Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2713 Still Vigorous in Old Age 97.0
After hearing Shen Cha's words, Chu Han waved his hand, indicating that she was wrong.

"The late emperor was not the kind of person who was narrow-minded and heartless, and your grandfather was also a tolerant and magnanimous person. He would not accuse someone of such a serious crime because of this."

Shen Cha looked at Chu Han helplessly, rubbed her knee, and then looked at the others, including Xiao Fengqi and Qi Zhifeng, who were all doing the same thing as her.

The others noticed this as well, exchanged glances, and simultaneously gave each other a wry smile.

"Grand Uncle, the scope of your attack is quite broad." Xue Ruitian finished rubbing his own hands and then rubbed Xia Chen's hands as well, saying, "It's not just Xiao Cha who thinks so, we..." He pointed to himself, then to Xiao Fengqi and Qi Zhifeng, "...all of us think so, right?"

Xiao Fengqi and Qi Zhifeng didn't speak, but nodded to Chu Han, indicating that Xue Ruitian was right.

"See!" Xue Ruitian spread his hands. "This is normal thinking, isn't it? Besides, there's my family's example as a warning. Anyone would think that way, right?"

“Your family’s situation is an exception; there was a reason for it. If it hadn’t been a setup, things wouldn’t have turned out this badly.” Chu Han waved his hand. “It has nothing to do with those things. You can think about it some more.”

"I don't want to think about it anymore, I can't think of anything!"

"Really? You really don't want to think about it anymore?" Chu Han looked at the group of people racking their brains and smiled. "It seems you really can't figure it out. Then I'll tell you?"

Shen Cha readily gave up thinking and made a "please" gesture.

“It is indeed related to the nobles of Liao and Jin.” Chu Han saw their “I told you so” expressions and waved his hand. “I said it has nothing to do with what you’re thinking. Get those thoughts out of your heads!” He sighed helplessly and looked at Xiao Fengqi and Qi Zhifeng, saying, “You may be young and not very clear about it, but the aristocratic families once did something particularly immoral and inhumane, and this matter involved Liao and Jin.”

"Extremely despicable, absolutely... I understand!"

Xiao Fengqi suddenly slammed his hand on the table next to him, and the loud bang startled both Third Master and Old Madam Ning.

"It's okay, it's okay, I just accidentally slipped. Please continue!"

Xiao Fengqi quickly waved his hand, trying to salvage his image as a refined gentleman in everyone's eyes, but he also knew that after what had just happened, there was probably no way to salvage the situation.

“Young Master Xiao has suddenly shown some strength and aura that can move mountains.” Song Yaojia chuckled. “I usually thought that Young Master Xiao was like me, someone who couldn’t lift a finger or carry anything heavy. But it seems that I was wrong.”

"Your Highness is too kind. I only know a little bit of martial arts, enough to barely protect myself, and I'm not good at anything else."

"Young Master Xiao is too modest."

"It's just stating the facts, Your Highness, please forgive me!" Xiao Fengqi smiled sheepishly, but when his gaze turned to Chu Han, the expression on his face vanished instantly, becoming extremely serious. He coughed lightly and said, "Is it about the matter of presenting the female officials and eunuchs as tribute?"

Chu Han didn't speak, only nodded slightly. "So it really is this matter!" Xiao Fengqi sneered, "I don't know the specifics, but I know the general outline. Even so, it's hard to imagine. Just like my benefactor said, it is indeed extremely immoral and extremely inhuman, but... it doesn't break the law."

"Yes, it certainly doesn't break the law, but after hearing it, I feel..."

"nausea."

Xiao Fengqi said the two words that Chu Han hadn't said, and the two looked at each other with disgust.

“According to the law, there is no way to punish him.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Xiao Fengqi sighed, a look of disdain on his face. “When this matter was exposed, not only was the Emperor of Great Xia furious, but the King of Jin and the King of Liao were also very angry. The families involved in this matter were all punished to some extent. Although it wasn’t done according to the law, they still paid a price.” He looked at Chu Han. “The conditions imposed by the Great Xia royal family are similar to ours. Those families handed over some shops that they were very satisfied with as compensation.”

"Yes!" Chu Han nodded. "This can be considered a small punishment to serve as a warning."

"I don't know if the Great Xia side conceded decisively or what, but we were dragged out like this for a long time, lasting more than half a year. The Regent was in charge of this matter back then, and he told those people that if they dragged it out any longer, the price would be double what was originally agreed upon. Otherwise, they would be treated as spies. This time, they didn't drag it out anymore and handed over most of the business." Xiao Fengqi sighed, "I don't know if the price this time was high enough, but it never happened again afterward."

"It's similar to what you guys went through. It dragged on for more than half a year. However, those powerful families were quite pragmatic and knew what was important and urgent. They didn't go too far. They gave up after a little wrangling. After all, it wasn't their own property they wanted, so they weren't too heartbroken."

"That's true, but the Great Xia royal family still has leverage over them, so they're still a bit worried."

Shen Cha glanced at the two people chatting happily back and forth and sighed helplessly.

"Gentlemen, could you please take a look at us and clear up our doubts?" She gently tapped the table and said, "What's the deal with the female officials and eunuchs offering tribute?"

“Right, how can we pay tribute? Where do we pay tribute?” Jin Miaomiao rested her chin on her hand, looking at Xiao Fengqi and Chu Han, and said, “How come we’ve never heard of this before?”

"Because you are young, and you were discovered before you could actually accomplish anything." Chu Han looked at Song Yaojia, then at Shen Cha, "It was the Eagle King who discovered this."

“Uncle Emperor?” Shen Cha suddenly realized, “That explains it. Uncle Emperor is always low-key. He usually resolves cases quietly without making a big fuss.”

"Xiao Cha is right, no wonder we didn't know."

"Also, you're young, so you probably wouldn't understand if I told you this."

“Tell us now, we’ll definitely understand.” Xia Chen looked at Xiao Fengqi with interest and asked, “When did Young Master Xiao find out?”

“It’s been a while, and I didn’t mention it on purpose. I just overheard it while chatting with my great-aunt.” Xiao Fengqi smiled. “Although I know there’s such a thing, I don’t know the specifics.” He looked at Chu Han. “I still want to hear what my benefactor has to say.”