When Xi Weilan heard that the cooks had been arrested, she immediately put down the pastries in her hands and said anxiously, “Sister, who captured them? Let’s go rescue them. I still want to drink soup tonight.”
Xi Qingyue nodded. “All right. Let’s go. We also need them to make more food for us to take with us.”
The two girls acted at once. After paying the bill, they left the teahouse.
The teahouse waiter and several customers were curious about the two children, but no one imagined that they were the murderers of Duan Pu and the others. Even less did anyone expect that, for the sake of a bite to eat, the girls would personally go to the county office.
After carrying Xi Weilan out of the teahouse, Xi Qingyue flew straight into the air. The two girls soared over rooftops and sped through the streets. Boatmen rowing along the waterways stared in shock as they watched the two children fly past.
Inside the county office, County Magistrate Zuo Sheng was interrogating the owner of the Liu Family Eatery in the courtroom.
“You insolent commoner, confess honestly! Why did you kill Duan Pu and the others?”
At the sound of the magistrate slamming his hand against the desk, the shopkeeper trembled in fright and hurriedly defended himself. “My lord, I didn’t kill anyone! I stayed in the shop all night and never left it.”
He felt deeply wronged. He had been honestly working at his shop, yet someone had accused him of murder. How could he possibly bear such injustice?
The magistrate demanded harshly, “If it wasn’t you, then who was it? Duan Pu and the others ate at your shop last night and never visited another establishment afterward. Could it be that you resented them for repeatedly taking advantage of you and therefore killed them?”
The county magistrate did not care about the deaths of a few ruffians, but he had to solve the case. It would count toward his achievements, and he absolutely would not allow an unsolved case to remain on his record.
When Xi Qingyue arrived, she saw the calculating look in the magistrate’s eyes and the despair covering the shopkeeper’s face.
She took Xi Weilan by the hand and walked into the courtroom, shouting as she went, “We killed them! We’ve come to surrender!”
The moment those words were spoken, the onlookers gathered outside the county office hurriedly made way for the sisters.
Some of the commoners looked doubtful. “How is that possible? How could two children have killed anyone?”
Others were confused. “That doesn’t make sense. Even if they killed them, why would they come and surrender?”
The crowd began discussing the matter noisily, while the magistrate narrowed his eyes and glared at the two girls with hostility.
He let out a cold laugh. “You killed them? You truly walked right into a trap. Regardless of why you came here, you have disrupted the court’s proceedings. You deserve to be beaten.”
Xi Qingyue’s expression turned cold at the magistrate’s attitude. An official like this was a disaster for the common people.
There was nothing wrong with holding a proper trial, but casually arresting someone to take the blame was going too far.
Besides, the dead men were notorious troublemakers who had committed many crimes in the city. Why had this corrupt official not investigated them first?
Xi Qingyue immediately took out a seal and held it up. Her voice was icy as she said, “What an impressive County Magistrate of Yongfu you are. Is this how you conduct trials? We sisters killed them. I am the Commandery Princess Cenyue, traveling incognito. They tried to rob and murder us last night. It was already merciful of us not to exterminate their entire clan, yet you still intend to punish us on their behalf?”
The moment she finished speaking, an uproar erupted among the commoners outside the county office. Even the magistrate was left utterly stunned.
After recovering from his shock, Zuo Sheng looked at the sisters and sneered. “Do you take this official for a fool? If you are commandery princesses, where are your guards and maids? You dare come before this official and make such a brazen attempt at fraud?”
Xi Weilan put her hands on her hips and pointed angrily at Zuo Sheng. “You corrupt official! I am a commandery princess personally conferred by His Majesty, yet you dare call me a fraud!”
Zuo Sheng’s face immediately darkened. Two children had insulted him in front of so many commoners. They clearly did not take him, the county magistrate, seriously at all.
He promptly issued an order. “Guards! Arrest these two impostors pretending to be commandery princesses. Give each of them fifty strokes of the cane!”
The yamen runners did not dare disobey the magistrate. They hurried forward and reached for the two girls, intending to drag them over and beat them.
The commoners outside watched from a distance, unable to bear the sight. One person could not help crying out, “They’re still children! Fifty strokes would kill them on the spot!”
The shopkeeper was kneeling inside the courtroom, yet he completely believed the sisters’ claims. He did not think that two children would be foolish enough to make such an outrageous declaration without reason.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Xi Qingyue suddenly drew the sword at her waist, while Xi Weilan pulled out the pistol hanging at hers.
Xi Qingyue swept her sword forward. A flash of silver streaked through the air, and the robe of the yamen runner in front was instantly sliced open, revealing the skin beneath. A thin cut appeared across it, and a trickle of blood slowly seeped out. The man clutched his wound and collapsed to the floor in terror.
The other yamen runners retreated repeatedly at the sight. Every one of them was so frightened that they stood there dumbfounded.
Zuo Sheng was not afraid. He was furious.
In all his years as an official, no one had ever dared to act so recklessly in front of him. Even martial artists of the jianghu were supposed to obey the rules of the imperial court.
He pointed at Xi Qingyue, his face filled with rage. “They dare injure people from the government simply because they know a little martial arts? Guards, execute them on the spot! There’s no need to bother with the caning!”
As soon as his words fell, Xi Qingyue shot forward like a phantom and slashed his throat with a single stroke. At the same time, Xi Weilan fired a bullet straight into his brow.
It was only the sisters’ second day in Yongfu City, yet they had already killed the county magistrate. Everyone remaining inside the county office stood frozen in shock, as though they had seen a ghost.
Xi Qingyue stepped back several paces and wiped her sword on one of the yamen runners’ clothes. As she did so, she muttered to herself, “I originally wanted to reason with you, but you insisted on seeking death. There was nothing I could do.”
Since the magistrate had wanted to execute the sisters on the spot, they naturally had to return the favor.
The yamen runners inside the county office were now at a loss. Their magistrate was dead. Were they still supposed to obey his order and arrest the two children?
Suddenly, Xi Qingyue waved the seal in her hand. “This is my princess’s seal. I am a highly skilled commandery princess, which is why I left my guards behind when I went out. If you don’t believe me, examine the seal. Or you can test whether I’m truly as skilled as I claim.”
The people in the county office tacitly chose the first option. Examining the seal would at least allow them to determine whether it was genuine. Testing her martial arts might very well result in their deaths. They were not fools.
One of the yamen runners stepped forward, accepted the seal from her, and inspected it carefully. He then nodded at the others and passed the seal around for them to examine as well.
After confirming Xi Qingyue’s identity as a commandery princess, they all bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Commandery Princess Cenyue!”
Xi Qingyue pointed at Xi Weilan and introduced her with a smile. “This is my younger sister, Commandery Princess Suwei.”
The yamen runners once again bowed respectfully to Xi Weilan. “Greetings, Commandery Princess Suwei!”
Xi Weilan happily waved her hand. “There’s no need for such formalities! This commandery princess is magnanimous, so I won’t hold your earlier rudeness against you.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Xi Qingyue smiled in satisfaction at the sight. Very good. With the county magistrate dead, these people were willing to obey them.
