Chapter 1089: Very Important

Xie Zhongli walked out of the small courtyard with heavy steps, and an earthquake concerning the Xie Clan immediately followed.

Although the White Deer's Xie Clan was a family of scholars, in the end, it still possessed the same set of things that all the other great clans and powerful families had.

The Disciplinary Hall soon received the family head's handwritten order, and so many people began to move. Before long, quite a few people were brought into the Disciplinary Hall.

Many of the Xie Clan members who had originally been gathered around the outside of the courtyard were also taken away for investigation.

This immediately shocked those Xie Clan members. They did not know what had happened, but judging from this display, whatever had happened today was clearly a very serious matter.

“Even Seventh Great-Uncle has been brought out and taken into the Disciplinary Hall!”

Someone exclaimed in shock, his face filled with disbelief.

“Hasn't Seventh Great-Uncle stopped handling affairs for a long time? How could he still be implicated?”

“Could it be that Seventh Great-Uncle was also involved in the matter of killing Sixteenth Uncle?”

The Xie Clan members discussed the matter outside the courtyard. By now, they roughly understood that this matter had still been triggered by the death of Sixteenth Master.

“Perhaps Sixteenth Uncle's death really wasn't ordinary.”

Someone sighed. They were actually unwilling to see something like this happen within the Xie Clan. If something like this truly happened, it was actually even more difficult to bear than Chen Chao coming here and stepping on the Xie Clan.

The White Deer's Xie Clan, praised by the scholars of the world as the clan with the greatest scholarly integrity, could actually have something like this happen?

......

The Xie Clan had begun to move, but Chen Chao remained quietly seated beneath the eaves. Xie Qing had originally wanted to leave this place, but in the end, he did not leave. Instead, he stood beside Chen Chao, looking at the back of this young Lord Warden Commander, his thoughts complicated.

Before this man appeared, who could have imagined that in this world, the person whose words carried the most weight would be a young man not yet thirty years old?

But now, not only had such a thing happened, this young martial man who had risen to a high position and wielded great authority at such a young age truly did not seem to have become arrogant and overbearing simply because of his lofty position. Although his actions earlier had been forceful, after learning the whole matter, Xie Qing could not find anything wrong with them.

“If you want to sit, then sit. Aren't you tired from standing all this time?”

Just as Xie Qing was thinking about all sorts of things, Chen Chao suddenly spoke.

However, Xie Qing looked around and did not see a second chair. Ever since Sixteenth Uncle had died, this little sister's courtyard had been occupied by her alone. At first, there had still been maidservants attending to her, but later even the maidservants were sent away, leaving only Xie Nandu.

This naturally meant there was only one chair.

“Does Lord Warden Commander want me to sit on the ground?” Xie Qing came back to his senses and made a joke.

Chen Chao said, “In the imperial court, only His Highness the Crown Prince sits higher than this official.”

Hearing this, Xie Qing simply plopped down on the door threshold, without bothering about etiquette.

Seeing this, Chen Chao actually smiled for once. “You certainly know how to adapt.”

Xie Qing smiled. “Actually, my heart is still very uneasy right now. If the investigation later leads to me, this might be the last time I ever meet Lord Warden Commander.”

“If you do nothing wrong during the day, you won't fear ghosts knocking at your door at night.”

Chen Chao casually said this, his tone much gentler.

Xie Qing felt somewhat more at ease and quietly asked, “Actually, there is something I want to ask. I don't know whether Lord Warden Commander would like to hear it?”

Chen Chao nodded, indicating that Xie Qing could ask.

Xie Qing thought for a moment. His first question was still not much different from the one Xie Zhongli had asked: “Lord Warden Commander, coming here personally this time, was it really only because what happened was wrong? If it had not been Nandu, would you have done the same for anyone else?”

Chen Chao said frankly, “There is naturally some personal motive. If it were not for Nandu's matter, this official could have sent someone here and simply demanded a result.”

“You would still have intervened?”

Xie Qing frowned. “Without the slightest regard for the Xie Clan's position, without the slightest fear that it might affect the political situation?”

Although the White Deer's Xie Clan was far away in White Deer Prefecture, it was closely connected to the Divine Capital Xie Family. If anything happened to the White Deer's Xie Clan, the turmoil it caused would be impossible for anyone to predict.

“The same.”

Chen Chao did not hesitate and remained very calm.

“The political situation is somewhat turbulent right now. There are some things that should not be done at this moment and can be delayed for a while, but that only means delaying them, not ignoring them. And there are some things that have to be done right now, without the slightest delay.”

Chen Chao smiled. “Moreover, Nandu is currently a Northern Frontier deputy general. She is extremely important in the Northern Frontier, and there will soon be a great battle there. If this matter is settled for her and it makes her happy, it will benefit both the country and the common people.”

Xie Qing asked suspiciously, “Can Lord Warden Commander really be trusted in saying this?”

He had originally thought Chen Chao would say something else to fob him off, but he never expected Chen Chao to merely shake his head and say frankly, “Of course it can't be trusted. For this official to come all the way here at this particular moment, while bearing such enormous pressure, naturally involves a great deal of personal motive.”

Xie Qing's expression became strange.

“This official thinks about how the girl I like is still suffering grievances, and it naturally leaves me feeling awful.”

Xie Nandu was still in the Northern Frontier at this moment and could not get away at all. But Chen Chao had already sent the news back. Given her temperament, if not for the great battle in the Northern Frontier, she would have come south herself. But since she could not get away at this moment, Chen Chao would simply handle the matter for her.

Xie Qing remained silent for a long time before finally saying with a complicated expression, “Lord Warden Commander really is... quite straightforward.”

Chen Chao smiled. “Don't you scholars have a saying? ‘The gentleman is broad and open-hearted, while the petty man is... constantly anxious and troubled’?”

“As for what this official does, there are two things I seek. The first is to have a clear conscience. The second is that within the laws of Great Liang, this official must not wrong a single innocent person or wantonly kill a single citizen of Great Liang.”

Chen Chao smiled. “Within these two points, this official is also a person. Naturally, when acting, there will be matters of greater and lesser urgency, and people who are closer or more distant.”

Xie Qing nodded. “No one is perfect. Moreover, given Lord Warden Commander's high position, many things you do will be regarded as unjust by others even when they are fair.”

“That is why one can only seek to have a clear conscience.”

Chen Chao thought for a moment before saying, “There is something else. If this official says it now, you will probably think this official is being somewhat affected, but this official can still say it.”

“I am all ears.”

Chen Chao smiled slightly. “In your eyes, the White Deer's Xie Clan is powerful, holds a high position, and is very important. That is indeed an objective fact, but to this official, there is no question of choosing one over another.”

“If the Xie Clan bullies an ordinary commoner, then justice must naturally be sought for them as well. One cannot refuse to uphold the common people's justice simply because the Xie Clan is too powerful and too important.”

“The soldiers in the Northern Frontier all come from humble backgrounds. From their perspective, when they go north to serve as soldiers, of course the first thing they think about is protecting their own homes. As for other matters, they have to be put aside for the moment. That is only human nature.”

“And regardless of what purpose they had for going north, without them, the Northern Frontier would have fallen long ago, and that Great Wall would have collapsed long ago. What they represent is the ordinary common people, so they should be given preferential treatment in the north.”

“As for the rest of the people of Great Liang, they are also very important. The most straightforward point is that the salaries of the officials and the military provisions for the troops in the north all come from them.”