She Holds the World After Being Reborn-Chapter 587 - 586: Double Turnaround, Sir Li Gets Slapped in the Face
"You," Qin Zhen pointed at the coachman with her finger, "go knock on the door."
The coachman dared not disobey and hurried up to the gate, lifting the brass knocker and rapping a few times.
Before long, the door was opened by an elderly woman who, upon seeing that it was the coachman, furrowed her brows and scolded, "Weren’t you assigned to go out and work? How come you’ve returned so soon?"
"Don’t, don’t..." The coachman began, wanting to stop the old woman from saying more.
The elderly woman mistook his intention, "Don’t what? The master has said you aren’t to return to the residence, and what’s more, who gave you the gall to dare knock on the front door?"
"The order came from this exalted one," said a clear, beautiful voice from behind the coachman.
The elderly woman peered past the ashen face of the coachman and caught sight of Qin Zhen standing behind him, and naturally, she also saw the corpse tied to the back of the carriage.
Without another word, she shut the door.
The coachman, whose face had turned the color of death, turned to look at Qin Zhen, only to see her calmly leaning against the carriage while more and more townsfolk gathered around.
"My lord, I did knock, but she then closed it again," the coachman explained.
Qin Zhen nodded, "I saw." She wasn’t in a rush; as more people gathered, the door would have to open sooner rather than later.
She had all the time in the world to exhaust patience with this Lord Li.
As she left the Imperial Palace, Qin Wu had specifically mentioned this Lord Li.
Born from humble beginnings, full of righteous courage, he was the top scholar during the former emperor’s reign. His exceptional courage allowed him to say what others wouldn’t dare and do what others wouldn’t dare undertake, eventually winning the former emperor’s favor and securing a foothold in the court.
Even after Qin Wu ascended the throne, Lord Li didn’t change his overt ways and often caused Qin Wu embarrassment in court, although Qin Wu didn’t take issue with him.
Considering his clean background and his diligence, and as someone who rose from humble origins, keeping him in the court also served as an encouragement to the scholars of the Qin State.
But was that really the case?
Just sending a coachman and a ruffian to lay hands on the newly-appointed Prime Minister by the Empress.
This Lord Li Weixian really had a rebellious streak.
As Qin Zhen had expected, it wasn’t long before the doors of the Li Residence opened again.
However, the person who opened the door this time was not the elderly woman but Li Weixian himself.
"Unaware of the Prime Minister’s honored visit, the lack of welcome is my negligence," Lord Li Weixian hurried forward three steps into two, cupping his hands in greeting, a face full of apologetic smiles directed at Qin Zhen.
Qin Zhen’s lips curled into a slight smile, "Indeed, a negligence."
Li Weixian was taken aback, not expecting Qin Zhen to be so dismissive.
But in front of so many people, he could not afford to lose his temper.
Otherwise, the image he’d cultivated over the years could collapse, so he bit back his anger and continued with a forced smile, "May I inquire why the Prime Minister has come here today? I recall that after the morning court, you were retained in the palace by His Majesty."
"There was no particular matter, but since someone wanted to make trouble, I had no choice but to solve the problem as it arose in order to demonstrate that I am not one to shy away from issues," Qin Zhen was known for her eloquence, and despite her words being confusing, she managed to speak without faltering.
Li Weixian seemed to notice the dead fat man for the first time, his expression shocked, "What does the Prime Minister mean by this? Why is there a corpse tied to the back of the carriage?!"
"Lord Li isn’t aware?" Qin Zhen deliberately inquired.
"How could I possibly know! What in the world happened here? According to the laws of the Qin State, wanton murder is punishable by death!" Li Weixian’s eyes flickered with intensity.
If this man was killed by Qin Zhen, then he really couldn’t be blamed!
Qin Zhen chuckled, scanning the crowd, "Is Lord Li sure he wants to say it here?"
Li Weixian stood upright in his integrity, "There is nothing that the people of the Qin State shouldn’t know."
"Very well!" The crowd erupted with fervent shouts in response to his words.
Li Weixian reveled in that support, further enjoying the confidence this standing with the people provided.
He felt that this confidence and support could invisibly exert pressure on Qin Zhen, that young girl.
