Chapter 380: Chapter 380: I’ll Skin You Alive

Huangfu Jinxuan silently clicked his tongue a few times in his heart: Fortunately, he had the foresight to place the prison cage in a corner of the stage far from him, otherwise, wouldn’t he be suffocated to death by the stench?

It was unclear whether the person inside was awakened by the pain from the pelting or the stench, but he slowly came to his senses.

Kong Tixin was the first to awaken, and as soon as he opened his eyes, a rotten egg smashed onto his forehead, stunning him. However, his muddled brain quickly recalled everything before, and his face immediately turned pale.

His eyes swept over the scene, and once he grasped the situation, his eyes widened further, emitting a terrible scream: “Ah…”

Why on earth was he tied together with Lord Yu, and why were the unruly people of Wangshan Town in front of them?

Soon after, Yu Shikui also came to his senses. He fainted earlier than Kong Tixin did yesterday and was unaware of what was in the confession. After Wei Jun finished reading it, he put the confession away.

At this moment, upon seeing himself naked and tied with Kong Tixin, with the villagers of Wangshan Town before him, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.

He knew without asking that it was Huangfu Jinxuan’s doing.

From the first day Huangfu Jinxuan arrived, he expressed deep malice towards Yu, mocking him with words and never looking directly at him. Now, having found fault, he brings him to public disgrace in front of everyone.

This grudge, Yu made a note of it!

The rotten vegetables and eggs thrown by the villagers deepened the malice in his eyes!

The unruly villagers were originally meant to be burned up in a fire, but something unexpected happened. He suddenly turned his head and saw the light-hearted, mocking face of Huangfu Jinxuan, and he roared in anger, “Huangfu Jinxuan, as an imperial envoy, how can you openly mock a court official? What crime is that?”

Huangfu Jinxuan raised his eyebrows and said in astonishment, “Lord Yu, what you said is interesting. How have I mocked you? Wasn’t it you yourself who went to Kong Tixin’s estate? Wasn’t it you yourself who tangled up with Kong Tixin? Wasn’t it you yourself who willingly offered yourself to Kong Tixin? I asked yesterday, and you said you were willing, so how is it now that you’ve turned it into me mocking you?”

Yu Shikui became furious. The mockery he spoke of was clearly not the same matter as what Huangfu Jinxuan mentioned. Huangfu Jinxuan deliberately misinterpreted his words, trying to make him lose face in front of the people of Wangshan Town!

Grinding his teeth, he demanded, “Even if that’s true, why have you tied us up here, what are your intentions?”

Huangfu Jinxuan said with a grin, “I had no intention of doing anything, but since you were playing so big, I thought you wouldn’t care about what others think. Normally, no matter how much you mess around, an imperial envoy wouldn’t bother. That’s your personal business. But you went wrong because your original intention was to harm Miss Xia. Miss Xia made significant contributions to the epidemic in Wangshan Town. This imperial envoy was ordered to bring an imperial physician here to treat the epidemic. In other words, Miss Xia has made contributions to this envoy. So, of course, I have to inform everyone in Wangshan Town of your wrongdoing!”

Yu Shikui looked around but didn’t see Xia Wenjin.

Thinking about how Xia Wenjin was supposed to leave, he presumed she already had, his eyes shifted, and instantly he had a plan. His face showed even more anger, saying, “Huangfu Jinxuan, as an imperial envoy, you are slandering us. You accuse us of having bad intentions toward Miss Xia, where is the witnesses? Where is the evidence?”

Huangfu Jinxuan seemed to have anticipated his question, and loudly said, “Bring in the witness and evidence!”

Yu Shikui was startled. Looking up, he saw the owner of Hongfu Restaurant bringing a wine pot. Wasn’t this the wine pot they used last night? He sharply glanced at Kong Tixin, who was close by.

Seeing this wine pot, Kong Tixin also looked a bit flustered. Yesterday, seeing Xia Wenjin fall into the trap made him too happy and he forgot to deal with this wine pot.

Huangfu Jinxuan nonchalantly said, “Yu Shikui, Kong Tixin, do you recognize this wine pot? This is the one you used last night. The specific details, let this person speak.”

The owner of Hongfu Restaurant, who was called upon, quickly opened the wine pot and showed it to the audience, saying, “We don’t have this kind of wine pot here. When I was procuring goods outside, I heard about this kind. It’s called a Mandarin Duck Wine Pot. It has two compartments inside, with one side spiked with drugs and the other side clean.”

Kong Tixin accused, “You’re talking nonsense! I, the County Magistrate, will have your skin peeled off!”

The restaurant owner shrank back in fear but, seeing the calm and god-like gaze of Huangfu Jinxuan, he immediately gathered confidence and said, “Yesterday, County Magistrate Kong came to my restaurant, said he was hosting a distinguished guest, and asked for a special, refined banquet, not to neglect the guests. County Magistrate Kong didn’t like the wine in my restaurant, so he brought his own. This wine pot was also his!”

Yu Shikui tried hard to ignore his current state, knowing that he could only plan further if he denied everything.

If he admitted to this matter, it would truly be the end of his reputation, becoming a lifelong scandal.

Once free, he could silence whoever needed to be silenced and eliminate whoever needed to be eliminated.

And Huangfu Jinxuan, he was now his number one enemy, and if he managed to escape today’s predicament, he would assist his grandfather in waging relentless war against the Prince Kang Mansion.

Right now, the most crucial thing was to escape this prison cage. That damned Huangfu Jinxuan had the nerve to put him naked into a cage, and this score would be settled slowly in the future.

He coldly said, “Huangfu Jinxuan, you keep saying we intended to harm Xia Wenjin, but where is she? She’s not even here, so you’re just trying to accuse this Prefectural Governor by targeting someone who’s not here. I’m a court official, and you’ve stripped me bare, accused me of a non-existent crime, and you think just because you’re an imperial envoy you can do as you please?”

Huangfu Jinxuan stood up, “Oh, you’re quite stubborn, I see! So, are you denying it?”

“Hmph, the witness you speak of is merely a restaurant owner,” Yu Shikui sneered. “According to you, the true victim should be Xia Wenjin, yet she is nowhere to be found, and you want this Prefectural Governor to admit to such a crime? Dream on!”

He was unaware that Kong Tixin had already confessed everything while he was unconscious from last night until now.

He thought that if Xia Wenjin had already left, he could turn the tables and impeach Huangfu Jinxuan for using the title of imperial envoy to disgrace a court official, thereby turning defeat into victory.

Even if Xia Wenjin were present, would a young lady dare to make such an incident public?

The reputation of a woman is of utmost importance. Even if she ended up not being defiled, just saying she drank the drugged wine could be enough to ruin her reputation to the point she wouldn’t want to live in this world.

Huangfu Jinxuan walked up to him, looking at him coolly. The smell of smashed rotten eggs was really unpleasant, but compared to being able to closely witness his misery, Huangfu Jinxuan felt he could bear it.

Pinching his nose, he said, “So, you’re admitting to having impure thoughts about Xia Wenjin, but just didn’t succeed, huh?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep