8mi Chapter 257 I did it on purpose
Chapter 257 I did it on purpose
The sun is setting.
The orange-red afterglow bathed the entire field in a warm gold hue.
"It's getting late, everyone, please come back to the city with me. Tonight, Qifeng will host a banquet to properly entertain our friends who have come from afar."
Richard smiled and gestured for everyone to head back, saying there were still many shows tonight, and he was quite looking forward to them.
The nobles rose from the edge of the field, brushed the dirt off their robes, and gathered in twos and threes.
Darian walked on, glancing back at the farmland that grew even greener in the twilight, muttering something to himself...
...
Just then, the sound of the end-of-work bell rang in the distance, and a large group of serfs walked in a loose procession toward the east of the city.
The group included many snow rabbits, their white rabbit ears standing out in the crowd. Several young snow rabbit girls even sang an unknown tune as they walked, their voices soft and gentle.
Upon seeing this, the nobles' relaxed expressions instantly vanished, and they all turned to look at Earl Golden Lion.
That's it!
They had been wondering why an earl would come to offer congratulations at a viscount's opening ceremony.
Upon seeing the group of rabbits, they instantly guessed the other party's ultimate purpose, and the scene became eerie and quiet.
...
Lawrence stopped and watched the snow hare team gradually disappear into the distance, remaining silent for a long while.
When he turned to face Richard, his face was serious and businesslike.
"Viscount Richard, I have another matter to discuss with you. You should have heard about the murder of Baron Hanspine outside Blackwater Territory."
These words were like a cold wind, and everyone unconsciously held their breath.
"The lord of Hansong, Viscount Hanshan, has recently been investigating the murderer and lost property. He heard that a large number of snow rabbits had appeared in Qifeng, so he came to me."
Lawrence raised his head slightly.
"So, besides congratulating Chiffon on opening the city, I'm also here on behalf of the royal family to check on the situation here and make an arbitration."
Gray Valley and Blackthorn exchanged a glance and silently took a half step back.
They dare to make offers for large grain orders, but they have no say in arbitrations involving noble murder cases.
Darian's chubby face, which was usually all smiles, also tensed up considerably.
Richard did not immediately express his opinion, but simply looked quietly at Earl Golden Lion, waiting for him to finish speaking.
...
Lawrence's gaze calmly swept over the snow rabbit troop that was almost disappearing into the shadow of the city walls in the distance, and he continued:
"Viscount Hanshan alleges that the snow rabbits in Qifeng's batch are the same batch that Baron Hansong purchased in Blackwater Territory."
"He has witnesses who are said to be able to identify one of the novice extraordinary snow rabbits named Xueyan, and they can confront him directly."
"If this is confirmed, Chiffon will need to hand over the rabbits and provide clues about the murderer of Baron Hansong, or pay a fine equal to the value of the rabbits, in order to settle this matter."
After speaking, Lawrence waited for Richard to respond to the accusations.
Actually, this matter should have been handled by Marquis Amethyst, but he was unavailable. With Melanie's repeated invitations, he reluctantly made the trip.
Yes.
He is now the arbitrator of this noble murder case, because the Golden Lion is a vassal of the Stars, directly under the royal family!
Not all nobles in the North are vassals of Frostfodder; this is a tradition.
In the previous conquest of the Cape Region, according to tradition, the most resource-rich part of the acquired land had to be offered as tribute to the royal family.
The royal family would bestow titles upon their own direct nobles. These direct nobles were both the empire's spurs in various territories and the extension of the royal family's will to the local areas.
In disputes among ordinary nobles, if legal judgments were involved, they would usually be the ones to mediate or arbitrate.
Lucy frowned slightly, stood quietly next to Richard, and looked at Lawrence with a sharper gaze.
She also understood what had happened: Viscount Cold Mountain invoked the royal arbitration procedure to get Lawrence to stand up for him.
It seems they intend to launch an attack while Qi Feng has just opened the city and his reputation is still established. "Pioneering Lord: A Leisurely Imperial Life" is currently causing a reading frenzy on Cola Novels—haven't you read it yet? If one were to be accused of murdering a noble, the consequences would be self-evident.
...
Richard suddenly laughed.
"What if I refuse to hand over the person and also refuse to pay the fine?"
Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions!
What does that mean?!
When faced with accusations from other nobles, shouldn't the first thing to do be to refute them or find other evidence to exonerate oneself?
Why do you sound like you've already accepted the other party's accusations and are trying to challenge the arbitration result?
Ash Valley Man's first reaction was that Viscount Richard had gone mad, openly defying the authority of the arbitrator—he was incredibly audacious!
...
Lawrence gave Richard a deep look, his tone gentle.
"Viscount Richard, if you refuse, Hanshan will have the right to declare war on Chiffon. According to the rules of war, Chiffon can only defend passively, and other nobles are not allowed to provide support. Are you sure you really want to do this?"
I couldn't ask for more!
Richard was about to nod when Lawrence abruptly changed the subject, saying with a barely perceptible smile:
"However, after my investigation, I found that this batch of snow rabbits is Qi Feng's legitimate property, not the batch that Han Song lost. Therefore, I will declare, as the arbitrator, that Han Shan's accusations against Qi Feng are dismissed."
"According to the arbitration rules, Viscount Hanshan made unreasonable accusations and must pay two thousand gold coins to compensate Qifeng for the damage to her reputation. This will be collected and transferred by my Golden Lion."
These words came without warning, like a silent thunderclap, leaving everyone present stunned!
Dead!
Then came a series of gasps that sounded almost simultaneously!
Darian's eyes widened Baron Blackthorn's lips twitched, while Baron Ashvale stood frozen in place, thinking he had misheard.
Didn't you just say you wanted to identify Xueyan in person? Didn't you say there were witnesses who could confront you face-to-face? How come in the blink of an eye it's "after investigation, they are not from the same batch"?
Without even following the proper procedures, or even questioning Yukito, they made a decision so casually. This blatant favoritism is just too outrageous!
Even Lucy was slightly taken aback. She turned to look at Richard, vaguely guessing what was going on, but still found it hard to believe.
Why did Lawrence do this?
He and Viscount Hanshan clearly had a private relationship, otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to this arbitration assignment.
But now, in front of so many nobles, he directly rejected Viscount Hanshan's request.
This isn't just being disrespectful; it's practically siding with chiffon cake!
...
Even Richard was unsettled.
He hesitated for a long time, blinked a few times, and finally uttered four words softly: "Wise arbitration."
Actually...
The fact that the Snow Rabbit Clan was in Qifeng was information he deliberately had his intelligence team release in Hanshan territory some time ago.
To ensure everything went smoothly, they even arranged for a fake witness to embellish the story and guarantee that Viscount Hanshan would initiate arbitration.
Therefore, he was not initially surprised by the appearance of the Earl of the Golden Lion.
His purpose in doing this was that Qi Feng was about to open the city gates, and he knew he couldn't hide these rabbits from the authorities, so he wanted to get rid of this potential trouble in advance.
According to his plan, after the arbitrators completed the process, he would reject the arbitration result, giving Hanshan a legitimate opportunity to invade Qifeng.
Once the enemy army arrives, we'll wipe them out in one fell swoop, and finally counter-invade Hanshan Territory to obtain its legal ownership!
But now...
Richard looked at Lawrence, who was smiling in front of him, and felt a little uneasy.
Just because of a bottle of Venus blueberry wine?
impossible?
What is the other party thinking?
Or is chiffon cake so powerful that it can gain the wrath of a count without even revealing its secrets?
Ugh...
Thank you so much!