Mercenary Princess - Chapter 66
Every arrow hit its mark! With its two furious tiger eyes wide open, its massive body suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Upon seeing the tiger lying dead on the spot, Rongyue and the other person had different thoughts.
Rongyue wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, thinking to herself: This was truly a perilous situation! The wolves were gone, but a tiger had appeared! Luckily, there was still one arrow left in the quiver, otherwise they would have become the tiger's meal by now. That man was truly a coward; he actually stuck the arrow into the tiger's back!
He stared at the arrow lodged in the tiger's back, thinking to himself: If it weren't for the tiger's deep sleep, the arrow wouldn't be stuck in its back! He glanced at the feathered arrow on the tiger's head, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. The arrow had struck the tiger's head…
...
"Majesty!" In the government hall, the yamen runners solemnly struck the ground with their mighty sticks to cheer on the officials.
Directly in front of the courtroom, beneath the plaque proclaiming "Upright and Just," sat Magistrate Luo Gui, wearing an official hat and appearing every inch the upright and just ruler, ready to uphold justice for the people. But if one approached closely, one would discover that his legs, hidden behind the desk, were trembling uncontrollably, like a leaf falling...
In the very center of the courtroom, a dead tiger with three arrows stuck in its body lay prostrate on the ground, facing Rongyue and the man on either side of it.
With a slam of the gavel, the magistrate's face turned solemn: "Who is there before me! State your name at once!"
Unable to contain her anger, her almond-shaped eyes glared at the man beside her: "I am Jian Xiaosan!"
With a gentle wave of his folding fan, his fair and handsome face exuded a sense of ease and leisure: "My name is Tuoba Chen!"
Those three words nearly made Luo Gui fall off his chair! He never expected that the Second Prince, on his private visit, would reveal his identity in court! This completely caught him off guard!
Trembling, he brushed his official hat aside, his legs shaking, and with boundless humility and awe, he tried to rise from the old man's chair, leaning on the armrest...
A cold glance swept over him, and Luo Gui understood. He immediately bent his legs back down, his heart pounding, as he cautiously watched Tuoba Chen's expression.
Indeed, this man is none other than the Second Prince of Nancha Kingdom, Tuoba Chen.
Seeing that Rongyue showed no surprise upon hearing the name Tuoba Chen, he was astonished. He snapped his folding fan shut, rested his chin on the back of his left hand, and glanced at Rongyue up and down suspiciously: "You...aren't you suspicious?"
Huh? Rongyue paused for a moment: "What's wrong?"
He stared at Rongyue for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's nothing. Magistrate, let's begin!"
"Yes, yes..." His right hand trembled slightly as he picked up the gavel and slammed it down on the table. "Court is...court is in session..."
The constables on either side exchanged bewildered glances, then gave each other understanding looks before brandishing their batons once more. This county magistrate was probably terrified by the Second Prince…
"Jian Xiaosan, what are you accusing Tuo...Er...of?!" This brat actually dared to accuse the Second Prince of the court! He's got a death wish! The fact that this kind of thing happened in his own county was already terrifying, but to make matters worse, this kid is actually a constable in his own office! His official hat is definitely off! After today, even whether his head will remain intact on his neck is uncertain!
Rongyue frowned and pointed to her side with her slender hand: "Get this straight, his name isn't Tuo Er! He said his name is Tuoba Chen!"
Oh no, oh no! You brat, you don't have to rush to your death if you want to! It's one thing to anger the Second Prince, but if he takes his anger out on her, then she'll be truly wronged!
Raising his wide sleeves, Luo Gui kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead: "You... what exactly is it that you want to sue... him..."
Luo Gui's timid and submissive demeanor made Rong Yue frown repeatedly. What's wrong with Luo Gui today? Why is he behaving like this!
"Your Honor, the young master beside me, named Tuoba Chen, is outwardly respectable but inwardly treacherous and cunning, utterly hypocritical. He will stop at nothing to win my beautiful wife! Leaving aside the underhanded tactics he used to make my arrows miss several times during the competition, he shamelessly used the tiger I killed to exchange for the Phoenix Jade! Where is justice? Where is fairness?! Your Honor, please do me justice and seek vindication for me!"
Although she was unwilling to kneel, she had no choice but to bend her knees in order to win the favor of the county magistrate and increase her chances of winning.
Cold sweat poured down his back even more. His small, triangular eyes timidly glanced at Tuoba Chen, who stood there with a smile.
