Chapter 330: Chapter 189: All Under Heaven is the King’s Land, Planning to Rebel?
Lu Yuan didn’t even need to activate the system’s Multiplication Factor recognition; he just made a wild guess.
As far as he was concerned, this Right Deputy Magistrate was no good.
Despite his age, Lu Yuan wouldn’t put it past him to do something like take advantage of the Little Fox.
Lu Yuan’s voice hadn’t been loud, but everyone present had heard him.
The room instantly fell silent, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Caught off guard by Lu Yuan’s sudden question, the Right Deputy Magistrate paused for only a moment before saying jovially, "My lord, have you had a bit too much to drink?"
The other officials quickly chimed in, trying to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
But Lu Yuan wouldn’t let it go, slurring drunkenly, "I’m not drunk. I’m perfectly clear-headed."
Seeing Lu Yuan verbally pressuring his uncle, the Right Investigating Officer, despite his swollen face, raised his wine cup and said, "Lord Lu, I..."
Lu Yuan just shot him a glance and ignored him, leaving the Right Investigating Officer hanging.
Lu Yuan turned his gaze back to the Right Deputy Magistrate. "Last night, I caught some wild game. I wonder if any of you gentlemen would be interested in a taste?"
Several officials played along. "And what might Lord Lu have caught last night?"
"Why don’t you all take a guess?" Lu Yuan said.
"Pheasant!" "Black bear!" "Hazel grouse!" "Roe deer!"...
They guessed all sorts of things. You name it, they said it. It was as if they were reading off a list from the Endangered Species Act.
Good thing this was the Divine Ling Empire, otherwise they’d all be thrown in jail!
"A fox," Lu Yuan said simply.
"A fox?" The officials were confused. "Is that even considered game?"
At his words, a flicker of fear crossed the faces of a few officials, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Lu Yuan chuckled. "Gentlemen, you may not know this, but fox meat is considered quite the delicacy. It’s sweet, warming, non-toxic, and is said to have restorative properties."
Lu Yuan wasn’t lying; fox meat was indeed considered a restorative food.
So why did people only trade their pelts, with no one bothering to eat the meat?
Because fox meat has an incredibly strong, gamey taste that’s almost impossible to mask with spices.
The Right Deputy Magistrate played along. "Well then, has Lord Lu already prepared it? Why not bring it out for us to try? I’ve never had it before."
Seeing the man’s brazen front, Lu Yuan clapped his hands.
A trusted aide entered. Lu Yuan said, "Serve the dish!"
"Yes, Young Master!" the aide said before exiting the room.
A moment later, a veiled woman entered carrying a tray. On the tray was a plate, covered by a large, inverted bowl.
No one could see what dish was underneath.
However, the officials’ attention wasn’t on the food. All eyes were on the woman who brought it in, every man craning his neck to size her up.
Though the woman was veiled, her graceful figure and slender, willow-like waist were still apparent. She also exuded a faint, pleasant fragrance.
Beneath that veil, there had to be a stunningly beautiful face.
Beyond her presumed beauty and elegant bearing, the woman seemed to possess a magical allure that captivated the officials.
They had all witnessed Su Liyan’s beauty a few days prior, but with Lu Yuan’s status as Prefect, no one dared to have any designs on her.
This veiled server, however, might be fair game.
The officials in this room were all cut from the same cloth—a bunch of lecherous old men.
Only the Right Deputy Magistrate reacted differently. Upon seeing the veiled woman enter, he physically recoiled, shoving his chair back a couple of feet. His panic was impossible to hide.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan looked at the Right Deputy Magistrate and asked, "My lord, do you know this woman?"
The Deputy Magistrate shook his head and waved his hands frantically. "I don’t know her! I don’t know her!"
"Then why are you panicking?" Lu Yuan snapped.
’This old bastard took advantage of Xiaoqian, and now he’s acting like he doesn’t even know her,’ Lu Yuan fumed internally.
’Xiaoqian had even thought of him as her savior. She was just so naive, with zero experience of the world, which was how this old bastard managed to take advantage of her.’
’Xiaoqian was still just a girl, and a member of the Half-demon Race to boot. How was she supposed to find a husband now?’
Now, some might say that since Xiaoqian is so beautiful, what does it matter that she’s of the Half-demon Race? She wouldn’t have any trouble finding a husband.
The women in the brothels are all beautiful as flowers, too. Would you marry one of them?
Lu Yuan’s sharp cry yanked the officials back to reality.
Seeing the Right Deputy Magistrate’s flat denial, the veiled woman set down the tray and ripped the veil from her face.
When the officials saw her lovely face, they gasped in admiration.
"What a beautiful woman."
"To think such a beauty exists in the world."
...
The officials had already forgotten Lu Yuan’s earlier outburst.
Lu Yuan felt helpless. ’What is with these people? A bunch of old perverts.’
The woman who had removed her veil was none other than the Little Fox—Xiaoqian.
Xiaoqian spoke, "You old man. To think I did such filthy things for you, and now you pretend not to know me."
Xiaoqian had held onto a sliver of hope about the old man, but she now realized she had just been a pawn in the Right Deputy Magistrate’s hands.
Xiaoqian was so starved for affection that she had mistaken a wolf for a father figure.
Fortunately, Lu Yuan and Su Liyan had helped Xiaoqian see the truth and come to her senses.
Seeing that the jig was up, the Right Deputy Magistrate burst out laughing. "That’s right, Lord Lu," he said. "It was all my doing."
Lu Yuan didn’t understand his motives. "Why would you do this?" he asked. "You have one foot in the grave. What more could you possibly want?"
The Right Deputy Magistrate drained the wine in his cup and slammed it to the floor.
The Right Deputy Magistrate stood up and said, "Content? When is a man ever content? When you have ten taels of silver, you want one hundred taels. When you have one hundred taels, you’ll want one thousand taels, then ten thousand taels!"
