Lin Xiao was forced to kneel before Huang Zhexian only in his inner garment. Two guards were at his side to keep him from causing any ruckus while Huang Zhexian was staring at him with arrogance. In his right hand, was a barbed punishment whip.
“So, you are the one that had dared to rebel against the throne?” he asked.
“Heh, I don’t know what you are talking about,” Lin Xiao replied with a smirk. “I don’t know why the lord is taking me here and holding me captive. Did the lord’s niece complain to you and ask you to punish me in her stead?”
Huang Zhexian didn’t answer and instead, he merely raised the whip before sending it down to Lin Xiao.
The whip hits squarely on Lin Xiao’s right shoulder, the metal barbs on the whip effectively tore through his thin inner garment and broke the skin. Blooming red blood immediately soaked the white garment and Lin Xiao had to grit his teeth from making a pained sound.
“I will not ask for the second time,” Huang Zhexian said as he looked down at Lin Xiao.
“Other than your niece, do you have proof that I planned to rebel?”
Huang Zhexian was not happy with Lin Xiao’s reply and it could be seen on his face. Raising the whip again, he aimed at Lin Xiao once more. Huang Zhexian was very experienced when it comes to whipping. The whip hit Lin Xiao on the same spot, making the injury worse as the barbs tore through the already broken flesh.
This time, Lin Xiao couldn’t help the pained hiss that escaped his lips. He looked up and glared at Huang Zhexian in anger. Unfortunately, Huang Zhexian disliked being glared at like that, so he again raised his whip, this time aiming for Lin Xiao’s eyes in order to teach him a lesson.
Lin Xiao also saw this ruthless move and he quickly lowered his head and closed his eyes, hoping to protect them. After all, if that barbed whip hits his eyes, he will lose his sight.
There was a sound of the whip hitting its target, but the pain that Lin Xiao expected didn’t arrive. When he opened his eyes, he saw that a man clads in black clothes stood before him, holding the barbed whip with his bare hand.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Qtb jgf sbe?! Lbk vlv sbe ufa lc tfgf?!” Lejcu Itfzljc gbjgfv ja atf wjc.
Ktf wjc vlvc’a gfqis jcv bcis alutafcfv tlr tbiv jgbecv atf ktlq jr ab cba ifa Lejcu Itfzljc qeii la. Dibbv tjv jigfjvs rajgafv ab vglq bcab atf oibbg, yea atf wjc vlvc’a rffw ab mjgf jybea la.
Though he did not reply, Lin Xiao felt that the man’s figure was very familiar. As if he had seen him before. It was the same feeling when he met with the Emperor or his suspected father.
When Huang Zhexian saw that he would not be answered anytime soon, he turned to the two guards. “What are you waiting for? Hurry and—”
Before he could finish, the door was suddenly kicked open to reveal Bai Chenyi. On one hand, he held the Imperial Edict and on the other, he held a guard by his collar. Once he saw that he had arrived at his destination, he unceremoniously threw the guard away.
“Right Minister, Huang Zhexian! This General arrived bearing the Imperial Edict written by the Emperor himself. Cease your action at once or this General will not hesitate to cut you down for going against the Emperor!” As Bai Chenyi said this, he raised the Imperial Edict up high for Huang Zhexian to see.
At first, Huang Zhexian naturally doesn’t believe Bai Chenyi. After all, the general was locked at his place. It hasn’t been long since he asked someone to bring Lin Xiao and if the general was missing then, his men would’ve informed him. That means, when Lin Xiao was taken away from the room he was confined in, the general was still present.
Bai Chenyi of course, noticed the disbelief in Huang Zhexian’s eyes so he unfurled the edict right before their eyes. When the people of Huang residence saw the stamp on the Imperial Edict, they couldn’t help but kneel on the floor. The man clads in black threw away the whip that Huang Zhexian had let go before finally kneeling at the direction of the Imperial Edict.
Once he saw that everyone had knelt on the floor, Bai Chenyi then proceeded to read the content of the Imperial Edict. When he looked down, Bai Chenyi frowned. This was actually also the first time for him to see the content. Earlier, he only unfurled enough to determine its authenticity. Now that he saw the content, he couldn’t help but feel small disbelief.
Each character written on the scroll appeared to be rushed and some even got smeared. ‘Also, is this blood?’ Bai Chenyi wondered as he ran a finger across one of the characters. It was still damp, and when he looks at his finger, there was a slight tinge of red. Even so, the stamp is real so he still has to read the content for Huang Zhexian despite the edict being suspiciously done.
“The Right Minister, Huang Zhexian, you have falsely arrested someone and went over your authority in this matter. You are to wait for the Son of Heaven to arrive before receiving your punishment…”
“W-What?” Huang Zhexian was unable to believe what he heard. “What do you mean I have gone over my authority?! As the Right Minister, other than the Minister of Justice, capturing someone who is suspected of rebellion is within my authority!”
Seeing that Huang Zhexian did not believe him, Bai Chenyi merely showed him the content of the edict. When Huang Zhexian read it, his face paled considerably. He turned to Lin Xiao, fearing of his identity. There are few people within the country that he, the Right Minister cannot lay his hand on.
Naturally, the Emperor is one. The rest could be counted with one hand as there are only Kuanshe Wang, the Empress Dowager, and the three surviving siblings of the Emperor that had been given the title of Wang and was sent for a political marriage. If he wanted to arrest them, then he will need to acquire an Imperial Edict stamped with the Imperial Jade Seal.
When he heard about Lin Xiao from his niece, he was sure that Lin Xiao was a nobody. After all, his niece had told him that they came from the mountain, and even the guardian of this backwater young man had lived in seclusion for twenty odd years.
While he was deep in thought, a servant suddenly came in. His face was pale, full of sweat and he was out of breath. “Master, master!” he called out. “T-The… The Emperor is here! He asks for everyone to go to the main hall!”
By now, even the two guards that were with Huang Zhexian began to worry about their livelihood. “Lord Minister…” one of them called out to Huang Zhexian. “What should we do?” he asked as he glanced at Lin Xiao.
“What else? Lock him back in the confinement room first!”
“Hold on, Minister Huang…” Bai Chenyi interjected. “Did your servant not say that the Emperor wish for ‘everyone’ to go to the main hall?”
“Are you telling me to bring the suspected rebel to go see the Emperor? What if he took this chance to assassinate His Majesty?! We have already lost an Emperor not too long ago; we cannot afford to risk losing another in a short period of time!” Huang Zhexian replied. Though he sounded right, in actuality he was just worried that the Emperor saw the injury on Lin Xiao’s shoulder.
“T-That… Master,” the servant from before speaks up. “His Majesty said that even the captive is to be brought over to the main hall…”
A/N: Coincidentally, this chapter is out on Christmas. So, here is an early release!
Also here is a little something~
Art by: ZOEN
Art by: ZOEN
Art by: Andy (NSFW Account)
Art by: Andy (NSFW Account)
Marry Christmas!!
Thanks for the chapter <3 <3 <3
Wuaaaa the chapter was short but thank u sooo for the update
Chapter is actually normal length of 1-1.5k words XD
Oh……but face slapping moment just started and then BOOM cliffhanger anyway this was a great chapter love u author 😘
Character arts r awesome they’re sooo pretty especially my baby xiao