Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 661 I am innocent!
"Your Highnesses, are you all right?"

When Manager Shang saw the people lying on the ground, he couldn't help but frown and asked.

I didn't expect that something really happened when they were not around for a moment.

This was also because Manager Shang did not sense any threatening aura nearby.

After all, the battle between the Third Prince and Cold Blade Night Owl was not enough to attract the attention of Chief Steward Shang.

Seeing that these people did not cause any harm to Princess Ankang and others, Manager Shang also breathed a sigh of relief.

"they are?"

"They are just a bunch of petty bandits. If we keep them alive, they will only bring harm to the people. Killing them right here will benefit the forest."

The third prince snorted coldly in response.

"A bunch of useless people who learned a lot of skills in the army, but ended up deserting and becoming bandits."

The third prince spat fiercely.

He has been in the military for many years and looks down on this kind of people the most.

Manager Shang understood the whole story and did not object.

With so many bandits, if we don’t kill them, are we going to keep them around for the New Year?
Moreover, they dared to stop the princes without any eyesight. Even if the Third Prince was not there, Steward Shang would not let them off easily.

Han Dao Ye Xiao lost to the Third Prince and was insulted again but he did not refute. He just snorted, closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, without any intention of defending himself.

If you lose, you lose. There is no point in saying more.

And since he started doing this business, he knew that this was the ending he deserved.

"Wait a minute, Third Brother."

At this time, Princess Ankang spoke out to stop them.

The Third Prince frowned, thinking that Princess Ankang was being too soft-hearted, and immediately retorted:

"Ankang, this is my prisoner. I can do whatever I want with him."

The third prince used the same logic he learned on the battlefield.

He didn't want to say more to Princess Ankang, so he looked at Han Dao Ye Xiao and put his sword against the other's neck.

"Since there are no last words, then go die!"

After saying that, the third prince was about to wipe it hard.

The Cold Blade Night Owl also felt the cold blade.

He sighed inwardly, but just raised his head to expose his neck.

boom--

There was a muffled sound, and suddenly a huge force came from the Third Prince's sword, causing his hand holding the sword to tremble, and the sword fell to the ground with a clang.

"what are you doing?"

The third prince covered his hands and questioned angrily.

Princess Ankang put down her hand that was pointing at the Third Prince and replied softly:

"Third brother, even if they are truly extremely evil, there is no rush to punish them."

"I have something I want to ask them."

Princess Ankang speaks softly but does hard things.

The Third Prince was about to say something, but he saw Li Xuan in front of Princess Ankang staring at him coldly.

He swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth, picked up the sword with his other hand angrily, took two steps back, and said angrily:
"Just ask whatever you want to ask."

Others were not surprised to see this scene.

Although Princess Ankang has no cultivation, she has unrivaled strength and is also extremely skilled in the use of hidden weapons.

Many people speculate that Princess Ankang has some special physique, which is why she can possess such powerful strength without any training.

Everyone was secretly speculating what kind of medicine Doctor Xue had given Princess Ankang.

Especially Princess Yanzhao, she had only heard a lot of rumors about Princess Ankang before, but this was the first time she saw Princess Ankang take action with her own eyes.

Princess Yan Zhao looked at the third prince, then looked at the stones on the ground and the bandits who were unable to get up.

She could see how many of them were knocked over by the stones.

But the more she understood the tricks involved, the more confused Princess Yanzhao became.

"How much strength, how precise control, and how terrifying physical fitness does this require?"

Princess Yan Zhao is an expert and knows how difficult it is for someone to achieve such a level relying only on his or her own physical strength.

She could also see that Princess Ankang did not have any blood and energy in her body, but her physique was unusually strong.

This made her believe the rumors in the palace that Princess Ankang probably had a special physique, which was why she was so weak and sickly before.

Now that he has been cured, this talent is gradually showing.

As for the claim that Princess Ankang had been hiding in the cold palace for many years, Princess Yanzhao didn't believe it.

Since you are hiding your incompetence, why would you delay your cultivation?

You must know that some periods of cultivation, once missed, are missed and can never be recovered.

Princess An Zhao did not believe those who said that Emperor Yongyuan had protected Princess Ankang a long time ago and made her hide her incompetence on purpose.

She knows better than anyone that one's own strength is the most important confidence.

When Princess Ankang saw the Third Prince move aside, she rode her horse to the front of Han Dao Ye Xiao.

At this time, Han Dao Ye Xiao also opened his eyes. There was a shallow blood mark on his neck, which was caused by the Third Prince's sword.

He heard the conversation between several people and asked in confusion:
"Brother Royal?"

