Listening to the accusations and, one might even say, the public condemnation from the common folk, Lu Xueqing was completely stunned.
She was simply calling off an engagement, so how on earth had it turned into humiliating the Nation-Guarding Prince of Langya?
However, Lu Xueqing quickly collected herself. Fixing her gaze firmly on Chu Xuan, she rebuked angrily, "Chu Xuan, I never imagined you could be so despicable! To make me take you back, you've even resorted to such underhanded tactics as sowing discord!"
Lu Xueqing was not making baseless assumptions. In the three years she had spent guarding the borders, she had amassed at least ten major achievements.
Furthermore, the moment she earned her very first victory, her renown spread across the entire Dayuan State, and from that time onward, the people of Dayuan had held her in deep affection.
Therefore, given the people's adoration for her, how could they suddenly accuse the Lu Family of humiliating the Prince of Langya?
It was glaringly obvious that someone was driving a wedge between them.
And the instigator was undoubtedly Chu Xuan.
"Sowing discord? Lu Xueqing, you really think you're something special, don't you? With the disgraceful way your Lu Family behaves, there's no need for This Prince to stir anything up. The people can see the truth clearly enough."
The moment Chu Xuan's voice trailed off, another member of the public stepped forward and said, "General Lu, this whole mess started because your Lu Family—your Grand General's Estate—was in the wrong from the beginning. Yet now you're turning things around and pointing the finger at us. Such behavior is truly chilling!"
A fierce glint flashed in Lu Xueqing's eyes as she declared with absolute confidence, "My Lu Family has always acted with honor and integrity, with a clear conscience. If you lot cannot produce any evidence and yet continue to make groundless accusations against my family, I, Lu Xueqing, will not let this rest!"
Pausing for a moment, Lu Xueqing cast a cold glance at those townspeople and suddenly sneered, "Or could it be that you've all been bought off by Chu Xuan, and have deliberately jumped out at a time like this to smear my family's reputation?"
Seeing that Lu Xueqing was on the verge of flying into a rage, Lu Youwei desperately wanted to tell her the truth about the begging three-piece set.
Lu Youwei was not a fool; the townspeople had made their implications so glaringly obvious that they clearly knew all about the begging three-piece set.
If this matter were allowed to escalate further and provoke public outrage, not even their Lu Family—let alone the sovereign in person—would be able to calm the storm.
Yet Lu Youwei also knew full well that his daughter had just been appointed as the Guo-Nation Grand General by the sovereign, and her marriage alliance with the Chancellor's Estate was just around the corner. If they admitted that the Lu Family had humiliated the Prince of Langya, it would become an indelible stain on their reputation.
When that time came, both the sovereign and the Chancellor's Estate would undoubtedly cut ties with the Lu Family to appease public opinion. All of his daughter's hard work over the past three years would go down the drain.
With these thoughts racing through his mind, Lu Youwei decided he would rather die than admit to it.
Not only would he refuse to confess, but he would also turn Lu Xueqing's words into reality.
As it happened, the officers and men of Jingzhao Prefecture arrived at that very moment—at least a hundred strong.
When these bailiffs saw the raging fire inside the Grand General's Estate, every single one of them wore a look of utter astonishment.
"My Lord, all our men have arrived."
The leading officer cupped his fists and bowed to Lu Youwei.
Bolstered by this backup and ignoring the fire within the estate, Lu Youwei said to Lu Xueqing, "Xueqing, those unruly rabble were definitely bought off by Chu Xuan. How dare they slander our Lu Family and our Grand General's Estate? Today, not a single one of them gets away."
With that, Lu Youwei barked an order at the head officer: "Seize those troublemakers for me! I am going to charge them with slandering a high-ranking imperial official, and make an example of them!"
Faced with an order from his direct superior, how could the head officer dare to disobey? He immediately moved to make the arrests.
Upon seeing this, the crowd of onlookers shuddered. Although they felt a surge of indignation over the mistreatment of the Prince of Langya, they knew all too well what kind of place Jingzhao Prefecture was.
The prison of Jingzhao Prefecture was notoriously a place of no return; once dragged inside, a person's life was effectively over.
