Lu Qin’s taunts halted in an instant. He tucked his legs inward, trying to back away, but with a quick flick of the blade, his trousers tore with a ripping sound. Feeling the sting of cold steel and a faint prickling pain near a particularly sensitive area, Lu Qin’s face went deathly pale, and he froze, terrified to move a muscle.
“You couldn’t hear what I said?” Xiao Yan’s gaze was icy as he looked down at him.
“I… ” Lu Qin wanted to put up a brave front but the pain threatening his most vulnerable spot filled him with dread. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to bow his head before so many Lu family servants watching. How could he ever hold his ground in his own household, let alone outside, if he lowered himself before this eunuch?
Xiao Yan’s lips curled. “It seems Master Lu here has trouble understanding plain words.”
“Xiao Yan, you—Ahhhh!”
Before Lu Qin could finish, his words turned into a scream as Xiao Yan’s thin sword plunged forward, twisted, and then flicked back. Blood sprayed out, along with a torn piece of flesh that flew straight to the feet of Lu Chongyuan, who had just rushed over.
Lu Qin’s bloodcurdling screams echoed throughout the Lu family courtyard, and Lu Chongyuan shouted angrily, “Xiao Yan!”
“Ah, Lord Lu, you’re here?” Xiao Yan turned to face Lu Chongyuan, who looked years older after only a few days, his blade idly wiping off blood on Lu Qin’s clothes as though he were pruning shrubs in his backyard. The Qian family men instinctively clenched their legs together at the sight, chills running down their spines.
Lu Zhao, who hadn’t clearly seen what was flung to the ground, assumed Xiao Yan had truly castrated Lu Qin. Horrified, he said, “Father, Xiao Yan’s maimed Second Brother! He’s… he’s ruined his manhood…”
Lu Chongyuan nearly fainted when he saw the bloody piece of flesh on the ground, while the younger sons of the Lu family went white as a sheet.
Xiao Yan smirked. “Now, now, Lord Lu, let’s not get carried away. While I am a eunuch, I have no talent for palace-style castrations. But if you’d like, I have skilled men who could ensure you’re left with nothing.”
Lu Zhao froze, unable to respond. And before he could speak, Xiao Yan flicked his sword again, this time letting the tip rest on Lu Qin’s other leg.
“Though I may not be skilled in castration,” Xiao Yan said with a slight smile that hinted at bloodlust, “I am quite familiar with dismemberment. Master Lu, you have such fair skin and tender flesh. Not like me, who is too weak for much strain. I imagine you’d hold up for quite a few cuts.”
As he spoke, his blade flashed, slicing a thin layer of flesh that fluttered to the ground.
As blood stained Lu Qin’s clothes, fluid trickled down his leg. Raised in wealth and privilege, he had never endured such pain. He no longer cared about the vulgar insults or his dignity, wailing tearfully, “I was wrong, I was wrong… Father! Father, save me!”
Lu Chongyuan’s hands trembled, half in relief that Xiao Yan had spared Lu Qin’s vital part, and half from fury that Xiao Yan had dared to injure him at all. He forced himself to ignore Lu Qin’s agonized cries and addressed Xiao Yan through clenched teeth, “Lord Xiao, did you bring the Black Armored Guard here under imperial edict?”
“Why would I need an edict to apprehend a criminal traitor?”
Lu Chongyuan’s face paled.
Xiao Yan’s expression remained cold. “The Grand Duke Song was found to have sheltered conspirators in defiance of the Empire. Evidence provided by the Song family themselves shows that your third son, Lu Zhizhi, knew of these crimes but concealed them, covering up for the Song traitors—an unforgivable offense.”
“As commander of the Black Armored Guard, I have the authority to seize suspects. So, Lu Zhongshu, as a seasoned minister of three reigns, I trust you’ll know better than to hinder the apprehension of a criminal and risk disgracing yourself with insubordination.”
“You!” Lu Zhao glared in fury. “Father, he lies! He stormed in, attacked Second Brother without warning, and—”
Canglang interrupted, “Oh, don’t slander our Lord Director, Lord Lu. The Director only sought to apprehend a suspect by law. Your Lu family pulled weapons and spewed obscenities, and without that, our benevolent and mild-mannered Director would never have lifted a finger.”
Lu Zhao nearly cursed aloud. Benevolent and mild-mannered? What nonsense! Glaring at Canglang, he shouted, “Witnesses saw him strike my brother! How dare you twist the truth?”
“Witnesses?” Xiao Yan turned, arching a brow.
Qian Baokun, the Minister of Revenue, spoke in a mild tone. “Oh, I arrived too late to see any of that.”
Qian Qingran, his eldest son, nodded with a stoic face. “Lord Xiao entered properly, and the Lu family insulted him. I witnessed it with my own eyes.”
Qian’s second and third sons both chimed in, nodding vigorously. “We saw it too.”
Qian Qingyu, the second son, couldn’t resist embellishing, “We came to confront Lu Zhizhi about disgracing our sister, but the Lu family tried to harm us. If Lord Xiao hadn’t arrived when he did, we’d probably be dead.”