"Are you princes and princesses?"

Princess Ankang covered her mouth and smiled. She had just seen this man fighting fiercely with the third prince, but she didn't expect that he would be in a daze at this time.

"Exactly."

Princess Ankang nodded in agreement, and then asked:
"Now do you realize how great a crime you have committed?"

Han Dao Ye Xiao was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you here with the Emperor's southern tour team?"

"Where is the emperor?"

"Where is the emperor?"

Seeing that he was asking anxiously, the Eighth Prince beside him couldn't help but jokingly asked, "Why, do you still want to rob our father?"

"No, that's not the case." Han Dao Ye Xiao quickly denied.

Then, he immediately struggled to get up from the ground and kowtowed heavily to Princess Ankang.

"I am Ye Xiao, the former county lieutenant of Lantian County. I was framed by the county magistrate Fang Datong and now I am a wanted criminal."

"Your Highnesses, please help me!"

Han Dao Ye Xiao suddenly cried out for his injustice and kowtowed to them repeatedly.

"You said you were the former county lieutenant of Lantian County?"

Princess Ankang frowned and silently took out the imperial edict to look at it.

The county lieutenant of Lantian County was also on the wanted list, but his name was not Ye Xiao, but someone else.

"I dare not deceive your highnesses."

"Last fall, I was ordered to escort the county's tax money to the prefectural capital. The county magistrate, Fang Datong, saw me off the night before and ended up putting a knockout drug in my wine. When I woke up, I was arrested for dereliction of duty and thrown into jail. The tax money escort team was robbed, with countless casualties."

"Luckily, several brothers risked their lives to break into the prison, which allowed me to escape death. I hid in the mountains for a winter and survived until now."

"I heard today that the emperor was on a southern tour, so I stopped him on the road with my brothers, ready to file a complaint with the emperor."

"I also ask the princes to report to the heavens and give me justice."

After Ye Xiao finished speaking, he began to kowtow.

Among the minions, those who were still able to get up also got up and kowtowed to beg for mercy.

"Humph, filing a lawsuit against the emperor turned out to be a robbery on the way, right?"

"Do you think I believe it or not?"

The third prince said with disdain.

As a result, Ye Xiao raised his broken head and said with a firm expression:
"I admit the crime of robbery." "As long as the magistrate of Lantian is brought to justice, I am willing to accept the corresponding punishment."

"In order to make a living in the mountains, I and my brothers did rob people, but we never hurt anyone's life, and we never attacked poor people."

Ye Xiao robbed himself and felt clear conscience.

After Princess Ankang confirmed the imperial edict, she found that there was indeed evidence of Lantian County's embezzlement of tax silver.

However, Lantian County did give an explanation to the higher authorities regarding this matter.

They concealed the fact that the tax silver had been robbed and instead collected the tax silver twice.

Anyway, the higher-ups had received the taxes and silver they were supposed to collect, so they didn't ask any further questions.

Only the local people knew that they paid taxes twice.

Paying once is already a death sentence, and paying twice will break a lot of the family.

Some people had a hard time collecting enough tax for a year, but they were robbed on the road, and the county government asked them to pay the tax again.

Many people were forced into a situation where they had no choice but to sell their land and houses, and even their children, or even the entire family as slaves.

Taxes and silver must be paid urgently, otherwise you will be arrested.

With such a good opportunity, the county masters naturally pushed the price to the limit.

They have experience in how to squeeze every penny out of the people.

The people were made to pay everything in taxes, and in the end they could only sell themselves into slavery to pay off their lifetime debts. This was like the sound of the abacus beads clacking loudly.

The first to suffer are always the people at the bottom of society.

They lived a tight life on weekdays, and suddenly this incident happened, which resulted in the bankruptcy of their family.

Those who have some savings can grit their teeth and get through this, but it will also come at a considerable price.

But if it happens a few more times, no matter how much savings you have, you won’t be able to withstand such bone-draining exploitation.

And the blame that caused public outrage in Lantian County was put on Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao is actually also a victim.

He boasted that he had learned some skills in the army and was lucky enough to be assigned to Lantian County as a ninth-rank county lieutenant. He usually had a high opinion of himself.

Lantian County Magistrate Fang Datong had long disliked him, so he took this opportunity to get rid of him and replace him with a new county lieutenant.

The new county lieutenant is obedient and capable.

As for whether or not he has the same abilities as Ye Xiao, it doesn’t matter at all.

Talents who cannot be used by me are no different from waste.

Even if you don't have good sense, you may become a stumbling block for everyone.

Ye Xiao only figured out these principles when he was spending the winter in the mountains.

