Chapter 46

Hu Xiaotian feigned fear, "Beheaded to the last man? Scary! I'm so scared!" The servants behind him burst into laughter, as supporting their master was their duty.

Shi Xuedong sneered coldly, "Isn't it too late to be afraid now?"

Hu Xiaotian took a step forward and chuckled, "But if this thing wasn't bestowed by the Emperor, but rather bought from a street vendor, then you would be guilty of deceiving the Emperor. Impersonating the Emperor's command to swindle and tarnish the Emperor's reputation, the crime not only warrants beheading the entire family but also exterminating your nine generations!"

This statement made Shi Xuedong's face change abruptly. The jade pendant was indeed a cheap item he had bought from a street vendor, which he had used to swindle people countless times without fail. He had never failed until he met Hu Xiaotian, who saw through his trick at first glance.

Hu Xiaotian coldly looked at the group of sycophants around Shi Xuedong and said, "Don't stand so close to him. When the nine generations are exterminated, you'll be included too!"

With a rustle, the sycophants all retreated, leaving Shi Xuedong alone facing Hu Xiaotian. In these times, loyalty was the cheapest thing.

Shi Jingde secretly cursed, "This brat, he really dares to say anything. When did the Emperor bestow a jade pendant on our Shi family? If such a thing happened, how could I not know? This nephew is really a headache. Today he met his match. Who is this guy? Does he not know the power of our Shi family?" He quietly asked Murong Feiyi, "Who is he?"

Murong Feiyi, seeing Shi Xuedong completely suppressed by Hu Xiaotian, was secretly pleased. She realized that bringing Hu Xiaotian into this was the right decision. Hearing Shi Jingde's question, she dared not hide anything and whispered Hu Xiaotian's identity into his ear.

Shi Jingde was suddenly enlightened. It turned out to be the son of the Minister of Revenue, Hu Buwei. No wonder this brat was so arrogant.

Shi Xuedong angrily said, "Do you know who I am? My father is a third-rank official, the Minister of Personnel, Shi..."

"Shut up!" Shi Jingde roared, interrupting his nephew's nonsense. At this moment, boasting about the old man's status in public was utterly foolish. If others didn't blacken the Shi family's name, he was doing it himself. This nephew was truly stupid.

Although Shi Xuedong's words were cut off by his uncle, Hu Xiaotian understood clearly. Third-rank? I say, didn't Murong girl say his father was a fifth-rank official? Third-rank Minister of Personnel, I say, isn't that Shi Bucui? My father's close friend!

Hu Xiaotian now realized he had been tricked, and the one who tricked him was none other than Murong girl. Hu Xiaotian was furious! He glared at Murong Feiyi, and what made him even angrier was that she didn't even look at him. Was she feeling guilty, or was she gloating? Damn it, I say, you old man! Hu Xiaotian was so angry he felt his lungs would burst. No, it's not about her old man, but about the principle. I say, you! I won't let you off. You tricked me, and I tricked my father. Today, this is a real-life father-tricking drama. If my father finds out, he won't let me off.

Shi Jingde frowned, "Take them both away!" At this point, there was no need for an audience. The more this went on, the bigger the trouble would become.

Murong Feiyi wasn't worried about Hu Xiaotian. With his background, Shi Jingde couldn't do much to him. She was more concerned about Fang Zhitan and his daughter. She quietly asked Shi Jingde what would happen to the Fang family. Shi Jingde, clearly not in the mood to deal with such trivial matters, waved his hand and said, "Give the father and daughter twenty taels of silver and tell them not to make a fuss."

It wasn't that Shi Jingde didn't want to seek justice for his nephew, but after understanding the whole story, he realized that his nephew was the one who caused the trouble. The boy had gone too far, even molesting a blind girl, which disgraced the Shi family. Shi Jingde didn't need to pay twenty taels to settle the matter, but Hu Xiaotian's involvement made it more complicated.

