Chapter 28:Do you take me for a fool?

Chapter 28: Chapter 28:Do you take me for a fool?

The accusations had been prepared long before today’s gathering.

Every accusation had been directed toward the Chen Family, and every attempt to defend themselves only seemed to provide another opportunity for someone else to speak against them.

Chen Guanshan didn’t want to turn the situation into a shouting match, since he knew the outcome had already been determined from the start.

Just as the uproar began to settle slightly, a familiar voice suddenly came from the direction of the Li Family.

"Since the Chen Family insists that all of these accusations are false, perhaps there is another matter that deserves an explanation."

Li Zhenyuan slowly stepped forward from among the Li Family members.

His expression was calm, and his hands remained behind his back. There was no need for him to raise his voice. By now, the surrounding cultivators were already paying close attention to every word spoken here.

His gaze settled upon Chen Guanshan, and a harmless smile appeared on his face.

"Why has the Chen Family brought so many people to this gathering?"

The question immediately drew everyone’s attention back toward the Chen Family. Li Zhenyuan raised his hand and gestured toward the group behind Chen Guanshan.

"Every family was given a similar number of places for this expedition. Yet the Chen Family has brought nearly twice that number."

He slowly looked over the twenty clansmen, his fingers tapping his chin.

"And oddly enough, every single one of them is elderly."

The surrounding cultivators began whispering among themselves again. It was an observation that was impossible to deny.

The Chen Family had indeed brought twenty people, despite being instructed to send only ten. More importantly, there was not a single young member among them.

It was strange that the other families had sent only ten people while the Chen Family had brought twice that number.

Li Zhenyuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"If the Chen Family truly wishes to contribute to the kingdom’s defense, then why send so many old cultivators while keeping the younger generation behind?"

"The other families painstakingly sent their younger ones to the front line while the Chen Family decided to go against the current. Isn’t that unjust to the other families?"

Chen Guanshan’s face became increasingly grim. He understood exactly where Li Zhenyuan was going with this.

Before he could respond, Zhao Mingyuan spoke from the platform.

"Indeed."

The City Lord leaned slightly forward in his seat and looked directly at the Chen Family.

"My order was for the Chen Family to send ten people."

His tone remained composed, but the meaning behind his words was unmistakable. It was as though the order he had sent before no longer mattered.

"Yet twenty people are standing before us today."

He paused before continuing.

"Are you attempting to disregard the order of the City Lord’s Mansion?"

Chen Guanshan’s expression darkened. Everything they were saying sounded ridiculous, yet who would believe them?

Even the Imperial Envoy’s expression had already darkened considerably.

"Absurd! We had to take this measure simply because of the order we received from you!"

Chen Guanshan refuted immediately as he took one angry step forward.

"But of course you would say so," Li Zhenyuan interrupted as he raised his right hand. Slowly, he turned his gaze toward the Chen Family once more.

"Perhaps they do."

There was a subtle change in his expression as he looked at the elderly clansmen.

"But perhaps there is another explanation."

He deliberately allowed the words to linger before continuing.

"The southern border is a battlefield. Anyone who has heard the reports from the front knows how brutal the fighting has become. Countless cultivators have already fallen there."

His gaze moved slowly across the Chen Family members.

"So why would the Chen Family send twenty elderly cultivators while keeping every young member at home?"

A few cultivators exchanged glances. The question struck a sensitive point, especially since most of the other families had sent their younger members instead.

In a way, the Chen Family’s decision to send the elderly ones seemed unfair in the eyes of the other cultivation families. Li Zhenyuan continued as he spread his hand, gesturing toward the crowd.

"Could it be that the Chen Family is deliberately sending its older members to the battlefield because they have no intention of letting them return?"

The surrounding conversations gradually became quieter as people listened.

"Send the old ones to die while protecting the younger generation..."

One cultivator muttered under his breath. Another looked toward the Chen Family with growing suspicion.

"Could they really be a demonic force?"

Li Zhenyuan’s voice followed immediately after.