"Your Honor, please make a wise judgment," he said calmly, approaching the dead tiger. He crouched down and pulled the arrow from its throat. "According to the rules, whoever can pierce the tiger's throat with one arrow wins! There's only one arrow in the tiger's throat, meaning the owner of this arrow is the winner! Your Honor, look, the arrowhead is white..." Sensing the fiery gaze, he smiled and pulled the arrow from the tiger's head. "Brother Jian, if I remember correctly, your arrowheads are black, aren't they? Like this one... Hehe, Brother Jian, you can't win this case! As the saying goes, a bet is a bet, hehe, Brother Jian, you'd better hurry back and have your wife dress up nicely, waiting for me to personally come and take your beautiful bride home..."
She scrambled to her feet, pointed at his nose, and roared furiously, "You're utterly dishonest! Back in the woods, if I hadn't exhausted myself fighting off the wolves, you'd probably be a pile of bones by now! And your clumsy archery angered the tiger; if I hadn't shot it dead in time, would you be swaggering around here?! You'd be torn to pieces by that ferocious tiger! I saved you, and you repay kindness with enmity, stealing my credit and plotting against my wife! Tuoba Chen, you hypocrite! You're despicable!"
Feigning helplessness and frustration, he said, "But the facts are clear: even if you shout yourself hoarse, Brother Jian, it won't make a difference! Alas, I understand your love for your wife... but, who doesn't yearn for a beauty? Forgive me, for I cannot relinquish my beloved to fulfill your wish, Brother Jian! Alas, I truly cannot help you..."
With a livid face, he turned his gaze to the county magistrate: "I implore Your Excellency to summon a coroner to examine Hu's body. Ze will then be able to discern the truth!"
"Hmm, a coroner?" Tuoba Chen chuckled. "Brother Jian, you've got it wrong. This coroner is here to examine people, not animals..."
"What does examining people or animals have to do with it! Besides, I'm asking the magistrate a question, what right do you have to interrupt! Are you the magistrate?!"
With a smile and no words, Tuoba Chen turned his gaze to Luo Gui, who was seated on the high seat.
Luo Gui forced a smile: "This young master is absolutely right, this... Beast Envoys cannot be examined by a coroner..."
Rongyue then noticed the strange interaction between the two of them. After suspiciously glancing back and forth between them, she shouted angrily, "Well, you two are a den of snakes and rats, in cahoots! You're all in cahoots!!!"
Volume Two: The Resolute Heroines, Chapter Eight: Personal Attendants
"Bang!" The gavel struck again, and the magistrate's face turned green: "How dare you! You lowly commoner, Jian Xiaosan, how dare you insult His Highness the Second Prince! To disrespect His Highness and show contempt for the royal family is an unforgivable crime, deserving of death! Guards..."
"Did I say I would deal with him?" Tuoba Chen suddenly interrupted him, his low voice still tinged with coldness: "Luo Gui, I haven't even spoken yet, and you're already making decisions on your own. This makes one wonder whether you are the prince or I am the prince?"
The chilling rhetorical question startled Luo Gui so much that he tumbled off his chair. Ignoring the crooked official hat on his head, he trembled, crawled on his knees towards Tuoba Chen, kowtowing as he went: "Your Highness, I'm innocent! My loyalty to Your Highness is unwavering, heaven and earth bear witness! Even if I had a hundred lives, I would never have harbored the slightest disrespect… Please, Your Highness, investigate!"
The Second Prince?! Xing's eyes widened in disbelief as Rongyue stared at the man standing tall, exuding an imposing aura without anger. Only then did she realize that his every move was filled with the innate nobility of royalty...
Feeling Rongyue's gaze, he suppressed his imposing demeanor, his handsome face softening, his features becoming gentle. He took a few steps closer to Rongyue and, seeing her looking dazed, he chuckled and flicked her delicate cheek with his finger: "What's wrong, are you dumbfounded? Weren't you quite talkative just now? How come your tongue's like it's been sucked by a cat?"
Her delicate eyebrows were tightly furrowed in the middle, the wrinkles almost forming a knot.
"You...you're really a prince?"
Tuoba Chen chuckled softly: "What do you think?"
Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed: "I never imagined you were a noble prince of the Southern Kingdom! This humble subject doesn't understand why a prince of such high status would have such a penchant for stealing other men's wives?"
"The beauty is the dream of a gentleman, the one he seeks."
"But a gentleman does not take what others love!"
"No, no! We agreed beforehand that whoever obtains the jade will obtain the beauty. Now that the jade is in my possession, it is only natural that I would win the beauty's heart with the jade. How can you say that I 'stole' her?"