At this mont, Xue Ping was entirely unaware of the storm he had unleashed with the executioner’s blade he had raised by his own hand, let alone that the blade would ultimately swing toward himself.
He was frustrated beyond asure. As soon as Shichen ended, he imdiately lowered his head and hurried toward the Xue Residence’s carriage.
No sooner had he left the Ministry of Revenue than the Military General standing guard followed him, and upon seeing him, began to alert those around: "That treacherous cur has co out; no need to watch the other gate anymore. Brothers, hurry over!"
Not only did the Military General follow him, but also so busybodies among the common folk, upon hearing the news, quickly fell in behind the Military General, crowding around while waving their hands and shouting, "The great traitor has co out; everyone, hurry, grab your weapons!"
Before long, a crowd was hastening after him, all their attention focused on him!
Xue Ping’s forehead throbbed violently, his irritation reaching its zenith, as day after day he’d been subjected to imnse ntal tornt with absolutely no way out.
He bowed his head and trudged on, quickening his pace. He didn’t aim to shake off these people but to board his carriage before they could start hurling rotten turnips at him!
Raging footsteps sounded from behind; soone said, "Just look how arrogantly he struts along, so fast and so disdainful of others, while the Great General is still bedridden, gravely ill..."
On hearing this, rage surged to Xue Ping’s forehead, his face reddening as he reached the peak of exasperation. In his heart, he cursed profusely: a bunch of brutes, a bunch of troublemakers. If Xu Hu could die so easily, why would he bother with all this effort!
Lately, in the eyes of the populace, he was not a good man; every move he made was regarded as the act of a treacherous minister.
If he moved slowly, they said he was sneaking around guiltily, like a thief; if he moved quickly, they said he was arrogant and overbearing. Even the fact that he kept his head down and avoided eye contact was interpreted as being disdainful of others.
He really wanted to stop walking and turn around to curse them all out.
But past experiences had taught him to stay calm; otherwise, his current troubles would multiply by a hundredfold.
Arguing couldn’t outdo the brutes; quarreling couldn’t best the troublemakers. People threw rotten vegetables and stinking eggs at him, sullying his clothes, and even if he made complaints to the Shuntian Prefecture or the Ministry of Punishnt, it was useless.
The Military Generals knew not to cause harm, so they only shouted abuses without laying hands. If soone from the Shuntian Prefecture ca, they would curse indirectly, but as soon as the officials left, they would go back to direct insults. After a few tis, and with the Prefecture’s people unwilling to provoke the brutes, no one ended up intervening.
And the common folk? With so many people, it was impossible to catch them all. When he tried to make an example of a few to deter the rest, the old hands of the Yan just fooled him around. They’d bring soone in only to release them as soon as he left, rationalizing that the law does not punish the multitude and advising Master Xue to endure, as a righteous person should not fear a crooked shadow.
There was nowhere to reason!
He had even had his servant boys and household staff block these people. Although they could stop the ordinary populace, they were utterly helpless against the strong-bodied ruffians. In the end, not only did they fail to stop the crowd, but he also gained a reputation for ordering his evil servants to oppress the common folk. And the vegetables that hit him that day hurt particularly bad...
Rembering all this made Xue Ping’s veins bulge with rage. Day after day he would rage and seethe within the confines of his residence, but it was pointless; once outside, the situation remained the sa.
Xu Hu, that man, was dead set on feigning death inside his residence, evading all responsibility. Without his control over the scene, those brutes were like rabid dogs; seeing soone, they would bite, encouraging the ignorant masses to do the sa. It was certainly deliberate— who says Military Generals are honest? Preposterous!
And yet, Xue Ping could not feign death within his residence like Xu Hu or he really would appear guilty, lending credibility to the rumors.
But even though he walked out in broad daylight and attended court with an open and honest heart, he still couldn’t stop these people’s actions; in fact, their behavior was only growing worse.
Sotis he wondered whether his persistence was in vain? Should he consider taking sick leave?
Xue Ping gritted his teeth, reminding himself to maintain his calm. He had already instructed his coachman to rush over imdiately when Shichen ended and not to delay; the carriage was now not far off.
He was only about twenty steps away from reaching the carriage when he absolutely restrained himself, believing that impatience could ss up big plans. It was useless to argue with these foolish people; the only one who would get angry was himself.
He started walking faster and faster, almost sprinting.
Behind him ca various noisy sounds, growing louder and louder:
"The other day when I passed by the General’s Mansion, it was deadly silent, and I vaguely heard the sounds of mourning music. The Great General probably doesn’t have long to live. How can such a treacherous minister still be allowed to remain!"
"Don’t talk nonsense. The Great General certainly won’t die..."
"My lord, I know you are heartbroken for the Great General and can’t accept it, but we all have heard. Take care of yourself, sob sob sob..."
Various noisy sounds followed from behind, and as they talked, soone actually started to cry.
Those Military Generals found that even though they had mouths, they couldn’t clarify anything. Every ti soone cursed the Great General, they tried to explain, but no one would believe them. Over ti, they just refuted briefly and gave up if they weren’t listened to.
After all, the Great General had a tough fate and wasn’t afraid of curses. Generals who didn’t have a tough fate wouldn’t be generals at all. They were born unfazed by curses.
These commoners were ultimately standing up for the Great General out of good intentions. If they wanted to say anything, they could just say it.
It was precisely because of their indifferent attitude that the public beca even more convinced that the Great General was about to die. They just didn’t want to accept it, and so even went to wail outside the General’s Mansion.
The wailing outside made Xu Hu, who was drinking and listening to music inside the mansion, have a headache. These days, the number of people wailing outside Xu Mansion had been increasing, saying that he was dead, which confused him a great deal. He wanted to go out and clarify things but couldn’t, which made his head ache terribly.
Every day the sll of burning paper and candles drifted into the mansion, making him lose so of his vigor. In the end, he just let things be, as there were not a few people who were hoping for his death. Let them wail; he had no sons and his daughter had married into the Emperor’s family. Who would perform the filial duties of mourning for him a hundred years from now was still uncertain. With this thought, the sounds of wailing instantly beca pleasant to his ear.
However, other than the people from Xu Mansion, nobody knew this.
anwhile, Xue Ping seized the opportunity when these people were preoccupied with their wailing and, in a burst of speed, made it to the carriage. He was pulled up by the coachman, deftly lifted the carriage curtain, and slipped into the compartnt.
"Go!" the coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage took off.
Soone who had caught on shouted, "Quick, that cursed dog is escaping, throw whatever you have at him!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a series of crackling sounds ca from outside the carriage, one after another, without end.
Xue Ping clutched his chest, gasping for breath as if he had narrowly survived a great calamity.
The carriage sped up, gradually leaving the noisy sounds behind.
But Xue Ping knew it wasn’t over yet. Sure enough, just as he thought this, the sound of horse hooves ca from behind the carriage, the riders as though wanting to make sure everyone knew there was a man in the carriage, cursing loudly as they rode, with more vigor than if two armies were in battle. Isn’t it energizing when there is only one side to the slaughter?
It was that group of inescapable Military Generals, sticking to him like sticky plaster, never leaving his side wherever he went!
Xue Ping cursed in a low voice, vehently, "You scoundrels! Brutes! Shaless ruffians! If it were back in the day..."
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