The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 38

The physician was rudely woken up and with little preparation, was taken away from his clinic. By the time he arrived at the Xia family residence, he felt as if he was still in dreamland and if it were not for Xia YuanFeng’s piercing gaze, he probably would’ve fallen back asleep while standing. Luckily, his patient’s injury was not so serious so after doing his job and getting paid, he was sent back home.

Lin Xiao, who had his wounds treated, sighed as he stared at the bandages that are covering his wounded body. Then, he looked over at Long YinLian who is still talking to Xia YuanFeng. From this distance, Lin Xiao couldn’t hear what they were talking about but just from their demeanor, he knew it was extremely important.

“Xiao-er, come here,” Long YinLian called out to him. He got off the chair he was sitting on and slowly went over to his master’s side.

“Does Shizun need anything?” Lin Xiao asked.

“Later, I want you to restrain yourself once we found the one behind this incident,” Long YinLian told Lin Xiao.

“Why? Someone tries to harm you! Why do I need to restrain myself?” Lin Xiao asked in disbelief.

“Because things may not be so simple,” the one who replied was Xia YuanFeng, and Lin Xiao can only narrow his eyes at the older male. “I only know one person for sure, but there might be more. Rather than just dealing with this one person, I rather deal with the whole group at the same time.”

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“Alright then. I promise I won’t act recklessly. But I ask martial uncle to make the right choice,” Lin Xiao said in a serious tone.

“Of course,” Xia YuanFeng assured him. “How are you feeling? If you are not feeling well, you can just rest while we—”

“I’m alright. Martial uncle doesn’t have to worry. These are all flesh wounds, not even deep,” Lin Xiao replied quickly, cutting the older male’s sentence off. “We should go before those people can find some excuses.”

With that, they all went to the Xia family’s meeting room. The elders were already gathered there, waiting for them. The moment Lin Xiao set foot inside the meeting room, he could feel the eyes on him and in return, Lin Xiao just gave them a haughty look, daring them to try something.

At the moment, all Lin Xiao wants to do is find out who’s responsible, flay off their skin, rend the flesh off their bones and grind their bones to dust. Unfortunately, he had already promised to restrain himself so he can only put the idea to the back of his mind. ‘But if the result of this meeting is unsatisfactory… then they shouldn’t blame me for being ruthless,’ he thought as he glanced at ever elders in the room. Some seem nervous while some were confused as to why they were summoned in the middle of the night.

Xia YuanFeng took his seat while Long YinLian and Lin Xiao stood at his side. “Looks like everyone is here,” Xia YuanFeng speaks up after he scanned through the room. “Good. I’m sure some of you have an idea of what I’m about to say, am I right?”

“Lord Patriarch, we have no idea why you have called us this late-night,” it was Elder Xiang who answered as he feigned innocence. Out of all the elders, he can be considered second only to Xia YuanFeng when it comes to the level of authority one possesses within the Xia family.

“Is that so?” Xia YuanFeng had a look of ridicule as his eyes landed on Elder Xiang. “Then allow me to inform you,” Xia YuanFeng paused as to gauge everyone’s reaction. ‘Sure enough, there are more than just one…’ Xia YuanFeng thought as he reached a conclusion.

“Earlier, our guests were attacked by a group of assassins. They seemed to have known the patrol guard’s schedule’s for tonight. In fact, they also seemed to know that a certain patrol group would be delayed,” Xia YuanFeng said before his eyes rest on Elder Xiang’s figure. “Elder Xiang, can you tell me the reason why you hold back the leader of the patrol group in charge of patrolling in the fourth night’s watch?”

Elder Xiang was still acting calm as he replied, “Lord Patriarch, it is a mere coincidence. The leader of that patrol group is none other than JingRui and his wife is about to give birth soon. I only called him over for a quick chat to tell him not to overwork himself since his child will be born soon.”

Xia JingRui was Elder Xiang’s second son. Although his achievement is lacking compared to his elder brother, Elder Xiang still spoiled him which was why he was able to live an easy life despite only being a leader of a patrol group within the family.

“Is it really a coincidence?” Xia YuanFeng asked and Elder Xiang nods his head. After a while, Xia YuanFeng called for a servant to make an appearance. The servant fidgeted as he entered the meeting room. His head bowed down as he trained his eyes down on the wooden floor below his feet, afraid to raise his head.

“Tell us what you see earlier,” Xia YuanFeng said to the servant.

“My lord… at Zi Shi, this servant went to feed the koi fishes in the garden’s pond as usual. Then, this servant accidentally saw a cloaked figure moving around suspiciously within the household, so this servant decided to follow the cloaked figure. Then, this servant saw that the cloaked figure entered Elder Xiang’s room and…” as the servant continued to speak, Elder Xiang’s expression had turned dark and ugly.

“So, what if I walked around late at night?! At that time, I was just coming back from drinking at the tavern! There is nothing suspicious about that,” Elder Xiang interjected. “Lord Patriarch, if you don’t believe me, you can simply ask the tavern I went to!”

Xia YuanFeng narrowed his eyes and Elder Xiang shrunk back just from the cold gaze that was aimed at him. Just then, another person entered the meeting room and went straight to Xia YuanFeng to whisper something. Xia YuanFeng nods his head and turned his attention back to Elder Xiang.