However, just as the bailiffs took their first step forward, Chu Xuan's icy voice rang out.
"This Prince is here. Whoever dares to lay a finger on these citizens will be executed without mercy!"
Swish!
Heiyun flashed forward, blocking the path of the bailiffs.
The head officer had rushed over in such a hurry that he hadn't noticed Chu Xuan earlier.
Now, upon seeing Chu Xuan dressed in a five-clawed python robe and hearing him refer to himself as "This Prince," the man froze in shock.
"My Lord, he is..."
Deciding to burn his bridges, Lu Youwei pressed on, "This scoundrel publicly forged an imperial edict and arbitrarily proclaimed himself the Nation-Guarding Prince of Langya! He even had the audacity to commit murder and arson within my Grand General's Estate. These are capital offenses—arrest him as well!"
What?!
Publicly forging an imperial edict and proclaiming himself the Nation-Guarding Prince of Langya?
Good grief, had this fellow lost his mind? To pull something like this took a level of insanity that defied belief.
However, just as the head officer was about to order his men to strike, a white object hurtled straight toward his face.
*Thwack!*
The white object struck the lead officer squarely in the face. Instantly, the mixture of white and yellow liquid left him standing frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded.
A moment later, the lead officer snapped back to reality. Reaching up to wipe the gooey white and yellow mess from his face, he realized to his horror that what had just been hurled at him was an egg.
"Who threw that? Show yourself!"
The lead officer flew into a rage. As the head of the Jingzhao Prefecture bailiffs, being pelted with an egg in broad daylight was far more humiliating than a direct slap to the face.
"You're all bad people!"
Before anyone could react, a small boy darted out from the crowd. Planting one hand on his hip and pointing a finger straight at the head officer, he piped up in his childish voice, "My daddy said the people of the Langya Prince's Estate are great heroes and brave champions! You lot used a beggar's tattered quilt, broken bowl, and crutch to humiliate the Langya Prince's Estate, and now you're framing my Prince Brother. What on earth are your intentions?"
Children, in any world, are the most innocent of beings, incapable of deceit.
The little boy's accusation left every single bailiff looking completely blank and bewildered.
What beggar's tattered quilt, broken bowl, and crutch?
Humiliating the Langya Prince's Estate with such things? They had no idea what he was talking about.
Before the head officer could utter a word, the little boy pointed his finger directly at Lu Xueqing, raising his voice. "You're the worst one of all, woman! Don't think that just because you're pretty, you can trample on the dignity of heroes. If it weren't for the Nation-Guarding merits of the Langya Prince's Estate, you wouldn't even have had the chance to go to the battlefield! Yet now, not only are you breaking off your engagement with the Langya Prince's Estate, but you even had people pass off a beggar's belongings as betrothal gifts from the prince! Have you no shame at all? You ungrateful, cold-hearted vixen!"
Under the little boy's relentless accusations, the truth of the begging three-piece set finally came to light.
Yet no one could have anticipated that this bombshell would be dropped by an innocent child.
Listening to these words, Lu Xueqing stood frozen in place, her mind blank.
Connecting this to what the other townspeople had said moments before, Lu Xueqing gradually grasped the reality of the situation. She turned to Lu Youwei and demanded, "Father, is what that child said the truth? Did you really take a beggar's belongings and return them to the Langya Prince's Estate as Chu Xuan's betrothal gifts?"
By this point, Lu Youwei would rather die than admit it. "Xueqing, don't listen to that little brat's nonsense! Our Lu Family wouldn't sink so low as to pass off a beggar's junk as wedding gifts from Chu Xuan!"
Madam Lu chimed in as well, "That's right! Xueqing, that little bastard was obviously bought off by Chu Xuan. To make you change your mind, Chu Xuan will stop at nothing. If we let him off the hook today, our Lu Family—our Grand General's Estate—will be saddled with this filthy accusation forever!"
Choosing to believe her parents, Lu Xueqing turned back to face Chu Xuan on the carriage, her voice laced with even greater fury. "Chu Xuan, are you even human? To exploit a child so young—your morals are utterly bankrupt, and you are completely unworthy of being the son of the Prince of Langya!"