"If the Chen Family has truly been infiltrated by demonic forces, then preserving their younger generation while sacrificing their older members would hardly be surprising."

The atmosphere changed.

What had previously sounded like a series of unrelated accusations suddenly seemed to fit together in the minds of many people.

Zhao Mingyuan slowly nodded, seemingly pleased with how the situation had turned out.

"I must admit, Elder Li’s observation is worth considering."

His gaze settled upon the Chen Family.

"Twenty people, despite my order for ten. Not a single member of the younger generation among them. And now we have several families coming forward with accusations against the Chen Family."

He turned his head toward Zhao Lianyu.

"Your Excellency, perhaps their behavior does warrant further investigation. If we let the demon escape, that would surely bring a stain upon our family’s name."

Zhao Lianyu remained seated in the center of the platform.

She did not immediately respond. Instead, her eyes moved slowly across the Chen Family’s group. Her gaze passed over the elderly clansmen standing behind Chen Guanshan before finally settling upon him.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Chen Guanshan’s heart sank when he saw it. Everything they had brought with them had been turned against them. Even if he wanted to argue back, none of the families here would be willing to stand with them against the City Lord’s Mansion.

Chen Guanshan slowly looked at the faces of his clansmen.

The anger that had filled them earlier was beginning to disappear, replaced by disbelief and unease as they reached the same realization.

"I am sorry."

Chen Guanshan lowered his voice as he looked toward the clansmen behind him.

The words were barely audible, yet every member of the Chen Family heard them. He had already realized that arguing further would accomplish nothing. There was no point in allowing anger to control them.

Zhao Mingyuan, Sun Qian, and Li Zhenyuan noticed the change in the atmosphere that was beginning to favor their words. The three of them smiled slightly, exchanging glances with each other as they waited for the silent woman to speak.

However, before anyone could say anything else, Zhao Lianyu suddenly raised her hand.

The movement was neither hurried nor forceful, yet the surrounding noise gradually faded as her gesture drew everyone’s attention.

Her eyes remained fixed upon the Chen Family for several breaths before slowly shifting toward Zhao Mingyuan.

"These acts."

Her voice was quiet, but it carried clearly across the enormous gathering area.

"These reasons."

She paused, her gaze moving toward the representatives who had stepped forward to accuse the Chen Family.

"And these accusations."

Her eyes returned to Zhao Mingyuan.

The faint indifference that had remained in her expression since her arrival was gone. Instead, there was a trace of coldness in her eyes.

"City Lord Zhao Mingyuan..."

The entire gathering became silent.

"Do you take me, an Imperial Envoy of the Great Yan High Lord, for a fool?"

The question was not loud, and it did not need to be. The moment those words left her mouth, the entire platform fell completely still.

Like a thunderclap against still water, the tranquility was disturbed.

Li Zhenyuan’s expression froze.

The representatives who had been accusing the Chen Family moments earlier suddenly stopped speaking, their faces stiffening as they exchanged uncertain glances.

Even Sun Qian, who had remained composed throughout the entire exchange, stopped moving. He held the scrolls tighter against his chest as he narrowed his eyes toward the woman sitting before him.

Zhao Mingyuan’s smile disappeared. For the first time since the beginning of the gathering, the City Lord’s expression showed a noticeable change.

No one dared to speak as Zhao Lianyu slowly lowered her hand.

Her eyes remained on Zhao Mingyuan’s figure from her seat.

"The Chen Family has committed these acts."

"You claim to have witnesses."

"They have brought twice the number of people permitted."

"They have brought only elderly clansmen."

"And somehow, every single matter points toward the same conclusion."

Her voice remained calm as she continued.

"You expect me to believe that all of this is merely coincidence?"

"I’ve lived long enough to see countless schemes and disputes across the kingdom. These poor excuses and reasons you created are utterly pitiful..."

The silence became heavier.

Zhao Lianyu’s eyes narrowed.

"Or do you believe that an Imperial Envoy sent by the High Lord would be unable to recognize such an obvious arrangement?"

Chen Guanshan’s eyes widened slightly, and the anger within his chest slowly gave way to surprise. He had expected the Imperial Envoy to investigate them.

