CHAPTER 1068: CHAPTER 589: BEHIND A THOUSAND BLACK-CLAD COMMONERS (PART 2)

On the other side, Xu Wenyan, seeing the situation deteriorating, was about to dismount. However, being overweight, he was a step too slow and bitterly called out for his attendants. The Xiping soldiers hastily shielded the Young Master with their bodies, many having stones hitting their heads, swelling them up, and they shouted in anger and surprise.

At this moment, faced with the overwhelming projectiles from the high skies, even the well-trained soldiers and cultivation martial artists were caught off guard.

The previously domineering Commandery Princess and the Young Master became the focus, and the guards could only desperately try to protect the two Highnesses from being "attacked".

Chaos erupted at the scene, one side being the passionate and well-trained crowd of a thousand citizens angrily swearing at the rebels while throwing, and the other, the humiliated and dodging royal mansion team, hindered by their envoy status and not daring to retaliate. It was truly a sight to behold.

"My lord... My lord..." The Minister of the Ministry of Rites was dumbfounded, standing in place dazed, only recovering his senses when feeling the pull and shout of nearby officials. Instinctively wanting to hide, they surprisingly found that they happened to be in an area not covered by the flying objects, and raising their heads, they just saw countless projectiles trace high parabolic arcs overhead.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites was delighted but pretended a furious face, hurriedly shouting: "Stop throwing!", "Don’t throw!", "You audacious troublemakers, stop!"

But the half-hearted stance was almost written across his face.

"..." The other nearby officials, seeing this, mimicked him, weakly trying to mediate.

In the distance.

On the Observation Tower.

Sun Lianying stared dumbfounded at the scene, not coming back to her senses for a long time, then turned her head to Zhao Douan and spoke in a melancholic tone: "Was this arranged by you?"

Zhao Douan, with a posture of purity, spoke righteously: "Why would you judge me without evidence? This must be the Capital citizens learning of the envoy’s arrival, and in a state of indignation, spontaneously gathering to express their grievances. Alas, in the event of a war, it is always the people who suffer the most. What has this got to do with me?"

Sun Lianying was almost amused by his shamelessness, pointing at him: "You brat... you brat... really..."

In the end, the old eunuch burst into laughter, muttering: "Only you could come up with and dare to execute such a crooked idea."

What a joke.

At the foot of the Emperor, who could mobilize such a large number of citizens to specifically wait for the envoy? There is no one but Zhao Douan.

And all this was obviously pre-arranged.

Sun Lianying leisurely watched, pondering for a while, then praised: "Though this move is a bit reckless, when thought through it’s a clever mistake, suppressing their arrogance a bit. But how did you know in advance this envoy would not behave? Deliberately arriving late? To give the court a show of strength?"

Zhao Douan didn’t tease or feign ignorance this time, calmly saying: "I didn’t know, just prepared for the worst, besides, I had planned that even if this group entered the city politely, to still give them a wave of public grievance. Ha, I’m not one of those book-smart scholars who stupidly adheres to the principle of ’if the enemy makes no move, I make no move.’ We’re already at the stage of breaking skulls, what’s the use of feigning humility? Do these people still think they can manipulate the court? I intended to deal with them right from the beginning, to give them a show of power."

Sun Lianying remained silent for a moment, then sighed: "The Emperor was right to have you watch them. Ha, making the citizens act, you truly maximized the home-field advantage. The envoy chose peace talks, no matter how angry they get, they wouldn’t dare to slaughter Capital citizens in broad daylight, or it would spell their doom. With so many people, even if the envoy later demands punishment, at most, they’ll head some scapegoats. By then, randomly pulling a death row convict from the prison as a scapegoat, they won’t have a word to say, only able to swallow this indignity silently. But I’m curious, where did you find such a fearless group of citizens?"

Zhao Douan, in an unusually calm tone, stated: "The Red Flower Society is already under the Imperial Court’s orders. As for these citizens, many have family members in Xiping and Iron Pass Road. The war over there these past months also claimed lives of citizens’ family members from here in the Capital."

Sun Lianying fell into silence.

The cold wind blew, snowflakes danced on the Observation Tower, revealing the weathered wooden frame beneath, worn by the elements.

Both the old and young quietly watched the conflict ahead.

By this time, those accompanying the envoy could no longer bear it, intending to use force to drive them away. Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan, stationed in nearby alleys, simultaneously blew their whistles.

