Chapter 60 It Was Not Him

As soon as Xu Yuan uttered these words, Chen Kan's expression shifted drastically. Kneeling below, Fang Xu broke out in a cold sweat, his face turning as pale as paper, devoid of a single drop of blood.

However, Li Jinglong was solely focused on shifting the blame away from himself as quickly as possible and failed to notice the change in Chen Kan's expression.

In stark contrast, Li Yan, who had been keeping his eyes fixed on Chen Kan, instantly wore a sneering smile.

"Very well. Xu Yuan, take some men and invite Junior Vice Minister Chen over here."

Li Jinglong gave a grand wave of his hand and issued the order.

Chen Kan's expression flickered repeatedly. Since Li Jinglong was sending Xu Yuan, did that mean he wouldn't even have the chance to pull anything off on the way?

For all his calculations, he had never accounted for this Li Yan.

He hadn't even bothered to pay attention to him originally, never expecting that at such a crucial moment, this person would cause his entire scheme to fall short of success.

How hateful.

Chen Kan stared at Li Yan, his eyes filled with murderous intent. This was the second person since coming to the Great Ming whom he instantly wanted to eliminate.

The imperial prison of the Brocade Guard was not far from the drill ground. Moreover, Chen Kan had previously ordered Shi Wen to ensure the personal safety of the officials who had been hauled into the grand prison.

Therefore, Chen洽 (Chen Qia) was soon brought over respectfully to the drill ground by Xu Yuan, flanked by two Brocade Guard officers.

The moment he laid eyes on Chen Qia, Chen Kan secretly resolved in his heart that if Chen Qia were to identify Fang Xu later, he would simply toss aside his old pride and protect Fang Xu in front of Li Jinglong.

As for this Brocade Guard, if need be, he would gladly leave it behind.

He had performed so many meritorious deeds for Zhu Di; surely he didn't believe Zhu Di would execute him over this matter.

Chen Qia was a middle-aged man brimming with righteousness. Because he had held a high position for many years, even now, caught in the middle of this disaster, he maintained a poised and unhurried demeanor, utterly devoid of the terror typically displayed by lower-ranking officials facing the Brocade Guard.

Surveying the gathering of several thousand people on the drill ground, Chen Qia raised his head and looked coldly at Li Jinglong. "What is the meaning of this, Lord Duke? Is dragging this official into the imperial prison not enough? Are you intending to intimidate me with sheer numbers, trying to frighten me into admitting that I participated in the Prince of Jin's treasonous plot?"

One had to admit, scholars possessed exceptionally sharp tongues.

Hearing Chen Qia's barbed and prickly remark, the previously deeply depressed Chen Kan almost burst out laughing.

A look of utter awkwardness spread across Li Jinglong's face. He cupped his fists toward Chen Qia and said, "Lord Vice Minister, you jest. Today's massive round-up of incriminated officials by the Brocade Guard has nothing to do with this duke; it was entirely the Commander-in-Chief who issued the orders. Look, upon returning to the headquarters and discovering that many people had been wrongfully arrested, I specifically invited you here to ask you to identify the culprit who carried out your arrest."

Li Jinglong bit down heavily on the word "culprit," effectively and unmistakably signaling to Chen Qia that regardless of whom he identified, he would see justice served.

Having finished his speech, Li Jinglong felt deeply ashamed and annoyed. For the historically arrogant Brocade Guard, this was an unprecedented display of backing down.

Yet he had no choice. This time, the Brocade Guard had truly gone much too far.

Ever since the Founding Emperor established the Brocade Guard, aside from a few rare instances targeting high-ranking court grandees, there had never been a situation where a majority of the capital's officials were hauled into the imperial prison all at once.

Not to mention that the significance of those past incidents under the Founding Emperor was entirely different from today's.

The Founding Emperor acted to suppress factional strife, reclaim authority, consolidate imperial power, and lay a centurial foundation for the stability of the Great Ming state.

And what was today's affair? It was merely a fabricated entanglement and guilt by association stemming from a vassal prince's rebellion.

