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Chapter 128: Chapter 87: I Still Like Your Defiant Look (Part 3)

Now the commoners couldn’t blame Zhao Ci.

The Junior Officials went from facing imminent conviction to being completely absolved—and even got a chance at a lottery. They had even less reason to blame Zhao Ci.

’Damn it!’

’He gets all the credit.’

’But I’m the one who has to pay?’

’You get to have it all!’

’Forty thousand taels!’

’Why don’t you just go rob someone?!’

Zhang Delv’s lips began to tremble. ”Your Highness! My annual salary is only a few hundred taels. Forty thousand taels is...”

Zhao Ci smiled and reminded him, ”Lord Zhang, the quarter-hour is almost up!”

Zhang Delv: ”...”

’Not even a chance to bargain, huh?’

’His head was buzzing.’

He’d only dared to pull this stunt right under Zhao Ci’s nose because he thought the Emperor wouldn’t bother punishing him over such trivial matters.

But if Zhao Ci were to force the issue with the power of the Imperial Clan Court, there was no way this would end well!

’Now two choices lay before me, but it feels like there’s no choice at all.’

’Either I keep resisting and gamble my career on whether Zhao Ci dares to risk mutual destruction...’

’Or, I pay forty thousand taels of silver to save my own skin. It would be a painful loss, but after so many years in Qingyang County and countless shady dealings, it’s not like I can’t afford it.’

’Take the risk?’

’You want me to risk it, with such a cushy post on the line?’

Zhang Delv ground his teeth so hard they nearly shattered. He had enjoyed smooth sailing for years in the treacherous Northern Three Prefectures, only to be tripped up in the gutter like this.

’This little bastard is truly vicious!’

’Deep breaths.’

’Exhale...’

’Inhale...’

After a few cycles, he finally regained control of his emotions. He forced a smile and said, ”I never expected Your Highness to be so concerned for the officials of the Northern Three Prefectures. How could I not help you in this worthy endeavor? The forty thousand taels... I’ll pay it!”

The smile on Zhao Ci’s face grew even brighter. ”Then, on behalf of everyone, I thank you for your generosity, Lord Zhang!”

With that, he stood up and walked to the front of the high platform.

’To be honest, I didn’t expect things to go this far.’

’The problem was that these old foxes were too arrogant. They thought I was young, timid, and easy to bully.’

’Otherwise, they had countless chances to back down.’

’But now... forty thousand taels, one thousand pills... It’s not just a sales achievement for the Xingyu Pill Association. It also means I can farm at least ten thousand comprehension points, plus a thousand Luck Talismans.’

’Thanks, Zhang Delv!’

’My second-biggest benefactor!’

”RUMBLE...”

Seeing Zhao Ci stand up again, the crowd instantly fell into a commotion.

The Junior Officials in particular went pale.

’Is the quarter-hour up already?’

The most frantic of all was Maoju. He scrambled to his knees before Zhao Ci. ”Your Highness! I’ll confess! The Junior Official who instigated me was...”

”Instigated?”

Zhao Ci’s brow tightened. ”What instigation? I don’t know anything about that.”

Maoju: ”???”

The commoners: ”???”

The Junior Officials: ”???”

”Ahem!”

Zhao Ci cleared his throat and announced, ”Everyone, you’ve been alarmed. Just now, Lord Zhang and I went over the details several times, only to realize that today’s events have all been one big misunderstanding.

There were no imposters among the people!

There were no malicious officials deliberately instigating anyone!

It was all a misunderstanding.

In short, the internal details are very complicated. I had to help Lord Zhang sort through it multiple times before he understood that the fault was his.

I won’t go into the specifics, but the bottom line is that none of you are at fault.

Our colleagues here were frightened, and Lord Zhang feels rather apologetic. Therefore, he has specially purchased one thousand Qi Cultivation Pills from the Xingyu Pill Association. Once they arrive, everyone present will be able to participate in a raffle.”

The commoners: ”...”

The Junior Officials: ”!!!”

’He won’t go into specifics?’

’Is he too lazy to even make up a proper excuse?’

The speech was riddled with holes, but it conveniently absolved everyone of any crime.

’We’re innocent!’

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As for the holes in his story, who in their right mind would bother looking into them?

Zhao Ci raised his arm and shouted, ”Let’s all applaud Lord Zhang’s generosity!”

Without waiting for anyone else, he began to clap first.

His face was beaming.

He clapped his hands together with great force.

Soon, a tsunami of applause erupted from outside the city walls.

”Lord Zhang is generous!”

”Lord Zhang is generous!”

”Lord Zhang is generous!”

Zhang Delv: ”...”

He had never been on the receiving end of such uniform, thunderous praise.

But despite this being the first time, he couldn’t feel the least bit happy about it.

Zhao Ci prompted, ”Lord Zhang, acknowledge them!”

Zhang Delv: ”...”

He rubbed his face and forced a smile that looked more like a pained grimace.

The applause and shouts of praise continued for a long time before finally dying down.

The enthusiasm was a little excessive.

Everyone had been scared out of their wits, and they were all using this as an outlet for their pent-up emotions.

When everything was over, Zhao Ci said with a grin, ”The roster distributed today was compiled incorrectly. Those who do not meet the criteria may disperse. When those who do meet the criteria arrive, I will distribute the remaining pills. The new one thousand pills will also be here shortly. We’ll hold the raffle for them at the same time, so I hope all you colleagues present won’t forget to attend.”

”Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Lord Zhang!”

”Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Lord Zhang!”

The chorus of thanks was endless.

They had been on an emotional roller coaster today, but the outcome was a good one.

Since they had arranged for others to collect the pills, the pills were never going to end up in their hands anyway. They would have gone straight into Zhang Delv’s private coffers. And while some might have trickled down to the Junior Officials later through various means, it certainly wouldn’t have been for free.

Not like now.

Although the odds of winning the raffle weren’t high, it was a genuine chance to get something for nothing.

’It felt great!’

Zhao Ci waved his hand. ”Alright, everyone disperse!”

And so, under the direction of several Junior Officials, the crowd began to disperse in an orderly fashion.

Zhao Ci stretched lazily, then looked at Zhang Delv with a wide smile. ”It’s all thanks to you saving the day, Lord Zhang. Otherwise, today’s mess would have been truly difficult to clean up!”

”And I have Your Highness to thank for helping me come up with such a brilliant plan!”