Isn’t this just too much of a coincidence?

They were just bragging over there about taking their grievances to Shengjing, and now, right on cue, here comes the Imperial Envoy from Shengjing?

This is...

Everyone felt quite disheartened.

"Gentlemen, you better leave quickly to avoid trouble,"

Li Qingmu leisurely stepped out from the side, crossed his arms, and leaned against the doorframe, offering a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes.

His words and attitude instantly sparked the fury of several government officers.

Kid, isn’t your posture way too arrogant?

Even more arrogant than they were just now!

"Hmph, so what if the Imperial Envoy comes? If you dare to disrespect government officers, that’s contempt for the law. Even if you take it to the heavens, no one will care, get him!"

A clerk, seemingly in charge, scolded and waved his hand, whereupon two more people rushed forward to capture Li Qingmu.

Long Yue turned her head away, unable to watch.

These fools!

Li Qingmu’s martial arts are so advanced now; their measly skills are no match for him!

Sure enough, where Li Qingmu was standing, behind him was a corridor, and beyond that, it was open space with the hall below on the first floor.

As the little government officials charged forward, Li Qingmu slightly dodged and then pushed one of them with his backhand. Instantly, that officer screamed and staggered out from the doorframe, flipping over the railing.

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

There were no customers left downstairs because this group of officers had scared them away with their noise, so when the officer fell, he landed solidly on a wooden table below.

With too much force, the table broke into pieces.

A shard of wood stuck into the man’s abdomen; although not deadly, it hurt him so much that he couldn’t stop screaming.

Moreover, due to the fall, his internal organs were displaced, and the little officer began coughing up blood desperately, clearly on the brink of death.

This scene frightened many people, not just the officers upstairs and the Jiang Wen couple, but also some of the guests and shopkeepers still lingering downstairs.

The little officer twitched a couple of times and then stopped breathing, leaving a deathly silence.

A moment later, screams erupted down below.

"Murder! Murder! Someone’s dead!"

"Run, run, run, hurry, or you’ll be implicated!"

"Oh my god, what a horrible death, help..."

"..."

The crowd scattered like frightened beasts.

Upstairs, the government officers first felt a chill and then pointed at Li Qingmu, shouting, "You murderer! You killed someone! Surrender now!"

Li Qingmu was stunned for a moment, looking down at his hands, shaking his head lightly: "Sorry, used a bit too much strength, didn’t mean to kill him."

He hesitated, maybe because his martial arts had improved recently, he just couldn’t gauge his strength, sometimes not even himself.

The few officers across from him went, "..."

This guy doesn’t even know his own strength?

Somehow, hearing Li Qingmu’s words made them feel a chill down their spines, their hands and feet going weak.

He’s someone who doesn’t know how to hold back.

Should we still try to apprehend him?

What if he accidentally uses too much force again, then won’t it be curtains for me?

There are indeed only a few people in this world who aren’t afraid of death; most people are as timid as mice, wishing they could live another ten or twenty years.

Just like those emperors, each one, when they’ve been reigning long enough, starts seeking immortality, and many ended up dying from the elixirs they desperately sought out.

So, seeing how formidable Li Qingmu was, these folks panicked.

He’s too terrifying; they better not mess with him, right?

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Just as the officers were hesitating, someone else ran in and rushed toward them, shouting, "What are you guys still standing around for? Hurry up and go welcome the Imperial Envoy from Shengjing!"

The officers were stunned, should they really welcome the Imperial Envoy from Shengjing like this?

There have been Imperial Envoys before, and the government office never got this worked up, only greeting them with ceremonial moves at most.

"You fools, this time the Imperial Envoy is different; it’s the Third Prince, the current Emperor’s third brother. Are you all looking to die if you don’t go greet him?"

The clerk trembled with anger. These idiots, can’t they read the room? If the visitor wasn’t important, would we react like this?

"Go, go, go, quickly!"

"Damn, how can it be the Third Prince? Why did Shengjing dispatch the Third Prince suddenly?"

The officers looked bewildered but didn’t dare delay, quickly leaving without even taking notice of Li Qingmu and the Jiang Wen couple.

Long Yue was surprised to hear that the visitor was actually the Third Prince, Qi Junyi.

She thought Qi Yun would send the Silver Armor Guards or someone from Yulong Pavilion, but instead, it was Qi Junyi. What’s the game here?

Even Long Yue was baffled; Li Qingmu stood there in a daze for quite some time.

Qi Junyi?

Why him?

What did Father want by sending him here?

The Third Prince had quite a history with the couple—once foes, later allies due to the involvements with Cao Xiao and Chang Lexi, becoming family by marriage, making enmity no longer an option.

So his arrival wasn’t really an issue, but what was Father getting at?

Li Qingmu rubbed his temples, finding his father’s unpredictable ways truly frustrating.

"You stay here, Yue’er and I will be right back,"

Since his third brother was here, he had to meet him.

Long Yue and Li Qingmu reached the government office, which was particularly lively today, filled with lanterns and decorations, and a banquet set in the courtyard, laid out for the Third Prince from Shengjing.

"These people work fast; the moment they heard the Third Prince was coming, they got all this done in a flash. It seems like they’ve prepared for this often,"

Long Yue scoffed.

Li Qingmu said coldly, with a grim face, "These officials only know how to flatter their superiors while being indifferent to the suffering of the people under their rule. Dynasties have always fallen at the hands of such parasites!"

"True enough, people are pushed to gather armies and rebel because of the corruption of greedy officials. Say it’s the people’s fault? No, it’s the misdeeds of those who drain the community’s resources! Yet, in the end, the innocent are the ones blamed,"

Long Yue, having witnessed the hardship of the common folk along the way, knew even in these prosperous times, many lived poorly.

Admittedly, while some were idle and lazy, many were victims of these blood-suckers!

"Where’s the Prefect?"

Long Yue looked around but didn’t see the Prefect of Liuzhou City.

"Probably still meeting with my third brother,"

Li Qingmu replied flatly, and just as he finished, there was a clatter of hoofbeats from that direction. Long Yue looked up, and sure enough, it was the welcoming party for the Third Prince, led by the Prefect, with the travel-worn Third Prince, Qi Junyi, among them!

Surrounded by a flurry of attention, he appeared calm, proceeding along the main road towards the government office.