Unfortunately, Qin Zhen, like someone lacking common sense, showed no sign of being intimidated.
But soon, Li Weixian came to terms with it.
After all, she was someone who had been by the Empress’s side, and had seen big scenes. Such pressure must have been all too familiar to her.
Thinking this, Li Weixian spoke, his eyes scrutinizing, "Could it be that this person was truly killed by the Prime Minister herself? No matter what the person did wrong, they were brought into this world by their parents. The Prime Minister naturally could have captured and handed them over to the Punishment Department for processing. How could she treat the person like an animal, dragging them through the streets? Causing the public to be in turmoil, even if she is the Empress’s appointed Prime Minister, such actions are unbecoming!"
Li Weixian spoke with heartfelt pain.
He looked at Qin Zhen with deep sorrow, continuously shaking his head and wringing his hands, "The Prime Minister is muddled!"
"What?! This woman is the Prime Minister personally appointed by the Empress?!"
"No wonder she dared to drag the person to death on the carriage. Though she appears gentle and soft, she has a heart of iron and stone—indeed, a woman’s heart is the most venomous!"
"How could a woman be fit for the position of Prime Minister? Only someone like Lord Li, who loves the people as his own children, is truly suitable for it!"
One after another, such comments spread throughout the crowd.
Li Weixian, hearing them, felt indescribably smug inside.
That damned girl, causing him embarrassment in the court.
Now that she had delivered herself to his doorstep, by hook or by crook, he had to reclaim his pride.
"Does Lord Li mean that I, this Prime Minister, should personally capture this scoundrel and send him to the Punishment Department for them to handle?" Qin Zhen narrowed her eyes, "But I fear that the Punishment Department might be in collusion with this villain. And if they release him secretly, he might cause chaos again."
She kicked the coachman beside her, "Go, reveal this person’s face so everyone can have a good look."
The coachman was quicker to act than to think, and by the time he realized his real master was actually Li Weixian, his hands had already untied the rope from the corpulent body and turned it over on the ground.
The lower half of the body had been dragged along the ground, leaving a trail of raw and bloodied flesh, but the upper half remained unharmed.
As the coachman turned the body over, people in the crowd recoiled in horror, yet couldn’t resist pushing forward out of morbid curiosity. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
The face was fat and greasy, disgusting and swollen with pustules, an utterly grotesque sight.
One look, and you might lose your appetite for half a year.
Quite a few women and some faint-hearted men were already making gagging sounds.
"Prime Minister, respect for the dead is paramount, and your actions are truly disrespectful!" Li Weixian’s voice rose with accusation.
From the crowd erupted a loud shout, "The flower-picking thief Jiang Nian! This is the flower-picking thief Jiang Nian!"
"The wanted posters at the city gates are still up, look, this is that damned flower-picking thief!"
The flower-picking thief Jiang Nian was notorious in Jinyang for his remarkable qinggong skills, terrorizing the good families’ daughters. Sometimes, in excessive cruelty, he’d even drag women out of the city to dismember them, and everyone wished for his execution.
The wanted posters at the city gates even offered a reward of a thousand taels for his capture, dead or alive, and were stamped with the Empress’s dragon seal.
This proved to be quite embarrassing...
The people’s gaze shifted from initial moral indignation to now looking at Qin Zhen with full-fledged admiration; all it took was the presence of the notoriously evil flower-picking thief Jiang Nian.
Li Weixian was dumbfounded.
"The flower-picking thief Jiang Nian," Qin Zhen murmured, "Such a creature who callously abused and murdered women in Jinyang, committing heinous crimes deserving of death, does Lord Li think that my dragging him through the streets is inappropriate?"
"Furthermore, earlier this year, this man was indeed caught and put into the Punishment Department. Yet, he was released shortly after. I dare not judge the actions of the Punishment Department," she said.
A bloodthirsty smile curved Qin Zhen’s lips, "You may disapprove of my methods, but to deal with such an animal who murders and desecrates innocence, I think killing him and dragging his body through the street, to put fear into the hearts of potential copycats, is precisely what I, as the Qin State’s Prime Minister, should do."
She surveyed the crowd and finally let her gaze rest on Li Weixian, provocatively adding, "Lord Li, what do you think?"
