C35

Zhao Mingtang was in the middle of being complacent, so he did not have any defenses in place as he agreed. Little Xuanzi winked at a minister, who raised his glass and toasted Zhao Mingtang.

"Master Zhao, I heard that you are in charge of the punishment in the Western Li Country. I have a case regarding the punishment that I have to discuss with you."

"Go ahead." Zhao Mingtang didn't think so, as the punishment case was naturally nothing for him.

"Well, there was a criminal who was supposed to be beheaded, but was hanged for negligence, and just as he was about to be buried, the fact that he was wrongly sentenced was discovered, and his family and the judge each had a word, and the family said: 'Whether beheaded or hanged is the death penalty, and the person is already dead, so let him be buried.'" And the judge said, 'Law is law, and punishment is execution. Even if a person dies, if the punishment is not executed, then the punishment will not be carried out. Therefore, the offender must be executed and be buried anew.' Master Zhao, how do you think we should judge this? "

"Of course, we should execute beheading again. Law is law, and it is the unshakeable foundation of a country. Only by acting in accordance with the law is we correct." Zhao Mingtang naturally chose the latter. Firstly, he was a judge himself, and secondly, in private, he was hostile to the people of Northern Yue. He firmly chose the more malicious answer.

"Master Zhao, he's already dead. Isn't that a bit unnecessary?"

"What do you youngsters know? So what if he's dead? Before the rules are enforced, they can't be considered to be dealt with according to the law." Zhao Mingtang had been an officer for many years, so he was naturally unhappy to be questioned by this young lad.

"Well said. Envoy Zhao is truly worthy of being known as the Western Parting Judge." Helian Xuanyin was laughing wildly in her seat. Zhao Mingtang felt that something was wrong, but he didn't know why, but when he looked at Helian Xuanyin's smile, he felt slightly uneasy. He prepared to leave, "Thank you for entertaining me today, Your Majesty. This old servant has some alcohol to drink, so I'll take my leave first."

"In that case, I will not force you. Envoy Zhao, please."

"Your Majesty, then this box …" Of course, Zhao Mingtang wouldn't forget this most important thing. Helian Xuanyi casually waved his hand and said, "That is a sign of my sincerity towards the Western Fairies. It is naturally for Zhao to bring you back to the Western Fairies."

Zhao Mingtang heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you again, Your Majesty." He turned to the door and called out, "Someone, bring these two boxes back to the translation studio." Sixteen military generals came in from outside the hall. They were people that Zhao Mingtang had brought with him.

Seeing that his men were busy moving boxes, Zhao Mingtang was secretly happy. This large box that was as long as a person had to hold a lot of gold, silver, and treasure. Fortunately, he had enough men.

However, very quickly, Zhao Mingtang's face turned dark, because no matter how much strength his subordinates used, the box didn't budge an inch. On the other side, his subordinates were sweating profusely while carrying the chests. On the other side, cold sweat also continued to pour out from his forehead. Who would have thought that even the Profound Wings would use this move.

"Envoy Zhao, it seems that you don't have enough men. Sigh, with my sincerity, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to bring me back. How about this? Please accept my sincerity in my place."

What did that mean? Zhao Mingtang was just struggling to come up with a countermeasure when he heard the words of Helian Xuanyin. He instantly felt unsettled. "Someone, open the box." Helian Xuan Yi laughed. It didn't matter if it was opened, as soon as it was opened, everyone felt their stomachs churning, followed by the sound of vomiting.

Inside the chest were two unrecognizable rotting corpses, emitting a foul odor. There were a variety of insects crawling around on the bodies, fat maggots crawling out of the corpses and rolling to the bottom of the chest.

The clothes had also been corroded, but it could still be seen that one was a woman dressed in the garb of the Empress Mother, and the other was a child dressed in the garb of the Emperor. Undoubtedly, this was Hui Fei and her son.

With great difficulty, Zhao Mingtang managed to suppress his nausea and angrily asked Helian Xuanyi, "Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this!"

"Envoy Zhao, this is a gift from me to the West Li Country." Helian Xuan Yi said, "Two rotting corpses, what kind of sincerity is this!" "Envoy Zhao, it was you who said that Hui Fei was a person of the Western Fairies and that she should be dealt with by the Western Fairies. If I hand her and her son over to you, won't that be considered good faith?"

Zhao Mingtang was so angry that he lost all reason.

"Since the person is dead, what's the use of handing it over?"

"Hahahaha, Envoy Zhao, this is also something you agree to."

Zhao Mingtang panicked as his face filled with anxiety and anger. He angrily said to Helian Xuanyi, "You are a dignified Son of Heaven, how can you speak nonsense. When have I ever accepted to bring back the two rotting corpses?!"

After receiving the signal from Helian Profound Wings, Little Xuan began to explain to this foolish emissary.

