “How could that be? They must die today! I’m just toying with them, adding fuel to the fire! It seems these people are still hiding a lot. If they can reveal each other’s backstabbing deeds, it will also add fuel to the fire and make my next plan go even more smoothly!”