The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 382: Do I Have the Authority to Execute First and Report Later?

Kong Tixin saw that he was being completely pushed away, feeling both aggrieved and furious. Was this meant to make him take the blame? He couldn’t help but say, "Lord Yu, how can you put everything on me? It was you who had designs on Xia Wenjin, and I merely went along with your wishes, doing your bidding!"

Yu Shikui shouted angrily, "Shut up!"

Kong Tixin said bitterly, "At this moment, you’re still flaunting your Prefectural Governor’s authority? It was you who said the inn was uncomfortable and wanted a quiet and pleasant village house, so I went to purchase it. It was you who said the house was too simple, so I sent Xue Wei to renovate it thoroughly. It was finished the day before yesterday, and then I invited you to stay. It was you who said Xia Wenjin was ungrateful, but with her beauty, she should be kept as your exclusive property. That’s why I arranged this farewell banquet for you... Since I anyway won’t be the County Magistrate anymore, and yet you throw all the dirt on me, are you trying to kill me?"

"You fool, shut up!"

Yu Shikui was almost driven to fury. He had been inefficient in handling matters, leaving so many loopholes and dragging himself into this mess. Now, with both of them tied up naked in the cage, of course, he wanted to quickly figure out a way for Huangfu Jinxuan to release them, but this fool, wouldn’t even admit to the slightest blame, what was he good for?

Kong Tixin sulkily closed his mouth. He was unhappy and dissatisfied, but flattering his superiors was ingrained in him to the bone. Although he had just exposed everything in anger, facing Yu Shikui’s angry eyes, he cowered.

Huangfu Jinxuan, with a smile, watched them bicker. Seeing them fall silent, he said, "This imperial envoy doesn’t care who is right or wrong between you; both of you are at fault. You have engaged in scandalous acts and are promoting vice, offending the public’s sensibilities. How do you think they should be dealt with?"

The latter part of his words was directed to the crowd below.

The crowd below shouted in chaos: "Isn’t it said that a prince breaking the law is the same as commoners? Drown them in a pig cage, sink them in a pond!"

"Parade them through the streets!"

"Behead them!"

...

Yu Shikui repeatedly denied everything, putting all the blame on Kong Tixin, but the villagers were no fools. In the end, both of these corrupt officials were no good and both had intentions toward Doctor Xia.

Doctor Xia was as beautiful as a fairy and was meant to be revered, yet these corrupt officials wanted to defile her. They really deserved death.

Hence, the loudest calls were for beheading.

Huangfu Jinxuan pondered a little, "Beheading? It seems that’s not out of the question." He turned to Wei Jun and asked, "As an imperial envoy, do I have the authority to execute first and report later?"

Wei Jun nodded affirmatively.

He understood his master’s intentions and naturally cooperated.

Huangfu Jinxuan immediately laughed, turning to Yu Shikui and Kong Tixin, his voice full of arrogance: "I am now the imperial envoy, sent by the Emperor to combat the epidemic. Yu Shikui and Kong Tixin, instead of assisting in this duty, disrupted public perception with scandalous acts, severely affecting my mission. As an imperial envoy, I have the right to execute first and report later, therefore..."

"No..." Hearing this, Kong Tixin’s face turned pale, his head spun, and everything went black as he fainted.

Yu Shikui was also scared out of his wits.

Any other sensible imperial envoy wouldn’t act so recklessly or dare to. How is this different from child’s play? Besides, if people were really killed, how would he explain to the Emperor?

But he knew that Huangfu Jinxuan was not normal at all.

In the Capital, he was a notorious troublemaker, and known as a playboy.

But he had a good father, a good great-grandfather; was lawlessness a problem? Was taking lives like a weed a problem?

Now he was using a feather as a command token. If he really went crazy and beheaded them, where would they plead their case? Even if his grandfather fought for justice afterwards, he’d be dead, and what good would justice do then?

Moreover, his grandfather only valued usefulness, and if he were dead, would he still be useful? Probably not even justice would be sought.

He hurriedly said, "Second Young Master, Second Young Master, no, no, you don’t have the authority!"

"I do!" Huangfu Jinxuan smiled brightly, like a blooming flower, saying, "I am the imperial envoy, and the envoy has the power to execute first and report later!"

"We have not impacted your epidemic control; at most, this is a private moral failing, how could it affect epidemic control—you can’t kill us!"

Huangfu Jinxuan shook his head, expressing helplessness: "There’s nothing I can do, the public sentiment is boiling." He pointed below: "Listen, listen, beheading, drowning in a pig cage, sinking in the pond, parading through the streets...this is all public sentiment!"

Then, he added considerately, "Drowning in a pig cage means drowning alive, the same goes for sinking in a pond, with a big stone tied to your body, plunging into the water to be taken to the bottom with the stone; not only do you die, even your soul can’t escape. I am considering this for you; beheading is much easier after all, a single cut, everything ends with just a brief pain, isn’t that more comfortable than being cut by a blunt knife like drowning in a cage or sinking in a pond? You should be thankful I am thinking about you!"

"W-we don’t deserve to die!" Facing imminent death, even Yu Shikui’s self-proclaimed clever mind couldn’t turn fast enough. The fear of death gripped his entire heart.

He was afraid of dying; he couldn’t die.

He had worked hard to finally become a Prefectural Governor, finally earning his grandfather’s appreciation. If he died, the glory and wealth would be gone, promotions and honors would be gone, enjoyment would be gone, and so would the prestige.

He didn’t want to die.

As long as he could keep living, where there’s life, there’s hope.

Huangfu Jinxuan, stroking his chin, said, "Do you understand public resentment? Lord Yu, at a glance, you can tell you don’t care about the people’s opinions. There’s an old saying, ’Water can carry a boat, but it can also sink it!’ Thus, public opinion is very important. We must listen to the people’s voice, and now the people think you should die, which means you really should die. I can’t help you!"

"Then...isn’t there the punishment of parading through the streets?" Yu Shikui, finding that he was set on having him beheaded, tried to sound plausible, "Such a reason wouldn’t fool me. It’s just that my grandfather and King Kang often have differing opinions, are political enemies, so he’s deliberately targeting me, trying to sever my grandfather’s left arm and right arm."

He absolutely couldn’t die!

Huangfu Jinxuan seemed taken aback, "Oh, indeed! Such a great opportunity, but who came up with the idea of parading through the streets? How so inconsiderate?"

Yu Shikui, as if clutching at the last straw, his voice broke with urgency, "Parading through the streets, parading is fine right? I know I erred slightly in my affairs and indeed deserve punishment. Just punish me by parading through the streets, okay? Second Young Master, if you really kill me, after all, I am a Fourth Rank County Magistrate; you too can’t escape being labeled as abusing power and settling personal vendettas!"

Huangfu Jinxuan turned his head, surprised, "I never had any reputation to begin with. Playboy, little demon king, another label doesn’t matter!"