"Master Zhao, you said that Hui Fei is a person of your Western Li Country, and the punishment is yours. Hui Fei is dead, but didn't you just say that if you break the law and don't follow the rules, then it can't be counted as punishment, even if this person is already dead. But now, Hui Fei is just dead, our Northern Yue State did not treat her as much, on the contrary, we cared about the relationship between the two countries, and preserved her corpse until it was handed over to the people of Western Li Country to deal with, is this not considered sincere? Isn't this something that your Lord Zhao has personally approved of? "

Zhao Mingtang was rendered speechless by the question. Only now did he realize that he had been fooled. From the very beginning, Helian Profound Wings had already set up a trap, leading him step by step into it. It seemed that he had really underestimated his opponent. There was no point in regretting it now. It was better to think of a way to escape.

Thus, he opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, your subject is truly muddleheaded. The Northern Yue State is indeed very sincere. Your subject will personally bring this sincerity of the Northern Yue State to the Western Region and will not disappoint Your Majesty."

"Envoy Zhao is indeed a sensible person. I've thought about it, the journey back to the West is a long one, so I'm afraid that it would be inconvenient for you to be so sincere. How about I ask Envoy Zhao to accept this sincerity for Xi Li?"

Helian Xuanyin smiled, but at this moment, to Zhao Mingtang, the person laughing was like the immortality of hell seeking one's life. The moment he fixes onto you and calculates the time, you will have nowhere to run.

Accepting "sincerity" now meant that he had to do these things in front of everyone — the rotten corpses, the squirming maggots, the shiny cockroaches, and the thick green liquid flowing from the corpses. Zhao Mingtang, who was in a position of authority and lived like a prince, rarely saw such things, but now that he had nowhere else to go, and had more important things to do, he could not let this small matter get him in the way. He picked up the knife handed over by the palace maid while trembling, and silently thought to himself.

"Helian Profound Wings, we'll see."

Cheng Zi Yuan, who was silently standing behind Helian Profound Wings, silently watched everything that was happening before him. All of this seemed like a farce to her, but she also understood one thing. The man in front of her was truly unfathomable. She felt glad that she was on his side.

If she made an enemy out of him, she really did not know what would happen to her.

After a while, he raised his head and continued watching the situation unfold.

Zhao Mingtang was already so angry that his entire body couldn't stop trembling, but there was nothing he could do. Staring at the rotten corpse in front of him, he felt nauseous in his heart, but he didn't dare show it on the surface. Now, he truly felt what it meant to "lift a rock and smash his own foot".

Helian Xuanyin, however, watched everything that was happening in front of her with a leisurely expression. He knew that Zhao Mingtang couldn't do anything about it. The two corpses in front of him were enough to make anyone feel disgusted, so he was really curious as to how he was going to deal with them.

Zhao Mingtang suppressed the disgust in his heart. He bent down, raised his hand, and fiercely stabbed one of the corpses in the chest. He assumed it was his chest, and the rotting body could no longer tell where it was.

After a single slash, he quickly threw away the blade in his hand, stood up, and angrily said to Helian Xuan Yi, "His Majesty really has great ability."

With that, he snorted, flicked his sleeves, and left.

Seeing his disrespectful actions, Helian Xuanyin actually didn't react in the slightest. He didn't seem to be happy or angry, and only indifferently watched.

The people in the imperial court were silenced by this unforeseen event. No one dared to speak another word. Even the sound of breathing had become softer, as they wanted to reduce their presence as much as possible. He was afraid that he would attract the attention of an emperor and become cannon fodder.

"Heh."

Suddenly, a light laugh broke the silence, and that sound came from Helian Profound Wings. Although he smiled, the people below were even more afraid. That unknown laughter made everyone tense up even more.

Just as everyone was thinking about their own safety, they suddenly heard the leader of the group say, "Forget it, everyone, let's continue." I will leave first. I might as well not be as happy as you guys. "

With that, he stood up and left.

After he left for a long time, the people below could not believe what had happened and did not speak for a long time. In the end, they did not dare to continue any further. They looked at each other and silently chose to leave.

After Xuan Yi left, Helian Xuan Yi did not immediately return to the inner hall. Instead, he walked around the garden in high spirits.

Cheng Ziyuan, who had been following him the entire way, could clearly feel that the mood of the person before him was really not bad. She, like the other ministers, did not quite understand the rhythm of things.

Helian Xuan Yi seemed to understand her well, and understood her doubt at this moment. Before she could say anything, she heard the person in front of her say softly, "Right now, the matters concerning the imperial court are becoming more and more uncontrollable. I never thought that there would be someone who would betray me like that. Can you believe it? In the entire Northern Yue, I can't even find someone I can trust. "

His words caused her to be startled. She couldn't help but open her mouth and say, "It's alright. You still have me."

This light sentence was like a clap of thunder that struck into the ears of Helian Xuan Yi. However, he did not turn his head around; he did not quite understand what she meant by those words. Duty, guilt, or heartache? He did not know, and did not have the courage to investigate. He did not realize that he was afraid. He was afraid of hearing the ending that he could not accept.

"Whatever, let's not talk about this anymore. Return to the inner palace with me. I have something that I need to discuss with you."