He had never expected her to question the accusations themselves. Across the gathering, Li Zhenyuan’s face had become considerably uglier.

Zhao Lianyu looked toward him next.

"Your witness claims to have seen a Chen Family member use a demonic technique."

Her gaze returned to Zhao Mingyuan.

"Yet you have not presented that witness."

"You have not presented the memory."

"And before even allowing me to examine the evidence, you have already gathered a crowd of people prepared to accuse the same family of unrelated crimes."

She paused.

"Tell me, City Lord Zhao."

"What exactly am I supposed to investigate?"

The question left the entire gathering speechless. Zhao Mingyuan froze for several breaths, his gaze hanging low.

The advisor standing beside him had a troubled expression on his face. Clearly, neither he nor Zhao Mingyuan had expected the situation to turn in this direction.

Yet the woman showed no intention of letting the matter end there.

She lifted one leg and crossed it over the other, resting her elbow against the armrest before supporting her chin with one hand. Her long eyes narrowed slightly as she looked down at Zhao Mingyuan.

"Don’t you think my arrival here is rather odd, City Lord Zhao Mingyuan?"

Complete silence descended upon the gathering. It was as though even the air had grown heavier, and everyone’s breathing had halted beneath her statement.

Zhao Mingyuan raised his eyes. After a brief silence, he calmly shook his head, his expression still carrying the same smile he had worn from the beginning.

"I do not dare to speculate, Your Excellency."

His expression was completely composed, as though he genuinely could not understand what she was implying.

"The Imperial Court discovered the presence of demonic forces within Great Yan. Your Excellency was therefore dispatched to investigate the cultivation families and forces within this region before the southern expedition. Your purpose is to determine whether demonic seeds or demonic forces have infiltrated this land."

He spoke slowly, repeating the very purpose of her arrival as though there were nothing unusual about it.

The woman listened until he finished, then she nodded as her lips curved into a faint smile.

"How obedient."

Zhao Mingyuan’s brows drew together slightly.

"To think that you could repeat your mission so faithfully, almost like a loyal dog."

Her words were spoken lightly, yet the mockery within them was unmistakable. The surrounding cultivators lowered their heads even further, afraid to make the slightest sound.

The woman slowly straightened herself.

"But your understanding of my mission is incomplete. And in fact, you already knew what my true purpose here was."

Zhao Mingyuan’s expression remained unchanged.

"What do you mean by that, Your Excellency? I... I don’t seem to understand."

She did not answer immediately. Instead, her gaze drifted away from him and toward the gathering below.

Her eyes moved across the many cultivation families that had spoken against the Chen Family earlier.

One after another, she looked toward the smaller families that had suddenly appeared as witnesses against the Chen Family.

Her gaze lingered over them, and yet there was no anger in her eyes. What remained was only scrutiny.

"It seems all of you have failed to realize something."

Her voice was calm.

"I’ve not come here to judge the Chen Family according to your wishes."

"But rather, I’ve come here to cleanse this city of..."

She paused, her eyes turning back toward Zhao Mingyuan’s face.

"...demons."

The surrounding cultivators exchanged uneasy glances, and she casually lifted one finger. A faint spiritual fluctuation appeared around her fingertip as an envelope materialized between her fingers.

It was sealed with a familiar mark.

The insignia of the City Lord’s Mansion, bearing the unmistakable imprint of the Zhao Family.

She held it between two fingers and looked directly at Zhao Mingyuan.

"And I just so happened to obtain the original letter you personally sent. What I find strange is that, despite leaving behind such evidence yourself, you still went this far to frame the Chen Family."

Her voice became slightly colder.

"City Lord... Zhao Mingyuan. What do you mean by these actions of yours?"

The atmosphere changed, and the surrounding air seemed to become colder.

No one spoke.

Even the sounds from the distant streets outside the platform seemed to have disappeared beneath the heavy silence that enveloped the gathering.

Zhao Mingyuan remained motionless. His eyes flickered for the briefest instant before his lips slowly curved upward.