If Ye Xiao didn't have a few trustworthy brothers, he would never have the chance to figure out the key to this in his lifetime.

Some of the people who followed Ye Xiao to rob were his brothers, who were originally garrison troops in Lantian County.

The others were refugees from nearby areas, many of whom were also from Lantian County. They were really forced into a corner, and were unwilling to sell themselves into slavery, so they escaped and became refugees.

They were able to testify to Ye Xiao's words. Last year, Lantian County did collect taxes twice. Those who refused to pay were thrown into jail on the spot and died of illness in jail within a few days.

Seeing this situation, how could the people dare to resist?
The accusations made by Ye Xiao and others made Princess Ankang and the others look solemn and even feel hot on their faces.

What were they doing last fall?
While enjoying the splendor and wealth in the palace, he was worrying about how to win the competition in the Imperial Garden.

But at the same time, the people under Daxing's rule were living in dire straits.

"These are just his one-sided words!"

The third prince suddenly said.

"Who knows if they lied together to save their lives?"

Hearing this, Ye Xiao glared at the Third Prince, and then said sternly:

"If Your Highness doesn't believe it, you can kill me first, and then go to Lantian County to inquire. The people will definitely not have forgotten this matter."

"But how many people dare to tell you, I can't guarantee it!"

"But I, Ye Xiao, guarantee you with my life that as long as you dare to ask around in Lantian County, there will definitely be someone who dares to tell you."

After saying that, Ye Xiao closed his eyes and stopped defending himself.

"Brother Three Emperors."

Princess Ankang shouted and then nodded to the side.

Although the third prince was reluctant, he still came over.

Princess Ankang gathered the others together and explained in a low voice:
"I just discovered that although these minions were unilaterally suppressed by my brother and me, they did not flee."

"This Ye knows some people's minds, and what he said is somewhat consistent with the contents of the imperial edict."

Before Princess Ankang finished speaking, the Third Prince asked impatiently:
"So you want to believe this highwayman's one-sided story?"

"Not really, I plan to take them to Lantian County." Princess Ankang shook her head and replied.

"Anyway, the corrupt officials in Lantian County are doomed to die, and Ye Xiao and his men claim to have been wronged, so we can take this opportunity to prove it."

"If it's true, behead those corrupt officials in front of them, and then punish them for the crime of robbery on the road."

"The most important thing is to give an explanation to the people of Lantian County, so that they can trust the officials that our father has arranged to take over."

"Otherwise, if the people's grievances continue to accumulate, I'm afraid there will be chaos soon."

Princess Ankang's words were well-reasoned and the Third Prince was unable to refute them.

Manager Shang smiled and nodded, feeling pleased with Princess Ankang's thoughtful consideration.

The eldest prince and the fourth prince looked at each other and sighed silently.

If they had had more contact with Princess Ankang earlier, they would not have suffered so much before.

After the two brothers were cheated several times in succession, they realized belatedly how scheming Princess Ankang was.

The Fourth Prince, in particular, mistakenly thought that Princess Ankang was an equal opponent to him and was excited for a while at first.

It was not until he was pressed to the ground and rubbed hard several times that he realized how terrifying Princess Ankang was.

Now, Princess Ankang was able to come up with such a comprehensive response without much thought when faced with an unexpected event. This is truly admirable.

The two brothers finally understood that they really could not defeat Princess Ankang.

This sister is much better than them.

Princess Yanzhao also blinked and stared at Princess Ankang with a curious look.

Only the Eighth Prince shamelessly pretended to have thought it over seriously and echoed:
"Ankang is right. I think so too."

As soon as he finished speaking, he keenly noticed several contemptuous glances and immediately said dissatisfiedly:
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Ankang and I teamed up to take down these nearly 100 bandits, and we have made great contributions."

"Unlike some people, who have to work hard to get one."

The eighth prince spoke in a sarcastic tone, looking very tired as he took off the gloves on his hands with great effort.

But then he changed the subject and said in a very understanding tone:

"But I also understand that facing this kind of scene is always a bit nervous."

"You'll get used to it later."

"Right, Third Brother?"

The Eighth Prince hid behind Princess Ankang and the chief monk and made faces at the Third Prince, making him so angry that his face, which had just recovered, began to turn red again.

"Adapt to you..."

The third prince was about to start cursing when his brothers and sisters beside him all looked at him.

"Adapt to you...Adapt to you, you big-headed ghost!"

The words on the third prince's lips finally took a sharp turn.

It's hard for brothers and sisters to curse each other properly.

The Third Prince's chest heaved violently, and he felt even more tired than when he fought Ye Xiao just now.

(End of this chapter)