Upon hearing the signal, members of the Red Flower Society mixed in the crowd began leading the citizens to retreat.

Simultaneously, Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan lazily waved their hands, leading the Jinyi Captains, who had been waiting in nearby alleys, to charge out, pretending to have rushed to maintain order.

Thousands of citizens, under the guidance of these lower-level gang members, quickly dispersed in a hubbub.

In a blink, the long street became vacant again, the ground littered with dirty footprints, stones, rotten eggs, wilted leaves...

"What happened? We arrived late in our rescue; is the envoy alright?" Hou Renmeng, clutching his blade, strode over boldly.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites and others saw this group of Jinyi, their expressions turning strange, yet they cooperatively took part in the act.

Furiously questioning how the Jinyi let these troublemakers appear, then turning back to comfort the Commandery Princess and the Young Master.

It was not until now that Xu Xueling snapped out of her stupor, her fair face flushed with anger, held back by an old minister by her side, who advised her, "Commandery Princess, continuing to make a fuss will only bring more shame."

The old minister gestured towards the houses along the street nearby—just moments ago, the scene undoubtedly had been witnessed by countless pairs of eyes hiding indoors.

"Young Master..." Mr. Feng also helped the Fat Prince up from behind the carriage.

Xu Wenyan, panting as he stood, cast a deep glance at the arriving Jinyi, then turned his eyes to the ragged diplomatic team, sighed silently, and resumed his dazed and forlorn expression: "Do the people here not welcome us."

Xu Xueling wasn’t as patient, clutching her small whip tightly, she angrily declared, "Later I will report this to His Majesty."

Harsh words left behind, the diplomatic team continued their journey, this time not daring to be ostentatious, but instead quickened their pace towards the Imperial Palace.

Fortunately, most of those hit in the envoy were only guards, not delaying the meeting of important individuals with the Emperor.

"I must also head to the palace." Sun Lianying sighed, folding her sleeves, and walked downstairs where a carriage awaited to take him to the palace.

The arrival of the envoy, by reason or propriety, would be met by the Empress accompanied by ministers.

This marked the true first confrontation.

"Hehe, I’ll not join the commotion." Zhao Douan chuckled, glanced one last time in the direction of the envoy, then stepped downstairs, bidding farewell to Sun Lianying.

After waiting for a while, Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan walked over from afar, stepping on snow, amidst the cold winds of winter. A group of knife-wielding imperial guards had flushed faces, as if they had done something greatly satisfying.

"Sir." The group stopped and saluted Zhao Douan in unison.

Zhao Douan responded with a nod of approval, "Well done. You should return to the government office first. If the envoy retaliates, handle it as I instructed before. Heh, this is our territory. If they do not behave, what reason do we have to be intimidated by their bluster? Granting them a concession is merely to consider the court’s dignity. If they truly remain ignorant, sending them to the bottom of the Hun River is no challenge."

A group of imperial guards listened in stunned silence, thinking the Deputy Arresting Officer’s tone was quite bold, yet none took it seriously.

Though the envoy seeks peace, the court must also care? If truly indifferent, why respond to the request for peace?

Ultimately, in this delicate situation, the court needs to dismantle the threat posed by the two Vassal Kings to focus on dealing with Prince Jing.

The two Vassal Kings hope to use their support of Prince Jing as leverage to extract benefits or a commitment from the Empress.

Because of this negotiation basis, Xu Xueling and Xu Wenyan dared to provoke, compelled to endure the "public opinion."

Both sides struggle against each other, yet control the intensity, unwilling to truly "overstep."

Thus, they regarded the words of the White-faced Arresting Officer as mere bluster.

Only Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan, who knew Zhao Douan’s identity, felt a chill, exchanged glances, and saw each other’s alarm.

They were well aware that their superior never made empty threats, sincerely capable of sinking the envoy.

With this in mind, both couldn’t help but sweat for Xu Wenyan and Xu Xueling.

"Dismiss." Zhao Douan waved a hand, sending his subordinates back, then walked alone in the silent Capital.

Today the envoy would make their first court appearance. According to custom, negotiations would not begin directly, they would first settle down, then proceed at the Ministry of Rites.

So, Zhao Douan intended to probe, but had to wait for the envoy to meet the Emperor.

...

Not long after.

Zhao Douan arrived outside the Heavenly Master Mansion and knocked on the courtyard door.

——

ps: This Chapter adapts a bit from the opening of an earlier work haha.