“We personally saw Lord Xiao bring the Guard only to arrest Lu Zhizhi. But the Lu family tried to block him. Second Master Lu insulted Lord Xiao and attempted to frame him, so Lord Xiao detained him. The Qian family will all testify to this, so don’t think you can falsely accuse the Director!”
Qian Baokun shot his son a disapproving look—exaggeration was not part of the plan. Why rile up Xiao Yan any further? Still, Xiao Yan smirked slightly at Qian Qingyu’s words, turning his gaze toward Lu Zhao.
“So these witnesses you speak of—are they just you and Lu Qin, or perhaps all your Lu family servants?”
“Though I do have past grievances with your family, I don’t need to stoop to framing, Lord Lu.”
“You… you…!” Seeing them spin a tale and twist facts in broad daylight, Lu Zhao nearly passed out from fury. “Father, they’re lying! Second Brother, say something—tell them Xiao Yan is the one who attacked you!”
“Enough,” Lu Chongyuan interrupted. He could clearly see that Xiao Yan and the Qians were willfully distorting the truth. What shocked him most was that Xiao Yan had somehow allied with Qian Baokun, pulling the Minister of Revenue—a man who’d always stayed clear of politics—into conflict with the Lu family.
He interrupted Lu Zhao's argument and looked at Xiao Yan coldly, "So what does Governor Xiao want now? Kill the rest of the Lu family?"
Seeing that Lu Chongyuan was not provoked, Xiao Yan sneered. As expected, this cunning old fox was no match for idiots like Lu Zhao. He retracted the sword that was against Lu Qin's leg, and the tip of the sword "accidentally" left another blood mark. Hearing Lu Qin's screams, he shook his hand.
The blood on the thin sword fell to the ground instantly, leaving the sword spotless.
"Lu Zhongshu, don't be ridiculous. I am the most disciplined person. If the Lu family hands over the rebels, I will leave immediately."
Lu Chongyuan looked at Lu Zhao: "Where are they?"
Lu Zhao said anxiously, "Father, Sanlang can't be a traitor. He doesn't know anything about Song Shulan, let alone the private affairs of the Duke of Song's Mansion. Xiao Yan, even if you want to harm my son, you should find a suitable reason. How could you tell others about such a secret matter in the Duke of Song's Mansion?"
Xiao Yan raised his lips: "Others certainly wouldn't, but everyone in the capital doesn't know that Mr. Lu Sanlang used to be good friends with Song Jinxiu. The two of them had a close personal relationship and could talk about anything. After the entire Song family was imprisoned, Mr. Lu Sanlang still missed his old friend and visited the Song Guogong Mansion at night?"
"You!" Lu Zhao's face was filled with anger: "Everyone knows that my son and Song Jinxiu broke up a long time ago..."
"That was after the Song family got into trouble. Seeing that the Song family had no future, Sanlang Jun Lu cut off his friendship with Song Jinxiu in order to protect himself. But before that, he often went in and out of the Song family, and had close contact with the rebel's daughter. They went to the mountains and went boating on the lake together."
Xiao Yan's voice was not loud, but Lu Zhao could not make out every word he said.
"Song Jinxiu personally pointed out that Lu Zhinian knew everything about the Song family. He also knew that Song Shulan's background was different and she was not the daughter of the second branch of the Song family. However, he tried to cover up for her and deceived the public. Although his crime was not as heinous as Song Hong's collusion with the traitor, he was also guilty."
Canglang pulled out a small roll of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Lu Zhao: "This is the confession written by the criminal Song Jinxiu. Mr. Lu, would you like to take a look?"
Lu Zhao snatched it away, opened it, and saw the clear and elegant handwriting inside.
He had seen Song Jinxiu's handwriting before, so he naturally recognized that the handwriting was indeed Song Jinxiu's. However, when he saw clearly how Song Jinxiu "accused" Lu Zhinian in it, he was so angry that he trembled all over, and before he could say anything, the thing was taken back by Canglang.
"Lang Lu, be careful. This is evidence. If you mess it up, I will have to go to the prison and find Mr. Song to rewrite it."
Canglang handed the "evidence" to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan said calmly, "Would Secretary Lu like to take a look?"
Lu Chongyuan frowned. He had never expected Song Jinxiu to bite back at Lu Zhinian. He glanced at his furious eldest son and said calmly, "Where's Sanlang?"
"Father..." Lu Zhao's eyes flickered.
"I'm asking you, where is Sanlang?!" Lu Chongyuan's voice became even deeper: "Aren't you going to pick him up from the prison?"
"I..." Lu Zhao pursed his lips tightly, "I went to the Imperial Prison to pick him up, but after I took him out of the prison, he started arguing with me about Song Tangning, and I got angry and quarreled with him for a few words, so..."
"So you just let him not come back?"
Lu Chongyuan's questioning made Lu Zhao look dumbfounded. It was only then that Lu Chongyuan understood why Lu Zhinian, who was supposed to return home, had caused such a big trouble. Not only did he attract the people from the Qian family, but he also made Xiao Yan, who was supposed to let him go, go back on his word and personally brought the Black Armor Guards to his house and treated Lu Qin like this.