They were simply not in the same league.

If this matter were handled poorly, one could only imagine the extent of His Majesty's explosive rage.

Thus, Li Jinglong had no choice but to back down and hastily find a scapegoat to distance himself from the blame.

"Hmph."

Hearing Li Jinglong's sophistry, Chen Qia flicked his sleeve and fell completely silent.

Standing beside Li Jinglong, Chen Kan did not dare to make the slightest movement. If he were to make a single gesture now, it would truly be a confession by self-incrimination.

Anxious on the inside, he was forced to maintain a calm and breezy facade on the outside.

Right now, Chen Kan truly wished he could slaughter that dog Li Yan with his own hands.

Seeing that Chen Qia had no objections, Li Jinglong impatiently barked, "Xu Yuan, begin."

At Li Jinglong's command, two Brocade Guard officers stepped forward in unison, roughly hauling up Fang Xu, who had collapsed limply onto the ground.

Seeming afraid that Chen Qia might not clearly see Fang Xu's face, Xu Yuan thoughtfully had two giant torches erected on either side of them.

Xu Yuan smiled faintly and asked, "Lord Chen, is it him?"

Upon seeing this, Fang Xu could not help but flash a bitter, wretched smile.

To say he felt no resentment toward Chen Kan would be a lie. Had it not been for Chen Kan, he would still be that formidable Brocade Guard Centurion whom commoners spoke of with trembling fear.

At the same time, a trace of faint regret stirred in Fang Xu's heart. What if he hadn't made a move by the Qinhuai River back then? What if he had turned a blind eye to Chen Kan's orders tonight? What if...

Alas, things had reached this point, and unfortunately, life offered no ifs.

Fang Xu's face was ashen, his eyes filled entirely with despair.

His heart was locked in a bitter internal struggle over whether to expose Chen Kan.

If he didn't finger Chen Kan, grievance would consume him; had it not been for Chen Kan, he would never have fallen to this state.

Thinking of the thirteen hundred taels of silver buried three feet deep beneath the leg of his bed at home, his resentment grew even more intense.

Fortunately, his son had been right by his side when he buried the silver and had even handed him the shovel.

With that much wealth, it would be enough to keep his mother, his wife, and his son well-fed and provided for for the rest of their lives.

Heh, who would have thought that his, Fang Xu's, life was worth so much.

Sighing inwardly, Fang Xu cast a somewhat grateful glance at Chen Kan. Without Chen Kan, he could have served as a Brocade Guard for a lifetime and never made that kind of money.

Observing the suicidal determination in Fang Xu's eyes, Chen Kan's anger flared even hotter.

If he still hadn't figured out by now that this Xu Yuan was completely in cahoots with Li Yan, and that their sole purpose was to trample him into the ground and ensure he could never rise again, then his experiences living through two lifetimes would have been completely wasted.

And he could well understand why they harbored such immense hatred toward him.

It was because his arrival had stripped away a portion of the authority that originally belonged to them.

To save a group of officials he didn't even know, only to drag down his own savior—Chen Kan could not bring himself to make such a cold-blooded choice.

As for those officials, let them leave their fate to the heavens; he had done his best.

"Sigh!"

With a heavy sigh, Chen Kan stepped forward, braced himself, and cupped his fists toward Li Jinglong. "My Lord, tonight's affair..."

"It is not him."

Before Chen Kan could finish saying that it was all his own doing as a subordinate, a clear and resonant voice rang out from beneath the high platform.

Chen Kan froze on the spot, doubting his own ears. What had this Chen Qia just said?

Fang Xu's eyes were likewise filled with utter disbelief.

After all, when he arrested Chen Qia, he had deliberately announced his own name.

"Lord Chen, did you perhaps misspeak?"

Li Yan's expression changed dramatically, and Xu Yuan wore a look of utter shock.

Chen Qia flicked his sleeve with dissatisfaction. "Although this official is old, this pair of eyes remains sharp and clear. You surely don't take me for a fool who could mistake the very person who dragged me into the imperial prison?"