The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Chapter 114 The Book of Life and Death That Frenziedly Draws Hatred

"Oh?"

Li Xiang raised an eyebrow. The heir of the Prince of Wei? In his mind, an image of a younger version of Li Tai, a chubby little boy carrying cargo, came to mind.

Memories from the original owner.

"Li Xin?"

His gaze followed Sima Yuanjing's and quickly locked onto the private room upstairs in Chengguang Tower, where a window was slightly ajar.

The lively atmosphere inside the second-floor private room had suddenly frozen to freezing point.

The smile on Li Xin's face hadn't even faded before it froze on her lips.

Just moments before, he was leaning against the window, watching Sima Yuanjing enforce the law impartially and manipulate the poor, secretly pleased with himself for using someone else to do his dirty work so flawlessly, his scheme was perfect.

He had even planned ahead how to use the pretext of suppressing the rebels in the East Market and purging the scholars who made irresponsible remarks to vent his father Li Tai's anger and win back the hearts of the aristocratic families.

But the next moment, a single self-destruction from that lowly county magistrate downstairs shattered all his calculations and pretense in front of everyone!

His self-proclaimed brilliant, hidden schemes have become, in the eyes of the world, a dirty conspiracy by powerful officials to manipulate the government and deliberately frame scholars!

How dare he?!

Li Xin gripped the wine bottle tightly in her hand, almost wanting to crush it.

A mere eighth-rank county magistrate of Wannian County, a fallen official who could only hold onto his lucrative post thanks to the patronage of the Prince of Wei, actually dared to publicly implicate the Prince of Wei's heir, dragging him, the legitimate son of the Prince of Wei, into the mess!

Below, Li Xiang's extremely irritating and provocative voice rang out.

"Li Xin, now that you see your brother here, you don't even come to pay your respects, but instead secretly spy on me from upstairs. Do you even know what the proper order of seniority and hierarchy is?"

"You actually let someone call this long-standing county magistrate your brother—tsk tsk tsk, you're going to turn your own family against each other."

"I never imagined that even the mighty Wannian County would become a lackey of your Prince Wei's mansion—what, are you planning to control the entire city of Chang'an next?"

Murder and kill!

The composure in Li Xin's eyes had completely vanished, replaced by overwhelming astonishment, shame, and a hint of panic from the bottom of her heart.

Whether it's internal strife or manipulating the government, these are all crimes that could be taken seriously and displease the Emperor.

"Your Highness—" Zhang Shenji, son of Duke Xun, whispered in his ear, "Since things have changed, why don't we go downstairs directly? Even if we can't force Wannian County to capture those commoners, we should at least end this matter quickly."

"That guy's a tough nut to crack; if we get entangled with him, we'll only be the ones who suffer—"

He gave a slight nod towards the crowd that had gathered outside the building.

Although it is still daytime, Pingkangfang has always been full of powerful and wealthy people. Who knows if there are imperial envoys or other people with connections to the heavens among this crowd?

Compared to Li Xiang—these people still have some sense of shame.

"Is this how the King of Wei raised his family?"

"Li Xin, you have the guts to scheme against your brother, but don't you have the guts to come down here?"

Downstairs, because Sima Yuanjing, the county magistrate of Wannian County, had failed to fire, Li Xiang had completely taken the initiative and was shouting insults from downstairs.

Sima Yuanjing? That's just a minor character. Having learned that Li Xin had extended the Wei Prince's authority to him at will, how could Li Xiang let this opportunity pass so easily?

If King Wei, Li Tai, is so powerful, shouldn't we slap him in the face and make him do his best to slander Li Er?

If the effect isn't enough, we'll make up for it with numbers. I refuse to believe that if I offend all the powerful figures in the court, and the public is in a frenzy, Li Er will still be able to resist killing Sun!

"Li Xiang! How dare you!"

"You're nothing but a lowly grandson, how dare you threaten a county magistrate with your words!"

"They even went so far as to spout nonsense and falsely accuse my Prince Wei's Mansion!"

Li Xin could no longer remain calm after Li Xiang's outburst, and led Zhang Shenji and other scions of prominent families down the stairs.

As he walked, he glared fiercely at Sima Yuanjing, who was huddled in the crevice, wishing no one could see him.

Sima Yuanjing's sudden hesitation to act must mean that Li Xiang has some kind of leverage over this fellow—Li Xin thought to himself with resentment, thinking that once he returned home, he would definitely have his father give this lowly county magistrate a good beating.