A smile appeared upon his face, and it was not the composed smile he had worn earlier. It was something far more unsettling, almost ridiculous in contrast to the situation he was in.

"So that’s how it is."

His eyes slowly lifted toward Zhao Lianyu.

"And here I was wondering whether the Imperial Court would be sending the usual idiot who could be easily bribed. Or a fearful fool who could be easily intimidated, like the times before."

His smile widened.

"Unfortunately, they sent an intelligent one this time, and very well prepared at that..."

The surrounding cultivators felt their hearts tighten.

The sudden change in Zhao Mingyuan’s demeanor was enough to make them realize that the situation had already gone far beyond what they had imagined.

Yet Zhao Lianyu’s expression did not change.

She simply watched him.

"It truly is fascinating..."

Her gaze returned to the crowd below.

"Just how many cultivation families..."

She paused.

Her eyes moved slowly across the gathered representatives.

Then her voice dropped.

"...have you infiltrated in this area?"

Complete silence descended upon the gathering. For several breaths, none of the cultivators seemed capable of understanding the meaning behind her words.

Chen Guanshan stood motionless, his brows drawn together as he tried to make sense of the situation.

The members of the Wang Family exchanged bewildered glances, equally unable to understand what the Imperial Envoy was implying.

At the front of the group, a woman stood motionless before the Wang Family’s clansmen, hurriedly whispering secret instructions to her fellow clansmen.

Even the cultivation families that had remained silent throughout the earlier accusations were now completely at a loss.

Yet Zhao Mingyuan and his advisor reacted differently.

The two men looked at one another.

Their expressions changed, but not to fear. Instead, there was almost a mocking amusement in their eyes.

In the next second, they laughed.

Their laughter began softly, but within a few breaths, it grew louder and more unrestrained.

"Hahaha!"

"How strange!"

"Hahahaha!"

"How... How could you notice it?"

The advisor laughed as he stared toward Zhao Lianyu, his face twisted by disbelief. Zhao Mingyuan’s laughter followed, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the woman sitting before him.

"There’s no way you could have discovered it."

His voice carried a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

"We’ve been hiding here for decades, and throughout all these years, not a single person has managed to discover us. Yet you, a mere Imperial Envoy who has only just arrived in this city, somehow saw through everything?"

His laughter grew louder, his voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and ridicule. He shook his head, his smile becoming increasingly twisted.

"Absurd. Absolutely absurd!"

Zhao Lianyu remained seated.

Her posture had not changed.

One leg remained crossed over the other, her chin still resting casually upon her hand. The laughter of the two men seemed to have nothing to do with her.

Then her eyes slowly lifted.

"It seems your intelligence is rather lacking. We have noticed your movements for quite some time now. Did you truly believe that everything you did in this region went unnoticed simply because you managed to conceal yourselves from the local cultivators?"

Her voice was calm.

The laughter abruptly became louder.

"BAHAHAHA!"

This time, the Li Family members joined them.

Several of them threw their heads back and laughed, some even clutching their stomachs as though they had just heard the funniest joke imaginable.

The sight immediately caused the surrounding families to retreat. One family took several steps backward, another followed, and then another.

It was almost as though everyone had reached the same conclusion at the same time. The families that had previously accused the Chen Family also began laughing.

Their expressions changed completely.

The fear and hesitation they had shown earlier vanished, replaced by the same strange, almost manic laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"HAHAHA!"

The sound spread across the gathering place.

Yet the Chen Family remained silent. So did the Wang Family.

Those who had not participated in the accusations stared at the scene in growing unease. The platform had become divided into two completely different sides.

On one side stood the Chen Family and the remaining uninvolved cultivators, their expressions tense and bewildered.

On the other stood Zhao Mingyuan, his advisor, the Li Family, and the cultivation families that had accused the Chen Family.

They laughed together in a grotesque chorus, their voices echoing throughout the gathering place.

The contrast was eerie.

Silence on one side and laughter on the other.

And in the center of it all, Zhao Lianyu remained seated with the same indifferent expression, watching them silently.