Chapter 35: Arrival of the Crown Prince

Chapter 035: The Arrival of the Crown Prince

The word “disrobe” surged like a tide, forceful as a public denunciation.

The common people are a peculiar entity. You might normally look down on their insignificance, but when they are enraged, their roar becomes an indomitable force no one can ignore.

Through layers and layers of clamor, the magistrate and Sanfengzi locked eyes in anxious urgency once more.

You are the magistrate, the highest authority here; you must suppress them!

Aren’t you also bearing the title of second-in-command, the chief clerk? Why aren’t you suppressing them?

Only if you take charge can I seize the chance to slip back behind and switch to the real chief clerk.

Ha, I’d be a fool to trust you again. It’s precisely because I believed you earlier that things have spiraled into this irretrievable chaos.

Are you blameless? You… Enough, this isn’t the time for us to shift blame onto each other. Don’t forget, we’re both in the same boat. If I truly fall here in the hall today, you’ll be the first to be implicated!

...

The magistrate fell silent. Sanfengzi was right: regardless of who misled whom and caused this mess, they were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope. If one gets caught, the other absolutely cannot escape.

Understanding this, the magistrate suddenly scrambled to his feet. “Da—”

“Your Excellency!” Fang Rulai turned sharply, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, pinning the magistrate’s gaze without so much as a blink. “Your Excellency, you have yet to announce to everyone whether this humble monk is male or female.”

“Uh…” The magistrate’s face soured, stuck as though something lodged in his throat. After that decisive jab earlier, even a fool could see the young monk before them was male. But how to say it? To admit he is male would be like slapping himself in the face—and in front of not a few commoners, no less. To say he is female… he feared his backside would soon suffer another blow. Then his old dignity would truly have nowhere left to hide!

Understanding Fang Rulai’s warning to hold his tongue, the magistrate slowly turned his head away from Sanfengzi’s gaze.

“Yin…” Sanfengzi could hardly believe it—was this a subtle cue to flee in the face of disaster?

“One cannot live by double standards!” Fang Rulai sharply turned back, cutting off Sanfengzi’s words as swiftly as she had interrupted the magistrate. “You dared to order the constables to forcibly strip this monk simply based on suspicion. Yet when it comes time for the chief clerk to remove his outer robe for inspection, he delays again and again?”

“Impudent monk, how dare you!” Sanfengzi gripped the pillar, rising to his feet and assuming the imposing stance of an official. “I am a servant of the imperial court! My official attire represents the dignity of the sovereign nation. How can commoners demand its removal at will? Where would that leave our national prestige?”

“Hah!” Fang Rulai sneered coldly. “So, chief clerk, your words indirectly admit it, then?”

“Who admits—”

“Then why won’t you disrobe?” Fang Rulai pressed closer, having already guessed the man’s true identity. If she could expose it here, she would secure an auspicious start to this tumultuous battle.

“Allow this humble monk to recount the course of events from the beginning.” Her gaze never left Sanfengzi. “Why, upon entering this hall, were we either misquoted or maliciously slandered? Should not the proper procedure, upon discovering the corpses belonged to Daoists, be to summon the head of the Daoist temple, Sanfengzi, who is presently imprisoned, to verify and confront?”

“But you did not! Why?” Up to this point, no matter how hard I pondered, I could not fathom the reason. Facing away from the crowd, Fang Rulai allowed genuine calculation to glimmer in her eyes. “But just now, when Jiemu asked that question, clarity dawned upon me. What if the chief clerk is also a Daoist? What if he is in league with those slain Daoists, those black-robed men? What if the chief clerk—”

She needed say no more. Two “what ifs” were enough to ignite the tension in the hall.

“Yes, it all makes sense if they are in league together.”

“What? Do you truly believe the chief clerk, famed for loving the people like his own children, is a Daoist?”

What else? Why else would he delay disrobing to prove his innocence?

...

Sanfengzi, faced with the increasingly one-sided situation, was already fuming inwardly. But no matter how furious, he knew now was absolutely not the time to expose his identity.

Suddenly, Sanfengzi flicked his sleeves and strode boldly toward the rear exit. “Utter nonsense! I shall retrieve the Imperial Sword to set things right!”

“Don’t even think about escaping!” Fang Rulai darted after him, reaching out to grab.

Sanfengzi shook his arm, letting his long sleeve fall to conceal the talon-like gesture beneath, his mind settled: though his martial arts could not be revealed, he could use the Vajra Finger to sever the young monk’s arm tendon, repaying this humiliation of being forced to disrobe.

Both moved swiftly—one eager to seize, the other waiting for a chance to turn the tide. In no time, Fang Rulai caught hold of Sanfengzi’s sleeve.

Now! Sanfengzi channeled his internal energy to his fingertips, twisting his wrist a full one hundred eighty degrees, ready to grasp Fang Rulai’s wrist.

But at that moment, his internal energy abruptly stalled.

Sanfengzi’s body trembled, his eyes darting to the wooden chair where Guan Shiyin sat. She had exerted her power, cutting off his internal energy, even halting his vital flow! Who was she, really?

Under her control, Fang Rulai smoothly seized Sanfengzi’s sleeve and, without pause, yanked upward and outward, determined to tear away his false façade in front of everyone.

“The Crown Prince arrives!”

Suddenly, a shrill voice pierced the noisy hall, clear in every ear within.

The ripping sound of Sanfengzi’s sleeve was drowned out.

Fang Rulai turned. Everyone in the hall had already twisted their heads toward the entrance.

No one saw the Daoist robe hidden beneath the chief clerk’s official attire. They were busy following the magistrate, dropping to their knees, bowing deeply, and chanting, “Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince! May the Crown Prince enjoy health and longevity!”

Fang Rulai quickly turned back, catching the flash of smugness in Sanfengzi’s eyes, as if to say, “Even if you tear it off, so what? With the Crown Prince here, who dares to raise their head?”

Fang Rulai’s teeth ached with frustration; she hadn’t expected the mastermind behind all this to arrive so conveniently at this moment. She thought the Crown Prince would only appear when the temple’s reputation began to suffer. But for him to arrive so early… did this not mean his cunning was deeper and sharper than she had anticipated?

Special thanks to: White Hair Bathed in Red Robes, !漫漫!^_$, c Banxia/Like Smoke), Chao Jin Lu Kui and zengfengzhu! Little Leaf bows in gratitude~

Winter has passed, can spring be far behind? It seems the Qi Pi Skirt will soon return to everyone’s sight! Let’s all diligently care for our skin and await that day~

Ah, I forgot there are a few gentlemen among you… Well, then, please take good care of your eyes!

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