章 23: The Duke Who Set Up His Son
"Because you are the leader of the Beggars' Sect and yet indifferent to beauty, you blocked Kang Min's path to revenge."
Xiao Feng glanced at the still troubled Duan Yu and showed a somewhat playful smile. He said, "Kang Min married Ma Dayuan, who could have been her father, to use her beauty to control him and thereby leverage the power of the Beggars' Sect to avenge herself against the Prince of Dali—Duan Zhengchun!"
"What?"
Duan Yu's face changed dramatically, feeling as if he had stepped in dog poop.
Why is it always his father causing trouble with romantic debts? People complain about their fathers, but his father always puts him in a bind!
"It's a pity, Chief Qiao, that you are not interested in women, and Ma Dayuan was loyal to you and unwilling to overthrow you for personal gain."
Xiao Feng continued to reveal, "So Kang Min conspired with Bai Shijing to kill Ma Dayuan, and then seduced Quan Guanqing and Elder Xu to manipulate the four elders into forcing you to abdicate. With you and Ma Dayuan out of the way, whether Bai Shijing or Quan Guanqing became the leader, Kang Min could seize control of the Beggars' Sect and incite conflict with Dali to take revenge on Duan Zhengchun, the heartless man."
"What a venomous woman!"
"Despicable!"
"Bai Shijing, Quan Guanqing, Elder Xu, how could you be so foolish..."
Finally realizing they had been used as pawns, the four elders couldn't help but curse out loud.
It was hard to tell if they were angry at being deceived or at Kang Min for not using her charms on them.
"Da-da-da..."
Suddenly, the sound of urgent footsteps echoed, and under Quan Guanqing's lead, hundreds of ragged Beggars' Sect disciples appeared from all directions, forming a faint encirclement.
Seeing those disciples, who used to be respectful but now looked wary and guarded, Qiao Feng fully believed what Xiao Feng had said.
The four elders felt deeply ashamed and hurriedly shouted to the disciples, "All disciples listen, Quan Guanqing has rebelled and seduced the second sister-in-law. Such behavior is intolerable. Arrest him immediately!"
???
Quan Guanqing was dumbfounded. What was going on?
Even the four elders' confidants were stunned for a moment before snapping out of their shock and rushing forward to restrain Quan Guanqing.
"Elder Song, what are you doing? This is not what we agreed on!"
"Bah!"
Elder Song spat on Quan Guanqing's face and scolded, "You despicable, deceitful scoundrel! Not only did you conspire with Kang Min to kill Vice Chief Ma, but you also tricked us into attacking the chief. We nearly committed a grave sin because of you! You deserve to die!"
The more Elder Song thought about Quan Guanqing taking all the benefits while leaving them to bear the consequences, the angrier he got. He couldn't help but kick Quan Guanqing in the crotch.
"I...ah!!!"
Quan Guanqing, who was about to argue, suddenly felt a sharp, crippling pain and blacked out.
After incapacitating Quan Guanqing, Elder Song ordered his disciples, "Bring that scoundrel Bai Shijing here. I want to see how he, the law enforcement elder, will handle this!"
"Yes!"
Following Elder Song's command, the disciples left to bring Bai Shijing and others who were detained on the boat.
"Chief, you must seek justice for us!"
As soon as the sallow-faced Bai Shijing arrived at Xingzi Forest, he angrily shouted, "Elders Song, Xi, Chen, and Wu falsely used your name to deceive us onto the boat at Taihu Lake, where we were locked up. The boat was filled with flammable materials, and we were told we would burn if we tried to escape. We almost didn't make it to see you!"
"Bai Shijing, you truly are an evil person blaming others!"
Elder Song laughed angrily, pointing at Bai Shijing and scolding, "You think your crimes are seamless? We know you conspired with Kang Min and killed Vice Chief Ma!"
!!!
Bai Shijing was thunderstruck, his sallow face turning deathly pale.
Seeing Bai Shijing's panicked expression, everyone realized the truth.
"Elder Bai, you have disappointed me greatly. As a law enforcement elder, how could you break the law yourself!"
Qiao Feng's eyes were filled with disappointment and anger. "You tell me, what should be the punishment for harming fellow disciples and seducing the second sister-in-law?"
"Death...death penalty..."
Facing the contemptuous stares of the Beggars' Sect disciples, Bai Shijing felt deep shame and could no longer bear to live: "Chief, I have wronged you!"
"Bang!!!"
With that, Bai Shijing raised his right palm and struck his own head, instantly dying with blood streaming from his orifices.
"Da-da-da..."
Shortly after Bai Shijing committed suicide, the sound of galloping hooves suddenly echoed, followed by a whistle.
Someone in the group of beggars responded to the whistle, and the rider galloped faster, approaching rapidly.
Elder Song's expression changed slightly, "It's the whistle signal for urgent military news. Could it be an emergency?"
Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, a middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy merchant rode a black horse into the woods.
Seeing Qiao Feng, the man quickly dismounted, removed his luxurious clothing to reveal the attire of a Beggars' Sect disciple, and respectfully handed over a package: "Chief, this is urgent military news from Western Xia."
Qiao Feng quickly took the package and opened it in front of everyone, revealing a sealed wax pellet.
"Wait!"
Just as Qiao Feng was about to break the wax pellet and read the contents, an elderly voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone instinctively looked towards the sound and saw an old beggar with white hair and clothes full of patches leading a group of people from the woods.
Upon seeing the old beggar's appearance, everyone's expressions became strange.
The old beggar was Elder Xu, who was highly respected in the Beggars' Sect and was already eighty-seven years old.
Even the former leader, Wang Jiantong, would call him "Senior Uncle." There was no one in the Beggars' Sect who wasn't his junior.
However, Elder Xu had retired long ago, and Qiao Feng and the others would only visit him during holidays to chat about the sect's affairs.
Seeing Elder Xu appear, Qiao Feng and the others should have immediately stepped forward to greet him, but remembering Xiao Feng's earlier revelations, they couldn't bring themselves to face Elder Xu directly.
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