"Where did he go? Who did you send to follow him?" Lu Chongyuan asked angrily.
Lu Zhao opened his mouth: "I..."
Seeing that he couldn't speak, Lu Chongyuan felt even colder in his heart: "Didn't you send anyone to follow you?"
Lu Rong, who followed by the side, saw that the situation was not right and hurriedly said: "Yes, Master, the master sent Qin An to follow the third master..."
"What about the others?"
Lu Rong was also choked by the question, and Lu Zhao looked at him with a pale face.
Seeing this, Lu Chongyuan knew that Lu Zhao didn't care about Lu Zhinian at all. Qin An was probably sent by Lu Rong to follow him secretly, otherwise Lu Zhao wouldn't have looked like he knew nothing about anything. He was so angry that he almost couldn't breathe, and his throat was filled with a fishy and sweet taste.
He had never thought his eldest son was so stupid before. He was hopelessly stupid! !
Lu Chongyuan gritted his teeth and suppressed the dizziness in front of his eyes. There was a faint taste of blood in his mouth when he spoke. After glaring at Lu Zhao fiercely, he turned his head and looked at Xiao Yan, suppressing his anger.
"Superintendent Xiao also heard that Lu Zhinian is not in the mansion."
"Really? How do I know if Lu Langling loves his son so much that he teamed up with Lu Zhongshu to put on a show for me?"
"Then what do you want?" Lu Chongyuan asked coldly.
Xiao Yan raised his lips: "Since we are arresting a wanted criminal, we will naturally search him to find out if he is there."
"How dare you?!" Lu Chongyuan was furious: "This is the residence of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, not a place where you, the Privy Council, can act wildly!"
Xiao Yan chuckled when he heard this: "Since Secretary Lu has said so, I have to see if he dares to act wildly." His expression suddenly turned colder, and he waved his hand behind him, "Take the people in and search thoroughly. Remember to search carefully and see if the Third Brother of the Lu Family is here."
"The Lu family is very precious. Except for the third son of the Lu family, no one else is allowed to touch anything without permission. Also, remember not to touch any valuable items of the Lu family, or you will be blamed by Secretary Lu."
Canglang smiled and replied, "Yes, Lord Governor!"
The black-armored guards swarmed into the Lu family's home like bees. Not only was Lu Chongyuan so angry that he almost collapsed, even Lu Zhao and the others' faces changed drastically.
The mansions of aristocratic families have always been full of secrets, and no one knows how many shameful things are hidden inside. Although most of the extremely obscure things have been collected and hidden in advance, even those left on the surface cannot be shown to others. What's more, there are dozens of masters in this mansion, and who can guarantee that they don't have some dirty things in their hands.
If we really let these black-armored guards go in to search, there would probably be a horrible disaster.
"Stop them, stop them quickly!!!"
Lu Chongyuan also lost his usual composure and spoke in a sharp voice.
The servants of the Lu family all stepped forward to stop them, but it was a pity that many people had been "disabled" when the three brothers of the Qian family made a scene in the mansion before. Now those who were left could not stop the black-armored guards who were looking for food like mad dogs. Seeing those people entered the backyard in an instant, Lu Chongyuan felt dizzy and screamed loudly.
"Xiao Yan, I will definitely impeach you in front of the emperor for your reckless behavior and humiliating the Lu family!!"
Xiao Yan raised his lips: "Go ahead, I'll be waiting."
…
The sudden intrusion of the Black-Armored Guards frightened everyone in the Lu family to death. In just a moment, screams rang out one after another in the backyard. Seeing that Xiao Yan's men were like wolves among a flock of sheep, Lu Chongyuan turned pale and was so angry that he almost died.
Qian Baokun's face was stiff with his jaw clenched. He turned his head to look at Xiao Yan and lowered his voice: "Master Xiao, didn't you tell me that you were only going to teach the Lu family a lesson?!"
Xiao Yan tilted his head and raised his eyebrows: "Did the governor say that?"
"you……"
Qian Baokun's lips trembled as he recalled what Xiao Yan had said to him when he met him outside the door just now. What did he say at that time?
"Ms. Qian was humiliated today because of Tang Ning. This governor feels very guilty and is willing to work with Minister Qian to seek justice for them from the Lu family."
He fully believed that Xiao Yan really just came to "seek justice" for Song Tangning and Qian Qiyue, and to vent his anger, so he followed Xiao Yan in.
Even if he brought the Black Armored Guards in and broke Lu Qin's legs directly, he would only feel refreshed. However, he never expected that Xiao Yan wanted more than just venting his anger. He actually wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a killing of the Lu family. This bastard wanted to take over the Lu family.
Qian Baokun looked at Xiao Yan, who was speaking in a low voice, and almost cursed out loud.
This treacherous eunuch.
He wants to kill him!!!
===========
T/N: Xiao Yan coming up with random reasons to arrest people on the spot cracks me up fr
You can read ahead to chapterr 234 here
Can’t be THAT on the spot if he had pre prepared evidence for it (handwriting correct, so either real or well forged lol)
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