Shi Jingde was well aware of the friendship between Shi Bucui and Hu Buwei. At such a time, the two families shouldn't have a conflict. He had the two troublemakers brought out and, when no one was around, dismissed everyone and called them to the Pavilion of Wind and Rain.

Shi Bucui now knew Hu Xiaotian's identity. Although they still glared at each other, neither said anything harsh. They both knew that making a big fuss would benefit no one. This was a kind of upbringing and realm that officials' children had, naturally superior to ordinary people in terms of the big picture.

Shi Jingde sighed, "It's like a flood in the Dragon King's temple, family members not recognizing each other. If your fathers knew you were fighting to the death outside, what do you think they would think?"

Hu Xiaotian hung his head and didn't speak. Although he despised Shi Xuedong, he had been tricked by Murong Feiyi, and the sense of defeat was indescribable.

Shi Xuedong didn't speak either. He didn't speak because he was in the wrong. He knew exactly what had happened. He had seen that the blind girl, Fang Fang, was somewhat attractive, so he had devised a small scheme. When passing by her, he deliberately bumped into her, dropped the jade pendant, and shattered it, then accused Fang Fang. He never expected things to turn out this way. Shi Xuedong cursed his bad luck and hated Hu Xiaotian even more. He was a narrow-minded person and felt humiliated by being slapped twice in public. However, today was not the time for revenge.

Shi Jingde said earnestly, "Your fathers serve the same court, are close friends, and have devoted themselves to serving the Emperor. Even if you two can't help your fathers, you shouldn't cause trouble and add to their worries. Fortunately, today's incident didn't escalate. I think we should just let it go. As the saying goes, 'No fight, no acquaintance.' In the future, you two should still be brothers." Shi Jingde acted as a mediator.

Hu Xiaotian didn't say much. He was used to being two-faced. Although he despised Shi Xuedong, he had the upper hand today, so he appeared particularly magnanimous. Moreover, the judge was Shi Xuedong's uncle, who had given him enough face by calling it a draw. So Hu Xiaotian didn't want to push it. A wise man knows when to yield. Although Shi Xuedong was a scoundrel, the surface work had to be done.

Shi Xuedong, though hating Hu Xiaotian, had grown up in an official family and was adept at the hypocrisy and duplicity of the bureaucracy. He forced a smile, "Brother Hu, I didn't know you were Uncle Hu's son. I'm ashamed, truly ashamed. It's like a flood in the Dragon King's temple, family members not recognizing each other. This misunderstanding is all my fault, all my fault."

Hu Xiaotian went along with it, warmly grasping Shi Xuedong's hand, "Brother Shi, today's incident is all my fault. If you're angry with me, beat me up, I won't fight back."

Shi Xuedong cursed inwardly, "Beating you would be too easy. I'd kill you and still feel unsatisfied. Kid, this isn't over between us!"

These two were extremely hypocritical, shaking hands and chatting warmly, as if nothing had happened. Shi Jingde, seeing this, felt greatly relieved. After all, it was better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester. If something big happened, it would be bad for both the Shi and Hu families.

Shi Xuedong said, "Brother Hu, I have a request."

Hu Xiaotian, noticing that this guy was still holding his hand, wanted to pull away. Hearing that he had a request, he became wary. Was this guy still obsessed with the blind girl, Fang Fang, and wanted him to stay out of it? No way! He couldn't give in on principle. But he smiled warmly, "Brother Shi, please speak."

Shi Xuedong said, "No fight, no acquaintance. Although our first meeting was unpleasant, for some reason, I don't feel any resentment towards you. Instead, I feel very close to you. I want to become brothers with you. What do you think?"

Hu Xiaotian was taken aback. "I say, you should take a look at yourself. You have a bad reputation, are morally corrupt, and are infamous. If I become brothers with you, won't I be tarnishing my own name?"

Although Shi Xuedong was narrow-minded, his surface work was excellent. He looked at Hu Xiaotian with expectation.

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