“The investigation on the tavern is already done. I just received my report. Several eyewitnesses did say that you did go to the tavern,” Xia YuanFeng said and Elder Xiang’s expression turned better. That is until he heard Xia YuanFeng’s next sentence. “But it was not to drink. One particular eyewitness mentioned that you were threatening the owner to help you find someone to hire… will you tell me who you were trying to hire and for what reason you were hiring them?”

Hearing this, Elder Xiang could not say anything. He remained tight-lipped for a while and Xia YuanFeng can only sigh. “Elder Xiang,” Xia YuanFeng had said his name in a warning tone but the elder still did not say anything. “You left me no choice… bring her in.”

At his order, the man who came to report to Xia YuanFeng before, left the room only to return not long after with a woman in tow. This was the owner of the tavern, and also the tavern’s mistress that Elder Xiang had talked to earlier. When she entered the room, Elder Xiang’s eyes went wide, and his face turned slightly pale.

“You—!” and as soon as the word escaped Elder Xiang’s lips, the woman flinched, and she sported a fearful look on her face. Seeing this, Elder Xiang’s heart turned even more uneasy.

“Explain what happened in your tavern in detail,” Xia YuanFeng told her and she nods her head.

“It was just as I’ve told your subordinate, my lord. I was serving drinks as usual in my tavern when he…” her eyes went to Elder Xiang, looking extremely fearful. “He came inside. I thought he wanted to have a drink, so I went to him, asking what he wanted. Then…” as she continues, Elder Xiang’s face turns even paler. The story was different from what had happened. But Elder Xiang could not say anything due to how real the mistress’s acting is.

The story goes as how Elder Xiang threatened to destroy her tavern if she does not comply and, in the end, she ended up asking her customer for help. “Luckily… one of my customers then heard rumors about a group of assassins… after getting all the information he needed, he left the tavern…”

“What a lowlife,” Lin Xiao hissed under his breath, only to have his side pinched by Long YinLian who only shook his head. “I’m sorry, Shizun…” Lin Xiao mumbled in a soft voice.

“Just stay quiet, Xiao-er. Only speak when you are asked, alright?” Long YinLian said and Lin Xiao nods his head. Returning his attention at the scene before him, he could already figure out that the one behind the assassins earlier is none other than Elder Xiang. So, Lin Xiao had already begun to formulate some plan in case that Xia YuanFeng decided to go lenient because he is the elder of the Xia family.

“Alright, you may go now. And before you leave, you’ll receive 100 pieces of gold as compensation for the emotional trauma our elder caused you. As the patriarch of the Xia family, I apologize for his behavior,” Xia YuanFeng said with his head bowed slightly.

Once she had left, Xia YuanFeng glared at Elder Xiang before scoffing. “Elder Xiang, as the respected elder of our family, your conduct is not acceptable. Not only you tried to harm our guests, you even threatened a civilian! With this alone, I could sentence you for your crime. You will be exiled from now onwards. But because of your contribution to this family for this past fifty years, I will give you a chance for leniency. In two days, this matter will be conveyed to the Imperial Court. Until then, you will be confined in your room to reflect on your wrongdoings!”

When Elder Xiang heard Xia YuanFeng’s words, he knew that his fate was sealed. ‘A chance for leniency? This is clearly sentencing me to life in a dungeon! Being exiled is better than living in the dungeon!’ Elder Xiang thought. He wanted to tell Xia YuanFeng that he’s not the only one who planned it, but just as he was about to open his lips, he heard a light cough from his side. When he turned his head, he saw the elder beside him hands him a small note while his eyes contain a silent warning.

At this time, Xia YuanFeng had already turned his attention to his guards to give out his orders, so he had missed this interaction. But Lin Xiao who was focused on Elder Xiang saw it. He wanted to go over and snatch the note away but Long YinLian stopped him in his track by holding his wrist.

“Whatever it is you see, don’t act yet,” Long YinLian whispered to Lin Xiao. “Since things are now brought to the Imperial Court, naturally it will be investigated thoroughly. If you act now, you might end up making the rest of them destroy the evidence…”

Lin Xiao was unwilling at first but when he heard Long YinLian’s explanation, he sighed, and he can only comply. After that, Elder Xiang was brought away by Xia YuanFeng’s personal guards and the rest of the elders were dismissed.

Once all the elders had left, Lin Xiao turned to Xia YuanFeng. “Martial uncle, why did you even give him a chance for leniency?”

“You’re still young so you don’t understand. There are still others in cahoots,” Xia YuanFeng replied. “Hopefully by giving Elder Xiang this chance, he’ll loosen up and tattle on the others are in cahoots with him. Plus, the Imperial Court is not lenient. Ever since two years ago, they have become more strict with cases like this,” Yuan Feng informed him. “Now, I’m sure the room is already prepared. Let me walk you tw-… five to your room,” Xia YuanFeng quickly corrected himself. He still cannot believe that he has to treat three tigers as guests. The three tigers in questions were patiently waiting outside in the garden.

When Lin Xiao and the rest came out, only then did the three tigers move. Xia YuanFeng led them to their new room which was the empty room that was beside his own living quarters.