But now, it seems that these people from Wannian County are no longer of any use.

He gritted his teeth. For now, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and adopt the plan that Zhang Shen had just proposed: his side consisted mostly of sons of high-ranking families, and they all had attendants when they went out, so they had a large and powerful force.

On the other side, there were only a few commoners. If they simply relied on their numbers to forcibly arrest them all and send them to the county government, could this brat possibly take on ten men single-handedly?

If Li Xiang has leverage over the county magistrate Sima, how could he possibly have leverage over anyone else? The magistrate of Wannian County has already secretly defected to the Prince of Wei's court. Even if Wannian County is no longer reliable, there's still the Ministry of Justice—

The Prince of Wei's mansion was deeply entrenched, and the Crown Prince had already been deposed. Li Xin was the legitimate grandson, while Li Xiang was merely a stepchild—Li Xin refused to believe that he couldn't do anything to Li Xiang!

"Hmph! The county magistrate may fear your status, but I have none!"

"Gentlemen, today we will act as righteous heroes to capture thieves! Let us seize all those who slander the king and bring them to the county office!"

Upon hearing this, the young men from noble families immediately rubbed their hands together, and their servants stepped forward, ready to pounce. Sima Yuanjing shrank to the side, his head bowed even lower, not daring to utter a sound.

Li Xiang remained seated, showing no sign of panic. Instead, he slowly raised his hand and pressed down on the small black booklet on his lap, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Don't rush into action. If you're going to arrest someone, you should at least announce your identity first, lest others say that the Prince of Wei's heir led a group of unknowns to commit violence in the street."

Upon hearing this, everyone who was about to take a step paused. The scions of prominent families always valued their reputation and face the most, and being publicly called "an unknown person" made them feel quite embarrassed.

Li Xin's brow furrowed, and she coldly shouted, "Stop with the empty words! Attack!"

"Wait a minute." Li Xiang raised his eyes, his gaze first landing on the person standing to his left and right. "I recognize you, Du Ji of the Du family of Jingzhao? Your father is Du Chuke, the strategist of the King of Wei, right?"

The young man named Du Ji felt a jolt of fear, but forced himself to remain calm: "It is indeed my family! So what if you try to do anything about it?"

"I can't do anything, I just happened to jot down a few minor incidents." Li Xiang opened the booklet, his gaze sweeping across the pages. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and resonated with everyone. "Last December, you forcibly took a Hu woman from the West Market, refused to pay, and even instigated your servants to injure her Hu merchant husband. Afterwards, you bribed someone to cover up the case. Is this true?"

Du Ji's face turned pale instantly, his previous arrogance vanished in an instant, and he subconsciously took half a step back.

He did this very discreetly, thinking no one knew, never expecting it to be written in that notebook!

He immediately became somewhat wary and dared not go forward again, frozen in place, caught in a dilemma.

Seeing this, Li Xin's heart sank, and she ordered one of the men beside her, "Wang Huai, go forward and bring him here!"

The young man named Wang Huai was a member of a collateral branch of the Wang family in Taiyuan. He was quite strong and, relying on his family background, had always acted arrogantly and recklessly. Upon hearing this, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward: "Your words are mere empty talk; why would I fear you!"

"Wang Huai of Taiyuan?" Li Xiang tapped the page with his finger and continued, "Last spring, in your attempt to seize twenty acres of fertile land, you accidentally killed the Liu family—is this kind of behavior a family tradition of yours?"

"You, you're talking nonsense!"

Wang Huai shuddered. Though he instinctively retorted, all color drained from his face. It was indeed a heinous crime he had committed, one he had barely managed to conceal. He had been severely reprimanded by his clan elders in private. Now, exposed in public, he felt his limbs stiffen, and he dared not retaliate.

With two people having their vulnerabilities exposed, the remaining scions of noble families all looked fearful, exchanging glances, and no one dared to step forward rashly.

Damn it, this booklet from my cheap old man is practically a book of life and death!

Li Xiang's gaze slowly swept over every face in the room. He gently closed the booklet in his hand and chuckled, "What's wrong? Everyone was so indignant just now, but now they're all speechless?"

His gaze returned to Li Xin, his tone tinged with mockery: "Li Xin, these scions of noble families under your command are all involved in shady dealings. You lead a group of people with a long list of misdeeds, yet you keep talking about arresting those who 'slander the emperor.' If word gets out, people will laugh their heads off."